Year: 1868

outside OF the charter can do nothing ihss


Is valid. This, oe u remembered. Is no.
merely rule Of jurisprudence bu, is natural logic Of
unisesa application Il appeals public Justice on.
trusted with the supreme power Of State There ever
has been and never win be any limited governmen, 10
which u does not apply In England was never heard


nat any court set aside an aci OF Parliament where the
King, lords and commons unite to accompl so
an act OF legislation, bus the monarch IL III.
subject 10 him and swear personal allegiance TO him.


and although the theory 10 that the sns can do no
wrong" yet he ever cross the lus OF lega preroga.


tive the courts his acts are void. and is the righl
aud duty OF everybody TO consider his acts thus VOID


sisted the act Itself but brought the monarch even unto
death. Under the old French monarchy no body made
any oSlsSlon 20 me law because Loais KY ws wa,
ls centred In me: my viii Is the only law" In
1880 tho French people placed . new king on
the throne and undertook TO tie up his hands by con-
stutionai restriction .thai every Frenchman charged
with crime shall have trial by jury but under the
power suppress rebellion Louis Philippe made an OK
cuse to send Godfrey before military tribunal. Tho
Court OF Cessation however declared the order void
schave 20 END mnen the % peop's
government they took care Il should not be desposm.
ana determined that they would limit the Legislative
power in such manner that II should not be used for
their injury Part they reserved to the States and the
other part was delegated TO the general government


ment alone perform the law Is void, and when the
general government undertakes TO control military
matters within the legitimate functions Of the States
constitution divided the government into three depart


ments.the Legislative, executive and jud'cal-and
carefully defined and limited their powers II one
,o1sy sss dn:, n: SoupSsre power


In carrying out the act, because II they do
they become participants In the crime Of
bound by your act Suppose you undertake TO decide
election cases and make decree that the Senate s
with which tho court has no right 10 interfere Il must
necessarily be so With reference 70 the Legislative Do
partmsnt as we'll as the Executive Outside Of the
cnn ha nj Amin nj
is no more than the will Of private
individual and whatever they undertake to do separa oily
premises. !s more vain attempt and Is without
validity. The power conferred upon the courts has
oeen exercised many times 10 determining the const.
this court has taken as much legal responsibility as
i was asked 10 take in this case affecting the
come @ so much % more acaIs to Oi look T II the the
face when mon in0amed by passion and
tuition and to tell them that heIf act Is GOOD and
especially whom party newspapers seek TO ntmidate
the court by holding sword over It's head But there
ls consolation in this Tho judgment OF tho Judiciary
Department Is surely stronger than any other. and
therefore whom there Is such contest as the present
remains only TO take II for granted, If you find
warrant authority in the constitution for the
passage Of these acts but discover that they abso
lutely outside OF tho constitution You will give them no
moro than any other unauthorized thing mand.
In order to do that take the constitution IN one hand
and the obnoxious act in the other Compare them to-
gether and II you find them inconsistent the matter OF
fact that goes the ground and the constitution
becomes stronger for the attack made upon
It. The constitution Is no. difficult instrument 10 CON-


prehend there s not word not understood. There is
grand simplicity of language which corresponds with
to the general government and the rights reserved to
tho States are SO distinct that there is no man OF plain
sense, though OF little reflection, who cannot tell
whether an act Ia inside or outside OF tho
constitution. Nobody ever pretended no. to
tion, for gters all over with the light Of liberty. We
understand that this act OF Congress is gross violation
Of tho constitution not only an exercise OF un,
20 the people themselves and expressly forbid.
den BY taking and keeping this power 10
constitution was framed on purpose to defend.


treats the constitutional PROVISIONS with moro or less
declaring that there shall DO neither slavery nor invol
unary servude In any Of the States except for crime


%ap ss .., pss s.


lated by law which authorizes military officers
70 DO what they have done IN repeated repeated IN.
for years for Mfs without conv'con' You see two
systems in operation, Tho &C, Of songress totally
overthrows the governments In the ten southern States
You are sitting In sigh, OF the river which divides
Territory Of slaves from ,ha. OF freemen North wc
s,itution down South they have nother and differ
ent government. with no foundation except ihis
ference The Persian monarchy and the A,hcnian
democracy were considered a. sn;agcnissy yet
thar ,hors S between the SovsrnmouM Of The
North and the South. Here ~s manage our own


Sc. .as s'0TdnS sS s1s " ds
Of oca. affairs controlled by men sent thtber. noi
only strangers, but avowed enemies Here proceedings
conducted according 10 State awe there they have


cArcature OF such Institution conducted In different
way In The Northern States no military force s allowed
TO be the polls dawn there the military officers drive
up men 10 the polls ana drive others away
They superintend the stufing OF ballot boxes, and n
the result does not SUIT their purpose they throw them
aside Here wo have o free press II claims as large
q charter as the wind TO blow on whom u pleases,
There the editor Of newspaper attempts to express
nntAV hu hnno ha nart nj ~ NJ
fore military tribunal In the North man cannot
DO punished even for trih.ng offence unless by
country from the Potomac 10 the Guf the bet and
purost men may be found imprisoned aud hung without
with ali the modern improvements Theirs IS The old
Asiatc system, without particle OF Improvement jus
as simple as It was In tho beainnng Mr.. Back said
Congress has right TO punish single individual for
the most arocious crime, even on confession Of guilt


because thar would be usurpaon OF power: much less
have they tho right to Try nne millions at once
bill OF pains and penalties and convict them behind
their backs without notice and hearing But whether
this law Is constitutional not. whether IL Is outside OF
the constitution not Is thing fixed and dets ned
In the OF Mgan this court held that the Judicial
power OF the country was vested by the constitu-
ton In the regularly organized and established
courts OF tho country; that this power could not be
taken away from tho courts and vested elsewhere,
ana that no man could under any pretence
DO deprived Of his right of a trial by jury
long as the constitution gave IT, II was not for him
say that when the country deeply Interested on


question which involved the honor Of the court as veil
the interests Ol tne poOpie opiHou
given In the Migan case, which authortativey settled
the question should be binding on those who DID nos
concur in the opinion as much az on those who did
rnis case Is covered by the minority opinion
as we'll as by that OF the majority OF the
court The Chief Justice aud two others thought
that Congress might. during a time or wa.
authorize military commissions but this was justified
solely the ground OF military necessity and the Chief
Justice that occasion said that IN time OF peace the
laws OF peace prevail. Now the country has been


In a state Of perfect peace more than two years II
would certainly be preposorous to suppose there was
not spot in the whole southern country where
a court might not have baon opened aud
proceedings conducted without interruption when
all the people OF section were m'ngng
with those or the other section, and when not soii
tary enemy appeared and no forces were necessary 10
repri invasion and Notwithstanding these things Con-
gress must sit down quietly and prescribe the mode by
which certain offences shalt be punished. But II Is
alleged that certain amount OF respect ought 10 DC
paid TO the opinions OF CONGRESS on this subject One
branch OF the government 10 sntted 70 the very high
est respect much another and, therefore, u may
be perfectly fair to start with the presumption tnat
what they have done Is right unti the contrary be
shown. But the constitution coniemplates The


Cor luu nj m ent