NORTH CAROLINA. 





ion by the war; and after 

 the paramount authority 

 [in-lit, dinners in the 

 irrtiits ail'! ill-strict s, prevented tln-ir 

 com mi/ation until the not. of Con- 



>f March last made an allotment, 

 :pon the in-\v plan. < )n reopen- 

 in^ Hi.- Circuit Court in North Carolina, Chief 

 iil that, although tho military 

 \va> still e\crci>ed in tin- Southern 

 circuit-, it was not, as formerly, in its power 

 to control all judicial process whether of State 

 or national courts, hut "only to prevent illegal 

 vioK-nc to persons and property, and facilitate 

 :tion of every State to equal riirhts 

 and benefits in the Union." "This military 

 authority,'' he said, "does not extend in any 



t to the courts of the United States." 

 An important decision was pronounced by 

 the Chief Justice, early in the term, on a case 

 arising under an act of Congress of the South- 

 ern Confederacy, entitled "Au act for the 

 sequestration of the estates of alien enemies," 

 and an act amendatory thereto. Under the 

 ion of these acts of the Confederate Con- 

 a debtor in the State of North Carolina 

 had been compelled to pay a debt due to par- 

 tics resident in Pennsylvania to a receiver ap- 

 pointed by the Confederate government to 

 collect such debts; and was now sued by the 

 original creditor for payment of the obligation. 

 It \va^ urged as a defence, that the Confederacy, 

 while it existed, was a de facto government, 

 that the citizens of the States which did not 

 recognize its authority were aliens, and there- 

 its acts of sequestration were valid as to 

 its own subjects. Hence, it was argued that 

 payment to the government of debts. due to 

 s'icli aliens, when compelled by proceedings 

 under those acts, relieved the debtor from all 

 it ion. The Chief Justice declared that 

 the ordinances of secession and all the acts 

 which followed them "did not effect, even for 

 a moment, the separation of North Carolina 

 from the Union, any more than the acts of an 

 individual who commits grave offences against 

 the State, by resisting its officers and defying its 

 authority, separate him from the State." After 

 arguing this point at length, he said: "Those 

 who engage in rebellion must consider the con- 

 se< [nences. If they succeed, rebellion becomes 

 r.-volution; and the new government will jus- 

 tify its founders. If they fail, all their acts 

 hostile to the rightful Government are viola- 

 tions of law. and originate no rights which can 

 be recognized by the courts of the nation, 

 whose authority and existence have been alike 

 'ed. "We hold, therefore, that compulsory 

 payment, under the sequestration acts, to the 

 receiver, of the debt due to the plaintiffs 

 the defendant, was no discharge." 

 On tho llth of April General Sickles issued his 

 military order, No. 10, for the relief of debtors. 

 11 is reasons for instituting the measures set 

 forth in the order are indicated in the opening 

 paragraph, which is in the following words : 



Tho general destitution j>r.-vailmg among the popu- 

 lation ni' this iniliturv 



r liii/ iiii-an-. lor tho develop:! 



,al resources. Tho nature and extent of the 

 /ion demand extraordinary measures. The 

 are borne down by a heavy burden .i 



tin- i-rcijM of (rrain and fardeii prodm 

 \c.ir; many familii-s have hri-n ilr|irivr.l of - . 



.-non- n 1 I'm K! and clothili.- ::il]ik-- 



mciits tind auxiliaries of Imsbainlr 



the laboring population in numcrouH localities are 



tlireati-riftd with r-tarvation, unless supplied wit 



by tlio Government of the United ^ .:ial>il- 



ity of a large portion of the people to pay taxes 



the local authorities without adequate" . 

 of relief; and the gravity of the wituatioti i-, increased 

 by the general disposition shown by creditors to en- 

 force, upon an impoverished people, the immediate 

 collection of all cluimn. 



It is stated that the amount of indebtedness 

 of private individuals in the States of North 

 and South Carolina was utterly beyond their 

 power to pay, and that it was in many casts 

 vehemently pressed to immediate settlement. 

 In many districts it was said that the number 

 of suits was larger than that of the voting 

 population, a great proportion of which con- 

 sisted of summary processes, indicating that 

 the majority of the debtors were unable to pay 

 debts under one hundred dollars, and thus 

 compelling the sale of personal effects as well 

 as of real property. The first three sections of 

 General Sickles's order were as follows : 



1. Imprisonment for debt is prohibited ; unless the 

 defendant in execution shall be convicted of a fraud- 

 ulent concealment or disposition of his property, 

 with intent to hinder, delay, and prevent the creditor 

 in the recovery of his debt or demand. And the 

 proceedings now established in North and South 

 Carolina, respectively, for the trial and determination 

 of such questions, may be adopted. 



2. Judgments or decrees, for the payment of money, 

 on causes of action arising between the 19th of De- 

 cember, 1860, and the 15th of May, 1865, shall not 

 be enforced by execution against the property or the 

 person of the defendant. Proceedings in such causes 

 of action, now pending, shall be stayed ; and no 

 suit or process shall be hereafter instituted or com- 

 menced, for any such causes of action. 



3. Sheriffs, coroners, and constables, are hereby 

 directed to suspend for twelve calendar months the 

 sale of all property upon execution or process, on 

 liabilities contracted prior to the 19th of December, 

 1860, unless upon the written consent of the defend- 

 ants, except in cases where the plaintiff, or in his ab- 

 sence his agent or attorney, shall upon oath, with 

 corroborative testimony, allege and prove that the 

 defendant is removing, or intends fraudulently to 

 remove, his property beyond the territorial jurisdic- 

 tion of the court. The sale of real or personal prop- 

 erty by foreclosure of mortgage is likewise suspciult d 

 for twelve calendar months, except in cases where 

 the payment of interest money, accruing since the 

 15th day of May, 1865, shall not have been made be- 

 fore the day of sale. 



In certain civil suits tried before the United 

 States Circuit Court at Raleigh, over which 

 Chief Justice Chase presided, judgment was 

 passed against defendants residing at Wilming- 

 ton, and writs of execution were issued and 

 placed in the hands of the marshal, to be served 

 upon the property of the said defendant-. A 

 deputy-marshal, who was charged with the duty 

 of serving the writs, was expressly forbidden 



