The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-03-03
[rRoM OUR OWN ooRREspoNDENr. ]

[FRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.
COLOMBIA, 8. O., March 1.-The Charleston
Election bill was ratified to-day and presented
to the Governor for his approval. 1t is NOR
than probable that it will be signed to-morrow
The Governor, it is reported, has declared hi
determination to see the law enforeed. Ii
what way he>proposes to do it is not stated
Much speculation is indulged in as to wha
Mayor Clark will do, his friends still claimins
that Pillsbury and his supporters have onl,
succeeded in discovering an sgnis .faluis o.
"Jaok O'Lantern," or in the words CT one o
the members. 'sWiii " hats tie use OF giving th,
people bill if you don't give them provisions.
He wanted to see ''the provisions of the bill
carried out; the people are starving because
they don't get provisions"
Attorney General Chamberlain, who ha:
but recently arrived here from Charleston
leaves this city for Washington tomorrow. Il
is surmised by many that he goes for the pur
pose of looking after the patronage of Fedora
Offices to be distributed in South Carolina by
the new administration. 1t is known that he
carries q very large budget Of letters and ap-
plications with recomm sndations, each docu.
ment covering several yards or folios Of legal
cap, &c. All communications 10 him may be
addressed to Wizards, Washington, D. @.
The real object of his visit, however, is to at
tend to an argument in the case of the Gran
itevllle Manufacturing Company against Benia-
min Roper, late tax-collector Of Edgefeld Dis
trict The question involves the liability of
| the State to receive bills Of the Bank of the
| State at par for taxes. The case stands No.
265 on the United States Supreme Court
docket at Washington. motion will be made
| to take it up in connection with q case Of the
| State Of Tennessee on the same question.
which stands No. 160 on the same docket. It
| is believed the argument will be made between
the 9th and 10th of March.
| A very important case OF h0beas corpus was
heard to-day before Judge Boozer. Twelve
prisoners tried and convicted. by military COM
mission during the existence of the military
government in, this State, and who have been
lately returned from Fort Macon to the custo-
dy Of the civil authorities of this State, and
who are now undergoing sentences of military
commissions, were brought before Judge
Boozer, and motion made for their uncondi-
tionaI discharge.
| The prisoners we're represented by Messrs.
Rice Sloan, of this city, and the State by the
| Attorney General. The case was deliberately
argued on both sides. Counsel for the priso-
ners contended, substantially, that upon the
cessation of military rule in the State all SEN
| tonces imposed by military commissions he.
came invalid, and all parties detained in custo-
dy or undergoing sentences by authority of
military government were entitled to their dis
charges They contended that tho provisions
of the present constitution required a present.
ment by grand jury and trial by petit
jury, and the sentence OF the Judge. The pro-
visions not having been observed in the trial
| and conviction of these prisoners, they we're en-
/ titled to discharge s.
| The Attorney General argued that the pro-
vlslonal governments. established under the
| auspices Of President johnson and s,lbse-
quently vested in the commanding general of
this military district, derived it's only force aud
validity from the sanction Of the authority OF
| the United States Government; that if these
| prisoners were entitled to their discharge then
al persons undergoing sentence passed under
the provisional government, by q circuit Judge
and other civil officers. were clearly entitled to
ndee rnf a6 the
dation that the powers Of the military tribunal
did, to wit, upon the authority Of the United
states Government, which gave them all the
and impose sentences. The third section Of
| the Reconstruction act Of March 2. 1867 ex-
pressly enacted that commanding general in
protecting life and property, should allow the
when in his Judgment it became necessary. he
should organize military tribunals for that pur-
pose. In the case Of the prisoners at the bar.
| the, commanding general had decided that
| their cases should be tried by o military COM
mission. These military commissions were
| duly organized and proceeded to try and pass
sente9ces, and these sentences had been ap-
proved by the commanding general. The only
power which could now mitig ateor relieve from
these sentences was the Governor, in the exer-
| else OF his pardOning power.
| The Attorney General said he knew nothing
OF the merits OF the case, and cared notiiing
for the merits. so far as this al gument was con-
cerned, OF the cases Of the prisoners at the bar
| But he was anxious that no step should be
taken which would indicate that the present
State Government, which was tho result Of the
Reconstiuction acts, should now stultify itself
| by declaring that the steps which were taken
1 by Congress- were nugatory. This would be,
he said, the precise effect-the logical effect-of
| the discharge of these prisoners.
| Judge Boozer delivered carefully consid-
cred opinion, in which b he held that the views Of
the Attorneys General we're substantially cor
rect. He regarded the sentence imposed by q
military tribunal. during the existence of the
provisional government, as possessing the
same validity as sente~ co imposed by Judge
Moses as q, circuit or provisional Judge pos-
sessed. He called attention to The conse-
quences which must flow In all directions from
granting such motion as was now made In
behalf Of these prisoners. It would, he said,
unsettle all judicial proceedings under the pro.
visional government. \, ,ay
new one, but one which he had carefully con.
4 sidered, and one OF which he relt not the least
douet. The question Of the oonstitutionality
the Reconstruetion acts had not been raised
4 in terms, but he felt that granting the motion
now made would be tantam0unt to-, could
i onfy be sustained upon the ground thaS these
i acts were unconstitutional. Such d decision
wonld not only rslease .s these prisoners but