Hetef and

suppression, swel beyond tbe Isiundaitie of

prapnrtmn ot tncir.jinornit-v :

4Ut it I Mid tUtdr this is the rhurtriite t

th Siiprsm Court. M s th wk otlieTwiro.

' " 111 motf rn ttniw It Is the BSinCT practice of

civilized governments ltekel by orgtnizc1

lid t'lfniiitnble rvln-Uion, fu exercise and

oonceiu) iH-iliirrri'iit rights. Instead, under

oeh eireunistances, of jninishing reikis

when mlc prisoners in. war a criminals,

they agree on cartels fur exebarige and make

cither mutually beneficial arrange ment ; and,

instead of insisting upon offensive terms and

deijmationa in iutemmrae with, the civil or

military chiefs, trttat them, as far as posi.

ble, without 'surreod of eswiHial pririci-J

pics, like breign foe engtevl in regular

warfare. '

. Hut thetware concessions pjade by the

lenlative and Lxecutivs ib'itartment of

government in th exercise ot imbiic.il dis.

crstioo and ia the interest of humanity, to

mitigate vindictive passions , inilamed'by

civil i5)nncts, and prevent th frightful evil

i tnnuni reprisal aait retallstion. J hey

estahUb no right except during th war.

And it u true tbat when war cease and

the acftliority of th regular government is

fullyre-established tbe penakie of violated

Uw are seldom iofiicted uptjn many.

Wise government sever forget that tbe

criminality of individual is not always or

ottea equal to that of the act committed

Dy in organization with wlikb they are

connected. Many are carried into rahellion

-fblSltkea coWIcmoTToT

burned along by excitemeot du to. social

ami Htat (ympathwa, aud va by th eom

pulsion of a public opiaioa sot their owe

VS bea tbe stiife of arm, is over, such

goveramenta, therefore, exercising still tbeir

political . disuestiita-. addres -themselve

mainly to th work of eonoilUtioa and

restoration and exert th prerogativ oi

mercy, rather than that of funic. Com

plete remission is 'usually x tended to large

clssae by amaejrir or other exercise of legZ )

islstive orexecntive euthonty, and Individ­

Is sot im luiled ia these classetwith some

Sleep tion of the . gretestk.pffenJ.ers,arr,

absolved iy pardon, either 'absolutely or

ment.

-Tlne piinciphS, coin mnn to all civilized

BatioiK, are inose which regulated the

rlinn of the Government of tile United

Slates during tiiS war uf the rebellion, and

Lksve regulateil lis action since rebellion laid

Uowa its krma

Is some rrMCt-th torbeisi' and lib

frsllty ot tlie nil ion xeeeled all example.

While bostilltics Were yet flm;riit, one act

of Cungfvsf prsclh-aily aUilisiiedtbe death

penalty for treasmsiitisroeiitly committed,

and Snottier pnwiil.-d a nimle ia which eiti­

lennivf rebel rltste maintaining a loyal a­

besioli to the Union, could recover stW war,

th value of their captured or abandoned,

property.

Tlie Nalionsl Oovernment he steadily

sought to facilitate restoration with ade

quate guaranliiw of Buiob, order aad equal

right. - - ;

U no occasion, however, and by bo act

havs the United States ever reuounosd their

constitutional jurisdiction over the . whole

terntory, or over all tbe citizen of tbe Re­

public, or coocedad to eitixens in arms

ginst their country tbe chsrsetef of alien

enemies, or admitted tbe, existence ot any

govern meot, at Uvio, within the bouhdariue

of the Union, hostile to itself.

In th frie oaw the Supreme Coart aim­

plv asserted the rlifht of tlie United States

to treat tbs insiirgeiil a 1ligernU, and

to ciuiiu from loreigu nations the Mriorm-

anee of neatral dli tie under tbe penalties

known to International law. The decision

recognized, also, the fact of the exercise and

eoucussion ot jlligerent rights, and atlirmed

as neceasary consequence, the proposition

thai during the war, all the iuhabitauts of

tlie country controlled by th rebellion, anil

all the Inhabitant of the country loyal to

the Union were enemies reciprocally each of

the otljer. But there i nothing in that

opinion which give countenance to tb

tliHi trine which eounsel endeavor to deduce

from it thst tli Insurgent States by tb

sit oi rebellion and by levying war against

kii? utuiii iieraiue uireign oiaisa, anu sueir

luiiauiianta auea enemies.

is proposition bemg' denied, it must

result that in compelling debtors to pay to

receivers, tor the support of tlie rebellion,

debit doe to anv citizen of the United

Stutii, the uisursreut authorities committed

illegal violence, by which no obligation of

debtor to creditor could be cauoclled. or.

in any respect, ffccted.

Nor aa tbo dufimce in this case derive

more silp port from th decision affirming

the valiility ot confiscation during tba war

I for Amrtican tnicpwdeicfl.

1 list war began, nnuntless, ilk th re

cent civil war, in rctiellion. Had it termi

nated nitsuccessfully,, and bad English

i riiiunais aiibscqucBtly aturnied the validi­

ty of colonial confiscation and sequestration

of British property and of debt due to

British subkcts, those decisions would be

In point, no student of international law

or of hlateA-'nceds. to be informed how im

possible iCsatiutiuoh decisions could have

been made.'

Ilad tiie rviit rebellion proved luoceas­

ful, and had tfio validity of the confisca­

tions and seqiiMmtious actually enforced

by the insurgent authorities been afterwards

questioned in Confederate Courts, it U wot

1 . 1 11. .1. . . 1. . .1 : - .. . .1 . .

iiiiiiiuuuoie iukh mic uueisioits ill iiie rutie

'Courts, made dicing and after the revolu­

tionary war, might have been cited With

But it hardly ltvtefil

-remark, that --those

declsipns were mde under uuiler eircum

stsnoes widely differring front thou which

now exists,. 4 '. I

They were iiNiilp by the Courts of State

which had siicce4dd in their "attempt to

sever their colonial connexion with Great

lirlbun, and eancthmed act which doiiend-

ed for their validity wholly upon that sue

cess; and can liavu no application to act ol

a rebel self styled government, seeking tbe

eyersiH of conititutiormt relation of

State to the Uulon, but defeated in the

attempt, and, itself, broken up and de-

iW- . ... V - '-

Tliiwe who enirmre in rebellion must con

sider th conseiiuences. It they succeed.

rebebellioa tiecoiues i revolution : and the

new government will (ustify its founders.

If they' fail, all their- acta hostile to the

rightful government ar violation! of law,

and originate no right which can be recog

nized by the Court of th nation whose 1

authority and existence bay been alike as­

sailed. . V -": 1 ;

We hold,hcrehrL that compulsory pay

ment, under tlie SequestratioB acts, to the

rebel receiver, of the debt du to the plainv I

titfi from the delendant, was no discharge.

K"

it isciaimeii, however, tnat wuatever;may

bath right of the plaintiffs to recover th

principal debt from tlie defendant, they can

not recover interost tor tbe time during which

war prevented all communication between

tbe States is which they respectively resided.

We cannot think so. Interest is tbe law­

ful fruit of principal. There are, indeed,

some authorities to the point, that iutereat

which ha accrued during war between in-

dcpendent-oatinnsi cannot be afterwards re­

coveml ; though th debt, with otherinter­

et, lnT Ix". llut that rule, in