Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-05-16


,ither urew ont of misapprehension Of iacts,
Dr resulted from a determination to compel
.hem to remain IN custody, OF to regain liberty
az the expense Of plain acknowledgement That
they had been guilty OF folly and indiscret!on
which we'll deserved punishment. HoplnBtn
the first was the correct view, they made,
through counsel, statements OF the iacts' ano
asked that If the journal could not be SO cor.
rected as to correspond with the uuVn' ~
should be either vacnted or made 70 present. in |
A new entrv the fact that they differed with the
Conrt in their understanding Of the natter |
The Court kept the request under adviaement |
through the day, and then announced that It |
had determined to let The record stand as II
was. This announcement compelled tho I'M
prsoned to believe that their Humiliation was
determined BY the Court. Under such crcum-
stances Retrospect forbade their entering into
new bonds
knowing that the matter they had in hand
was an important one, and that either remaining
in custody OF giving new rccognizonoes mvoiv'
ed great issues to themselves and others tho
imprisoned took time 70 consider both Their po'
sition and their duty While they were pur-
suing their inouiries they entertained the hope
that the Supreme Court would release them
from the durcss by granting them Habeas Cor
nus. Their hope ia this direction was present
| iv biphted by the refusal Of the court to grant
| the writ, and then they found the way TO
boporable escape from custody more eitcctually
I closed than it had ever before been. II they
I had entered into rccognzances or given bail
upon the heels OF their defeat at Columbus, they
| would have encouraged the prosecution IN the
belief that they were effectually humbledi and
that they had iorsaken their cause as being lost.
That they were were justified IN believing that
\ their entering into recognizances or giving bail
at this time would have been regarded IN this
liaht, is proved by the dispatch which Marshal
] Johuson sent 10 the President of the United
| States on the afternoon Of the 9th, the sub
| stance of which was stated in the Washington
| Constitution as follows
"Tbe President last evening received a tele-
graphic dispatch, dated at Cleveland, from the
| Marshal Of the Northern District Of Ohio, stat.
| ing that the Supreme Court Of that State had
unanimously refused the writ of habeas corpus
in the case Of the persons in his custody, un'
der the fugitive slave law, and that three of the
most respectable of them had given bail for
their appearance to stand their trial before the
| District Court of the United States. Every
thing was quiet .
The obvious implication of this dispatch was
two fold: first, that Northern repugnance TO the
fugitive slave act had received decided bow
from the decision OF the Supreme Court, aud
secondly, that the hearts of those who had en-
tertained this repuguance and had actively ex
pressed it, were fainting under the blow. The
imprisoned felt that they could not, in honor
or in duty Justify the second intlmatlon OF this
singular dispatch, and that if they were ever to
Weld il must be when the cause they loved was
not going backward, aud when their yielding
would not accelerate its decline. So they wait
ed for a better day. all the time longing to be
at home aud about the lbusiness which sorey
needed their presence, and suffering under the
irlsome constraint of prison life, they eagerly
sought the place for honorable escape. They
thought they would perhaps find that place al
the close of the Langston trial They assured
I themselves that the developements of that trla
| world prove to the Court that if the testimony
for the Government was justly weighed and tn
evidence for the defence was measured as !
n should be, no one of the rescuers could iairl,
! be convicted, and that the prosecution woult
y be dropped. But the end only showed judi
: cial bias stronger than before, and a partizal
feeling on the part of the jury, which could no
L rest short of verdict Of guilty.
l. Thus was the prospect for making honorable
escaue, which the imprisoned sought mad
q. darker thou it had yet been.
Il But that they might leave no stone unturned
l. tho imprisoned presented, on Wednesday last
n as from John Watson, one OF their number, al
affidavit setting forth the facts respecting
IA JLelF imprisonment, anu lullOWou ~ WIN a.
= appeal from Mr. Riddle, in which, reciting agail
q their story and asserting their rights, they de
mandrd either speedy trial, discharge from pro
+ cess, or such correction Of, or entry upon th'
journal as would permit them to occupy, with
4, out discredlt to themselves. the position the,
{, formerly held before the Court. But the ap
i peal was in vain bland ntimation that ther
was no barrier to tue liberty of the imprsone
ia but " BHBchiiiO," and positive refusal to d
q what was asked, was the only reply which tn
court saw fit to give.
And so the incarccrated company finds it
, self effeclually shut out from all relief eXcep
q such as il cannot but scOrn. To sum up tn
points involved in the above history, the i'm
. prsoned are here because an order of the cour
r. put them here; they stay here because a judi
3 cial wrong under which they suffer is unre
. dressed, and because jOurnalentry OF the caur
A will not allow them to 90 out without person
4 al disgraoe--the disgrace they would suffer il
!. virtually acknowledging that they had beel
n guilty of most foolish action and that the,
y were ready to sneak away from the dilemma il
IL which that action had placed them, The sell
n respect of the imprisoned, tho Renge of homo
3. which Heaven planted in their souls, and whic
~ revered parents carefully nursed will not pei
al nit them to involve themselves in such die
10 grace. 1t could Reper be with them matte
or Of mere "punctio" to avoid the dishonoT I
W which their only chance Vt escape expose
10 them, and R0lp the circumstances in which the
are placed and the relation which they sustai
To a good cause, beset and imperil'ed by OF
to pTessve power, make what might, ia a.. rl.C
to case be an inconsiderable affair, rise luuu lul
or of the greatest magnitude The imprisonG
r cannot allow it to be said that when Freelo
be was assaied on her last field, they ngloriousl
lQ dropped their hammer to save themselves incoI
ne venienee and suffering, They are not willin
II to have even aR appearance Of submission
49, tyrannioal power ON their part, become Pile DIG
r., that tho diabolical Fugitive Slave Act is her
'st after to work its own on the Western Reserv
IN 1t will be observed that in both the histo
to ical sketch, and the summary above presente
ey we (toT We will here drop the third persol
ed have laid special stress ON the necessity e
be maintaining protest against what we regal
ey as judicial tyranny, aud the point of hon,
on which prevents our hheraGng ourselves
ST. giving hail Nothing has been said with ?
ms speCt to the policy of our course, This, hoy
ch ever, is matter which has heen constant
Cd kept in Wow We have thought, and sti
'r think, that in various ways,a manly and stTaigh
OF forward course on our part would promo
ed our cause. Precisely how the maintaining
he our determined protests against what we hal
ed regarded as injustice and fasehood, would Al
vance our interests in the defence Of our case
ed it would not be polite ioFpa to say, In d,
to time we ahall give TO the public a fl
IT disclosure of the motives which have acted O
IN Us in thisdireoton, and we believe that sue
nd disclosure win flly safety all who ha,
ito doubted the proprety Of our course, that il h
,e, been wisely taken,
90 We must not close without saying that in
nd that we have done, we have eau iously enQui