The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-03-28

ty of Missouri and Maryland, and the on
fer portions of Ohio are samples OF : la1-
for IF the war had been between % reg = y.
lor Governments. both of which surSlVeu ln9
war the victor in the treaty OF peace W." 49,
REQUIRE the vanquishcd to pay an s SUI 1rar
ages rs well as all the expenses OF .he thew
IF neither had conquered tne och bear
Ill ,,roI,ably be silent, and eacn a.
Wout Eonoress is debating the
terms of peace If she does not Iii be
.IinlS ~ rrr;torious claimants, she WI, De
hound in honor to pay them OUT VI In 1;1,;du-
tional Treasury. If she does not ln!t, , lie
ais will be wronged and the the Nat. 1 o
honored. This bill is very merciIui to" va.
- cruel outlawcd belligerent who, when t'leia
ar u,Ss,' were dispersed, would gladly have
| COMPROMISED if their lives were saved. lhoso
Who will be affected by this bill Will NOT e eX
coed 1000 out of 4 population OF 0'ooo,ooo
! of whites. for this is people OF arlstocra's
and subiects-of proud nobility ana
crineing, poor peasantry. Those Io,uOo Pc
sons own about 100000 600 acres OF lalio
out of the SOC, 900 in the Confederate
States. This, together with the Town d Prep o
erty. cannot be worth less than Slo,ooo,ooo'-
| 600. This estimate includes no mans prop
erty who was worth less than $4,000; nor
does it include any personal properly
which may perhaps swell it to 12,Ooo,ooo,-
600. The fine proposed would be but one
twentieth of their estates. Were ever SUCH
great malefactors SD gently dealt with :? 1t
were well if all their large estates could DE
subdivided and sold in small tracts. No
people will ever be republican in spirit and
practice where few own immense manors,
and the masses are landless Small indie
pendent land-holders are the support and
guardians of republican liberty. But it is
said that very many of these men have been
pardoned by the President, and their forfeit
ed estates restored to them. l must take
the liberty to deny that any pardon, or any
other power vested in the President, can
withdraw these forfeited estates from the
confscation decreed by Congress. Nothing
from the United States and bestow them up
on the pardoned beligerents. No one de-
mics that the President possesses the pardon
ing power. This power is conferred on the
Chief Executive for wise purposes, to cor
rect the errors and mistakes of courts, and
imperfections OF human laws. Bacon says,
" The power of pardoning otfenses is inse-
parably incident to the Crown, and this
high prerogatiye the King is entrusted with
upon special confidence that he will spare
those only whose case, could it be foreseen,
the law itself may be presumed willing to
have expected out of the general rules
which the wisdom of man cannot posi-
bly, make perfect as to suit every
particular case" &c Bac, 1881 How well
the President has adhered to the object Oh
this high prerogative Others must judge
The special pardons granted cannot indeed
be over 1000 of the subjects of conf.cation
The pardons are granted for the crime o.
treason. shall not question that such par
dons may be pleaded in bar of any prosecu-
tion for treason, and save the traitors prop
erty from the forfeiture which results from
the conviction of that crime. But the act
Of July II, 1862, under which these forfeit
ures arise has no reference to treason Except
the four first sections, under which we do
not ask the action of the Executive) 1t de
clares the property of certain belligerents,
enemies of the United States, subject to seiz-
ure, and orders it to be appropriated, as enc
mics property, to the service of the United
States Government In perfecting the for
fixture. it does not pretend to prosecute the
owners for crime, but treats their property
as that of any enemy who was captured as
lawful prize. How can the President by
pardon restore the property thus vested in
the United States !? Suppose the delinquent
were an alien enemy, and rs such his prop
erty or land was ordered to be seized by act
of Congress Could the President dispense
with that law by his sovereign power and
arrest the forfeiture in its transit to the
Treasury? The belligerent has been guilty
of no crime as bellgerent of which the Ex-
ecutive could absolve him. Neither the war
is in the President. The power to declare
war is vested in Congress alone. The pow
er to make peace rests with the President
and the Senate. The power to dispose of
the property of conquered people is vested
in the sovereign law making power the ma
ton, which in this republic is Congress A
King of England once claimed and exercised
the right to dispense with an act of Parlia-
ment. But the Parliament indicated its
rights, and by an act q VS., I'D declared
all such pardons and charters void, and that
no " dispensation by non abstante of or to
any statute or any part thereof be allowed"
Have we the courage and the virtue of our
British ancestors? But at the most the par
dons extend to but $4,000 out of 10000
wealthy belligerents. While there isnot the
least pretence in law that the President, by
pardon or otherwise can wrest this property
from the Government, yet it is melancholy
that the Executive should confederate witt,
traitors and by his own act and on his OWL,
individual responsibility attempt to take
billions out of the Treasury of the United
States to enrich bloody traitors; to impose
burdens on the loyal men who risked life
and property to save the nation, that fawn-
ing rebels might live in affluence and gorify
him. But even if all those now pardoned
were beyond our reach, there are still sever {.
al thousands who were not shielded by these
potential charters. That will suffice for the
small sum which this bill requires. While
all must mourn over the melancholy specta-
Gle of the attempted robbery of loyal men
and the suffering relations of the martyrs of
liberty, by one who should be their guard
ian, let u. deal fairly, and place the respon-
sibility where it justly belongs. Andrew
Johnson, before he was President, held a.
we have seen, the following language. In a
speech already referred to, made in the sum-
mer of 1864, he said:
'Why all this carnage and devastation It WAS
that treason might be put down and traitors
punished; therefore l say that traitors should
take back seat in the work of reconstruction
mo ''restoration' then] 1 say the traitor has
ceased to be citizen, and in joining the rebel
lion has become public enemy. lie forfeited
his right to vote with loyal men when he re-
nounced his citizenship and sought to DESTROY
our Government. [Then there was no being in
The Union, and entitled to equal rights. ~
met no do o5i =