The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-05-31
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OPINION,


friends.
THE ATToRNEY-oENERAL OPINION.
II is almost impossible for us to follow the
involved processes by which tho Attorney
General arrives ut very doubtful conclusions.
~ am not prepared" ..nor am prepared" to
give positive opinion, seems TO be the rofrain
with which most of the paragraphs of ingeni-
Gus logic end. . t..
The two questions which have by fur the
largest practical interest are, Of course: l..
Who are executive md lpdisis' laGfny0rreo-
| Con or rebellion, aud giving ud and comfort
Now rs to tho latter, ii is unquestionably o
| correct conclusion that person who gave aid
anu comfort 10 the enemies of the United
States in the war with Grent Britain of 1912,
or in the war with Mexico in 1847, il lisqunli-
fed, but for all practical purposes the Al
ternoy- General might AZ well huvo gone on
and trld us whether the members of the Hart
ford Convention were disqualified or NOT. we
| b.livro that there arc two or three Of TINT
venerable generation of Fedcralists still totter-
| ing down the hill in knee brccehcs and silk
stockings, and they may really feel an interest
in the question whether they can hold Office
under tho Reconstruction Act.
Tho Attorney General takes the position,
which We think inprcguablc, that "whcn IN
iusurrection,by its continuance and power, tnkes
The form of de .facto government, and pres.
cribcs and cniorces laws over The people within
its territory, individual rights and obligations
undergo an inevitable modification. and Tho
ri,Ltfui and dsplRccd authority when it comes
| asa,n into place, must, in n measure, mccOnmo-
ae its action TO circumstances, and consider
many things ns rishifuliy done, which in mere
insurrcction would hnrc color of legality"
The principle is sound enough, hut how MS to
the application Upon what principle does the
| Attorney General hold TINT " conscript" is not
disqualified hut that the Mnior-Grncral who
eoiurnands him is Are they nu, both forced iu,o
service by the law Of the de iteio government
Is The mere atacri,y with which what is admitted
TO be hin,liug law is obeyod. sufficient dstinc-
ion. and if 90, why il not the test to lie pushed
| irtiisr uni the respective spirit with which
Two ronscripts may have discouraged their du.
tics, DO made The, test Of disqualification: The
truth IL, upon tho Attorney u encrars principle,
] tho whole population OF the South were con-
1 scrip,cd, for the lnw Of the land male II tho
duty of all men between certain ages 10 serve
in the army. an,l the man who volunteered" ;"
| and the nun who wnitcd unit, he WIS sent for,
were doing precisely the same thing, obcying
the laws Of the dr facio government which con-
trolled them. II judgment Is binding in
law and has been rendered., the payment is in
nocent whether made by the debtor himself or
actually enforced by tho Sheriff. ., saT..l
Is surgeon Of the army disqualified, or is
he saved by the following generality: "The in
tcrests of humanity require such officers for
The performance Of such oficiul conduct in time
ofwnr or insurrecton, as we'll nB in times Of
peace. and the performance Of such duties can
| never bc considered criminal.": Morally orimi-
nal. certainly not, but whether Legally
criminal is the question which tho general
principle appealed TO docs not solve, uuless Its
force bo admitted to much wider extent tfidi
] tho case itself. 50 '''"-
has son consoriptc4 According to the
Attorney-Gencral he is not disqualified: but
suppose the father furnishes horse for that
son to join the cavalry, is this giving aid .ana
comfort !? ..'a ....it5..~.,' ss. ..irs q, J..
So with the investment in Confederate loana.
Is the. voluntary purchase of confederate bonds
included And il 80, what special aid was rem
dered by the conversion of Confederate curren:
cy into Confederate bonds7
The fact il, and the obncurity of this opinion: ::
is perhaps the most striking of illustrations,
that the Reconstruction Act was based upon
principles 30 repugnant TO right aud jystiop
Tint any attempt 10 correct its fundamental
wrong by principles of correct legal interpre!.
tntion. only makes confusion worse con.
founded. .-......- :H.s. Il
With regard to who nre 10 be considered ex-
ccutire or judicial officers of The Stale, Il is
scarcely worth while to follow the opinion.
There are certain officers whom the Attorney
General thinks disqualified, about whom no.
body has ever felt doubt; while, as to tho
doubtful, the Attorney. O General Is not yet pre-
pared to decide. We suppose the most latitudi-
marian construcr of tho Act, never supposed
that it included Commissioners of the Poor,
Commissioners Of the Roads, &c.,-upon which
cnscs tho Attorney General iB as clear as I'VE,
nrc. As to the realy doubtful cases, the At,
'o'n'J "~----- ~ - nm nhstroc, All
NO will initiate Ills example and wait aIso
While We cannot profess TO be satisfied with
the opinion, we recognize fully thut the diff
Guilty has nriscn from the fncL that tho views Of
the Attorney eneral ns to what is law and
right, differ essentially from the prcccpts upon
which the law itself il based. =
~ --H-~-@e ,i.
sIASo, wo boliove, is moro infectious than yel-
low fovcr or cholera. Thoro are 'proydntives, cor
taiuly, but tho pro"hynctios arc 30 rarely taken in
sufficient timo, OF adequate doses, that fei, ro-
main entirely FREQ from tho faint Of this noisomo
plague. Wion taken in hand early, bircli bark
(the woody part not entirely remored) is said to |
be very offlcncious. There Is aomothiDg fatally
alluring to the youthful mind in tho rush light |
brilliancy OF slang It s such q oheap end easy |
species OF wit. Truo, II has the sombIanco Of wit
OILY to the ignorant and the ally but thoy deen, |
thesopaste boads truo diamonds, and readily nd. |
miro and adopt the vocabulary thus made TO thoir I
hrnds. Tncro havo boon many attempts Of Iato
by our best scholars and writer's to stem this cur-
rent, and numerous treaties have boon written re-
fnEi f,;noe n, IL,