Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-09-20
Tweed and Arguellez.::::

doubt that William NJ Tweed has been
arrested by the Spanish authorities and
turned over to officers of the United
States. The proceeding is rather a
remarkable one. Tweed was indicted
convicted and sentenced on each count
OF the Indictment. so that his senten-
ces swould have amounted to twelve
years imprisonment When he had
served two years, the Court of Appeals
decided that the cumulative sentence
was illegal, nd that, having served
the sentence on the first count, lie must
be discharged. That was the end of
the criminal proceedings against him;
but he was Immediately re-arrested on
civil process and put in Ludlow street
Jail in default of 100000 bail. It
is from that arrest that he escaped in
| November last.
The difficulty of the situation will
thus he understood. Tweed was found
| by the Spanish authorities on Span-
ish vessel, and taken into custody at a
Spanish port. But there is no extra
dItion treaty between Spain and the
United states, and, if there had been,
it would have been Of no avail, since
Tweed is not under indictment tol any
criminal offense, but is only defend
ant in civil suit Thus there was
double reason why Spain need not have
delivered Tweed to the United States.
That she has surrendered him is due
to 3 Ike act of comfy that tue United
States performed for Spain, about
:welves years ago in the matter of Ar
guelez. That affair had some features
which may be recalled with profit.
On the Goth of November 1868,
Don Jose Augustin Arguellez, COL
onel of the Spanish army, being then
Iieutenant-governo Of the district Of
Colon, in Cuba, captured vessel en-
gagged in the slave trade, with cargo
l4l negroes. For this act be was
highly commended by the Captain
general, who paid him $l5 900 as bis
share Of the prize-money. Subsequent
ly it was learned that ArgueIlez, in
collusion with some subordinate colon
ial officers. had sent the negroes into
the interior, and sold them into slav-
cry, realizing from S400 to $3.50 for
each. Arguellez took his share of the
profits OF this speculation and escaped
TO New York.
The Spanish Government thereupon
applied to the State Department at
| Washington for the extraiiton OF the
fugitive. Among other things it was
represented that unless Arguellez was
returned, the negroes could not be
identified, and must remain in captivi-
ty Moved by this consideration in
part, and in part by the enormity of
the crime, President Lincoln, in the
absence of an extradtion treaty, re-
solved to act on his own responsibility.
On the night of the 18th of May,
1864, Arguellez was seized by the Uni
ted States Marshal at New York, taken
on board Spanish man-ofwar and
there surrendered. Thence be was
taken to Cuba, tried, sentenced and
executed.
The Democrats, either on account of
a lurking tenderness for the slavetrade,
or because they felt it to be their duty
to fud fault with everything done by
the Republican administration, were
greatly outraged by this proceeding.
They declared it to be a violation of
the right of asylum and without war
rant of law he Senate, on the mo-
tion of a Democratic Senator, adopted
a resolution which elected letter from
Secretary Seward that ranks among
the best of his State papers. In this
letter he defended the surrender of
Arguellez as in accordance with the
constitution aud treaties of the United
States. Later a Democratic Grand
Jury at New York indicted the Uni
ted States Marshal for kidnapping!
Was the spirit Of prophecy upon
him? Did he foresee that this act
would, twelve years afterward, lead to
the apprehension of his friend Bill
| Tweed? However this may be, it is
quite certain that among the loudest
OF the Democrats in denouncing the
surrender of Arguellez was Samuel J.
Tilden. And among the resolutions
of Chicago Convention of 1864 will be
found one by him referring to the af-
fair in terms of great Indignation
lNizvaukee Sentine1.