Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1867-03-14

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for the prevention of crime, but solely as mean
lof coercinr the people into the adoption of prinG
ples and measures to which it is known that they
are opposed. and upon which they have an unde
tniable right to exercise their own Judgment. ''
1 submit to Congress whether this measure il
not in les whole character, scope and object, with
out precedent and without authority, in papable
conflict with the plainest provisions Of the Coqsh
tuition and utterly destructive to those great prin
ciples of liberty and humanity for which our ances
tors on both sides Of the Atlantic have shed sc
The ten States named in the bill are divided into
five districts. For each district, an officer of the
army, not below the rank Of brgadier general is tc
be appointed to rule over the people, and he is to
be supported with an efficient military force to en-
able him to perform his duties and enforce bis an
thority, as defined by the third section of the bin
are to protect all persons In their rights of person
and property to suppress insurreoion, disorder
and violence, and to punish or cause to be punish
ed all disturbers of the public peace, or criminals
The power thus given to tls commenting ~ Officer
over al tue peoptc VI eessu uisaDI 10 al oU
sonte moparch. His mere will is to take the place
of law. The law of the States is now the only rule
applicable to the subjects placed under his control
and that is completely displaced by the clause which
declares all interference of State authority to be
null and void. He alone is permitted to determine
what are rights Of person or property, and he may
protect them In such way as in his discretion may
seem proper. It places at his free disposal all the
lands and goods in his district and he may dstrib
ute them without let or hindrance to whom be
pleases. Being bound by no State law, and there
being no other law to regulate the sqbect be may
make criminal code Of bis own and he can make
it as bloody as any recorded in history, or he car
reserve the privilege of acting upon the impulse
of his private passions in case that arises. He
bound by no rule of evidence there is, indeed nc
take any evidence at all. Everything is a crime
which he chooses to call so, and all persons are
condemned whom he pronounces to be guilty. He
is not bound to keep any record, OF rmake any re-
port of his proceedings. He may arrest his vic
Tins wherever he finds them, without warrant, ac-
cusation or proof of probable cause. IF he gives
them trial before he inficts the punishment, he
gives it of his grace and mercy, not because he is
commanded to do so ....
To casual reader Sfthe bill, it might seem that
some kind Of trial was secured by it to persons ae
cused of crime but such is not the case. The Of.
fcer smay allow local civil tribunals to try offend
ers but, of course, this does not require that be
do sc. IF any State or Federal court presumes to
exerise its legal jurisdiction by the trial of male
factor without his special permission, hecan break
| it up, and punish the judges and jurors. He can
save his friends from justice, and despoil his enc
mics contrary to justice. -.
It is also provided that ''he shall have power to
organize military commissions or tribunals" but
this power he is commanded to exercise. 1t is
merely permissive, and is to be used only when,
in his judgment, it may be necessary for the trial
of offenders. Even if the sentence of commits
sion were made q prerequisite to the punishment
of party, it would be scarcely the slightest check
upon the officer who has authority to organ
ze it as he pleases prescribe its mode of proceed
ing, appoints members from among his own sub
ordinates, and revise all its decisions. Instead Of
mitigating the hardness of his single rule, such q
tribunal would be used much more probably to di:
vide the responsibility Of making it more cruel
and unjust
Several provisions, dictated by the humanity Of
Congress, have been inserted in the bill, apparent
ly to restrain the power of the commanding officer,
but it seems to me that they are Of no avail for
that purpose. The fourth section provides
That trials shall not be unnecessarily delayed but
I think 1 have shown that the power is given to
punish without trial, and, if so, this provision is
practically imperative. Second. Cruel or unu-
sual punishment is not to be inflicted but who is
to decide what is cruel and what's unusual? The
words have acquired legal meaning by long use
in the courts. Can it be expected that military Of
fcers will understand or follow rule expressed in
language 50 purely technical and not pertaining in
the least degree to their profession IF not, then
each officer may define cruelty according to his own
temper and if it is notusua he will make it usual
Corporal punishment, Imprisonment the gag, the
ball and chain, and the almost insupportabe forms
of torture invented for military punishment, lie
within the range of choice Third. The sentence
of commission is not to be executed without be-
ing approved by the commander, il it affects life
or liberty; and a sentence of death must be ap-
proved by the President This applies to cases
in which there has been trial and sentence l
take it to be clear, under this b that the militia
ry commander may condemn to death without even
the form of trial by a military commission, so
that the life of the condemned may depend upon
the will of two men instead Of one.
1t is plain that the authority here given to the
military officer amounts to absolute despotism. But
to make it still more unendurable, the bill provides
that it may be delegated to as many subordinates
as he chooses to appoint; for it declares that he
shall "punish or cause to be punished, Such a
power has not been welded by any monarch in
England for more than five hundred years. In all
that time, no people who speak the English Ian
guage have borne such servitude 1t reduces the
whole population of the ten States-an persons, OF
every color, sex and condition, and every stranger
within their imits-to the most AFFECT and degra'
ding slavery. No master ever had control 30 ab-
soute over his slaves as this bill gives to the mill
tary officers over both white and colored persons.
It may be answered to this that the officers OF
the army are too magnanimous, just and humane
to Cypress and trample upon q subjugated people
do not doubt that army officers are as well enti-
tied to this kind Of confidence as any other class OF
msn. But the history of the world has been wrlt-
ten in vain, it does not teach us that unresraln-
ed authority can never be safely entrusted to hr-
man hands. 1t is almost sure to be more or less
abused under any circumstances, and it has always
resulted in gross tyranny where the rulers who ex-
ercise it are strangers to their Subjects and a.
mong them as the representatives of distant pow
er, and more especially when the power that sends
them is unfriendly. Governments closely resem-
bling that here proposed have been fairly tried IN
Hungary and Poland, and the suferings endured
by those people reused the sympathies Of the en-
tire world. Il was tried in Ireland, and, though
tempered at first by principles Of English law, it
gave birth to cruelties 80 atrocous that they are
never recounted without just indignation. The
French Convention armed its deputies with this
power, and sent them to the Southern departments
of the republic The massacres, murders, and
other atrocities which they committed show what
the passions of the abest men in the most civilized
society viii tempt them to do when wholly unre-
l I ,,ofO ron IN q On