Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-03-01

Tennessee VS.. Missouri, and What the Trl-
bune calls q Pointed Letter." etc.
As will be remembered, published some
days ago in the DAILY CHRONICLE, over my
own signature, plain account of the kill
ing of Vanbeber and Cawood by Kincaid
in 1865, without attempting to picture the
horrors of the murder.
Governor Crittenden starts out in his
letter to Governor Hawkins by telling him
of the issuance of his warrant ON a requisi-
ton delivered him by man representing
himself to be Henderson Rogers, but for
reasons which appeared then, and which
are now both satisfactory and conclusive,
he directed revocation and return of the
warrant Now, what are those reasons
which are 80 satisfactory and conclusive to
the Governor? Are they that John Kin
caid, alias Hough, was a man after Gov
ernor Crittenden's OWE heart III time of the
war-a rebel guerrilla, lighting down upon
honest, unoffending, peaceable citizens, in
the nighttime, and numbering them and
robbing them of every valuable they could
carry awayl hope the Governor was not
that kind of man then, but John kincaid
was; and Gov Crittenden now becomes ac-
cessary after the fact to these crimes. Is 1t
because John kincaid, alias Hough, muir
dsred John Vanbeber while he made him
kneel down before him and in one hour
after went into the house of David Cawood,
as honest and peaceable man as ever lived,
and there i'll the house, while he was beg
ging for his life, and his wife begging and
praying them not to hurt him, and his little
children crying pitiousiy, while they broke
his skull with their pistols and shot hum SIX
times just as they jerked hum out at the
door, killing him instantly! Are these the
reasons that induced Gov. Crittenden to re-
woke his warrant? He said he wanted to
get at the facts in this case. If he were par
ticular about getting them, he would lind
them just as ! have written them. But has
not the Governor shown by his own conduct
that he prefers to take the statements of
Kincaid's projectors in Vernon County, Mo-?
Yes, even the statement of Kincaid himself,
because all the people of Vernon County
know about the murder is what he has told
them-rather than sworn testimony from
Tennessee. Who doubts that if Kincaid had
been some Guinea negro from Georgia, had
left his native State for killing some rebel,
who, with shotgun in hand, was try
ing to intimidate him from voting the
Republican ticket; or had stolen bushel of
cotton seed, Governor Crittenden would
have said, Take him and welcome; take
him, we have no use for him; take him and
hang the black rascal" But when John
Kincaid, murderer Of the blacklist dye, and
robber, because, forsooth, he was rebel,
and murdered men in war-times, he is not
to be delivered up. And the Governor tries
to justify his action i'll the premises under a
provision of the constitution of his State.
| Does that provision mean, that if man de-
| hberately murdered his fellow-man, in his
own house, by his own freside, because it
was done IN time of war, he is not to be
punished for it? Is that the construction
Governor Crittenden is giving that provis-
ion? Governor Crittsnden tried to Justify
his course by the action of Governor Sew.
ard, of New York, in 1889, which, I sup
pose, was case of slave stealing. Does
he mean by the position he takes, that q
man could not, under the constitution OF
Missouri, be punished in that State for will
full, cold blooded murder, simply because il
was done in time of war, and the man who
did it claimed to belong to the rebel army
The Governor puts up an excuse that the
man who bore the requisition to the State
| of Missouri, behaved in a manner unwor
| thy of Governor Hawkins confidence, anG
unworthy our historic State. And yet he
fails to state any of the unbecoming con
duct, except that one of the party repre-
sented himself to be Mayes, deputy
sheriff, &c. A terrible crime! The Gov
ernor, in his enthusiasm, to justify his OWL
wrong, forgets that they were then after
murderer, who for seventeen long years hae
concealed himself from the officers of thu
law under the false name of Hough. "Oh
consistency thou art a jewel, indeed
much to be admired" but never to be founs
IN the action of Governor Crittenden in thi
case. He says he is satisfied that the mai
who bore the requisition was not Henderson
Rogers nor Mayes, but John c. Rogers, an.
that he gets this information from the aft
davits of some of the best citizens O
Vernon County. say that 1 am acquainte
with every man who went after Kincaid
and say that the man who bore the Cover
nor's requisition and represented himself t
be Henderson Rogers, was Henderson
Rogers, and the man who swore it was no
Henderson Rogers and that it was John c
Rogers, or that such man was along q
John =. Rogers, is q perjured scoundrel, b
he one of the best and most reliable citizen
OF Vernon County, or rebel guerrilla c
that county helping to thwart the design
of the law by threatening mob violence t
honest citizens who happened to 60 with
the borders of their county, by authority
the Governor of great State, to arrest an
bring to trial and to justice, a murderer an
a robber.
If Governor Crittenden wants to get
the facts of the murder with which Kincai
is charged, why don't he send to Tennesss
for information from those who are We
acquainted with the affair, instead of sendir
to the murderers friends in Vernon Coun
and getting the statements indirectly of Il
murderer himself? And when he was i
Quoted into the high office Ct Governor
Missouri and swore that he would suppo
the Constitution of the United States, tt
people of Tennessee would like to kno
whether or not he took that oath with
mental reservation as to the I'd clause of Il
4th article of that instrument, which say
= "A person charged in any State with tre'
ia son, felony or other crime, who shall fl
i from justice and DO found in another Stat
a. shall. on demand of the executive authori
IS of the State from which he fled, be d
&c &c lfyered up to be removed to the State ha
ing jurisdiction Of the crime" Did Il
y. governor swear that he would support
except when murderer, who had he'd fro
justice and changed his name, to escape Il
punishment his crimes so richly desery
should be demanded by the executive of
sister State.
Governor Crittenden seems to thi,
the Constitution, in the sect,
just quoted, is only dictatory and n
compulsory. If language has any meanin
that section has but one meaning, and
one but designing person, will claim IL
it means but one taing. And if Govern
Rice or any other Governor ever yiolat
the Constitution, il this respect, and the
of Congress, does that justify Govern
Crittenden in violating it, also? But anotf
very futile excuse advanced by Govern
Crittenden, for not delivering Kincaid,
that the Indictment is bad. That is abe
az mueh hia h,1 &c as IL ia mine living