Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-03-18

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actual starvation, and my motive was to do
an act of charity and humanity, and miti4
gate the rigors of war. Reply-tsT he
Ilaws of war are paramount to motives of
/ G.. arity and humanity. Starving the citi
/ zens was resorted DIN order to conf pei the
!. auth critics to surrender; and you attempt
to counteract my measures and aid them
to proti act the siege = This instance of
Isingle act of an individual is given by
way of illustration. But when the act is
Idone under the authority of a wrongful
Government, which had subyerted the
lrightful State government and was in open
rebellion, whether it be done directly by
the government, or Indirectly through the
agency of its creatures, the wrongful
county authorities, the position that it
was done ''mcrely as act of charity and
humanity" and was not calculated to aid
the rebellion, carries the evidence OF falla-
cy on its face.
The act per Sc did aid the rebellion, and
its being done by the wrongful county an
thority, acting as part and parcel of the
wrongful State government, organized for
the avowed purpose Of sustaining the re-
bellion, tends the more strongly to fix it's
character. ......
The Court is not at liberty 10 shut its
eyes to the historical fact that furnishing
salt was not single act, but was one OF q
long series of acts, in aid of the rebellion.
NOSCituT q SOciiS.
The ordinances of the Convention of
1861, assuming legislative powers the
acts of the Legislature during the war,
and the acts Of the county authorities, all
follow out common purpose, to resist the
invasion. A military board is established;
appropriations are made to procure clothes
and arms for the soldiers; cotton cards,
medicine, salt. &c, for the people; boun-
ties are offered for volunteers; the powers
OF the county authorities are enlarged; the
counties equip volunteers and transport
their baggage to camp, take measures to
provide salt, &C., and give every assurance
that the wives and children of soldiers will
be cared for; in short, the authorities,
both State and county, strain every nerve
to ''reslst the invasion" Witness the
debt Of the State and counties accumula-
ted during the war
A change takes place. What was then
considered g resisting an INVASION" turns
out to have been s. aiding rebellion. -
Thereupon it is said, with seeming serious
ness, 6 certain Of these acts ought net to
have been entered as items under the head
of L" resisting INVASION" and should now
be transferred and posted as items under
distinct head, "cherity and humanity :"
for such acts were not calculated or intepd-
ed either to resist Invasion Or to aid rebel
lion, and did not have that effect !
See Texas as. White, y. S. Supreme
Court, American Law Revised. July 1869,
page 765. It is there held, ''the act of the
military board i'll applying bonds belong
ing to the STATE 10 pay for cotton cards
and medicine, for the use Of the people Of
Texas during the war, is void on the
ground that the purchase Of these articles
was act IL ii / of the rebellion and 80
the suggestion 50 that the purchase Of cot
ton cards and medicine was not d contract
IL aid OF the rebellion" but s. for obtain
ing goods capable Of use entirely legiti-
mate and innocent" the Court merely says
- VIC cannot adopt this view - ana refer
ence is made to the fact, that tie act was
done by military board. and w~3 Only
one OF series Of acts calculated to aid the
rebellion, for the purpose OF showing that
the question was too plain IT, admit Of dis
cussiNn.
There is another view Of the subject on
which his honor seems to have put his de-
cision. THE rightful authorities of the
county are under ne obligation TO pay
debt contracted by q set OF men who were
wrongfully exercising the powers of the
county and were engaged in open rebel |
lion"
20 meet this objection, the plaintiff re.
lies on the ordinance Il the Convention, |
18th October, 1865 secti III 4, 'sall the acts
and dOiDgs CT tha civil officers Of the State |
since Goth january, 1861, done under and |
by virtue of cay authority purportng to |
be y law OF The 5tate, which is consistent
with its aI!eSiauoe TO the United States
and with the Constitution OF the State |
shall be deemed valid, &c. The question |
is, was the Legislative act comforting power
on the Justices Of the county of Richmond |
to contract this debt, consistent with the
alleglaAco Ot the State to the government |
of the United States
no 10 ff,a Ioi1
The train of reasoning in the first view |
taken OF this case, applies with equal if not [
with more force to this and proves clear |
Iy, that the Legislative act purporting to |
be q law of the State under which the JUS
ticea contracted this debt, far from be- |
ing consistent with the allegiance of the |
State to the United States was in aid Of |
resisting theiuvasion of the United States
as it was then termed-in other words, in
aid OF the rebellion.
According to these two views to entitle |
the plaintiff to judgment he must satisfy
the Court both in respect to the innocence
OF the contract and that it was not calcu-
lated to aid the rebellion or intended to |
have that effect, and In respect to the leg
isiatlVe act under which the Justices de-
rived their power to borrow this money,
that 1t was also innocent ana was not cal
culaCd and intended to aid the rebellion
az" HiotI&CH LIe Struggle, upon winch
latter point the acts and d0ings of the
Convention 1861, and CT the Legislatures
following it during the war, bear perhaps
with greater force than upon the contracts
made by the Justices.
The question is against the plaintiff on
both points.
There is another view of this question.
The people of the State in Convention
Oct 1869 ordain: Gail debts incurred by
the State in aid of the late rebellion, di
rectly or indirectly, are void, and no Gen.
eral Assembly of this State shall have
power to assume or provide for the pay
ment of the same or any portion thereof"
nor to assume or provide for the payment
of any portion of the debts incurred di-
rectly or indirectly by the late SO called
Confederate States" or by its agents or
under its authority; ratified 10Th October,
1866.