National Republican., 1880-03-11
,ne year at Albany and fine, amount en-.


bezzled.
The men convicted AMI sentenced to i'm
prisonment and fine for distilling were poor,
ignorant, iliterato mon from the coves ana
hollows of tho Blue Ridge Mountains, in the
counties Of Patrick and IIoury. These men,
for dstilling few gallons Of cheap corn
whisky lin ono case It amounted IN four gal
Ions only. were sentenced to year at hard
labor and fine Of 800, that might as woll
have been $1,000, for they arc too poor 10 pay
either sum. Two OF them are old men-onS
feeble whito-hairod man over sixty years OF
age, and leaves n large. helpless family, with
scant clothing and littlo food whlo VI. Fl.
Trodway for three years was a trusted officer
In the Collectors Office two years of the time
tho stamp.lcpuLy, handling all tho money!
man of good sense and fair education, with
wife and nine or tan children, three of thom
grown danght tors, living In his own house, his
wife au educated aud accomplished ndy. lie
Is the son of an oS;judgc, aud has throe
brothers, lawyers, aud married, ana
several sisters tho slime. This man.
receiving salary of $500 year, re-
spoccd. trusted, and moving In tho best
socioty-this man takes several hundreds
(eight or nne) Of dollars received IN payment
for stamps, runs away as far as Mississippi,
returns, and by tho help of his family con-
nectiOns pays back tho money, stands his Trial,
is ably defended by FIVE lawyers, every means
of legal defense taken aud appeals made, and
yet tho jury find him, as they found the poor
ignorant, ragged mouutainccr distillers, guilty.
Aud the judge mGtes out TO him the same
punishment Then what follows? Because
ho has father and mother who arc old, and
brothers and sisters who havo respectable
families aud because he has u wiie and tcn
children, huge petition is gotten up and court,
jury and attorney sign it. with u hundred or
81 Of others, tO implore the President to pardon
fnr "a rui IN liml that
he was not guilty, but because he has rc.
spectacle family, respectable brothers, sisters,
father and mother. And not word Is
spoken for those poor, Ignorant, illiterato dis
tillcrs, whose crime compared to his is rs n
child's pecCddillo In the scales of n pure aud
just morality. No one takes up n pen to
writo 10 tho President in that poor, feeble,
gray.haircd mau's behalf! Political ante
cedents aud affiliations ought not to bo re-
mcmbcrcd in such cases, 1t is true; but when
il is remembered that the father Of this con-
vctcd felon, NJ. Ii. Tredway, was tho Circuit
judge who refused the prayer OF tho two Roy
nods prisoners, colored mon, who prayed TO
be allowed to have half the jury, or six jurors,
negroes or colored mon, whose cause has beon
recently decided by tho Supreme Court, and
when it Is remembered that he, Judge William
VI. Tredway, was one of tho loudest and Bit
terest of all those who abused aud bounded
Judge Rivcs for having the County Court
judges indicted, which the same Supreme
Court also affirmed
PAST REMEMBRNNCEs
And when many Republicans have cause to
remember how bitter, truculcnt aud vndic-
tive lie was, oven when he was sitting as n
judge, against white and colOred Republicans
saying openly (protcctel rs he thought him
self that gentlemen of character aud social
standing disgraced themselves by walking tho
street with the white Republican who was his
immediate predecessor on the bench" and
who, that Same Republican predecessor, had,
at his own expense of time and money, aided
him in obtaining the removal of his political
disabilities. In view OF this, we feel assured
that every liberal spirit that loves right and
hates wrong will mako allowance for this po-
| litlcal note.
Those humble mountaineGrs, who violated
tho law more through Ignorance Of its pro-
visions and severity than opposition to it,
voted for Grant, or ono did and vote ai often
with the Republicans as for Democrats
The ombez2ler, his father, brothers, are all bit
ter opponents Of the Republican party. Sup
pose the President pardons tho stamp deputy
aud does not pardon nor even inquire into
tho cases Of the crooked distillers, Bowman
Adams and Cassidy, what will their families,
relatives and connections say2 What will all
the good citizens of Patrick say but that there
seems to be one law aud one measure for Dan
Vile and another for Patrick? The lover of
justice will simply say, feeling that it will
always bo so, in the words Of Shakespeare:
Plate stu with gold, and the strong lance Of JUS
tico hurtlcsI breaks
Arm II in rags piSmy's straw doth pierce IT."
REPUBLICAN.