Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-06

the arrest ana 0etentlOn OF persons nelQ 1Or
investigation, are hereby declared to have
been done within the constitutional author
ity of the president and are confirmed"
An act supplementary to the above was
also passed, specially providing for the
evidence Of due authorization of such acts
as those specified above. There was entire
unanimity III the councils as to the neces-
sity of these provisions. Some disagree
plain talk in the first section of the pre-
amble, which referred to various crimes
committed by ''wiCkedly designing per-
sons" The minister of finance, s. NJ. Da-
| mon. deemed the language needlessly harsh
toward the insurgents. 1t was too much
| like rubbing it in" He believed we ought
| to try to bury the Ratchet" These views
| found little support. The necessity of such
| a preamble resting the circumstances were
| forcibly presented by Hatch and w. o.
| Smith. Mr.. Damon's ability as financier
| is unquestioned. and his services to the
| treasury invaluable; but his colleagues
! have often experienced in him tendency
| adverse to necessary firmness and severity
| too great inclination to make things pleas
ant. To talk now of "burying the Ratchet"
| Is, to say the least, premature, in view of
| the well-known deep bitterness of the de-
| feated party, who would make another in
surrection tomorrow If they were free and
could hope for success. The government
has no alternative but to keep it's heel on
| their necks until affairs become settled.
While their leaders lie in prison under
heavy sentences there can be no burying
| the hatchet.
| Another important act passed is one pro-
| h;biting the landing here of refugees from
| justice or criminals. or of persons who
| have escaped hence to avoid trial, and es-
! pecially the Return here of any person de-
ported under martial law or banished by
sentence of any court, unless they receive
permission from the minister of foreign af-
| fairs. Considerable penalties are append
| ed. The master of ship landing such
person is also liable to penalty. This act
will reach the cases of men like Creighton,
who is reported to have expressed his in
tention of returning here from San Fran
cisco as soon as martial law terminates,
since his agreement to be exiled is not
binding, being made under duress of i'm
priSonment. Creighton, however, is not re-
garded as beng so dangerous an enemy to
this government as c. W. Ashford and
some others who have been compelled to
leave.
Supervising Se1itfous Publications.
Another act regarded as of much i'm
portance is one for the suppression Of Sc
ditious newspapers, the chief provision of
which is as follows:
eff any person is convicted Of the offense
of the publication Of seditious libel with
reference to the publication Of words in q
newspaper of which he is an editor pub
| Usher, owner or proprietor, the judge or
magistrate trying the case may, in addi-
ton to the sentence awarded against such
person, suspend the further publication of
such newspaper for any period not ex-
ceeding four years. Every such suspen-
sion of the publication of newspaper
shall extend to and include any newspaper
that may he started in place of such sus-
pended newspaper, having the person SO
convicted of seditous libel as an editor,
publisher, owner or proprietor thereof"
Let 1t be noticed that the conviction Of
such editor or publisher is before jury,
and that there is nothing whatever of the
nature of a censorship or of summary
proceedings which can be deemed violation
Of liberty of the press. There has been
since the deposition Of the queen a class of
daily and weekly papers. chiefly in the
native language, which have been filed
with violent diatribes against the govern
tie notice has been taken of their utter
ances hitherto. 1t is now felt that the
time has come for the government to as
sert it's authority, and put an end to these
mischievous utterances.
ExiIinE Dangerous People.
The last act to be mentioned is one which
has undergone much adverse criticism as
being too summary an interference with
liberty. 1t was passed, however, by a
unanimous vote. Even Mr.. s. NJ. Damon
expressed his cordial approval of the act
as one vitality necessary to the public safe
ty. In substance, the dangerous persons
act provides that any person having law
less intentions hostile to public order or
to the government may, upon complaint to
the attorney general, the sheriff or their
deputies, be brought before a circuit Judge