The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1859-11-04


hearing and without an opportunity
No make q defense, and was man
wk was accused OF no CRIME, but
tha> of escaping from slavery, to be
conomned without an opportunity
or to ebut their testimony.
Y ThsCourt said the case was end
led. and tho Marshsls hurried him
; down sairs and took him across the
river, tie whole time OF the trial not
occupyitg more than fifteen min.
utes. i Cincinnati Gazette.
l
The Jnsurrcction.
Gathering oil the mcts and rumors
concerning the late affair at Harper $
Ferry pgether. it is difficult to de
eide whether it should be called a
ludioous tragedy, or solemn farce.
W,erever our language is spoken,
tln event will be spread all over the
world. The comments Of the press;
North and South agree in an i'm.
portant particular. The futile at.
tempt is everywhere characterized as
the mad act Of a few fanatics. II is
that makes treason capital ohense
And il all the insane folly, and the
wickcdness OF the "Provisional Gov
ernmcnt' schemes should ever be-
successful, they could never attain
to the dignity of a revolution. As
weiyhty obligations rest upon each
citizen OF Ibis Republic to obey
those laws Of the land which refer to
slavery, as to obey those prohibiting
murder. There is no difference be-
tween the authority enjoying the one
and that forbidding the other. 1t
would be as reasonable, as wise, as
consistent as any Of their acts, for
these lunatics to say that murder
was a virtue among the Thugs, and
therefore the laws against it were in
opposition to a higher law" whose
mandates alone they acknowledge to
be obligations.
1t is but fair TO suppose J. Brown.
the Commander. in Chief OF body OF
foolish outlaws. representative
man. II would not be difficult to
find many as completely bereft of
reason. though there may be few as
ioolhardy. And as the late violent
outbreak indicates the aims Of this
class, we may well Ask if there is
another on this continent SO utterly
God. forsaken as this2 The fact that
many Of these fanatics are perfectly
sincere in their convictions, only
adds to the proof that they are be-
yond the reach Of hope. No penal
alties that look to the improvement
Of the criminal are applicable here.
No penitential intlictions meet the
cXigencies Of the case. To be shot
down red handed-to be strung mp
to the nearest tree by the first con-
stitutcd avengcr OF the law who can
lay hands upon them, this sum
mary Justice seems almost appropri-
att llNC tIICsf.
But il is perfectly idle, to cay the
least, to turn such an event into
political capital. No party would
dream of endorsing these or similar
stroci,ies; il is a poor and unworthy
class Of tactics that would seek to
lasten the responsibility anywhere
else than upon the misguided actors
themselves. Whatever may be the
tendency OF their avowed principles,
no organization, worthy Of the name,
has ever connselled violent resist
ance Of the law in slave territory
There are few dementcd persons
over the Northern States
40 few that we might almost cnumer
ate them-Geriit Smith. Frederick /
Mellen, if he is still alive.
and two or three more. But there
S no party of respectable dimensions
hat has plank in ;ts platform upon
which the late mad foray could be
justified.
The fact that the slaves did not
Join in the IIarpcr's Ferry proceed
ings, except upon compul.ion, will
not be without its usefulness. All
the efforts of the white aboli,ionilts
we're powerless to produce the ex
pected insnrrection. The history of
this miserable failure will serve to
deter other maniacs from similar at
tempts. No paper in the Union that
is read by decent man says one
word in approval of the outbreak,
and the fate oithe victims is nowhere
deplored. This would argue against
dissolution prophecies, a. it proves
that conservative men everywhere
are opposed to abolition doctrines
and practices. The prompt gather
ing of formidable army upon the
scene Of the expected conflict is
another valuable Lesson to the phi
lanthropists of the Wendell Philips
school, The disparity in number
between the Government troops and
the few "provisionals' who defied
them in the short conflict. the eager
demand for the few prisoners by the
citizens in the vicinity, oil tell the
same story, il the philantropists
would but heed il. Slow as they
are to learn, however, they will
probably conclude that whatever
may be done hereafter to abolish
slavery, attempts like this last are
not precisely the most promising.
- Baltimore american.