Wharton, Geo. M. (George Mifflin) (1808-1870) Remarks on Mr. Binney's treatise on the writ of habeas corpus...
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08599.06 Author/Creator: Wharton, Geo. M. (George Mifflin) (1808-1870) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Pamphlet Date: 1862 Pagination: 1 v. : 20 p. ; 22.5 x 14.7 cm. Order a Copy
Published by John Campbell. Second edition. Wharton, a lawyer from Pennsylvania, states "It is as undoubtedly, however, no part of the office of an American Chief Executive to suspend, at his discretion, the privileges of the humblest citizen, whether arising from Common or Statute Law. The poorest man that walks has an equal right with the proudest, to the full protection and enjoyment of the Constitution and laws. It is, or has been, the boast of American liberty, that the rights of the citizen were clearly defined, and placed far above arbitrary estimation or interference. It has been the boast of Americans that the privilege of the Habeas Corpus, so called, because wrung originally from unwilling despots, had become a right, and that therefore a nomenclature true enough in its origin, had lost its original meaning, and represented in our country one of the firmest possessions of freemen" (pages 18 and 19). Cover is missing. Several pages are detached from binding.
Horace Binney, an influential American legal figure, served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania 1833-1835. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus for all military related cases. Suspension of this writ, which is guaranteed by Article I of the United States Constitution, provoked much controversy. Binney's pamphlet, which supported Lincoln's decision, also ignited fierce debate.
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