Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1867-03-08
probably to divide the responsibility Of making

| justice, and the lnfiictlon ol cruei hhu u"usu''
puniShments, and make the approval OF the
President necessary to the inflcton Of sentence
. of death, vet il establishes pure military des-
! roti.m, and subjects the whole population to
the most ahject degradation and slavery.
The Message assumes that all the powers OF
| the Federal Government are derived from the
Constitution. and that whether tho Southern
States be in or out of the Union, they cannot
be governed in wny whi:h the fundamental
law forbids:
This proposition is perfectly clenr-that no
| branch of the federal government, executive,
| legislative, or judicial, cun have any just pow
! ers except those which it. derives through and
exercises under the organic law Of the Union.
Outside Of the constitution, we have no legal
authority moro ,hun private citizens, and with
in it we.hnv only SO much as that instrument
gives US. This broad principle limits all our
functions, and applies to ull sul.jects. 1t pro-
| tects notlonly the citizens Of States which are
! within the Union, but it shields every human
being who comes or is brought under our ju-
risdction. We have no right to do IN ono
+ place. more than another that which the con-
stiution says We shall not d" at all. ii, there.
! fore, the Southern States were in truth out OF
| the Union could not treat their people in
! way which the fundamental law forbids.
Some persons assume that the success Of our
! arms in crushing the opposition which was
made in some Of The States TO the execution Of
the Federal laws, reduced those States and all
their people, the innocent as we'll ns the guilty,
| to the condition of vassalsge and gave us
| power over them which the constitution does
not bestow, or define, or limit. No fullacy eau
; be more transparent than this. Our victories
subjected the insurgents to legal obedience.
not 10 the yoke Of all arbitrary despotism.-
When an absolute sovereign reduces his rebel
! lious sutecis. he may deal with them according
! to his pleasure. because he had that power be,
| fore. But when limited monarch puts down
| an insurrection, he must still govern according
to law. If an ineurrection should take place
in one Of our States against the authority Of
the State government and end in The overthrow
of thoce who planned it, would that tuke away
the tights of oil the people Of the counties
| where it was favored by a part majority
OF the populntionf Could they, for such q
reason. be wholly outlawed and deprived Of
their representation in the legislnturei l have
always con,euded that the government Of the
United States wah sover ign within it's const-
,utional sphcre; that it executed its laws, like
the States themselves by applying it's coercive
power directly to ind,vtdua's; and that il
could put down insurrection with the came
effect I'd State, and no other. The opposite
doctrine is the worst hercsy Of those who nd
| vocacd secession. and cannot DO agreed TO
without admitting That heresy to be right.
BY the terms Of the Constitution, martini
law can only he proclaimed in case Of actual
war, f"regn invasion. and domestic insurrec-
tion yet this bill is passed by Congress in time
Of profound peace. According to the recent
! decision Of the Supreme Court in the case Of
Miiligan Martial law cannot arise from
threatened invasion. The necessity must be
actual and present. the invasion real, sucl, as
efectually closes the courts and deroscs the civ
| il administration" We see that martial law
comes i'll only when actual war closes the courts
and Opposes the civil authority but this BILL
| in time OF peace, makes martial law oreIatc as
! though were in actual war, and become
the cause instead of the consequence of the abro,
gntion of civil authority. One more quotation :
1t follows. from what has been SAID on this
|
law can be properly applied If. in foreign
invasion or civil war, the courts arc actually
closed, and il is impossible to administer crim.
! nal justice according to law. Men, on the thea
tie of active military operation, where " ar re
ally prevails, there is n necessity 10 furnish
substitute for the civil authority thus over
thrown, to preserve the safety Of the army and
| and society, and rs no power is left but
the military, it is allowed 10 govern by martial
rule until the laws cnn hnve THAR free course e"
This hill denies TO the citz.n the trial by
jury. when the Constitution declares {" in slm-
pie. plain and unambiguous language that all
Persons shall have that right, and that no per-
son shall ever in any case he deprived Of it.
The Constitution also forLids the arrest Of the
citizen without judicial warrant founded on
probable cause, This bill authorizes m arrest
| without warrant, Mt the pleasure Of military
| commander. The Constiiuti declared that
no person shall be held to answer for q capital
! or other Infamous crime unless on presentmen ent
hy grand jury This bill holds every person,
not soldier, answerable for oil crimes and all
charges without any presentmant The Con.
stitution declares that no person s,nll be de-
privcd Of life. liberty or property without due
process of law This bill sets inside all process
Of law, and makes tie citizen answerable in bis
person aud property to The will Of one man,
and as to his life to the will Of two. Finally,
the Constitution declares TINT "the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus shall no, be sus-
pended unless when, in case Of rebellion or in
v"s'on' the public safety mny require it;
whereas this bill declares martial Iaw fv;;:cb
of itself suspends this grea, wri,) in time Of
peace and authorizes the military to make the
arrest. and gives to the prisoner only one priv
ilege, and Tint is a trial without unnecessary
delay lie has no hope of release from custo.
dy, except the hope, such as it is. Of release by
acquital before military commission"