lowing Sherman's Army for months, and that the Lord has in his own time and way, although they were harmless, hungry, and worked out the deliverence of this people, and almost naked, still I never heard them say we cannot fail to hear his voice saying "go they were willing to go back to their masters over into the South and help them" and if we and to slavery. They are willing to wait cannot go, let us send, send them clothing, patiently, cheerfully, for time to work out for give of our abundance to lighten in some them the precious blessings of freedom, they small measure, their way as they tread the seem to think that any amount of suffering is now rugged path of freedom, and when they not too great, so that they may at last come are fully established they will never cease to out from under the cloud that has environed call down blessings upon the heads of those them with worse than Egyptian darkness. I who have helped them in their sorest need. It am sure that the smallest child who goes to seems to me if I desired any thing of the Lord, school knows what freedom means. It is and wanted an effectual fervent prayer of. pleasant to see the little faces light up with fered for it. I should go to some good old joy, when you tell them they are no longer coloured man or woman and ask them to pray slaves. I said to one old man, "Well, Uncle, for me, for their faith so earnest, so implicit, how do you like to be a free man?" The could not fail to bring the blessings. They response came quick and earnest: "Bless the wrestle like Jacob of old, with God, and their Lord, Missus, I never 'spected to see this day, faith never wavers; no matter how destitute but I knew my people would; I have been they may be, how perplexed or encompassed praying for it thirty-five years, and now my with difficulties on every side, they resolve all old eyes have seen the salvation of the Lord, their doubts and fears into this one sentence. and I thanks the Lord every day, that he has "Only trust the Lord, and it will all be right." set my people free." Again I said to one, Oh for such faith, a faith that can look up "Well aunty, I suppose you know by this time through coming years of unrequited toil, what freedom means." Her face lighted up, years of martyrdom, and never for one as she said, "Thank the Lord, honey, I moment doubt the goodness of God, and the belongs to myself now" and with still more final victory, "Vengeance is mine saith the earnestness, laying her hands on the heads of Lord, I will repay." How wonderfully this two little ones by her side, "And these are promise has been worked out in the freedom not Massa's, but they are mine! Now I don't of this oppressed and downtrodden people. care how hard I work, I can take care of Should we not then as a nation, be careful to myself and the children too." Generally deal justly with those whom God has set free, speaking I have seen no more laziness mani- will they not with their passionate love of fested by the coloured people, than I have freedom, and their intense hatred of slavery throughout the poorer classes at the North, and all its concomitants, prove an element of give them work to do, and they will most strength to this government? why should they cheerfully do it, as a majority they wish to not then have a voice in what even pertains to prove to the world, that they can take care of its best good, why not give them at least the themselves, let us only give them a chance, the same privilege we grant to foreigners who help them until they are able, if I may use crowd our great thoroughfares by thousands, the expression, to stand alone, and after that are they more ignorant than they? I answer pass judgment upon them. They are now from actual observation no. Let us deal justly very very destitute, they need to be clothed, with the Freed-man, lest a greater evil come and I trust God will open the hearts of his upon us, and at last hear the voice of Jesus children everywhere, to respond to this great saying "Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not." and pressing need. They must be educated, FRANCIS E. BONNELL. for in this way we hope to develope the talent, energy and intelligence of this race, and give them an individuality as a people. We who are the professed disciples of Jesus, believe Teacher at New Berne, N. C. Rev. A. M. Wylie. If I can assist you at any time by giving you further information I shall be glad to do so. FREED-MEN'S AID SOCIETY. RECEIPTS FOR SEPT., OCT., AND PART OF NOV., 1865. ...135 19 7 sington ... 500 The Freed-men,s Aid Society Lon • 086 ...120 0 ... 3 3 0 ... 10 10 0 ... 076 " J. Cash, Esq., Coventry... C. A. Simons, Collecting Card ... Cheltenham Freed-men's Aid ... ... Mrs. E. Townsend Collections from the Continent ...126 0 0 500 3,270 16 8 3,958 11 0 Per Rev. James Wilson, collected by Rev. George Bowen, Bombay. N. Spencer, Esq.... Street, Congregational Church, Dundee ... ... ... 707, Per Rev. Mr. Syms, ... 708, 709, 710, Per Free St. Paul's Church, Dundee 15 9 3 711, Per Rev. Mr Spence Per Miss L. Greenwood, Halstead Colonel Shaw ...100 Rs. Major Garner A. A. ... 50 (No name)... (Ditto ... 40 0 0 ... ... 29 10 0 Dr. Livingston 10 -- Printed by ARLISS ANDREWS, of No. 7, Duke Street, Bloomsbury, W.C., in the Parish of St. George, Bloomsbury, in the County of Middlesex. THE FREED-MAN. AUTHORITY OF THE EXECUTIVE TO PROCLAIM MARTIAL LAW. BY WILLIAM WILLIS, ESQ., L.L.D., BARRISTER-AT-LAW. THE recent transactions in Jamaica give rise to two inquiries-First, was the riot or insurrection at Morant Bay, the result of mis-rule and official incapacity? Secondly, were the proceedings by which that riot or rebellion was suppressed, legal? These two inquiries are sufficiently distinct to admit of a separate discussion-I purpose therefore to discuss the legality of the measures adopted by Governor Eyre to quell the insurrection. In the suppression of the insurrection the lives of British citizens have been sacrificed, and with the consent, and under the authority of Governor Eyre and his subordinates. The deaths of each and every one of these citizens must be justified by the principles of English law. In every case where the life of a citizen is taken, the burden of shewing all the circumstances, which justify or excuse the killing, devolves upon him who hath taken the life. Governor Eyre and his subordinates must therefore be prepared to show such circumstances, or they stand guilty of wilful murder. Those who have been put to death may be divided into three classes, (1) some were killed in flagranti delicto, (2) others suffered death after inquiry before a tribunal, (3) others not found in actual resistance, were destroyed without any inquest. Whether the proceedings against the first and third of these classes are legal, admits of little discussion. The lives of the first were lawfully sacrificed. The lives of the third were unrighteously taken, and all concerned in their destruction are guilty of murder. The question, whether the lives of the second class were lawfully taken, requires a longer examination, but I hope to supply a test by which that question may be satisfactorily answered. In respect of the second class, the plea of justification would be, that they suffered death by process of law. This plea consists of two parts, (1) that they were guilty of offences known to our law, (2) that the court which pronounced the sentence had jurisdiction of such offences. Both these parts must be made out, and if therefore the tribunal had no jurisdiction, the plea of justification fails. What then was the tribunal? It was a military tribunal. A military tribunal has a two-fold jurisdiction: under the one it takes cognizance of offences committed by members of the army. This jurisdiction is derived from the act which is annually passed to preserve discipline, and suppress mutiny in the army. The act points out precisely the offences, and the military tribunal may take cognizance of such offences in peace as well as in war. Under the other branch of its jurisdiction military tribunals may try offences ordinarily cognizable in the civil tribunals. But this jurisdiction only arises when in consequence of the riot or rebellion it is impossible to try offenders before the ordinary tribunals. This jurisdiction is the creature not of the will of the crown, or of a governor of a colony, but of exigency: and the moment that exigency has ceased the jurisdiction of the military tribunal is determined. In short, there arises an authority in the executive to create a military tribunal to try civil offenders, when the military is the only remaining power in the country. But if there be a civil tribunal open, before which the offenders can be tried, the exigency does not exist and the executive cannot proclaim martial law. This statement of the law I shall sustain, (1) negatively, by shewing that the only permanent military tribunal known to the common law had no jurisdiction in matters cognizable by the civil tribunals: and that our ancestors watched with the utmost jealousy, and restrained by various statutes all its encroachments upon the jurisdiction of the common law courts; (2) positively, by adducing an unbroken series of precedents and acts of Parliament and the opinions of our best legal writers, which declare all trials of offenders by military tribunals to be illegal, except in the one instance, where it is impossible to try them by the ordinary tribunals. The court of chivalry was the only court military known to, and established by, the permanent law of the land. It was formerly held before the lord high constable and earl marshal of England jointly, but since the extinguishment of the former office by the attainder and execution of Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, in the thirteenth year of Henry the Eighth, it hath usually, with respect to civil matters, been held before the earl marshal only. This court was in great reputation in times of pure chivalry, and afterwards during our connexion with the Continent, but the criminal as well as the civil part of its authority is long since fallen into entire disuse. Of this court there is very little notice before the reign of Richard the Second. In the second year of that king we find the Commons petitioning that the constable and marshal might surcease from holding plea of treason or felony, which should be determined only before the king's justices. The objection to this court was that it was governed by the law of arms and not by the general custom of the kingdom; and the Bishop of St. David's, who happened to make the usual speech at the opening of Parliament, stated it as a grievance that the law of arms and the law of the land did not concur. So jealous were our ancestors of the encroachments of this court upon the common law, that at length, by 13 Rich. 2, stat. 1, they defined the jurisdiction of the court military with remarkable precision. "To the constable," says the act, "belongs the cognizance of contracts touching deeds of arms and of war out of the realm; and also of things which touch war within the realm which cannot be determined or discussed by the common law; together with other usages and customs to the same matters appertaining, which other constables before that time had duly and reasonably used." It was also ordained to guard against the slightest infringement of the common law jurisdic tion, that if anyone would complain that a plea was commenced before the constable and marshal, which might be tried by the common law, he might have a privy seal of the King without difficulty, directed to the constable and marshal to surcease in the plea till it was discussed before the King's council whether the matter belonged to the common law or to that court. It is therefore certain that wherever the common law could give redress this court had no jurisdiction. But the abuse by no means ceased after the passing of the statute, as several subsequent petitions that it might be better regarded will evince. The following in. stance is quoted from Mr. Hallam. It is of the fifth year of Henry the Fourth "On several supplications and petitions made by the commons in parliament to our lord the King for Bennet Wilman, who is accused by certain of his ill-wishers. and detained in prison, and put to answer before the constable and marshal, against the statutes and the common law of England, our said lord the King, by the advice and assent of the lords in parliament, granted that the said Bennet should be treated according to the statutes and common law of England, notwithstanding any commission to the contrary, or accusation against him made before the constable and marshal." And a writ was sent to the justices of the king's bench with a copy of the article from the roll of parliament, directing them to proceed as they shall see fit according to the laws and customs of England. And not only did our ancestors thus limit its jurisdiction; by certain statutes in the reigns of Henry the Sixth, Henry the Seventh and Henry the Eighth they took certain offences from the cognizance of the court military and placed them under the jurisdiction of the common law courts. I will now proceed to state, which is the more important, the direct evidence of the law as above laid down. It is declared and enacted by Magna Charta, that "no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised [of his freehold] or be outlawed, or exiled or any ways destroyed, nor will we pass upon him, nor will we send upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land." These provisions are confirmed by statutes in the reigns of Henry the Third and Edward the First, and declare illegal, and deprive the crown of all authority to grant, commissions to try offenders by courts of a constitution and method of procedure different from the common law. This proposition has been ratified from age to age by the votes, resolutions, declarations, judgments of the High Court of |