The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-13
The Argument in the Injunction Case

nc argument IN the injunction case
THE Supreme Court yesterday listened to an
argument on the Mississippi injunction case.
The motion for leave to file the application was
discussed by Attorney General Stanbery for
the Government, and Robert J. Walker for the
so-called State of Mississippi. The whole argu-
ment turned upon the preliminary point,
whether a bill which purports to make An
drew Johnson defendant as President of the
United States, and to enjoin him in the execu-
tion of his duties as President should be
allowed to be fled in the Supreme Court. The
Attorney General made powerful address, in
which he maintained that the President of the
United States could not be brought before the
Court as defendant for any purpose what
ever. He called up the history of the Burr
trial. in which the Court, by subpoena COM
manded President Jefferson to come
before it as a witness and pro
duce a certain paper. Jefferson paid
no attention to the subpoena or to the Court.
He simply wrote a letter to the District Attor-
ney, in which he stated that he could not
conceive how it was that, under such circum-
stances, the Court should order him to go
he did not propose to go; but he said to the
District Attorney that there was no difficulty
in obtaining the paper in a proper way, but
he would pay no respect to the subpoena.
Thereupon Colonel Burr himself moved for
compulsory process to compel the President
to come. OF course that was legitimate; if
the Court, in saying that the President was
amenable to subpoena, was right, the Court
was bound, at the instance of the defendant,
to follow it up by process of attachment, to
compel obedience to its lawful order. At that
point, however, the Court hesitated, and not
step further was taken towards enforcing
he doctrine laid down by the Chief Justice.
Mr.. Stanbery said the President was above
the process of any Court, or the jurisdiction of
any Court, to bring him to account as Presi-
dent. He was amenable only to the process of
impeachment before the Senate, and could
not be tried even for the commission of mur-
der until he had first been impeached and
removed from the Office of President.
He also stated that the President would
obey no order issuing from the Court to
appear before it as a defendant, but would
treat the subpoena as Mr.. Jefferson did in the
case of Burr.
He then went on to trace what would be the
inevitable result in a case like this if the
Court had power to bring the President before
it. They might commit him for contempt,
and then imprison him at will, as no writ of
habeas corpus could release him in that case.
The President would thus be incapacitated
from filling his Office, and that would be
equivalent to his removal.
Mr.. Stanbery stated, in closing, that he ap-
peared there by the appreciation, advice, and
instructions of the. President And he said, in
defense of the President, that, although the
gentlemen in their bill had said that he had
vetoed these acts of Congress as unconstitu-
tional, when the President did that, he did
everything that he intended to do in opposition
to these laws. From the moment that they
were passed over his vetoes there was but one
duty, in his estimation, resting upon him, and
that was faithfully to carry out and execute
these laws. He had instructed him to say
that, in making this objection, it is not for the
purpose of escaping from any responsibility
either to perform, or to refuse to perform.
Robert J. Walker replied to the argument
advanced by the Attorney-General, maintain
ing that the President was amenable to the
Supreme Court and averring that if the Court
should issue its mandate declaring an act OF
Congress to be unconstitutional, and restrain
ing the President or Secretary of War, or any
of the officers of the army or navy, from
the execution of that act whoever should
resist that mandate of the Court by force
would be guilty of treason.
The Court held the matter under advise
ment.
The Adjournment of the Senate.