| Show IF from be nal national I 1 june inne 21 2 lh IN UTAH i the official cial paper of yesterday contains the subjoined sub joined interesting letter of the tha attorney to ney general of the united states under the instruction of the president to the judges of the territory of utah it will be seen that in reference to the unfortunate collision which has occurred in that territory between the executive and judicial authorities the administration sustains the course of the former ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE may 17 1859 GENTLEMEN the president has hecei received c it your joint letter on the subject of the military force with which the court for the second district of uth was attended during the term recently held at provo city he has rare carefully fully considered it as well as all other advices advises relating to the same affair and he has directed me to give you this answer the condition of things in utah mads made it extremely desirable that the judges appointed tor for that territory should confine themselves strictly within their own official sphere the government had a district attorney who was charged with the duties of a public accuser andi and a marshal who was responsible for the arrest and safekeeping safe keeping of crimi criminals nals for the judges there was nothing left except to hear patiently the causes brought before thlin them and to determine them impartially according to the evidence adduced on both sides it t did not seem eilber right or necessary to you that these were to tie be the limits ot of your interference with the public B of the territory for the executive neier 3 lates to the judicial dep department artmen t the P gl ident la Is responsible only for the apte a p to ment of proper men you ni ere be selected 1 e e d avei a very Y large number of other pe persona r 0 col ls I 1 ZI were willing to be employed on oil tile the service and the choice was bounded sona 8 14 8 0 1 11 on your high character for learning learnine in judgment dg ment and integrity it was 1 ii a at 1 I tle fore that the president should I 1 look OOL tural on the proceedings at provo with a U P 1 de desire sire to find you in all things blameless sin bin v I 1 it t seems that on the oth of march i a 1 judge cradlebaugh announced to the L ina manding d officer of the military coal c forces on th the nth ath day d of the same month he be tbt n I 1 begin airi a term of 0 f the district court would at pr acl a and required ailred a military guard for prove 10 prisoners prisoner ef to the number of six or fir eight cert ta tt were tl then eu in in custody and would be tn ti ii b at provo the IQ requisition emeriti meriti mentions ons it probable fact that a large band of or a a ed thieves would ou id be arrested but the theat broo h I 1 were er asked ked for without K reference terence re to them promptly responding to this abia call n comman commanding in general eneyat sent the g up a c of infantry who encamped at the th e epaty cort house I 1 and soon afterwards ten compa companies les made their appearance appeal ance in sight mor note r and remained there during the whole teis te ja afi I 1 the court in the mean time the cover governor t 5 of the territory hearing of this military demonstration upon a town previously posed to be altogether peaceful peace tul appeared up 0 aa I 1 the ground made inquiries and seeing none non t cassity for the troops but believing i j the contrary ontra that their presence was waa ulan tale rK to do harm arm he requested them to bt UK 0 I 1 moved the request was waa wholly dun carded 9 added tle the governor is the supreme executive of the territory ile he is responsible for the pub b lie peace from the general law of the haj nd the nature of his hia office and the instructions instruct ioni he received through the state department Depart Ie i it ought to have been understood thadlie along f I 1 had power to issue a requisition forthe movement of troops from one part of the herrl tory to another that he alone could put the military forces of the union and the bovle of the territory into relations of general hostility wi thone another the instructions given to the commanding general by the atar ar I 1 department are to the tame same effect in that t paper a requisition is 13 not spoken of 0 as a thing which any body except the governor j can make in ake it is true that in one clause thy the jr general is told that if the governor the judg V es or the marshal shall find it necessary t if r summon directly a part of the troops to aid aile either in I 1 n the performance of his duty he th thy le general is to see the summons promptly 0 ey ed this was vi as manifestly intended to furnish the means of repelling an opposition chich might be too strong tor for the chiv civil 1 posse and too sudden to admit of a formal requisition by the governor upon the military corn cornwall mall der an officer finds himself resisted in the discharge of bis big duty and anah h alla U 1 la tini aid first the alti citizens ar r aey vr are i ota the soldiers this would lie be directly summoning a part of the troops A direct summons and a reimis are not i I 1 convertible terms the former signifies a aj I 1 mere verbal call upon either chil chillers lars or military men for force enough to put down doin a present opposition to a certain officer in tie performance of a particular duty anil lit call is to be always made by the tw is himself opposed upon those persons ebo are with their own hands to furnish the aide ail A requisition on the other hand band is a coln solemn demand in I 1 n writing made by the all ref iry civil magistrate upon the commander in chief of the military forces tor for the whole or a part of the army to be used in in a specified sen service ice in a territory like utah the person ubo exercises this last mentioned power can make war and peace aben b he pleases and holds in his hand the issues of oft fife its and death for thousands surely it was not in ini i tended to clothe each one or of the judg judges ea as well as the marshal an and d all his bis deputies with this tremendous tiemen dous authority especially does this construe construction tio 11 seem erroneous we reflect that these different officers might I 1 make mak e requisitions conflicting with one on anoai w ther her and all of them crossing the path t the he governor I 1 besides the matter upon which aich judgil jude jud e cradle b baughs augliss requisition bases itsell itself as hii 1 one ne with wit which h the judge had no sort of 1 cial cial it was the duty duly of the marshal to see that the prisoners were safely kept and forthcoming at the proper time for aught that appears the marshal wanted no troops to aid him and had no desire to tir see himself and his civil posse displaced by a 3 regiment a en t of soldiers ile he made no complaint of weakness and uttered no call for assistance under such it avas 3 mistake of the judge to interfere with tic business at all but assuming the legal right of 18 to put the mars marshals ats business into the hands to of the army without the marshals cone rence and granting also that this might b be done by means of a requisition was v as there it this case any occasion for the exer cire of M such power when hen we consider bow essav esac bially peaceable is the whole spirit ot of our 0 hudi cial system and how exclusively it anis ain to 0 o 0 operate P erate by moral force or at most by y the arm r on of civil power it can hardly to denied that t the he t of military militar troops coops about the courts should be avo avoids idd a aa long ong as possible litter inter arma silent itar as says a the maxi maxim m and the converse of it ought tOte to be equally true that inter leys leges silent villa ari the ibe president has not found either on tn the face ace of the requisition or in any other paper pap received by him a statement of specific facts acts strong enough to make the presence of ot 4 the he troops seen seem necessary such necessity 1 ought to have been perfectly plain before the he measure was resorted reso arted to i it is very probable that the mormon babs bitante of utah have been guilty of 01 crimi 4 for which they deserve the severest punishment it la is not intended by tile the Gov ernBie I 1 to lo let any one escape against whom the pro pr per proofs can be adduced with that thattie vie J the he district attorney has been inspru instructed ted to use all possible diligence in bringing cri celb inala nals of every class and of all degrees I 1 antice un tice we hae bare the fullest confidence to and ability of that fidelity g ance nce 11 I 1 01 if you shall be a 0 opinion i io that his abe 1 with sufficient energy L performed 0 at lap anent to that effect will receive the eteen hi p of the president oh inattention it attention q ry hka likely ly that public opinion in the P frequently opposed to the conf ed 1 aali a 18 parties s who deserve pun punishment islin bent 19 tion be that extensive conspiracies are batura t oil baere bere iere to defeat justice juluce these are t ore which we at this distance IBM ak 1 upon or deny nu nothing thing butt but supposing less sort so ion on them to be correct every he ach I 1 ag boat of 0 mah f utah must still be proceeded cite s t ill i the regular re wu I 1 ar legal and es th 9 way at all events the usual and es i bold ff abil modes of dealing with public of must be exhausted before we adopt cerca ca I 1 j ders bt tibi ty ath president is deat 02 the whole h 0 I 1 tile the is very it 1 I t bat opinion t the governor of the territory I 1 alz I 1 power to issue a requisition upon bag i troops em cam mandin 9 general for the whole hole or a of the s army it the there was no apparent apparent t occasion pat the presence oeone of the troops at provo prove r it f a rescue of the prisoners in 11 had id been attempted it was waa the duty marshal arshal and not of the judge to sum im E tin a force which w aich might be necessary to error totor nt it it litany ewt 1 that th le a troops ought not to havea have been i i it fatto to provo without the con concurrence currena e of athe the r red idle his bis n at B or nor or kept there against remon on J libat wee the dig disregard recard of these principles to of action has baa been in many ways unfortunate fortunate savery St very respectfully yours ac S cradlebaugh J J S BLACK lye a fat C E SINCLAIR 41 1 associate justices supreme court utah |
