The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1862-12-06

Warren.
FORT WARREN, Boston Harbor,
November 9th, 1852.
George 2. Kane, George William
Brown, Charles Howard, Frank K How
ard, Henry NJ. Warfeld, William G.. Har-
rison, Robert Hull, S. Tackle Wallis,
Charles Macgill, William Gatchell, Thorn
as W. Hall, T. Parkin Scott, William Ell.
Winder, B. j.. Cutter.
The above named prisoners are released,
agreeable to the following telegram:
j. DIMMICK,
Col. 1st Artil'y, Com. Fort.
Colonel J. Dimmick, United States Army,
Fort Warren, Boston:
The Secretary of War directs that you
release all the Maryland State prisoners
also any other Ssoto prisoners that may be
in your custod J, and report to this Office.
Il. d. TOWNSEND,
Asst. Adj. Gen'l.
True copy.
Col. 1st Art'y Cong Fort.
Fort Warren, November 27, 1862.
The Boston Courier, iu publishing the
order for the release of the prisoners, re-
marks:
The phraseology of the order will strike
some persons as little pron,iscuous.-
The names specified appear only in the
certificate Of release furnished by Col
Dinnnick, while the order of the depart
ment only mentions in general terms 'all
the Maryland State prisoner" and so
that none may be overlooked in this act of
amnesty, "any other State prisoners" in
the custody of the commandment. We in
fer from this that as these gentlemen we're
arrested without warrant, and have been
held in prison without law, so no record
of their names even, much less any speci-
tication of their imputed offenses, has been
kept at the War Department. We must
say that this seems to US IL very irresponsi-
bic way of doing public business and
none the less so that among the gentlemen
released are persons of not little social
distinction and public consideration for
instance the late Mayor Of Baltimore, and
the various members of the Maryland
Legislature, who were seized and incarce-
rated when that body was broken up by
the violent action of the administration,
more than a year ago. We have under
stood that the arrest in question was then
made by order Of one of Mr.. Lincoln's
Secretaries, without the knowledge of the
others, or Of the President; and also that
at the very time reports were in prepara-
ton by committees OF both Branches of the
Legislature, showing the unconstitutional
ity of secession, which would undoubtedly
have been accepted by the Legislature,
had no such extraordinary interference
been had with that assembly.
LII consequence Of that action, however,
these gentlemen have now been i'nprison.
ed during this long period; aud at last their
prison doors are thrown open, and they
are permitted to 60 at large without any
condition, 1t being we'll known that they
steadily declined placing themselves 10
the awkward and not very honorable po-
sition of thus acknowledging themselves
guilty of charges which had never been
exhibited against them. They have had
the personal Inconvenience of this confme-
ment; butt is plain that Instead of victims,
they thus come out triumphant! and that
only the natural indignation with which
they and their friends will look back upon
this useless persecution, remains. Let us
trust that we have had the last example of
such understandable and unjustifablc exer-
else of brief authority.