The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-12-15


Of the Christlana rioters, and 10 fact shoftIy
after the occurrence Of The outrage, we predicted
the result. When the treason humbug was got
up we reiterated the declaration, for il was too
plain and palpable screen for the offenders to
be misunderstood.
By telegraph We received the tidngs Of JUDGE
GaIER's decision, the material points of which
we republish below. The PennsylUanian makes
the following brief reference to the subject
The last sentence we have italicised-
CLOSE OF THE TREASON TRIAL.-The trea-
son trial that has occupied the circuit court OF
the United States Of this district for the last
two weeks or more, was yesterday brought to
a conclusion, the prisoner, Cashier Haaway, be-
ing acquitted. This result has been expected
since the commencement of the trial, the
evidence appears to be insufficient to make
case Of treason. Judge Grier, in his charge to
the Jury, gave a clear and forcible explanation
of the law. He said, that although the transnc-
ton with which the prisoner was connected did
not rise to the dignity of treason or a levying
Of war; the case was one OF aggravated riot
and murder, wantOnly committed after all at
tempts to execute the legal process had been
abandoned, and that the guilty partcipators
merit and should receive at the hands Of the
State courts condign punishment. The pun
ishmem Of The rioters and murderers now rests
,ohh The State authorities
What that punishment will be, the whole
history and proceedings in Pennsylvania and
the proofs of popular feeling there abundantly
prove.
These extracts from Judge GRIER's charge
show the grounds of his decison:-
| The resistance of the execution Of law of
the United States, accompanied with any degree
of force, if for pripate purpose is not treason.
TO constitute that offence, the object of the re-
sistance must be of a public and general ma
| ture.
The jury will observe that the "levying of
war" against the United States is not necessa-
rily to be judged of alone by the number or
array Of troops. But there must be a conspra-
cy to resist by force and an actual resistance by
force of arms, or intimation by numbers. This
conspiracy and the insurrecton connected with
it must be, to effect something of public ma
ture to overthrow the government, or to nullify
some law Of the United States, and totally to
hinder its execution, or compel its repeal.
A band of smuggIers may be said to set the
laws at defiance and to have conspired together
for that purpose, and to resist by armed force,
the execution of the revenue, in which numbers
may be slain on both sides, and yet they will
not be guilty of treason, because it is not an in
surrection of public nature, but merely for
private lucre or advantage.
A whole neighborhood Of debtors may con-
spire together to resist the sheriff and his officers
in executing process on their property-they
may perpetrate their resistance by force of arms
may kill the officer and his assstants--and yet
they will be liable only as ftons and not as
traitors The instruction is of private, not
of public nature; their object is to hinder or
remedy private not public grievance.
A number of fugitive slaves may invest n
neighborhood and may be encouraged to the
neighbors in combining to resist the capture Of
any of their numb,r, they may resist with force
and arms their master or the public officer, who
may come to arrest them; they may murder
and rob them they guilty of felony and
liable to punishment, but not MS traitors. Their
| instruction is for private object and connected
with no public purpose.
/ 1t is true that constructively they may be
said to resist the execution of the fugitive slave
laws, but in no other sense the smugglers resist
the revenue laws, and the anti-reners the execu.
| ton laws. Their insurrection, their violence,
however great their numbers may be- 80 long
as it is merely to attain some personal or pri-
vate end of their own, cannot be callen leuyin9
roar Alexander the Great may be classed with
robbers by moralists but still the political dis
tnction will remain between war and robbery
One is public and national, the other private and
personal
Without desiring to invade the prorogatives
of the jury in judging the facts of this case, the
court feels bound to say, that they do not think
the transaction with which the prisoner is
charged with being come cted rises TO the dig
nifty Of treason or levyng of war. Not be-
cause the numbers of force was insufficient
But, first, for want of any proof Of previous
conspiracy to make general and public resist
ance to any lao of the United States.
Secondly there is no evidence that any per-
son concerned in the transaction knew there
were such acts of Congress as those which they
are charged with conspiring to resist by force
and arms, or had any other intention than to
protect one another from what they termed kid
nappers (By which slang term they probably
included not only actual kidnappers but all mas
tiers and owners seeking to recapture their
slaves, and the officers and agents assisting
therein)
The testimony Of the prosecution shows that
notice had been given that certain fugtives were
pursued, the riot, nsurrection, tumult, or what
Il ever you may call it, was but sudden "concla.
malta" or running together. to prevent the cap
tnre of certain of their friends or companions, or
to rescue them if arrested. Previous to this
transaction, so far MS are informed, no at
tempt had been made to arrest fugitives in the
neighborhood, under the new act of Congress,
by a public officer. Heretofore arrests had been
made, not by the owner in person or his agent.
properly authorized, or by an officer Oft the law.
Individuals without any authority, but incit
ed by cupidity, and the hope of obtaining the
reward offered for the return Of fugitive, had
here tofore undertaken to seize them by force
and violence, to invade the sanctity of private
dwellings at night and insult the feelings and
prejudices of the people. Ii is not to be wonder
ed that people, subject to such inrosds, should
consider odious the perpetrators of such deeds
and denominate them kidnappers-and that the
subjects of this treatment should have been en-.
couraged in resisting such aggressions, where
the righiful claimant could not be distinguished
from the odous kidnapper, or the fact be ascer
tanned whether or not the person seized, de-
ported or stolen in this manner, was free man
or a slave.