The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-03
THE GREINER CASE.

A Citizen of Georgia Arrested on a
Charge of treason.
Probably few of our readers know that
any cit zen OF the southern states was ever
actually brought before a court of the
United States under a charge of treason
! for acts connected with the seces ion of
those states. But such Is an historical fact.
Charles A. Greiner, a citizen of GoOr in,
| A resident of Savannah or the county of
| Burke, was b ought under a charge of
| treas IA before commissioner of the United
! S ate, in the city of Philadelphia On
account of tie importa ce of the casa. at
he suggestio of tue commissioner the ex-
animation was taken on May |, 1861, before
the district judge of the United States,
Cadwalader.
At the close of the examination the
Uni cd stat district attorney moved that
he defendant be held for trial at tAe next
| actual session of tie q uite 5 aCes circuit
court for the southern district Of Georgia
Judge Cadwalader opens MS opinion with
the following statement of facts, ELECTED as
| folOws:
The questions in this case are more i'm
portant tuan difficult. Ga Jan. 2 las an
a iliery cOmpa y OF the State OF Ge re, a,
must5redan military array took f ,rt Pd-
laski in that ate. f.om the possession of
the United ates without encoultering
any 10. chile resistance. Tney garrlsonel
the post for some time and left it in the
possession of the government of Tho
stat. The accused native OF
| Philadelphia, where ne has many
connections, resides in Georgia. He was a
! menber of this artillery GONNA V whel it
occupied the fort, a d for aught thai ap-
pears may still be one of its me .nbers He
was vut its comma der. Whe her he had
any rank in it or was only p ivate Soldie
ii no md tc ,frlr
pIr ant He is charged with reason in
iefyl < war ag INST the United States. The
vert act alleged Is, that re participated as
one OF this mil tary company in the capture
OF the fort and in It's de.e ton untll 1t was
hand. over TO the permanent occupation
OF the authorities of the state.
The primary question Is, whether il his
guilt has been sufficiently proved, | can
mmit him for til ietain nim in castJdy)
or n Id him in bail to an wer the charge!
| The objection to my doing so is that g
| uffe,se was mmItted in the ats of
Georgia, where court of the United ota es
cannot at resen, be held, and where, a, tie
dl triet attorne ad nlts, a speedy trial can
not be hal. The truth of this al .isslon is
OF public notorety. He held That under
the Lhlrty-third section of the judiciary acU
of Sc t. "a, 1889, he was not authorized t,
detain the accused ''In custody to abide the
ulumate result of possible future Institutes
in Georgia, or 70 hold him 20 bail for trial
ii a curt there Of which the sessions have
Zee interrupted and are inienailely post
pohed."
He then proceeds:
THE next ques ion is whether | should.
under the act # July 10, 1898, requi this
| party to give security to keep the ueaca and
! be of G cd behavior in ali cases al is.ng I'M
der the constitution and laws of the u itei
tates. HIS counsel suggests that he was
acting under the compulsion of military
orders from the governor of Georgia winch
| the law of the state bound MIN to ODE ::
| that the fort when taken was not so garrl-
soned or occup ed t.at array Of military
| force was required FIR Its pture; tina il
was taken withou. actual resistance on tue
p TT of te pers, or persons who
had occupied it for the United
States; that the period was one at wnlcn
| motives of hostility against the Unted
tate are not lmput1ble to the ,verior of
Ge rgia, or to those who acted der his
| order; that capture and su IS, q lel6 de-
tention OF tie fort may have been to PEE
vent its riotous occupation or destruction by
a moo, and that Tue accused party was IL
guilty Il levying war against the L ited
| st ties, or of any other offense aga nst their
| la IS. IL these views are incorrect, if Ell her
he capture or the detention OF the post
~as irea o able, there can, think, be no
dispute that security of the peace and for
good bshaviJrs ould be req CURED"
After re erring to G eIler's visit to his
vile and child, who ad been boardiag for
tAe winter in Pmladel hia, a I'd his declared
intSaticn to return to Georgia, where lie
was engaged in agricultural pursuits, the
judge co ii ued:
=" he crisis is one of impending or tn eat
| enel II not OF acoual hos ilitieS, in which
different sections of the cOu try a a, or may
soon be, arrayed in arms against each
other. Miti satng circumstances VIII oh
| might induce the pard u of an act of trea-
son cannot So qualify the offense as o alter
Its legal definition, that a pc, son who nas
participated a reasonable aggression
upon fortress of t United State, should.
at such a period as this, pass and
repass the frontier of the seeded
states without being justly liable
to the most vlgilanC suspicion cannot be
| supposed possible. The reaS MS are obyiO IS
Should he, ;or example, transmit inlelll-
gence TO Georgia concerning military prep
| aratonS here, or take part, however indi-
rectiy, in procuri z supplies or otter as -ist-
auCe for those in arms against the United
States. he would con nit an act Of treason
| for when he would be triable here Those
| w-o aud in his rel tion TO two hostile
sections OF a coun ~ are unfoTtIn ,tely tae
pc Aons most frequently conce ned Ia such
imlnal enterprises. In their punish Z Il
public policy may require a severity
sa ly disprJi ortioned 10 tine actual
Measure II guilt III their intentions.
have, therefore, durilg the two
days of the hearing, considered carefully
the question whslhe it would be my duty.
il the courts OF the United States for
George we're opsA, to commit him under
ths c .srRs OF IsAHon, and issue q sarrant
for his removal thither for trial II tnis
question is a swered AFR aatiyelF, he
should not be discharged without giving
cAutionary securi under the act OF 1898.
| have no douby that sufficient probable
GAUSS to support a prosecution for treason
! hss bsen ahOHn."
Aftsruard be discusses the acts OF the
accused d says:
The ] .risd,ction of the United State
was, uadsr the constitution, SIS exclusive