The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-11-07
The Principles of the ate War.
ADDRESS OF JUDGE RICHARDSON.

ADDRESS OF JUDGE RICHARDSON.
The following address was delivered by judge
RICHARDSON in the District Court of Berkeley DIS
irict.:
Under tle law OF South Carolina it was made my
duty at the last term to draw Jury to try causes
at this term, and accordingly this was done. Be
fore the venre was issued military order ap
peare requiring that all jurors to serve in future
should b. drawn only from those persons who were
assessed for and had paid tlxes and were regis.
tered voters" have not been able to provide Q
copy otthe registered voters, but have conformed
to the order as far as it was practicable, by draw
ing his jury from the lists of tax payers recently
furnished this Court. These lists contain as al
arc aware, q number of persons, freemen and Freed
men, who, under our laws, If in force would be ex-
cluded from the jury box. So few Of these persons
however, have paid any tax (property or capita
tom that not one has been drawn. But the pane
Jurors on that account, is not the less illegal iii
illegal at ally, nor would it be any more illegal if
nalf or the whole of the jury were composed Of the
persons excluded under our laws. The illegality,
if it Exists, consists in the military usurpaton Of
power over the subject matter and an inter erence
with and alteration Of the law in even the most in
significant particular. The military order alluded
to is an exercise Of the powers conferred by the
three Acts Of the Congress Of the United States
(known u der the missioner Of the Reconstruction
Laws on tho commanders OF the military dis
tricts into which the late Confederate Sta tes have
been divided.
The passag of the last and Supplemental Act
Of the 18th Of July 1867 plainly and explicitly de-
MOS the existence of any legal civil government
in South Carolina; and as plainly and explicitly
subjects the provisional government" (Which
was the creation OF executive power), 'in all re.
spects," to the paramount and unlimited power OF
4 military government. No honest man, of fair
understanding, rests the validity and binding
force Of this act on It's costGaionalty. It is ad-
mitted by the chiefs of those who passed 1t, that
they are 'camped outside the Constitution" and
they set up a right, heretofore confined to say
ages and barbariGns, 10 be governed by no law,
but their own will, or, in other words, by hate and
interest Except theoretically, and to acco lplish
a purpose for the advancement OF some unfinished
Radical scheme the Constitution Of tho United
States has had no existence in South Carolina. No
citizen CT this State can be said to derive single
right or privilege from lt-as he appeals to it IN
vain for any protection Of his rights. There is no
single right or immunity guaranteed by it. though
enjoyed by every citizen OF the North, which is
not denied to every citizen of the South.
The executive, judicial and civil officers of South
Carolina, elected in this manner and by the au-
thority prescribed by what was deemed tn fun
damen al OF the State, exercise their functions
by permis ion OF the Military Lomman er; hold
their Offices at his pleasure, and may at any mo-
ment be deprived o. Office aud superseded by his
appointees. And. from THIS, 1t is equally plain
and certain that Solth arolina has no Consttu-
ton which Is operAtift er pf0priD uigore. That
instrument nay be revoked by one citizen and its
protection craclously accorded; and then by
another citizen and it may BIZ wen capriciously
refuse . All rest nS on the discretion OF the Null
tary Commander.
When the new Constitution Of South Carolina
was put III operation, and the electlons had taken
place under it. it was expected (because 1t was 80
represented on all sides) that nothing moro was
necessary to complete restoration Of the civil
power over all m itter5 hereto. ore oognZable by
the State authorities, than to extend the protec-
ton OF the lIw to me manumitted negroes equal
IL with the whites. This being done, civil juris-
diction was attempted to be assumed over all
urestions of persou and property. But this
proved to be delusion and snare. Every one
is familiar with the multiplied instances OF the
recognition OF South Carolina as State, by the
President by Congress and the judiciary OF the
United States. The Commanding General OF this
Military District announced in General Orders No.
15 October 1st, 1866 as follows: The OWL Courts
CT the United States for South CaroGnI are open
and all cases Of which they have i-gal cognlzanc
the State OF South Carolina are declared by law to
be open 10 all persons. ALI Co., es, civil and crImi-
nal, Ill which he parties are civilians. Will be
turned over to the judicial tribunals OF the State
having 1utl6ulctlOU UI lD6 buiilc.
Provost Courts will be discontinued in the several
Districts az soon rs District Courts shall be or
eanized therein" Long before the promulgation
Of TINS general order tho United States District
judge for South Caroll4a had, in CostelIos case
and subsequently in John Lewis case, decided
that uudor Acts OF Congress, and under the
proc q nations OF Presidents Lincoln and Johnson,
and the additional fact that the Courts OF the State
wcre open, q status Of legal peac, had been at
tanned and our Q tiEens were restored TO all the
rights OF the onstltution, including that OF the
writ of hdb as corpus, and the safeguards to llfe
liberty and property, secured by the Constitution
aud the jmmon law" On ths meeting OF Con-
gress III 1866 and 1867 it was made obvious that all
previous proclamations, resolutions, declarations
and enactments were so many cheats and decelts
They had served their purpose, however. But
something more was now required by the ascend
ent Radicals. TO affect what they wished they did
not hesitate to shift the ground upon which they
had assumed to stand throughout the war up to
that time. They undertook to treat us as con-
quered people. They denied that South Carolina
was State, and one OF the United States. They
no longer claimed thai an usu' recttoa or re ealom
had baen put down but that q people had been
,odrred .pon by III, m and subjugatl d, and to that
responsibility before mankind let them he Ill mly
held. They assert the right o. conquerors, there
fore, to make laws for Us; and they have mrde
those laws. We do cot live q this day under any
ono law Of our own creation. All the vitality Of
existing law emsnates from and is impaired by
military authority.
The people Of the Southern States believed they
had the inherent right to separate from the peo-
pie OF the Northern States. Ruled as both North
and West and East were, by parry which mad it's
existence exclusively III those sections, and was,
therefore, dIstinctively set up as sectionaly anita
gonistic. We believed then, and believe now, that
this right was demanded to be exercised, and was
lawfully, justly and properly exercised, This right
to separate and form government for ourselves
was denied by the North, notwithstan1in their
Hartford Convention teachings, the Massachu-
setts Legislative proceedings on the admission Of
Texas, and the uniform opinion OF the leading men
of the Eastern and Middle States. The North or
rather the East (lor it is that Puritan section
alone)-the source OF all that Is lntermeddling,
misch. .ef-making, sc opinlonated, selfish an un-
scrupulous-the .ane Of the Government from the
days OF John Adams, and to the present un-
principled Radical rule Of Butler and Sumner
the East, the eZcsicn OF which section from this
Federal Union is much demanded for Its peace
and preservation: as the amputaton of diseased
limb from sound body;)-the East, and through
bibed its corrupted llterature), pronounc-
ed It treason to resist the continued sway
Of hostl!e majority, whose avJwed purpose
| was to stir up usurrection in our sisve popua-
ton, and destroy the property which their ances.
| tors had brought from AFRICA to our shores and
sold TO us, and for whose existence, as slaves in
America, We OF the South were no more respon-
| slbls than Norwegians ar Lapanders. In no pro-
per sense can it be said that any principle was in
volved in the recent conflict except the right Of q
Southern gentleman to hold tho property which 6
| O \ ankee Negro-trader had sold to him.
Believing that South Carolina had right tc
secede; believing that the war wagcd upou hel
was unjustifed by any law, preoept, OF principle
promul ed O. recognized by God or civ lzed man
am, nevertheless, sensible OF, and admit an,
avow the Fact, that she has been invaded. overrul
| aud Conquered. A sovereign and independen
people have bssn warred upon and conquered ",
do not make laws, therefore, but receive them.
To this military dominion have submitted. It
tyranny, l trust, will not become such that ree
can only be found in he exoedeIt OF tn BRAY
Saxons to awe their Norman conquorers into
sense OF justice and recognition OF their rights
The German Army.-Count Bismarck OF
the Military Situation.
In the North German Parliament, on The 18th,
debate took place upon the bill respecting liablit