The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1867-06-27

HIei vi all, lnaC eacn OF VneSe
States is subject to the military au-
thority of the United States; not to
the military authority altogether,
but with this express limitation as
hereinafter prescribed. We must,
then, examine what is hereinafter
provided to find tie extent and ma
ture of the power granted. This,
then, is what is granted to the mil
itary commanders. The power or
duty to protect all persons in their
rights OF person and property, to
suppress insurrection, disorder and
violence, and to punish, or cause
to .bS.punished, alldistuFbers ef-the
public peace or criminals; and he
may do this by the agency of the
criminal courts of the State, or, if
necessary, he may have resort to
military trials. This comprises all
powers given to the military COM
mander. Here is a general clause,
making it the duty of the military
commander to give protection TO
all persons in their rights. of per-
son and property, considefed by
itself, and without referenSe'to the
context and to the provisions of
the acts, Itis liable, from It's gen.
erahty, to be misunderstood. What
sort Of protection is here meant?-
What violations of persons or of
rights of persons or of property
are here intended In what man
ner is the protection to be given?
These questions arise at once.
1t appears that some ofthe military
commanders have misunderstood
this grant of power as all compre-
hensive, comforting on them the
power to remove the executive and
judicial officers of the State, and to
appoint other officers in their
places; to suspend the legislative
power of the States, to take under
their control the officers appointed
by themselves, the collection and
disbursement of the revenue of the
State, to prohibit the execution of
the laws of the State by agency of
attorneys, appointed officers and
agents; to change existing laws in
matters affe citing purely civil and
private rights; to suspend or enjoin
the execution ofjudgment and dec
isions of the established State
Courts, torinterfere inthe ordinary
administration of justice in State
Courts by prescribing new qualifi-
cations for Jurors, and to change
upon the ground of expediency the
existing relations of the parties to
contracts, giving protection to one
party by violating the rights of the
other party. l feel confident that
these military officers in all they
have done have supposed that they
had full warrant for their action.
Their education and training have
not been of the kind to fit them for
the delicate and difficult task of
giving construction to such a stat
ute as this now under consideration.
They require instruction, and near
ly all of them have asked for in
struction to solve their own doubts,
and to furnish to them safeguard
for the performance of their duties.
There can be no doubt as to the
rule Of construction according to
which we must interpret this grant
of power. tits a grant ofpower to
military authority over civil rights
Of citizens in time of peace. 1t is
a new jurisdiction never granted
before, by which certain particu-
lars and for certain purposes, the
established principle that the mill
tary shall be subordinate to the
civil authority is reversed; the rule
of construction to be applied to
such grant of power is thus stated
in Dwarris on Statutes, page 652;
a statute creating a new jurisdic-
ton, and ought to be construed
strictly. .E..r. ..- H.-.
The Attorny General proceeds to
the construction of various portions
of the act. The act does not give
power to confer new right, but
only to protect those which exist,
and are established by the laws
under which people live. 1t is a
power 10 preserve,n not to abrogate;
to sustain the existing frame of
social order and rule, and not a
power to introduce military rule in
its place. 1t is given to meet cont
ingencies recited in the preamble of
want of protection for life and pro-
perty; this duty or power of protec-
tioniis to be performed by the sup
preston ofinsurrection, disorder and
violence, &C., anditis declared that