The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-14
G. M. CLAY,s q TRUE AMERICAN"
Again crispinus comes and yet again,
And oft shall he be summon'd to sustain
His dreadful part the monster Of the times"

again crispinus comes and yet again,
And oft shall he be summond TO sustain
1 Dyydsn's Juvsnsl
The aboliiionsts have again summoned Cassiaa
M. Clay to resume his paper; and accordingly
it has reappeared at Cincinnati "He publishes
in it his appeal, setting forth the defence Of his own
course, and the offence Of the Lexington folks" The
only effect Of this new incendiary attempt will be-
to call forth exertions the part of the citizens OF
Kentucky to arrest and punish its circulation, and
1 to make its editor more odious in his native State
| What can he expect from his rash and inconsder-
ate coursei The effort to revolutionize kentucky
will fail egregiousy the attempt to punish the
citizens in Lexington, who packed off his press to
Cincinnati and abated the nuisance of his misplaced
labors. We have just received the following letter.
which shows the fate Of the prosecutions that have
been instituted in Lexington:
| LEXINGTON, 9Th October, l645.
81 enclose to you the Observer and Reporter, OF
the 9th. The leading article details the facts of a
trial. which took place short time ago, of part OF
! the committee of 60, who aided in taking down and
sending off Cassius M Clay's press. witnessed the
trial. and heard the entire evidence, and all which is
stated in the article is true; but the editor failed to
| give the evidence of Captain VIM. Bradford. He
stated on the trial, that Clay applied to him to let
his Office be made his arsenal, and that he would
have his arms well taken care of. The number of
muskets was about 20. Captain Bradford refused
| to let him have them. There many here who
wish the articles and this additional fact, should be
published in the 'Union.'n
From the Lexington Ky) Observer, Oct 8.
On the 18th of August last, the press, types &c.
of the True American, were, by the unanimous res
olution Of one Of the largest public meetings ever
held in the city of Lexington for any purpose, COM
posed of the most respectable citizens of the city and
vicinity, and by the action of committee of sixty
persons appointed by that meeting, removed be-
| yond the limits of the State of Kentucky. Since
that event, every mail is full of papers published by
abolitionists and others, condemning, in the most
violent TERMS all those concerned In the removal of
the press in any way, and heaping abusive epthets
| such mobocrats, traitors, rebels, and towards
upon many of The best and purest men of Ken
lucky
On the 18th day of September, after the lapse of
sufficient length of time for the excitement i'm
mediatey growing out of the affair to be allayed
several of those who took a prominent part, as
members of the committee of sixty, appeared at the
bar of the city court of Lexington, before Judge
| Trotter, to answer to warrant brought against
them for riot on the 18th August, in removing the
| press, &C., of the True American paper A synop-
sis Of the law and evidence adduced on the trial of
the cause will not only excuse, but fully justify the
| action of the people in that matter, to all those
WHoSc CdH NC Wy law
as it did before the jury sitting the trial, and
who were sworn TO do impartial justice; and it is
thought to be particularly proper TO make that trial
public, all the papers which have noticed the af-
fair-at least those whose notice uniavorable
| the people of Lexington and vicinity-have looked
upon 1t as an Infringement upon the liberty of the
press, and not in its true light, abatement of
great public nuisance.
Upon that trial. the warrant being read, the defend
ants pleaded not guilty and gave notice that they
expected to prove the True American newspaper to
have been nuisance, and hoped, under the iasruc-
tons of the court verdict of acquittal.
The substance of the testimony offered the
part of the city was, that there great excitement
in the community in relation to the True American
paper; that on the morning of the 18th August a
very large meeting was held at the courthouse in
Lexington, at which resolutions were adopted, and
committee of sixty were appointed to remove the
PRESS &c, of that paper; that the committee of sixty
went in quiet and orderly manner to the Office Of
the paper, where the key was given up to them by
one of the city officers and they were informed by
the mayor of the city, that what they were about to
do was illegal, but that the authorities could offer
opposition to them; that they then proceeded to
take down and pack up the press, &C., which was
sent off To Cincinnati; that everything WINS done in
quiet and orderly manner, the committee them
selves enforcing silence and the observance of order
by the crowd.
The substance of the testimony on the part of the
defence was in the first place, all the numbers Of
the True American paper since Its commencement;
and the attention of the jury particularly called
to those articles which connected that paper with
the abolition party, 10 those recommending force to
be used if necessary to the abolition of slavery in
Kentucky, and to the last number, in which the
climax was capped by informing the slavehold-
ers, in threatening terms, that only their panes of
glass interposed between the strong arms, and fiery
hearts, and iron pixies in the Streets and the silver
on their boards, and their smooth-skinned women
he otto Tha hapdhil1c he
correspondence between respectable citizens of Lex
ingon and the editor of the paper, showing the CT
forts which were made TO discontinue its publica-
tion and his contemptuous and defiant treatment of
them, with his call upon the aboring classes to arm
in his defence, were also given in evidence It was
first commencement of the paper, the Office had been
regularly fortified, the door and windows barrica-
ded, and the former secured with chains, in such
manner that but one person could enter at time;
that the arms in the office consisted of two shell
cannon, two double-barrel shot guns iron pixies,
pistols &C., and that the cannon arranged
that they could be made to rake the door breast
high. All these preparations were made before or
about the time the first number of the paper was
issued. For the purpose of proving the effect pro-
duced by the True American paper upon the slave
population, a host of witnesses were introduced,
among them, the mayor of the city all ofwhom tes-
tilted that since the first appearance of the paper,
most marked change could be perceived in the con-
duct of the negroes. The mayor stated that bands
Of them had frequently, since that time, marched
past his door, with great noise, as if in de-
fance Of his authority, which they had never
done before. All testified that since that time
the slaves had become far more idle, independ-
ent, disobedent, and hard to manage. 1t was
proved that more thefs had been committed,
more factories set on fire, more slaves sold to the
South, (some Of them expressly on account Of con-
versaons overheard about the paper,) than were
ever before known in the same length Of time II
was in evidence, that in sections of the country
more than one half the slaves had firearms, which
was never before known;--hat they were in the hab
it Of assembling upon the high road at late hours of
the night, in groups, and appeared to be concerning
mschief-that, in one instance, an attack had been
made by several upon the dwelling Of white man.
and, in another, that body Of them had assembled
with their officers, marching rank and file, like
trained soldiers, brendishing their hemp hooks;--
that slaves were in the habit Of reading the paper
from the time of its commencement, and in one in
stance that slave had gotten it from the Office Of