New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-26

arc admitted INTO the Councils OF the UnlSc
the authority of the government under <,icl
they arc appointed as we'll rs its republican
character, Is recognized by the proper con.
stltutionat authority. And its decision i:
binding on every other department Of thu
Government, and could not be questioned If
a judicial tribunal. $50, too, as rc
lates to the clause in the aDove-mentionef
article OF the Constitution, providing for cases
OF domestic violence. 1t rested with Con
Sress, too, to determine upon the mean,
proper TO be adopted, to fulfill this ruaron
tee. They might, if they had deemed Il
most advisable to do so, have placcdit in The
power OF a court to decide when the con.
tingency had happened which required the
fcderal Government to interfere. But Con,
gress thought otherwise, and no doubt wise
ly; and by the act of February %. 1895. nro.
vlded, that, Tin case of an instruction in any
State against the government thereof. Il
snail be lawful for the President of the Uni.
ted States, on application OF the Legislature
OF such State or of the Executive (whcn the
Legislature cannot be convencd) to call forth
such number of the militia Of any other State
or States, as may be applied for, as he NAV
Judge sufficient to suppress such insurrcc-
ton"
By this act the power OF deciding whetI.-
or the exigency had arisen upon which the
| VA t.iC = blttt States is DOuTu TO
| interfere is given to the President. He is 70
act upon the application of the Legislature or
OF the Executive, and consequential. must
dete'm'ne .ehat body Of nae'a constitute the Lcgis-
tdf'iTe, and iCdo as The Governor, before lie can
act. The fact that both parties claim the
right to the government cannot alter the
case, Tor both cannot be entitled to it. If
there is an armed conflict, like the. one of
which we are speaking, it is a case Of do
mestic violence, and one of the partiis must
be in insurrection against the lawful kovern-
| decide which is the government, and which
| party is unlawfully arrayed against it before
ne can perform the duty imposed uIpn him
| by the act OF Congress. It's true
| that in this case the militia were moi called
! out by the President. But upon the ipplica-
ton of the Governor, under the charer gov
crnment, the President recognized hin as the
executive power Of the State, and tok meas
ures to call out the militia to support his a,l-
thority if it should be found necessary for the
| General Government to interfere Ind it is
| admitted in the. argument that it Vas the
knowledge of this decision that put % end to
the armed opposition to the charter govern
ment, and prevented any further cifqts to es-
tablish by force the proposed contribution
| The interference of the President, therefore,
| by announcing his determination, vas rs eff
| fectual as if the militia had been assembled
under his orders; and it should bs equally
| authoritative. In RELATED to the
act of the Legislature declaring nlasial law,
it is not necessary in the case bcforeus to in
quire to what extent, nor under Fiat cir
cumstanccs, that power may be eXscised by
| a State. Unqucstionably, miIital1 govern
ment, established rs the permanent govern
| ment of the State, would not be rbublican
government, and it would be tho duty Of
| Congress to overthrow it.. But TIE law of
Rhode Island evidently contemplate no such
government. It was intended ntrey for
| the crisis, and to meet the perilh which
| the existing government was PLACID by the
armed resistance to its authority. It was so
understood and construed by the state an.
thorities and unquestionably BITE may
use its military power to put down n armed
insurrectiol too strong to be COMPLIED by
the civil authority. The power isessential
| to the existence Of every governmdt. The
State itself must determine what egree of
| force the crisis demands; and if tMgovern-
| ment of Rhode Island deemed the Aned OPP
position so formidable and so ramifed
throughout the State as to requir4the use
Of its military forces and the declahtion of
martial law, we see no grounds u3n which
this court can question its authoritN 1t was
a state of war, and the established govern
ment resortcd to the rights and usafss of war
to maintain itself and TO overcome he unlaw-
full opposition. And in that state OF things
the officers engaged in its militafy service
might lawfully arrest any ono Fho, fsam
the information before them, thy had rea-
sOnable grounds to believe was engaged in
the instruction, and might order a house to
be f0rcibly entered and .searchsd when there
were reasonable grounds for surprising he
| might there be concealed. i Without the
power to do this, martial law and the mill
| tary array of the Government would be mere
parade, and rather encourage attack than re-
pei It,"
II will be recollected from Inc history of
| Rhode Island that Thomas ". Dorr, the
pretended Governor Of Rhode Island, was
tried for treason by the courts OF his own
State, convicted, and sentenced to- the peni-
| Tertiary for life, where he remained many
years and that many others lwere tried,
convicted, and punished for participation in
DORIS pretended government and that Dorr
| in vain applied to the Supreme Court of the
United States for a writ of habeis corpus to
| release him from prison. Let thtscwho pro-
pose revolution and force look well to the
end before they make beginning bearing in
| mind that the authority to estatish martial
| law draws with it the right to tE offenders
| during its continuance by martha tribunals.