The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-02-03
A Great Lawsuit.
rta rx,sterce of the American Government Dc.
me hAlst nnon the Decision Of Repievin suit
81 p.nnohf for Yoke of Cattle Value sixty
.f.f sf,.- DrA~"s-'f-S9 four Dollars. -sts A1tt"
: .s.s 49, Editor of the Evening Post.

a'ttfUIt5 ttis5f 1Ouf UVtiaESs
rothe Editor of the Evening Post: ,c4f
Away back inoJ Johnson Reports Of
cases argued and determined III the Su
irene Court and the New YORK Court
Of Errors, may be found a cases now Gov
cred with the dust of half ceptpIy, hid
3. den in obscurity and forgotten by the
living men of to day, upon the final de-
ne cision of Which, the vitality and petlpar
ency OF the Federal government were de
.ssdpendents The title OF the caseJas argued
{adinthe Supaeme Court OF New York, IS
Mills VS.. Martin, and in the Court Of Er
rors is Mott VS.. Martin, and by the latter
t5i title it was heard and decided in the SUI
preme Court of the United States.
/. al In this now forgotten but important
case was employed on one sldeor the
@ other the most brilliant collectionof le-
gal talent ever gathered In any one cause
in this country ,a,..-r ayllj Wa "a
.- Thomas J. Oakley, who, with perhaps
the exception of Bushrod Washington,
was the most able ntsl prtus Judge that
ever sat upontthe bench the United
States; Elisha Williams one of the most
finished forensic orators that ever ad.
dressed jury; Thomas l.. falcott, then
Attorney General otaoNew York; Martin
Ivan Buren,, aflPrward President OF the
United States John Wells, OF New York
City, then the, most emlnent speciai
pleader at the bar; Thomas Adds En-
nett, Luther Martin, of Maryland; Ed.
'b3eward Pinkney. and William Writ, Attor-
81 .ney General of the, United States. And
all of these able lawyers were employed
ri on the one side to prosecute, and the
aa.other to defend, a repleyin suit brought
to recover the possession of d yoke Of
cattle of the valdeA Of sixty four dollars
but the future of the government its
ability to sustain itself, depended on this
yoke of oxen. st,csts,..sl.a,,-.,,e.s
During the war of 1879 the President
OF the United States had made a requisl-
tion on the Governor of New York for y
certain number Of militia men to serve in
the army of the United States. Tbs
Governor had ordered draft to fill the
gequisition. "a Some ofi the drafted men
refused to serve, and were tried by c"nr
martial, convicted and fined, V Martin,
the defendant IN the suit, was Deputy
United States Marshal. The process to
collect the fines was placed in his hands
for collection; under it he levied upon a
yoke Of oxen belonging to the plaintiff,
who brought writ of replevin for
the recovery of possession OF the cattle.
Martin justified and avowed the taking
to be lawful, and set up the Judgment OF
the court martial, the proceedings and
process under that judgment. re this
ayowry the plaintiff demurred ,al9 NOS
sb This demurrer was first heard lii the
Supreme Court of New York IN l 821, and
on the argument the plaintiff raised the
question that the act of the Marshall was
n IL IL ~ az
United States, uat3er the constitutional p0so-
ert0 call out the militia to Suppress apsur-
4iectlons etc., had no p0aoe7 to make a Tequis.
tt90D or to call ont troops IN any particular
State to SERGE qoithout the borders of that
State" and the decision of the court was
in conformity with this view-the
case went against the general govern
ment-the Judges affirming the doctrine
that the President had no power to call
out troops IN one State to suppress an in
surrection in another On appeal to the
Court for the CORRECTION of Errors, then
the highest court in New York the de-
casion was affirmed. dsu 9rf .a
This was State rights with vengeance
Ignoring the central power Of the Union
and destroying the whols,of its effective
force the States were constituted the
power beyond the throne, and the throne
was counted as naught but a to- and a
puppet in their hands. @tiss
This doctrine, applied to the condition
ofthe country at the time of the outbreak
OF the recent rebellion, would have ex-
ploded the whole concern in an hour.
Fortunately, the case came within that
provision of the law which authorized
appeals to the Supreme Court Of the Uni
ted States Such an appeal was taken,
and the cause heard before that tribunal
In 1927 and it was the unanimous judg-
ment of the court that the judgment of
the Court for the Correction of Errors of
New York, +" be Teuersed" Judge Story
delivered the opinion, and without in
any manner alluding to politics or the
political condition Of the country, but
combining his remarks purely to the ques
lions of law before the court, he estab-
hshed principle and fixed the right of
the general government to defend, pro-
tect and vindicate itself, so that neither
States nor individuals could overturn or
destroy it. GEo A. SHUFELDT, JR. rs
-sfa Co. -~~<N><-e-l 1919 4
cE an mn. i