The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1853-01-15


claimants, should the treaty be ratified from receiving
what Ia 50 Justly their DUE S,ree,.s,,. nr.,sr,ioa.
TO interfere merely the result Of desire that he
and his associates may appropriate the money TO waich
they hare no CLAIM, iohafeper. cine and
appliances the of other stranger would
induce the Indians to revoke Mr. SweetzerS OF at
torney at once, and appoint some other man,
''The traders in the country would experience little diff
Guilty In procuring the Indians protest against the
recognition by the government Of Mr. Sweesrs papers
but regarding them informal and fraudulent upon
their very face, they have not Considered them OF si
cent Importance observe such notice at their hands,
supposins that the senate would sort of attention
to documents procured obviously for Interested puoses
How nearly allied is this with the presumed
case of plundcring the New York estate--sare
and ercept the important fact, that the erecusire
iatc officer, ,chose duty it ,ros to guard tie
rights Of the heirs, could not Ie corrupted!
But does that lessen the crime morally? The
Christian code of ethics teaches, that the crime
is committed when the thief says in his heart
81 will go and steal = and the common law
which, through its officers, lays hands upon him
just as he is about to pocket his neighbours
property, makes no distinction in his punish
ment, whether he had been arrested at that
particular moment, or allowed to carry it
away and convert it to his own use. He had
not, perhaps, stolen technically but be had NOR
ally; the crime was committed by the inten-
ton, and he must pay the penalty. a great
pity it is, that uncomfortable circumstances
often stand in the way of legal punishment for
the highest crimes! Sweetser owes his present
liberty to this; for we doubt if q wretch can be
found in the broad universe who ever made
q more sweeping drive at the ten command
ments than did he in this Sioux transaction:
''Thou shalt not steal.''
g. Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbor."
Thou shalt not coyet anything that is thy
neighbours
All these, and Heaven knows how many
more of the ten, he has gracelessly torn to at
oms and scattered to the winds, as he would SO
much waste paper. After a man becomes thus
far stepped in iniquity, what sort of q show of
safety has the entire decalogue in his hands -
Would he not put on his high-heeled boots and
walk through it like streak of Lightning"
Would he not rake it down" without mo-
ment's hesitation, did the whole. or any part of
it stand in his way?
But we must once more call Col Dousman to
the stand. We are now about to state a fact,
not generally known, going further to prove
the venali<y and baseness of this unwhipped
offender against justice and moral right 1t is
this: After he found that his grand scheme of
fraud upon the Indians was not likely to win.
he goes to Col. Dousman and offers to sell him
self for twenty or thirty thousand dollars-we
forget which, but certainly sum over and
above what he was worth by the amount. what
ever itwould be, that might remain after deduct
ing his clothes at a secondhand valuation. In
other words, for consideration he was willing
to sanction the payment in the manner orgi-
nally contemplated, and which was carried out.
1t is unnecessary to state he did not succeed in
driving bargain in that quarter
We see the name of a quiet and unobtrusivc
citizen dragged into the columns of Swcetser's
organ, and his character blackened with all the
opprobrious epithetsin vogue among the lowest
scullions and degraded DULLES. We allude TO
{. d. Fillmore. Reader do you know the cause
OF this! Standing in the near relationship he
does to the President of the United States,
Sweetser concluded he would be useful man
to aid him in carrying out the grand swindle
So he attempted to buy him. But Mr. Fillmore
would not be bought. He offered almost any
sum Mr.. +. might name, but it was rejected
with honest indignation. Hence, a worthy and
peaceful citizen must be hunted to his fireside,
and all the villainous terms that can be rakcd
from the lowest hell-holes of creation applied
to him, thrown under the eye Of himself and
family. and scattered broadcast over the land.
People of ST. Paul, Mr.. Fillmore is known to
most of us, and respected by all who know him.
Ask him whether or not We have stated the
facts as they occurred.
Many-very many more villa;nous acts, such
as these, we could name of which Swcetser has
been guilty since he has disgraccd our fair land
with his presence but let us refrain. The cup of
Indignation and contempt must be already full.
The patience Of outraged justice and honesty
will bear no more
In our short lifetime we have seen some
thing of the world, and been an observer of
many OF those careers of degradation which
overtake the weaker members of our race. The
innocent buoyant school girl, with health
glowing in her face, purity gushing from her
heart, and elasticity moving her graceful steps,
has, in three or four short years, been trans
ported to the streets of the crowded city, a
dashlng, brazen town harlot, Haunting in silks
and ribbons-the earnings OF her own shame.
Days, weeks, mouths and years move on and
the next scene is the crisOn-ceIi tpnarted b,
the drunken highway bawd. There is no need
OF completing the drama. The end is certain
Not more deeply and GER
tainiy disgracefal and loathing will be the end
of that editor, who prostitutes his columns for
purposes equally as base as does this frail be-
ing her body. She in times of comparative
prosperity during her sinful career, has been
able to pirate of independence, and to defy the
world with show of honesty, because at the
time she was fed and sustained by some miscre-
ant hand, who perhaps was robbing its employ