Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-02-10


then Left, and made no further attempt q
deliver the said writs to the said George
w. Kirk. sd
IS GEORGE WILLIAMSON
Sworn and subscribed before me this
the Goth day of July, A. D. 1870.
w. FL. BAGLEY, Clerk"
Mr.. Chief Justice and Senators the un.
lawful conduct of the respondent, com
planned of by the people, cannot be put in
a stronger light than by reference to the
effect produced by the soldiers organized
by his orders, and sent into the counties
of Alamance and Caswell The desperate
men not only arrested innocent and I'M
offending citizens, some of them men like
John Kerr and Samuel P. Hill, whom the
State had honored with high offices and
who had proved themselves not unworthy
of the confidence bestowed, but they de-
lied and thwarted the action of the Judici-
airy of the State, always heretofore the
bulwark of civil llberty,) in affording re-
lief to the prisoners. Is not the fact noto-
|rious that the Chief Justice. having issued
the writs as prayed for in the case of
Moore and others, having ordered the pro-
duction of the prisoners before the court,
and when this order was disobeyed, the
court declined to adopt the usual and neces-
sary orders to. enforce obedience to it's
mandate! Aud for what reason Let
the court speak for ITSELF
ut is highly probable, nay in my Opin-
Ion certain, that the writ in the hands of
the Sheriff with authority to call out the
power of the county, by which he is COM
manded IT necessary, TO take the petitioner
out of the hands of the military authori-
ties, will plunge the whole State into civil
war;"
So the enforcement of the great writ of
rio hk hu ho Ind oio &c II
have brought on a conflict with the mill
tary organized by tho Governor and there
fore they decline to enforce the writ The
Governor, by his military, not only estab-
llshed a terrorism over the people, but he
silenced the voice of the Judiciary.
The respondent claims that he was au-
thOrized to call out the militia to suppress
insure ctlOn and to make arrests, and that
he is sustained iii this by the Judiciary
And so he had power under the laws to
execute the laws, suppress riots or insur-
rectIon and repel invasion, had such
state Of things existed, but no such state
of things did exist, and even if it had, he
would be responsible for the abuse of that
power before Court OF Impeachment.
(Here is read authority showing that
abuse OF discretionary power by public off.
GERS is punishable by impeachment)
The respondent in his answer to article
', says cit was his purpose to detain
the said Adolphus G. Moore and the other
persons SO arrested in the said counties of
Alamance and Caswell, only until such
time as he might with safety to the State
surrender them to the civil authorities"
(p. 80
We propose to test the truthfulness and
sincerity Of this declaration by facts which
we shall put in evidence. These facts will
also tend to show tie dninauS of the respon-
dent In these proceedings, and deprive him
Of the plea OF good INTENT" ii indeed
such plea could avail him in this trial.
On the 10th of March, 1870, he wrote to
the President of the United States, and
what follows is an extract from his letter.
He says:
eff Congress would authorize the sus-
pension, by the President, of the writ of |
l06edS corpus, in certain localities, and if
CRIMINALS cOuld be arrested and tried be- |
ore military tribunals, and shot, we should |
IOOn have peace and order throughout all |
his country. The remedy would be
harp and bloody one, but it is as indis-
'ensable as was the suppression of the re-
)eIlion."
Gu the 18th of March, 1870, he wrote to
he Senators and Representatives in Con-
ress" and says: Il have been compelled
o declare the county of Alamance in a
tate of insurrection. L have called on
he President for aid But he is restricted
y the writ of habeds corpus. We want
allitary tribunals by which assassins and
nurders can be summarily tried and shot;
ut We cannot have these tribunals unless
be President is authorized to suspend the
adeas corpus in certain localities. Please
id In conferrlng this power on the Presi-
ent, as the only etfectual mode of pro-
acting life and property in Alamance and
Their localities in this State"
And on the 18th of the same month he
ppeals to Mr.. j. @. Abbott, U. IS. Senator
o., in this wise:
"What is being done to protect the good
ltizens in Alamance comfy? We have
9deral troops, but we want power to act.
8 1t possible the government will abandon
$ loyal people to be whipped and hanged?
he hade0s corpus should be suspended at
nce."
So much as to the animus of the re-
oondent. Now as to his purpose to re- /
ase the prisoners. {
The petition of Ado!phus G. Moore was !
led July 10th, 1870. That of John Kerr
Id others on the Goth of July, 1870. {
We propose to show by the correspon-
snce of the respondent, that he had, at
lis very time, provided for the calling of {
military court to try the prisoners then !
old in custody, and that it was his pur- I
ose to convene the same the first week in |
ugust. &
On the 9TH day of August, 1870, he again {
rites to.the President of the United /
5ates. and the concluding paragraph in q
8 letter is as follows: G
eft is my purpose to detain the prison
s, unless the army of the United States, {
lder your orders, shall demand them" j
When Judge Brooks, of the United l
;ates district court, at later day, to wit, c
/ the 9th day of August, issued his pre- Z
pit in the name of the President of the
nited States, directed to Kirk, command
6 him to produce the prisoners before a
m at the Court House in Salisbury, i'm
ediately, then it was for the first time, I
lat the respondent made the discovery T
at it had all along been his intention to
rrender the prisoners. ''as soon as the
fety of the State should justify it," an u
'unced, for the first time, in his letter of
lgust 10Th, 1870, to the Chief Justice, ii
lich letter we propose to put in evil cc
nee. O.
Then it was, that for the first time, he x
dered George W. Kirk to obey the writs u
h0beQS oOrD1S' having protracted their