Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-10-11
From the Boston Telegraph
Governor Washburn aud the Burns

We observe in the N. Y. Independent an
apology for certain statements and comments.
made by that paper some months since, based
upon the representations of the N. Y. Tri-
5,tqe, in relation to Governor Washburn's
conduct in the Burns case. The independent
quotes, as the foundation of its palinode,
- declaration said to have been made by the
Governor, and ''seen" by the writer, but when
or where is not stated, of the following pur-
port =
"If a aorit Of repleUia, or any other aorit,
aoas issued for the purpose [of preventing the
removal Of Burns, aeoer sac it, or kne,o Of
its existence. No officer ever called on me to
aid in the service of such writ, or told II
he had such an one. Some of the friends of
the slave came and conferred with me as
to the feasibility of taking Burrs from
the custody of the United States officers by
legal process. We examined the matter; one
of them was a lawyer of high repute in his
profession and believe we were all satisfied
that nothing could be done in that way, and
clearly that could do nothing officially N.Y.
self. | felt as deeply as you or anybody else
could on the subject, but had no more pow
er than you or any other man, to interpose to
prevent TIE execution of the United States
process"
deny, or anybody for him, at this late day,
that he knew nothing of the issue of a writ
of repevin, or that he was not distinctly in
formed that the great obstacle to the service of
that writ was, the military array at the com
mand of the United States Marshal, composed
in part of Massachusetts Militia, only shows
how very feeble some memories are. Nothing
world have been easier than for the writ to
have been served-a fact distinctly brought to
the Governor notce-spite Of the Irish Greg
ulars' who garrisoned the Court House, turn
ed for the occasion into a slave jail, had the
Governor chosen to issue to the Boston Mill
tia, already under arms, an order TO act as
posse comitatuS to the coroner who held the
writ of repleyin, rather than to the United
States Marshal on whom it was to be served
And who, backed by Mr.. District Attorney
Halett, the Jealous cooperation of the May
or. and the pusillanimity of the State author
tiles, chose to take upon himself to disregard
the process of Massachusetts,, and the respon-
sibility of deciding upon the legal effect of the
Fugitive Act without suffering that ques-
ton to come before the Judicial tribunals ;
thus following the precedent established by
the Charleston shareholders who SO politely
turned Mr.. Hoar and the State of Massachu-
sets out of doors when they sought to bring
to the test of judicial examination, certain
slaveholding pretensions which would not
stand enquiry.
But grant that to have enforced the service
of the writ of replevin, would have required
a good deaf more of nerve and intrepidity
than is to be looked for in men of Governor
Washburn's calibre, and, that it was a course
not very likely to be recommended by our At
torney General, who, on previous similar
occasion, had volunteered advice to the Sher-
if of Suffolk as to certain criminal process of
the Commonwealth committed to him for SER
vice, such as to have given some color for the
idea, that although the salaried counsel for
the Commonwealth, he had taken a secret re-
tainer from the other party-grant that the
best thing that Governor Washburn could do,
in an emergency where a man was needed,
was, to keep silent and quiet, and out Of sight
as much as possible, leaving the Mayor to en-
danger the peace of the city and the lives of
the citizens, by assuming illegally to depute
to General Edmands and to his inferior Off
GERS general discretion to shoot down all OPP
posers yet the Governor cannot claim even
the limited merit of having acted up to this