New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-02-13
THE WISCONSIN SLAVE CASE.
DECISION OF THE STATE SUPREME COURT
RELEASE or mIssas. BOOTH AND ayscAaFT.
NARRATIVE OF HE GLOVER RESCUE.
k,o- IA. HIvoat>. s>nstnd, Feb s.

,,a,nnreeS on saturday last. dischargiog s. NJ. J
booth AID John Rycrsf, two citizens OF TINS oi.S
from the fine and pPT,on%ens s, % ,sr nsi
fhe u s. District Court, OF alleged Nol oon 81 ,ae
Eneitive Slave Act, IL matter of 90 dson "a 40
rious import TO be lightly passtsd YER or dismissed
without further remark Re ard ny III a. osoison a.
fsught with inPor'ah' csnse quences to the great
csuse Of Constitutional Rish's and Human Liberty;
setting up barrier agar at any further invasion CT
tho~e rights by the grsspT and domineerng spirit Of
Slavery; end as CONFER ing imnort Al honor upon the
Coort witch pronounce and the state which sustsns
this righteous ludeme IT, we have thought the present
proper occasion to lay before our readers sueclnct
narrative OF the csuse the progress aod the issue Oh
ths GLOVER REsc IL TRIALS IN this city.
Early IN Marc last negro, bruised, oieeding ano
meDscled vvs brought 10 this city, In castody OF
Deputy U. =. Marshal Cotton, and lodged in our
County jsi In spite Of the efforts OF the United
States oAc ere to keep their secret the fact speeoy
hansprce. The circumstances, 100, e'tending tne
capture, came out. As the story few from mouth to
mouth, '.he waves OF popular excitement began to
Ire; Zld gathering groups on every cor0er attested
He To bic interest in this novel case. ~ was soon
&nV, that truts and unnecessary we ence had been
usej to yrest the man, upon the charge OF beinga
r,sye ard il began to be suspected that foul play
would be employed 10 complete what force had be-
gun. Coansel were procured for the imprisoned ia.
give and writ Of habeas corpus applied for and OBJ
ON the ge Of The County Court The Sher
i'll made ~ to the writ that the prisoner was mott
hi. custody. second writ then sued out against
the L.. S. Marsha. MesntDe the people assembedby
Thousands Oh the COur-Hou square; meeting was
organized speechts made, resolutions adopted pledg
ing all present TO stand by the writ of haoeas corpus
and the right OF trial By, jury; and committees sp'
pointed TO wait on the L. D. officers and iesrn whether
the, 20 obey the second rit and produce their
prisnner While the excitement was at It's hight, q
delee ston 100 s;Iorg, from Rscine-whenco the al
legged slave had been f0rcl5y abducted the previous
Iivit-srrved upon tie ground, adding fIel TO the
fsst.ripp fame At tbis critical juDcture, too came
the report that the writ of haDeas corpus would not
be obey ed ard the suspicion was strengthened that
the negro was to be carried back INTO slavery as ne
had been brought 10 the Milwaukee jail, by sheer
force and without warrant OF law. Then II was that,
by an irresistible impulse, and without concert, or
premedtaton, rush was made for the JAIL the doors
battered down, the prisoner released, placed in
wagon and hurried beyond the reach Of pursuit, amid
the spplaudiDg shouts Of sympathizipg thousands.
Such il the brief history OF the rescue OF the al
kged fugitive slave Joshua Glover The breaking Of
the Jail, and the forcible release Of Glover, were
C.Ises in the eye of the law and in the estimation of
the public. For these, as Mr.. Tweedy well said. in
his spe ech at YouDgs Hall, repSaton was due to the
State Of Wisconsin, whose laws had been violated,
and 20 the City of Milwaukee whose peace had been
broken; but II not the province OF the Federal
Government 10 enforce that reparatiOn. Our own
Courts and authorities were competent to the task.
The Officers OF the Federal Government however,
assumed the initiative. Their first step was to pro-
cure the arrest of S. NJ. Booth, accused of being a
ring. lender in the rescue, bya warrant from United
States Commissioner Smith. An examination FL
III.
answer the complaint at the next term Of the United
States Court. He gave bail, but shortly afterward
wac surrendered by his suretes, in order that a writ
of hsbess corpus might be sued out, IN his behalf
before Judge Smith, of our State Supreme Court
The writ was granted, argument had upon 1t, and
Mr.. Booth discharged the Judge holding that the
commitment was insufficient, and the Fugitive Slave
Act itself under which the proceeding was had, un-
constitutional. These points were enforced in an
able and elaborate opinion which was extensively
circulated through tho public press From this de,
cison the u. s. Officers took an appeal TO the full
BEECH OF the Supreme Court. That Court affirmed
the decision all three Judges concurng In the order
of discharge, though one of them Judge Crawford,
siissened as to that part OF Judge SMITHS opinion,
which held he Fugitive Slave Act TO be uncon-
Meantime tho U. 8. District Court, Judee Millsr
presiding commenced Its summer term at Madison
and the Grand Jury found indictments Against
ne1srs. Boot Rycraft and others for their partici
pstion in the rescue Of Glover Upon those ndi,t-
mepts and by order of the Judge, Mr.. Booth was
ssain arrested. He went to jail, and his COUNSEL
e0ce more invoked the interpostoD of our State Sd
prene Court. 1t was denied, mainly upon the ground
st the jurisdiction Of the U. s. Court had attached
end that comfy required that the State Court shoald
net interfere until the Federal Cont hsd hear the
case and pronounced its judgment Thereupvn Mr..
bcosh gave bail TO appear and stand his trial. The
\ isl term Of the U. s. District Court came on Mr..
neet1 was confined to his bed by severe illness and
M ease went over. John Rycrsft, howeve va
tried under the indictment found against him in . o.,
convicted. and sentence deferred. In January, the
The Grand Jury. carefully selected, found new bills
Of Indictment against Mr.. Boo h the old one having
been Abandonedl and eeversi others. An attempt
vse made to 9udsh the Indictment, on the ground
That the Grand Jury improperly and unfairly
draWA The motion for that purpose was overruled
and the prisoner put upon his trial The feeble hands
Of The q. s. District Attorney strengthened r,r
he occasion by the employment Of able corulel,
whose zeal stimulated by liberal fee, well
by PEI sonal and political antpsthy toward the
cused Unusual pains were taken TO get a jury
whoss opinions Of the Fugitive Slave Act would NOT
stand In the way Of q conviction. The presiding
Judge threw his official weight into the scales against
the prisoner.
The evidence showed that Mr.. Booth had been
among the most active in get log up the meeting at
the Cctrt House Square, had been prominent in all
me procet dpgs then and thsreabcut, and had been
In cIcse proximity TO the wagon in which Glover was
hurried out of the city. There was, however, not
particle Of proof to connect him with the actual jail
breaking and jail delivery, or to show that he wss
one whit moro guilty than any other Of the two or
s: ,Ss sn9 the
enough and more than enough had been kroved to
convict the defendant under The lac. and of that Law
II was for him, and not the jury to judge The Jury,
ftttered by the positive directions Of the court and
the majority Of them believe, in the cOnscien
tous discharge of their supposed duty, found YER
dict against the prisoner Motions we're made in ar.
rest OF Judgment, and for trial. The form Of 1
The ipdiotmt Mt challenged. the sufciency Of the
proof disputed and strong evidence offered that one
q least 81 the jurors had pre)udged the case But
al In vain. The Judge overruled the notions and
hakftned to pronounce sentence. Mr.. Booth wss
condemned to month imprisonment, 81 900 fine,
and costs Of prosecuton-S45l OIL. Mr.. RycrAn to |
$500 6pe and ten days Imprisonment. Imnedisely I
a,ex sentence both prison conducted ~ our
County jsl, and there confined.
The news created great sensation in this city, and
q Il hsv along the telegraph wires and ed through
TIE nah, pioduced intense exeement throughout :
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