The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-09-20
Supremacy Of the Law Maintained--The Oath
Taken---come to their Senses again!

cars yesterday from u VlSlI 10 y uuSe OdFAuoOA
by the former, and to Judge Niblack by the
latter. To briefly review-these persons had +
been committed to jail for contempt of Court,
by refusing to take an oath as requested by the
Judge of our Court of Common Pleas and
Prosecutor, to give evidence in liquor cases.
Mr.. Lunkenheimer is our County Clerk; Mr..
Ellis a merchant and both Germans. The |
same oath had been taken by many of their
fellow citizens previously, and by many since.
But doubtless impelled by the evil advice and
encouragement of Others (for we think these
gentlemen are too good citizens, and too sensi-
BILE men to have acted thus in the ordinary
GOODNESS of their otoa unbiased judgment they
utterly refused to take this oath. Such a con-
tempt of court could not be passed over, and
Judge Iglehart very properly imprisoned them.
There was an immense deal of German indig
nation at this persecution" and the prisoners
at once became martyrs on the most approved
principles.
Application was made to Judge Niblack, of
the Circuit Court for writs of habeas corpus
to get the prisoners out, but he declined having
GI1lIlS W QO Will IiAD CbLJCSb. bPplAS0NiOA
was then made to the Supreme Court, but the
Court was not in session. Judge Davidson,
however, one of the Supreme Court Judges, is
sued writ in behalf of Lunkenheimer, for
him to be taken out and brought before said
Judge fof review of his case. A writ of SINH
lar nature was afterwards obtained from Judge
Niblack, in behalf of Mr.. Ellis. Their friends
were triumphant Well, as we have said,
these martyred individuals arrived here yes
terday, after trial, they had been remanded
back to jail, unless they chose to comply
with the requirements ofour Court! But these
nineteenth century martyrs already had enough
of jail They had sacrificed themselves just
about as far and as deep in physical comfort
and pocket as they felt able to bear, although
they had been kindly urged to die and rot in
Jail before yielding-and had the sympathy of
vast many who were, so far as ao0rds went
very willing to die and rot and be buried in
Jail if necessary, before they would take the
oath. So Messrs. Lunkenheimer and Ellis
went before the same Court and the same
Prosecutor and took the identical OATH which
you would have thought while the whisky and
lager beer flowed so freely through the Jail,
the Jail itself would have walked across the
street and taken sooner than they! The Pros
ecutor then asked them but two or three .ques-
tons. He had determined, with the Court, to
maintain the supremacy of the law, and that
was all he then wanted. The gentlemen
roundly swore that they were not acquainted
with any violation of the liquor law 1t is
said that confinement in prison is apt to harden
the young offender, from his vile associations
there. We fear these new offenders of law
must have had very bad associates in Jail, and
by their own invitation, to thus secure such
hardened consciences in so short a time.
= Thus had ended for the present, this brave
demonstration against law and order. What
has been gained by it? Two men occupying a
respectable position in society, have made very
great fools of themselves, to protect the vio-
lators of law on our Statute books and
to secure the vulgar applause of certain pre-
JUDGED and foolish minded Of their fellow
citizens. They held their orgies in Jail with
crowds of impassioned men, and were great
martyrs in holy cause--as seen through
glasses of lager beer and whisky. They no
doubt pledged themselves to be martyrs for
a life time if necessary. They received the
encouragement of Germans on all sides, and
Of the Old Line Leaders who are always
trucking to Germans, and we are sorry to
say, of possibly few men who were Meth
er the one nor the other, but mere enemies
of the Liquor Law, although this question
of Imprisonment really had nothing to do d.
rectzy with the law. There were even reports
of mob to take them out of Jail The Re-
form reared and pitched in behalf of the mar
tyrs, while its humble imitator in the English
language, declared all this persecution was be-
cause the victims had refused to vote the Know
Nothing ticket, and that others were to be
served the same way for the same offence!-
And yet these martyrs have ''knuckled down. 2
'caved in, ACKNOWLEDGED their error, or else
their want Of spunk to carry out a conceived
right. They have done well in this, at any
rate and we hope that the lesson they have
received will last them through life But will
the sympathy of friends pay their erpelesesa
But how mean, how despicably mean, must
feel those brave Old Liners and the Old Line
press, who have received such a rebuke from
three Judges of their own politics. Thrice
condemned as eoroag, Not only upholding Vi
olations of law, and open defiance of thein stru-
ments of the law, all to court up Germans
they appealed from an Old Line Judge to twf