About The Newnan herald. (Newnan, Ga.) 1865-1887 | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1867)
A Jlmufln Ifralii. fc 'X -■ ;■ —• NEWNAH. GEORGIA. Saturday Morning, March 9,1867. Tn* Sherman Biu..—Both Houses of Con gress have passed the bill over the President’s veto. The President sent no communication to the Congress which assembled 4th March. Skernftn'ft Bill and the Constitution. Section 3<I of Sherman’s bill declares— . *• That it shall be the duty of each officer as signed as aforesaid, to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder and violence, and to pun ish or cause to be punished all disturbers of the public peace and criminals, and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdic tion of and try offenders, or, WHEN IN HIS JUDGMENT IT MAY HE NECESSARY FOR THE TRIAL OF OFFENDERS, HE SHALL HAVE POWER TO ORGANIZE MILITARY COMMISSIONS OR TRIBUNALS FOR THAT PURPOSE; and all interference under color of State authority with the exercise of Military authority under this act shall be null and void. Article 3d Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States declares— “THE TRIAL OF ALL CRIMES, EXCEPT IN CASES OK IMPEACHMENT', SHALL BE BY JURY.” Article 6th of the Amendments declares— “ No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless ou a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in rases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in active service in time of war or public danger. "Art. Gth In all criminal prosecutions the accuser! shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State ami district whence the crime shall have been committed.” After reading these extracts from the Consti tution of the United States, will nny sane man assert the constitutionality of Sherman’s bill ? The Constitution says the trial of all crimes (not those committed before tire war, during the war or those committed in “ loyal ” States), but all crimes, except impeachment, it matters not when or where committed, shall be by jury.— The Sherman bill says the Commanding Gen eral may organize military commissions to try offenders. No provision is marie in this bill for indictment or presentment of the grand juiy; but by simple order of the officer com mandiug the citizen may be arrested, imprison ed and tried, not by his countrymen, but by men from another State or nation, and senten ced to imprisonment or death. Surely if will not be pretended that the biM is constitutional. But we arc mot with the assertion that the Constitution does not. apply to the citizens of the unrepresented States. Why ? Because they arc out of the Union ? IIow did the}' get out? By whose act was their connection with the other States Bcvcred ? By their own ? Why, then, did the Federal Government make war upon them after secession ? For if they did secede they had a right to do so, but if the Constitution did not give them this right, all that they did was simply an effort at secession ; and If they only attempted to secede, they never have been out of the Union, and they are in it to-day, and being in it are entitled to all provisions of the Constitution, and among which is the right of any one of those citizens charged with crime to be tried by an impartial jury of the country. But perhaps it will be contended that inas much as the Southern people are conquered, the will of the conqueror is their law. That might have been said in former days, but can not as applied to the result of the late conflict. By what authority did the Congress of the Federal Government declare war? By virtue of authority of Section 8 of Article 1st of the Constitution, which empowers Congress to de clare war and raise and support armies. From no other source o>uId that body derive power to declare war, etc. Then if Congress exists by the Constitution and derives all its powers from the Constitution, it follows that the exer cise of uny powers not delegated by that in strument is nothing less than usurpation. The Constitution does not require Congress to ob serve its provisions in time of peace and em power it to disregard them in war; but that body is bound by them alike at all times. All the talk about the will of the conqueror being the law of the conquered is all stuff. Congress is just as much bound by the Constitution as we are. In the monarchies and kingdoms of former days, the sovereign did impose his will upon such of his subjects as rebelled and were conquered, because he had a right to do this— because he was not bound by a Constitution liko our conqueror is. Some of the adherents of Congress are candid enough to admit the truth of all we have said, but at the same time declare that, right or wrong, Congress ought to force us to submit to whatever that body may see fit to place upon us. This is to say Con gress, for the sake of recking its vengeance upon the disarmed people of the South, ought tv> override and trample under foot the Consti tution. To all such we say: You thereby ad mit that the Federal Government did not wage a war to preserve, but to destroy the Union and the Constitution, and for the poor satisfac tion of farther humiliating an unarmed people, you are willing to become traitors to constitu tional government. Others, not so candid, assert that the South ern people are disloyal, and such measures are necessary to make them loyal. We deny the charge of disloyalty to the Constitution, and demand the proof. We ought at least to have a hearing before we are condemned. But suppose the people are disloyal in their hearts (no one charges them with now doing any .acts of that •, haracter), is it a crime ? Show us the law that ho pronounces it. What is the penalty ? Be fore what court will you arraign these disloyal- hearted men f And pray tell us how enfran chising the negro will purge their hearts o*f such feelings? Why do you think that placing t l*e ballot in the hands of the black man will make the white man love, in his heart, the government that does these tilings. No, no, ail sane men know the motive that prompts such legislation. The Constitution is set aside that a few people inhabiting the Southern S rates mfty be farther humiliated. AH this may be done, bat with their fall the Govern ment-—the constitutional Government of our •" :hers—ceases to exist. Our ruin may be com plete, but the Constitution’s will be no less so. The inhabitants of the unrepresented States •rave peaoe—order—and ask nothing more ha>i that the Constitution be adhered to. They io not intend to resist the powers that be; .ey arc prostrate in the dust, and simply ask to <: permitted to enjoy, all the privileges guayan- ced by the Constitution. If they have violated i, let them be punished according to its pro- iaiens ; ajjd to the name of all that is just, they ■k to l-e permitted to labor in peace, to submit quietly to all constitutional enactments, and ! manding officer, over all the people of each although they arc denied all voice in legislation they have promptly paid all taxes required of them. Why will Congress seek to cause them to suffer more than they have already endured ? What interest of humanity or civilization will thereby be advanced ? Do the people of the Nqrthem States hope to retain to themselves a full share of lil»erty, while the citizens of the South are ground into the dust by the rule of the military ? A vain delusion. No nation of people can long be free unless alUare free, and although the cup—the bitter cup of military rule may now be placed to ot4' lips, it will not be long ere those who gave it to us must taste it with ns. . We fear, like many governments that prece ded it, the American Government has been seized with a desire to kill some of its citizens. Different Governments use different instru ments for this purpose. Nero wanted to kill a few Romans, and he himself set the city ou fire and charged the Christians with the crime, caused them to lx- arrested and brought before him, although he knew that they were not only inucccnt but that he himself did the thing with which hecharged them, still hepronouneed them guilty and ordered their execution. Lola Montez, the minister and mistress of the Kin of Bavaria, as late as 1848, despatched those who sought to weaken her power and influence with the King (for she was ruler in every res pect but the name) more directly than even Nero. 8he bought a number of fierce bull dogs, and, accompanied by them, boldly and defiantly paraded the streets of Munich, and whenever she beheld a Bavarian whom she disliked, she caused her dogs to seize him and tear him until life was extinct. Lola Montez continued this manner of .killing her enemies, until the people in their rage expelled mistress and dogs from the kingdom, and from that day to this man, woman nor beast has dared to kill the people of Bavaria. Lola Montez used dogs to destroy those whom she wisfipd to kill, hut the American Government, not so direct but equally certain, proposes the use of milita ry commissions. Well, if these must be, we at least protest against them, because they arc destructive to liberty, to the Constitution, and contrary to the dictates of justice, humanity and statesmanship. The want of space prevents our noticing the other features of the bill. THE VETO OF THE MILITARY BILL. MESSAGF OF ’THE PRESIDENT. To the Home of lieprcsentatircs: I have examined the bill to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States with the care and anxiety which its transeen-, dent importance is calculated to awaken. I am unable to give it my assent for reasons so grave that I hope a statement of them may have some influence on the minds of the patriot ami enlightened with whom the decision must rest. The bill places all the people of the ten States therein named under the absolute domi nation of military rulers, and the preamble undertakes to give the reasons upon which it is justified. It declares that there exists in those States no legal State governments and adequate protection to life or property, and asserts the necessity of enforcing peace anil good order within their limits. It is true as a matter of fact, it is not denied that the States in question have each of them an actual government, with all the powers, executive, judicial and legisla tive, which properly belong to a free State.— They are organized like the other States of the Union, and like them they make, administer and execute the laws which concern ‘their do mestic affairs. An existing de facto government, exercising such functions as these, is itself the law of States upon all matters within its juris diction. To pronounce the supreme law-making power of an established State illegal, is to say that law itself is unlawful. The provisions which these governments have made for the preservation of order, the suppression of crime, and the redress of private injuries, are in sub stance and principle the same as those which prevail in the Northern States and iu other civ ilized countries. They certainly have not suc ceeded iu preventing the commission of all crime, nor has this Leen accomplished any where in the world. There, as well as else where, offenders sometimes escape for want of vigorous prosecution, and occasionally, perhaps, by the inefficiency of courts or the prejudice of jurors. It is undoubtedly true that these evils have much increased and aggravated both in the North and South by the demoralizing in fluence of civil war, and by the rancorous pjis- sions which the contest luis engendered; but that these people are maintaining local gov ernments for themselves, which habitually de feat the object of all governments, and render their own lives and property insecure, is in itself utterly improbable ; and the argument of the hill to that effect is not supported by any evidence which has come to my knowledge,— All the information I have on the subject con vinces me that the mass of the Southern peo ple, and those who control their public acts, while they entertain diverse opinions on ques tions of Federal policy, are completely united in the effort to reorganize their society on the basis of peace, and restore mutual prosperity as rapidly and sis completely as their circum stances will permit. The bill, however, would seem to show upon its faofcthat the establish ment of peace and gixnl order is not its real object. The fifth section declares that all the preceding sections shall cease to operate in any State where certain eveuts have happened.— These are: 1st. The selection of delegates to a State convention by election, at which negroes shall be allowed to vote. 2d. The formation of a State Constitution by the convention so chosen. 3d. The insertion into the State Con stitution of a provision which will secure the right of voting in all elections to negroes and such white men as will not be disfranchised for rebellion of felonies. 4tli. The submission of the Constitution for ratification to negroes and white men not disfranchised, and its actual ratification by the vote. 5th. The submission of the State Constitution to Congress for exam ination and actual approval of it by that body. Gth. The adoption of a certain amendment to the Federal Constitution by a vote of the Leg islature elected under the new Constitution.— 7gli. The adoption of said amendment by a sufficient number of other States to make it a part of the Constitution of the United States. All these conditions’must be fulfilled before the people of any of these States can be re lieved from bondage and military domain, but wheu they are fulfilled then the pains and penalties of the bill are to cease, no matter whether there be peace a^ul order or not, with out reference to the security of life and proper ty. The excuse given for the bill, in the pre amble. is admitted by the bill itself not to be real. The military rule which it establishes is plainly to bo used not for any purpose of order and for the prevention of crime, bat solely as a means of coercing the people into the adop tion of measures to width it is known they are opposed, and upon which they have an unde- niable right to exercise their own judgment.— I submit to Congress whether this measure is not in its whole scope and object, without precedent and without authority; in palpable conflict with the plainest provisions of the Constitution.mnd utterly destructive to those great principles of liberty and humanity for which our ancestors qu both sides of the At lantic shed so much blood and expended so much treasure. * The ten States named in the bill are divided into five districts. For each district, an officer of the army not btlow the rank of Brigadier General is to be appointed to rule over the peo ple, and he is to be supported by efficient mili tary force to enable him to perform his duties. That authority, as defined by the 2d section of the bill, is to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress disorder and violence, and punish, or cause to be pun ished, all disturbers of the public peace or criminals The power thus given to the com- State,Js that of ail absolute monarch; Ills mere will is to take the place of all law ; the law of the States is only a rule applicable to the subject placed under bis control, and that is completely displaced by thy clause which declares that all interference of the State author ity is to be null and void. He alone is permit ted to determine what are the rights of person and property. He alone protects them in snch a way as in his discretion may seem proper, and places at his free disposal all the lauds and goods in his district. • He may distribute them without let or hindrance to whom he pleases, being bound by no State law and. there l>eing no other law to regulate the subject, he may make a criminal code of his own. and he can make it as bioodr as any record in history, or he can reserve the privilege*of acting upon the impulse of his private passions, in each case that arises : he is bound by no rules of evidence. There is, indeed, no provision by which he is authorized or required to take- evidence at all. Anything is a crime which he chooses to call so, and all persons are condemned whom he pronounces guilty. He is not bound to make any report or keep any record of his proceed ings. He’ may arrest his victim wherever he may find him without warrant, accusation or proof of probable cause. If he gives him a trial Ixfore he inflicts the punishment, he gives of iiis grace and mercy, not because he is com manded so to do To a casual reader of the bill it might seem that some kind of a ti ial was secured to persons accused of crime, but snch is not the case.— The officer may allow the local civil tribunals to try offenders, but of course this does not require that he shall do so. If any State or Fe<loral Court presumes to exercise its legal jurisdiction by the trial of a malefactor without his special permission, he can break it up and punish the judges and jurors as loing them selves malefactors. He can save his friends from justice, and dispoil his enemies contrary to justice. It is also' provided that he shall have jiower to organize military commissions or tribunals, but this power is not commanded to do it; it is only permissive, aad is to be used only where, in his judgment, it may be necessary for the trial of offenders. Even if the sentence of a commission were made a prerequisite to the punishment of a part}', it would be scarcely fhe slightest responsibility upon the officer, who has authority to organize it as he pleases, to prescribe its mode of pro ceedings, appoint its members from his own subordinates and revise all its decisions. In stead of mitigating the harshness of his single rule, such a tribunal would be used much more probably to divide the responsibility of making it more cruel and unjust. Several provisions, dictated by the humanity of Congress, have been inserted in the bill, apparently to restrain the power of the commanding officer, but it seems to me that they are of no avail for that purpose. The fourth* section provides, first, trial shall not be unnecessarily delayed, but, 1 think, I have shown that the power is given to punish without trial, and if so, this provision is practically inoperative. Cruel or unusual punishments are not to Ire inflicted, but who is to decide what is cruel or unusual ? The words have acquired a legal meaning by long use in courts. Can it be expected that military officers will understand it and follow a rule in language so purely technical, and not pertain ing in the least degree to their profession ; if not, then such officer may define cruelty accor ding to his own temper, and if not usual, he will make it usual. Corporeal punishment, the gag, and the ball and chain, and other al most insupportable forms of torture, invented for military punishment, will be within the range of choice. Third, the sentence of a commission is not to be executed without ap proval by the commander, if it affects life or liberty, and a sentence of death must be ap proved by the President. This applies to cases in which there lias been a trial and sentence. I take it to be clear, under the bill, that the military commander may condemn to death without even the form of trial by a military commission : so that the life of the condemned may depend on the will of two men instead of one. It is plain that the authority here given to the military officer amounts to absolute despotism. But to make it still more unendu rable, the bill provides that it may be delegated to as many subordinates as he chooses to- ap point, for it declares he shall punish or cause to l>e punished. Such a power has Dot been wielded by the monarch in England for more than five hundred years. In all that time no people who spoke the English tongue hare borue such*servitude. It reduces the whole population of the ten States—all persons of every color, age sex and condition, and every stranger within their limits to the most abject and degrading slavery. No master ever had a control so absolute over his slaves as this bill gives to military officers over both white and colored persons. It may be answered to this that officers of the army are too magnanimous, just and hu mane to oppress and trample upon a subjugated people. I do not doubt that army officers are as much entitled to this confidence as any other class of men, but tire history of the world has been written in vain if it does not teach us that unrestrained authority can never be safely trusted in human hands. It is almost sure to be more or less abused under any circumstan ces ; and it has always resulted in gross tyranny where rulers are strangers to their subjects, and come among them as the representatives of a distant power, and more especially when the power that sends them is unfriendly. Gov ernments closely resembling that here proposed have been fully tried in Hungary and Boland: and the sufferings endured by those people roused the sympathies of the entire world. It was tried in Ireland, and although at first tempered by principles of English law. it gave birth to cruelties so atrocious that they arc never recounted without just indignation.— 'ifie French Constitution armed its deputies with this power, and sent them to the Southern departments of the Republic. The massacres, the murders, and other atrocitjes which they committed, show what the passions of the ablest men in the most civilized society will attempt to do when wholly unrestrained by law. The men of our race, in every age, have struggled to tie up the hands of their govern ments, and keep them within the law, because their own experience of all mankind • taught them that rulers could not be relied on to con cede those rights which they were not legally bound to respect The head of a great empire has sometimes governed with a mild and pater nal sway; but kindness of an irresponsible power never yields what law does not extort.— Between such a master and people subjugated to his domination, there can he notldng but enmity. He punishes them if they resist his authority, and if they submit to it he hates them for their servility. I come now to a question, if possible, stall more important. The Parliament of England, exercising the omnipotence which it claimed, was accustomed to pass bills of attainder, that is to say, it would convict man of trc.^oc and other crimes by legislative enactment. The person accused hail a hearing, sometimes a patient and fair one. but generally party prejudices prevailed in stead of justice, and it frequently became neces sary for Parliament to acknowledge i s error ami reverse its own action. The fathers of our country determined that no such thing should occur here; they withheld the power from Congress, and thus forbade its exercise by that body, and they provided in the Constitu tion that no Shite should pass a bill of attain der. It is, therefore, impossible for any per son in this country to be constitutionally convicted or punished for any crime on a legis lative -proceeding of any sort. Nevertheless here is a bill of attainder against nine millions of people. It is based upon an accusation so vague as to be scarcely credible, and found to be true upon no credible evidence. Not one of the nine millions was heard in his own defense. The representatives of the doomed parries were excluded from all participation in the trial.— The conviction is to be followed by the most ignominious punishment ever indicted on large masses erf men. It disfranchises them by hun dreds of thousands, and degrades them all. even those who are admitted to be not guilty, from freemen to the condition of slaves. The purposes and objects of the bill, the general intent which pervades it from beginning to end w is to change the entire structure and character of the State governments and to compel them, by force, to the adoption of organic laws and regulations which they are unwilling to adopt if left to themselves. Have we the power to establish anti carry in to execution a measure like this ? I answer, certainly not, if we derive our authority from the Constitution, and if we are bound by the limitations which it imposes, this proposition is perfectly clear, that no branch of the Feder al Government, executive, legislative or judi cial. can have any just powers except those which it derives through and exercises under the'organic law of the Union. Outside the Constitution we have no legal authority more than private citizens, and withiu we have only* so much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our functions and ap plies to all subjects. It protects not only the citizens of the United States which are within the Union, but shields every human being who conies or is brought under our ‘jurisdiction.— We have no right to do in one place, more than in another, that which the Constitution says we shall not do at all. If, therefore, the Southern States were in truth out of the Union we could not treat tneir people as the funda mental law r orbids. Some people assume that the success of our arms, in crushing the oppo sition which was made in some States to the execution of Federal laws, reduced those States and all their people, the innocent as well as the guilty, to a condition of vassalage, and gave us a power over them which the Constitu tion does not bestow, or define, or limit. No fallacy can be more transparent than this. Our victories subjected the insurgents to legal obe dience, not to the yoke of arbitrary despotism. Whoa an absolutes sovereign reduces his re bellious subjects he may deal with them ac cording to his pleasure, because he had that power before, but, when a limited monarch puts down a rebellion, be must govern accord ing to law. If an insurrection should take place iu one of our Suites against the authori ty of the State government, and end in the overthrow of those who planned it, would it take away the rights of aU the people of the counties where it was engagad iu by aix.rt or a majority of the population t (.VieHi they for such reason, Le wholly outlawed and deprived of their representation in the legislature. I have always contended that the Government of the United States was sovereign within its constitutional sphere, that it executed its laws like the States themselves, by employing its coercive powers directly to individuals, and that it could put down insurrection with the same effect as a State. The opposite doctrine is the worst her esy of those who advocate secession, and can not be agreed to without admitting that here sy to be right. Insurrection, rebellion and domestic violence were anticipated when the government was formed, and the means for re- peHiug and suppressing them were wisely pro vided for in the Constitution, but it was not thought necessary that the States in which they might arise should be expelled from the Union. Rebellions which were invariably sup- , pressed occurred prior to that out of which these questions grew ; but the States continued to exist and the Union remained unbroken. Iu Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, iu Rhode Is land, and in New York, at different periods of our history, armecF opposition to the Uni ted Slates was carried on, but the relations of those States with- the Federal Government were not supposed to be interrupted or changed after the rebellious portion of the population were defeated and put down. It is true that in these earlier cases there was no formal express ion of a determination to withdraw from the Union ; but it is also true that in the Southern States the ordinances of secession were treated by all the friends of the Union as mere nulli ities, and are now acknowledged to be so by the States themselves. If we admit that they had any force or va lidity, or that they did in fact take the States in which they were passed out of the Union, we sweep from under our feet all grounds up on which we stand in justifying the use ofFed- eral force to maintain the integrity of the Gov ernment. This is a bill passed by Congress in time of peace. There is uot in any one of the States brought finder its operation either war or insurrections. The laws of the State and of the Federal Government are iu uudisturbed and harmonious operation. The courts, State and Federal, are open and in the full exercise of their proper authority ovur every Static com prising the five military districts. life, liber ty and property are secured by the State and Federal laws, and the National Constlutiou is everywhere obeyed. What, theteit, thjft ground on which this bill proceeds ? The title of the bill announces that it is in tended for the efficient government of these too States. It is recited by way of preamble, that no legal State governments nor adequate protection for life or property exist in those States, and that peace and good order should thus he enforced. The first thing that arrests attention upon these recitals, which prepare the way for martial Jaw, is this, that the founda tion upon which martial law can exist under our form of government, is not stated or so much as pretended. Actual war, foreign in- v;ision, domestic insurrection, none of these in effect, and none of these in fact, exist, and it is not recited that any sort of war or insnr- eection is threatened. Ltd us pause to consider upon this question of Constitutional law, and the power of Con gress in the recent decision ot the Supreme Court of the United States ex parts Milligan. I will quote from a majority of the court: "Mar tial law cannot arise from threatened invasion. The necessity must be actual and present, the invasion real; such as to effectually close the courts and depose the civil authorities.” We see that martial law comes in only when ac tual war closes courts and deposes civil author ity, but this bill, in time of peace, makes mar tial law operate as though we were in actual war, and becomes the cause, instead of the consequence of the abrogation of civil author ity. One more qualification. It follows, from what has been said on this subject, that there are occasions when martial law can be proper ly applied. If in foreign invasion the civil courts are actually closed, and it is impossible to administer justice according to law, then on the theatre of military operations where war really prevails there is a necessity to furnish a substitute for the civil authority thus over thrown^ to preserve the safety of the army and society, and as no poweT is left but the militia, it is alone to govern by martial rule until laws can have their free course. I now quote from the opinion of the minority of the court, deiiv- red by Chief Justice Chase ; “We by no means assert that Congress can establish and apply the laws of war where no war has been declared or exists. Where peace exists the laws of peace must prevail.” This is sufficiently explicit.— Peace exists in all the territory to which this bill applies. It asserts that after a certain time of peace it sets aside the laws of peace and substitute the laws of war. The minority, con curring with the majority declares that Con gress does not possess that power. A grin, and if possible, more emphatically, the Chief Justice, with remarkable clearness and condensation, sums up the whole matter as follows : There are under the Constitution, three kinds of military jurisdiction—one to be exercised both in peace and in war ; another to be exorcised in time of foreign war, without the boundaries of the United Stateg. or in time of rebellion and civil war within the States of the district occupied by rebels, treated as belligerents ; and a third to be exercised in time of invasion or insurrection, without the limits of die United States, or during rebellion within th limits of the States maintaining their adhesion to the National Government when public danger requires its exercise. Hie first of these may be called into jurisdiction and un der military iaw, and is found in acts of Con gress, prescribing the roles and articles of war, or otherwise providing for the government of the national forces. 2d. It may be distinguish ed as far as may be deemed expedient, the lo cal law. and exercised by the military com mander under the direction of the President, with the express or implied sanction of Con gress. 3d. It ‘may be denominated martial law proper, and is called jnto action by Con gress. or temporarily when the action of Con gress cannot be united, and in case uf justify ing or excusing peril, by the Resident, in times of insurrectiou or invasion, of civil or for eign war within the districts or localities where ordinary law is no longer adequately secure for public safety. It - will be observed rhyt of the three kinds of military jurisdiction which can be exercised or created under oar Constitution, there is bat one that can prevail in time of peace, and that is the eerie of laws enacted by Congress for the government of thq national forces. That body of military law has no application to the citizen, nor even to the citizen soldier, enrolled in the militia in time of peace. But this bill is not a part of that sort of military law, for that applies only to the soldier, and not the citizen : while con tra-wise. the military law. provided by this bill, applies only to the citizen and not the sol dier. I need not say to the Representatives of the American people, that their* Constitution forbids the exercise of judicial law in any way but one that is ordained by the established courts. It is equally well known that in aU criminal cases a trial by jury is made indispen sable by the express words of tliat instrument. I will not enlarge on the inestimable value of the right thus secured to every freeman, or speak of the danger to public liberty in all parts of the country, which must ensue from a denial.of it anywhere, or upon any pretense.— A very recent lecision of the Supreme Court has traced the authority, vindicated the digni ty, and made known the value of this privilege so clearly, that nothing more is needed to show to what extent a violation may be excused. In time of war or public danger this may admit of discussion, but we are provididg now for a time of profound peace, when there is not an armed soldier within our borders, except those who are in the service of the Government. It is in such a condition that an act of Congress is proposed, which, if carried out, would deny a trial by lawful courts and juries, of nine mil lions of American citizens, and to their poster ity for an indefinite period. It seems to be scarcely possible that any one should seriously believe this consistent with a Constitution which declares in simple, plain and unambigu ous language that all persons shall have that right, and that no person shall ever, in any case be deprived of it. The Constitution also forbids the arrest of citi zens without judicial warrant, foundation or probable cause. This bill authorizes arrest with out warrant at the pleasure of the military com mander. The Constitution declares that no per son shall be held to answer for a capital or otlier- ' wise infamous crime, unless on presentment by a grand jury Tlii- bill holds any person, not a sol dier answerable for ail ciimes and all charges, without atiy presentment. The Cons it.ntion de clares that no person shall bo deprived of life, liberty or property without due nroccss of law. Tiiis bill sets aside all process, of law, and makes the citizen answerable in his person and property to the anil of one man, and li.a life to the will of two. Finally, the Constitution declases that the privilege of the writ of ii- tbeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it; where as, this bill declases martial law, which of itself suspends this great writ, in time of peace,and au thorises the military to make the arrest, and gives the prisoner only one priviledge and that is a trial without unnecessary delay. He has no hope of release from custody, except the hope, such as it is, of release by aequital before a rnili tarv commission. The United States are bound to guarantee to each State a republican form of government.— Can it be pretended that this obligation is not palpably broken if we carry out a measure like this, which wipes away every vestige .of repub lican government in ten States, and puts the life, property, liuerty and honor of all the people in. each of them under the domination of a single person, clothed with authority? The negroes have not asked for privileges of voting. The vast majority of them have no idea of what it means.' The bill not only thrusts it in their hands, but compels them, as well as the whites to use it in a particular way. If they do not form a constitution with prescribed articles in it and afterwards elect a Legislature which will act upon a certain measure in a prescribed way; neither blacks nor whites can be relieved from the slavery which this bill imposes on them— Without pausing here to consider the policy or impolicy of Africanizing the Southern part of our territory, I would simply say, and ask the atten tion of Congress to that manifest well known and universally acknowledged bit of constitutional law, which declares that the Federal Government has no jurisdiction, authority or power to regu late such subjects for any State; to force the right of suffrage out of the hands of the white people, and into the hands of negroes is an arbitrary vio lation of this principle. This bill imposes mar tial kiw at once, and its operation will be begun so soon as the General and his troops can be placed. Tlie dread alternative between its harsh rule and compliance with the terms of tliis mea sure, is not suspended, nor aro the people afford ed any time for free deliberations. The bill says to them, take martial law first, then deliberate, and when they have done all that this measure requires them to do other conditions and contin gencies over Avhich they have no control, vet re main to be fulfilled before they can be relieved from martial law. Another Congrc-css must first approve the Constitution made in conformity with tne will of this Congress, and must declare those States entitled to representation in both Houses.* The whole question remains open and unsettled, and must again occupy the attention of Congress, and, in the mean time, the agitation which now prevails will continue to disturb all portions of the people.— The bill also denies the legality of the govern ment of ten States which participated in the re bellion. The amendment to the Federal Consti tution abolishing slavery forever within the juris diction of the United States, practically exclndes them from the Union. If this assumption of the bill be correct, there occurence cannot be consid ered as having been legally given, and the im portant fact is made to appear that the consent of three-fourths of the States, the requisite number, has not been constitutionally obtained to the ratification of that amendment, tints leav ing the question of slavery, as it stood before the amendment was official}' declared to have be come a part of the Constitution; that the measure proposed by this bill violates the Constitution in the particular mentioned, and in many ways which to enumerate, is too clear to admit ” of the least doubt. It only remains to consider whether the injunctions of the instrument ought to be obeyed or not. I think they ought to he obeyed for reasons which I will proceed to give as briefly as possible. In the first place it is the only system of free government which we can hope to have as a nation. When it ceases to be the rale of our conduct, we may perhaps take aqr choice be tween complete anarchy, or a consolidated mon archy and a total dissolution of the Union; but national liberty regulated by law will have passed beyond our reach, It is the best form of gov- eramen the world ever saw. No other is or can be so well adapted to the genius, habits or wants of the American people, combining the strength of the great empire with unspeakable blessings Of local self-governments, having a power to defend the general interests, and recognizing the au thority of the States as the guardians of indus trial rights. It is the sheet-anchor of our safety abroad and our peace at home, and was ordained tq form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, provided for the common defense, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. These great ends have been at tained hertofore and will be again by a faithful obedience to it; but they are certaiu to be lost if we treat with disregard its sacred obligations. It was to punish the gross crime of defying the Constitution, and to vindicate its supreme authority, that we earned on a bloody war of four years’ duration. Shall we now acknowledge that we sacrificed a million of lives, and expended bil lions of treasure, to a free Constitution which is not worthy of respect and preservation ? Those who advocated the light cj secession, alleged in their own justification that we had no regard for law, and that their rights of property and liber ty would not be safe under the Constitution as administered by the United States, and we now verify their assertion; we prove that they were in troth and in fact fighting for their liberty, and instead of branding their leaders .with the dis honoring name of ttraitor. against a righteous and legal government, we elevate them in history as self-sacrificing patriots; consecrate them to the admiration of the world, and place them .bv the side of Washington, Hamoden and Sidney. No, jet us leave them to the infamy they deserve. Punish them as they should be punished, accord ing to law, and take upon ourselves 'no share of the odium which they almld bear alone. It is a part of onr public history, which can never be forgotten, that both Houses of Congress, in July, 1861, declared in form of a solemn resolution, that war was and should be carried on for no purpose of subjugation, but solely to enforce the Constitution and Jaws, and that "when this was yielded bv the parties in rebellion the contest should cease, with the constitutional rights of the States and individuals unimpaired. This resolution was adopted and sent forth to the world unanimously by the Senate and with only two dissenting voices in the House. It was ac cepted by the friends of the Union in the South as well as in the North expressing honesty and truly the object of the war, and on the faith of it made thousands in both sections give their lives an fortunes to the cause, to repudiate it now by refusing to the States and individuals within them the rights which the Constitution and laws of the Union would secure to them, is a breach of our plighted honor, for which I can imagine no excuse, and to which I cannot volun tarily become a party. The evils which spring from the unsettled state of oar government wifi be acknowledged by alb Commercial intercourse is suspended, capital is in constant peril, public securities rinctnate in value, peace itself m not secure, and the cause of moral and political doty is imperiled. To avert these calamities from the country, it is imperatively required »ha± W e should immediately decide upon some course of administration which can be steadfastly adhered t<5. I am thoroughly convinced that any settle ment, or compromise, or plan of action which is inconsistent with the principles of the Constitu tion, will not only be unavailing, but mischievous; that it but multiplies the present evils, instead of maintaining tne Cbnstitntion in its whole in tegrity and vigor throughout the length and breadth of the land as best of all compromises. Besides, our duty does not, in my judgment, leave ns a choice betw een that and any other. I believe it contains tho remedy that is so much needed; and if the co-ordinate branches of tho government would unite upon its provisions, Uiey would be found broad enough and strong enough to sustain, in time of peace, a nation which they can bear through the ordeal of a pro tracted civil war. The most sacred guarantees of that instrument are those which declare each State shall have’at least one representative, and that no State, without its consent, be deprived of equal suffrage in the Senate ; each House is made judge of election, returns and qualifica tions of its own members, and may, with concur rence of two-thirds, expel a member. Thus, as heretofore urged in the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all States, there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are disloval will be clothed with powers of legislation, for this could not happen when tho Constitution and laws are enforced by a vigilant and faithful Congress. Wheu a Senator or Representatives presents his certificate of election, he may be at once admitted or rejected, or should there bo any question of liis eligibility his credentials may be referred for investigation to an appropriate committee. If he is admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member that he posseses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications, and if refused admission as a member for want of due allegiance to the govern ment, and returned to his constituents, he is ad monished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice in the legis lative councils 6f the nation, and the political power and moral influence of Congress aro thus effectively exerted in the interest of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. And is it not far better tho work of restoration should be accomplished by a simple compliance with the plain requirements of the Constitution, than by a recourse to measures, which in effect destroy the States and threaten subversion of the General Government ? All that is necessary to settle this simple, but important question without further agitation or delay is a willingness on the part of an to sustain tlio constitution and cany its pro visions into practical operation. If to-morrow* either of the Houses of Congress would declare that, upon the presentation of tlieir credentials, memberg constitutionally elected and loyal to the General Government would be admitted to seats in Congress, while others would be excluded and their plaees remain vacant mitil tho election by the people of loyal and qualified persons, and if, at the same time, assurance were given that this policy would be continued until all the States were represented, it would send a thrill of joy throughout the entire land, as indicating the inauguration of a system which must speedily bring tranquility to the public mind. While we are legislating upon subjects which aro of great importance to the whole people, and which must effect all parts of the country not only during the life of the present generation, but for ages to come, we should remember that all men arc en titled at least to a hearing in councils which de cide upon the destiny of themselves and children. At present ten States are denied representation, and when the Fortieth Congress assembles on the 4th day of the present month, sixteen States will be without a voice in the House of Representa tives. This grave fact with the important ques tions before us, should induce ns to pause in a course of legislation which looking solely to the attainment of political ends, fail to consider the rights it transgresses, the law which it violates, or the institutions it ftnperils. [Signed.] An’dkew Johnson. Washington, March 2, 1SG7. According to some statistics recently publish ed in a French paper, there is one murder com mitted in England for every 178,000 inhabi tants; in Holland for every 163,000 ; in Prus sia for every 100,000 in Austria for every 77,- 000 ; in Spain for every 4,113, and in the States of the Church for every 750. THE NEWNAN HERALD 1867. FOR 1861 THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF FOUR COUNTIES, COWETA, HEARD, CARROLL, and CAMPBELL. The Proprietors of the nERALD, thankful for tho liberal patronage heretofore extended them, arc determined to spare neither labor nor ex pense to give their subscribers a full return for their money. The times are stormy, and no man should live a day without a Newspaper—and the humblest citizen of Georgia can spare $3.00 for that pur pose. In oacli issue tho reader of Miscellany will he entertained—the lover of News will be gratified— the Fanner and Honsekeoper will bo instructed. lira Hwrtatwtk POWELL & STALLINGS, Attorneys at £jaw, NEWNAN, GA., W ILL practice in the several Courts of Law and Equity iu the Tallapoosa r.ud Cow eta Circuits, find in the United States District Court for the State of Georgia. Special attention given to the compromising and collecting of Old Claims, and Administra tion, Conveyancing, &c. All business entrusted to them will receive prompt and faithful attention. JOHN w. POWELL, J. E- STALLINGS, Newnan, Ga. Senoia, Ga,. March 9-12m. Coweta Sheriff’s Sale. On the first Tuesday in April next., Xtf^ILL be sold before the Court House | f door iu Newnan, Coweta county, with in the legal hours of sale, the following pro perty, to-wit: One buggy and harness: levied on as the property of Hilliard J Hodnett, by virtue of a distress warrant issued from the County Court of said county in favor of Wesley W Addy, administrator, &c., of Jacob Addy, deoeased, vs said Hodnett Eighty-five acres of land, more or less, a fractional lot of kind, number not known, it being in the 4th dist of Coweta county, and adjoining land of W W Thomas ou the north east, and lying on Wahoo creek and Chatta hoochee river, also known as tbe “Cauley Fraction levied on as the property of J T Porter & Co, to satisfy a tax fi fa issued by the Tax Collector of the county of Fulton, State of-Georgia, vs J T Porter, of said county.— Levy made and returned to me by a constable. House and lot number not known, in the town of Newnan, lying and situate near the depot of the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, bounded on the north by Depot street, on the east by Atlanta & We3t Point Railroad, and on the west hv Livery Stable lot, and now oc cupied by Express Agent: levied on as the property of Kilgore <fc Cade to satisfy a fi fa issued from the County Court of Coweta, in favor of S D Smith vs & Cade. March 9,1867. GEO. H. CARMICAL, Sh’fi’. ' TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. One Copy ono year, payable in advanco, 13,00 One Copy six months, payable in advance, 41,50 One Copy threo months, payable in advance, 41,00 A Club of six will bo allowed an extra copy. We will send tho Herald and Godoy’a Lady’s Book one year for 45,50. Or tho Herald and tho Southern Cultivator ono year for $4.50. Or the Herald & Peterson's Magazine for 44,50. Or the Herald, Godey’a Lady’s Book, Southern Cultivator, and Peterson’s Magazine ono year for 48,50. We would respectfully ask our friends to aid us in extending our circulation. JAS. E. JONES. R. S. BURCH. JONES & BURCH, GROCERS and PRODUCE M! ercliants. AT THEIR OLD STAND, ISLE We have on hand at our COMMODIOUS STORE, and daily arriving— qpitN, BACON, FLQUR, MEAL, COFFEE, SUGAR, SYRUP, IUCE, LARD, —BUTTER, (EHMX2E GUANO, And all other articles in our line, to which we invite the attention of the purchasing public. February 16-23-tf. -ALSO- JOB WOBi: Pamphlets Circulars* Hand-Rills, Posters, Cards, .Legal Blanks Letter Reads, Bill Heads, Programmes, Ac., Neatly and Promptly exeented at. THE HERALD 6FFIGE
