New-York tribune., 1868-12-19
INDIANA MOB-LAW

AvF, !p-ppNORAI IIZATION OF IilE '''hio
rrnI H. FEELING AGAINST TIE REGuLAIohs'
,t~o,, org SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
,.i -, T,d Dec. 15--Ihe violent and bru-
};iipcs rof ithe so.called Seymour Reeu-
-. =, n, early hour on Saturday morning are
evocrotea most emphatically oil over the State.
fhe imbecility of some Of ourcrminal Judges
ond tbe numerous and grevous imperfections oil our
crminal laws, which render 1t very easy for crimi-
mails who have money and influential friends to eS-
cane with impunity from the hands of justice Indiana
has been cursed for three years past with very
large number Of Lynch executions perpetrated by
irresponsible and nfuriated mobs calling themselves
Vigilance Committees. Law and Order Leagues,
Repuators, Anti-horse-thicf Societies, &c Upward
Of thirty persons. suspected of having committed
otnocious crimes. have been executed in this manner
in Indiana since the year 1865 and great many
moro have been cruelly maltreated aud tortured by
Regulators for the purpose of exOlting confessions
from them, or compelling them to divuge the
names OF their accomplces. That many Of the per
sons thus eummarily put 10 death by the RegllatiS
OF Indiana were villains OF the blacklist dyY aup f
of no doubt Whatever: and eqnaIy CERTAIN @ ~ i,ed n
come Of these criminals If the law had DGeiI f ;S
to take its course, would have gone 9hWiE V1
tice. On the other hand some OF the uloi i tu"t ~
victims of these mo1e&ecuoas g o,ioeS mgT vifh which
have been utterly gutless OF the elI%sleS % ib Si,
tho Regulators charged them anu IoI "ni. - 80 49,,
were put to DEATH Thus for INSTANCE lne IheLIIVes I
of the johnson County ga ag.Ihv ,vho wers believed TO
bave committed n most atTOc0us murder One OIL
lie two it has since that time beeh 9scgplit2 pc
yOnd a doubt. was innocent ana the heglu;aIoaIls,
S,ho ,Cere engaged in fhat Affair." were very justly
aud proDerly indicted for murder IN the hlst
degree In White County, some time ago. .
moor fellow was horribly tortured ana al
most killed for the purpose OF eXtOrting IRON
lin confession rs To what had become OF q phySl-
clan Nho had suddenly disappeared from ms mousse
ond whom he was believed to have aSSassinated.
Had the sulerings which his tormentoIs caused nm
TO undergo wrung from him confession, they WOuIu
have nut him TO death without further ceremony
But he remained firm, and strenuOuSly protested MS
innocence from first to last. Fortunately lOr nu,
aud unfortunately for the Regulators, the hlssng ng
man turned mp shortly afterward, and persOna,ny
bore witness to the innocence OF the Yctlm OF tue
Regulators In Porter County. recently, man Vas
tied to tree by Regulators ana n9 re mi him
under hs bare feet for the purpose Oh hlahns iii m
confess whether or not he had stolen rlle. no no
not know whether he was guilty or moi; Dut G uo
know that the poor fellow dled snort illne aIteI
yvord in consequence of the barbarous matIeatnent
which he had undergone on that OCCASION 1here Is,
Furthermore only too much reason 10 peleVe tiat dt
least one of the three men who were hung eighteen
months ago in Brown County was inDoeent OF the
innrler in which he was said to have taken part
Aud there is no doubt whatever that one OF tne
neg1oes who were lynched several years ago III
Evansville for having committed an outrage upon
white had nothing TO do with that CRIME, -.
IA feCaTdS the Seymour Regulators, the men VINO
went on Saturday last to New-Albany ana hung
there Anderson and the Reno boys, it Is undehiaDe
that. when their league was oflgnay Tndinns
Teig ibs stems which they took for the purpose
0f driving the outlaws and villains, who had eSiaD-
lshed their headquarters IN te ,oTn or SS and Of
preventing the repetition of such audaclOus ourages
as the robbcries OF express trans Whlch ING
Reno boys and Their accOnPITes PlaitHe1 s at
with great ingenuity and carried into elect
with desperate courage apo daepmRa',,ohi;
Rut long before the express robbers had
been delivered by the Canadian authorities to the
Indiana officers, the hope had been very generally
expressed that the Vigilance Committee OF seymour
Il. ~ gnul1
II had already accomplished, and not commit any
further violations Of the laws; and when apprehen-
sions were expressed that the Seymour Regulators
might attempt to take Anderson ahd Inc heho Doys
from tho custody of the Sheriff of Floyd County. our
people declared almost with one accord tbat the
cOnsnmmaton OF such an outrage must be prevented
Hour readers know that those apprehepsions were
only too well-fOunded, and that the Regulators,
owing TO the carelessness Of the authorities at New
Albany met with very few obstacles III forcing their
way into the Jail and hanging Anderson and the Keno
boys In reply to the loud Ontbursts OF dlgiatlon,
reS0undiug now from all parts OF the State. the
Regulators say that due regard tor their own safety
Left them other course TO pursue toward tue lA-
convicted. nasmuch as few of the witnesses for the
State would be courageous enough 10 testify against
these criminals. whose numerous friends ana feia-
tyes had threatened 10 take the Life OF anybody who
should contrbute toward the conyctiOn OF the prls
Oncrs and, once out OF Jai the heh9 Do3s, ao teJ
had often threatened, would wreck bloody revenge
on the monument Regulators of Jackson County who
participated in the execution OF their accompllees
must say. however, tnaJ luc pSOliS u AhNii.iet
with very few exceptions do not admit the validity
OF this excuse, but denOuncc the NeW-AlOaily out
rage in te1us of merited severity. Everybody eX-
rrSes te feryent hope that the annals OF our State
may moi be disgTaced by any such brutal scenes
a, that enacted at New-Albany on Saturday NOM
ing and that we may never hear again IN Indiana
OF mob law, regulators and vigilance committees
The new legislature, which will meet few weeks
hence il is hoped will pass stringent law against
vigilance committees, and amend our criminal code
80 as TO put an end to the complaints which we hear
on all hands about the manner IN which CRIMINAL
Justice IS administered in Indiana.
CANADIAN VIEW OF THE OUTRAGE.
The Montreal Herald says
Some weeks ago several Americans were arrested in
Cnnada and being claimed by the American Government
press rObbeey sent back to that country Tor rl
But they were thus sent in order that they should DO
tried and II convicted eXecutedn that were the SEN
tence Of the aWbut not that they shoud he murdered
IL would insult 10 the surrenderng GoVermnen TO
do anythpg inconsistent with JUST regard 10 the rights
az the auppOsed criminals TO fair trial For an Alnefi
from Canada we're lying awaiting their trial. take
them thence, and hang them, was therefore an
outrage arsi no doubt, upon all tlat men living IN
society together bound to respect bt also upon our
Government TO which the American Government was
bound We of do not mean 10 say That any GOV
rnment can made responsible for the sudden violence
of A mob; but unquestiOnably all Governments when
have eXtradOn OF accused persons are 10
be strictly held account for their safety we suppose
therefore, that Government will claim from tho
Washington Government the most earnest Efforts Tor the
dcnyery and punishment Of the persons concerned IN
fh lynchng OF the express robbers lt quite evident
We cannot send the border to be torn 10 pieces
by Unauthorized rabble no matter what thef crimes
may be- -------