Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1868-08-08
where rests the Rtsponsibilii,

Ne Ef'iaF-As an expose II al,
complaints made hy t'ov, lcasr and
his Star hamhor Cnmmillco ii IA,
Convent on, relative Ia crime IN
feNas, propose submitting L. q
candid public, tho following facts
which have acquired hut little pub
LEFTY abroad, tho w,ll known In
the communities where they occur
rcd,
last July, Two persons were con,
fined in lho Jail at Dallas one on II
charge OF murder, the other of grand
larceny, Both were indicted hy Il
loyal grand jury,-al least il wac
selected with great care, under "Cir,
cular Order No. 10, which eNclud.
cd f,om jury duty all who could mol
take the "test oath" In defiance
OF law, and tho orders of the Dis,
lrlc, Judge, these men were taken
from the Jail, by one ". II, Horton,
at that time Agent Of the Freed
U.en's Bureau, for Dallas and adiH.
cent counties, set at liberty, without
an investigation, and, in the opinion
OF the lublic Tor II pccuniary con
sidcration. aud are now safe beyond
tho limits OF tho State.
Judge Good gave official informa-
ton of this transaction TO the Gov.
crnor, but Horton has never been
tried, or even censured for this in
suit to the law aud tho administra-
ton of Justice. Amer arousing the
just and mcritcd Indignation and
contempt Of every honest man in
Dallas, this agent is, ut his own re.
quest, transferred to, and retained
upon Bureau duty ut Bastrop.
Last year two parties were in
dicted in Parker county, for muir
der. Before their arrest, and while
cvading the Sheriff of that county,
Capt Stcelhammor, Both L. S, In
tantry. upon an cX parto affidavit,
nearly every material allegation Of
which, was utterly false, issued an
order to tho District Clerk, inform
ing him that "until further orders
these indictments are set aside, and
the defendants discharged" or
this fact the Governor was officially
informed by Judge Good.
About three weeks after, and
during the Fall term Of the Parker
District Court, the Judge received
from Con. Reynolds, through the
Executive Office" at Austin, an
order, requiring the indictments in
the Thompson cases "to be quashed
because the parties are not guilty"
In these cases the persons killed
were "rcbels" so called. The party
indicted in Dallas, and one Of those
in Parker, werc volunteers in the
Confederate army, one in Sibley's
and the other in Parsons
cavalry, and it is said made pretty
fair soldiers, while with their COM
But when charged with
crime, they are discovered to be
loyal, and as matter of course,
ought not to be subject to the mock
cry of a jury trial.
Tho Governor cannot plead ignor-
ance of the disposition made Of the
above cases, and it is but reasonable
to presume they met his approval.
Similar dispositions, doubtless,
have been made of many important
cases in this State, purely
for party purposes, and then to
swell the aggregate OF "homicldes,
show the "increase of crime" and
to ''arrest and punish
in Texas, as the same are
counted by Gov, Peasc and his COM
mittee.
Had Gov. Pease discharged the
duty which required
him to "sce that the laws werc faith
fully executed" had he and the
Committee, placed higher esti-
mate upon principle and truth, and
thought less of accurscd party
schemes, there would have been no
occasion for foul Islander upon the
fair namc and fame of Texas, and
thc efforts they arc making to in
,ensify sectional hatred.
DALLAS.