Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-09-02

papers, on file ID the Secretary Of States Office,
yesterday, but the clerk having them in charge
said he bad directions not to allow copies or
extracts to be taken; and upon communicating
that fact to Mr.. Marshall, the House, on his
motion, made call for tie papers. As
soon as the papers are published you will
be enabled to Sc that SO far from any
improper act on the part of Mr.. Fillmore,
lac only performed an official duty that any fair
man could not properly refuse. In doing SO he
released the government from continually
accrung expense in keeping and boarding the
prisoners, and in no way created any claim
against the government in behalf of the own
ers. '
Any statement in the communication signed
"Quantico," and published in the Sentinel on the
2Hd inst, Inconsistent, at variance with the
above Is incorrect. The above are the facts, as
the papers in the case will show, and hope gen.
tIemen will not do themselves more harm in mis-
stating the facts, than true state of them will do
Mr.. Fillmore good, when toe public come to know
what the facts are. Very truly, yours,
VEsPAsIAS ELLIS, ESQ.,, Editor Organ.
The owners of the slaves had not lost q dol
lar,-the defendants had suffered four years
aud more close confinement for their attempt
to deport the Slaves majority of the own
ers had themselves petitioned for their dis
charge-they were wholly unable to pay the
fines-the Government had already expended
hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the sup
port of these men, whilst in prison, and the
question was: ought the President to remit the
further Imprisonment of these men, still hOidA
ing them responsible out of whatever property
they might acquire, for the finest or should he
for such an offence, great though it was, cons
tinue them in prison during their lives2 Re-
formation and not TeUenge is one of the main
purposes of criminal law. There can be no
excuse offered in behalf of those men for their
conduct. But was not justice satisfied in their
incarceration for q term of more than four
years.
1t is certainly true that, in point of mOraZity,
their offence was precisely the same as If the
owners of the slaves had wholly lost their
property 1t is true, also, that their offence
was complete in the eyes of the law, when
they had transferred the slaves beyond the
boundaries of the District of Columbia; but
is there reasonable man, the owner Of slave,
who would demand higher punishment than
four gears Incarceration IN a prison to be in
fcted upon q man who made an Intellectual
attempt to rob him of his slave9 But suppose
this were otherwise2 Suppose that there are
slave owners who would demand a greater
punishment than four years. imprisonment OF
a man who should make an unsuccessful at
tempt to deport his slaves? The question in
the present case is simply whether Mr.. Fill
more acted corruptty or unjustty in exercising
the pardoning power which is contided to his
discretion by the constitution
This can only be ascertaiDed by a careful ex-
animation into all the facts and circumstances
presented in the papers on file in the State De-
partment. Why are not those papers forth
coming? Colonel Marshall, OF Kentucky, near
ty thee UeeEs ago, procured the adoption of a
resolution by the House of Representatives,
calling upon the President for copies of those
papers! Three hours, or at most one dag,
would afford sufficient time to copy them, and
net Aey are not furnished upon the call of Mr..
FILLmOres friends! The ''Quanticoes" and
other hired scribblers Of the sham democracy,
can be furnished by the State Department
with the means of assaling Mr.. Fillmore, but
when his friends openly demand that the pa
pers be furnished to Congress t1r publication,
they are kept back, till the public mind shall
be poisoned by the misrepresentation of his
enemies! There Is no act of Willard Fillmore,
as President of the United States, Or in any
other capacity, that either himself or his friends
desire to keep from public view.
but III was LnougDt eXpedlent, Oy thls cor
rupt and contemplate dynasty, to hold back
the papers in the case referred to, till Congress
should have adjourned, when publication of
them could not be ordered, and the vindca-
ton which that publication would afford, could
not be made.
We regard the conduct of those, who origi
mated this attempt to prejudice Willard Fill
more with the South, for the exercise of his
pardoning over in remitting the further i'm
prisOnment of Drsyton and Sayers, as wholly
unworthy the character of honest politicians,
it ca only be palliated on the miserable max
im that ''all is fair in politics" As to the
failure of Frank Pierce to respond to the call
OF the House of Representatives for the papers
in this case, it is in keeping with that disre-
gard of duty and that recklessness of purpose,
which have marked his whole career as Presi-
dent.