Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-09-22
A PARDON.

The Hon. Alex. III. Coffroth has just re-
turned from Washington with pardon for
Mengel Reed, whose case was to have come
up for trial before the United States District
Court at Pittsburgh on the 2lst inst The
Gazette scoffed at the very thought of charg-
ing him with treason. Whence comes then
the precipitate haste with which Mr.. Cof-
froth is sent to Washington to make inter
cession for him? Is this the way in which
injured innocence asserts itself? BY no
means, Conscious and notorious guilt, on
the other hand, seeks..an agentin Mr.. Cofroth
WHO'S known topossess infueneein Washing
son, by reason of his support of the great
emancipation amendment.
Of course, we shall have some silly at
tennis on the part of the Gazette to explain
this away, which with genuine copperheads
are altogether unnecessary and hypocritieal,
because they largely participated in his guilt.
They have no influence with loyal men. We
expect of course, that we win also be charged
with prosecuting an innocent youth, who
saunters out of the courts of justice, with a
previous presidential pardon in his pocket.
Let that be salve for all the wounds that
we may inadvertently infict in calling the
attention of the public to his case. Let him
console himself that it is much better to have
the pardon Of the government which he ha-
ted, than to have had loyal bullet lodged
in his heart on the field of Gettysburg.
The Chambersburg Repository says
The President has pardoned Mr.. Mengel
Reed, of Bedford, who was recently arrested
on the charge of treason and conveyed to
Pittsburgh for trial 1t is worthy of notice
that he was not discharged from arrest by
the legal authorities of the government, nor
liberated by taking the oath of allegiance,
as must have been the case had Mr.. Mengel
Reed applied for relief as a citizen of the
North whose fidelity was unjustly assaiied;
but he sought pardon under the act of Con-
gress As an ene1ny-one who had taken up
arms against the government, and the par
don recites that he is pardoned as traitor
--or in other words, that he is justly charg-
ed with treason and the President gener-
ously relieves him of its fearful penalties
Thus while the Democratic papers OF Bed
ford Fulton and Franklin have been pro-
mitigating all manner of falsehoods TO save
Mr. Reed from punishment--insistIng that
he had no sympathy with the rebels and
was their unwilling captive-when the qaes-
ton is about to be tried in the United
States Court before Democratic Judge,
Mr.. Reed sends Gen Coilroth to Washing
ton aud applies for pardon, just as every
other repentant rebel has done who wants
to escape the just penalty for his crimes.
If Mr.. Reed is henceforth eensured for
both treason and falsehood he must not feel
aggrieyed, for his own record, as made by
himself, or by his authorized representative,
stamps him as guilty Of both We do not
complain of his pardon-indeed we think il
best that it should be so, for the government
has certainly more important duties to per
form than to try such half fedged traitors as
Mr.. Reed, who was too faithless to be loyal
and too cowardly to be traitor with any de- |
gree of manhood He is very properly dis
missed as that class Of game that is not
worth the powder LIZ in this article we do
injustice TO Mr. Reed, he must return his
pardon and correct his own record before ne
can deem himself wronged 1t is but fair TO
judge HIM ls his selfassumed position to
6 cape he ayongng power of the law Ger.
taln5 an innocent man would have prefer