418 



HABEAS CORPUS. 



the present rebellion, the President of the United 

 States, whenever in his judgment the public safety 

 may require it, may suspend the privilege of the writ 

 of Aabeas corpus in any case throughout the United 

 States or any part thereof." 



In conformity to this law, and in the exercise of his 

 judgment, President Lincoln, on the 15th of Septem- 

 ber, 1863, si* months subsequently to the passage of 

 the act of Congress, issued his proclamation sus- 

 pending the privilege of the writ throughout the 

 United States, in certain specified cases ; such sus- 

 pension to continue throughout the duration of the 

 said rebellion, or until by a subsequent proclamation 

 the proclamation of September should be modified 

 or revoked. 



This alternative language clearly looks to and was 

 intended to provide for the immediate restoration of 

 the privilege of the writ whenever "the public safety 

 did not require its longer suspension ; " and this, even 

 although the rebellion should continue after its res- 

 toration, as it did in all the time that elapsed between 

 the passage of the act of Congress authorizing the 

 President to suspend it, and its actual suspension. 



It is very important, in this connection, to observe 

 that the proclamation specifically enumerates the 

 persons and cases to be deprived of the beilefits of 

 habeas corpus during the continuance of the rebellion, 

 or until the withdrawal or modification of the procla- 

 mation. These are 



Where, by the authority of the President, any mil- 

 itary, naval, or civil officer of the Government, held 

 persons in custody as, 1st, prisoners of war; 2d, 

 spies : 3d, aiders or abettors of the enemy ; 4th, en- 

 rolled, drafted, mustered, or enlisted officers, soldiers, 

 and seamen, belonging to the land or naval forces; 

 5th, deserters; 6th, persons amenable to military law, 

 or to the rules and articles of war, or the rules pre- 

 scribed by authority of the President for the regula- 

 tion of military and naval services ; 7th, persons re- 

 sisting a draft; 8th, any other offence against the 

 military or naval services. 



As to all other classes of citizens, there has been 

 no general suspension of the writ of habeas corpus 

 under the authorization of the act of Congress. In 

 one or two individual cases, the writ has oeen spe- 

 cially suspended by order of the President. 



I am additionally fortified in the views I have ex- 

 pressed, by the proclamation of the President appoint- 

 ing a Provisional Governor for Alabama, and by the 

 acts which he thereby authorizes and directs to be 

 performed. Among other things, the United States 

 District Judge for the Judicial District in which Ala- 

 bama is included, is thereby directed to "proceed to 

 hold courts within said State in accordance with the 

 provisions of the act of Congress." Is any one weak 

 enough to suppose that the President of the United 

 States would order the civil courts to resume their 

 functions in a State in rebellion against the Govern- 

 ment, and denying and fighting against its au- 

 thority? 



This proclamation was issued in July last, and as 

 if to place the matter beyond cavil, the President on 

 the 25th of August, 1865, issued another proclamation 

 removing all existing restrictions on trade with the 

 States then recently in rebellion, and allowing the 

 importation into these States of articles which Here- 

 tofore had been declared contraband of war. Need 

 it be argued that if rebellion existed in Alabama, the 

 Government would not authorize munitions of war to 

 be brought into the State ; or can there be much bet- 

 ter evidence than this last named proclamation affords, 

 that the President regards the rebellion ended within 

 her borders? 



On the 2d day of September, 1865, " General Orders 

 No. 88," issued from the headquarters of the Depart- 

 ment of Alabama, by the direction of the respondent, 

 Major-General Charles R. Woods. In these "Orders" 

 the rebellion is spoken of as a thing of the past, and, 

 totidem verbis, the restoration of the authority of the 

 United States over the late rebellious States, is an- 



nunciated with much emphasis, and it is therein also 

 declared that in every county of the State of Alabama, 

 "Judges and Sheriffs have been appointed, and are, 

 and for weeks have been in the exercise of their func- 

 tions." And yet this same military commander, on 

 the 22d day of November, 1865, as an excuse for' his 

 refusal to obey the process of the Courts of the United 

 States, says, "The writ of habeas corpus is suspended 

 in the State of Alabama ! " 



On the 28th day of October, 1865, the President of 

 the United States issued a proclamation to the people 

 thereof, appointing "the first Thursday of December 

 next, as a day of National Thanksgiving to the Creator 

 of the Universe " for the deliverances of the American 

 people from the terrible calamities of domestic strife. 

 In one of the preambles to this proclamation these 

 words occur : "It has pleased Almighty God, during 

 the year which is now coming to an e'nd, to relieve 

 our beloved country from the fearful scourge of civil 

 war, and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, 

 unity, and harmony." 



The President of the United States, and, in virtue 

 of his office, the Commander-in-Chief of its army and 

 navy, thus officially announces the restoration of 

 domestic tranquillity. 



In a letter dated at Washington, on the 10th day 

 of the present month of November, the Lieutenant- 

 General of the United States writes over his own 

 signature as follows: "However we may have dif- 

 fered from our Southern brethren in the events of the 

 last four years, we have now become one people, and 

 with but one interest." This language of the Nation's 

 chosen Military Chieftain, certainly does not favor 

 the idea that Gen. Grant knows of the existence of 

 such a state of public disorder as would justify the 

 suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 

 in Alabama. 



There being then neither "invasion" nor "rebel- 

 lion" to menace "the public safety," it follows that 

 the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot now 

 be suspended, and the citizen must be fully protected 

 in his right to invoke its aid. 



The case of the petitioner comes within the prin- 

 ciples I have stated; and even if it were true that the 

 proclamation of the 15th of September, 1863, is still 

 in force here, this case is not within the class of cases 

 or persons against whom the privilege of the writ was 

 suspended by that proclamation. In his petition, 

 the allegations of which are not controverted, he 

 states that he is not, and has not been for any time, 

 or in any manner, connected with the land or naval 

 forces, or the militia, when called into the military 

 service of the United States; that he is a " citizen of 

 the State of Massachusetts, and has never voluntarily 

 given any aid, countenance, support, or adhesion to 

 any government, power, authoritv, constitution, or 

 cause, inimical or hostile to the United States ; but 

 has been habitually and steadily loyal to them and to 

 their cause and government." That in May last he 

 "came to the State of Alabama as Supervising Spe- 

 cial Agent of the Treasury of the United States," 

 under certain acts of Congress, and that he performed 

 the duties of such office until about the first day of 

 November, 1865. That on the 7th day of November 

 instant, he was arrested by the order of Major-Gen- 

 eral Charles R. Woods, commanding the United 

 States forces at Mobile. That no affidavit accusing 

 him of crime has ever been made, and no warrant for 

 his arrest issued by any magistrate having jurisdic- 

 tion of offences against the laws. That he has had 

 no hearing, and has not been informed of the natur 

 of the charge against him ; but that he is enabled to 

 state that " it arises entirely upon some supposed 

 misfeasance or non-feasance of duty in his office of 

 Supervising Agent of the Treasury Department. That 

 he offered oail for his appearance before any Court 

 having jurisdiction of the alleged offence, which was 

 refused by the military commander." 



Such in substance and often in terms, is the peti- 

 tion upon which the writ was issued, and upon tho 



