New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-02

appeals With all commence COZ m'Irg ~ Juoso
Kane. who, OF course would stick az nothing,
and v no. in the chase Of runaway niggers, seems
TO have a true blood hound propensity, bat also
10 the state Courts and officers. Nor has this
sppeal been without success; and while We
render Justice 70 Judge Kane, BIS accomplices
of the State Judiciary should u't be forgotten
At the tine that The co!orei woman and her
two BOYS concluded 10 leave the service Of Mr..
Wheeler four colored men were standing by,
three Of whom accompanied the crowd that
showed the womsn the way 70 the carriage, and
one Of whom. according 20 Wheeler's acc )unt.
when he attempted to stop the fugitives, caught
him BY the arm rudely, and threatened II be
resisted to cut his throat from ear to ear.
Against these four men Mr. Wheeler mak-s
complaint to q certain Alderman named James
b. Freeman-but whose name ought 10 be forth
with changed to James B. Doughface. This
Alderman, being near neighbor Of Judge Kane,
OF at least sharing something Of his remarkable
instinct for slave catching, issues warrant
against them for highway robbery and commits
them il default Of bail for $1,000 aud 5000!
To obtain reduction of this bail the friends
of the colored men cause them 70 be brought
before a certain Judge Kelley, evidently u N
Of some sense, but terribly afraid Of the slave
holders and Of being supposed deficient in the
duty claimed in this ease of the Pennsylvania
judiciary. The District. Attorney also makes
his appearance, and confesses that under tue
| laws Of Pennsylvania the charge Of highway rob-
| beIy is ridiculous: but he insists that the men
sball be held to bail for assault and battery and
riot. The question arising as to the amount Of
tie bail, after some evidence and discussion, 1t
was fixed at $500 for the three men against
whom there was no evidence at all, and ST
| $1,000 for the man who was said to have rudely
laid his hsnd on the sacred person OF slave
| driver in order to restran him from an act of
| kidnapping.
These four prisoners were very poor laborlng
men without any property whatever. The Con-
sti.ution of the United States, aud doubtless
that Of Pennsylvania too, provides that excess
sve bail should not be demanded; AMI yet
| Judge Kelley thinks himself obliged to make
long apology for presumiDg TO reduce the
bail to the sums named. Riot and assault
he tells US are unfortunately pretty common
offences in Phisdelphis, aud shout the highest
bail that he ever knew TO be demanded in such
cases was one thousand dollars. In one case
where the rioters were all armed with heavily
loaded muskets, that amount AMI only that
amount of bail was demanded. He, therefore,
thinks that even in the aggravated case OF
threatening to cut Mr.. Wheeler's invaluable
throat, the threat being purely in terroreH and
DO wespsn being shown, the insulted majesty Of
the stakeholder ought to be satisfied with the
same bail especially considering that he holds
in FIVE hundred dollars the three other men who
did nothing NJ all
We really hope that the days of this Philadel-
phia toadyisIn to the Shareholders are approach
ing a termination. 1t did not always use to
be SO. Philadelphia once had her Benjamin
Franklin and her Richard Rush Philadelphs
in those days had some backbone, and though
she has suffered so long with the spinal COM
plant bending her back till it has become little
better than a mere hump for Judge Kane and
other slavecstchers to jump upon, We cannot
think her case by any means hopeless. few
more prosecutions against her citizens, black
and white similar to those taken in this Wheeler
case will yet we imagine rouse her to her feet.