The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-04-27
SfltOOltburp 8t0lsttr.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 81, 1859,
Tho Oborlin Slave Case.

Tho Oborlin Slave Case.
There is a very old and very familiar
apothegm about an inspired madness which
nresedos destruction, a remark which Of
ten finds q pertinent application in these
DAYS. We are nowhere told that tko pa
Gun author ofthe saying had any prophetic
foreknowledge of events, but if we conld
believe this to be so, we should rendily
conclude that he must have had in his
minds eye the present administration of
our government. For the last ten years
the dominant party has cvincca a deter.
mination to pour upon the opposition of
the North every insulting cdtrageit could
invent, as if thinking in this way to crush
all opposition to the rule Of slavery. There
is no parallel to it in history and hardly
anything that approaches it, but the reign
of the Stuart family in England.
We have almost every week some new
exhibition of this remarkable policy,
even since tho great Kansas iniquity has
worked itself out. The last We have no.
ticed is the Ohio Fugitive Case, which is
told in tho Boston Journal this /: Some
months since two Kentuckians attempt
cd to kidnap. a colored boy in Lorain
county, Ohio, but they were prevented,
and some thirty Or forty Of the rescucrs,
highly respectable citizens of Oberlin,
were arraicned and bound over on their
own recognizances. The trial of one Of
the number took place last week at Clcve-
land, and resulted in his conviction. The
local papers say that the jury was packed
and that every man was a Buchanan de-
.mocrat. This case having been disposed
of, the District Attorney called the name
Of James Langston as the next case, but
the counsel for the defense said they were
only ready to proceed with the case of
Prof. Peck. The Attorney insisting up
on Mr., Langston's case, the defense said
they thought they could be ready by the
time the new jury were ready to proceed,
whcreupcn the Judge said that the same
Jury that had tried the first case would
try all the cases. This ruling of the Judge
was s%tronuously opposed by counsel for
the defense, as Il mockery of that justice
which should prevail in every court. The
Court announced that the ruling would be
enforced, when the counsel for defense re-
fused to call any witnesses, or appear be-
fore such a jury, and insisted upon the
conccaling of the rccognizances of the &C.
cused. This being done, the Marshal was
at a loss to know what to do with the
company and tried to get them to give
their parolo for their appearance, but af-
ter consultation they decided that they
would give no bail, enter into no recog'
n%izancc, and make no promises to the
Court. OF course, nothing could be done
but lock them up, but the jailor refused
to put them in cells, and furnished the
whole party twenty innumber,a large room
in his own house. Here, 1T last account:
they were making themselves as comfort
able as possible. In the evening, a re.
porter paid them 4 visit, and found Prof
Peck reading the Bible, which exercise
was followed by singing and prayer. The
reporter adds that such an honorable,
conscientious, intelligent and good looking
set of criminals wa never confined IN
that jail"
All will remember the remark made by
Judge Douglas in the Senate two or three
wears ago: I'VE will subdue you SIR
lie has found that this straight forward
subjugation is a hard road to travel, and
we have no doubt is convinced that in the
mcsent instance it is safer and easier to
"stoop to conquer" But not 50 with
the devotees OF slavery, who support the
administration. They are ever running
their heads against this wall and ever with
the saIne result.
BY the latest returns it appears thai
the Judge has yielded so far as to pack 0
new jury.