The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1865-05-20
The Assassination Conspiracy
duplication Of the Confederate

HeosoAAoS.v COHSplE6Cy-
Leadcrs-Criminol Law.
Mr.. Johnson, President os the United
States. aas offered heavy rewards ios the
apprehension Of Jefferson Dav.s-(s so called
President of the Con;ederacy, Jacob
Ihompson-lSecretary to Buchanan, &c.
9. C.Ciay-(quondam Senator floca Alabaina)
SEQ. Sanders-(bloviator, with Tucker |
and others, adventurers in Cana>.a. TIE !
reason ior their apprehension Is, that the /
oureau OF Military Justice has evidence |
.has they are implicated in tie iaurder Of
iAncoin. Some of these persons have itG 5.
.lsAed cards denying thai they nsd any
par IL ihe murder, Implying ,ha: ;tey |
were Yet sensitive to the total loss OF char.
ac:er ard credit. Wha, remnant OF donor, |,
of credit, do these persons think is LETT L, /
them among decent men?
The game OF bfag is carried TO 2 l.los; /
unreasonable extent. when j! Is attempted i
20 SHE'D the 81. Aihans raiders aud the |
New \ ok burners from iuf.lny. But le! !
lis treat them fairly, and suppose for mo
ment that their assertion is literally cor
re,''. anG that they did no. know that Lin
coin was 10 be assassinated, or iha, Booth
was the selected assassin. Suppose that is
also true ol Davis. Does that prove they
are not guilty? When we read Blackstone
lthat admirable commentary, une4uaied
by any modern work, the Criminal Law
distinguished several shades OF legal inllr-
der, and said that there nigh, be accesso-
ries oGjore the fact, and accessories after
the fact. Accessories before the fact, con-
cealing their knowledge that great crime
Was about 10 be committed, arc certainly
RS guilty, in every moral and honorable
poin. OF view ;.s the murderer himself
This is the doctrine Of the law, and it is the
'ice.rine OF sound morals. Now, withoa.
asking one particle Ino.s oi evidence than
"a ma h &c kn Yr,t. ~ IS
son Davis, Jacob Thompson aad Clemen.
c. Clay, n regard 10 criminal law? We
take II that three facts can be proved with-
out any difficulty: /. That Davis and his
coniederates, acting as the Government ~
/ Nscnlnond, Guoc aathors;y sas Jar as they
cculd.) military aud civil, .o Thompson.
1 Clay, Sanders, Kennedy, and others. in
Canada, 10 act for the Confederate Govern
nent IN making inroa<!s upon the United
States. killing. robbip., and burning where
! they could. =. Tina. In pursuance Of this
authority, Thompson, Clay, Sanders & Co.
d.d employ Eeal., Kennedy, Surrat,, PROB
! ably Booth, and other persous, 10 kill, de-
stroy, burn anu otherwise injUre the per-
sons and property os the people OF the Uni
tad States. ). That, IN consequence OF this
authority. they killed and robbed, AT ST.
Adams, Vermont, attempted TO burn New
York and Philadelphia, and finally 20 AS
sassinate the officers Ct the Government OF
> =. \
cessary to show that Davis ana Thompson
knew that Lincoln was 20 be assassina.ed
on Il particular night, aud Booth The man
TO do IL, in order TO show their complete
and thorough participation In the murder
OF Lincoln. Not even the rigid rules of law
require that Davis and his fellow villains
had commissioned Thompson and Clay to
employ sub-viliains expressly To murder,
burn and destroy innocent people; and
these employees did their work according
to their own plan.
We are apt to get our ideas confused, be.
cause Mr.. Lincoln was our beloved Presi-
dent, and his death u thing OF magnitude,
rs TO the real nature of the crime commit
ted. Mr.. LincOln's death was murder
and that murder was just as defensible on
= public grounds AS the murder in the streets
of st. Adams, and humanely speaking
more SO than the attempted burning o!
New York, in which, il successful hun.
dreds of innocent persons must have per.
ished. We unjust no: permit our sympathy
, with tho death OF the great and good TO di
mnish our horror at the same crime wher
committed on the poor and humble. 3.
lust au6 fear not. Ey all ;be avs, bumaL
and divine, the mole Confederate Govern
. nent, and al. the scoundrels in Canada
!, ,, who were employed by it, are liao,e for ,h'
crimes of murder, arson, robbery ani
theft. We say nothing abou. treason, lo
there are men everywhere who seem !.
think treason is al honorable crime. II !
: !. man stole silver spoons, he would hardly
be invited cut TO dinner, but If he commi
; treason he may possibly become g lion
Public opinion, ~ on this as on many
Z points, rapidly changing. Crime vii
! hardly be justified hereafter, either by it
J magnitude or its publicity. Bus in. thi
. case even this pretense is wanting: 1t-is.,
simple case OF the most mean, vii?ainou
5 and indefens,bl felony. Not long befor
: the st. Albans Raid the Richnond paper
(unquestionahly the vilest samples OF NOR
or civilized) urged in violent articles, tina
: since they could not ravage the North will
= fire and sword, they could. and had the me-
8 ready to do II, burn New York, Boston
Cincinnati, &c. That q few intelligen
men, brave and determined, could deslro,
the Northern cities and make the Yankee
= feel their vengeance. Soon after this com
: menced the piracies, raids and burnings ol
: the Northern frontier, for which Beail tn
{, pirate, and Kennedy the burner have al
): ready been hung; and human justice vii
I certainly make failure, If ii does nc
= = hang the greater criminals who set then
y on. Now, suppose the bureau Of Mili,ar
= Justice has not, e very improbable thing
q any more evidence than We have-how ar
? Davis, Thompson aud Clay to be acquitie
= of murder? They 1rst proclaimed the
e would do such things; next they commits
| y stoned men land put that commission in q
/ q legal defense) to burn, rob and murdel
i thirdly, men acting under that co.nnis
. sion did rob, murder and burn, for whic
lF two have already been hung; and last,
}, Other men iwhose acts they say they di
J. not knew ot,) do the same things, for th
q same names, and in the same cause. No
4 we should be glad TO see the law and th
ievidence upon which Davis, Thompson
r Clay 4 Co. are to be acquitted OF murder
!, No. They may 60 where they please Q
). this habitabie globe, If any place can
, found for them, and they will be compelle
;, to call on the mountains and rocks to hid
;. them. A mark ia set on them. and the
!, win be known wherever the human fos
treads.
~ There IL and will be great effort mad
\. to soften the doom of the traitors. But
:, ]" is in vain. II men ara silent, the stone
~ will cry out. From Davis and Lee, Cob
: and Wise, Benjamin and Wigiall, down
= their miserable tools in Canada, not or
will escape the detestaticn Of the hums
:. race. No siaver from the Northern apol'
: - pists of crime; no followers Of Brutus an
:, Csssius; no arts of Satan, nor even Il
= kindly voice of pity, can lii they escape Il
r~Nsp Vp(AS