The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-07-10
AF.w Word. Personal.

possesses mainly personal interest, was
of sufficient public Importance to justify
comment in these columns. On the ninth
of July 1864, the editors of this paper
were arrested and confined in the mill
tary prison in this city and the publica'
tion of this newspaper suppressed. 1t is
natural that upon the anniversary ola day
which witnessed so grave violation OF
our personal rights and the rights OF the
entire people, our thoughts should recur
to these things and our pen call them to
the minds of our readers again. Had we
been guilty of any violation of law, eth
or civil or military; had we been con-
yieted by any duly authorized court of
amy forgetfulness of our duty as Ameri-
can citizens; had even any probable and
formal charges been preferred against us,
we might hesitate to thus revive the rec
election of this event. But, conscious
of our innocence of any crime which
could Justify our arrest and the suppress
sinn of the REGISTER: in the absence OF
any conviction or trial or even charges
against us; there is nothing in the cir
cumstances to which we refer to make us
blush for our honor or desire these things
to be covered up and forgotten
1t is impossible for us, even at this late
day when 50 many things heretofore hid
den are at las. revealed, when the rebel
lion has been crushed and the war is
ended, to say what was the immediate
cause of our arrest We were not in
formed during our Imprisonment and
have not been able to learn since our re-
lease The common opinion and i'm
preston seemed to be that it was in con-
s.ousnce of some structures we published
,nncerning General HUNTERS disastrous
expedition for the capture of Lynchburg,
and some condemnatory remarks that APP
reared in our local column concerning
the bringing to this city of the bronze
statue of WASHINGTON which was erect
ed and placed in the town of Lexington
iv the commonwealth Of Virginia, his
native State, but of this we have no Off
cial information. We were arrested and
our newspaper suppressed by order OF
General HUNTER without any cause be-
ing assigned; we were detained in pris-
GU and our Office kept in military poses
sion nearly eight weeks, without any ac-
cusalion or trial; we we're uncOndition-
ally released and our printing office re-
turned To our possession by order OF Gen.
eral SHERIDAN without our being asked
TO subscribe to any oath, give amy bond
or parole, or do any other act implying
in the slightest degree an imputation OF
guilt. These are the facts Of the case
and the year that has just elapsed has
tailed 70 furnish Us with any new light
or additional Information concerning
them
The circumstances which were held to
Justify some cases of arbitrary arrest and
imprisonment without due process of
law, never had an existence here. The
courts were unobstructed, the civil gov
ernmetaSkas in full power, the laws were
cheerfully and readily obeyed and this
community was as thoroughly loyal and
as much at peace as it is to-day. But
these things were not sufficient tepro-
tect us and other citizens in the enjoy
nent of our legal rights, and even those
whose sworn duty it was to execute the
law and administer justice to all did not
utter 4 word of public condemnation of
the act of him who because he had the
power had also the inclination to tram
pie upon law, and did not put forth
single effort to vindicate the majesty of
the authority they bore.
But we are at last entering upon diff
ferent order of things, and, although i'll
our own case there never was the slight
est real or pretended shadow of justice,
yet from all that class of cases the pre-
text of necessity is at last removed For
this happy consummation, for the res
.toration OF civil law throughout all the
land, for the triumph of the Union cause,
the nation owes an hundred fold more to
General SHERIDAN than to General Hun
TER: and while we tender to gallant
Phil" our thanks for our personal re-
lease from an unjust Imprisonment, the
whole nation joins with us in thanking
him for the agency he had in releasing
the entire people from adespotism which
such men as HUNTER would have made
perpetual SHERIDAN and SHERMAN and
GRANT are men who have used theirpow-
Ell for the restoration Of law, not for its
overthrow, and have not thought it their
duty, as officers in the service of the
United States government, to suppress
newspapers, imprison editors, or cap
ture" works of art.
IL D.