Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1870-06-03

vast sums of money, or great legal
principles: perhaps trying some GRIM
inal; and In the midst of that trial an
order comes from the President TO the
judge to go to such place and by
the action of this bill that court must
stop all its proceedings; that prisoner
must be remanded 10 Jail; this great
rights must be held In obeyeance; and
the judge must obey this order and
must go to some place where the Presl-
dent thinks some offense "likely to
be committed" He must go there to
try an ofiense not yet committed. He
must go there TO try n criminal not yet
found. He must go there to try a
prisoner, nobodies knows who. He
must surrender his freedom, his indie
pendence, his rights as q judge, and
make himself the tool the slave Of the
executive department of the Govern
ment. And must remain, as long as
the President chooses, TO the entire ne
glect OF all his official duties. The
President can make the courts stand
still in any or every State In the
Union.
Sir, Is It possible to imagine anything
more calculated TO make the judiciary
not what it was intended to DO, what It
is, what ltshould be, Independent, up
right, and free, but the perfect slave OF
the President2 BY this section he can
order any court In the land at any time
away from its place of meeting; he
can arrest any proceeding before It,
and In that way Interfere and set aside
and abrogate all the action Of the ju-
dietary and to do all that, not to try
a man, as have before said, for an of
Tense committed not to try man for
what has been done, but to be ready
to try him for offenses " likely to be
committed" The section does not pro-
vide that before this is done the offense
has been committed; but If from an
Onymous letters, irresponsible tele-
grams, street rumors, or anything of
that sort, he has reason TO believe that
somebody in some place in the United
States Is likely to violate this law, Ia
likely to try to keep some man there
from voting, Oh such a suspicion as
that the freedom Of the judiciary is to
be broken down, the independence of
the courts destroyed, and the free adj
ADMINISTRATION of justice interfered with.
But, sir, the twelfth section contains
features equally Objectionable. 1t pro-
vides-
That u ,shhll DO lawful TOT the frcfident OF the
United States, OF such person q. he may empower
for that purpose to employ such part Of the land or
naval forces Of tho United States or Of tho militia
a. shall be deemed nacossay to prevent tho viola
ton and enforce The due execution Of the act.
Under that section the President, If
he desires to carry an election, can
send troops to New Orleans, Now
York, Philadelphia, Pttsburg, Rich
mond, Charleston, Memphis, Louis
vile, Cincinnati, st. Louis, and every
other city in the Union. Suppose he
should perpetuate his party in power,
and he has fifty thousand men at his
control he may say, deem 10 nee
essary i'm the city of st. Louis to pre-
vent a violation of this law. How Is
he to know of the violation of law
BY what sortof evidence Is he to get at
that fact? Who is TO tell him? How
is the thing to be found out? If such
is found to be the fact, there are civil
magistrates there to prevent H. and yet
You put il into the hands-of the Presi-
dent of the United States the power
by this law to control the elections i'm
every State in the United States and
to destroy the freedom of elections. II
the military are 10 do anything in this
regard, 1t Is to attend the polls. 1t Is
To be there and to say who shall vote,
who they shall vote for, how they shall
vote, and regulate the whole thing,
which is properly subject only for
State Legislation.
These provisions are 30 Objectionable
that 1t scarcely seems to me possible
that legislative body which has any
respect left for the Freedom of elec-
tions, for the iudepence of the judicial
ny, or for free Government can vote
in favor Of the passage of such law