Page:United States Reports, Volume 2.djvu/355

 Craeurr Coon', Pemwlvrmia Diftri&. 349 kth of domeitic infurreélion, (which the lirlt branch of the di- ry9_g.' vilion contemplates) lirilte at the root of its exiitence; and, in`Lrv`J free countries above all, mult be prevented, or corrected, by . the moit vigilant and elhcient l`an&ions of the law. I What conllitutes a levying of war, however, mult be the { fame, in technical interpretation, whether committed under a ' republican, or a regal, form of government; lince either initi- tution may be aliiiiled and fubverted by the fame means. Hence we are enabled, in the lirit llage of our own experience, to ac- quire precife and fatisfaétory ideas upcn the fubjeét, from the maturedexperience of another government, which has employed the fame language to defcribe the offence, and is guided by the fame rules of judicial expolition. By the Englyb authorities, it is uniformly and clearly declared, that railing a body of men to obtain, by intimidation or viol°~» ce, the repeal of a law,·or to oppofe and prevent by forccand terror, the execution of a law, is an aéi: of levying war. Doug. g7o. Again ;—an infurreéiion. with an avowed delign to fupprefs public oflices, is an a£t of levying war : And, although a bare confpiracy to levy war, may not amount to that fpecies of treafon; yet, if any of the confpirators aéiually levy war, it is treafon in all the perfons that oonfpired; and in Fg?. 218, it is even laid down, that an allembly armed and arrayp: in a warlike manner for a treafon- able- purpofe is Bellum, though not "Bdlim pmrryirm. '1`hofe, likewife who join afterwards, though not concerned at firlt in the plot, are as guilty as the original confpirators; for _ in Treafon all are principals; and whenever a lawlefs meeting is convened, whether it (hall be treated as riot, or treafon, will depend on the quo anime. 4Bl. CW!. 81. r H.I·L P. C. 133. 4. Fg/I. arg. aio. ax;. 2r8. r Hawk. P. C. 37. 4 Bl.C¤m. 3;. x fa!. P. C. 44o. 8 St. T r. 247. a St. Tr. 586. 7. Kei}. rg. 3 n . 9. 'liie evidence, unfortunately, leaves no room for excufe, or extenuation, in the application of the law to the prifoner’s cafe. The general and avowed obje& of the confpiracy at Cousin': Fart, was to fupprefs the oflices of excife in the Fourth Survey. As an important meafure for that purpofe, it was agreed to go · to General Ne·vilIe’: houfe, and to compel him to furrender his ofiice, and his official papers. Some of the perfons who were at Coudx`: Fort, went, accordingly, to General Nwilk’s, and terminated a courfe of lawlefs and outrageous proceedings by buming his houfe. The prifoner is proved by four witneffes to haye been at Cau¢·be’: Farr ; and fo far from oppoling the ex- pedition to General Neoillfr, he offered himfelf to reconnoitre. Being thus originally combined with the confpirators, in a trea- fonablc purpo e, to levy war, it was urnnecelfary that the purpol'c— lhould be afterwards executed, in order to eonviét then}; a

�