Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-06-29

other respect change the provisional govern.
ment' nor does the Act authorize the military
authority to change it, The power of further
changing 1t is reserved, not granted, and it is
reserved to Congress, not delegated to the
military commander.
Congress was not satisfied with the organic
law or constitution under Which this civil GOV.
crnmcht was established. That constitution
was to be changed in only one particular to
make it acceptable to Congress, aud that was
in the matter Of the elective franchise The
purpose, the sole object, of this Act is to effect
that change, and to effect it by the agency of
the people OF the State, or such of them as arc
made voters, by means of elections provided
Tor in the Act, and in the meantime TO pre-.
serve order and to punish offenders, if found
necessary, 10y military commissions.
we arc, therefore, not at Il loss to know
what powers arc possessed by the existing
civil authority. The only question is upon
the powers conferred on the military nutori.
| ty. Whatever power is not given to the mil.
ltary remains with the civil government.
We see, first of all, that each of these Stntcs
is " made subject to the military authority of
the United States mot to the military au.
thorl'y altogether, but with this express lin.
ltatlon, "'s hereinafter prescribed"
This, then, is what is granted to the mill
tary commander: The power or duty "to
protect all persons in their rights of person
aud property, to suppress insurrection, disor-
der and violence. aud to punish, or cause TO
DC punished, ull di>turbcrs of the public peace
and criminals" and he may do this by the
agency Of the criminal courts of the State, or,
it necessary, lie may have resort to military
tribunals
This comprises all the powers given to the
| military commander.
Here is a general clause making it the duty
OF the military commander torgive protection
to all persons in their rights Of person and
| property. Considered ky itself, and without
reference to the context and to other provis-
ions of the Act, it is liable, from its gcncral
| ty. to be misunderstood
What sort of protection is here mcant?-
! What riul"tio'b of the rights Of persons or of
! ""rr'ty "rc neIc ii'uG,,uGus III wii;iC ,,i,I,
ncr is this protection to be given? !? These
| questions arise at once.
| 1t appears that some of the military COM
mandcrs have understood this grant of power
as omprchcnsive, comforting on them the
| power To remove the executive and judicial
officers OF the State, and to appoint other
oihccrs in their places, to suspend the lcgislu-
tive power of the State, to take under their
control. by officers appointed by themselves,
the collection and disbursement of the rcvc.
nucs of the State, to prohibit tic execution of
the laws of the State by the agency of its an.
pointed officers mud agents. to change the cx.
stng laws in matters affecting purely civil
and private rights. to suspend or enjoin the
execution of judgments anil DEGREES of the
established State courts, to Interfere in the
ordinary administration of justice in the State
courts, by prescribing new qualifications for
Jurors, and to change, upon the ground of ex-
rcdcncy, the existing relations of the parties
to contracts, giving protection to one party by
violating the rights of the other party.
| feel confident that these military officers.
IN all they have done, have supposed that they
| had full warrant for their action. Their cd
ucation and training have not been of the
kind to fit thcm for the delicate and difficult
task OF giving construction to such statute
as that now under consideration. They re-
quirc instruction, and nearly all of them have
asked for instruction, to solve their own
doubts, and to furnish to them safe ground
for the performance Of their duties
| There CAN be no doubt AZ to the rule of
construction according to which We must in.
tcrprct this grant of power. 1t is q grant of
power to military authority, over civil rights
and citizens, in time of peace. 1t is new
jurisdiction, never granted before. by which,
in certain particulars and for certain purposes,
the established principle that tho military
shall be subordinate to.thc civil authority, is
reversed. The rule of construction to be an
piled to such grant of power is thus stated
IN Dwarris on. Statutes. page G52 A.statutc
creating a new jurisdiction ought to be con.
strucd strictly"
Guided by this rule and in tho light of
other rules of reconstruction familiar to every
lawyer, especially of those which teach us that
in giving construction to single clauses wc
must look to the context aud to the whole law;
that general clauses arc to be controlled by
particular clauses, and that such construction
is to bc put on special clause rs to make it
harmonize with tho other parts Of the statute,
50 MS to avoid repugnancy proceed to the
construction of this part of tho Act.
10 consider, then, in the first place, tho
terms Of tho grant. 1t is of power to pro-
tcct all persons in their rights OF person and
property. 1t is not power to create new
rights. but only to protect those which exist
and are established by the laws undor which
these people live 1t is power to preserve,
not to abrogato; to sustain the existing frame
Of social order and civil rule, and not power
to introduce military rule in its place. In Of.
feet, it is police power, and tho protection
here intended. is protection of persons and
property against violence, unlawful force, aud
criminal infraction. 1t is given to meet the