The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-12-04
,srea sent 1sc.gion.'

The dominion OF the Congress OF Tue thlDeu
states. His decision, II sustained by the
Constitution, Is the most rnomentous act
which has taken place in, this country since
the various acts OF secession adopted by the
states, and rs it viii not affect the State OF
Virginia alone, but equally every other
State Of the Union, 1t behooyes, all c'tize ,
ofts1e Uasted States to reflect well upon the
matter, ard, each to determine Tor htmseh
whether he is y. Hing that the Congress OF the
United States, shall have those powers oYeT
his reserved. rights which Judge siFEs mas
held that IL, has. II the States sraVe no pow
or to enfor ce the laws which under the Com
stitution OF the United States they have: the
right TO pass; if their penitentiaries areto
be invaded by. the circuit courts OF the
Unite. d States. at the pleasure of the Judges,
and all convicts released and tuIued loose
up,n society, then tue name Oh state
sovereignty Is. a delusion and a sham, and
SIMPLY a,reproach to those claiming it. ME- Il:
vy. Il. RoYALE in the folio wing article DIS
scusses the questions involved 30 fully aad
go we'll that we surrender our editorial
columns to it: g.j
To The Editors of. the Dispatch:
+ thinkiI can show very clearly that the
Constitution OF the United States gives
Judge Rives no such power as he CLAIMS in
the decision recently reported in your pa
per; and ask enougho OF your space to eX-
plain the matter in detail. The State seems
to be remedies. The Supreme Court has
no jurisdiction to restrain Judge kives oV
prohibition, its jurisdiction in prohibition
being confined to proceedings in admiralty
FIX parte Christy,, 8 How, 292; Ex, parte
Gordon, ! Black, SOB; e. S. Us. Hoffman,
4 Wall, l5S; -Ex parte Warmoutb, IL WALL,
Gland there is no provision For writ OF
error.i Ii such cases. There seems to be no
frecourse hut to press the matter upon the
attention of the public. 80. ~. - = IN.
The facts upon which he acted were
these: ------------
Two negroes were indicted in the Circuit
Court for Patrick county, Va, for murder.
Upon the trial ore was found guilty and
sentenced, aad there was hung jury
in. the case OF the other. Before the
trial .tbes prisoners presented a petition
TO the Court asking thHt their cases
might be removed for trial to the
Circuit Court o. the United States under
Section Gal OF the Revised Statutes or the
United States. This petition was refused.
Section CHI of the Revised Statutes reads as
follows: " VIXEN any -civfl-suit or criminal
prosecution, is commenced IN any STATE
court, for any cause whatsoever, agalnStan
person, who is denied or cannot enforce
in the judicial tribunal OF the State. or in
the part OF the State where such suit or
prosecution is pending. any right secured to
him By any law providing for the equal
rights OF citizens Of the United States or OF
ali persons within the Jurisdiction Of the
limited States, T. 8 = such suit or prose
cution may upon the petition OF such de-
PENDANT filed in such State court at any
time before the trial or final hearing OF the
cause, stating the facts and verified By
oath, be removed for trial into tue
next circuit court to, be held in the
district where it is pending" The sec
ton provides further that after the filing
Of the petition all further proceedings
shall be suspended by the State court.
Section 642 provides that when the defend
ant. has done aIltaat is required to be done
by section GAL. and be, is in the actual GUS
todv Of the States officers, the clerk OF the
United States Circuit Coult shall issue the
writ Of hubedS corpacS cum cduSd, and The
marshal shall, by Ylrtue OF it, take posses
sion OF the body Of the prisoner and bring
him before the Circuit Court Tor trial.
Under this statute, the essential fact to
authorize removal for trial is the one.that
some right guaranteed by q law OF the
United States cannot be successfully: as.
serted in the State court. Judge Rives held
that. under the laws Of the United States.
negro has q right to have negroes upon a
jury before which he is tried; that as he
could not assert that right in the State
court, his cause should be removed for trial
into the United States court, aud that all
that was done in the State court after the
filing OF the petition was null and void.
He therefore ordered .venire to be sum-
moned to try these men for the offence
with which they stood charged in his
court-an offence under the common and
statute law of Virginia, but no offence un-
der any law Of the United States.
There is no act. Of Congress providing
that when q negro Is tried upon criminal
prosecution he shall have a right TO have
negroes on his jdry; consequently, IL there
be any law Of the United States giving him
this right, it must be found in the Constl-
tuition OF the United States. There Is 10
pretence that such guarantee could be
found in the old original Constitution as ii
existed prior to the adoption OF any OF the
amendments, nor can there be any pretence
Tor finding any such jim any OF the first
twelve amendments adopted prior to the
late war; the first ten of those having been
many times held by the Supreme Court to
operate. 0aly asrlimitations rnpon; the powers
| of the Federal Government Barron Us.
The Mayor OF Baltimore. 7 Pet, .243; Les
see OF Livingston u.s., Moore, Ib., 55i !;
Twitchellus. The Commonwealth, Wallace,
:32l; The JusticesUS. Murray, 8 WALL, 27S;
Fox Us. The State of Ohio, s How, A0);
I the eleventh providing that no citizen should
sue q State, and the twelfth providing for
the manner OF electing the" President. II
the right Is guaranteed by any part of the
by one Of the three amendments adopted
since the war. OF those, the thirteenth pro-
yides simply that neither slavery nor invol-
elntary seryitude, except as punishment
for crime, shall exist within the United
States. The fourteenth, after defining eiti-
zensbip, provides that no State shall make
or enforce any law abridging the privileges
-or immnnities OF citizens OF the United
States. nor deprive any person OF his life,
liberty, oar property. except by due process
Sof taw. nor deny to any person the equal
protection of the law; and the fifteenth
provides that no person shall be deprived
of his right to vote on account CT race, col
or, or previous condition of servitude. ii
the negro has guaranteed to him the right TO
have negroes sit on iuries before which he
is tried for crime. 1t is by one OF these
amendments. In which, one, after the de-
cisions OF the Supreme Court constituting
the fourteenth amendment, such guarantee
can Be found, even if it could have been
found I'm that one Before those decisions, it