Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1863-03-13
TPeasOn-Findeps

Treason Finders.
when in days of old, the professional witch
finder Was called upon to exercise his gifts in
hunting up witch, his first duty was to find
one. It was upon this that his fees, and per-
haps, his safety, depended; for, not to find the
suspected person stamped with the mark OF
guilt, was to expose himself to the suspicion
of being an accomplice. He. therefore, went
to work with awl and pincers, prying into eve
ry mole, pinching every pimple, and peeping
into every nook and granny and, as he was
at once the discoverer of the evidence, and the
Judge of its sufficiency, ii is easy to see thatit
was always in his power to be successful.
Times have changed, and men have changed
with them. What we call the march of mo-
dern progress has put wichcraft out Of date;
and, at periods when society is troubled, the
prevailing fauatieiSm takes different direc-
ton. The present bane to humanity is no long
cr witches, but traitors no longer women in
the decline of life who ride on broomsticks,
suckle imps, aud hold midnight meetings with
an illustrious parsonage, whose bodily pre-
but men of robust age, who think thoughts
and hold opinions whsch they, who are so for
tunate as to be politically orthodox, esteem TO
he peculiarly dangerous and dabolical.
Things have changed more in form than in
substance. Tho traitorfnder Of to-day is the
legitimate descendant of the witch-fndCr OF
the sixteenth century. lie has the equivalents
of the awl and the pinccrs. lie plucks hair
here, he probes pustule there, he smells at
one place. and thrusts his burning-iron into
another; and being, like his predecessor, the
Judge of the sufliciency of the evidence, he
fluids no difficulty, Mt any time, to reach pre-
csely the conclusion he desires.
The two cases are alike in another respect
most of the treason of this day is just as ina
ginary rs the witchcraft of tie former, and
when humanity has progressed agan-thot is
to say, when its present fanaticism has cooled
of, or been replaced by anoiher-men viii
wonder at their own foGies, and regret the
perverson of the better instincts Of their
nature.
What viii then be thought OF tho in our
own community who have DEVOTED themselves
with great assiduiiy, to TIC business Of finding
traitors ?-men, who were born and reared
among us, and have heretofore received nought
but kindness from those whom they now seek
TO iniure. These mon will be far from being
admirable, either in respect TO their motives,
or the m ans they employed to attain thcif
ends. As secret spies and vile infOrmers, bent
upon venting their private spleen ana malig-
nifty upon their neighbors, they crawl about
and whisper base and groundless charges into
the ears of those in authority. They seem to
be perfectly needless how much suffering they
cau.e to the innocent, il sucL suffering enures
in the least TO their private advantage. They
will be found TO he men, whose chief reason
for busying themselves in other people affairs,
was because they were afraid to look into their
own. They delight in the discontinue Of 9TH
ers, and take pleasure in 10 ones success
They are courtiers to their employers and mis-
represent and Willy every class but that by
which they hops to thrive. They are vain and
sells Hicit Mt, and think they thorough know
what they have neither heads nor hearts TO
comprehend Their prime ambition appears
T. be TO rise into notice and Importance upon
the troubles of others more estimable than
themselves aud their secondary aim is TO Sc
cure ernolumen,s without labor and regardless
OF the means by which they advance to them.
II is not necessary TO enlarge upon the mis-
chiefs resulting from the operations Of such
men They tend to break up that mutual con-
fdeuce which is the foundation Of society
AMI the only guarantee of its peace The
worst Tendencies Of human nature are aroused
wher, through the agency Of these infosmers,
loyal citizens are arrested upon mere suspi-
con or, if upon charge, with no opportu-
nifty Of rebutting it or meeting the accuser
face to face, and are dragged from the boron
OF their families, imprisoned in some loath-
5 me Bias; lie, kept there month af.er month,
without trial without even learning the charge
a ,ainst them, and finally released therefrom,
because there was no ground at all to arres
them. Infamous indeed will those be who
thus bring Ease accusations against their
neishbors and caus. their arrest aid imprison-
meut because, in so doing, they commit a
high-hauded crime against the peace, security
and dignity of II free and loyal people.
MoRE ARREsrs-The Provost Guard sta
toned here, last week arrested THOMAS II. BES-
SOY, Esq, and two young men named GLoYD
and DOVE, citizens of this county, and CON
yeyed them to the Poolesylle camp. II they
were apprehended upon any specific charges,
we have not been advised thereof
We learn that the military in the neighbor-
hood Of Poclcsville have also been quite active
of late in making arrests.
HoRsE-SrEALNG. On Tuesday night last, a
thief stole from the stable Of Mrs. ALNoSEY,
in this town, fine horse belonging to the ia
mily of the late Major RUSSELL, and saddle
and bride, the property of Mr.. HowARo GRT-
rlrH, Of this county.
L, d..