Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1867-06-29

protection is to be secured. This duty or
power OF protection is to be performed by the
suppression of insurrcction, disorder and vic.
Icncc, and by the punishment, either by the
agency Of the State courts, or by military
commissioners, when necessary of all disturb.
crs of the public peace and criminals: and il
is declared that all interference, under color
OF State authority, with the exercise of this
military authority, shall bo null and void.
INC next succeeding clause provides for a
speedy trial of the offender, fnrbils the inGic.
ton OF cruel and unusual punishment, and re.
| cures that sentences of these military courts
whlch involve the liberty or life of the ac.
cuscd shall have the approval of the command.
ing general, and as to a sentence Of death,
the approval of the President, before cxccu.
ton
All these special provisions hare reference
to the preservation Of order, and protection
against violence and crime. They touch no
other department or function of the civil nd.
m'nlstratlon, save only its criminal iurisdic.
ton, and even as to that, the clear meaning of
this Act is, that it is not to be intcrfcrcd with
by the military authority, unless when ne.
ccsslty for such interference may happen to
arise
| sec no authority, nor any shadow of au.
thomty, for interference with any other courts
IN the exercise of criminal jurisdiction. The
existing owl authority in all its other depart.
mchts--le!:islatlvc, executive and judicial is
clt untouched There is no provision, even
under the plcn Of necessity, to establish, by
military authority, courts or tribunals for the
tral OF civil eases, or for the protection of
such civil rights of person or property as come
within the cognzance of civil courts as con-
distinguished from criminal courts. In
, point OF fact, there was no foundation f,r such
4 grant ot power. for the civil rights Act and
the frcedmcn's Bureau Act, neither of which
is superseded by this Act, made ample pro
VISION for the protection Of all merely civil
rights, where the laws or courts of these
States might fail to give full impartial pro-
lection.
find no authority anywhere in this Act
for the removal by the military commander.
OF the proper officers Of State either cxccu-
tive or judicial, or the appointment of per-
sons to their places Nothing short of an ex.
"ppv,niouS q, sus y, Inc uioa, rsnoY-
There is no grant expressed or even implied.
On the contrary, the Act clearly enough for
bids it. The regular State officials duly elec
ted and qualified are entitled to hold their Of
ices. They, too, have rights which the mill
tary commander is bound to protect, not au.
thorizcd to destroy.
We find in the concluding clause of the
sixth section of the Act that these officials
are recognized, and express provision is made
| t" pcrpctuate them. It is enacted that an
nll elections to any Office under such provis
| ional governments, all persons shall be cnti-
tied to vote under the provisions of the fifth
section of this Act; and no person shall be
eligible to any Office under such provisional
governments who would be disqualified from
holding Office under the provisions of this
| Act"
| This provision not only recognizes all the
officers of tho Provisional Governments, but
IN case of vacancics, very clearly points out
how they are to be filled and that happens
to be in usual way, by the people, and not by
any other agency or any other power, either
State or Federal, civil or military
! !lnd 1t impossible under the provisions Of
/ this Act to comprehend such an official as
Governor of one of these States appointed to
Office by one of these military commanders
| Certainly he is not the Governor recognized
by the laws of the State, elected by the pco-
| pic of the State, and clothed as such with the
chief executive power. Nor is he appointed
as Military Governor for State which has
no lawful Governor, under the pressure of an
existing necessity, to exercise powers at large
Tho intention, no doubt, was to appoint him
to fill a vacancy occasiencd by military or
der, and to put him in the place of the re-
moved Governor, to execute the functions of
the Office as provided by law. The law takes
no cognizance Of such an official, and he is
clothed with no authority or color of author-
ty.
What is true as to the governor is equally
true as to all the other legislative, executive
and judicial officers of tho State. If the
military commander can oust one from his Of
fee, he can GUST them all. If lie can Eli one
vacancy he can fill all vacancies, and thus
usurp all civil jurisdiction into his own hands,
Or the hands of those who hold their appoint
mcnts from him and subject to his power of
removal, and thus frustratc the very right SC.
cured to the people by this Act. Certainly
this Act is rigorous enough in the power
which it gives. With all its severity. the
right of elccting their own officers is still left
with the people, and it must be preserved.
I must not be understood as fixing limits to
the power of the military commander in case
of an actual insurrcction or riot. Itmay hap
pen that an insurrection in ono of these States
may be so general and formidable MS to require
the temporary suspension of all civil govern
mcnt, and the establishment of martial law in
it's pie And tho same thing may be true
as to local disorder oryriot in reference to the
| civil 0overnmeut of tho citvi or nloco ,uloro