William Strong

“ It is obvious the only important inquiry respects the validity of the authority under which the defendant had acted. It claimed to be a privilege or immunity under the laws of the United States. It was found to be authentic by the Chancellor in his original decree, and its authenticity is not denied in the bill of review. That, therefore, is not open to debate. To sustain a bill of review, there must be errors of law apparent on the face of the decree, or some new matters of fact material in themselves, and discovered after the rendition of the decree. ”

“ The act of Congress of May 11, 1866, 14 Stat 46, enacted that any acts done or omitted to be done during the rebellion by any person under and by virtue of any order, written or verbal, general or special, issued by the President, or Secretary of War, or by any military officer of the United States holding the command of the department, district, or place where such acts are done or omitted, shall, for the purposes of defence, come within the purview of the act of March 3, 1863. ”

“ Now, that the defendant's cutting the wood was under such an order, was, as we have seen, distinctly found as a fact by the Chancellor, and nothing in his decree shows that he found it on the evidence of the paper signed 'D. V. Brown, wood agent,' alone. No assumption that he did can be justified; and, if it could be, the order, we think, was prima facie sufficient. It purported to have been issued by a wood agent for military uses, namely, for the use of the military railroads; and the wood cut was received by the military authorities. ”