Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-09-30
SENATOR BAYARD ON THE TAFT
INSTRUCTIONS.

d INSTRUCTIONS.
2 Wepublished on the 18th the instru
tions of Attorney General Taft to Il
o U. s. Marshals in the South, with Il
{ expectation of printing this week
!. scrutiny of the law points involved
them by friend we'll qualified by h
' legal accumen for such an undertaken
r Since then an examination of the Ii
tructions by Senator Bayard of Delt
ware has been made public which ou
friend considers to render his treat
ment of the subject superhuous. w
therefore instead of our friends pape
reprint the commentaryo of Mr.. Bayard
They were given in IN interview grant
ed by the distinguished Senator to tn
reporter of the New York World:
A reporter of this journal was yes
terday favored with most interestinl
interview with Senator Bayard on thu
subject of Attorney General Taft's ex
traordinary order" turning over tn,
South to military law We give tn,
conversation in full:
Reporter-Have you read the order
or Judge Taft, giving form to the die.
tates of Grant, Cameron and Chand.
Ter, and what do you think of it?
Senator Bayard-No document SC
partisan in character, so reckless oi
all constitutional Limitations upon
power, so regardless of historical truth,
so utterly insubordinate TO the decis-
ions of the Supreme Court Of the
! United States, has in the history of
our country issued from department,
not only acting as all departments
should act, under the sanction of law,
but looked to by all other departments
Of the executive as itself the fountain
of law for them.
R.-Have you read Mr.. Evarts' OPP
inion of 1876, reproduced in the World
of Wednesday?
Senator B.-I have read it, and by
the light of that opinion | consider
| that my condemnation of Judge Taft's
order is completely justified. Mr.. Ev-
arts opinion breathes, from first to
last, the true spirit of subordination
of the military to the civil power
Judge Taft's long, confused order,
opinion, or whatever it may be called,
directly reverses this American theory
and seeks by quibble, evasion, and
downright usurpation to place law un-
der the foot of military power, aud If
carried into effect would absolutely
annihilate every police power neces-
sary for the maintenance of State gov
ernments. For example, both Mr..
Evarts and Mr.. Taft cite the opinion
of Attorney General Gushing as to
what may be comprised in the posse
comitatus. In giving this abstract def
milton Mr.. Gushing recognizes equally
the power of the State within It's prop
er jurisdiction, and the United States
within theirs, by declaring that the
persons and classes alleged by him to
be comprised within the power of the
county" are all alike to obey the COM
mands of a sheriff or marshal Z. e.,
that the county or State official, the
sheriff, is as fully entitled to the aid of
the power of the county in execution
of his lawful duty as the United States
marshal can be. But Mr.. Taft sees fit,
in clutching at power to serve the party
ends of his superiors, to omit tie we'll
recognized and essential fact that
neither the State nor the United States
can either directly or indirectly inter-
fere with each other in the exercise of
their respective jurisdictions; that the
existence and maintenance of the due
power of each is as essential to the
maintenance of one system of govern
ment as of the other. To use the forci-
BILE words of Mr.. Justice Nelson
speaking for the entire court in the
case Of the collector against Day (llth
Wallace): ITO disturb the essential
rights and powers of the States would
cause our Government TO disappear
from among the family of nations"
Court has So fSgf e9tfr a.!g United TED, States
sert that when jurisdiction has fully
accrued to State tribunal over por-
son or a subject of dispute within the
jurisdiction can be nullified by the
United States. Illustrations of this
are too frequent to make discussion
necessary. But, passing by Judge
Taft's claim for an indefinite jurisdic-
tion over matters which can and must
in the nature of things belong solely
to State tribunals, the claim of power
which he makes is so full of danger,
not to the South alone, which affords
the immediate pretext, but to every
section of the country, the North and
the West as we'll, that it should be in
stantly met by all who love law and
order, without regard to party, with
sternest reprobatiOn and condemna-
tion. What does Judge Taft mean by
speaking Of the peace of the United
States, which the marshals and their
swarms of deputies are to preserve,
and the violation they are to suppress,
and which protects, amongst other
rights" the rights specified by him +?
Does he not plainly mean that, as the
United States include all the States,
the preservation of peace in each State,
and the right to suppress violations Of
the peace in each State, are taken from
the control of State officials and band
ed over to Federal power2 What are
the breaches of peace of the United
States, for the violation Of which they
may arrest and secure all persons ?
DOcb 81 Juugo 1dII medu buAt IL IL lu-
tended to obliterate the States and
State power in relation to all matters
connected with the preparations for or
conduct Of an election? If not this,
what does he mean when he says ''the
United States secure voters against"
whatever in general hinders or pre-
vents them from a full exercise of the
elective franchise, extending that care
alike to the regitration lists, the act Of
voting and the personal freedom and
security of the voter, as well against
violence on account of any vote he may
intend to giUe as against conspiracy be-
cause of any he may have alreadyY If
this language does notinclude absolute
and unlimited police control over the
elections it would be difficult to find
words by which to giveit What does
Judge Taft mean when he speaks Of the |
right to vote which the United States
have given or have secured r Where
did the United State give the right to |
vote ?" And to whom? TheSuprme |
Court of the United States distinctly |
affirm. in the last decision on this sub
iect that the Fifteenth amendment
copfers the right of suffrage upon no
one. and yet 1t was only under that /
amendment of the Constitution that
any claim was made in the argument Of