Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-18

b. Lamar, of Savannah, Georgia,
against Mr.. Charles A. Dana, Of the
New York Sun, who was Assistant Sec
rotary Of War under Edwin M. STAN
ton, for false imprisonment, laying his
damages at 100000. It appears that
on the 18th Of April, 1865, Mr.. Stanton
sent for Mr.. Dana and said: Il want
you to arrest Mr. Lamar; we have rea-
son to believe that he was concerned In
the assassination Of President Lincoln;
what officer have you whom you can
send?" Gen. Jeffries was named, and
Mr.. Stanton approved Of him and told
Mr.. Dana to make the order for MIR.
Lamar's arrest and sign it ''by order
of the President. Gen. Jeffries went
to Savannah by order of Dana, arrest
ed Mr. Lamar at night, and brought
him to Washington, where he was
forthwith confined in the old Capitol
Prison in small room with fourteen
other prisoners. and was kept closely
confined for about three months, he be-
ing then in i'll health. He was finally
released ON parole. He reported
monthly to the commanding general
till the latter part of 1867. No charges,
civil or military, were ever brought
against him, and he was never inform
ed of the cause of his arrest. Gen.
Johnston surrendered on April 20, 1865,
and peace was formerly proclaim
ed in August, 1865. On the trial in the
United States Circuit Court at New
York, Judge Shipnan, on the Nth inst,
directed the jury to find verdict for
the defendant on two bare questions of
fact; that Mr.. Dana did not knowingly
conspire with President johnson to OPP
press Mr.. Lamar, and that he
did not willingly assist in his
detention at Washington; these
facts being proved by the de-
fendant's own testimony. The jury
went out and stayed SO long that the
Judge sent for them and repeated his
order, and after some unavailing pro-
test from juror, who asked IF he was
a nonentity," they found as directed,
and the case is to be appealed to the
Supreme Court. The Baltimore Ga
zette has this reference to the case:
ssNobody is to be pitied who at any
time held a position that made him
responsible for the rufianism of the
War Department when Edwin M.
Stanton administered it. Mr.. Dana
happened to be his Deputy perhaps
was contented in being so,) when, in
the excitement of Mr.. Lincoln's assas-
sination, his fury was at its highest.
Then, or soon after, was it that Stanton
sent Mr. Dana and Gen. Halleck SHANE
full work for civilian and soldierD in
person to Fortress Monroe to supervise
the manacling Of the captive President
of the dead Confederacy. Then was it,
it seems, that Stanton sent for Dana, and
ordered through his agency the arrest
of an aged citizen of Savannah as par
ticipator in a deed of violence six
hundred miles away. Hetold Mr.. Dana
to make the warrant "by order of the
President, :" which probably was untrue,
though that is lmmaterial 1t YVES Is
sued and dispatched, and Mr.. Lamar
arrested and dragged to Washington,
where amidst miseries almost indescri-
bable, he was immured In the Old Cap
itol Prison, from the Sd of May till the
2Sth Of July, and then discharged with
out an aecuser. For this, he has been
seeking redress through the courts of
law, making Stanton's living deputy the
defendant, Stanton himself being beyond
this world s law land hesoldier who made
the arrestnotworJh sueing. Redress has,
however, been denied him, the jury,
yesterday giving verdict for Mr. Da-
ma, under Instructions from his Judge
Another wrong has thus gone una
venged. 1t was the day and hour, let
us incidentally notice, of female perse-
cution when Holtw urging the hang
ing of Mrs. Surratt, because she was
woman, and when Stanton fercely
scolded because old Mr. Lamar's daugh-
ter, out of mere compassion, was allow
ed to accompany her sick father North.
What was Mrs. Surratt's fate all know,
and we learn, in this pending case, that
the poor Georgia girl pinned away and
died three years ago. But whilst Mr..
Dana has escaped peril and penalty, to
one sharp torture he has been
subjected, the severity of
which can hardly be measured.
AS the government defended the case,
Mr.. Dana's counsel was no other than
the federal District Attorney-he who,
under the soothing soubriquet of De
coy Bliss, has for months been the tar
get of his new clients fiercest and most
contemptuous denunciation, and who,
if we mistake not, engineered Mr. Dana's
arrest and threatened extradition to
Washington. 1t was an odd associa-
ton, to say the least of it, and shows
that other things besides misery make
man acquainted with strange bed-fel-
lowsi Bliss is not Caliban, and MIR.
Dana certainly not Trinculo, but they
had to shroud together till the dregs of
the storm were passed Bliss would
not have broken his heart if Mr.. Dana
had been beggared by verdict"
THE OUTLOOK AT NEW YORK.
fTba N-o,g Vo,.I- EIo,,oa.oea of 114L