Year: 1867

tended it to be, who has read the State
papers alluded to: "No person shall be-
held to answer for a capital or otherwise
Infamous crime unless OH presentment
or indictment of a grand jury; nor be
deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law The
cause of proceeding is marked out in
the sixth section, which provides
that trials shall be by Impair
tial juries, &C., which ! need not quote. i
am aware that the Supreme Court OF
the United States has decided that this
amendment is not binding on the Ltgis-
lature of the States; only on Congress
and national authority. But oy Article
| l, Section |, Of our State Constitution,
the Constitution of the United States is
declared to be the supreme law OF the
Land, which ma<es il binding on onr
! Legislature, and moreover the said fifth
amendment is copied into our State
Constitution in detached parcels and
made part of it, which is certainly
binding on them, or ought to be. / suppose
that everybody knows that il was pOlit-
ical liberty that our ancestors fought
for in the revolutionary war. They had
been protected in their civil rights the
same as we have. From this Magma
Cbarta, it will be clearly seen that, ex-
cept in cases of impeachment, or in the
military i'll time of war or public
danger, neither the Executive, Leg
islaturr. or any other power, can
hold any person to answer Tor
treason or any other crime, unless
on a presentment or indictment OF a
grand jury; nor can they deprive any
person of his life, rights or liberty until
convicted by jury. 1t forbids all and
every power whatever from depriving
persons of their lives, liberty or prop
erty in any other manner, shape
or form-by test oaths or any other
device whatever. These test oaths
laws require persons To swear in sub
stance that they never committed trea-
son against the United States. II they
fail to do it, as many of them must, they
are deprived of their liberty by that
law. 4 law by which the law-making
power is also the judge and executor,
and in violation of another provision In
said amendment, "that no person shall
be compelled TO be n witness against
himself in any criminal case" Some
of the advocates of these test oath
laws contended that the Legislature
has the right to enact any
law which is not forbidden Dy
the Constitution, as they thought
there were not. But according to their
own doctrines, the Legislature would
have the right to enact law that no
white man shall marry any other than
a negro wench, and that no white girl
or woman should marry any other than
negro, and expect that some of them
might think that would be depriving
them of their liberty and forbid
den by this Magma Charter of ours.
1t has been conteuded by some that dis |
franchisement is no punishment. If it
he no punishment to be deprived of the |
right to vote aud to hold office, for what
reason, or why are they 50 anxious to
aconlre and to bod office' Would it be |
no punishment TO them to be deprived
Of this privileges 1t makes them feel
il as a punishment, and feeling is the
naked truth If it is no punishment to
a white man to he deprived of these
privileges, what in the name of COM





send five armies into the Southern |
States at cost of millions upon mil
lions of dollars to the people, to
overawe, and thus compel their.
people to allow the negroes
to vote? was as much opposed to Sc
cession as any man possibly could be,
and as anxious for the restoration of the |
Upion; but never dreamed of Congress !
placing so many obs acles in the way |
of restoring that harmony so essentially !
necessary to the health and life of q
Republic, rs it has done under the lead
of Sumner, and his ''higher law trail
tors, SOME of whom have pronounced
the Constitution 10 be a covenant with
death aud league with hell, and all of
them appear to he acting upon that
principle. From what have said, yOu
will see that my opposition and votes
against the registry laws, test oaths,
and all other kindred measures, were
perfectly right. They are all strictly
forbidden by this one short article OF
the Constitution, to say nothing about
other provisions that they override.
4 And if the right of trial by jury be
subverted, and with it the liberties of
the people anu Tree HoNeIHiheue, IL bdo
not, nor shall it be done with my as
sistauce. No party can either lead OF
drive me into the support of such dan
gerous measures, not even by the cry of
rebel, copperhead, raay snch scare
crow. About five years ago President
Lincoln directed the Attorney General
of the United States to instruct our
Federal Courts not to prosecute the
persons indicted for treason, and
it has not been done, nor will
it be done If the highest legal author
ity in the nation will not permit it to be
done according to the provisions of the
Constitution, NAV safely defy any in
ferior authority whatever to divert or
deprive them of their lives, liberties or
property without violating this import
ant and vital part of the Constitution,
or to point out any single provision to
Justify it.


shall write some more another time.
Your old friend,


n,SrrI HASAfOND