The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-17
JUDGE VINCENTS REMOVAL.
Mr. Fishback Replies to the Charges Made by
Vincent Against Rev. 0. P. McMainS.


is addressed to the President, and in which the
ex Chief-justice protests most vigorously against
the action of the President in removing him
from Office He says the sole charge against
him was that preferred by me, viz: that he had
appointed S. W. Dorsey jury commissioner for
Colfax county, New Mexico. My letter, which
was addressed to the Commissioner of the Land
Office was written after had seen a Colfax
county newspaper which contained the proceed
lngs Of Judge Vincent's court showing Dor
sey's appointment. The letter referred to exec
utlve document No. LOG, printed By order of the
United States Senate in February last That
document shows that Mr.. Dorsey and other gen.
tlemen in Colfax county are in possession Of
large tracts of public land, claiming title through
fraudulent pre- emption and homestead claims.
said in the letter that hoped Judge Vincent
in appointing Dorsey, had acted in ignorance of
the facts, but that feared not, for the reason
that extracts from that document were pub
lished in the Territorial papers during the sum-
nner. 1t seems that my letter was sent to the
President, who Immediately removed Judge
Vincent from Office without a hearing. Judge
Vincent has seen my letter. and any one else
who cares 20 can see it on the files at the Land
Office. At the time, was very much surprised
at the suddenness of Judge Vincents removal
but since have seen his letter to the President
am satisfied that he is unfit for the place and
that he is dishonest and untruthful man. The
special complaint have to make against Judge
Vincent now is the manner in which he aludes
to my brother in-law, the Rev 0. P. McMains
who has resided in New Mexico about fifteen
years. He says that, during the September
term of the Colfax county court he decided two
causes against McMains, at which he was
much incensed, and that doubtless he caused
his brother-inaw Fishback to prefer the charge
which resulted in his suspension. have not
seen Mr. McMains since August and have
neither communicated with him nor received
any communication from him since that time
He knew nothing about the letter that | wrote
to Commissioner Sparks and had nothing to
do, directly or indirectly. in suggesting it. 1
got the information as to Dorsey's appointment
from Colfax county paper which has been
coming to me regularly for three years. The
public document to which | refer was sent to me
at my request, by Senator Harrison some time
in the month of September, l did tell Wee
president Hendricks what Judge Vincent had
done, and that | contemplated writing letter to
Commissioner Sparks about it. He said that
| would do what was right. AS to Mr.. Nc
Mains being dangerous and VIC
lent incendary. let make this
statement Some time in the year 1876 Mr.
Toby, formerly of Jasper county, Indiana, was
Methodist missionary in Colfax county. New
Mexico. In some of his rrtulic utterances, he
took occasion to denounce the ring of thieves
then organized in the Territory for the purpose
OF stealing the valuable mines and lands belong
ing to the United States One dav his dead
n Ia 10
the back His valuables were left on his person,
showing that the assassin did not desire to rob
him. The friends of Mr.. Toby were morally
certain tnat his murder had been instigated by
the men whose practices he had denounced, but
they had proof of the facts. My brother-in-
law, Mr.. McMalns, was appointed in the place of
Mir Toby, and, III travelling about. ascertained
facts enough to justify the apprehension of two
Mexicans, who had been the struments of assas-
sination Mr. Tolby's friends seized these Mex
leans and procured confession from them which
implicated some Of the rascals whose displeasure
Mr. Toby had incurred. Mr.. McMains was
present. After the confession obtained, he
demanded and procured promise from the
men who had the Mexicans in custody that no
harm should be done them, saying that it was of
the utmost Importance that they should not be
injured because the only hope of convicting the
real murderers in preserving the evidence of
the men who had been hired to do it. He
then went away, and went to bed at
neighbors's house some miles distant
After he had left the place, violent measures
were resorted to, and the Mexicans were
lynched. The people of Colfax county know
and knew then that McMans had no agency in
the murder. The Santa Fe ring also knew it,
but they were determined to kill him if they
could. ColfaX county had the largest American
population Of any county in the Territory Taos
county lies west of Colfax county, and is almost
exclusively populated by Mexicans who are ali
Catholics. The Santa Fe ring procured the
Territorial Legislature to enact law giving
nSclI SiyyoI lint1a IS 1ff0
committed III Colfax county. The grand jury
of Taos county, composed exclusively of Mexican
Catholics, who could not speak English, were
notl long in lndicting Methodist preacher who
had incurred the dislike of the Santa Fe gang.
McMains was promptly indicted for murder.
In March, 1877, l received a dispatch from
New Mexico to the effect that McMains was be-
ing taken across the mountains, a distance of
seventy miles, to the county seat Of Taos county,
to be tried on charge of murder. l immedi-
ately went to Washington and through the kind
intercesson of Col. r. w. Thompson, then Sec
rotary of the Navy, whom l accompanied to
Washington City procured an interview with
President Hayes He referred me to General
Devens, the Attorney general, who sent dis
patch to Governor Axtell, directing him to send
a courier to Taos county with order to the
authorities to suspend further pro-
ceedings against McMains, and they
ops of the Methodist Church became in
terested in the case, and at my request Bishop
Bowman went to New Mexico to look into the
matter. The result of it was that change of
was granted to Mora county, the county
Immediately south of Cofax where, upon
trial, the jury returned verdict of guilty in the
fifth degree, and assessed fine of 5000 The
verdict was based upon the technical ground
that McNIains, having been present when the
Mexicans were apprehended and made con-
fesslon, was In some degree responsible for what
followed though he had done everything in his
power to prevent extreme measures. Mr.. Nc
Mains was not willing to rest under this verdict,
and applied for and obtained a new trial at once.
The Indictment was afterwards nolle pressed, and
that was the end of it. Judge Vincent speaks of
his trial and conviction and intimates in his let
ter that Mr.. McMains was personally guilty of
cowardy murder. There is no in Colfax
county more respected than Mr. McMains. and
at the last election for members of the Terri
tnrial Iecisatnra Ia WAS chosan tnemher Of