The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1862-08-07

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bulk of the Republicans love their
country and help their countrymen.
They leave the mean business of
spy and informer, of alarmist and
ruPtionlst, to renegade Democrats
OF the Washburn stamp, who re-
main at home to abuse their former
party, instead of following its mem
bers to the fight for our country.
They leave it to them and to the
remnant of those smeddiesome naf
4staFea, Astnrlaalat and fepToacll 6f
Massacn usetts, who infest its re-
ligious societies, and who are the
sorrow Of its most Christian char
acters. The man who attends to
every other mans affairs whether
his twn are attended to or not, is
almost excusi> ely Massachusetts
nuisance. lie is commonly, though
not always, attached to some un-
happy church organization. To
Massachusetts, society meddling is
indeed a scourgo so great that it
may be doubted whether it does
not fully counterbalance every COM
fort and blessing concentrated in
this favored country. Puritanism
which exalted the manly English
spirit by fanaticism on the one
hand, degraded it on the other
hand by espionage. Its churches
were mutual assurance societies in
each otIer for the morality of their
members. Its doctrines are for
gotten.
But the evils which the Puritans
unconsciously did, live after them,
and churches which uctest their
memory and deny their teaching,
are managed OH their principles.
Massachusetts, to day is covered
with societies, in which the best
men and women conscientiously,
but reluctantly, and the worst of
men and women eagerly, and with
a devilish delight, perform the
work OF spies and informers upon
each other. Men have put up
with the savagest task masters
They have endured the bloodiest
tyrants without resistance for many
years.
They have submitted to the
Kings of Prussia--to the Cars
to the House of Austria-and even
to the Turks. But the Govern
ment Of meddling philanthropists
they cannot bear. 1t resembles
the Government of vermin more
than any human despotism.
| The Gordons have done no
wrong. They do not hate their
native country, though they can
not like its imbecie Government
a Government which has every
thing given to it by a generous
people, and which does nothing
but waste time, make speeches and
feed contractors, can not be liked
or trusted until it alters its course.
These sentiments / understand
them to express. I agree with
them in that; 30 do hundreds and
thousands more. They have right
moral as well as legal-to express
such sentiments. They ought to
express them; and woe to the
Washburn who shall meddle with
them, or with any one else in this
way hereatterl
OPINION OF COMMISSIONER.
The complaint in this case char
ges the defendants with "giving
aid and comfort to the United
States," an informal mode of de-
scribing :he otfense of "adhering
to the enemies Of the United States,
giving them aid and comfort" In
other words, the accusation against |
the defendants is treason-tor un.
der the Constitution and laws of
the United States treason consists
in "levying war against the United
States, or in adhering to its enc
mics, giving them aid and COM
fort" And the punishment of this
of'ense is death.
To constitute this offence, some
overt act, either in levying war or
giving aid and comfort to the ene-
my, must be proved. 1t is well
settled that no words, or intentions
even, however hostile or disloyal
they may be, are sufficient, if they
have not ripened into acts,
The laws of the United States
have thus far failed to make opin-
ions, sympathies or intentions, or
the expression of these, however
disloyal, base or hostile to the ex-
isting Government, an offense cog
by the Courts. Such con
duct is left for its punishment to
the just and Indignant judgment oil
mankind.
Our sole duty here is to admin
lister the law as we find it.
In reference to the two younger
Gordons, it is but just to state that
so far as | can perceive, no testi-
monys whatever has been intro
duced affecting them; and the
testimony, SO far as it relates to t
Mr.. Gordon sen., is mainly to the |
effect that he received letters from q
n customer in Baltimore giving 8