Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-02-23
THE SPIRIT OF THE VALLEY AS A
READER.

Our friend and neighbor of the Spirit
f the Valley has labored greatly to
,rove that the Editor of the SPECTA-
was not SO able a constitutional
awyer as Marshall and Webster. This
goes without saying, but has not had
my force added to the fact by any
hing the Spirit has said in an article
If nearly half a column entitled "a
Great Constitutional Lawyer" The
editor simply cannot read or
mas not read. 1t quotes the following
paragraph from our editorial On the
situation which appeared
in The SPECTATOR of the 9th:
Taylor would not allow a writ to be
served on him, he would not obey an
order of court, be would not permit a
prisoner to be brought before a court
a writ of hGbeGs corpus. This is
one of the greatest of all writs. This
writ is a part of magma charter and
was wruDg from King John at Run
nymede, and SO . and dear mas IL
always been to a free people that IN
the constitution Of the United States
is engrafted these words: "Ihe praU9-
lege Of the aDrSt of HG6eaS Corpus shat
not be suspended unless Dhen IN cases
of Rebellion and LnSurrection the
public safety mag require It,"
Then says the Spirit.
Now, all lawyers who have studied
even the A, B, c of our form of gov
eminent and who understand the first
principles of constitutional law, know
that the inhibition which TIE SPEC
TATOR man quoted In the extract just
given applies to the United States
government only-that it is simply and
solely an inhibition upon the general
government and not upon the States.
Had the Spirit read a little further
it would have seen in the editorial
criticised, the following: lit has,
(meaning the Habeas Corpus) only
been suspended once or twice in one
hundred years, and then only after
due notice and proclamation by the
President, (meaning of course under
the provisions of the constitution of
the United States) and its suspension
(meaning the Habeas Corpus in most
Of the States is prohibited. We pre-
sumo it is 80 in Kentucky"
The sentence land it's suspension in
most of the States Is prohibited, D
meant of course prohibited by the
constitution of the States. We
cited the provision of the constitution
of the United States simply to show
how sacred the trainers Of that great
instrument considered the writ, and
not as binding on Kentucky, because a
reference to some constitutions of the
States shows that the VIZ it of Ha6e0S
Corpus cannot be suspended at all.
not, "in cases of Insurrection and Re-
b%sllion, when the public safety may
demand it" but not at all. except I'M
der the provisions of the q. S. consti-
| tuition.
The Virginia constitution has the
same provision as the United States
constitution. The only other code be-
fore us at the time the editorial was
written was a code of West Virginia.
In its constitution the provision is
"The privilege Of the writ OF
Ha6eas Corpus shall not be suspend.
ed" The Governor, nor the Legisla'
ture, nor any other power Of or in that
State ear suspend 1t for any reason,
We think that many States west Of US
have also such a provision. and this ID
why We said I'VE presume it is so in
Kentucky" But how that editorial
could have been read so as to make it
! the base or text of the one in the Spirit
, we cannot comprehend, for there is
not g. word Or line in it to give rise to
the thought of which the following
sentence shows the gist, if the whole
had been read together:
We don't say that Gov. Taylor had
the constitutional right to suspend
the writ of hGbedS corpus, but certain
ly there is nothing in the q. S. consti
tuition to prevent him. His right to
do so depends on the constitution of
Kentucky and not upon the United
States constitution.
This our editorial clearly implies,
and in terms declares when properly
read.
The constitution of Virginia pro-
vides:
"That the constitution of the United
States. and the laws of Congress pass
ed in Pursuance thereof constitute the
Supreme law Of the land to which
paramount allegiance, and obedience
are due from every citizen, any thing
in the constitution ordinances or Ia VS.
of any state to the contrary notwith-
standing"
II the constitution of Kentucky has
any such provision and it is more than
likely it has, the Spirit might be furth-
or at sea than it presumes to find US.
and its learned dissertation on consti-
tutionai law might not prove yalua-
BILE. This slip up comes from not be-
ing able, or willing to read.