The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1876-07-28

ored account OF the late Hamburg riot
and was followed by Mr. Cox who very
foolishly tried to apologize for the cold
blooded massacre Of Degro prisoners
there a week ago; for, although be did
not excuse those who took part in it in
sc many words, that was the effect OF
| his speech. The excitement increased
dc Mr.. Hartridge caused to be read
letter from Gen. II. G. Butler defend
ing himself for the part he took IN the
affair, and Mr.. Rainev made very
eloquent and inpassioned appeal for
! the protection of his race. The oDly
result of the debate was TO postpone
and endanger the passage OF Il resolrI-
ton providing for the employment Of
| the soldiers of the United States where
they can protect American citizens
! from robbery and murder, while t!ie
Republican party manufactured oiiI-
paign capital out of Il most untortGn-
nate and indefensible affair, which.
however, was no more political in its
character than the terrible tragedy in
Newark last week k-RetC York Trib
une Special.
That so able and respectable a paper
as the Tribune, which has been clam
orous for the reform of abuses i'll every
branch of the public service, should
allow articles like the above place in
its columns is to be wondered at, and
the more especially, when in Il follow
ing article in the same pape:-, II as
sumes the defence of the workmen who
\ drove the Newark murderers INTO the
Passaic and stoned them till they were
| drowned There is a striking similar
ity in the action OF the Thieihoru
brothers and the mob led hy Gen. NJ.
| G. Butler, which murdered the negroes
in cold blood Mt Hamburg, and the de-
| fence of the one and the condemnation
of the other, is a specimen of incon-
sistency rarely met with in so respect
able journal.
The Constitution of the United
| States declares:
ga well regulated militia being nee
essary to the security of free State,
the right ofthe people to keep and bear
arms, SHALL NOT be infringed.' -
And further:
'fNo person shall be deprived of life,
liberty or property, without due pro-
cess of law" ..
In defiance of the rights guaranteed
under the first provision quoted, a
company of militia parading in ranks of
four on a street over Gne hundred
feet wide, was stopped by Two white
men in a buggy and obliged to open
its ranks and permit the whites to drive
through, when there was abundance of
room on either side of the space occu-
pied by the company in marching.
There is no pretense made that the ne
groes attempted to interfere with the
white men, further than to claim the
| right to march without interruption,
yet here was "the right of the people
peaeeably to assemble" outraged. Next
day the white men had warrants issued
for the arrest of officers of the COM
pany, which was done, but the trial
was postponed. Meanwhile the white
citizens began assembling armed with
guns and pistols, and the negroes took
refuge in the armory. Fearing injury
from the armed whites, they Jailed to
appear at the hour of trial, and the
court, after calling the case, took no
steps to procure their attendance. The
white mob, however, demanded their
surrender, and the giving up of their
arms, without a shadow of authority, an
invasion of both provisions of the Con-
stitution above quoted. Then came
the fight and the murders, and the
capture of the negroes; the calling of
them out one 10y one, and the cold
blooded butchery of six ofthe number
What court had tried them? What
court condemned them? What court
deprived them ''of life, liberty and
property, by due process of law" Is
there no political significance in this.
Now take the other case: Officers
armed with ''due process of law" at
tempted to arrest the Theilhorns, and
were murdered, and the Thielhorns,
like the white mob, set out on a mur
dering expedition, and became mob.
The workmen in the tannery resisted
them, and in attempting TO vindicate
the law drove The muIderers into the
Passaic, and stoned them till they were
drowned For this they are defended
by the Tribune thus: .
The Thiellforns it was clearly neces-
sary to arrest before they killed more
men, may be women and children
For one of them a warrant had already
been issued, and he was resisting 1.-The
majesty of the law, while his brothers
were aiding and abetting him. All
three were thus outside the pale. We
speak particularly of this case, because
we find il intutioued i,s an Instance of
the exercise of lynch law. 1t was
nothing of the kind. The Theilhorns
were simply dangerous felons, whom
it was absolutely necessary to secure
for the sake of the public safety
There could be no malice aforethoughG
in the treatment to which they were
subjected. The mob was really main
tanning "tle majesty of the law" and
the slight error which it committed in
going little too far is one which it
would not be difficult to extenuate.
The same reasoning could more just
ly be used in favor of the blacks. They
were armed with constitutional rights,
were violating no law; more, were not
confronted with lawful authority, or
as the Attorney General in his report
says: r-... -...-... ~.
1.-The demand on the militia to give
up their arms was made by persons
oDithout Iat1ful authority to enforce
the demand or receive the arms had
they been surrendered as...s-. 49, e
The mob whichmrrdered the blacks
occupied precisely the seme relation to
the law which the Thielhorns did. and
had the blacks treated them as the
worknen did the Thielhorns, they
would have been entitled to the same
vindication theari6ufle offers in behalf
of the Thielhorns, and the Congress
men who argued in favor of sustaining
the law and protecting the constitu-
tional rights of the citizens, were but
performing simple duty for which
they should be commended, instead of
being sneered at, for unfurling the