Secrets of the Late Rebellion, Now Revealed for the First TimeFreese, Jacob R.
History
Secrets of the Late Rebellion, Now Revealed for the First Time
Freese, Jacob R.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865
adjudicated by that court, and every one which may be adjudicated by it
hereafter, shall be revised by the Supreme Court of the United States,
or by any one or more of the justices thereof, and if in any case it be
found that injustice has been done, I will refund to the parties doubly
the amount out of which they have been wronged because of the action
of the court; or, if any punishment has been inflicted beyond what the
Supreme Court will say was right, under the circumstances, I will pay
to the party punished, or to his legal representatives, whatever damages
the Supreme Court may adjudge."
"This, certainly," replied the Attorney-General, "is a very fair
proposition on your part; but, sir, the court has no legal existence, no
legal existence, and while I remain Attorney-General, and am responsible
for whatever is done in this department of governmental affairs, I
cannot consent that such a court shall continue."
This ended their interview, for the Judge plainly saw that he might talk
till doomsday and yet not change the Attorney-General's mind an iota.
"Convince a man against his will, and he remains of the same opinion
still," says an old maxim, and never was the maxim better exemplified
than in the case of Mr. Bates. He was one of those men who looked at
everything, as it were, through a gun-barrel, and could see nothing to
the right or left of the one line of vision; one of those men who are so
straight, that, like the Indian's gun, they "lean a little over;" one
of those self opinionated men, who, having once conceived an idea or
prejudice, no amount of argument can change his mind.
The next day the Judge again called upon the President, and told him all
that had passed between the Attorney-General and himself. The President
laughed heartily at the "mulishness of old Bates," as he called it,
and yet seemed a good deal annoyed at the unreasonable stubbornness
manifested by the Attorney-General. He did not, he said, know what to do
or to say. He was in a quandary, and could not see his way clearly out.
Finally, he asked the Judge to call upon the Secretary of War, and see
what he might say about it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account