The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1867-03-12

Une neTOcS VI AuctuOpOlG, VAC OFSl'
come. There. were no conditions at.
tached. to the surrender Of her armies
except the pledge ofhonor which hel
soldiers gave not to bear arms against
the Government of the United States
The conquering party acquired by
this decision of the highest tribuna
Of nations, the power to prescribe con
ditions for the other party. This
power they have used cruelty, re
morselcssly, without the least exhibi
ton of magnanimity. 1t is useless to
cite the well remembered proceedings
of our Conventions Immediately fol
lowing the surrender, at the instance
of President johnson. 1t is sufficient
to say that the controlling department
of his Government--the department
which really reflects the will Of the
stronger party-has emphatically re-
pudiated his policy and dishonored his
pledges. And in doing so, they have
prescribed other conditions to the
final settlement Of the difficulty and
the restoration of the South, which
are now the law of the land.
The people Of the North who have
opposed the Military Bill do not init
mate purpose to resist it. The
President who permitted it to become
law when he could have defeated it
by simple means, failed to do SO, not
withstanding his opinion of its enor-
mites; and he is preparing to put it
into immediate execution. But to the
Bill, there is affixed an alternative by
which the people Of the South are per-
mitted to rid themselves of the conse-
quences of its enforcement. They
can do SO by accepting the proposed
Constitutional Amendment
The practical question forou people
to decide is, which they will prefer
to be governed by Martial Law, adj
ministered to them from the seat Of a
Military Dictator, and executed by the
sword, or to accept the conditions
prescribed in the proposed Amend
ment. These are The two plans, and be-
tween them The people Of Tie South are
compelled to make their election. There
is no other alternative, except a resort
to arms, which of course no sane man
dreams of.
On the one hand, is MARITAL LAW,
which, according to all jurisconsults,
is the very essence and embodiment of
despotism. At the will of the Military
officers assigned to the command Of
the several districts" it means the
virtual deposing of all State officials,
the abrogation of all laws, the suspen-
sion of all civil tribunals, including
the right of trial by jury, and the de-
struction of every other safeguard for
the protection of the rights of person
and property. We cannot better de
scibe the law than to quote the
language of the President himself:
"The power" says Mr.. johnson, "given
to the commanding officer over all
the people of each State is that of
an absolute monarch. His mere will is to
take the place of all law. The law of the
States is placed under his control, and that is
completely displaced by the clause which de-
clares that all interference of the State au-
thority to be null and void He alone is
permitted to determine what are the rights
of person and property,
ut places at his free disposal all
the lands and goods in his district He
may distribute them without let or hind
rance to whom he pleases being bound by
no State law and there being no other law
to regulate the subject, he may make Grim
inal code of his own, and he can make it as
bloody as any recorded in history, OF he can
reserve the privilege of acting upon the i'm.
pulses of his private passions In each case
that arises he is bound by no rules of ev-
idence. There is indeed no provision by
which he is authorized or required to take
evidence at all. Everything is a crime
which he chooses to call SO, and all persons
are condemned whom he pronounces guilty.
"He may arrest his victims when
warrant, accusation or proof of prob
able cause. If he gives them a trial be-
fore he inflicts the punishment, he gives it of
his grace and mercy, not because he is COM
manded so to do
"If any State or Federal court presumes
to exercise its legal Jurisdiction by the trial
of q malefactor without his special permits
sion, he can break it up, and punish the
judges and jurors as being themselves mall
efactors. He can save his friends from jus
tice and despOil his enemies contrary to jus
tice 1t is also provided that he shall have
power to organize Military Commissions or
tribunals, but this power is not commanded
To do it is merely permissive, and is to be
NS~"NAs "ANh IA me- JuAhihbHt ~ may NC
necessary for the trial of offenders. Even If
the sentence Of "a Commission were made a
prerequisite to the punishment of party, it
would scarcely be the slightest restraint
upon the officer who has authority to organ
ize it as he pleases, prescribe its mode Of pro-
ceedings, appoint its members from his own
subordinates, and revise its decisions. In
stead of mitigating the harshness of his
single rule, such tribunal would be used
much moro probably TO divide the response
bility of making it more cruel or unjust
'Itisplain," continues the President, that
the authority here given to the military officer
amounts to absolute desPOtism. But 10 make il
still more uncomfortable the bill provides that
it may be delegated to as many subordinates
as he chooses to appoint, for il declares "he
shall punish or cause to be punished. Such
a pOrsr has Not been rielded By any monarch
ip England for more than 500 years. In all
that time no people who speak the English
language hare borne sHek serifude. IL re-
duoes the whole population of the ten
States, all persons Of every color, sex and
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