Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1859-05-26
Statement of the Oberlin Prison
erS now in Jail.
- CurAHoGAs COUNTY .JAII, I
- May Il, 1859. = 5

}
To the People Of the Westers Reserre;- Is
The undersigned citizens of Lorain county: now con7
fined in this prison under Indictment for violation
OF he Fugitive Slave Act have reason to Know that tne
history o. their ncarceration is quite gensray
nenueo ana that this msapprehension Is greatly preJu
diclng Their cause with the public z 80
IL to state the facts pertaining to the mprsonme nt
clearly and correctly and define the present position of
te tnat this article is offered TO your con-
sideration-
To make the statement proposed inteIribie and con
plete the narration must begin with tbe arrest which
brought before the S. Court At the rising of the
Grand Jury in December last Marshal johnson visited
Oberlin and notified the indicted lived there that
he had warrants for therarres and that he should
pect to meet them in Cleveland at given hour on the
next day. The parties whom the notice served
proved their appreciation of the POenesS of the Marshal
in ith the usual forms of arrest and their dis
position give prompt answer to whatever charges the
law might bring against them, by appearing IN Court at
time appointed. Being broughtt0 the bar they declared
Themselves ready and anxious for immediate trial. The
District Attorney evidently taken by surprise at the u-
expected promptness of the defense, asked delay The
defense earnestly protested against an adJourhmenb Vi
The Court however granted the motion Of the District
Attorney; but in consideration of the fact that the ae
endants had made prompt appearance. and had
been refused trial. discharged them on their personal re-
cognizance instead of putting them under bai as the
Prosecutor adasked them to do. The cases foT
trial the second Tuesday of March. At the approach
of that time the District Attorney asked for further con-
nuance of the to the fifth of April The delay al
though it put the defense to great inconvenence was
conceded By its Counsel. When the appointed time at
length came all the indicted who had been arrested eS
cept gentleman who was very i'll. presented them
selves at the bar of the Court did any OF them M Oh
daily attendance during the Bushnell trial without the
express permission of the District Attorney =;
In the of the Bushnell trial it was made clear to
the defense that there desire the part OF the
Court to the conviction and determination on the
part of the District Attorney to bring about the huIa
ton of all the indicted The proofs of apurpose to make
judicial and personal upon them so plain,
that the defendants could not shut their to them
They felt constrained therefore, to be on their guard
-.
vove them in lasting injury and reproach This purpose
however did not prevent their continuing the full com
pance with the rules Of the Court and with the terms OF
their recognizances which they had before rendered.
Affairs being in this posture the Government evidently
seeking opportunities for assault and the defense looking
well to its for paryng the assault the Bushnell
trial came to an end. On the rendition of the verdict
conversation between counsel the two sides as TO
what to be tried next. 1t was finally determined
by the Government that Langtons case should be called
and counsel for the defense, which had previously
said that not ready to with that case gnihed
that it would be ready by the time the jury was drawn
What washe surprise of counsel at hearing the court
declare that the jury to try all the "rescue
cases-al of them, be it noted, involving thesan ma
teral points, How them could jury just having risen
from the consideration of of them inportiay adj
dress itself to the consideration Of another Against
this remarkable order of court the counsel for the de-
fnse made earnest protest, and finally declared that
under such ruling, the court mightsgo with the
fast it pleased the defendants would not su
ttheselves by either offering evidence or appearing
by counsel" With this, the District Attorney moved
that the defendants be ordered into custody The court
repedThe District Attorney is entitled to the order.
Let the accused be called.y 80 .si - -
The clerk then read the names of the indicted, and
those present directed to put themselves under the
control Of the Marshal, who cleared seats for them
While this going Mr. Ralph Plumb, one of the in
dcted whose had previously been put to the
November term went to Judge Spading and asked if his
recognznce could not be taken up that he could cast
in his lot with his imprisoned brethren. The Judge
replied afmatively and moved the Court in Mr.. Plumb
behao cancel his recognzance and allow him to join
those who had been put in custody. The motion was
granted. at
to the recognznces of those who were now in the Mar
shafs keeping and Spaldng and saidY onr
honor will of course direct the Clerk to cancel the recog
nzances oil all the gentlemen who have been put into
custody ltwoud be improper that their recognizances
should stand while they are in prison. Certainly re-
piled Judge Wilson, ''it will be done Of course"
The Court and some of its officers seemed to recognize
at once that injustice had been done the parties in
tody and that some for escape from the odium
which would be incurred by the order for imprisonment
should be found Accordingly the Marshal soon came to
the company in duress andproposed that the whole party
Monday morning. (Tbe proposition was accompanied,
however, with the distinct statement repeated at least
once that Bushnell not TO be included IN the cate
gory) The Court also in reply to proposition from
the District Attorney that ample security should be re-
qured of the persons in custody before they should be
permitted to go at large replied that if they chose they
should 90 on the terms which they had had
liberty since their arrest vz-by giving personal recog-
ninnce. This ruling plainly implied that the procedure
with the District Attorney anil Court otherwise would
have been rebuked by change of the terms of bail
that it warranted by doing shortcoming
the paro the committed; and that st was re-
garded by tho Court itself being legally unjust.
{ Confident that the commitment had proceeded from
personal malice and determination to humble them on
the part of the District Attorney and at least willing
have them driven to the wall the part of the
Court and feeling that they would enter most emphatic
protest against the insult and leg injustice chthey
had suffered by remaining in custody of the Marshal
til the Court should amend the wrong the law should
relieve them and that while the question as to the Jury
was vet opent would be polite to let the responsibility
of the rest with the Court the defendants
for the time refused the offers both of the Court and
Marshal They were further prompted to this course
the consideration that it would permit them to share
Bushnelrs fortunes long possble They did, how
ever say TO the Marshal that 'they under his or
ders and should do to the letter. what he directed He
replied by sending them to Jail.
1t was therefore the Court without being JUS
tilted by wrong doing of any kind ON their part had
dered them into custody and thus grossly insulted and
wronged them, and because they were unwilling to be
made the seape goats of the judicial outrage las they
would have been had they by making concessions
ceptug yors relieved the Court of the burden of the
ndgnity which it had forced upon hem that the
nitted rescuers toail the afternoon of Friday,
But It was expected by the imprisoned company that
when Court called Monday morning it woed, by
recalling its order respecting the Juryf not otherwise
open the way for their restoration TO liberty upon the
footing which they had occupied before their
mitmen They not disappointed in their expecta-,
ton that the Court would recede from its it seemed
to them) exceedingly unjust ruling the Jury. But
they disappointed in finding that their way to an
honorable release hedged by entry the journal
dered into custody because they had surrendered them
Selves in discharge of their recognzances They at once
that this entry either grew out of mapprehcnson
of fcts resulted from determination to compel them
to remain in custody regain liberty at the expense
of plain that they had been guilty of
folly and indscretion which well deserved punishment
Hoping that the first the correct view, they made,
through counsel statement of the facts and asked that
journal could not be so corrected as to correspond
with the truth it should be either vacated made
sent in entry the facts that they differed with the
Court in their understanding of the matter The Court
and
then that it had determined to LET the record
stand it This announcement compelled the i'm
prisoned to believe that their huiliaonwas determined
by the Court. Under such circumstances selfrespect
forbade their entering into new bonds. - =
Knowing that the matter they had in hand was an i'm
portant one and that either remaining in custody
ing recognZances involved to themselves
and others the imprisoned took time to consider both
their position and their duty. W hile they pursuing
their inquiries they entertained the hope that the Su
preme Court would release them from duress by granting
them habeas corpus. Their hopes in this direction
presently bghted by the refusal of the Court to grant
the writ and then they found the way to honorable
cape from custody more eecually closed than it had
ever before been II they had entered into recognnce
given bail upon the heels of their defeat at Columbus
they would have encouraged the prosecution in the be-
lief that they effectuay humbed and that they
had forsaken their being lost That they were
justified in believing that their entering into recogn
zances giving bail at this time would have been regard
ed in this light proved BY the dispatch which Marshal
Johnson the President of the United States en-
the afternoon of the 27th the substance Of which
stated in the Washington Constuut,on as follows -
"The President last evening, received telegraphic
dispatch dated at Cleveland from the Marshal OF the
Northern District of Ohio, stating that the Supreme
Court of that State had unanimously refused the writ of
dbeds corpus in the of the persons in his custody
under the fugitive savve law and that three of the
of them had given bail for their appearance
to stand their trial before the District Court Of the United
tates Everything was quiet" - 81 - rs..- q.
The obvious implication of this dispatch was fold
rst that Northern repugnance to the fugitive slave act
had received decided blow from the decision of the Su-
andz hat