The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1867-02-09

u E9esSel Dotn parties are so /
lar as practicable, to be restored to theirfor- |
mer rights.
Both kinds Of propersg, says DIR. Philimore. |
THAT Is, public and private property are to !
be restored ia the same state in which they
were when taken, foz the word restitution =
implies that everything should be
replaced u its former condition. as It was
when taken = r
town is TO be restored in the condition it /
was when taken, as far as it still remains IL
that condition at the conclusion of peace.
But If the town has been seized or disman-
tied during the war, the damage that was
done by right Of arms IS buried in oblivion
by the act Of amnesty"
All prisoners Of war are to be exchanged
or released, and furnished with needGul sup
plies safe conduct to their respective eoun-
tries
Now, Jefferson Davis is a prisoner of war,
captured by the federal army, aud detained
as a prisoner IN a military fortress, under
the pretense that he Is to be tried for trea-
son. As well might the federal government
have detained any other captive taken IN the
war, and held him as prisoner, to be in
dicted and tried for treason, as jefferson
Davis Every man that voted for Davis to
be president of the Confederate States
every man that took up arms in support of
the Confederate cause, is, in. law. Just as
guilty as Davis himself
Gerrit5 Smith, in his letter to President
Johnson in July, 1865 put the question well
and strongly upon the authority of the
United States TO try Jefferson Davis crimiR-
ally. As well, said he. might the United
States, at the close Of the Mexican war.
have arraigned and tried Santa Anna for
treason as Jefferson Davis. lie was fully
sustained ia that conclusion by the authors
i have cited for the law of nations having
obtained jurisdiction and control of both
parties during actual war, it determines all
questions Immediately arising from the war.
Nothing can be more repugnant TO all sense
of honor and Of justice than the claim that
Mr. Davis Is a subject to be dealt with by
municipal laws FOR, / have shown that the
movement N which he was engaged was not
a mere rebellion, because the second section
Of tie act Of 1886, above cited, defines what
Is meant by a rebellion. Rebels do not nave
beligerent rights" they are, therefore,
subjects Of municipal law The law of ma
tions directs the proper mode of dealing with
rebels Crimes says Vattel (referring to
insurgents,) IN which large number Of per-
sons are involved, " are to be punished by
| penalties, which shall equally fall on ali par
I ties concerned Thus, the sovereign may
| deprive a town of her privileges, at least till
D
/ And If Continues the same authority there
existed no reasons to justify the Instruction
/ q circumstance which, perhaps, never hap
/ pens) even in such a case, 1t becomes neces-
1 6arY to grant an amnesty where the effend-
| ers are numerous When the amnesty is
once published and accepted, all the past
must be buried IN oblivipn nor must any
! one be called TO account for what has been
! done during the disturbances.
The flames of discord and civil war are
iinot favorable to the proceedings Of pure
and sacred justice" Indeed, the history
OF these times IS sufficiently stained with
mock trials and the blood Of political vic
tins. 1t marks an epoch in the history Of
the country, which only finds its fitting par
allel in the history Of the bloody assizes
IN England two hundred years ago-before
the law of nations had obtained its suprem-
aey. The law Of nations and the impartial
judgement Of mankind alike condemn the
times and execution of Sir Henry Vane Rus
| sell and Sidney, for the part they had taken
IN the English revolution of 1913. So toe
| VIII the judgement of the world condemn
as for holding Jefferson Davis as a pris-
oner during the pleasure of his capt0rs.
His trial aud conviction would FIJI the meas
ure of bis country's infamy His numer-
GUS followers would regard his death as that
of martyr. Every drop of his blood thus
/ shed would be likely to produce avengers,
and from his ashes would be kindled new
revolutions
But it is said by some persons on high au-
thority that treasons must be made obi
Gus, and that examples must be made OF
the ripg-leafers Of the rebellion. ! have
shown that the purpose Of Davis and his as
sociate5 was the establishment of an indie
pendent federal government; that in point
Of foot bar q 4
q government for upward of four wears and
that they were during all that time, recog-
nized by the United States England, France
and other European powers as belliger-
ent, and that consequently, the municipal
law, which defines and provides for the pun
lshmen5 Of treason, does not apply to the
case. therefore, the cry of the punish.
ment of Davis is the cry of the fools and OF
madmen.
The law Of nations and the statesmen of
the world, have wisely and humanely Judged
unsuccessful revolution to be a sufficient pun
ishment Of the revolutionary chefs, and the
dissolution and mproverishment of popula-
! tions and states with lives lost, cripples.
widows and orphans made a sufficient pun
| lshment for those who appeal to arms to dis
member their common country. The exc
| cution of Davis would furnish a more de-
sirable precedent for the dospots of Europe
/ to apply to the cases Of such revolutionary
chefs as Kossuth, Garibalda, and others
that may follow after them for by such is
! Europe to be liberated Having shown
that Jefferson Davis, in his capacity as the
civil cheif of great revolutionary move
ment, is not amendable to the municipal laws
/ Of the country for the part enacted by him,
his Imprisonment is therefore, arbitrary,
without even the color of law to sustain it.
But even If he was q lawful prisoner, and a
fit subject for the operation of the munich
pal law, then, every principal of that law
has been and is now being dangerously yio-
lated, by his prolonged imprisonment and
his denialof a hearing or a trial. a great
! people is always magnanimous to a fallen
4 foe; leaders Of factions, especially in unset
/ tied and turbulent times are generally re-
VengefuI and cruel Such was the charac-
ter Of the factions that alternately held sway
t in England from 1912 until 1858. The
same IS also true Of the different factions
that prevailed during the French revolution
Of 1889 the Jaekobines led By Robespire
and st. just, laid violent hands upon alliea-
Z q ! A. I