Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-07-06

dered Mrs. Surratt to be hanged /;
much less that she happened to be a
That it was ANDREW johnson,
drunk with Joe Hollis whisky. dealt
to him by Preston King. OF New
York" who "sighed or had his hand
held to sign the warrant for poor Mrs.
Surratt's hanging" 1t next goes on
In saw. "and were all who, as Catholics,
opnosed General Hancock in the
United States, to assemble at Wall
street ferry, or any other ferry, they
would not fill one omnibus" That
sin the United States twelve voters of
Catholics could not be found so cranky
and absurd. We are sure of this.
And so it appears that none of the
foregoing objections against Hancock
amount to anything in the opinion of
the Freeman's Journal aud Catholic
Register. What, then, is the objec-
ton? Here it is. Says the editor
"That h did not heed the supposed
law of the United States that the civil
is always above the military. The
popular or civil objection to General
Hancock is not that he transmitted an
order from Secretary Stanton to Har-
tranft to hang an innocent woman, but
that he disregarded the writ OF writs,
"That writ was served on General
Hancock. Had he obeyed it he would
now in all probability have been pres
ident of the United States, :,
The reader will observe that in all
respects, saving only the alleged dis
regard Of this writ OF habeas corpus,
General Hancock is completely JUST.
fed by the Freeman's Journal and
Catholic Register.
Now, what are the facts about the
habeas corpus? The fact is that Han
cock did not disregard the great writ
and writ of writs." On the con
trary, he implicitly obeyed it. The
record shows that the writ was issued
by Judge Wylie, Of the District Of
Columbia to bring the case of Mrs.
Surratt, under conviction and impris-
onment by a military court, into the
civil court, in order to try the legal
ty of the proceedings againsther The
habeas corpus was served on General
Hancock in ample time tor the pur-
pose. In strict obedience to the com
mand of the writ, General Hancock
appeared promptly before Judge Wy
lie, ready to bring into his court the
prisoner and her sentence. But
President johnson, knowing that
Hancock would obey, issued a military
order suspending the habeas corpus
and suppressing in that behalf the
authority of the court. Judge Wylit
complimented General Hancock OF
his ready obedience to the civil au
thority. but discharged him from tht
process because of his own inability I,
proceed further In the case. VIVA
else could have been dOne2
On one side was the president pro
7 claiming the law Of the strongest, ant
backed BY the army and navy OF tn
United States. On the other wer.
Judge Wylie and General Hancock
a pair of citizens, asserting the eivi
authority against a mighty militar
host.
Some purely Quixotical people hay
suggested that Judge Wylie shOull
have resigned his place on the beneI
and Hancock his commission in tn
army. No sane man can believe tina
the resignation of either would hav
tended in the least to stay the exc
cution.
The Freeman's Journal and Catho
lie Register has made a mistake, Whicl
we believe it will eheerfully correct
Is it not a little singular that the Onl.
general officer who during the wa
invariably maintained the civil au
thority whenever possible should b
charged with disregarding it?