Year: 1859

dent of the United Stateo on the afternoon of the
27th the substance Of which stated in the
Washington Constitution as follows:


"The President last evening received telegraph
ic dispatch, dated at Cleveland, from the Marshal
of the Northern District of Ohio stating that the
Supreme Court Of that State had unanimously re-
fused the writ of hdbedS corpus in the case of the
persons in bis custody, under the fugitive slave
law, and that three of the most respectable of
them had given bail for their appearance to stand
their trial before the District Court Of the United
States. Everything was quiet" ......


The obvious implication OF this dispatch was
two-fold frst that Northern repugnance to the
fugitive slave act had received a decided blow
from tho decision of the Supreme Court and sec
ondly, that the hearts Of those who had entertain
ed this repugnance and had actively expressed it,
were fairtihg under the blow. The imprisoned
felt that they could not in honor or in duty, justi
fy the second intmnton Of this singular dispatch,
and that if they were ever to yield it must be
when the cause ,hey loved was not going back
wards, and when their yielding would not accel-
crate its decline. 50 they waited for Better day.
all the time longing to be at homo and about the
business which sorely needed til cir presence, and
suffering under the irksome constrant of prison
life, they eagerly sought the place for honorable
escape They thought they would perhaps find
that place at the clcse of the Langston trial
They assured themselves that the Developments of
that trial woul prove to the Court that if the tes
timony for the Government was justly weighed
and the evidence for the defence was measured as
it should be- of the rescuers could fairly be
convicted, and that the prosecution would be drop
ped. But the end only showed judicial bias
stronger than before, and parzan feeling on the
part of the jury, which could not rest short of a
verdict of guilty.


Thus was the prospect for making honorable
escape, which the imprisoned sought, made dark
er than it bad yet been.


But that they might leave no stone urturned
the imprisoned presented on Wednesday last as
from John Watson one of .beir number an aff-
davit setting forth the facts respecting their i'm
prisonment, and followed it with an appeal from
Mr.. Riddle, in which, reciting again their story
and asserting their rights, they demanded either
speedy trial, discharge from process or such cor
rection OF, or entry spon the Journal as would per-
nit them to occupy. without diseredt to them
}selves, the position they formerly held before the
Court. But the appeal was in vain. bland in
tmation that there no barrier to the liberty OF
the imprisoned but "pnnttAio" and positive re-
fusal 70 90 .hat was asked, was the Only reply
which the court ct to give.


And so the incarccrated company finds itself
Iefectualy shu. out from all relief except such as
it cannot but scorn To sum up the points involv
ed in the above history, the imprisoned are here
because an order Of the court put them here they
stay here because a judicial wrong under witch
tbey suffer is un tedressed and because iournel
entry Of the court will not allow them TO go out
without personal disgrace-the disgrace they would
suffer in virtually acknowledging that they had
been guilty of most foolish action end that they
were ready to sneak away from the dilemma in
which that action had placed them. The self
respect Of the imprisoned. the sense Of honor
which Heaven planted in their souls, and which
trevercd parents carefully nursed, will not permit
them to involve themselves in such disgrace. Ii
could nerer be with them matter of mere "punc-
tlio'' to avoid the dishonor to which their only
chance of escape exposes them. and noW the cir
cumstances in which they are placed and the re-
lation which they sustain to good cause, beset
and impcrrilled by oppressive power, making
what might in another case, be an inconsiderGble
affair." rise into a duty OF the greatest magnitude
The imprisoned canGot allow it to be said
that when Freedom was assailed on her last field
they inglorously dropYed their banner to save
themselves inconvenience and suffering. Taey
are not willing to have even an appearance Of sub
n,ission to tyranical power on their part, become
pledge that the diabolcal Fugitive Slave Act is
hereafter to work its own on the Western Reserve.


II will be observed that in both tho historical
sketch and the summary above presented we (for


Ke will here drop the third person) have laid spe-
cial stress on the necessity for maintaining pro-
test against what wo regard as Judicial tyranny,
and the point Of honor which prevents our liber-
ating ourselves by giving bail. Nothing has been
said with respect the policy our couise This,
however, is matter which has been constantly
kept 10 view We have thought. and still think
that in various ways, a manly and Straightforward
course on our part, would promote our cause
Precisely how the maintaining of our determined
protest against whatwe have regarded as injus-
tice and fasehood. would advance our interests in
tho defence of our cases, it would not be politic
for us to say. In due time we shalt give to ths
public ful! disclosure Of the motives which have
acted on US in this direction, and we believe that
such disclosure will fully satisfy all who have
doubted the propriety of our course, that it has
been wisely taken


We must not close without saying that in all
that we have done, We have cautiously enquired
what is right, and what expedent9 p Nor have
we trusted to our judgment only. We have invt-
ed the counsel of as vice aud jndicious men as we
could reach. and our conclusions have been con-
Quoted by what has seemed to us the decidedly
prepondering opinion of the seven or eight eml-
lawyers with whom we have been in constant
consultation.


And, withal, we have constantly looked for di-
rection to that Superior Intelligence, which gives
"wisdom to oil who seek it and upbraideth not"
At every STEP what we have regarded as manifest
Providence has pointed the way. We still look to
our Divine Guide for direction We know that II
earthly tribunals denyt relief we ask, the high
ar con ri Ia which " Wslookswii a in due time, send