792 



UNITED STATES. 



by my predecessor, ex- Attorney-General Gushing, 

 because it thus appears to have been well settled 

 for many years. \6 Opinions, 466, May 27, 1854.) 



I need hardly add that there can be no State law 

 or State official in this country who has jurisdiction 

 to oppose you in discharging your official duties 

 under laws of the United States. If such interfer- 

 ence shall take place a thing not anticipated you 

 are to disregard it entirely. The laws of the United 

 States are supreme, and so, consequently, is the 

 action of officials of the United States in enforcing 

 them. There is, as virtually you have already been 

 told, no officer of a State whom you may not. by 

 summons, embody into your own posse ; and" any State 

 posse^ already embodied by a sheritf will, with such 

 sheriff, be obliged, upon your summons, to become 

 part of a United States posse, and obey you, or your 

 deputy acting virtute officia. The responsibility 

 which devolves upon an officer clothed with such 

 powers, and required to guard the highest rights of 

 citizens, corresponds in degree with those powers and 

 rights, and exacts of such officer consideration, in- 

 telligence, and courage. It is proper to advise you 

 that, in preparing this circular, I have considered 

 recent important .judgments given by the Supreme 

 Court of the United States upon acts of Congress 

 which regulate this general topic. 



I have founded the above instructions upon such 

 acts as are affected by those judgments. I need in this 

 place add no more than that these judgments do not 

 concern State elections. You will find appended, in 

 full or by reference, such statutory provisions as it 

 seems important that you and your deputies shall in 

 this connection read and consider. In matters of 

 doubt, you are of course entitled to the advice of the 

 United States Attorney for your district. These in- 

 structions have been submitted to the President, and 

 have his approval. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant. 



ALPHONSO TAFT, Attorney-General. 



On September 7th, General Sherman, under 

 the direction of the preceding letter of the 

 Secretary of War, issued a general order for 

 the guidance of the Army. It embraced the 

 above instructions of the Attorney-General to 

 the marshals, and then called the attention of 

 all officers of the Army to section 5522 of the 

 Revised Statutes in regard to interfering with 

 supervisors of election, marshals or deputies, 

 and also to an extract of a letter of the Secre- 

 tary of War to General Meade, dated August 

 25, 1868, heretofore issued as the instructions 

 of the department, which extract is as follows: 



The obligation of military individuals, officers, 

 and soldiers, in common with all citizens, to obey 

 the summons of a marshal or sheriff, must be held 

 subordinate to their paramount duty as members of 

 . a permanent body. Hence troops can act only in 

 their proper organized capacity under their own offi- 

 cers, and in obedience to the immediate orders of 

 those officers. The officer commanding troops sum- 

 moned to the aid of a marshal or sheriff must also 

 judge for himself, and upon his official responsibility, 

 whether the service required of him is lawful and 

 necessary, and compatible with the proper discharge 

 of his ordinary military duties, ana must limit his 

 action absolutely to proper aid in the execution of a 

 lawful precept exhibited to him by the marshal or 

 sheriff. If time will permit, every demand from a 

 civil officer for military aid, whether it be for the 

 execution of civil process or to suppress insurrection, 

 should be forwarded to the President, with all ma- 

 terial facts in the case, for his orders ; and in all cases 

 the highest commander whose orders can be given 

 in time to meet the emergency will alone assume 

 the responsibility of action. By a timely disposition 

 f troops where there is reason to apprehend neces- 



sity for their use, and by their passive interposition 

 between hostile parties, danger of collision may be 

 averted. 



He further called attention to the proclama- 

 tion of the President of the United States of 

 May 3, 1871, in regard to the enforcement act, 

 in which the President enjoins upon all good 

 citizens, and especially upon all public officers, 

 to be zealous in the enforcement thereof, and 

 warns all persons to abstain from committing 

 any of the acts thereby prohibited. The fol- 

 lowing paragraphs of the general order pub- 

 lishing that proclamation for the guidance of 

 the Army were published in this order of Sep- 

 tember 7th : 



The President directs that, whenever occasion shall 

 arise, regular forces of the United States stationed in 

 the vicinity of any locality where offenses described 

 by the aforesaid act, approved April 30, 1871, may 

 be committed, shall, in strict accordance with the 

 provisions of said act, be employed by their com- 

 manding officers in assisting the authorized civil au- 

 thorities of the United States in making arrests of 

 the persons accused under the said act; in prevent- 

 ing the rescue of persons arrested for such cause ; 

 in breaking up and dispersing bands of disguised 

 marauders, and of armed organizations against the 



Eeace and quiet or lawful pursuits of citizens in any 

 tate. Whenever troops are employed in the manner 

 indicated in this order, the commanding officer will 

 at the earliest opportunity make a full report of his 

 operations to the proper superior authority. 



The election took place on the 7th of No- 

 vember, and the following are the official re- 

 turns of the popular vote : 



* Returning-Board count. 



