Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-05-28

stand here to-day, sir, to say that with an
exception of which I shall soon speak, 10
procure such LatofuL Investigation of the au-
thOrity under 1ohioh they claimed to act, loas
the part I took in that days proceedings, and
the oniy part ! supposed it to be my duty
as a citizon of 0hio--excuse me for saying
that, sr,--as an 0Htla1O of the United
States, (much sensation) 10 do what could
to secure at least this form Of Justice to
my brother whose liberty was in peril
Whatever more than that has been StoOrn 10
on this triai, as an act Of mine is false, rid
iculouSLy false
When found these men refusing to go,
according to the law, as / apprehended it,
and subject their claim to an official inspec-
tion, and that nothing short of habeGs
corpus would oblige such an inspection, 1
was willing to go even thus far, supposing
in that county Sheriff might, perhaps, be
found with nerve enough to serve it. In
this again failed. Nothing then was left
to me, nothing to the boy in custody, but
the confirmation of my first belief that the
pretended authority was worthless, and the
employment of those means Of liberation
which belong to u.s. With regard to the
part took in the forcible rescue, which
followed, | have nothing to say, further
than have already said The evidence is
before you 1t is alleged that said, zoe
will have him anyhow" This NEVER said.
did say to Mr. Love- what honestly
believed to be the truth, that the crowd
were very much excited, many of them
averse to longer delay and bent upon O
rescue at all hazards; and that be being an
old acquaintance and friend of mine, was
anxious to extricate him from the danger
ons position he occupied, and therefore ad-
yiscd that he urge Jennings to give the
boy up. Further than this did not say,
either to him or any one else.
The law Under which am arraigned is
an unjnst one, made to crush the colored
man, and one that outrages every feeling OF
humanity, as well as every rule of right.
have nothing to do with its constitution
ality; about that care but little have
often heard it said by learned aud good
men that it was unconstitutional l re-
member the excitement that prevailed thro'-
out all the free States when it was passed !;
and remember how often it has been said
by individuals, conventions, communities 4
4
should be, and never was meant to be en-
forced. had always believed until the
contrary appeared in the actual institution
Of proceedings, that the provisions of this
odious statute would never be enforced
within the bounds of this State.
But have another reason to offer why
I should not be sentenced, and one that i
think pertinent to the case. have not
had trial before jury of my peers
The common laws of England-and you
will excuse me for referring to that, since
ara but private citizen-was that every
man should be tried before jury of men
occupying the same position in the social
scale with himself That lords should be
tried before jury of lords; that peers Of
the realm should be tried before peers of
the realm; vassals before Vassals, and aliens
! before aliens, and they must not come from
the district where the crime was committed
lest the prejudices of either personal friends
or foes should affect the accused. The
| Constitution of the United States guaran
tees-not merely to its citizens, but to all
persons trial before an Impartial jury. !
have had no such trial.
The colored man is oppressed by certain
universal and deeply fixed prej&dtces Those
jurors are well known to have shared large
ly in these prejudices, and therefore con-
slider that they were neither impartial, nor
were they a jury of my peers. And the
prejudiceS which white people have against
colored men grow out of the facts, that we
have as people consented for two hundred
years to be sLGUes of the whites We have
been scourged, crushed and cruelty oppress-
I ed, and have submitted to it all tamely,
meekly, peaceably mean as people,
and with rare individual exceptions, and
to-day you see US thHs, meekly submitting
to the penalties of an Infamous law. Now
the Americans have this feeling. and it is
an honorable one, that they will respect
those who will rebel at oppression, but de-
spise those who tamely submit to outrage
and wrong and while our people as peo-
pie submit, they will as people be despised.
Why, they will hardly meet on terms of
equality with us in a whisky shop, in car,
at table, or even at the altar of God
! So thorough and hearty contempt have
they for those who will meekly lie still under
the heel of the oppressor. The jury came
into the box with that feeling They knew
they had that feeling, and so the Court
knows now, and knew then. The gentle
men who prosecuted me, the Court itself,
and even the counsel who defended me, have
that feeling.
was tried by jury who were preju
diced before Court that was prejudiced
prosecuted by an officer who was prejndiced
aud defended, though ably, by counsel that
wer prejudced. And therefore it is, your
Honor, that urge by all that is good and
great in manhood, that should not be sub
jected to the pains aud penalties of this oP-
pressive law when have NOT been tried,
either by jury of my peers, or by jury
that were impartial.
One more word, sir, and have done 1
went to Wellington, knowing that colored
men have no rights in the United States
which white men are bound TO respect /;
that the Courts had so decided that Con-
gress had so enacted that the people had
SO decFeed, 81 @ rsarts.t. lea
There is not a spot in this wide country
not even by the altars of God, nor 10 the
shadow of the shafts that tell the imperish-
able fame aud glory of the heroes of the
/ ID =. IL Al Dhfianainhia