Year: 1861

would destroy its efficacy and defeat
the very object of It's employment
To hold that in such an emergency a
person arrested on secret information
impaired to and accredited by the com
mauder Of the military force, as q spy,
or as a leading and dangerous conspir.
ator in the rebellion, whose enlarge.
ment or public trial even would at that
time be incompatible with the public
safety, could be taken from the custody
of the military power, aud liberated on
hobeas corpus by any judge who may
deem the evidence, so far as it may be
thought prudent to disclose il, insuiic.
lent to warrant his detention, would be
preposterous and dangerous in the ex-
treme. A commanding officer, in such
an exigency, must often act on secret
information, which he cannot impart to
any one but his military superior, on
information unattainable probably on
any other condition. In many in.
stances, say the Supreme Court, "the
evidence upon which the President
might decide that there is imminent


danger (of invasion) might be Of a ma
ture not constituting strict technical
proof, or the disclosure Of the evil
dunce might reveal important secrets
of State which the public interests,
and even safety, might imperiously de-
mand to be kept in concealment."-
The military commander at such a cri-
sis has no time for attendance on civil
when all his energies are re-
.quired in the cause Of his country in
another direclionj and the fact that the


judge has no power to compel it, except
by calling on the commander-in. chief


for military aid, conclusively proves
that it never was intended that in such
cases he should have jurisdiction. 1t
pertains to the President alone, under
whose orders, as commander-in.ch chief,
the military arrest is made, to decide,
while the peril exists, Of which, as has
been shown, he is the exclusive Judge,
whether the public safety requires the
detention Of the prisoner in military
custody, or will allow of his enlarge


mcnt or delivery to the civil tribunals
for trial.


This is the suspension contemplated
by the Constitution in the provision
that "the privilege of the writ Of ha.
bcas corpus shall not be suspended, un-
less when, IN cases Of INFUSION or re-
Jeiiion, the puJGc Sgtcy may require
il" It's suspension at such times is a
necessary incident to the supreme mil
itary power Of the Government vested
by the Constitution in the President
IL was never contemplated that there
should be, even in cases Of rebellion
or invasion, general suspension by
Congress of the writ Of habeas corpus.
1t would be as unnecessary as it would
be incompatible withpublic liberty. L.
is power to be exercised in special ca
ses, aud ouly when, in cases Of rebel.
lion or invasion, the public safety re-
qujres it, The guardianship Of HaL
and the high responsibility that per-
taj8s to it., is deyoIved on the Prcsi-
deaf. The writ of haJcas corpus, in
such case, is no more demaudaJle of
right than would be a writ of repeviu
Tor the recovery Of cattle impressed for
the public service by an army on the
march to repol invasion. rr.


When the battle is ended, the enemy
subdued, and order restored, an oppor-
tunity will be afforded for the regular
or Justice in the judicial
tribunals, without the huzard of imper-
ling the public safety, or of bringing in.
to conflict powers Of Governments which
the Constitution has placed under sepa,
rate control B-N.