Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-06-07
The Attorney Generals OPP nf o n-The
Chronicle Urges tho Military Command
ers to DisreGa ard it.

The Attorney Generals OPT nfon-The
Chronicle Urges the military Commands
ers to Disregard it.
The following is the leading editorial in
a late issue of that dirty Stevens Radical
sheet, the Washington Chronicle:
This document, evidently written under
the influence of those political predilec-
tons SO frankly avowed by the Attorney
General in the Georgia injunction speech,
is another evidence that the right of inter
preting the law is as important as the right
of making the law. 1t was the demonstra-
ton of this fact, and the advantages gained
by the ruling class in ancient Rome from
the skillful Interpretation of the law in their
interest, that caused advocates to be held
in such high esteem among them. The
Attorney General, as member of an Adj
ministration politically opposed to the OBJ
iects sought to be accomplished by the re-
construction acts, has purpose to sub
serve and if the Generals in the South
shall act in accordance with his opinion,
his purpose will be subserved. 1t is true
this is but an opinion of one lawyer, and he
an avowed enemy of the law, with party
predictions, personal interests, ana Adj
ministration prospects all involved IN NULL
flying the same to the greatest possible ex-
tent. Under such circumstances, the in
genious sophistries whereby he arrives at
conclusions which palpably negative the
positive requirements of the law should be
set down for what they are worth the let
ter of the law itself compared with the let
ter of his opinion-the bane and antidote
set side by side-and the plainly expressed
meaning of the law should be acted upon
by those who have to administer it, and
who, having taken an oath to do so, must
be answerable to their own consciences and
to the country for its proper fulilment.-
We cannot accredit to either of the COM
handing Generals less saga city or less
knowledge of the meaning of plain Anglo
Saxon terms than is possessed by the Attor-
ney General.
Instead of endeavoring to make plain
any obscure provisions of the law, the At
torney General has, by unnecessary YER
biage, rendered obscure that which is plain
enough when unexplained by him. His
argument is like that OF an atheist upon
the doctrine of q great First Cause-it adj
mits nothing, but assumes the most posi-
tive features of the congressional enact
ment to be meaningless, and by whole
sale negative endeavors to throw the bur-
den of proof upon the side which willed
the law into existence.
This opinion is, of course, hailed by the
cohorts of rebellion with shouts of delight
The men who saw in the law when passed
nothing but usurpation and outrage con-
graduate each other as they did when At
tOrney-General Black told the President
that there was no power to coerce a seced-
ing State. We do not wonder at their re-
ioicing, for the barrier which is interposed
against the disfranchised classes is reduced
by the AttorneyGeneraPs opinion down
to the very fine spun cobweb of a traitors
oath. at is impossible to resist the conclu-
sion," says this learned Theban, "Mm The
oath is the sole and only test Of the Qualifca-
ton Of the applicant" This is seized upon
as the gold button at the bottom of the
alchymist's crucible ; all the rest are sweep
ings. This is the point in favor of which
all the administrative philosophy was
brought to bear, for experience in Mary
land and elsewhere had already taught
them that the disfranchised would swear to
anything to recover their forfeited power
The moral of this conclusion is thus set
forth by our antediluvian neighbor, who,
discarding the higher law OF the conscience,
looks with practical eye only to the i'm
possible punishment for perjury by South
ern jury cit is, therefore, matter of
the gravest concern to each citizen to as
certain whether he can laoCfuHy take the
oath, and thus aU0id Tie penalties 0fpes'-
jury" If they be all that stop the way,
our neighbor need not fear. We will will
hngly guarantee the whole population of
the ten States against any penalties of
perjury" under this bill for the amount of
honey i'll bees bag.