The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-03-02
The Fall Of the Mighty.

case of NAT HARRISON were brought to
sudden and unfortunate termination
yesterday, by the resignation OF that
individual. We say unfortunate be-
cause the revelations incident to trial,
the unutterable rascality and rotteE'
ness which it would have brought to
light, could not but have had salatary
effect upon the public mind. Kuowing
the consequences of making bare the
secrets of ''loyslty" in the Greenbrisr
region aud acting doubtless under
alyice from influential Republican
quarters, HARRISON has made at the
same time conf, ssion and an escape by
his resignation. The verdict Of the
Legislature is avoided. The verdict Of
public opinion he cannot escape. He
goes into private life with the seal OF
public condemnation upon him, and
with the assurance that just in proper
ton as his deeds of partisan devotion
have been mean and dirty, SO will his
degradation be deep and damning'
Hi, excuse for resiguing is thin to
Transparency. He abaudons the de-
fense because the Legislature would
not allow him and his counsel full lati-
tude for the discussion Of four several
points which had mo possible connec-
ton with his guilt or innocence. Upon
this it will be sufficient to say that had
his counsel been allowed to discuss, dd
Rbitum, the four questions as to the
mode of trial, the validity of notice, the
sufficiency of service, and HARRIsoN's
responsibility as Judge of the Ninth
Circuit, the session of the Legislature
would have been exhausted without a
conclusion being reached. The rule OF
limitation as to the length of speeches
expressly declared that it should not
apply in case the session was extended
Why did not HARRISON and his friends
strike for an extensioni The slightest
intimation that they desired it would
have secured it. Aud how did it hap
pen that the Legislature was compelled
to impose these limitations
The time allotted for the trial was
shortened by HARRIsoN's own act.
When he ran away from this city, like
a thief with the hue and cry at his heels,
his deliberate purpose was to avoid no.
tice and throw the trial beyond the
limits of the present session. That was
his object when he went to Steuben-
Vile, and his transfer of his precious
person from that town to Pittsburgh
bawdy house was intended the more
surely to effect the same object. If in
stead of making that disgraceful retreat
aud being hunted at last to such dis
reputable locality, he had remained in
this city; if instead of flying like Il
fslou he had faced his fate like man,
the trial could have commenced long
ago; the accused and his counsel could
have had ample time to consider and
discuss all the issues as we'll as all the
tecbricalities and all the captious OBJ
jections that could possibly have been
raised during the course of this pro-
ceeding. But having made long Trial
impossible by his own shutfling and
dodging, he cannot cast upon the Leg
islature any blame for prescribing such
rules as threw nOn-essential and dila.
tory discussion out of the case, hung
the decision upon questions of guilt or
innocence and gave the accused his own
choice between a speedy trial and an
extended session, The Legislature pro-
posed to allow him all the time his dirty
trickery had left them in which to try
him. The fault, if there be any, lies at
his swn door.
HARRISON proposes to go before the
people on the manifesto which is else
where printed. As he goes let him e1-
plain why he did not boldly demand an
investigation at the start, as any honest
man would have done, waive so much
of the twenty days grace extended him
by law as would have allowed him to
get his witnesses here, and 60 into the
tIial three weeks sgof All this it
was within his power to do. But in
stead of that be Iesorted to the low
lodges of the pettifogger and the char
latan. His chief aversion seoms to have
been the trial of his case upon its
merits; and his only reliance technical
ities aud delay. He objected to the
evidence and charges presented to the
original committee. He tried to have
that committees report printed before
being acted on, so that no trial could be
had. He evaded service, he grew cap
tious about the number aud pay of wit
nesses allowed him. In short, he OBJ
jected to everything and fought every
thing except the naked question of his
guilt, aud this like self-oonvicted vii
lain he has always feared to face.
Beaten at every point, over-matched in
brains, in craft, in strategy, in determi-
nation, by the representatives of the
people to whom he ba, SC long been q
fearful curse, he commits official suicide
to avoid conviction, and thereby places
his guilt beyond all persdyenture, for
he confirms it with substantial confes-
sion.
With the venomous and spiteful re-
Elections upon the motives of the Legis-
lsture with which HARRIsoN's letter
abounds, We have nothing to do. That
body can we'll enough take care of itself.
Nevertheless we risk the remark that if
blame attach to the members it is for
4 torAu rothnr