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LOSSES
BY FILANCES.BRONVSI
rpon the white sea sand
There sat I pilgrim hand,
T ,Ri i ig the losses that their Kiel had known,
- Wili!e evening waned away , •
From breezy cliff and bay, : ,.
Si the strong tide went out with ayeary moan.
One spite, with quivering lip,
or a fair freighted ship,
his household to the deep gone down;.
But one had wilder woe,
For a fair face, long ago
L P ; ic the darker depths of a great town..
There were who mourned their youth
With a most loving ruth,
Faits brave hopes and memories ever green:
And one upon the West
Turned an eye that would not rest,
For far Whitt, whereon its joy had been.
Some talked of vanished gold;
Some of proud honors told;
St'a:e 'rake of friends that were their trust no
And ono of a green grave [more ;
13eside a foreign wave, -
Thai made him sit so lonely on the shore.
But when their tales were done,
There spake among them one—
A cranger—seeming from all sorrow free:
Sad loisei have ye met ;
But mine is heavier yet ;
Fare believing heart bath gone from me."
" Alas !" these pilgrims said,
" For the living and the dead ;
Yur fortune's cruelty, for love's sure cross,
For the wrecks of land and sea
But hewe'er it came to thee,
Thine, stranger, is life's last and heaviest loss."
From the Philadelphia Sun
humeri) Williamson Again Free.
It afforded us infinite satisfaction last
week to finJ that PASSNIORE WILLIAM
sus and his legal advisers took our
view in relation to the order filed in
tha U. S. District Coutt by Judge
Kane, on the 29th ult., and thereupon
en Friday presented a petition to the
Cella, which set forth,
That he desires topurge himself of
the contempt because of which be is
now attached, and to that end is will
ing to make trua answers to such in
terrogatoties as may be -addressed to
him by the Court touching the matter
heretofore inquired of by the wtit of
Habeas, Corpus to him directed at the
relation ofJohn H. Wheeler. Where
of he prays that he may be permittted
to purge himself of Said contempt, in
making true answers to such interro
gatories as,may be addressed to him
by the Hon. Court touching the pro:-
mises.
In order to understand plainly the
relative position on — the Judge and
thepetitioner, it is necessary to look
back at the record of the transaction.
When the writ of Habeas Corpus was
issued to PASSMORE WILLIAMSON his
return was as follows :
,' That Jane, Daniel, and Isaiah, or
by whatever names they may be called,
pp? either of them, are no; now, nor
fi►as 0, the time of the issuing of said
writ or the original writ, or at any
pike{ time, in the custody, power or
possession of, nor confined nor re
strained their liberty by him, the said
Passmore Williamson, therefore he
cannot have the bodies of the said
Jame, Daniel and Isaiah, or either of
them, before your - honor, as by the
within writ he is commanded."
Now let us take Judge Kane's own
account of the matter, as given in his
decision,on the 29th July : ,
• "At the hearing I allowed the Tele;
tor to traverse-this returns and -seve
ral witnesses, who were asked by him,
testified to the facts as 1 have recited
them. The District Aporney, upon
this 'state of facts, loved for William
ton's commitnient—l. for ''contempt
. . . • • .
. .
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CO,Iii*RSVORT
in making a false return; 2. to take
his trial , for perjury., . •
"Mr.' Williamson then took the stand
to purge himself . of contempt. He
admitted the facts substantially u in
proof before ; made it; plain that he
had been adviser of the project, and
had given it his confederate.aanction
throughout. He renewed his denial
that he had Control, at any time, over
the movements of the slaves r or knew
their present . whereabouts. Such is
the case,*as it was before me 'on tb
beanng.
a• cannot look upon this return oth
erwise I than as illusory—in legal
phrase, as evasive, if not false. It sets
out that the alleged prisoners, are not
now, and have not been since the issue
of the Habeas Corpus, in , the custody,
power or possession of the .respondent
and iii so far, it uSas legally appeoprt
-ate language fof'such a return. But it
•
goes further, and by added words
gives an interpretation to that lan
guage essentially variant, from its legal
import.
$l.OO
1.25
It denies that the prisoners were
within his power, custody or posses
sion at any time whatsver. Now, the
evidence of respectable, uncontradic
ted witnesses, and the admission of
the respondent himself, establish the
fact beyond controversy, that the pris
oners,!were at ; one. time within his
poWer and control. He was the per
sun by whose couuselthe so-called res;
cue was devised. He gave the di
tendons, and hastened to the pier to
stimulate and supervise their execti
tion. He was the spokesman and the
first actor after arriving there. Of all
the parties to the act of violence, o
he
was the only white mart, the only
citizen, the only individual having re
cognized
political rights, the only per
son whose social training - could cer
tainly interpret either his own duties
or the rights of others under the Con
stitutiou of the land. . •
It would be futile, and worse, to
argue that he who has organized and
guided, and headed a mob, to effect
the abduction and imprisonment of
others—he in whose presence and by
whose active influence the abduction
and imprisonment have been brought
about—might excuse himself from re
sponsibility by the. assertion that it
was not his hand that made • the un
lawful assault, or that he never acted
as the gaoler. Ho who unites with
others to commit a crime, shares with
them all tlae legal liabilities that utteud
on its commission. He chooses his
company and adopts their acts."
This Was the substance of Judge
Kane's remarks, and for these rea
sons Passmore Williamson was con
signed to prison until he should purge
himself of the contempt, which con
sisted in saying that. the ." prisoners"
were nut within his power, custody or
possession, at any time whatever, when
according to the Judge's interpretation
of the evidence, it was established be
yond controversy that they were at
onetime within his power or control.
For this " contempt" Mi. • Williamson
remained incarcerated from July 27th
to November 3d - , when he came into
Court With the petition above recited,
and Judge Kane then addressed him
as follows :
"Pass:non) Williamson—The Court
has received your petition, and upon
consideration thereof, have thought
right to grant the prayer thereof.
You will therefore make here, iu open
court, your solemn affirmation, that
in the return heretofore made by you
to the writ of habeas corpus which
issued from this court at the relation
of John H. Wheeler, and to• the pro
ceeding consequent thereupon, you,
have not intended a contempt of this
Court or of its process : Moreover,
that you are now willing to make true
answers to such interrogatories as may
be addressed to; you by' ttie Court,
toughing the prernises inquired, of . in
the said . writ of habeas corpus"
,
'Here was permission granted to do
exactly What Mr. Williiittison, three
months, before, had_fully performed to
the' extent , of his _ability.. lie had,
DEVOTED,. TO THE PRINCIPLES OF LIEMOCRACY,ANb 'THE DISSEMINATION OF MORALITY, LITERATVRE;AND'IONVS.
OTTER COUNTY, PA.,
through Charles Gilpin;Esq.; his court-,
sal; said he .‘ had complied with the
usual form in making a return to the
habeas corpus, and -had denied ;the
custody now or at.any time. ' If not
deemed sufficient, it would he neces
sary to take other step's or other forms.
The- prosecution had his remedy in
civil action for" damaged against- the
offending parties,"- and - thar he" de
sired tio' put in a' complete return, and
then be permitted to -go without bail
as- baring made 'sufficient answer,"
The man who 'complied with 1111 the
usual forms, and expressed his 'desire
to put in a complete return, and an
swered all questions propounded to
him before he was sent to prison; is
graciously permitted to swear that he
intended no contempt, and is willing
not to perjure himself in , the premises!
This affirmation : having been made in ,
the form indicated by the Judge, he
asked District Attorney Van Dyke if
he had any suggestion- to make, and of
course Mr. Van Dyke desired to pro
pound a question, which the Judge
directed him to submit to Williamson's
counsel, which was done in Writing, as
follows :
"Did you, at the time of the service
of the writ of habeas corpus, at the re
lation of John H. Wheeler, or at any
time during the period intervening be
tween the service . of said writ and the
making of your return thereto, seek to
obey the mandate of said, writ, by
bringing before the Honorable Court
the persons of the slaves therein men
tioned
"If to this interrogatory you answer
in the affirmative state fully and partic
ularly the mode in which you sought
so to obey said writ, and all that you
did tending to that end."
Mr. GILPIN then said Mr. WILLIAM
SON was perfectly willing to answer
the interrogatory submitted to the
District Attorney, but as he did not
know what other interrogatories might
follow this ) 'he thought it best that it
and its answer should be filed. Mr.
VAN DYKE said he was willing either
to file the interrogatory or to submit
it for an immediate reply. Mr. GtLrly
and Judge K.txa both remarked that
they had understood the District At
toruye to intimate that if the question
propounded • was answered in the 1
affirmative he would be satisfied. The 1
Court further said that it was for the
petitioner to make his election whether
or not the interrogatories and the re
plies should be filed. After consulta
tion, the counsel of Mr. WILLIAMSON
elected to have the interrogatories
and answers filed; Mr. VAN DYILE
accordingly filed the interrogatory;
and Mr. WitaAnstsom and his counsel
then retired to' deliberate. After a
brief absence they returned and Mr.
Gir.roz read an answer, but Mr. VAN
DYKE objected to its form, as evasive
and ~.not a simple answer "yea" or
"14 t"
to the query. Judge KANE said
the answer was liable to exceptions,
but he thought the game matter might
be so expressed as to relieve it from
all objections; that the answer to the
first clause was a distinct negative,
but that Mr. WHltAirsorr had a per- 1
feet right to explain the answer in such
a manner as he deemed necessary..
The
The Judge was also of opinion that
the answer to the second clause might
likewise be coupled with an explana
tion, for if the defendant were to simply
reply "no" to it, he migh. then be
charged with contempt in nut seeking
to obey the mandate of the Court, and
therefore he had a right to explain that
he thought it useless to make -seam h
after the negroes. The answer of Mr.
WILLIAMSON was as follows :
"I did not Seek to obey the writ by
producing the persons therein mention
ed before Court because I bad not, at
the time of the service of the writ, the
power over, the custody' or contra of
them, and therefore it was impossible'
for me to do so. I first heard 'of the
writ of habeai corpus on Friday, July
20, betiveen 1 and 2 o'clock, : A. M.,
on my return from Harrisburg. 'After
breakfiet, about 9 o'clock, I-went from
DVE MBE R 'l5; 1855.:
my' house to Mr. Hopper's office, when:
and where the return was prepared.
"At 10 o'clock' I cameinto Colirt r ati
commanded by the' writ. I sought to
obey the writ, by answering it truly ;
the parties not .being in,my possession
or control, it aas impossible for me to
obey- the writ by producing- them.
Since the service of the,-.writ I lave
not' had .the custody,' possession
power ever theta ;.nor .:have known:
Where they,were,, except fl.om - common
rumor or the tusetspaper teports in Tel
gaud; te.their public appearance in the
city, or elsewhere." •.‘ • ',-
Upon the reception sit.this Answer,
quite an animated diascussion ensued.
Mr. VAN DYKE objected to it as eva
sive and deceptive, because WILLI/ 4 w
soil was asked to state whether at any
tithe since the service of the writ and
the return, he had sought to obey Its
mandates, and jf so, in what - manner,
and he argued that the answer was
not in the terms of the query, and
therefore not a clear, full, and uneva
sive answer. He asked that the in
terrogatory,be again propounded to
the respondent to answer it directly,
one way or the other, in the terms of
the interrogatory, first, whether he
did seek to obey the mandate of the
writ, and, if so, then state to the Court
the manner iu which he sought to obey.
its mandate?. That there' Can 'be no
misapprehensiOn as to the meaning of
the termiheliad used in the interroga
tory, the answer should be yea or , nay;
if yea; then how; if nay, there is an
end to the question. If the terms of
the interrogatory were not definite, it
was the duty of the defendant's coun
sel to object to them and let them be
amended. Mr. GILP/N said.that hedid
nut understand that where an interrog
atory was put to a party before the
Court, with a view to purge himself;
Or elicit further information, . the con-;
tents of the return were to be answer-
ed 'simply yea or nay, withoUt being
permitted, in connection with the
answer, to give facts explanatory of
the yea or nay, and to inform the Court
of the facts arising out of the terms
put in the writ ; and if, therefore, a
defective form of inquiry be used in
the interrogatory, it is not for the re
spondent, placed in a peculiar position,
to correct the terms of the interrog
taory. If the interrogatory be defec
tive, by the ordinary rule of, pleading,
the party first in default must go back
again and correct his error. Mr. VAN
Drat offered to alter the' form of the
interrogatory, but Mr. GILPIN said it
had not yet been objected to, and that
two 'questions had. beetr propounded :
First, as to whether the defendant
had sought to obey the writ ; and sec
ondly, how. If the answer was full, it
was only such as was necessary to ex
planation. If the reply was not re
sponsive, it was not for the want of an
honest effort to make it so. The de
sire not to evade was at least evident.
Judge Kane gave it as his . ..impress
sion that a direct answer could be
given thus': did not, at the time
. the first branch of the
question, seek .to obey the mandate of
the writ by bringing into Court the
persona of the slaves therein mention
ed, because, &c." And " 1 did not so
seek, because, &c." Mr. Meredith
said the difficulty arose from the am-.
biguity about the word "seek," and
he could not see what answer the de
ndant, could :make' other than that'
offered. He had no control over the
slaVes. He explains so, and gives a
direct answer to the question asked
him. Judge Kane said he was as
auxious as any one to throw no un
necessary difficulty iu the 'way of the
settlethent of this matter. The Dis
trict Attorney had a right to explain
his meaning for the word as he had
applied it. Mr. Meredith' said he
would suppose a ,case a person
commanded teproducethe body, of a
perion he , never 'saw. • How could he
reply, to the question " Did you seek
fur him I" J udge Kane said the re
ply proper in such a case, would be,
I did not seek, because," &c. Mr.
Vandyke eniAle topkihe.dictionary
1:.1 PC?
•., :
meaning of thi l Wordl"'iseeii." ''lf 'ft
were necessary to add the definitions :
of Walker and" other
I ho wou/d do so,, - Hellefineds the mord
as he undenitoodits meaning.: Sage'
Kand'again repented ihe opinion'that
if"thoTe was
, 9y r thip ,e4l4vocnl, about'
the interr05ai:0xy,.4,;4 , ,40,a03,1y.41904
say 4!).. If it. WU.
, not equivocal, be:
should answer directly in' the affirrativl
tiro - or ' negative,. arid idd 'his 'reitierne,
for.doing so.. ' The
~i , udge 010.1%14 the
difficulty, could be eas i ly . overcomc h hy,
amending the answer, and ;At' the sup',
gestion of the Couit,it was `aheeded'
i,it .
in the following manner': , - -
• ' " I did not seek to obey the writ
by producing the person's in the writ
mentioned before this Court.
_"I did not so seek, because I verity
believed that it . was entirely inspossi-.
ble for me to &educe the sai(tfiersoni
agreeablY team ' command.', of the
Court." 4 .
The answer in this form was then
accepted by the: Court, and ordered
to be filed, and we might suppose the
difficulty would end here, but Mr.
Van Dyke submitted another. inter;
rogatory, the effect of which was to
inquire of Mr. Willia - mson whether
or not he had made•any mental reser- .
vationin the answeealready made to-the .
interrogatory propounded. BurSiidgle
Kane; Without waiting for any objec
tion" to this interrogatory, overruled"
it, saying:be considered it objectiona
ble, as the answer of the defendant
must be taken as a matter of course,
and no inquiry .could be made such, as
that contemplated by the interrogatory. ,
Mr. VAN DYKE then withdrew thiii
interrogatory, but ofTered , another,
which wasaltio overruled, as it tended'
'to elicit such_ replies as : had already:
been objected to, and so Mr. Van Dyke
also withdreiv that, and Judge Kane
remarked that the DistriCt :Attorney
had been invited to aid' the COurt in
this case, but that" he would bear in
mind that his relation to Mr. Wheeler
was now suspended. This was only
an inquiry as to what injury had been
done the process of the :Court. Mr.
Van Dyke said he was aware of the
position he occupied. Judge Kane"
then declared : "The contempt is now
regarded as purged and the party is
released from custody. He is: now
reinstated to the position he Occupied
before the contempt Was committed.
Mr. Williamson is now before rneron
the return to the writ." •
Mr. Van Dyko, . who, in this affar
• .•
has exercised the dual position of a
federal prosecuting
_officer and the
private counsel for Col. Wheeler, then
laid down the dignity
. of his District
Attorneyship, and appearing as the
counsel for the Colonel, said suit had
been brought by his _client against
Passmore Williamson its- Ale •Circuit :
Court, for the • recovery of. damages.
These closing remarks of 'Mr. Van
Dyke will be 'found in our local col-.
un3ns, after the delivery of which.
Meredith , asked the Court, ".Is Mr.
Williamson discharged 7" to which
Judge Kane replied, "He is—l 'un
derstand from the remarks of the Die;
trict Attorney, that a nolle prosequr
has-been entered in .the case in this
Court," and so Passmore Williamson
was exempted from the judicial restraint
which he has borne with.firmness and.
dignity. Will our. readers study
the facts of this case .1 -Look at , the
lenity of Judge Kane now, compared
with his acrimony and despotism last
July, and say if . this Passcriore Wil
liamson case has not inflicted as deep
a stain upon his judicial character Jul
his notorious politcal letter of 184441 id
upon his private reputation! What
• has Passmore Williamson conceded ;
what-done now which he refused to do
formerly' 1 1 / 4 tothing, 'absolutely both
ng I How; then,is . tlia deep . Wtong,'
the marked indignity, and the shame- . '-
ful outrage he has sutrered,- to ba re
paired • Regard:this question, Ame.
rice fre3men, as its importance de
mands ; for you or we may, bethe next
victims of such despotic power.. -
•
ME
s:yl tfe/PP,MigICIM...
,QyrrMena, -14 n: ;Attach Ins,
Itio4 Co.; - *rid% to us:imprints-boa..
neas.*aya:
"I notice a soggilsnonialoarpepet
o f q`.9 fth ll J t 4. - O.°PR -0 4.0 - Fetid**
:CoegtTsto imp ea ch,
g004,,g5 , .
.)14. 4 q144tTiptis, well ifeetneone,llQ4,
:preft,Tio a, ?e9Rei!" ) _a_Pa.
eiun statement:,
''
of the 't'?tß9Fl l .
a pamplet form, so that -theiienolo
geiloripit 411j'gei! it iigtit'iitivrsofit
w hipliTittlik'o4"ha'vg "nieacitto;
fcoQi't~p £ ranter i'n' Which mans `fit=
pees hays hoticedit , (rniititnot:iityin
anithing itht;izt it at
This is" a . food iskgiestion. The
Williamson case is'one of tranicentieni
importance. He is now the rep -eaten
wive of a pri nciple itk
ta . issue noth ing lea,s,t4arttO PeF.5,
lihorty of sr ; ia
.every, . 11 W 1 .: 2 .‘1 1 4
the, nation. '4:JR4ae.44ne , frit 2404-
ed in his tyranical, usurpatine,,,thea
every man's liberty is at, the mercy of
United Stites Judges. Nothitivlcus
than this solema impeachment will
vindicate insulted justice, and deter
other judicial- tyrants- from - like, eg
greigions. But that :the people may
be induced to 'petition generally for .
this object, they must be wellinformud
of ibe . facts, in tile.ease;" and of the fut
pOrtanceoi l the Issue involved. l3ee co
the neCesieily Of such a 'statement of
,
the case fur general
. circulation,; • sa
our correspcmdenfiuggests: Will
!Anne one competent to the task pr.:.
pare and publish ' .it I—Free .Preskyto.
xlip , There is hope, 'for the pooi.t
Tlitinks to the God of the. poor for Cie
generous harvest` hand: The
coining winter is already .'disartned of
mild' ()fits dread, and the nightmare
Of corroding care Bits less heavily upl4,
and of thottaanda ' oC weary - ones:—
There are not so many 'quivering lip.
When the young are looked upon.
a little deduction in the price of bread
when earnings are so scanty, lets mt.!
hope :beam into the dark• places.
The famine manufacturers are at
fault. .Earth's unbosomod wealth hat
been so , generally bestowed, that the:so
sharks can make less of human woo.
Plenty,is holding a carnival and C..,
joy. of harvest fullness is everrwherd.
Famine himself is compelled to est
and forget his dismal, .crnakingt a ; :4
haggard
It is most time for the annual girl ,g
down of stereotyped gospel about I-4-
membering the poor. . And a blessr I
gospel it is too, the gospel , of the Chri .t
who was= himself so % poor,,
preached, we fear, than
,practised.,
is easier to say - good thing than to el
good deeds. Many , there are;-aud
may Gred bless them everywhere !
Who' go "about • dbing gaud: Others
want their goOd deeds duly. remit:a:4 .
on the book' of their “Soeiety"- era
read . of all: • B'et let °deft of ur,'.'ittitc
friends, hien 'stiCietY Out awn; int!
i'henevet %%% fi n d needy-,.give
g nerous yo w aeGed - h thgive - u".
The .. acts' fdrgitten.': 'By • 1,.
side . Of warni "_prayers they will atf he)
found on reciard" at last '
Take stock is Heatex
Chief. " •
ar.Wanted. . Altar. aie a .druin.•
mertcr boat time for; the•march of b
tellect.
A pair of snuffers for the light: of
other days. .
A loose pulley to work the shift or
envy. . ,
A ring that will fit the. fingar
Scoria.
.• - •
A new cue on for the. .
seat iv,.
eminent. . •
The notes to the tune the bl'd coif
died - on. . : i..
4 - toistt ft oiri theSiltet;LakolSerii
17‘, , i'MArtha..bafe youlungui tkie
Clothes," -
U Ni) madam, I placed'
state otatispemiiimiiiiii
11
Fl
t. 3f .
itc , •'
IREEI
SEIM