American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-03-06
MURDER OF UNION SOLDIERS.

They had committed no wrong and done
nothing to provoke hostility, but we're
massaered in cold blood for no other rea-
son than because they wore the uniform
of the United States. Four men we're
arrested for the crime by the military
authorities, and Military Commission,
conyeued by Gen. Sickles, after a long
and careful trial, found them guilty upon
undoubted testimony, and they were SEN
fenced two to be hanged, and two to be
imprisoned for life.
OF course al the South was enraged
at learning that four of her citizens, bad
subjects though they were, had been con
victed, and were going to be punished
for the vepial offense of shooting aud
drowning three Yankee soldiers. The
President was besought to interfere
Petitioners reminded him that his "avoB
ed policy" demanded his interpos;tion
and Alexander I'll. Stephens, Gov. Orr
lIerschel V. johnson, and others oe the
leading men of the South, united in ap-
plications for the discharge of the pris-
oners, or at any rate for their transfer to
the civil tribunals, which they knew
would amount to about the same thing,
The Hon. o. IL. Browning, now Secre>
taTy of the Interior, received u fee of
81 900 for his services in Influencing Mr.
Andrew Johnson's mind on the subject,
and persuading him to remove the Grim
inals to some fort, where a writ of hdbeds
corpus could be served on their custodi-
ans without danger ofa conflict between
the civil and military authorities. 1t was
supposed that after the Miligan decision
there would be no difficulty in having
the trial declared unlawful. A writ was
served on Gen. Sick es at Charleston but
he disregarded it, and the Secretary Of
War approved his conduct
Several weeks after this service, the
President commuted the two death SEN
tences to Imprisonment for life at the
Tortugas, but eight days later all four OF
the prisoners were removed to Fort Del
| aware, aud there the commaudaut, Col.
Howard, was served with writ of habcas
corpus from Judge Hall of the United
States District Court of Delaware, which
he was instructed from Washington to
obey. A hearing was had and the pris-
oners were discharged, on the ground
that at the time Of the trial of the muir
dercrs the civil courts of South Carroll
ma were open and the regular admins
tration of justice was unobstructed. We
need hardly remind our readers that this
assertion of Judge Halls was very far
from the truth. The prisoners returned
to their homes, and their fellow citizens,
VIII, be it remarked, were almost unan-
imously convinced of their guilt, receiv
ed them with ovations, aud gave them a
banquet. 10 quote the language of a
surgeon in the army, "the town was, as
they expressed it there, literally drunk" "
The civil authorities never took mas
ures to try the assassins, and they are
still at large.
The House of Representatives appoin>
81 a Committee last December to inves>
tigate this fragrant case, and to recom>
mend su3h action as it might seem to
them to require, and thei" report has just
been presented. After rehearsing the
facts as we have given them, they state
the result of inquiries they have made as
to the administration of justice in other
portions Of the South, rightly judging
that any law passed by Congress to cor.
rect such evils as the one under consid
Grafton would have to be general in its
character, and not restricted to the State
of South Carolina They examined all
the commanders of military departments
in the South, and their testimony is
strong and unanimous that in none of the
Rebel States do the civil courts offer the
slightest chance of justice to loyal sol
dier, or Union man, or negro. "You
could not find jury in South Carolina"
says Gen. Sickles, 'that would convict a
man for killing Union soldier" Con
stables won't arrest, sherfft wont detain,
magistrates won't try, juries won't con-
vict for such offenses. 1t is the same in
Louisiana, the same in Virginia, the
same in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama
| and part of Tennessec-the same, in fact.
wherever the Confederate flag has ever
waved Gen. Wood in Mississippi never
heard of but one white mat being pun
ished Cor killing a negro, and he only got
year in the penitenuary. Gen. Thorn
as, whose department comprises five States
does not know Of single instance of
punishment being inflicted for serious
offense against frecdm an though the
offenses were plenty enough aud serious
enough. And this state Of things does
not improve as time goes on, but grows
worse and worse The military officers
are all very decided in their opinion that
justice and good order cannot be ma n
tanned in the South withoat the inter
vention of military courts; and Mr. STAN
ton concludes his testimony with par
ticularly downright expression OF be-
lief that such tribunals are perfectly le-
gal in the present condition of the coun'
try that the Milligan trial was perfectly
legal, and that the decision Of the Su.
preme Court in that case was not Justified
0by any principle of law recognized by
any civil government on earth"
The Committe adopt ald repeat the
recommendation of Gen. Thomas thai
there should be established 'some super
yisory authority in those States, witt
power to devise and insist on the impair
tial administration of justice, accompan
led by sufficient force, if necessary, t.
induce the people to feel that the author
ity is able to enforce its advice and in