American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-07-31


no one now regretS) the laws of Louisiana and
Texas existing prior to the rebellion, and not
prised a vast system of Jurisprudence, both
| civil and criminal 1t required not volumes
laid down principles and presidents for as
pertaining the rights and adjusting the con-
They were the creations Ofgreat and good and
| learned men, who had labored in their day
for their kind, and gone down to the grave
| long before our recent troubles, leaving
their works an inestimable legacy to the hui
man race, These laws, as l am Informed,
ages, and testified of the Justice, wisdom, hui
manity and patriotism of more than one Ma
| ton, through whose records they descend
ed to the present people of these States. L
am satisfied from Representations of persons
tenn Of laws as may be- found elsewhere. and
better suited than any other to the eondition
BEEN VIM should i Il BE naxe
| Congress has abolished these laws3 Why
should any one wish to abolish them? They
| have committed no treason, nor are hostile to
| the United States, nor countenance crime, nor
favor injustice. On them, US on 4 foundation
or rock, repoSeS almost the entire 5uperstruct-
| ure of social order in these two States. Anuul
this code Of local laws. and there would be no
longer any rights, either of person or property,
here. Abolish the local civil tribunals made
| to execute them, and you would virtually an
| few cases cognizable in the Federal courts.
Let us for a moment suppose the whole local
mander of the Fifth Military district, the sole
fountain of law and justice. This is the posi-
|
am now TO protect all rights and redress all
wrongs How is it possible for me to do it?
ann Inn Questions arise, OF which am IN,
q military court is entirely untitled. One
would establish q will, another deed-or the
or descent, or trust-a suit Of ejectment Or
claim to chattels-or the application may re-
late to robbery, theft, arson murder. How
am to take the first step in any such matter2
If turn to the acts OF Congress find nothing
on the subject. 1 dare not open the authors
code.
a, And you tell me that in this PerPiexing con-
nasty and crude Judgment, the legislation s U de
manded by the vast and manifold interests of
the people! Irspeat, sir, that you; and mot
suggestion that there are no local laws or in
situations here to be respected by me-, outside
the acts of Congress. L say unheSitatingly, If
it were possible that Congress should pass an
act abolishing the local codes for Louisiana
should fall to my lot to supply their places
with something of my own. do not see how l
here prior to the rebellion. excepting what
ever therein shall relate to slavery. Power
may destroy the forms, but not the principles
of Justice. These will live in spite even of
the sword. History tells us that the Roman
pandects were lost for long period among
rubbish that war and revolution had heape1
upon them, but at length were dug out of the
ruins-again to be regarded as a precious
You are pleased to state that ''since the
publication of my general order No. 40
and manifestation Of hostile feeling towards
the Government and its supporters, and add
recital rect Of the condition Of the country at A
You will permit me to say that deem it inn
possible the first of these statements can be
true, and that do very greatly doubt the cor
rectness of the second General order No. 40
was issued at New Orleans, November 90. 1857,
Allowing time for No. 20 to reach Texas and
become generally known. some additional
be manifested, and yet a further time must
transpire before you would be able to collect
fSe you ye after a oa
would have to make the necessary investiga-
tions to ascertain if No. - or something else
was the cause. The time, therefore. remain
ing to enable you, before the 18th Of January,
1858, to reach a satisfactory conclu sion on SO
very short. How you proceeded, whether you
Neutrality-suspicious. or-thzan9h third pee
sons, and IL SO, who they were, what their C 1m-
potency and fairness, on what evidence you
rested your conclusion, whether you ascer-
your letter so discreetiy omits all mention, that
l may well be excused f,r not relying implc-
the fact that in an other part Of your letter you
state that ever since the close of the war Il
very large portion Of the people have had
ness of feeling only. Had the duty of pup-
fishing and circulating through the country
that the action of the District Commander was
increasing crime and hostile feeling against
sensibiIities, it might pos sibly have occurred
to you to furnish something on the subject in
addition to your bare assertion.
But what was order No. 40, and how could it
have the effect you attribute to it? 1t sets
forth that the great principles of American
and ever should be, that the right of trial by
jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the
press the freedom of speech aud the natural
rights OF persons and property must be pre-
decaratlonss Which one Of these great i prin.
repudlate? whoever does so avows Gni imsef
the enemy of human liberty and the advocate
general order No. 10 that any crimes OF
breaches of law would be countenanced2
tr ar AI You Know p perfectly wei that
while 1.-The consideration of crime and ofenses
referred to the Judgment of the regular civil
tribunals" pledge was given in order No.
40, which all understood that tribunals would
be supported in their lawful Jurisdiction,
and that "forcibie resistance to law would be
instantly suppressed by arms" You will not
affirm that this pledge has ever been forfeit
ed. There has not been a moment since
have been in command of the Fifth District,
when the whole military force in my ,nds
titles of Texas in the execution of the laws |
And am %9 saI ad 70 nsleee they would re-
There some considerations which. it |
seems to me, should cause you to hesitate be |
fore indulging in Wholesale cepsures against |
the civil authorities of Texas. You are your |
self the chief of these authorities, not elected
Not long after you had thus come into office, |
all the Judges of the Supreme Court of Texas
and new appointments made-twelve of the |
seventeen district Judges were removed, and |
less, in seventy-five out of one hundred and |
twenty-eight counties, were removed, and |
others appointed in their places: 1t is fair to |
conclude that the Executive and judicial civil |
functfonaries in Texas are the persons whom
you desire to I'LL the offices. 1t is proper to |
also, that none but registered citi-
zens, and only those who could take the test |
oath, have been allowed to serve as jurors
during your Administration. Now. it is
against this local Government, created by
military power prior to my coming here, and
so composed of your personal and political
friends, that you have preferred the most
have asserted they will not do their duty
they will not maintain Justice, will not arrest
d will d not P pin Grimes mdd that
the last twelve months, not over ten arrests
have been made. and by means OF such gross
disregard of duty, you declare that neither
property nor life is safe in Texas.
Certainly you could have said nothing more
to the discredit of the officials who are now in
terry is presented for which l can Imagine no
ex PLANTATION. Why is it that your political
friends, backed up and sustained by the
whole military power of the United States in
this district, should be unwilling to enforce
the laws against that part of the population
as the offenders? In all the history of these
troubles, 1 have never heard before of such
fact. repeat, if the fact be so, 1t is pro-
prehension. 1 am constrained to declare that
believe you are in very great error as to
.ource, / find that at the date of yuor letter
four cases only of hOmicides had been report
od to these headquarters as having occurred
md these cases were ordered to be tried or
investigated as soon as the reports were re.
,cived. However, the fact of the one hundred
lOmiCide5 may still be correct, as stated ny
you. The Frcedman's Bureau in Texas re
ported one hundred and sixty. How many OF
hese were by Indians and Mexicans, and how
classified, II | ,