New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-11-17

A recent proceeding in Harrison County, Vir-
gins, which, though CLOSED over like the burning
of the Free.State hotel and the printing Offices at
Lawrence, and the long Imprisonment of Governor
Robinson and his companions, with the forms of
law yet has in it all the characteristics of pure
slaveholdpg ruffanism, affords a specimen of the
sort Of tyranny to which the nominaly free men of
the slavehOdiDg States find themselves obliged to
submit, and of the sort of administration ofjustice
facetiously so called under which they groan, aud
which the election of Buchanan has firmly fixed
upon them for at least the next four years.
Harrison County situate in the northwest part
of Virginia, had by the last census population of
- 72S nominal freemen and of 4S5 slaves But
even this small leaven of Slavery seems to be amply
sufficient to give the few of these few slaves
the complete mastership of the county. STILL how
ever there exists within it certain spirit of inquiry
and desire for information was evinced by
the getting up in February last of club Of twenty
persons to supply themselves with the weekly
edition of THE TRIBUNE at the cost of twenty dol
lars for the whole-as judicious an investment of
that money, we will venture to say, considering
the amount of information and entertainment thus
secured, as could possibly have been made. We
can easily imagine the satisfaction, comfort, and
even delight which the weekly arrival Of
sheet so full of profitable and interesting matter
must have afforded TO each Of the twenty fsmi-
lies TO which it came-especially in contrast with
the poor barren fothy contents of anything in the
nature of weekly paper published in Virginia
But the satisfaction of selecting their own news
papers is not, it seems one of the privileges enjoyed
by the freemen of Virginia. The fact that copies
of THE TRIBUNE were circulating in the county
was brought to the notice Of the Grand Jury, the
result of whose labors is detailed in the following
letters:
"SHIyssroS, Va, Sept. PC, 1856.
"Messrs. GREELEY e. McELRArH:
Il regret to inform you that | am indicted for getting
up club for THE TRIBUNE Great God! has 1t come
to this that must be sent to the pententary for
reading newspaper The Grand jury had one of
the subscribers brought before them with armfu of
copies Of The TRIBUNE, and they were distributed
among them. They examined them a long time, and
about giving it up that 1t would have to pass,
whea 10 and behold! one of them discovered an e1-
tract fro The Pittsburgh Dispatch, which gave an
account of the great negro hunt of Ross Co and on
that they pronounced it an Abolition document. The
indct the Postmaster at Shnnston.
81 discover that the Law of Virginia makes my
felony may have to flee or serve time in the Rich
mSnd Il i mot legal for YOUR paper to circulate in
this State have notified the Court that they would
show leny in my if they should decide the
said paper to be illegal, would discontinue my club
Nv. p. HALL"
To tie Edio, Of Then Y Tribune.
"SIR: The Grand Jury for this county this week pre-.
sented Horace Greeley of New. York Mr. Hall of
E Al. .iat.
The TRIBUNE. You may make any use of this infor-
Your: very truly, IRA HART
" Ctdrksbcrgh, Hsrrison County, Va, Oct z 1880
Immediately upon the receipt of these letters,
answers were addressed to the writer's expressing
the readiness of the conductors Of The TRIBUNEto
do their part toward testing the law of the case
and desiring copies Of the indictments. To the
letter addressed 10 Mr. Hall answer has arrived,
and perhaps he never received it. We are In
formed from another quarter that shortly afte' tie
finding of the indictment, being greatly alarmed at
il, he left home. In the meanwhile, however, IT
was discovered that the Grand Jury by which the
bills were found was illegal, one OF its members be-
ing disqualified to sit as grand juror. AS soon
as this discovery was made another jury was im-
paneled which returned the indictment, which we
shall presently give, against Horace Greeley, but
omitted to find any against the two citizens of the
county who had been previously indicted. This,
however, does not appear to have been through any
disposition to give over the persecution OF the
readers Of The TRIBUNE, as will appear from the
following letter of Mr. Hail. addressed to US after
his return home:
"SHrsysroS Va, Goth Oct, 1856.
"MyssRs GREELEY a. McELRAIH: Since l re-
turned home find the storm raging as bad a. ever
against NE. They cay shallstop The IRIBrss C.uo,
or they will bring my csse up at the next Grand Jury
Court and put me clear through.
81 therefore request yoa to stop the Cluo.
"TLis fIom friend "AL r. HALL
So much for Shinnston. Mr.. Hart, the other per
son indicted, resident in Ciarksburgh, in the same
county appears TO be made Of somewhat sternerssuf
Some time since the Postmaster at Clarksburgh re-
fused to deliver bis psper, under pretense OF Law
Of Virginia imposing a fine of $500 on any Post
master for delivering incendiary mail matter. Dir.
Hart thereupOn applied to the POstmsster-General'
VITO, in performance of his du,y, wrote to the
Clarhsburgh deputy that be must deliver. This
caused tremendous stir among the magnates of
C,arksburgb but the psper has since beeb regularly
delivered. The nsXt moTs was to indict Dir, HIATT