The New York herald., 1862-11-13
Letter frem an Ex-Pri soner OF Fort La j.
fayette.


To HcN EssATo SEYMOUR
SJRA the election ia this State the people in
vested you with power greater than which will al.
tach TO your Office merely The power which belongs
20 public opinion conferred In you The people have
said Of you, "Behcd the exponent OF our views' anu
have said to you, sour motto is Lev Re.n / appeal
therefore, you behalf OF the political prisoners in
the United States who have been the subjects OF arb
trary arrests and Imprisonment, and 70 whom hitherto
tris has been denied. More particularly do urge upon
your attention prisoners present in Fort warren
and Fort Lafayette. When lcr OF them In Fort
Lafayette. ycsr ago, they bad again and again de-
mznded trial, according 10 the constitution aud the
have they renewed that reasonable demand B", he
Of the Chief Magistrate have been deaf The people
Of the country however have responded that the pri
soners should be released tried At once, and II
found guilty. shall have honorable remuneration for their
wrongs. 10 hasten that contamination part Of your
missen. Is the public expectation that you will accom-
plish ". Iventure therefore, reqsest that you and
the other democrats and conservatives who have rsceny
bee been Elected elected 70 Congress vii, unite in petition to
the military prison, or else a the
who political prisoners 70 be fairly tried according
Their weight Of character as ctizens your repre-
sentative character from the people, and the intrinsic
rightfulnsss Of the demand viii now render the acqui
esCenes OF the President certain.
am led 10 urge this application through you because
no other third party can make such On application ~
read 70 the prisoners - Fort Iafaystts by Lieutenant
WOOD tho ccmmsndani Of the post The letter was writ
ten by commissioner who came from the State De-
partment about year ago.
TO TBE PormcAL PRsoSEns IN FoRT LAyAYBng;-
am instructed by the Secretary of state inform You
that the Department OF State Of the United States will not
recognize any an attorney for political prisoners
and viii isok with dsruss upon all applications for release
through such channels and that such applications wbe
regarded additional reasons for declining release the
prisoners. Faasga
secondy--Becsuse ageut sf the government while
endeavorng 20 persuade the prisoners 10 take pro-
posed forms Of oaths stated that W best 10 take
them, for the government would not give them trial
no, not f they stayed there twenty years.
And, thirdly, because II is Idle 10 talk In general
terms about preserving any Law liberty In this
Tore our eyes, No surer evidence OF the OF public
virtue can be given than popular Indifference TO such
wrongs upon individual citizens.
When community sensitive 90 injuries pevpe.
trsted upon their humblest member, by an abuse of
power, they are bnt one step from gnomny and ruin
wili surey be psrdoned for urging you TO action In
this matter. There arc citizens of States pur IN
the fort who have been imprisoned there for sixteen
neufhs. No habeas corpus reach them perhaps
they forgotten by those who consigned them 10 the
<2semases snch cases occurred in the French Bastle
.snd Why not herG
Prisoners grown old therein when their .oudv c.a.
opened AZ lsst by te fat Of the people walked forth
with enfecbled memory which could scarcely recs
when they cntombed; and there no man Irving
ia France who remembered anything about H. Again,
pray gou do what you can 10 lot daylight and Justice
youy Hastile. Respectfully,
AiGERN3S SYDNEY SULLIVAN.
NsW Yoax Nov. 8, 1852. 2s Wall street