Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-10-06

ton, and the necessity of some of the
officers to be absent on. duty, have pre-
vented the meeting of tho Court as
| early as wished. It will meet one
| day next week. It is important to
have all The evidence that can be pro-
cured. The following officers besides
those of your regiment will compose
the Court: Major General W. d.
Jones. Brigadier General @. s. Nor
ing, Biigadier General W. r. AL
bright. Colonel Fl. NJ. Ray, Major J.
W. Hardin. Captain Robert Hancock,
and another officer, probably from
Alamance. This will leave six to be
supplied by your regiment, and the
Colrt will consist of thirteen"
Col. Kirk, at various times informed
the prisoners that she mad orders, In
case he was resisted in any way, to
kill thesp.isoners.
On August 9Th. 1870, by order of
Gov. Holden, Josiah Turner, Jr., Il
citizen of Orange, was arrested in the
county of Orange, (aithough Orange
had not been proclaimed to be in in
surrection,) by military force, car
ried to Kirk at Yanceyville, thence to
Alamance county, and confined in
loathsome dungeon with q negro felou
condemned to death.
The turning point was now reach cd
in this Infamous conspiracy against
the laws of tie State, and the liberty
of the citizen. Thank God, Richmond
Pearson and Thomas Settle we're not
the only Judges In North Carolina
Ga the 9th of August, 1876, GEORGE
w. Brooks, Judge of the Federal
Court for the District of North Caro-
lima, upon petition Of Josiah Turner,
Jr., issued writ of Ha6eas Corpus,
directed to Kirk, and it WAS we'll I'M
derstood that neither he nor his Court
was exhausted.
| On 7th August, 1870, Governor
Holden autographed to President Grant
stating the facts and saying: "The
offic~ will be directed to reply to the
writ, tuat he holds The prisoners uu~
der my order, and that ne refuses to
obey the writ. II the Marshal then
calls on the posse co7l3itdtus, there
may be a conflict, but if he should
first call on the Federal troops. 1t will
be for you to say whether the troops
shall be used to take the prisoners out
of my hands. Ii is ny purpose to de-
tain the prisoners unless the army Of
the United States, under your orders,
shall demand them"
This communication was referred to
Attorney General Ackerman, who re-
ported upon it as follows, on the Sth
August, 1870: 81 do not see how the
United States District Judge can re-
petitioner makes out a case for il
: under the HubeGs Corpus act of 1867.
]. advise that the State authorities
yield to the United States Judiciary
This opinion of the Attorney General
was telegraphed to Governor Holder
by the Secretary of War.
, The triumph of civil law over mill
= tary power was now complete, thanks
TO the interference OF Judge Brooks
, whom North Carolina can never honor
too highly. But for this Interference
OF Judge BROOKS many of the bes
IN apa- az Aha Statn. man -uAnnrahlo 70.
age and piety. distinguished for learn
, ing and patriotism, purity and long
> public service. innocent of even the
senlkl lance of crime, would have beer
, tried by Military Cont, sentenced
to death. tied to stakes and shot like
dogs or deserters. But Judge BROOK.
came to the rescue, and Governor
. Holden became as powerless fol-
evil as he would have been had
not Pearson and Settle so ''su b.
stantially sustained him by refusing
to interfere.
Our people have been accus
toned to say that the result of tn,
election changed Holden's purpose
and put an end to his military nsurpa
ton. Not SO. The great victory a
the ballot box would have been barre1
of results but for the interference OF
, Judge BROOKS. Governor Holdet
would never have allowed the election
to stand. He knew full we'll the stake
he was playing for. On July 23d
1870, Hon. .. 81. Dockery, while OF
, the train, en- route for Lum berton
stated to distinguished gentleman O.
North Carolina, that while in Wash
ington City, Gov. Holden told hin
I" THE MOVEMENT HAD ORIGINATED WITH
SENATOR JOHN Pool, AND THAT HI
(HoLDEN) WAS WILLING TO FOLLOW
WHERE Pool LED" Dockery respon.
ded that he was neither willing to fol
low nor to endorse the movement
whereupon Holden stated that "w1
MUST CARRY THE ELECTION ANYHOW
His purpose was unchanged until he
got. orders from Washington to yield
to the Federal judiciary.
On the >11th OF August, 1870, Gov
ernor Holden ordered Col. Kirk tc
parole his prisoners. On the 18th OF
August, 1870, John Neathery made a
forced march, with a dispatch from
the Governor to Richmond Hill, the
home of the Chief Justice, revived
that PROSTATE public functionary. res
tored the exhausted powers of the
other State judicials, and return to
Raleigh Oh the 18th, and had every.
thing ready for the Chief Justice to
receive the return of Col. Kirk and to
discharge prisoners in the Supreme