CONGRESS, U. S. 



255 



of the class to which it ought to be denied. As, 

 for instance, if it were determined that the pub- 

 lic safety required that persons charged with 

 political offences alone should not be delivered 

 upon the writ, it could only be known on the 

 return of the writ whether the complainant 

 was held for such an offence or not. Hence the 

 bill under consideration provides that if the 

 officer having, the custody returns that he holds 

 the prisoners by order of the President, the 

 privilege is denied, but without this return the 

 proceedings remain just as before. 



" But it is distinctly provided that the ' priv- 

 ilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 

 suspended except in cases of rebellion or inva- 

 sion, when the public safety may require it ;' 

 thus declaring, by way of exception, that in 

 such cases the privilege may be suspended. 



"The law remains undisturbed. The writ 

 issues in all cases, but the privilege of it may 

 be suspended. What is that privilege ? It is 

 the right which belongs privily and personally 

 to every man arrested and detained of his lib- 

 erty, to be either freely discharged, or in case 

 he is charged with an offence, that he be deliv- 

 ered over to the proper judicial tribunal to be 

 tried for the same according to law. These 

 distinctions may be thought too refined, still 

 they result from the language used ; and there 

 are besides many good and valid reasons why 

 they should be preserved. 



" Now, we can readily conceive a state of 

 things when it would be perfectly proper to al- 

 low this privilege to one man, and yet, strange 

 as it may seem, to deny it to another. A man 

 charged with murder might insist upon it, while 

 one charged with treason could not. The civil 

 tribunals might, even in times of civil war, 

 give to the first a fair and impartial trial, while 

 at the same time to allow them to try the sec- 

 ond for treason would be a mere mockery, re- 

 sulting in his acquittal or conviction, not accord- 

 ing to the evidence, but according as the court 

 and jury were affected for or against his cause." 



The debate was further continued until a late 

 hour by Messrs. Powell, Cowan, Grimes, Bay- 

 ard, &c., when the question of concurring in 

 the report was taken without calling the yeas 

 and nays. On the next day a discussion took 

 place on these proceedings, and it was urged 

 that the vote was taken at a time when a mem- 

 ber had yielded the floor only to a motion to 

 adjourn. It was finally agreed that a motion 

 should be made to reconsider, and that the 

 vote on this motion should be regarded as a 

 test vote on the adoption of the report. 



The vote was as follows : . 



YEAS Messrs. Bayard, Carlile, Davis, Henderson, 

 Latham, Nesmith, Powell, Rice, Richardson, Sauls- 

 bury, Turpie, Wilier, and Wilson of Missouri 13. 



^ AYS Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Dixon, 

 Doolittle, Foster, Grimes,Harlan, Harris, Hicks, How- 

 ard, Howe, King, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, 

 Morrill, Pomeroy, Sherman, Sumner, Ten Eyck, 

 Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilmot, and Wilson of 

 Massachusetts 25. 



The following is the bill as it passed : 



An Act relating to Habeas Corpus, and regulating 

 Judicial proceedings in certain cases. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen- 

 tatives of the United States of America in Congress as- 

 sembled, That, during the present rebellion, the Presi- 

 dent of the United States, whenever, in his judgment, 

 the public safely may require it, is authorized to sus- 

 pend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in any 

 case throughout the United States, or any part there- 

 of. And whenever and wherever the said privilege 

 shall be suspended, as aforesaid, no military or other 

 officer shall be compelled, in answer to any writ of 

 habeas corpus, to return the body of any person or 

 persons detained by him by authority of the President ; 

 put upon the certificate, under oath, of the officer hav- 

 ing charge of any one so detained that such person is 

 detained by him as a prisoner under authority of the 

 President, further proceedings under the writ of habeas 

 corpus shall be suspended by the judge or court having 

 issued the said writ, so long as said suspension by the 

 President shall remain in force, and said rebellion con- 

 tinue. 



SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secre- 

 tary of State and the Secretary of War be, and they 

 are hereby, directed, as soon as may be practicable, to 

 furnish to the judges of the circuit and district courts 

 of the United States and of the District of Columbia a 

 list of the names of all persons, citizens of States in 

 which the administration of the laws has continued un- 

 impaired in the said Federal courts, who are now, or 

 may hereafter be, held as prisoners of the United 

 States, by order or authority of the President of the 

 United States or either of said Secretaries, in any fort, 

 arsenal, or other place, as state or political prisoners, 

 or otherwise than as prisoners of war ; the said list 

 to contain the names of all those who reside in the 

 respective jurisdictions of said judges! or who may 

 be deemed by the said Secretaries, or either of them, 

 to have violated any law of the United States in any 

 of said jurisdictions, and also the date of each arrest ; 

 the Secretary of State to furnish a list of such persons 

 as are imprisoned by the order or authority of the 

 President, acting through the State Department ; and 

 the Secretary of War a list of such as are imprisoned by 

 the order or authority of the President, acting through 

 the Department of War. And in all cases where a 

 grand jury, having attended any of said courts having 

 jurisdiction in the premises, after the passage of this 

 act, and after the furnishing of said list, as aforesaid, 

 has terminated its session without finding an indict- 

 ment or presentment or other proceeding against any 

 such person, it shall be the duty of the judge-of said 

 court forthwith to make an order that any such pris- 

 oner desiring a discharge from said imprisonment be 

 brought before him to be discharged ; and every officer 

 of the United States having custody of such prisoner 

 is hereby directed immediately to obey and execute 

 said judge's order ; and in case he shall delay or re- 

 fuse so to do, he shall be subject to an indictment for 

 a misdemeanor, and be punished by a fine of not less 

 than five hundred dollars and imprisonment in the 

 common jail for a period of not less than six months, 

 in the discretion of the court : Provided, however, That 

 no person shall be discharged by virtue of the provis- 

 ions of this act until afterhe or she shall have taken 

 an oath of allegiance to the Government of the United 

 States, and to support the Constitution thereof ; and 

 that he or she will not hereafter in any way encourage 

 or give aid and comfort to the present rebellion, or 

 the supporters thereof: And, provided, also, That the 

 judge or court before whom such person may be 

 Drought, before discharging him or her from impris- 

 onment, shall have power, on examination of the case, 

 and, if the public safety shall require it, shall be re- 

 quired to cause him or her to enter into recognizance, 

 with or without surety, in a sum to be fixed by said 

 judge or court, to keep the peace and be of good be- 

 havior toward the United States and its citizens, and 

 from time to time, and at such times as such judge or 

 court may direct, appear before said judge or court 



