Year: 1864

EGUfll4lAl--
ed by England; and the denial of the
right of the constitutional judiciary to
investigate such case, and the provisions
for creating a court appointed by the
Executive, and changeable at his Will
to take jurisdiction Of the same, are in
violation of the greatest principles
Magma Charta, Bill of Rights, the Ha-
beas Corpus act and the Constitution
of the Confederate States, upon which
both English and American liberty
rests; and is but an attempt to restore
the Odious Star Chamber Court OF Eng
land, which in the hand Of wicked
Kings, was used for tyrannicaI purposes
by the crown, until it was finally aboi-
ished by act of Parliament, the 10th of
Charles lst which went into operation
on the lst of August, l64l. This act
has ever since been regarded as one of
the great bulwarks of English liberty,
and it was passed by the English Par
lament to secure our English ancestors
against the very same character of ar
rests, which the late act of Congress is
intended to authorize the President TO
make. ! append copy of it in this
message, with the same italics and
small capital letters which are used in
the printed copy in the book from which
it is taken 1t will be seen that the
court of Star Chamber which was the
instrument in the hands of the English
King, for investigating the illegal az
rests and carrying out his arbitrary de
crees was much more respectable on
account of the character, learning and
ability Of its members, than the Con
federate Star Chamber or court of
proper officers which the act of Con-
gress, the President power appointed
to investigate his illegal arrests.


am aware Of no instance in which
the British King has ordered the arrest
Of person in civil life, in any other
manner than by judicial warrant is
sued by the established courts Of the
realm; or in which he has suspended,
or attempted to suspend the privileges
Of the writ of habeas corpus. since the
bill of rights and act of settlement
passed in l6Sq To attempt this in
1864 would cost the present reigning
Queen no less price than her crown.


The only suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus known to our COnstitu-
ton, and compatible with thcprivileges
already stated, and goes to the simple
extent Of preventing the release under
il, Of persons whose arrests have been
ordered under the constitutional war
rants by judicial authority. To this ex-
tent the Constitution allows the suspen-
sion Of in case of rebellion or invasion,
in order that the accused may be GER
tainly and safely held for trial, but Con
gress has no right, under preteXt of
exercising this power, to authorize the
President to make illegal arrests, pro
hibited by the Constitution; and when
Congress has attempted to confer such
power on the President, if he should
order such illegal arrests, it would be
the imperative duty OF the judges who
have solcmnly sworn to support the
Constitution, to disregard such mcOn-
stitutiOnal legislation, and grant relief
to persons so Illegally imprisoned; and
it would be the duty of the Legislative
and Executive departments of the
States to sustain and protect heiudicia-
ry in the discharge of this obligation.


By an examination of the acts Of
Congress under consideration, it will
be seen that it Is not an act to suspend
the privilege Of the writ of habeas cor
pus in case of warrants issued in Judi
cial authority; but the main purpose Of
the act seems to be TO authorize the
President to issue warrants supported
by neither oath nor affirmation, and to
make arrests of persons not in military
service upon charges of nature prop
er for investigation i'll the judicial tri-
bunals only, and to prevent the courts
from enquiring into such arrests, or
granting relief against such illegal usur-
pations of power, which are in direct
and palpable violation of the Constitu-
ton.


The act enumerates more than twen-
ty different causes of arrest, most Of
which are cognizable and triable only
in the judicial tribunals established by
the Constitution, and for which no war
rants can legally issue for the arrest Of
prisoners in civil life by any power ex-
cept the Judiciary; and then only upon
probable cause supported by oath OF
affirmation, particularly describing the
persons to be seized, such rs treason,
reasonable efforts, combinations to
subvert the Government of the Confed-
crate States. cOnspiracies to overthrow
the Government, or conspiracie5 to re-
sist the lawful authority of the Confed-
crate States, giving the enemy aid and
comfort, the burning Of bridges, rail
roads or telegraph lines, harboring de
serters, and other offences against the
laws Of the Confederate States, &c, dc
And as if to place the Usurpation Of
power beyond doubt OF caviI. the act
expressly declared that the suspension
shall apply only to the case Of persons
arrested or detained by the President,
the Secretary Of War, or the General
officer commanding the Trans-Mississip-
pi Military Department, by authority
and under the control of the President
in the cases enumerated in the act,
most Of which are exclusively Of judi
cial cognizance and in which cases the
President has not the shadow Of consti-
tutional authority to issue warrants or
order arrests, but is actually prohibited
by the Constitution from doing So


This, then, is not an act 10 suspend
the privilege Of the writ of habeas cor
pus, in the manner authorized by i'm
plication by the Constitution; but it is
an act to authorize the President to
make Illegal and unconstitutional ar
rests, in cases where the Constitution
gives to the judiciary and denies to the
Executive and to prohibit all judicial
interference for the citizen when tyran-
nized over by Illegal arrest, under let
ters dc c0cket issued by Executive au-
thOrity.


Instead Of the legality of the arrest
being examined in the tribunals APP
pointed by the Constitution it is to be
examined in the Confederate Star
Chamber; that Is, by officers appointed
by the President. Why say that the
President shall cause proper oflicers to
investigate" the legality Of arrests or
dered by him? Why not permit the
judges whose right and constitutional
duty it Is, TO do so


We arc witnessing with too much in
difference assumptions Of power by the
Confederate Government, which in or
dinary time would arouse the whole
country 70 indignant rebuke, and stern
resistance History teaches Us that
submission 10 one oncrOachment upon
constitutional liberty is always followed
by another, and we should not forget
that important rights yielded to those


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