Year: 1863




In defiance of all law, in contempt Of the Judi
cary, in derision Of the teachings Of history, and
in scon and mockcry of the holy principles Of
personal liberty the writ of habeaS corpus stands
suspended The will Of the Executive has for
more than wear been the sole law Of the land
TO which the outraged citizen has been permitted
20 appeal. The Constitution with its harmonious
machinery of justice has been set aside, and the
exact principle of supreme and irresponsible
despotism has reigned in It's stead Nor has this
been the mere naked assertion Of az unwarsnted
and dangerous power on the part Of the EXecu-
tive unaccompanied by those revolving scenes
which always distinguish en- arbitrary from free
Government. II has borne TO the lips Of the
American people a fruit, in horrible abundance,
more bitter and deadly than the Dead Sea apples
of Sodom and Gomorah. Sir, how shall dwell
upon the deep humiliation the open shame which
this Republic has suffered in the Imprisonment Of
its loyal and faithful citizens! How shall ]
fashion my tongue TO speak in the hearing Of a
free people, in the presence of their Representa-
tives surrounded on all hands in this Hall by the
symbols of liberty, and looking on the benignant
face of the Father of his Country of deeds en-
acted in our midst which recall 10 the mind in all
their frightful detail the mournful stories of the
dungeon which hays been waited 10 Rs acnoss the
ocean, and which come down 10 Us from the ages
of chaos, night, and cIreltyl Shall stop 10
count over in a melancholy array the names of
thosewhO, without crime, without criminal charge,
with no law but the law of hideous violence. have
been seized by the rapacity the elonious rapacity
of this Administration and buried out Of sight of
home, friends, and justicel The list would be
long one, and would start tears afresh around
thousand fresides. This task, however, must be
assigned to the impartial pen of history. A book
will some day take its place upon the shelves of
our libraries commemorating the wounds which
hos ,aI
wrongs and outrages inflicted on American citi-
zens. l am to-day dealing with the principle
which is involved, and few instances of the IL
centious abuse of power will illustrate the bold
attempt WHICH has been made to subvert the lib
critics Of this Government.


No age, no sex, no condition in life has been
exempt from invasion, unlawful arrest and i'm
prisonment speak simply what every man in
the hearing of nv voice knows TO be true. have
seen the ministers of the gospel of peaceful Sa-
vor on their way to prison, leaving wife, children,
and congregation thousand miles behind. for
preaching peace on earth and good viii toward
men, One, the Rev. MIR Bundy, as / am in
formed by my friend from Illinois, Mr.. Allen
living in his district, was dragged away from the
open grave of his child, over whose remains the
burial services had ilct vet been closed; denied
the privilege of returning TO his house to take q
final leave of another member of his family then
dying, and hurried like an atrocious and danger
Gus criminal to the safe keeping of a cell. have
seen the upright and conscientious lawyer seized
by the loathsome instruments of oppression for
hidden 10 console sick wife, the mother Of his
children, with single word at parting, and con-
veyed by furtive and rapid movements to adistant
and arbitrary military tribunal, because he had
dared, as became freeman, to declare what he
conceived the law 10 be. / have seen men who
had been trusted and honored in public life By
those who had known them most intimately in
every relation arrested in nv own State for no
ofienseS known TO any law, and without warrant,
without commitment. made to eat '-the bread
which captives' tears have watered" in every age
of despotism. In the month Of October last /
met three friends, distinguished citizens of Indi
ana who six years ago served as Senators to-
gether in her Legislature. | met them, sir, serv-
ing together in the same prison a term of impris-
onment which had no other duration or limit, no
other beginning OF end, no other canse or conclu-
sion, no other condition or circumstance TO sup
port it than the mere arbitrary, unlawful, unen-
lightened and audacious will Of one man here in
Washington CITY. Sir, as / stood in their guarded
room, listened TO the story of their wrongs, and
looked out upon the sunshine and the air-Gnd
the flag of the white mans freedom floating in
the distance-Strange thoughts possessed NV
mind, and strange visions arose before me. A





dwell for awhile beneath the shadow Of the Bas-
tile, and hear the cries and groans which finally
rent Its walls. The dungeons of Austria opened
around me- and the prayers of their victims for
liberty seemed TO fill all space and all time. The
damp vaults of Venice and the fearful caverns Of
the Spanish Inquisition yielded up their horrible
secrets. The Tower of London, that melancholy
tomb Of genius and of beauty, the impcrious
form of Henry VIII, the headsman's AK, the


~ n.
and looked, as it were, face TO face into the
frightful appalling countenance Of tyranny.
studied its ferocous and revolving features in the
light of historical associations. But when / came
10 reflect on all this, and reason from cause 10
effect. found that precisely the same terrible
principle of oppression which has disgraced the
past, and filled other countries with tears and
blood, was triumphing in nv very presence. 7
turned away, and took my appeal from tyranny
TO God"


But. sir. the people Of this whole country and
of the civilized world have beheld worse scenes
than even these enacted in our midst. This House
has been invaded The principle Of popular rep
resentation on which the theory Of this Govern
ment is based, has been assacd in the illegal and
brutal arrest Of two members Of the American
Congress. The honorable gentleman from Mary
land Mr.. May early fell victim TO the spirit of
executive usurpation, which has since spread Ike
an evil shadow over the entire land. BE had
dared, in an hour of envenomed popular frenzy,
TO raise his voice in this Hall and assert, in no
suppliant tones, his rights 8 Representative.
He had dared to assert that the Constitution OF
the country ives binding in all It's provisions, in
time of peace as well as in time of war, and that
his allegiance was due TO II and not 10 the party
which had ascended into power BY trampling Il
under their feet In the exercise Of his undoubted
prerogative as a legislator, and IN accordance
with his sense Of duty as n citizen he had brought
forward measures here looking TO = speedy and
peaceful solution of that unnatural strife which
has turned our rivers 70 blood and lined our once
fraternal borders with a thousand miles of grave
yards-not the sweet resting places of those who


lie down to sleep together in peace at the close Of
happy lives but where hostile spectcrs viii for
ever haunt the dismal scenes and the air with
shrieks of undying hate For these acts Of duty
as Representative, and these acts alone sir, the
honorable gentleman from Maryland was ar
rested and made 10 feel the iron of helpless cap
tivitv enter bis soul. The sanctuary of his home
was invaded at midnight, that fit hour for the as
sassinafion of liberty, by an unknown band Of
armed men, who searched every privacy of do
mestic life, and then tore him with violence from
q young and delicate family with that total in
difference to agony and despair which so well
becomes the Gallons agents Of crime. he was
thrust into prison. and became the recipient Of all
those odious indignities which it is the trsde and
calling of jailers and rurnkevst 70 infict on noble
minds and exalted natures. He languished inside
of the bars Of iron and the bayonets Of sentinels
until tho caprice of the Executive threw open the
doors of his cell and told him to 60. As he was
arrested without charge guilty of no ofense, i'm
prisoned without authority Of law, punished with
out trial, so he was released from confinement
without an explanation and without hearing