The Rutland weekly globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-08-15
UIsTonY REPEATING ITSELF.

The constitution OF vermont "OfdMnca
and established" when we were free,
sovereign and Independent State ia the
most enlarged and extended meaning of
those words, owing allegiance to no ono,
having the power TO declare war, make
peace, etc, "that no person shall be liza
bic to be transported out of this State for
trial, for any offence committed within the
same When our fathers announced this
fundamental principle, Vermont was as
much state or country as the United
States, Great Britain, France or Germany
now arc. Herein, we may state in pass
ing, is contained the germ of the principles
upon which extraditon treaties arc based
the virtual recognition of the right 10 trans
port criminals from the State, whcreto
they may have fed TO escape the just pun
ishment for their misdcads, for trial in an
other state where their crimes were COM
mittcd In IT, too, is contained principle
which is one Of the very corner stones in
the foundation of our liberty. The dcclar-
alton that persons accused Of crime shall
not be transported from the state for trial,
but shall be tried at home, by q jury of his
peers. and where it will be easy and con
venicnt to assemble the witnesses nccess-
ary for his defense. When, in 1901, we
were admitted into, and became part of,
the Union, it was not necessary that our
organic law should be changed in this res
poet. for it was in conformity 10 the 81.
prcmc law, requiring the surrender by on
state Of Il Fugitive from justice, escaping
| thereto from another state to the latter
state for trial. II was under this provision
of our national constitution, that the at
tempt was made to remove Charles A.
Dana, editor of the New York Sun. from
New York to the District of Columbia fol
trial This constitutional clause anG pro
vision is all right as well as essential to on
safety, but the use that was attempted t.
be made of IL was wrong. The wrOn.
consisted in the cndcavor to make II con
structive publication of the Sun in Wash
ington, because, perchancc. a copy thcrco
was sold there
This attempt has brought to light TIN
fact that this is not the first instance of tn
kind in our history. Fraud and ccrrup
ton and pecuation now endeavor to cove
up their tracks by transporting aman fror
the state where an alleged crime was com
mittcd to another, for trial. The allege
crime consisted in the publication of Gel
tain words in a newspaper editorial. TIL
other case, to which we have referred
grew out of a newspaper publication, an
, it was one of the efforts of the slave powc
to suppress free discussion. In 1885, tn
: Emoncipdtor, published by Ransom G
Williams, in New York City, containe
these words God commands and all nj
turc cries out that man should not he hel
as property" followed by other languag
of the same general nature. \ copy of I'll
Emancipator straycd off into Alabama, an
, one of their county grand juries found a
indictment against Williams, charging hi
, with endeavoring to incite a servile insu
, rection. Instead of allowing the indie
ment to be forgotten, as n sensible ma
would have done. the then Governor {
, Alabama imagined that he had discoverC
glorious opportunity to immortalize hin
self, and therefore, made reQuisition G
William L. Marcy-then Governor of Ne
n Yorl<-for the delivery of Williams,
=. that he might he transported to Maban
!. for trial. Governor Marcy was equal
. the occasion, and, in refusing to respond
: the requisition, demonstrated that William
: had never been actually or constructive
Z in Alabama, and that the fact that one.
o any number, of his papers there circulate
n did not give the courts or officers of tn
@ state any power over his person. He c
+ tablished the same principle, or one of Il
r. same, that BlatchfOrd did in the libel ca
n of the Sun. Here the attack upon the Ii
erty of the press was made through Il
= courts, but failed. In the case of Il
EmancipdtOr, it was made through anoth
- department of the government, but wa
j., also, foiled. Fraud and peculation are e
deayoring TO make useful the cast G
y armor of the defunct slave power. II
tory is repeating itself but if we watt
e, carefully our outposts, all will be well.