carolina watchman weekly vol xx salisbury n c october 13 1862 number 21 .!. j brunei bd1t0b am pb0pbi_tf.lt i vice president stephens on martial law w find in the georgia papers the fol lowing letter from vice president ste phens on the subject of martial law with particular reference lo the order ol g«h bragg proclaiming m"artial law in allan j ta and presuming to constitute a military governor of the city the general sul j t of this letter is now under the o"ti sideration of congress and irom various causes has rroenily attracted the attention of the public : richmond va sept s isflj hon jus m calhoun atlanta oa : dear sir : your letter of the s8th ult j to hon p ii hill vvas submitted to me by li i 111 a lew days ago for my views as to | the proper answer to be made to your se i vi'ial inquiries touching your powers and i duties in lhe otfiee ol civil governor of atlanta to which yon have been appoint j ed by gen bragg i took the letter with the promise lo write to you fully upon the whole subject this therefore is the oh jf of my now writing lo yon i regret tbe delay thai has ocenrivd in the tiiitill luetit of my prom ine it ha been orea slotted by die press of olher engagements and i now hud my time too short lo write as f ii 1 1 v as 1 could wish the abject is one of great importance and this as well as matter of a kindred son have given ui deep concern for some time past 1 ant not at all surprised at vour being at a loss to know what your powers and duties are in your new position and your inability to find anything in any written code ot laws to enlighten yon upon ihem tits truth is your office is unknown to lhe law gen bragg had no more authority for appointing yon civil governor of at lanta than i had ; and 1 had or have no more authority than any street walker in your city under his appointment there fore you can rightfully exercise no more power than if the appointment had been made by a street walker we live under a constitution that constitution was made for war as well as peace under that constitution wu have civil laws and military laws laws for the civil authorities and law for the military th first are to be found in tlie statutes at luge and the latter in the utiles of w rfr but in this country there is no such thing as martial law and cannot be until the constitution is set aside if an evil day shall ever come upon us all the law-making power in the confederate suites government is vested in congress but congress cau not declare martial law which iu its proper sense is nothing but an abrogation of ah laws if cong rev can not do it much less can any officer of tbe government either civil or military do it rightfully from the highest to the lowest congress may in certain cases specified suspend the writ of habeas corpus ton this by no means interfere wilh the adminis tration of justice so far as to deprive ar.v party arrested of ins righl to a speedy and public trial by a jury after indictment fcc it does hot lessen or weaken the right of such parly to redress for an illegal arrest it does nol authorise arrests exyept upon oath or affirmation upon probable cause it only secures the party beyond misad venture to appear iu person to answer the charge and prevent any preliminary in quiry as to the formality or legality of his arrest it does not infringe or impair his other constitutional rights these con gress cannot impair by law the con_ti tutional guarantees are above and beyond the reach or power of congress and much more if it could be above and beyond the power of congress and much more if it eould he above and beyond the power of any ollicer of the government your ap pointment therefore in my opinion is simply i utility you by virtue of it possess no rightful authority ; and can ex ercise none the order crealiqg you civil governor of atlanta was a most palpable usurpation i speak of the act only in a legal and constitutional sense not of the motives that prompted it but a wis people jealous of their rights would do well to remember as deloluie so well ex pressed it that such acts so laudable when we only consider the motive of them make a breach at which tyranny will one day enter if quietly submitted to long now then my opinion is if any one be brought before you for punishment for selling liquor to a soldier or ou any other allegation where there is no law passed j7 the proper law-making power either mate or confederate and where aa a mat i.r of course you have no legal or right j ful authority to uunish either by fine cor porally ____, you should sini|ilv make this response lo the one who bring hill or her as tin case may be thai yon have no ju risdiction of the matter complained of ;\ british queeli anne was once urged by lhe emperor of russia lo punish one of her officers for what his majesty con sullied an act of indignity to hi s auihas r sailor to her court though the officer had violated no positive law the queen's ' memorable reply was that " she could in j i bet no punishment upon anv the mean j i . st nf her subjects unless warranted by the : f ! law f i he land ! [ tills is no example vou might well im itate for i lake it for granted llml no one will pretend that any general in emu , maud of our armies cotihl confer upon you or anybody greater power than t in ruling siivt-n ion uf engl.tud possessed in like esses titoli r similar circumstances tlie case referred to in england oav rise to _ i change of the law after that an act was i a*-s«-<i exempting foreign ministers from arrest so with us if the proper lisci i line and good order of the army require that tin sale of liquor to a soldier hy a , person not conn led with the army should in prohibited v inch 1 do not menu to question in the slightest degree lot the prohibition h declared h law pas i by congress with the pains and penalties for \ a violation of it with the modi and man net of trying the offence plainly set forth until tins is doiie no one lias anv attiliori ty lo punish is such eases and any one who undertakes to do it is a trespass i er and a violator of the law soldier in j the service as well as the officers are sub j'-ct lo lhe rule and articles of war and if they commit anv offense known to lhe military code therein prescribed they are liable to hi tried and punished according i to the law made for their government — if these rules and articles id war or in other words if the mihtarv code for the government of the nnny is defective in fttiy respect it ought to be amended by ' congress there alone the power is ves ted neither generals nor their provost marshals have anv power lo make alier or modify laws either military or civil nor can they declare what shall be crimes ei ', lueir military or civil or establish any tribunal to punish what they may so de j elate all these matters belong to con gress ; and 1 fissure you in my opinion j nothing is more essential to the mainteti i ance and preservation of constitutional lib erty than that the military be ever kept subordinate to the civil authorities you then have my views hasiilv but plainly given yours most respectfully alex 11 stephens the following well merited com pliment to gov vance is from the ' richmond enquirer the enquirer whs one of the virginia papers that felt called upon t < ► oppose gov vattce'e election and it is gratifying to bee the candor with which it now joins in his praise : governor vance of north caroli na seems to he winning golden opin ions from all sides his inaugural is one of the boldest most whole souled documents we have seen and contains nut a word of comfort to those whoso object is to em ban ass the government by factions opposi 1 tion the papers tlmt opposed his election are giving him their plan j idits and those who supported him i including the many that are pleased and the few that are eliagrinned and i disappointed join in the applause ; gov \ ance not only speaks as a sen i sible and tin hearted patriot but is act ing so wo are glad to join in his praise yankee faeces — the yankees have again taken possession of wil liamsburg va and have fortified the place at suffolk they have also been reinforced their policy seems to be to hold if possible every place they are in possession of pre paratory to a winter raid upon our entire eoast we expect to hear soon of their reinforcement at new bern and washington it is time high time the authorities were mov ing efficiently in preparing for an advance of the enemy into our east ern counties we observe that gen beauregard is taking time by the forelock in s carolina and georgia bombardment of corpus ohristl tliegalvettoii tf_t0«ofsept l,sa\s we have heard many vaguu ry ports of late about an attempt by i the enemy to take corpus christi but have refrained from saying any [ tiling on the subject for the want of reliable ami definite information — ! we now learn however m good i authority that the enemy having i removed the obstructions iu the channel went up near the city and sent a flag of truce demanding a surrender ot hie citv this was oil friday the loth inst major hobby replied that he would not surrender the town lior would he tire upon them until they attempted to land in which case he would make the best defense possible they then left but returned the next day with be vera schooners and u propeller and took soundings within sixty yards of the whayf — but as major hobby said he would j not fire upon them without they at \ tempted to laud so no gun was tired the enemy again went away ! but returned the third time on next day sunday and commenced bom \ barding tbe city continuing to fire as raid uly as they could vmn day light till 1 l-i a m the fire was vigorons'y returned by major hob 1 by from two 32-pouljders two is pounders and a one 11-pounder — the enemy then retired they are said to have had seven small vessels including one pro peller the town was badly dam \ aged almost every building having been perforated with shells only i one person on our side was hurt and this whs a gentleman from bell ! 7 countv whose name we have not re ceived he was kit ed by a shot there were sufficient evidences that the enemy suffered quite as much ! if not more than our men for bro ken fragments of the enemy's vessels were drifted ashore by cart loads and the propeller finally used her sails only when she left evidently having her machinery too much damaged to get up steam they however returned on mon day morning the 18th inst and re newed the bombardment continu ing to throw shells from *_ a m till about 12m when they again left having probably received fully as c i _ * good as they sent and more than they had barganed for on tuesday they returned to the bombardment a third time but left again after tiring some sixty shells no more lives were lost on our side nor a single person wounded but tiie town we learn has been badly damaged some uf tbe houses being perforated by fifteen or twenty shells each very few of he enemy's shells exploded and ihis probably accounts for the the few casualties every man in corpus christ and iu the vicinity able to bear arms partici pated in the fight but of course their rifles and muskets could not be made available at such a distence i the whole number of men under major hobby was between seven hundred and eight hundred about two hundred of whom were volun teers our informant was not present at i this bombardment but reached the | vicinity about the time on his way from brownsville and the above ac count was given him by those who participated the women and chil dren left the city before tin bom i bard ment commenced our inform ant did not learn that the enemy ef fected a lauding at all but we see by the account in the goliad mcs singer that on one occasion forty of the federals landed but were im mediately driven back to their boats with the loss of four of their num ber killed or wounded powder in texas the powder manufactory of san antonio is mak ing powder enough to supply at least half the confederate army and it is equal to dupont's best cart ridges are also made there to sup ply the army iu arkansas eastern counties oiir information from the north eastern oiu ties beyond the clio wan and albemarle sounds repre sents them to be in a deplorable con l diiioii full one half of the negroes have been run off by the yankees find ; every species of property is constant \ ly subject to their depredat ions iu j the eastern counties matters are no better everyday adds to their mis ery which must be increased by the enforcement of the \ ankee contiscu '. tion act which wiil doubtless soon 1 exoeuted tne course of butler iii new or ' leans find the spirit ol yankee rule in missouri will be inaugurated in north carolina col polk ol mis souri has been robbed of half a mil lion of property and his family are sjtid to entirely dependent upon the charities of others the homestead of ev.en president taylor which he bequeathed to his son has been con fiscated and thousands of wealthy men all over the bind have been re duced to poverty now what can our people in eas \ tern carolina expect better from their enemies if " gov stanly has held out to tbem the hope of protec tion to themselves and their property if they will take the oath of allegi ance but the late proclamation of lincoln shows that so far at least as negroes are concerned it is no pro ; teetion whatever the idea that on ly the slaves of '* rebels are to be declared free on the first of january next is a cheat and deception men who have shamefully violated their j own consciences and taken the oath | have found out the deception when 1 it was tco late we again admonish our eastern people not to trust to the : hypocrisy and falsv pretences of yan kees longer let them remove all ' their moveable property as soon as possible in the mean time we beg to as sure all the people ofthe east that every effort will be made for their ! defence and protection during the coming winter wc know that gov • vance is deeply interested 111 ufford ingevery possible protection to them their condition and wants will he fully laid before president davis , ami the governtn nt will be urged in the strongest terms to afford them ample protection what is lacking on the part ofthe confederate gov ernment will be promptly afforded by gov vance as far as he has the power and the means to do so we j trust the efforts of both govern ■ meuts may prove every way effec tive — raleigh standard soldier 1 e claim — many of our brave soldiers have recently been killed in battle or have died from 1 wounds or disease contracted in jeamp il is likely the government was in debt to many of them and llieir wives and children may bo in much need to such widows and other claimants we again suggest the easiest method of obtaining it — ! according to the law wo believe the wife is the first claimant the children next father next mo ther next if he have neither wife child father or mother then the ' claim goes to the nearest of kin let the soldier's wife therefore | if he have one and if not the child or father or mother as the case may i be apply to any intelligent magis i trate and make oath that the de ceased boldier naming him who belonged to such a company and such a regiment and died or was killed at such a time and place aud was husband father or ion of the witness and that there is no nearer claimant living than the witness let tbe magistrate then testify on the same affidavit to tbe credulity ofthe witness then take the affi davit to the clerk of your county court and get the clerk to certify under the county seal that the above named magistrate is a bona jide jus tice of the peace for said county — get any responsible friend to take tho affidavit to richmond if going or send it to tbe member of con gress from your district paying the postage kc to collect it for yon from the war department we make this suggestion to guard poor soldiers widows and orphans against bending the claim to agents for col lecting such claims who make ex > hoi bitant ehurgus for their labor — soine charge 10 per cent for collec ing which otten deprives the needy of a good portion ofthe claim raleigh standard 5f a very estimable lady—one of the smartest and prettiest in the county wishes to know of us what she ought to charge per yard for a piece of cloth now in the loom the cotton in which cost 4 50 per bunch and the wool rolls 2 per pound — to this must be added the cost of weaving c we are rather puz zled for a reply but she ought to exact of shoemakers tanners flour and com speculators about 15 a yard ; and if she can possibly und a cotton factory lord obliged to buy it charge the rascal 25 a yard — and then she can't get eves with him to people of consciertce we not think she could sell her cloth for less than 4 a yard and tna_ke anything when we say cloth we mean clo.h ; because she makes the best and prettiest article that we have ever seen manufactured in the southern country this industrious lady seems desirous of selling her cloth at a price that will barely pay for the material and labor of weav ing ; she does not desire a big profit for she loathes the name of an ex tortioner and wishes to avoid it — would to heaven that all southern ladies were like her there would be no laziness no extravagance no hifalntin female tom-foolry no miss mcflimseys who think that god created them merely to thrnmb broken down pianos screech like night-owl cut fantastic capers in fancy dances and show off merch ant's dry goods and prop themselves up in parlors as pretty toys for men to look at and admire the best music a female can make in these war times is ttie music of the spin ning wheel — milton chronicle a brilliant feat thomas c lanier lieutenant colonel of the 42d regiment ala bama volunteers writes to the mo bile tribune from baldwin miss september 22d that quite a bril liant feat was performed near bald win on the 16th lieut thomas w el a mm of capt baxter's partizan hangers captured seven kansas jay hawkers himself they were all well armed and equipped he brought them all safely to baldwin and they have been forwarded to vicksburg such an act of herb ism deserves a place in the history of this revolution the jayhawkers were out on a scout tho lieuten ! ant concealed himself on the road and made a dash at them and at the same time ordered them to surreu ' der they thinking he had a com i pany concealed in the woods very quietly laid down their arms and bii rrende red . — petersburg express yankee engines safe five valuable locomotives cap tured by the confederates in the neighborhood of warrenton and manassas sometime since reached ■ lynchburg last friday over the orange railroad three of the tive are uninjured and the other two but slightly damaged they are all of the best workmanship of heavy capacity and estimated to be worth in the present times of scarcity of machinery at least 20,000 apiece extraordinary exertions were re quired to complete the trestle work across the rappahannock river to admit the passage of these locomo tives over the stream and it was finished just in time to get them out of the way of the yankees in their late raid to warrenton a number ot cars have also been brought in safely t&rom 90 rap pah au nock — petersburg express