Year: 1862

Mr.. PENDLEToN democrat, Of Ohio,
moved that the memorial of Messrs. How
ard, Gatchell and Davis be referred back
to the Committee on judiciary, it'll in
structions declaring that Congress alone
has the power, under the Constitution, to
suspend the privilege Of the writ of la
Jeas corpus. He said:


Mr.. Speaker-Those memorialists are
members of the Board of Police of the
city of Baltimore. On the first day of
July last, at the dead hour of night, they
were arrested and conveyed to Fort Nc
Henry by detachment Of United States
soldiers under command of Gen. Banks
They were in the performance of the duty
assigned to them by the laws of their
State. The peace of the city was then
unbroken. The Federal Courts were in
full operation within her limits. Judges,
Marshal and the District Attorney were
in the exercise of their accustomed func
tions. The process of the courts, if | am
correctly informed, had not been inter
fered with, except in one memorable in
stance, ond then by the authority OF the
President of the United States himself
These gentlemen were arrested without a
warrant. They have been detained with
out an indictment. They are deprived of
their liberty without process of law
They have not been confronted with their
accusers. They are not informed of The
nature of the accusation against them.
They have been denied the right to a
speedy trial by an impartial jury.


The President of the United States, in
his message to this House, in response to
a resolution of it, has declined to furnish
the grounds for their arrest. On the same
day when he did SO, while their petition
for redress of great grievance was pend
ing before this House, the President had
them conveyed out of the district and
State in which they had been arrested,
and where, if at all, they had committed
the crime, first to Fort Lafayette and then
to Fort Warren. They are arbitrarily
held by military power. They are entire
ly helpless. They have presented their
memorial to Congress asking that Con-
gress may examine their case, or that it
may be remitted to the judicial tribunal
to be legally heard and determined, and
my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee
can find no more fitting response to a
reasonable request like this than that this
respectful petition shall lie unanswered on
this table. The writ of haJeas corpus
was invented for the purpose of meeting
the exigencies of just such case as this.
1t commands that the body OF a prisoner
shall be produced, that the cause of his
commitment may be inquired into, and
that he may be discharged if he is lille
gally held, or remanded if he is held by
competent authority on charge of crime
These gentlemen would have been glad
to avail themselves of this writ which
the President commanded his General tc
suspend, and to hold them at his own
sole will and pleasure.


The President, in his message to the
extra session of Congress, gave his rea
son for his action in this matter. He
says 81 have authorized that the wri
OF habeas corpus be suspended :" and be
fore he did SO, he talked considerably o.
his right and the propriety of doing SO
The privilege conferred by the haJeaS cor
pus is to institute and command an in
quiry as to whether person is held by
competent authority under a charge o.