Year: 1866

liable to be hurled from his throne, and drag
ged to the block or driven into exile. This


principle was sternly enforced in the case OF


Charles !, and James II, and we have it an


nounced on the highest official authority here


that the queen of England cannot ring lit
| tie bell on her table and cause man by her
arbitrary order to be arrested under any pre-
tense whatever If that be true there, how
much more true must it bethere, where we


have no personal sovereign and where our


only government is the Constitution and
laws. A violation of law on pretense of saw
ing such a Government as ours is not self
preservation, but suicide.


iSaluS popuH suprenaa ler-observe tits not


Salus regis the safety of the people, not the
safety of the ruler, is the supreme law
When those who hold the authority of the
Government in their hands behave in such a
manner as to put the liberties and rights of
the people in jeopardy, the people may rise
against them and overthrow them without
regard to that law which requires obedience
to them The maxim is revolutionary and
expresses simply the right to resist tyranny
without regard to prescribed forms 1t can


never be used to stretch the powers of gov
ernment against the people.


lfthis government Of ours has no power to
defend itself without violating its own laws,
it carries the seeds of destruction in its own
bosom; It's poor, weak, blind, staggering
thing, and the sooner it tumbles over the
better But it has a most efficient legal
mode Of protecting itself against all possible


danger. tits clothed from head to foot in a
complete panoply of defensive armor. What
are the perils which may threaten its exis-
tence? | am not able at this moment to
think of more than these which / am about
to mention: foreign invasion, domestic in
surTection, mutiny in the army or navy, cor
ruption in the civil administration, and last
but not least criminal violations of its laws
committed by individuals among the body Of
the people. Have we not legal mode of
defense against all these? Yes; military
force repels invasion and suppresses insur-
rection; you preserve discipline in the army
and navy by means Of courts martial; you
preserve the purity of the civil administra-
ton by impeaching dishonest magistrates;
and crimes are prevented and punished by
the regular judicial authorities. You are
not merely compelled to use these weapons
against your enemies, because they and they
only are justified by the law; you ought to
use them because they are more efficient
than any other, and less liable to be abused.


There is another view of the subject which
settles all controversy about it. No human
being in this country can exercise any kind
of public authority which is not conferred
by law and under the United States it must
be given by the express words of a written
statue. Whatever is not SO given is with
held, and the exercise of it is positively pro-
hibited. Courts-martial in the army and
navy are authorized they are legal institu-
tions their jurisdiction is limited, and their
whole code Of procedure is regulated by act
of Congress Upon the civil courts all the
jurisdiction they have or can have Is bestow-
ed by law, and if one of them goes beyond
what is written Its action is ultra rires and
void But q military commission is not
court-martial, and it is not a civil court. 1t
is not governed by the law which is made for
either, and it has no law ofits own. Within
the last five years we have seen for the first
time, self-constituted tribunal not only assu-
ming power which the law did notgive them,
but thrusting aside the regular courts to
which the power was exclusively given.


What IS thc consequence? This terrible
authority is wholly underlined, and its exer-
else is without any legal control Undelega-
ted power is always unlimited The field
that lies outside of the Constitution and laws
has no boundary Thierry, the French his
torian Of England says that when the crown
and sceptre were offered to Cromwell. he hes
itated for several days and answered, DO
not make me king; for then my hands will
be tied up by the laws which define the duties
of that Office but make me protector of the
commonwealth and can do what ] please;
no statue restraining and limiting the royal
prerogative viii apply to me-" So these
commissions have no legal origin and no legal
name by which they are known among the
children of men; no law applies to them.
and they exercise all power for the paradoxal
reason that none belongs to them rightfully


Ask the Attorney General what rules apply
to military commissions in the exercise of
their assumed authority over civilians
Come, Mr.. Attorney, grid up thy loins now
like man; will demand of the and thou
shalt declare unto me if thou hast under
" How is a military commission
What shall be the number and
rank Of its members? What offenses come
within its jurisdiction? What is its code Of
procedure? How shallwitnesses be compelled
to attend it? Is it perjury for witness to
g. LID f,rnctinra of i,dcn