The Van Buren press., 1867-03-15

ltc uii - tO prOtect Ill pcTSOHS III thetT
rights Of person and property, to suppress
disorder and violence, and TO punish or
canse to be punished all distnrbers OF the
public peace or criminals. The power
given TO the commanding officer over oil
the people Of each is that of an absolute
monarch. His mere will is to take the
place of all law. The law of the States,
the only rule applicable to the subject, is
placed under his control, and that is com
plctely displaced by the clause which de.
clares that all interference Of the state au,
thority to be null and void. lie alone is
permitted to determine what arc the rights
Of person and property. He may protect
them in such way as in his discretion
may seem proper. 1t places at his free
disposal all the lands and goods in his
district. He may distribute them without
let or hinderance to whom he pleases,
being bound by no State law and there
being no other law to regulate the SUBJ
ject, he may make criminal code Of his
own, and he can make ita bloody as any
recorded in history, or he can reserve the
privilege Of acting upon the impulses of
his private passions, In each case that
arises he is bound by no rules ofevidencc.
There is indeed no provsionby which he
is authorized or required to take evidence
atalL Everything is a crime which he
chooses to call SO, and all persons are
condemned whom he pronounces guilty
lie is not bound to make any report or
keep any record of his proceedings. He
may arrest his victims whenever he may
find him, without warrant, accusation or
proof ofprobablc cause If he gives them
a trial before he inficts the punishment,
he gives it of his grace and mercy, not
because he is commanded 50 to do 70
casual reader of the, ,bill, it might seem
that some kind Of trial was secured to
persons accused Of crime But such Is
not the case. The officer may locate civil
tribunals to try offenders, but of course
this does not require that he shall do So
II any State or Federal court presumes
to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the
trial Of malefactor without his special
permission, he can break it up, and pun
ish the judges and jurors as being them
selves halcfactors. He can save his
friends from justice and despoil his ene-
mics contrary to justice. 1t is also pro
vided that he shall have power to organ
ize Military Commissions or tribunals,
but this power is not commanded To
do it is merely pcrmissive, and is to be
used only when in his judgement it may
be necessary for the trial of offenders.
Even if the sentence Of Commission
were made prerequisite to the punish
ment of aparty, it would be scarcely the
slightest restraint upon the officer who
has authority to organize it as he pleases,
prescribe its mode of proceedings, dap.
point its members from his own subor-
dinates, and revise all its decisions. In
stead of mitigating the harshness of his
single rule, such tribunal would be used
much more probably to divide the re-
sponsiblity or making it more, cruel or
unjust. s, lf....lf.. f uefoaiH
Several provisions dictated by the hu-
manity Of Congress have been inserted
in the bill apparently to restrain the power
of the commanding officer But it seems
to me that they are of no avail for that
purpose. The 4th section provides,
lst. That trials shall not be unnecessari.
ly delayed. But think have shown
that the power is given to punish without
trial. and if so, this provision is practical.
lv imperative 3D. Cruel or unusual pun
ishments are not to be inflicted, but who
is to decide what is cruel and unusual
The words have acquired legal meaning
by long use in the Courts. Can it be ex-
pected that military officers will under
stand it and follow rule in language so
purely technical and not pertaining in the
least degree to theirprofession Ifnot,
then such officer may define cruelty nc.
cordng to his own temper, and if not
usual, he will make it usual Corporal
punishment, the gag the chain and ball,
and other almost insupportable forms of
torture invented ormiltary punishment
will be within the range of choice. Sd.
The sentence of commission is not to
be executed without approval by the com.
mander, if it affects life or liberty, and a
sentence of death must be approved by
the President This applies to cases in
which there has been a trial and sentence.
| take it to be clear, under the bill, that
the military commander may condemn to
death without even the form Of trial by n
military commission, SO that the life Of
the condemned may depend oh the will
Of two men instead Of one It Is plain
that the authority here gvon to the mill
tary officer amounts to absolute ,despot-
ism. But to make it still more unondu,
rable the bill provides that II may be dele;
gated to as many subordinates q. he
chooses to appoint for 1t declares che
shall punish or cause to be punished, =
Such q power has not been welded by
any monarch in England for more than
800 years. In all that timo no people
who speak the English language have
borne such servtudc, 1t reduces the
whole population Of the ten States, all
persons of every color, SEX and condition,