Litchfield enquirer., 1868-08-06
My Ox and Your Bull.

My Ox and Your Bull.
 The Augusta, Georgia Chronicle aad Sen tinel, which paper, with deadly irony, nicknames General Meade "Torquemada Meade" e"-under date of July 29th, fulmi- mates an anathema against that officer, from which anathema we make an extract:-
 Does not the Era knoy that the Columbus pris- oners were " wantonly oppressed and most vilely persecuted? Does he not know that young Cody, of Warren county, was wantonly oppressed and cruelty treated by Torquemada Meade arrested without warrant-placed in IRONS without legal process-hurried to trial without time or opportu- nifty to prepare for his defence-tried by an illegal tribunal far from the place where the alleged Of ring the pretended confronted alone bv witnesses raked up from the vilest purlieus of the negro population of Warrenton-and finally. af- ter untold suferings and outrages acquitted for want of the slightest evidence to convict? Is it not openly and notoriously advertised now by a Radical negro paper that the murderer of the man, on account of whose killing Cody was thus outraged, has been dlscovered-that he is negro Torquemada or any of his minions? Can Cody say that he has not been wantonly oppressed that he has not suffered outrage at the hands o1 Meade and his subordinates p
 Let these facts be presented to the intelligent mind of the North, and let the people there an. swer, whether Meade has not far surpassed, in di- abolical cruelty and ingenious torture, his great model and prototype of the 18th century.
 Having done our share toward 'pre. senting this case to the intelligent mind of the North" we, in turn, offer to the in telligent mind of the South, question o1 two. apropos to the treatment of prisoners.
 What is the exact distance between Au. gusta, Georgia, and AadersoaciAe Geor gia? Has the Augusta editor received any particulars of the treatment of prisoners held at the latter place-to wit, Anderson ville-some two or three years ago? Are prisoners confined on charge and suspi. cion of murder, entitled to better treat ment than prisoners of war to whom ac crime is imputed? What does the Angus. ta editor think of "Torqq quemada'' Winde, in comparison with ''Torquemada Meade?' Candidly speaking -candidIy, you know does it become any Southern fire eater to open his lips agalnst any persecutor and oppressor of prisoners, of whom the world has yet heard?
 However. all this is conceding the point of the innocence of the Columbus prison ers-which, in fact, we do not concede The facts of the case are, that those men were tried for murder under the military government: that the developments of the testimony were clearly against the pris- oners: and that, if the trial had not been interrupted, the men would have been con- victed and hanged. But while the trial was in progress, the proclamation of the Pres ident, announcing that the requisite two thirds of the States had acceded to the Re construction Act, and thereby the civi government was restored to the Southern States, and the military jurisdiction was superseded. The trial of the Columbus prisoners therefore and thereby came tc an end before it was finished, and the pris- oners were bailed to stand new trial, un- der the civil form of government. This means, that a fire eating judge and jury will acquit them, even if they are brought to the form of trial. The men, thus es- capped, like the pardoned, but unconverted rebels of the South, are now astoundingly innocent, virtuous and indignant; and they, through the fre-eating newspapers and by the aid of the fire eating editors, are now impudently appealing "to the in- telligent mind of the North" for sympa- thy. In other words, they want the in- telligent mind of the North" to vote for Seymour and Blair, on whose election the South evidently counts for the restoration of State rights. Southern supremacy, and renewal of the rebellion. The Southern newspapers are wild with enthusiasm at the nomination of Seymour and Blair; but we rather think that "the intelligent mind of the North,' in about |" three months af- ter date," will show them a trick worth two of that x