The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1856-10-11
ne Recent Troubles i'm Washina
s4,..q Territory. ts49

he Recent Troubles I'm Washington
SIS Territory. lf99
SrE1LAcooM, W. T., August 1856.
To the Editor Of the Nep York Daily Times:
SIR:-The following, cut from the dispatch
Of your Washington correspondent of the
ID July, contains some errors which I ask
leave to- correct, as the statement is calcu-
lated to produce, if uncontradicted, an effect
very prejudicial to the interests of this Ter
ritory: = : ~.
The particulars in regard to the recent
declaration of martial law in Washington
Territory, and>the arrest there of Federal
Judge, are briefly these There are in
Pierce County some half dozen wealthy and
influential Englishmen and Scotchmen, for
merly in the employ of the Hudson's Bay
Company, who; after the settlement of the
Oregon boundary, became citizens of the
United States. These men are suspected of
fomenting the late Indian disturbances there
and Gov. Stevens became satisfied, from evil
dence before him, tibet they were furnishing
the hostile Indians with arms, ammunition
and supplies, and were SO frustrating the
efforts of the authorities to put an end to
the disastrous war. Cop6rmatory of this
was the fact that while districts more remote
from the Indians were continually devasta-
ted, tie property of the suspected men and
their nelghbors were unmolested.
1t is stated also that the suspected parties,
in consequence of their wealth, possessed
great influence over their neighbors, so that
there was no probability of getting them a
trial which should be fair to the Government
except by military commission. Under
these alleged circumstances, Gov. Stevens
declared martial law in Pierce County, ar
rested the suspected parties, and ordered
their trial by q military commission for trea-
son. Before the trial came on, the United
States Circuit Judge attempted to hold
Court, and bring the accused before him. on
habeas corpus. Gov. Stevens demonstrated,
and finally, upon the Judges persisting in
disregarding the declaration of martial law,
arrested him also and placed him in confne-
ment.
The trials for treason were just about to
take place when the steamer left"
Now the facts are that of the seven per-
SONS arrested by Gov. Stevens, only three
had ever been in the Hudson's Bay service.
of the others, two were emigrants from
Missouri, where they had been naturalzed
long since. None of them were wealthy in
the sense conveyed by the above extract.
They possessed, it is true, what are called
"claims," consisting of section, half or
quarter section of unsurveyed lands, and
three or four of them owned tolerable bands
of cattle. In short, they were "well-to-do"
settlers, but they had neither influence nor
means, if they had the disposition, to evade
justice in any form-much less on such a
charge as that of aiding and abetting Indi-
ans in hostilities against the whites. The
statement is preposterous in ITSELF The
very people vino it is alleged were under
this influence, were the ones most in danger
from the sayages. 1t is very true that, by
remaining on their claims and temporizing
with the Indians, these men succeeded in
saving their property, at the ri. k of reputa-
ton as good citizens-but there meyer was a
charge seriously made against them of fur
nishing arms or ammunition. The worst
they were accused of was giving food to hos
tile Indians, and imparting information. OF
this last, however, there never was the slight
est proof. The real reason why they were
consigned to military commission was that
there was not evidence enough against them
even to hold them to bail before civil court
This fully appeared, when after the military
commission finally turned them over to the
authorities, full and searching examination
resulted in their discharge. The facts in re-
lation to this whole business haze been laid
before the Government, and will probably
have been already published. I, therefore,
shall not trouble you with history of it;
but, as citizen of Pierce County, wish to
protest against the imputation upon the citi-
zens and their officers of being under any
such influence. Tits proper to state that
this question had nothing to do with the
general one Of the war. There was not a
man who iQterposed to protect the accused
parties from the military commission, who
was not in favor of it's vigorous prosecution,
or did not in the main approve Of Governor
Stevens military operations. There was
not one who, had they been legal tried,
would not, upon sufficient EVIDENCE, have as
tented to their conviction and execution.
The general prejudice was at first against
them. But the question IMPLY was, wheth-
er, on q pretext Of this kind, Federal off
Ger should be permitted to vsurp absolute
and despotic power-anthority denied to
the President, and in part even to Con: ress
and consign to trial by a military court of
his own creation, not recognized by any law,
citizens ON charge affecting life. G. G.