CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



239 



its right, its duty, to see that the liberty of the 

 citizen is not unlawfully violated. If persons 

 have been confined in these prisons beyond the 

 period allowed by law, we are entitled to know 

 it, that \ve may apply a remedy. If persons are 

 there confined, under the discretionary order 

 of the President, which discretion we have con- 

 ferred upon him by the law suspending the 

 writ of habeas corpus, that is an adequate and 

 conclusive reply to any investigation. If any 

 officer of the army has been arrested, not under 

 the discretionary power conferred upon the 

 President, hut in the administration of the ordi- 

 nary laws for the government of the army, 

 there is a law that entitles him to trial or to his 

 discharge at the expiration of a certain period 

 of time if he be not tried ; and I understand the 

 gentleman from New York (Mr. Ganson) to 

 have said that within his knowledge there is 

 one case of that kind." 



Mr. Ganson: "I know of two such cases." 



Mr. Davis, of Maryland: "The honorable 

 gentleman states that he knows of two such 

 cases. My impression is that it is likely there 

 are other cases of this kind ; and one such case 

 justifies and requires the adoption of the reso- 

 tion. 



"There is another ground upon which, in my 

 judgment, it ought to stand. The law suspend- 

 ing the writ of habeas corpus in some respects, 

 in my judgment, too much limited the discre- 

 tion which ought to have been confided to the 

 President when that writ was suspended }> yet, 

 being the law of the land, it must be obeyed, 

 and I think I had almost said with my knowl- 

 edge it has not been obeyed." 



Mr. Cox, of Ohio, said : " I would like, Mr. 

 Speaker, to have read for the information of the 

 House the first and second sections of the law 

 to which the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 

 Davis) has just referred ; I mean the law which 

 regulates the suspension of the writ of habeas 

 corpus, which lays down expressly the effect of 

 such suspension, and directs that the Secretary 

 of State and the Secretary of War shall report 

 to the judges of the circuit and district courts 

 of the United States the names of prisoners. I 

 should like also to enlarge the scope of this reso- 

 lution so as to inquire why it is that that law 

 has not been obeyed, and whether there has 

 been any attempt made to carry out the law, by 

 the indictment of the persons whose duty it is 

 under that law to report the names of those 

 who are in prison. I would like to know 

 whether the district attorneys of the United 

 States have done their duty ; whether such lists 

 have ever been furnished, or whether the law 

 made by the American Congress is a dead let- 

 ter; whether the executive department, even 

 the legal portion of the executive department, 

 can set aside our laws when they please for their 

 own purposes. 



" I do not make these remarks without hav- 

 ing cases in my eye not alone the distinguished 

 case referred to by the gentleman from Mary- 

 .and, the case of Mr. Vallandigham. There are 



other cases cases in which the Secretary of the 

 Treasury, under some peculiar 'higher law' 

 unknown to our statutes, has, for purposes con- 

 nected with the revenue, or to protect the issue 

 of greenbacks or shinplasters against counter- 

 feiting, caused persons to be arrested by the 

 military power. And there are now men in the 

 Capitol prison, almost within the sound of the 

 voice of at least some of the members of this 

 House, who are kept there month after month 

 on the mere order of the Solicitor of the Treas- 

 ury on the charge of forgery. Applications 

 have been made by their friends again and 

 again to have their persons removed to the 

 proper jurisdictions in the States and districts 

 where the law is unimpeded by the military au- 

 thority, and no attention has been paid to the 

 request. They still remain there. There is a 

 case from my own district of an old man who 

 has been suspected of counterfeiting. He could 

 be released at any moment by the Solicitor of 

 the Treasury, if he chose. Is there no relief for 

 these abuses ? Shall we not be permitted to 

 inquire about them with a view to future legis- 

 lation?" 



Mr. Coffroth, of Pennsylvania, also said : "Mr. 

 Speaker, I know that Lieutenant Nelson, a 

 brave and gallant officer from my district, has 

 been confined in the Capitol prison for four long 

 months. By permission of the Secretary of 

 War I went on Monday last to see him, and he 

 told me that there had been no charges up to 

 this time preferred against him, and that he did 

 not know why he was imprisoned. He had 

 served in the army two years; he had been 

 wounded and had a limb amputated, and he 

 was hobbling through that prison on crutches. 

 In cases of this kind, I think it is right for this 

 House to carry out this resolution, and make it 

 compulsory upon the committee to examine into 

 this matter and let the people of the country 

 know why then* friends are detained in these 

 prisons." 



Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, said : " The 

 whole resolution, as explained by the various 

 speakers, and the gentleman from Maryland 

 (Mr. Davis) especially, is censorious on the War 

 Department. Now, if the Department deserve 

 censure, I am willing that it shall have it. But 

 there may be several things that are not ex- 

 pedient at this moment to disclose except it 

 were in secret committee, as the gentleman has 

 said. If the usual form be observed of direct- 

 ing the Military Committee to inquire into the 

 expediency of investigating these matters, I 

 shall have no objection to the inquiry. But no 

 one can deny that the passage of the resolution 

 is a direct censure on the Department. I do 

 not say that it was so intended, but I do say 

 that it has that effect. However, if the gentle- 

 man 'from New York has no objection to let- 

 ting me look into it more carefully, I will move 

 to postpone the further consideration of the 

 matter. 



Mr. Kasson, of Iowa, said : " I desire to add 

 my testimony, so far as it may go and will 



