The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-10-12

of the demanding state, and Legislation which punishes persons who overpower the officers of the state, and murder an accused person in their custody, 10 pre- vent the prisoner from having trial be- fore the court which it Is the duty or the state to afford him? In the passage of such law the government Of the United States performs quite differing function from that of aiding the state, when it is unable to preserve It's own peace in the execution of the laws. The language of the Supreme court in the United tSates vs. Cruikshank, ct al, 92 U. S., 553 that It Is no more the duty or within the power of the United States to punish for a conspiracy toVfalsely lm- prison or murder within a state, than 1t would be to punish for false imprison- ment or murder itself is declared In Logan vs The United tSates. IA U, B.. | 2S7 to refer to the fundamental rights Of life and liberty which are not created by or dependent upon the constitution of | the United States, and has no reference | to such rights and privileges as are ere | ated by or dependent upon the federal constitution.
 Function Determines Right. | "It has been held in numerous decisions | that the function a person is performing, whether a private person or an officer, determines whether his right to perform it is dependent upon the constitution and laws of the United tSates. in such sense that congress may legislate to protect it. A state officer in protecting his prisoner to prevent his being deprived of life, upon accusation of crime, without due pro- ' cess of law. is performing a duty due primarily to the state, it is true, but 1t is a duty which the constitution of the | q a1Gn n l the end that citizen of the United | States shall be protected, and the citizen | has a right to have 1t performed, because 1 the duty arises out of the constitution of | the United States
 | There Is no special provision which au- | thorizes congress to punish persons who injure others for giving information to It's l officers; yet, 1t Is held that congress may punish such acts because such per son is assaulted for exercising a privilege or dscharging a duty which arises out | of the very nature of our government When congress Is charged with preserv- ing the freedom of the citizen and seeing that the states protect him in the enjoy ment of life or liberty, and of supervising the duty put upon state officers to do SC by the constitution is 1t not clear that the United States may assist and protect state officers in the performance of thai duty, not only because they are discharg- ing a duty which the constitution enjolns on them. but also because such perform
 ance is requisite to the enjoyment of a
 right which the constitution gives the ct-
 izen to have the state perform? Neagle s
 Case. 135 U. s., 1.
 Naples Was Denied a Right.
 Tt is the only constitutional statute
 which has any application to tho matters with which we are here concerned. The
 fourteenth amendment gave Naples an
 immunity or right not to be denied the | enjoyment of the equal protection of the
 law by state laws or acts of state off,
 cers.
 "The state laws being unobjectionable, and the state officers having endeavored
 to execute them and protect Naples while l in their custody, the state did not deny
 him the immunity which that amendment
 gave him. The acts of the mob composed of private individuals cannot be convert , ed into acts of officers of the state so as to bring Naples within the provisions l of the fourteenth amendment; and there is no further legislation, which as we have seen congress enact, which punishes
 resistance to the officers, while perform
 ing that duty.
 Immunity As a Citizen.
 1 bHuti tlle Ma ples had the immunity as citizen of the United States to be protected against lawless violence by the mob of whites, to prevent his enjoyment of the right of trial before the constituted tribunals as to his guilt or innocence of the crime of which he was accused when such vio- lence was directed towards him because he was a negro, with the intention to deprive him of that right. Was Naples (Colntlnued on Eighth Paqe.)