The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-10-16
Washington News.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15.-In the Su-
preme Court to-day tho argument on
the Yerger case was commenced by
Attorney General Hoar. Ho argued
at length that, to bring case within
the appellate jurisdiction Of this Court
In the sense requisite to enable it to
award a writ Of hdbedS Corpus. under
the judiciary act, it is necessary that
the commitment should appear to
have been by a tribunal whose deci-
sions are subject to revision to this
''rt. This Court has never granted
tn. writ, when the prisoner was not,
at the time he petitioned for it, IN
confinement under an order Of Court
whose proceedings can be revised by
the Supreme Court. This Court can
not exercise any appellate contract by
appeal, writ Of error or any other
proceedings over the military COM
mission, by virtue of whose sentence
the prisoner is Imprisoned, nor has
this Court power In any form or by
any procedure to revise the proceed
ings of that commission IN tho case Of
the petitioner. The addressing Of q
writ Of hdbedS corpus to the military
commander in Mississippi would be an
Jurisdiction. The military COM /
mander holds the petitioner, not un-
der any decree OF the Circuit Court !
but by military authority, and could /
discharge the prisoner at his pleasure,
Notwithstanding the action Of the !
Circuit Court. The hdbeds corpus issued /
with the certi0rdqi as an adjunct Of
the appellate power is eDly permitted /
where the custody Of the prisoner is |
an essential part of the Judgment or |
decree from which the appeal IS taken. |
The repeal by Congress of so much |
of the act of February 9th, 1867, as |
granted appellate power 10 this Court /
In eases Of this nature was intended, /
and should be construed, as taking /
away, not the whole appellate power /
in cases of hGbeGs corpus, but the ap- |
pellate power IN cases TO which that |
act applied. Finally, the act Of 1867, 1
providing for a military government |
in Mississippi, necessarily suspended |
the writ Of hG6eds corpus IN that /
State. which it was within the clear I
constitutional authority Of Congress /
to do.
Dir. j. NJ. Carlisle replied. He
said that. as a citizen, he confessed |
there was no means Of determining
what Congress might have intended 10 /
do, but it was certainly difficult to tell
when Congress had come into court
and seized upon the cause subsjRdieie, |
and strangled what might not have
been the intention; but. as lawyer,
it was easyto say what Congress real /
ly had done by applying the ordinary
rules of Interpretation, and by that
means he found that Congress-, by the
act Of 1868. had repealed only the
statute of 1867, which had given
special jurisdiction before the exist
enee of the 18th section Of the iudici-
airy act was unaffected by the repeal
ing act of 1868, and it was under the !
provisions OF that section that this
proceeding was instituted, and not
under the act Of 1861, as c0ntended bv
the Attorney General. He had heard
no argument which had In the least
shown that this court was without
jurisdiction under the judiciary act, |
aud he would be inexcusable in long |
OBTAINING the court IN insisting upon 1
a jurisdiction which it bad reiterated |
and reafhrmed time and time again.
Mr.. Carlisle spoke briefly, without |
notes, making the argument OF the
AlLOLuST OEuCAa a Ai4C bfASAS u ---'
marks. The excitement at FIRST
caused by this proceeding. seems to
have greatly subsided, but few spec
tators having sat out the argument.
To-day the venerable Thomas Ewing,
of Ohio, was present until the argu
ment closed. and appeared much in
terested. Upon the conclusion of the
argument th3 Court adjourned until
Monday.
On motion of the Attorney General,
Walbridge A. Field, OF Massachu-
setts, was admitted to the bar. Mr.. |
Fields holds the position Of Assistant
Attorney General.
The customs receipts from October |
1st to the 9th, inclusive, were S4,679.. !
706.
WAsHINeFoN, October Is. - The
President and party left Frederick
this morning for the Antietam battle
field They travelled over the noun.