Year: 1867

The Supreme Court of the United States
has proclaimed the true spirit Of cur laws,
and the philosophical view Of our institu-
tons, IN It's two recent decisions against the
Missouri oath and the lawyers test oath.
Both of these odious5 Baths are declared to
be unconstitutional The people Of the
South are, in a large. measure, indebted to
Hon A. H. Garland, of Arkansas, for bring
ing the issue involved IN the latter oath be-
fore the Supreme Court He first raised
the question in that court, and continued to
prosecute it until a decision, so enlightened
and favorable to freedom, was had The
Missouri test oath is one Of the most scan
dalous and oppressive known 20 modern
legislation It requires an irOn-Clad oath of
loyalty, past and present from every clergy
man in the State, and excludes ali who re-
fuse to subscribe to it from administering
the sacraments or officiating in the pulpit,
under heavy penalties,


It was on a case of exclusion of a clergy
man that an appeal was carried to the Su-
preme Court, and the judges have vindica-
ted their learning, wisdom and virtue by
declaring the law 20 be er post fdcf0 in It's
operation, and IN the nature Of a bill of at
tainder, which are expressly forbidden by
the Constitution Test oaths are the most
ingenious and unscrupulous inst.umentali-
ties eveE adopted to undermine the citadel
of freedom, and 70 perpetuate power In the
hands of corrupt and selfish men


The pages Of Nacaulay illustrate to what
base purposes they were prostituted, in Eng


land, upon the Restoration, and how the
liberal mind of the Prince who succeeded
to the throne was enabled to restore order
and re-establish the confidence of the people,
by abolishing them, as fit instrumentalities
for tyrants only. No people can be truly 3
free people who are subjected to such an
inquisition, upon every trivial occasion, and
who are excluded from their privileges, be-
cause they cannot cOnscientiousiy swear to
every device Of their enemies, gotten up to
ostracise them from their rights. What is
general amnesty worth when such practices
are continued What is political freedom
worth, if the people must swear, at the
recurrence cf every election, that they never
opposed the Government. after all resistance
has ceased, and no one is proposing to set
up another government, or overthrow the
present one.


The frachise test oaths have been ex-
acted upon precisely the same principles Of
this Missouri test oath They are er post
fGctO IN their operation, and are Ia the ne-
ture of a bill of attainder On the same
principle the Supreme Court must neoessa-
rily decide them to be in violation of the
Constitution, and denial Of franchises 70
freemen, which were secured to them by
that instrument, as punishment for an
offense, for which they have been pardoned
by the Government, and for which they can
not be called to answer by any authority or
any Legislative act, passed subsequently to
the commission of the offense. The decis-
ions in these two cases are, therefore, pio-s
neers Of what is to come hereafter. All
these test oaths are the emanations of arbi-
tary military power and should be eschewed
by our courts upon the establishment Of
peace. Thad. Stevens may howl But it viii
be the best tribute to the tribunal which
abolished military commissions, and has now
commenced the abrOgati0n of the relics of
arbitrary power which military authority es-
tablished, and which must necessarily give
way on the return Of peace and the resump-
ton of civil authority throughout the Union
Every Vestige of military domination viii
soon disappear, if the courts continue to dis
charge their high functions as the Supreme
Court has done by these important decis-
ions.-Hemphis Commercial and Argtts