Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-06-17

the necessary affidavit and to draw up the petition
without seeing my cliAit having been twice peremp
torily refused refused permission to see him Inns
fact accompanied the petition, but in the sta'ement
sent to the State Journal it omitted to oe SCI
forth. evidently for the purpose of misleading tne
public and secretng the fact that prisoner was
not permitted to see counsel This writ was seIveu
on Captain Mccoy by the Sheriff Of Rowan IL Is
true that before we started for Judge fesison D
Capt Waters asked me if the writ could not De re-
turned before Judge Saunders or Judge Manly
The statement of the Journal does not correctly set
forth my reply to the nterrogatory Of Capt aters
rs think have very distinct recollection OF tnst
reply, and my reason.f for it. Isaid that had no
right to have it returned before any other Juoge
and besides that the Chief Justice held the law 70
be as understood it, and that some other Jooge
did not Now what was meant BY this expression
Simply this, that the Chief Justice held the law 70
be, that when man in civil life was arrested anu
imprisoned by the military authorities without any
warrant being sued out that upon this appearing
his Honor held as did, that the prisoner, as To
ter Of laso was entitled to his discharge, and tnat
no evidence Of his guilt would be received, unless
the officer or some one else, would sue out regular
warrant under oath, against the prisoner, charging
him with an offence known to our criminal law
Now, Lknew that Judge Kerr held a different doc
trne as he had heard evidence in the case OF JONES'
and as had heard that Judge Manly and Judge
Saunders held the same doctrine, it was IN no way
impeaching the honesty Of their decisions, but was
very GOOD reason for having the case of my client
returned before the Chief Justice After this con-
versstion, Capt Waters with the prisoner, Wynne,
and I Started for Chief Justice Parsons, never
having seen Wynne before. After we had travelled
some II miles, we stopped for short time, and IN
Captain Waters absence, attending to his horses. l
mentioned to the prisoner, Wynne, the object Oh
;oh 7 IL no well
did and to my utter SURPRISE he replied in these
words-"I cannot accept cf.the s0rit for 1 fear st
soil be another Eaoch Jones case,-a few months
agoI would have been glad to have got out in this
way, butnow am determined not tolve in the South
ern Confederacy." told him this was done at the
instance Of his friends, mentioning Gen. Spruill-
He said he was obliged to me and his friends but
could not accept of the writ told him that if ne did
not desire to be discharged that was an end OF the
matter, that l certainly should not have sued out
the writ had known that he did not now desire it.
We then drove on short distance, when called
to Capt Waters to STOP which he did, l told him
wished to have little conversation with theprison.
err when told him. the prisoner, that if he did not
desire the benefit of the writ was useless to go
| any further. He replied that he did0ot, that he
was determined not to live in the Southern Confed
eracy, that he desired to 60 North that he claimed
no protection from the Southern Confedeyacy; said
|
would be taken and imprisoned again. Here Capt
Waters declared that he shoud'be arrested and i'm
prisoned again, even if the Judge discharged him,
for should be permitted to go at large in the
Southern Confederacy that held the opinions that
he did. l told him that in law, no man was liable
to be imprisoned for mere opinions, if he did moth
ing to inure the Southern Confederacy; that there
must be some overt act to our prejudice before he
could be legally imprisoned He again said he
| knew ha could nj not if fho ID did
release him, to which replied, that believed he
could. He said. that he would certainly be taken
| up as Jones was. then told him that if he was
determined to 60 North, as the Captain had assured
him that he should be sent North in q few days,
that would be the best way to get there, and we
would return to Salisbury. Captain Waters asked
about the return of the writ, when told him that
the prisoner had right to dispense with it if he de-
sired to do so. Whereupon, we came back to Sails.
bury, and there the affair ended.
The article in the Journal did not see until the
18th May ! had heard . day or two before that
| the journal was down upon me, but had no idea
of the extent or violence Of its denuncatons the
Misrepresentation until I saw the paper, although
| learned q day or two previous, that the charges
were outrageous. 1 wish to say here, that all Of
the trouble and difficulty in Wynnes case have
arisen by denying to the prisoner the right to con-
suit COUNSEL right which our laws accord to the
most notorious and abandoned felon in the land
to have the aid Of counsel in preparing his TO,
trial This most reasonable and lawful privilege is
uniformly denied to every man incarcerated in the
military prison at Salisbury. Among other per
sons for whom was desired to issue wrts of habsa
corpus, and failed to do so, account of the sus
pension of the writ, was lad of II years of age
named George Mason imprisoned on suspicion o
disloyalty, who died in prison before the operation
of the writ was restored.
The above contains full statement of what
have had to do with the prisoners in the prison a
Salisbury, and submit my course in the matter t.
the candid judgment of the public. am one 0
those who believe that safety and ultimate tri
umph as a nation, and the preservation OF lbert,
among us, depend upon our sustaining the supreme
cy of the civil authorities and compelling every ma
to aside by the laws Of the land that if the peopl
or private individuals, whether called mobs or mil
tary, are permitted to trample the sacred laws
the land under their feet, it will end in the ute
ruin Of all that is worth living for. -:
The Journal denounces me as Yankee, and ev
IDENTIFY prides itself upon the use of the term az bt
! ing the most degrading of all terms, that even il
the Journal wishes to abuse me- it ought to be MOI
: careful in the selection of its terms for the wor
Yankee is very comprehensive; it not only include
our enemies at the North, but many of the best an
bravest soldiers in our gallant army. 1t include
that General, who ranks all other Generals in tt
Confederacy it includes that gallant hero'who ht
! piled up such unheard of numbers of Northern dea
men in front'o mis- breastworks at Vicksburg, TIL
he and his spartan band Of immortal heroes wer
at last accounts, in greater danger from the insu
ferable stencil arising from them than from the ba
onets and shells Of his living enemies Tn
. General, the Journal Gas lam intormeG denounc
I as inefficient and traitorous The term Yankee il
cludes, at least one prominent officer, late of IL
. Salisbury prison guard, who fought on the, Chick
hominy as hero only can fight and who came o,
Of that fight fearfully MANNED It includes man
: a, private soldier in our ranks, who has march.
with hzed oay9net upon the , deadly batteries
brayest of the brave" 1t is certainly very wror
for the Journal to attemptto heap reproach on SUI
3 men, when it only wishes to abuse me-especial
So since it is said there are more subjects of Il
9 Journal mans sovereign fighting in the ranks
our enemies than there are Yankees. But I ca