The Illinois free trader. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1840-1841, 1841-01-22


scenery around her. 1t showed the w;nt.
ry forest. and glowcd upon the waters
il revealed the rebel island, and the bar
racks of the British soldiers, and showed
too, the CHASTITY corpse and clotted gore of
the murdered Durlce Onward the burn
ing vessel was borne, and nearer and nea-
rer the mighty precipice. From one side
she was viewed with exultaton-from the
o'her with deep threats of vengeance;
ana as she neared the foaming gulf-the
+ ans OIL Niagara-they tell of dark forms
u'a' were seen amid the hames-and of
ueal'l shrieks, that rose shrill and piercinq
above the noise of the ush,o wo,ers
Still she rushed on, and still tho s.oro;,,
creased IN grandeur until her bprr;nn
tImbers were eXtinguished in the aood
and few blackened fragments, thrown
upon the shore, were all that remained of
the Caroline" Amidst the horrid gran-
deur OF this scene, a shout of triumph
from the other shore announced the re.
turn of the midnight murderers. They
had with them tty0 boys as prisoners
This, reader, is a true picture of the
burning of the Caroline :" an OUTRAGE
upon our national honor, and an insult to
our national flag, to say nothing of the
helnous violation Of individual RIGHTS. and
the assassination Of our peaceable and
innocent citizens, which, to use the lam
guagc of resolution of meeting of the
citizens Of Buffalo on the occasion. has
"neither been atOned for, ayengea. nor
Forgotten - Nay, furthcr,-the mscre-
ants clothed in British authority who were
most conspicuous in this infamous affair.
instead of being suitably punished for
their lnhuman, and dastardly conduct,
have been absolutely rcgarded and pro-
motel by their government for the zeal,
and alacrity they exhibited Even now.
the same "yiruous" government steps
forward on behalf of Alexander Mcleod.
the late Deputy Sheriff Of the Niagara
district in Upper Canada, man arrested
and imprisoned by the authorities of Lock
port, n. y. en- charge of murder and
arson and distinctly recognised by two
American citizens, as having been active
y engaged in the outrage upon the Caro-
line, and insists upon his unconditional
liberation The British minister would
make the whole matter one of Diplomatic
discussion between the two governments,
IN which case probably it would be atoned
for at the day Of Judgment, and not only
talks Of the ''RcceSSifg" of releasing Me-
Leod immediately--a threat that Is too
despicabe for notice-but recommends
the "taking such steps as may be requi-
site for preventing others of her Majestv's
subjects from being prosecuted or moles-
ted IN the L. $. in a similar manner in
future" This is the usual course Of the
British government. They first send
body Of British soldiers into our territory
III time Of peace, murder our citizens,
take, burn, and destroy their property.
and then boldly declare it an ''untoward"
affair as they did The Battle of Navarino.
profess willingness to submit it TO eds
cussion' and insist upon our freeing from
punishment the fclons who accomplished
it, when we catch them again within our
borders. History is full of such ''untow-
ard'' events on the part of that fathlsss
anl hypocritcal nation. itls their com
mon practice to summarily redress what
they conceive 10 be wrong, and after
wards, shocked at the palpable infing-
ment of the law of nations and of humani-
ty, Of which they have been guilty, to be
willing to submit their conduct to tplo-
matte "discussion :" VIII "discusson"
bring to life, the murdered dead viii
"dlscussion' restore the burning vessel
to her owner? VIII ''discusson" atone
for the outrage upon our national dignity,
or heal the fostering wound upon our
national honor
Itappears that Mcleod was arrested on
the l2lh ult, that after the examination Of
witnesses he was finally committed for
trial on the 18th, and placed in confne-
ment IN the jail at Lock port awaiting the
asslzes, which will be held there in Feb
next. Mr. Forsyth, in reply to Mr.. Fox,
remarks very properly, that the case does
not present an occasion in which, under
the constitution and laws of the Union. it
would be proper for the Federal govern
ment to interpose; that it was committed
within the state of New York, and comes
clearly within the competency of its tri-
brnals. This is true independence. If
Mcleod be guilty, let him suffer the pen
altles of the laws of the land whose peace
he has violated; if he be innocent, he