The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-07-18
TO the bench by the suffrages of his political

to the bench by the SURFACES of his political
partisafs.
The decision of the q. S. supreme court,
delivered by Judge Davis, that the "constis
tuition is the supreme law for rulers and peo-
pie, alike in war as in peace is familiar to
all readers of the Times. The decision fthe
supreme court of Illinois, delivered by Judge
Lawrence in the case of Madison I. John
SON against j. RUSSELL Jones and others,
covers the same ground and affirms the same
principles of law and justice. johnson was
seized by Jones at his house IN 10 Daviess
county, and was forcibly transported to Fort
LAFAYETTE. from which, after an incarceration
of several months, he was set at liberty,
without trial, and without any charge of
crime having been made against him.
Jones pleaded as his authority for the seizure
an order of the president, and set up in de-
fence the acts OF congress of March 6, 1868,
and May IL, 1866, commonly called the in.
demnitv acts, which provide that
.."Any order of the president, under his au-
thority, made at any time during the existence
of the present rebellion, shall be defence in all
courts, to any action prosecution, civil or GRIM
inal, pending or to be commenced, for any search,
seizure, arrest or Imprisonment made, done or
committed, acts omitted to be done, under and
by virtue of such order, under color of any
law of congress-;
and that -~-
"Any arrest or imprisonment, during the re-
beliou, by virtue of the order of the president,
secretary of war, or any military officer in COM
mand in the place Fwhere such arrest had been
made, or imprisonment had been made, should
come within the purview of the first act for all
purposes of defence.
The constitution declares that "no person
shall be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law" 1t was not
pretended that johnson was deprived of his
liberty by any process of the civil law; but
the defendants argued that it was done right
| fully In accordance with the laws of war
Judge Lawrence disposes of this monstrous
absurdity in very summary manner. The
| acts done BY Johnson-granting all that was
| alleged against him-were not the acts of a
belligerent; he did not reside in state Oh
| district where war was carried on; all the
courts In Illinois were open, and the course
| of justice was unimpeded. He was not
| therefore, a prisoner of war, and could not
be treated as such, unless it was within the
power of the President and of his military
subordinates to suspend the constitutional
| set aside the supreme law. This, it is en-
| phatically held, they could not do. What is
called martial law is the result of overmas
| tering necessity. No such necessity existed
| in Illinois. 1t cannot prevail but on the the
atre of actual war. Illinois was at peace
The act of President Lincoln in arbitrarily
| seizing citizen of Illinois, no matter or
what pretext. is denounced by Judge Law
renee as ''usurpation." A. Lincoln a usur
! per The word is harsh one, and Judge
| Lawrence in respect for the better qualities
| of his friend, feels called on to apologize fol
| its use, bur to observe, in the same connec
| ton, that neither our honor for his memo
| ~, nor our confidence in his honesty, can b.
permitted to sway our judgment here