The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-05-01

while. the, rebels captured BY those yer,
men are permitted 70 goa large upon parole
to b. .pampered, withluxqries, to be ATTENDED
! by, slaves, and the slaves guarded from es
cape BY our own soldiers We'll might tb'
General Assembly ofthe State, Of, Ohio ask
in the language Of ? committee Of theil
i oeha1e :ds Y-ssts .ssaodaasass has auss-s :.
rs.Whyr were these slaves taken, at all l2---
They were not, and had not heen in arms
against the Govtrnment--the;r presence a,
Fort Donclson was not even volnItary WHY
are they retained in prisons .They have
done no wrone---thcv, deserve no punish
ment Is it to furnish rebel officers with
servants And was it for this they were
4 transported at the expense Or the Govern.
tnent and are NOW subsisted at her cost ?-A
i Is. our constitutional provision thus to be
made nnlitv. and slavery practically, estab.
Ilished in Ohio? And this under the protec.
ftion and At the expense Of the Federal Gov
eminent. .n14ia sN,3 sstss pi't-l,
Mr.. McDougall. Will the Senator allow
me to ask'a question Of the Senator from
Ohio f'Eza haofa ettl tsf' h,ei ySp
Mr. Grimes Yes, sr. 81 bssfsssv rsei g
| Mr. sMcDougalgf Was IT. stated that the
l slaves Of Tennessee were kept as prisoners
otwar inp0hio Id not understand you
sol TO state it. ghr 7i'i yspsa ezv+ ~ .,,gs
Mr.. ShermanS Slaves we're captured at
Fort nonelson, brought to Ohio. and put in
the same prison with their masters, and kept
there. 17sesg aRg salpss frr{1 sutssO W.
MraMcDongall. And held as prisoners?
Mr.. Sherman. Held there and rendered
merial serviceto those officers. aBsal,s gss.,
Mr.. McDougall. ! understood you to state
that they waited on their masters; but + did
not understand yeu- to state that they were
held by the Government ofthe United States.
Mr.. Sherman. They were held. by the
Governmentof the United States, and draw
rations now, and are supported by the Gov
ernnent of the United States. viii state
for the benefit of;mv friend that I have here
a letter from the chairman of the committee
Of the Senate who made that report. !.
Mr.. Crimes The Senator will permit me
to 60 on, and it can be read afterwards.
Mr.. Sherman. Certainly. -.s..t y.
Mr.. Grimes. In the month of February
last an officer of the third regiment, of Iowa
infantry stationed at small town in Missouri
succeeded in capturing several rebel bridge
burners, and some recruiting officers be'oag.
ing to Prices army. The information that
led to their capture was furnished by two or
three remarkably shrewd and intelligent
slaves, claimed by a lieutenant colonel in the
rebel army. Shortly afterwards the mastsr
dispatched an agent, with instructions to-
seize the slaves and convey them within the
rebel lines. ,whereupon the Iowa officer him,
self seized them and reported the circum-.
stances to headquarters, The slaves soon
understanding the full import of General
Halleck's celebrated order No, 3, two of
them attempted an escape. This was re-
garded as anunpardonable sin. The Iowa
officer was immediately placed under arrest.
and detachment Of the Missouri State mi
litia linen in The pay of this ,Gn-ernment
aud under, the command of Gen. Halleck--
were sent in pursuit of the fugitives. The
hunt was successful The slaves were caught
and returned to their traitor master, but not
until one Of them bad been shot by order Of
the soldier in command ofthe pursuing party.
Mr.. President, how long shall we permit
such conduct as this to co unrebuked?-
Does anv one suppose that the people viii
quietly submit to the imposition Of taxes to
support State militia in the field that is to
be. employed in the capture of slaves for the
benefit of officers in the rebel artny9 Isit
supposed THAT the Senators from iowa will
silently. patiently permit the gallant officers
from that State to be outraged in the manner
I have describede ' q
tits quite time, Mr.. President, that some
definite policy should be established for the
treatment of escaped slaves; andI am of the
opinion that Congress has been grossly de-
re'ict in permitting the evil to go so long un-
regulated and uncheck ed. We have almost
as many diverse systems OF dealing with
this class. of persons as we have military de-
rartments In one military district fugitive
slaves have been pursued, Aogged and re-
turned to their masters by our Army in
another they have been simply pursued and
returned without flogging; in another they
have been pursued and shot in the attempt
to return them; in another they have been
termed "contraband," and received within
our lines in the mike character Of persons
and property. In the absence Of any au-
thoritativc declaration OF Congress, none OF
these modes may be held to be in conflict
with law other than the law OF common
sense and common desencysssszls&
II is obvious that the article of war which
hive quoted does not meet the case pre-
sented by M,jor General Halleck in his or.
der No g. That celebrated manifesto declares
in substance that alt'persons from tn. enc
my's country shall be excluded from our
lines. The plain purpose of the order is to
prohibit fugitive slaves from escaping from
the rebeAious districts, and thereby securing
their freedom. It was doubtless competent
for General Hslleok toissue such an order.
and it is equally competent Tor Congress.
which has made and continues to make arti
cles Of war for the government Of the Army
and Navy. to coantermand it. And, sir, il,
ought to be countermanded. / will not
pause 70 discuss the humanitarian features