New-York tribune., 1874-10-24
THE ARRESTS IN ALABA MA.
ARRANGEMENT OF ALLEGED CONSPIRATORS
IN MOBILE.


IN MOBILE.
FOUR CITIZENS OF SUMTER COUNTY ARRAIGNED
BEFORE A UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER IN
MOBILE-A CONSPIRACY AGAINST DETECTIVE
HESTER THE ALLEGED CRIME-sUBPENAs FOR
WITNESSES ISSUED PRIOR TO THE COMMISSION
OF THE ACT-THE GOOD CHARACTER OF ONE OF
THE PRISONERS TESTIFIED TO BY REPUBLICAN
JUDGE-THE CASE LOOKED UPON AS SCHEME
TO INTIMIDATE THE PEOPLE
MOBILE, Oct. 23-Stepben Smith, Col T. b. Wet
more John Little (coOred), and Col Jas. NJ Lee of
Sumter County, were arraigned before United
States Commissioner Giett of this city, to-day, for
preliminary examination. The warrants on which
these arrested were issued by Comms-
siOner Wayne of Livingston, and made returnabe
here in response to an afidevit sworn to by j. Il.
Hester, Special Agent OF the Post-Office Depart
ment and Deputy United States Marshal. The
date of the deposition was Oct. II. and simply
asserts that Hester is informed and be-
lieyes that the defendants did, on the 10Th
or 10th of October, cOnspire together 10
injure his person, while discharging his
duty as a United States officer and thus violated
the KuKlux act No other papers appeared IN the
case when it was first called. The witnesses sum
moned to prove the conspiracy were three negroes
and Hester and a very curious fact IS that the
subpoena for these witnesses was issued by Commls-
sioner Gillette of Mobile on Sept. &c. moro than two
weeks before the alleged o6ense was committed
How it is possible for the Commissioner here TO
know on the 3Oth of September that four persons
would conspire to do unlawful act on the 10Th OF
October and that four other persons would be Wit
nesses of the conspiracy is one OF the mysteries OF
the administration Of law by United States officials
In the South.
Counsel for the defense first moved that the
prisoners be discharged, on the ground that the
Commissioner who issued the warrants had not yet
previously complied with the law, which required
him first to examine the complaint under oath, and
the witnesses he might Then it came o1t t5at
such afidayits had been taken, but were Cancelled
by the Attorney for the Government apparently to
prevent the defendants from learning the exact
nature of the offense with which they were charged
After considerable debate these papers were put in
as they should have been in the first place
discussion then arose in regard to giving
the defendants each separate examination, and 1t
was discovered that one of the defendants, John
Little coored)I had been first used as witness on
whose testimony the warrants for the arrest of the
prisoners had been founded and that he afterward
had been made defendant, an act that was char
acterized as gross outrage upon his rights since
if he was accused of crime he under no obliga
ton to give testimony to convict himself or upon
which warrant for his arrest might be based. An
other thing of which counsel for the defense COM
planned was that after they had brought Col. Lee
here as O witness he had been arrested and made
defendant thus depriving the defense of his testi
monv The Commissioner ruled that. while he
would not sever the case, he would admit Little and
Lee to testify if their evidence seemed desirable.
No witnesses were examined to-day, but the fol-
lowing dispatch from of the Associate Justices
of the Supreme Court of Alabama, Republican and
now candidate for reelection was admitted the
Judge finding it inconvenent to come Ill person to
Mobile:
SELMA, Ala, Oct %.
J. LITTLE SMITH, esq d: l will swear that have known
Col Wetmore intimately fifteen years His character,
general and private, is rreprOachabe. He is open,
candid. and guleless, and incapable OF meditating,
conspiring do any wrong or injury to anybody He
is scrupulous in his adherence TO law and order. Re
Gently before his arrest by correspondence with him,
have been made acquainted with his views touching
crime, instances OF which in Sumter he depOred and
condemned and from my knowledge Of him. the char
acter and example OF man IN Alabama, Of any
party has been moro openly and boldly In favor Of good
government and opposed TO all violations OF law.
b. T. sAFFOLD.
The instances of crime which Col. Wetmore de-
plored and condemned were the murder Of Billings
aud Ivey. This attracts universal attention all
over the State as the Democrats look upon the ar
rest of Col Wetmore on q frivolous charge and the
transfer of the case here for preliminary examna-
ton, as part of scheme to break up the Demo-
cratic organization in Sumter County. and to intim
idate the people.