The Van Buren press., 1867-05-10


rules Of the ordinary law, with regard TO
admission and effect of evidence, were
acted upon; and perhaps there were no
tribunals in which justice was admins
tered in higher sense by the military
tribunals, which exercised jurisdiction
under the name of court martial.
MARTIAL LAW AS ArrLIED TO CIVILIANS.
If that was the law AS applied TO the
soldier, what was the law that should be
applied to the civilian2 A mutiny on
board ship might be put down at once
no one was to wait till crime had been
committed in order to bring il under the
cognizancc of law, but might put down
the attempt at once by the application OF
amy amount of force that might be neces-
sary but that was not martial law. The
question to be considered in this ease
was, whether the persons not actively en-
gagged, and who could not, therefore, be
killed on the spot, were to be subjected
to law which was entirely exceptional.
a notion having sprung up that there
was such thing rs martial law, distinct
from military law, the ruling Of Cope,
Hale and Blackstone had been much mis-
interpreted, those eminent authorities
never having dreamed of military law as
applicable to civilians. He had seen late
ly in print, to his unbounded astonish-
mcnt, that the Petition Of Right of the
time of Charles I, was of no efficacy be
yond the shores of this country, and that
it would have no application to the case
OF martial law proclaimed in Jamaica -
The individual who wrote that must have
entirely miscOnceived the character and
effect of this statute. .... .l...
II the petition Of right was applicable
to the question of law in England, it
equally applied to Jamaica. He very
much feared that it was what had been
done in the past during the proclamation
of martial law that had led to the extra,
ordinary notions that existed upon the
subject. 1t was well known that in the
time of Lord CORVALLIS excesses were
committed in the name of martial law
that were beyond the very shadow Of law.
For himself, he wanted some better au-
thoritlcs than those at his disposal to
satisfy his mind that British subjects
could be made amenable to jurisdc.
ton of this kind At times, whcnS the
standard Of insurrectiOn was raised, and
and the foundations of government were
shaken, extraordinary circumstances
might be resortcd to- but under no cir
cumstanccs should men be subjected to
trial for their lives unless the essentials
ofjustice were preserved IT might be
at times there were things of more i'm
portance than the suppression of tenn
porary disturbance, and chief was the
preservation Of those sacred principles
which were the eternal essence ofjusticc.
THE CASE OF GORDON.
MIR. Gordon was condemned aud exc
cuted upon evidence which would not
have been admitted before any properly
constituted tribunal, and upon evidence
which, if admitted, fell altogether short
OF establishing the crime for which he
was charged and executed. The fact that
it was thought desirable to get rid ofhim
was no justification for putting him to
death. He read the other day, with a
positive shudder, that it was ustifable to
send MIR Gordon to trial before court
martial because mischief had resulted
from what he had said and done, although
the result was contrary to-his intention.
If this was the principle upon which
his case was conducted, it was one ofthc
most lamentable mscarriages of Justice
he had ever known. Opinions in this
country were divided upon the whole af-
fair To some it appeared that the pro
longed martial law, the fearful number of
executions, and the dreadful torturcs,
never heard Of before, had brought a
scandal not only upon the perpetrators,
but upon the fair name of England =
Others thought it right to adopt any
measures to suppress an insurrcction, the
consequences Of which might have been
too horrible to relate. He should be
sorry not to do full justice to an absent
man, and he therefore expressed his be.
lief that there were circumstances which
made it case calling for the application
Of martial law, il ever there was one. lie
implored the jury to throw aside any
opinions they have formed on the case
The sole question was whether there was
Jurisdiction to proclaim martial law and
if so, was that law honestly carried out
In conclusion, the learned judge advised
them if they were in doubt, to allow the
matter TO come before another jury that
the questions of law, rs well rs fact
might be properly decided.
-~e~
PoLlTCs BEFORE BUSINESS. A gentle
man dcsirous of engaging a couple OF
hands for his plantation, spoke to two OF
our "colorcd fellow citizens busly en-.
gagged in doing nothing on apicr head OF
the levce'
." How long do you want us p said
No. = in answer to his question. ...I
About three months, fifty cents day
and found,' was the answer.
No. agreed to 60
"Whcn is you Uoinp,' said No. 9.