The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-10-28
Arbitrary Acts of the Administration

JOSHUA NJ. BOSLE4.
Arbitrary Acts of the Administration.
From the New York Journal of Commerce
The catalogue of newspapers suppressed
by order of Mr.. Lincoln, which we pub
lished few days since, has produced wide
spread establishment, as well it might
Long as that was, we find it far from COM
plete, and already We have additions to
make. We beg our friends in all direc-
| tons to send us newspaper extracts. with
dates carefully marked, which describe ar
bitrary acts OF the administration, whether
towards newspapers or individuals.
1t was our intention to prepare similar
catalogue relating to the seizure and i'm
prisonment of citizens. But we find that
mere list, with the briefest mention pos
slbla in each case, would fill not less than
eighteen columns OF our paper. This tre-
mendOus list is exclusively made up of ar
bitrary seizures of individuals who were
dragged from their families without indict-
ment, without warrant, without form of
law, without being confronted with wit
nesses against them, without being inform
ed OF the nature of the charges against
them, immured for weeks ard months in
! dungeons often thousand miles from the
State in which they were seized, and final
| ly turned loose without trial or apology
The list includes no military offenders. 1t
is made up entirely Of the names Of citi-
zens of the loyal States, in which the courts
OF justice have never been suspended,
| where every crime, whether treason or
| other, could have been punished in due
| form of law. The catalogue of orders made
| In relation to these victims Of autocratic
power is terrible boo! for history Care
ful as we have been 10 preserve tie record
OF these proceedings under the reign of Mr..
Lincoln, we find we have missed many in
past years. For the purpose of history we
| ask the aid four friends in sending us the
particulars of any and every case hereto
fore and hereafter.
We cannot find in all our reading of his
tory a record which compares with this.
10 the countries where despotisln is the
law of the land, an offender has reason to
expect tie sharp punishment of Gar or
an Emperor Whenshe oversteps the linz
it OF prudence. Not SO here. The wisest
man cannot guess the causes for hundreds
of seizures. We know of ladies' arrested
for wiping their mouths with pocket hand
kerchleis after eating oranges. The pro-
vost marshal thought it was q secret sig
nal! We know respectable citizen seiz-
ed, carried a thousand miles under guard,
lmmured for months in the vilest, filthiest
dungeon in America, and at length dis
charged, with information from the War
Department that he was seized because he
had been seen in public street to draw
his finger across his lip under his nose
The pretence was that this was supposed
to be signal OF some secret political as
ISOLATION. The fact was that no such as
ISOLATION existed, the act was perfectly in
nOcent, and the seizure was solely b. cause
the man was a prominent Democrat, and
his radical neighbors plotted hin. in this
way.
We know Of a farmer, au innocent man,
good warn-hearted Democrat, seized in
Michigan and brought to New York, i'm
prisoned for months in Fort Lafayette, and
finally discharged by Gen. Dix. 1t ap.
peared on the examination of his case, be-
fore Judge Pierrepont and Gen. Dix. that
the charge against him was having some
thing to do with a secession flag, and that
the whole story grew out of an old cotton
shirt which had been used to pless and
strain blackberry juice, and which the NAL
ice of abolitionist neighbors had trans
formed into secession banner We know
OF children of thirteen years old held by
Abraham Lincoln's strong arm in military
prisons for months, extending to years, for
pretended suspicion of disloyaltyi If there
be no other memory of the Lincoln dynas-
ty, we venture to say that to the remotest
generation he will be remembered for the
seizure of poor hump-backed newsboy.
who was conveyed by file of soldiers to
Fort Lafayette, and received at the fort
ress by Col. Burke with all the solemnity
which used to characterize the gateway of
the Castle of Vincennes or the Tower of
London! What scene for a historical
painting that will be-! The genius of a
Hayden, or perhaps, better still, of that
greatest of military painters, Horace Yer
net (for remember this is one of Mr.. Lin
coins military exploits), might search long
for a scene more impressive. We see the
picture, as it will one day adorn the ro-
tunda OF the capitol, the frowning arch of
the Tort, the gloomy passage opening to-
ward the dungeon, the gathering soldiery,
the flashing muskets, as rays of sunlight
stream through the archway, the boat at
the steps, the sea dashing up, the counte-
nances Of the crowding troops impressed
with awe at the presence of great crimi-
nal, and the central figure of all, the poor
deformed newsboy, astounded at his own
magnificent criminality.
This is no fancy picture, kind reader
1t occurred precisely as we have sketched
it. We have the account before us, writ
ten by gentleman who was one of the
group, a man of unimpeachable veracity.