The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1867-06-25
ATTORNEY GENERALS OPINION

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Ofthe Poaeers Of Military Commanders, and q
Summary Of The Qualifications of Voters.
The following extract covers the conclusions
of the Attorney General in reference to the
power of removal of State officers by the military
commanders of the several military districts
I find it impossible, under the provisions oil
this act, to comprehend such an official as a
Governor of one of these States, appointed te
Office BY one of these military commanders
Certainly, he is not Governor recognized BY
the laws of the State, elected BY the people OF
the State, and clothed as such with the Chief
Executive power Nor is he appointed as a
military governor for State which has nc law.
full Governor, under the pressure of an existing
necessity, to exercise powers at large. The in
tention, no doubt, was to appoint him to I'll a
vacancy occasioned by military order, and to
put him in the place of the removed Governor,
to execute the functions of the office as provided
by law. The law takes no cognizance of such
an Official, and he is clothed with no authority,
or color of authority. What is true as to the
Governor, is equally true as to all the other
Legislative, Executive aud Judicial officers of
the State. IF the military commander can GUST
one from his Office, he can Gust them all IF he
can fill one vacancy he can fill all vacancies, and
thus usurp all civil jurisdiction into his own
hands, or the hands Of those who hold their ap-
poinsmants from him, subject to his power of
removal, and thus Illustrate the very right secured
to the people by this act. Certainly this act is
rigorous enough 10 the power which it gives.
With all its severity the right of electing their
own officers is still left with the people, and it
must be preserved.
must not be understood as fixing limits to the
power of the military commander in case Of an
actual insurrection or riot. 1t may happen that
an instruction in one of these States may be so
general and formidable as to require the tenn
porary suspension of all civil government, and
the establishment of martial law in its place, and
the same thing may be true as to local disorder
or riot in reference to the civil government Of
the city or place where it breaks out. What
ever power is necessary to meet such emergen-
cies, the military commander may properly cx-
ercise. L confne myself to the proper authority
of the military commander where peace and
order prevail. When peace and order do pre-
vail it is not allowable to displace the civil off,
GERS and appoint others in their places under
any idea that the military commander can better
perform his duties and carry out the general
purposes of the act by the agency Of civil officers
of his own choice, rather than by the lawful in
to such agency, but does give him the right to
have "a sufficient military force to enable him
to perform his duties and enforce his authority
within the district to which he is assigned"
In the suppression of insurrection and riot the
military commander is wholly independent of
the civil authority.
So, too, in the trial and punishment Of Grim
inals and offenders he may superccde the civil
liofin &c So ID
these special emergencies, and the means are
put into his hands by which it is to be exercised.
That is to say, "a sufficient military force to en-
able such officer to perform bis duties and en-
force his authority" and military tribunals of
bis own appointment to try and punish offenders.
These are strictly military powers, to be exc
cp'ed by military au'hority-not by the civil
authority or by civil officers appointed by him
to perform ordinary civil duties. If these emer-
gences do not happen-if civil order is pre-
served, and criminals are duly prosecuted by
the regular courts-the military power, though
present, must remain passive. Its proper func-
ton is to preserve the peace, to act promptly
when the peace is broken, and restore order.
When that is done, and the civil authority may
again safely resume its functions, the military
power becomes again passive, but on guard and
wa,chful.
This in my Judgment is the whole scope of
the military power conferred by this act, and in
arriving at this construction of the act l have
not found 1t necessary TO resort to the strict
structon which is allowable
VINO ARE ENTITLED TO REGISTRATION
The following summary as to who are entitled
to vote, will be read with peculiar interest at
this time
l The oath prescribed in the supplemental
act defines all the qualifications required, and
every person who take the oath is entitled
to have bis name entered upon the list of voters.
2. The board of registration have no authority
to administer any other oath to the persons ap-
plying for registration than this prescribed oath;
nor to administer any oath to any other person
touching the qualifications of the applicant or
the talsity of the oath so taken by him. The
act, to guard against falsity in the oath, provides
that, if false, the person taking i. shall be tried
and punished for perjury.
No provision is made for CHALLENGING the
qualifications of the applicant, or entering upon
any trial or investigation of his qualifications
either by witnesses or any other form of proof.
3 AS to citizenship and residence
The applicant for registration must be citi-
zen Of the State and of the United States, and
must be resident of county included in the
election district. He may be registered if he
has been such citizen for period less than twelve
months at the time he applies for registration,
but lie cannot vote at any election unless his cit.
zenship has then extended to the full term of
one year. As to such person the exact length
Of his citizenship should be noted opposite his
name on the list, SO that it may appear on the
day Of election, upon reference the list, whether
the full term has then been accomplished