Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-17
THE NICoLAUS CASE.
POINTS RAISED AS TO STATE AND
FEDERAL JURISDICTION.
DISPATCHES from United States OFF,
cials-Both Sides of the Case
Hearing To-day.

| The case of the nineteen citizens of the
little town of Nicolaus, charged with hay
| ing violated the laws of the United State:
in having driven the Chinese from theil
town, came up for hearing before United
States Commissioner B. n. Bugbey, at his
office in this city at 10 A. NJ. yesterday. The
office of the Commissioner Is IN room or
the second floor of the Mike Bryte build
ing on the southwest corner of Seventh
and streets. In size it is about 10x12, and
as most of the space is taken up by large
desk and good-sized table, not more than
half dozen persons can get in the Office al
once. The witnesses, defendants and in
! terested parties, numbering in all upwards
of 100, filled the hall and stairway and the
sidewalk in front of the building. The de-
| PENDANTS were represented by Grove l..
Johnson and A. L. Hart, and the Gov
| eminent by A. C. Hinkson.
Counsel for defendants had applied to
the United States Circuit Court at San
Francisco for a writ of habeas corpus,
which came up before the Court at IL
o'clock yesterday. Their grounds for the
| issuance of the writ are said to be that
| Congress has no power to provide against
| oifenses of individual citizens, as against
each other, when those offenses are COM
mitted within the jurisdiction of the State,
| but that, under recent amendments to the
Constitution, comforting additional juris-
| diction upon the Government of the United
States, the power of Congress is confined to
the correction of State legislation and
State action. All matters involving the
conduct Of citizens in their intercourse
with each other are subject alone to regula-
| ton by the States and are proper matters
only for exercise of the police powers of
the States. For these reasons the section
of the civil rights bill under which the de-
PENDANTS are arrested is unconstitutional
General Hart read the following dispatch
to the Commissioner:
SAN FRANCISCO. March 10, 1856.
served on Marshal. Judge Sawyer instructs
Marshal TO await result of telegram which he
Sawyer will send to Bugbey.
RHODES & BARsrow.
Grove L. Johnson read the following
telegram to the Commissioner:
SAN FRANCISCO, March 10th.
Groue L. Johnson, Sacramento: Train delayed
and your letter just received. Too late to go to
Sacramento. Section 55l9 Revised Statutes. de-
clared unconstitutional by United States Su.
preme Court (See United States VS.. Harris, JOG
Q. s. Rep, so. Judge Sawyer will telegraph
Commissioner, if case not promptly dismissed.
Get continuance, and will attend to il.
5 q. HILBoRN, United States Attorney
Commissioner Bugbey stated that he had
received a telegram from Judge SAWYER.
and expected instructions from him by the
evening mail. If he received an order from
Judge Sawyer in the evening ordering the
case dismissed, the defendants would be
Immediately released from custody. He
continued the case until 10 A. NJ. to-day.
The complaint is drawn up in accordance
with section of the revised statutes of the
United States, and the Chinese driven out
from the town of Nicolaus ere not referred
to as citizens, but as aliens, subjects of the
Emperor Of China. The statute is as fol-
lows:
Section 55l9, Revised Statutes of the United
States: II two or more persons i'll any State or
Territory conspire, or go in disguise ON the high
way or on the premises of another, for the pur-
| pose OF depriying either directly or indirectly
any person or class of persons of the equal pro
| lection of the laws, or of equal privileges and
immunities under the laws; or for the purpose
| of preventing or hindering the constituted
authorities Of any State or Territory from giving
or securing to all persons within such state OF
territory the equal protection of the laws; each
! OF such persons shall be punished by fine OF
| not less than five hundred nor more than five
| thousand dollars, or by imprisonment with OF
without hard labor, not less than six months
nor more than six years, or by both such fine
| and imprisonment.
The decision referred to by United
States Attorney Hilborn, United States
vs.. r. g. Harris ct al, briefly stated, is as
| follows: AT the November term, 1876. of
| the United States Circuit Court for the
Western District of Tennessee, an indict-
ment, based on Section 5519 of the revised
statutes of the United States, was returned
| by the Grand Jury against one r. G. Har-
ris and nineteen others. The indictment
ln.Af ntafF, al
| charged that they unlawfully, with force
and arms, did conspire together with GER
tain other persons, whose names to the
Grand Jury We're unknown, for the pur-
| pose OF depriving certain citizens of the
| United States and the State of Tennessee
of the equal protection of the law, beating,
| bruising, wounding and otherwise ill-treat-
| ing them while they were under arrest and
in the custody CT a Deputy Sheriff. The
second count charged that the defendants
with force and arms, unlawfully did con
| splre together for the purpose of preventing
and hindering the constituted authorities
OF the United States, namely, the Deputy
| Sheriff
The third count was identical with the
| second, except that the conspiracy was
| charged to have been with the purpose of
hnderlng and preventing the Deputy
| Sheriff from giving and securing to one OF
| his prisoners alone the due and equal pro-
lection of the laws of the State
The fourth count charged that defend
ants conspired together for the depriving
of one of the prisoners of his right to the
| equal protection of the laws, and of his
right to be protected in person from VIC.
| lence while so under arrest, end did then
and there deprive him of such rights and
| protection, and of the due and equal pro
| fprtipn n tho lau-s of l,o 40. In,
see, by then and there unlawfullv beating,
| bruising, wounding and killing him, con.
trary TO the form of the statute in such
cases made and provided"
| The defendants demurred to the indict.
ment on several grounds, among them the
| following:
First-Because the offenses created by
| Section 55l9 of the Revised Statutes f the
| United Stat s, and upon which section the
aforesaid four counts are based, are not
constitutionally under the jurisdiction of
the Courts of the United States. and be.
cause the matters and things therein re.
ferred 10 are jud;cially cognizable by State
| tribunals only, and legislative action
| thereon is among the rights reserved to the
several States and inhibited to Congress by
the Constitution of the United States: and
| Second-Because the said Section 5519
of the Revised Statutes of the United
States, in so far as it creates offenses and
| imposes penalties, is in violation of the
Constitution of the United States, and an
Infringement OF the rights of the several
States and the people thereof
The Supreme Court, in summing III
their very lengthy decision, used the fol.
lowing language:
" 1t was never supposed that the section
under consideration (5519) conferred on
| Congress the power to enact a law which
would punish private citizen for an in.
vasion of the rights of his fellow citizens,
conferred by the State of which they were
both residents on all its citizens alike.
| I'VE have therefore, been unable to
| find any constitutional authority for the
enactment of Section 55l9 of the Revised
Statutes. The decisions of this Court,
above referred 20, leave no constitutional
| ground for the Act to stand on.
The point, in reference to which the
Judges of the Circuit Court were divided
| in opinion, must, therefore, be decided
| against the constitutionality of the law
| Late in the afternoon General Hart re-
| ceived the following telegram:
SAN Francisco, March 16, 1886
4. L. Hart and Grore L. johnson. Sacramento
Judge Sawyer has given the Commissioner nc
| instructions He would Deem it improper to in.
struct a judicial officer. He has called his at
tention to the statute and decision under it.
thought it probable the Commissioner would
dismiss on being informed that the section was
unconstitutional. S. q. HILBoRN.
L. s. Attorney.