The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-06-09

tenders against the law Of nature and as
the law Of nations, and as such arc amen
able To the military. Our constitution has
msde these laws part Of the law Of the
land. (Sec also Vattel 359, Wheaton's
Int. law 400, Woolsey's Inrl law 220, Dal'
locks Int. law 400, Miligan's case 4
Wallace O. 2) holds, that under the cir
CumstanCes herein stated, military com
mission 10 be illegal, but the facts there
are entirely different from those undel
consideration. Milligan was resident o
a State not in rebellion; the courts were
open and unobstructed for his prosecution
he was not q prisoner Of war or attached II
any way with the military or naval ser.
vice oil the United States, according to IN
structions heretofor referred 10. No civil
tribunal has Jurisdiction in cases dis
closed by papers before me. Sections
forty and forty.one thereof are as follows
SIC. 40. There exists no law, or body
Of authoritative rulers, Of action be-
tween hostile armies, except that branch
of law Of nature, and nations which Is
called law and usage of war on land.
SEC. Al. All municipal law Of the
ground on which armies stand, or oi
countries TO which they belong, Is silent,
and Of no effect between armies in the
field.
Manifestly these rules are to great
extent, II not altogether, correct, for It
cannot be pretended that the United
States soldier Is guilty Of murder II he
kills public enemy In battle, which
would be the case II municipal law was
in force, and application to an act com:
mited under such circumstances. all
laws and customs of civilized warelare,
may not be appllAble 10 an armed war with
the Indian tribes upon our western from
tier. But the circumstances attending the
assassination Of Candy and Thomas are
such as 10 make their murder as much
violation Of the laws Of savage IS of civil.
lied warfare, and the Indians concerned
in It fully understood the baseness. and
treachery Of their act. II Is difficult to
define exactly the relations OF the Indian
tribes TO the United States but as they
have been recognized as independent COM
munities, TO treaty making purposes and
as they frequently carry on organized
wars, they may properly, as It seems to
me, be held subject to those rules OF war
fare which make a negotiation for peace
after hosulities possible and which
make perfdy like that in qucs'
tionsble, punishable by military au-
thority. Doubtless war with the Mo
docs Is practically ended, unless some
Of them should escape and renew hostil.
tiles. But 1t Is the right of the United
States, as there is no agreement for peace,
to determine for themselves whether or
not anything more ought TO be done for
the protection of tho country or the pun
ishment Of the crimes growing out Of the
war. Sec. SO of said instructions Is as
follows: IA prisoner Of war remains an
swerable for his crime committed against
the captors, or people, committed before
he was captured and for which he has
not been punished by his own authori-
ties" My conclusion, therefore, is that
military commission may be appointed to
try such Of the ModOc Indians cow in
custody as are charged with offences
against the recognized laws of war, and
that If, upon such trial, any are found
guilty, they may be subjected to such
punishment as those laws require or jus.
lily.
Very respectfully your ob't servant,
8 ISigned GEO. H. WILLIAMS,
Attorney General