ti je poet's Corner,
Jtor (kt Agitator,
A TALEQIf pa? SEA SNAKE.
A uvrt» onco,irUh taleota r«r«, 1 //
As ail out hone«t lawyer* are*
By telegraph, br otherwise
Did leapt the news with great , ,
That they had caught—a monctrooß snakel
Away tip north in Silver I*ke.
With til dispatch and might and main,
He harried to the lightning train;
And once on hoafdf with Eagle's flight
Us ipod day and night,
And no repose dr sleep did take
Until he’d seen the monster snake.
At a.hotel quite near the Lake
The stronger did bis lodging take;
A pound of crackers ond some choose
Added now vigor to his knees.
Ere Phoc]me did her debut make,
He bod trail down to Silver Lake.
** Ah bar* said bo while on his way,
“ Uow glad 1 am I came this way.
Hqw few will dare to undertake
, To come so far to see a snake I”
> The sight he saw there nous can tell,
Uethlnks the wise might guess it well.
Though ho himself will norm* «Ky
4o»t what be saw upon that day,
As he with sad heart turned away
And «iW, u I fn Mid without my pay I"
Perhapo ha saw tbo ropos and stakes
Wjth which they bopud the king of snakes;
Or raw the spot Where be had lain,
Or pieces of the heavy chain;
But not the snake, for he hail gone
And so our hero loft Airtdwn
With rrrary limbs and aching head
The lawyer hastened to his bvd,
To drvam uf monstrous captured snakes
That hail been wen in Sihvr I.oke ;
Ifpt onitbat spot since, 'I is «dd by mep, .
Nor snake nor lawyer has Iran seen.
tiUU Deu, Stf*. 15. ' - *'VoarB«T«»sJ , iMUA.
THE CASE OF PASSMORE WIL
LI AMS 0 A
Statement by Ills Father,
To the Editor of the North American and V. S. Ga-
zeiu
in an editorial o( vour paper of the 12ili
insi., is cunmmed a paragraph as follows, viz :
‘•Now we lake occasion 10 say lhal, in our
liiogmeni, ipe manner of intervention of Mr.
Williamson iVas ill-advised, especially ns mea
surably ni least, n was attended by violence.
\Ve are not lawyers enough to determine
whether a habeas corpus could have been sued
out lor the adjudication of the rights of I hose
staves; but we presume if Mr. Wheeler could
have trot a habeas corpus to recover litem,
Mr.-Williamson could have got one to rescue
them in the first instance. If he could, then
he was wrong in whai he diu. By pursuing
another course a great scandal and a great
danger might have been averted : but we are
constrained to admit lhai me active partisans
of the Anli-Slaverv cause are not much ad
dicted 10 discreet or circumspect words or
acts Thev have a singular knack of pulling
themselves, their friends, and liieir cause in
the wrong.’’ oc.
11 appears to me that this paragraph of your
editorial imports censure in a wrong direction,
ana is calculated to mislead instead of en
lighten the public mmn in regard to ihe facts
connected with the late alleged “abduction”
of Ihe Wheeler slaves: and also in regard to
Ihe general inode ol proceeding hv ihe Acting
Committee and other officers ol the “Pennsyl
vania Abolition Sodieiv” (commonly so cal
led.) irom ns lirn existence; (in 1782) lo iho
present lime' “lor'lhe relief of free negroes
unlaw full) held in point ige”—(a purpose for
which the Society.in 1789. was incorporated)
—and never dep.irien irom hv them except,
a* in mis ensn. under me pressure ol absolute
nccessttu. " r wna -d inn one 1 liev believed
i. ne ne i. linn-i- no person, I apprehend,
a’ all I nnrhar with the nnerniion.'- of lhal Su
cieii in such cases us the late one, hut knows
laa its Acting Committee land ngeniN when
ever eircumsianccs were such as rendered it
practicable lo ao so. na'e uniiorniiv had re
course io me writ of habeas corpus, and for
reasons too obvious to require lo be staled.
Then what were Die real lads which ren
dered the resort lo a writ of habeas corpus in
the case of W heeler’s slaves an impossibility ?
Sufficient are within mv knowledge, and 1
will stale Diem as briefly as 1 can.
Passmore Williamson is mv son, and is
associated wuh me m business at the S. VV.
corner of Seventh and Arch-sis. That he is
a member of the Society aforesaid, and Sec
retary of ns Acting Committee, has already
been repeatedly staicn. On I lie 18ih of the
Cieventh monlh (July) lasi, at full o’clock
P. M., I was standing by his side al his desk,
nnen William Still, clerk at the office of ihe
Anii-Slaverv Society, entered our office, and
laid on Passmore’s desk in front of me, an
open and almost illegibly written note, which
l nicked up, and having with difficulty read,
iianoeu it to Passmore who also read it, The
suusiance of ihe inlormanon it contained was,
ina; mere were al Biondgood » Hotel, on Wal
nut s,. wnarf, three slaves, with their master,
wno had brought them there, unci wasmiend
ing 10 take them thence to New York by the
u o clock line: that said slaves desired 1 heir
treeuom, and a request that some one would
immeamelv come down and aliend to the case.
■Sm proposed that they should resort in ihe
wri. oi habeas corpus, as usual in such ci
ses. id winch Pissinorc replied, “that il was
impossible lo do so.’ - and assigned two rea
son-. is;, “thai mere was then no Judge in
me city, so far as he knew, who had amhori
i' to grant the wri; and 2d, “ihere was noi
sufficient lime lo procoure the wiu.ond lo
have it served, even if a Judge were at hand
to grant i'. ” He, Passmore, being then par-
Ocularly engaged with business preparatory
to leaving Ihe city that evening, by ihe 11
o clock tram of cars for Harrisburg, lo allchd
an election of officers of a telegraph compa
ny , next cfiiv al that place, stated it was im-
Praciicable then to go himself, and requested
bun to proceed immediately to Bloodgood’s,
ana attend ns well as he could lo Ihe slaves
and their rights: and if he could do no more,
to endeavor to see them, so as lo be able to
describe them, and then lo send a telegraphic
dispatch to New York, so that the case could
be met in a proper woy, upon their arrival
mere. Still then started, as it were, lo attend
lo me directions given him, but when passing
out of our door, turned upon his heel and in-
Qmred whether there was anything to prevent
the slaves leaving their master if they saw
proper lo do sol To which inquiry Passmore
replied, “ihey have a perfect right logo where
they please, and they can do so unless forci
bly reslrnmed by iheir master.” Slid then
l eli our effi e m proceed lo Bloodgood’s; Puss
more resumed his businessai bit desk in front
and I passed back lo my desk, where 1 usu
ally sit.
Wiihin, I think, three minutes afterward,
Passmore again threw down his pen, left his
desk, but on his coat nnd hat, and, without a
word left the office, I had do doubt, howev.
er , as to where, or the purpose for tvhich he
*en;. After what appeared tome then a very
1 ll Xij ’
to tt)t l : k t&r«jrc*Bs M^bulT# ifttotittV
COBB, STURROCK & CO.,
YOL. 2.
short absence ((think not exceeding, though
it may hare been'less than half an War) - hi
returned to our office, and to myself andJohh
Farnumi who happened then to be with me‘,‘
he related thecii'cilfnstances as tohimselfand
others connected with the release of Jane
Johnson ohd her two Children from the custo
dy and control : of their previous master, on
board the steamboat Washington; their pas
sing thence over the Wharf and' down Dela
whre-nv. to Dotk at; and from that point see
ing ihom enter n carriage at Dock and Front
sis., and driven off. The relation then made
by jhim wait, ife»iil>St«hce, olid loh'ink nltriqsb
in terms, the same as was made by him iiTijie
District Court of the United States, on lhe2oih
of the same momh (two days laier,) upon his
affirmation, and by leave of the Court.
Afier Passmore’s return to our office, os
above staled, he was constantly and uninter
ruptedly engaged in preparing business at bis
desk until o’clock, wilh ihe single excep.
lion of, in Ihe mean time, going lo his own
home for his evening meal, and perhaps
changing his clothes preparatory lo leaving
ihe city for Harrisburg. During most of the
evening I was present wilh him in our office;
and m 10| o'clock or laier he left it; I closed
the door after Inin, and retired immediately To
my chamber for the night, and in a short time
was asleep in my bed. At 11 o'clock my
wife woke me, and staled that our door-bell
had been twice rung, I immediately arose,
presented myself at the front window of my
chamber, from which I distinctly saw at least]
three persons nn and near my door-steps, on
ly one of whom I ihen recognized as Depu
ty-Marshal VVm. H. Miller, who was spokes
man on that occasion. 1 inquired their bus
iness. Ho informed me ihey wanted lo see
Passmore Williamson, lo serve a writ upon
him. 1 informed ihem distinctly and explic
itly that this (meaning my house) was not
the residence of Passmore, nor was he Ihen
here ; thai il was his place of business ; where
lie was ordinarily lo be seen during business
hopra; that his residence was wilh his own
family, at No. 32 Bullonwood-sl., between
Franklin and Eighlh-sts., and that he, Pass
more, was ihen from home, on his way (0
Harrisburg, where,his duly required him lo
be next morning.
Noiwiifi-ianding my explicit statement, ihe
parly manifested by words and conduct deci
ded increduli'y in regard to the facts—so
i much so ns to evince a desire still lo have ad
| mi>sion into my house. I regarded myself
i insulted, improperly and wantonly, and there
■ fore, without s tying more, I retired again lo
I mv bed, leaving them lo choose their own
l course of procedure. I had scarcely- laid
! down when I heard the slcam-whisile of the
• 11 o’clock train of cars starling on the west
, side of Schuylkill, or wlial I believed lo be
; such. Why it was necessary for three or
! more United Stales’ officers to present them
selves at my door, or lhal of Passmore Will
iamson, at II o’clock at night, for the only
purpose of serving a writ upon him, is for
. those officers themselves, or those whom they
I were serving, in explain. Other persons can
I only imagine and surmise. That it was their
I intention, under instructions, on gaining ad
i mission, lo ransack ihe house from bottom to
I top with ihe expeclaion of finding and taking
I into custody “Jane, Daniel, and Isaiah,” fur
ihe purpose of placing them under the kind
; care and protection of a-superior officer, I
I will not assert. Next morning ai 6 o'clock,
i as nearly as 1 can say, my door-bdl was
j again rung. 1 opened Ihe door, and received
' from the hand of Deputy-Marshal Miller ihe
original writ of habeas corpus issued against
Passmore Williamson, returnable at 3 o’clock
P. M. of the same day, f 19th July,) which I
subsequently handed lo E. Hopper, Csq , and
requested lhal he would attend at lhe place
an hour designated for the purpose of mani
festing proper respect to the Court and its
process, by giving I lie necessary explanation
ns lo Passmore’s absence from home, and his
consequent want of knowledge of any such
process having issued. The evening of ihe
same day a copy of an alias writ of habeas
corpus, issued against Passmore, was handed
lo me at my dour by Deputy-Marshal Miller.
Ihe original of which was left hy some per
son, I know not who, at Passmore’s house
on Bultonwood-sl. The writ was returnable
next morning at 10 o’clock.
On the morning of the 20ih, about 8}
o’clock, Passmore made his appearance at our
office with the alias writ in his hand. He then
inloimed me he had arrived at home from
i Harrisburg between 1 and 2 o’clock of lhal
Morning, and that lie had in no way heard of
Ihe writ having been issued until informed of
it by his wife after his arrival. I informed
him lhal Edward “Hopper, Esq., ihe day be
fore had at my instance appeared at Court
and explained the circumstance of his absence
from the city, and proposed lhal he should
avail himself of his aid as counsel in prepar
in his return lo the writ. Passmore assented,
and 1 accompanied him to E. Hopper's office.
The return was therefore indorsed upon the
writ, Pa c smore himself writing it in the usu
al form, according lo the dictation of his coun
sel ; and having thus proceeded therein to the
proper point, I requested a pause, and pro
posed adding the words “or at any other
lime'' —which being approved by both Pass
more and his counsel, ihey were accordingly
inserted ; then believing, as I now do, that
Ihnse words asserted truth and only truth, in
the denial of any custody, power or posses
sion by Him of the parlies commended by Ihe
writ to be prdduced. •" -
Such hrp the facts of the case within my
own knowledge; and I do not and cannot
doubt but that l am in possession of full and
precise informatipn, from himself and from
others, of et/ery part Of Passmore’s agency,
actings, and doings in any way relating io or
having connection with the release of Jane
) t (y, i
WEUSBQROUGH, TIOSI'COMn- PA., THDRBMY MOENJNG, OCTOBER !, 1856...
Johnson and her two childrenfromthe custo
dy, possession and control of John H. Wiiee
lep, her and their assumed master, on board
the steamboat Washington, at Walnul.sl.i
wharf j sod l base now no hesiisiion ia say
ing and averring—as 1 have repeatedly here- ■
lofore raid end declared to individuals—that
I( fully and heartily approve-of every act,
matter, and thing which either of my own
knowledge or from information derived from
himself'or others, I know or believe was by
Passmore dope and performed, or caused or
procured fo be' done; performed and acted in
iiiith thHt Obse. '
’THOS. Wlt-LIAMSC)^
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF DANIEL WEBSTER,
It was quite a little dinner parly in Dor
cester. There was present Daniel Web
ster, Joseph T. Buckingham, (ben of the
Boston Galaxy , Chas. Thatcher, Samuel
Upton, and Josiaii Bbadlbb, the great mer
chants of B-islun, Edward Everett, and
Andrew Dunxap, afterwards United States
District Attorney for Massachusetts.
When in came Mr. Webster’s turn to
speak, he told his first case in Salisbury,
where an old man by the name of Searle had
to defend himself against a charge of having
set his shop on firfe, for the purpose of re
ceiving his insurance money. The case was
turned upon the testimony of a witness for
the prosecution by the name of Fisk, whom
Mr. VVebsier most solemnly believed to have
been suborned by a warm personal enemy
of old Searle named Emerling. This man,
Fisk gave his story from the witness stand'
as if it had been written and studied for re
petition. He used the words, “the said
Searle,” “the said Emerlipg,” quite out of
his natural way ol speech, but from off his
story no cross examination of VVebsier could
bring him. He would go right back toil,
making use of lbs same phrases, and no per
sualion or bluster moved him.
The Judge and jury began lo be impatient;
they had been led lo believe, from the stroog
asservalion ol the counsel for Searle, and
from the old man's life and integrity, that he
would turtle off triumphant; but the testimo
ny of Fisk,an ignorant and unlettered mm,
was nevertheless so succinct and consistent,
saying nothing but about the case, and full
of all fuels necessary lo sustain it—that their
minds were evidently made up, and they
were only thinking of their dinner. It was
close on two o’clock, when the court usually
adjourned to dinner, and yet Mr. Webster
continued his questions with repetitions, which
provoked reproof from the Court, but which,
from the urbane manner of Mr. Webster, at
last resumed in an order for an adjournment
lo the afternoon session, with leave to Mr.
Websior lo go on with his investigation then
to the heart’s content.
Old Searle seized (he nrm of Mr. Web
ster as the crowd left the court, with all the
agony of a crowning man, andwhispered in
his ear with trembling accents, that Fisk was
only telling the lies which Emerhng had
taught him to repeat. The court and the
bar went to dine, the crowd separated. Mr.
Webster stood apart, and while he was in
despair in the fearful certainly of losing a
case which he believed ought not to be lost,
he saw the man Fisk reitre to an obscure
place, and lake from his waislooat pocket a
paper which he consulted with all apparent
earnestness. The lips of the man moved,
and his gestures were animated as ha return
ed it to his pocket and he went to the tavern
bar room and drank a glass of brandy and
water. Presently the court-house bell rung
and the witness was again upon the stand.
VVebster—“You say you never received
any leiter from Emerhng?”
Witness—“ Yes. The said Emerling nev
er wrote to me.”
Webster—“Do you know his handwrit
ing 7"
Witness —“No, I never saw it.”
Mr. Webster rose as if to look at a book
lying near ihe witness box and while the at
tention of Fisk was drawn to this movement,
Mr. Webster suddenly thrust his hand into
the waistcoat pocket, where he had seen the
(taper placed, which the witness pursued du
ring the adjournment, and quietly returned
with it to the bar, in spile of the quick, con
vulsive clutch of Fisk which was shaken off
by Mr. Webster, who, after a hasty perusal
of it said—
“l hold here the whole wiilten instructions
of the man Emerling, to the witness, Fisk,
the story written out by Emerling as it has
been repeated by Fisk word for word, on
that stand. He Ins jjlist declared that he
never teceived letters from Emerling. and
did not know his hand writing. Mr. Fore
man will you please be sworn, and see if you
know this writing to be that of Emerling?”
It was proved, it was rend,it was handed to
tho court, and during all this lime you cOuld
have heard a cricket chirp in that court room.
You should have seen old Searle in these
moments, as he stood behind Mr, Webs er,
hia hands holding hard upon the railing of
the bar, his chin quivering like the mouth of
a rabbit, and the big tears trickling down his
hard, dry cheeks. O, it was a happy free
dom of truth from the fangs of wrong.—
There was not a word of hesitation in the
verdict; and bench warrants were forthwith
issued against Fisk for perjury.
Th- cry of the crowd, as they dispersed,
was to (he wonder, how ihnt black-eyed fel
low, Daniel Webster, looked tight infq the
waistcoat 1 pocket of tHd rascal witness.
A wag seeing a lady at a parly with an
extra low-necked dress and bare arms, ex
pressed his admiration by saying that she
outstripped the whole party, ~
.wit ii ii
\f\ vjT37i|
!“.THB agitation of thought is the beginning op wisdom."
The Subo t-ned Witness.
♦tJTAToH.
/ r ’
1
THE LORD’S PRAYER.
.A friend tells us an anecdote of Booth, the,
gjeal tragedian, which we do ,mft recollect
haying- seen in print. It occurred in the
palmy days of his fume, before .the sparkle
of-his great black.eye had been dimmed by
that bane of genius, strong drink. Booth
and several friends had been invited to dine
with an old gentleman in Baltimore, of dis
tinguished- kindness, urbanity, and piety.
The host, though disapproving, of theatres
and theatre-going, had heard so much of
Booth’s remarkable powers,.!hat curiosity to
dte the njan hud, ip. ihi» instance, overcome
all his scruples and prejudice.- 'After the-en-i
lertainmcnt was over, lamps lighted,-and com
pany seated in the drawing-room, some one
requested Booth, as a particular favor, and
one which all present would doubtless
cinte, to read aloud the Lord's Prayer. Booth
expressed his willingness to oflbrd them this
gratification; and all eyes were turned ex
pectantly upon him. Booth rose slowly and
reverently from his chair. It was wonder
ful to watch the play ol emotion that convul
sed his countenance. He became deathly
pale, and his eyes, turned tremblingly up
wards, were wet with tears. As yet he had
not spoken. The silence could be felt. It
became absolutely painful, until at last the
spell wns broken as if by an electric shock,
as his rich-toned voice, from white lips sylla
bled forth, “Our Father who art in lleaveri,”
&c, with a pathos and fervid solemnity that
thrilled all hearts. He finished. The si
lence continued. Nnt’a voice wns heard nor
a muscle moved in his rapt audience, until,
from a remote corner of the room, a sub
dued sob was heard, and the old gentleman
(their host) stepped forward with streaming
eyes and tottering frame, and seized Booth
by the hand.
“Sir,” said he in broken accents, “you
have afforded me a pleasure for which my
whole future life will feel grateful. lam an
old man, and every day, from my boyhood
to the present lime, 1 thought I had repealed
the Lord’s Prayer, but I never heard it
before, never." 1
“You are right,” replied Booth, “to read
that Prayer os it should be read, has cost me
the severest study for thirty years, and 1 am
far from being satisfied with my rendering of
that wonderful production. Hardly one per
son in ten thousand comprehends how much
beauty, tenderness, and grandeur can be cun.
densed in a space so small and in words so
simple. That prayer of itself sufficiently
illustrates the truth of the Bible, and stamps
upon tl ttie seat of divinity.”
So great was the effect produced (says our
informant, who was present,) that conversa
tion was sustained but a short time longer in
subdued monosyllables, and almost entirely
ceased; and soon‘after, at an early Jiour, the
company broke up and retired to their seve
ral homes, with sad faces and full hearts.
Popping the Question.
Gracious, says I, now it’s lime lo look
a/ter Nance. Next day down I went, Nance
was alone, and I asked her if (ho Squire was
in.—She sed he wasn’t.
Cause, sais I, making believe, I wanted
him, our colt sprained his foot, an’ I cum to
see if the Squire won't lend me his mare to
go to town.
She sedshegessed he would—better sit down
until the Squire cum in.
Down 1 sot; she looked sort o’ strange,
and my heart fell queer all around the edge,
Aner a while sez 1:
Are you going down lo Sarah Martin’s
quillin’ 1
Sed 1, Ucckoned I would.
Scz she, Spose you’ll take Patience Dod
ey.
Sez 1 I moul and then again I wouldn’t.
Sez she, 1 learn you’re goin’ lo get mar
ried.
Sez (, 1 wouldn’t wonder a bit.
1 looked at her, and seed the tears cum
min’ thick and fas'.
Sez I, may be she’ll axe you to be brides
maid.
She riz up, she did, her face ns red ns a
biled beet. Seth Slocks, says she and she
couldn't say anything more then, she was
so full.
Won't you be bridesmaid ? sez I.
No, sez she, and she burst right out cry
ing.
Well, then, sez I, ef you won’t bo brides
mnde,. will you be the bride?
She looked up at me—l swan to man 1
never saw anything so awful puny. 1 tuck
right hold of her hand.
Yes, or no, sez I, right off.
Y r es, says she. ,
That’s your sorts, sez I, and I give her a
buss and a hug.
I soon fixed matters with the Squire. We
soon hitched traces to trot in double harness
for life, and I never had cause to repent my
bargain.
A man who was up to a thing or two of
fered to bet that he could prove that this side
of the river was the other side; this chnU
lenge was soon accepted and a bet of $lO
made, then pointing to the opposite side of
the river, shrewdly asked :
“Is not.that one side of the river?"
“Yes,” was the answer, j
“Agreed,” said the man $ “and is not this
the other sjde 1"
“Yes,” said the other,.
‘•‘Then,” said:the man, Mpay me my ten
dollars,Tor by your own confession, 1 have
proved that this aide of the river is the other
side.”
“Yon are a little bear, madam.”
“Sit!”
“About the shoulders, I mean.”
PUBUSHEHS & PROPRIETORS,
eammtmctflKjWfc
';, For, the Agitator .
The Caso?f Pasamerp Williamson.
Under the above heading I notice an arti
cle frojn the Montrose Democrat, copied
and endorsed by the Tioga Eagle of Sept.
20th.
It is seldom that we met with so unblush
ing, a falsification of well khown facts, as is
exhibited in that article. Take for example
the following paragraph: “Judge Kane issued
the writ, and Williamson instead of making
tjie legal return, so that the question of the
'freedom of llfff slave coutd be rried, conten
ted himself with denying the jurisdiction of
the court to make him produce them, where
upon the-Judge committed him to jail for con
tempt of Court.”
This is entirely original. It has no foun
dation any where, not even in the decision of
the Supreme Court. So wide is it from the
truth, that Williamson denied the jurisdiction
of the Court, that one of I lie principal grounds
upon 1 which Judge Lewis denied Williamson
his application fur a habeas Corpus, was that
he did not raise the question of jurisdiction
before Judge Kane, Let any person who has
any doubt look at a newspaper, I caro not
whal one, that contains an v account of those
proceedings and satisfy himself. Even thede
cision of Judge Kane himself, when he sent
Williamson to Jail, is sufficient to show the
above extract to be a sheer fabrication.
Then the return. He did make a
full and legal return. It was in substance
ihat “the persons named in ihe writ nor
either of them were at ihe time of issuing
ihe writ nor at the lime of the return nor at
any other time in his custody or possession
nor restrained of their liberty or confined by
him and therefore he could not produce them
&c.”
Now had Williamson left out of his re
turn that part in italics which it will be
clearly seen was not essential, I have yet
to hear of any Court, judge, lawyer, or even
newspaper editor, who denies, that the re
turn would have been a full, perfect, legal,
and true one, for the simple reason, that
there never has been a shadow of evidence,
or even pretence, that Williamson ever saw
the slaves after they left the steamboat or ex
ercised any more control over them, than he
has at this moment over any three individu
als in Tioga County. But Judge Kane as
sumed under the evidence Itefore him, that
Williamson did hake on board by the steam
boat, for a few moments m least, a kind ol
constructive possession of the slave and
therefore that part of the return in italics was
constructively false which he construed into
a constructive contempt of Court and there
upon committed Williamson lo jail.
Under this state of facts, and Ihe facts in
the case are matters of notoriety upon which
any person can easily satisfy himself; these
veracious editors in their zeal to justify Judge
Kano,in his unparalleled tyranny in sending a
honest map lo jail upon a string of construc
tions which were unfounded in fact, clearly
endea'or to create the impression in the
minds of their renders ihat Williamson act
ually did withhold persons in his custody,
against the commands of Judge Kane’s writ,
which tney know to be totally false.
Then followed in the article, the declara
tion so much harped upon, that “William
son carries the key lo his orison" “will be
released when he makes the lege.l return &c."
For this it is true they have the nut horn y ol
ihe Supremo Court, very much however as
the Devil gels authority from scripture. The
court say in substance. “We -find upon the
record that .Williamson was convicted bv
Judge Kane of contempt of Court, in makina
a false return, and we are bound by that to
conclusively assume that he was guilty o(
making such false return, and therefore sav
that he holds the key to his prison and cun
come out, whenever ho chooses to make a
true return.”
Quite n difference that assumption of guilt
makes in the mailer, yet the conclusion
based upon tbit assumption is heralded as
Ihe decision of the Supreme Court, upon tut
examination of the facta in the case «beu
the truth is, not a single fact was brought
before them.
Rend the following extracts from Ihe opln
ion of the Court delivered bv Justice Black
“If we fully believed the petitioner to be
innocent if we were sure that the court which
convicted him misunderstood the facts or mis
applied the law, still we could not reexamine
the evidence or rejudge the Case.”
“It is most especially necessary that con
victions for contempt in our courts should be
final, conclusive and free from reexamina
tion by other Courts on habeas corpus.”
“The writ which the petitioner is convicted
of disobeying, is legal on its face. It en
joined upon him a simple dulyi which he
ought to huve understood and perfprmcd with
out hesitation. That ho did ndt do so is a
fact, conclusively established'by the adjudi
cation which the Court made upon it." —
“We cannot go one step behind the convic
tion itself." Now aside from this conclusive
assumption of the guilt of Williamson be
cause Judge Kane convicted him, let us see
I how much there is in this talk about Wiliam
son carrying the key to his prison. How is
he to use it? By producing the slaves?
That he can not do. They are as much be
yond his reitch as they are of Wheeler him
self. Then his only recourse is to make a
new return. How can he do it ? Hb has
already made a full return, every word of
which he knows to be true. He has sworn
before his God that it Is true. The woman
be was accused of having iti coslody has
sworn that it is true ; that he never had any
coslody of her or her children. Every im-
partial mind that examines the facts believes
it to be true. And yen he is coolly told that
>by acknowledging (hat his return was false,
that hd’ comrtiittbd /peiyury- whew ha swore
to il, he can,come ,out of jail. . This is car.
rymg the key ro hfs prison with a vengence.
But alfhough thoaupreme Court have de
nied to Williamson a writ of Habeus Corpus,
fhe people are preparing a writ to execute on
the second Tuesday in October, and see to it
every friend of freedom that you help exe
cute the Peoples writ of right for Passmore
Williamson. VJNDEX.
For.the Agitator.
Vo Free Seifert «t *4S.
KO. 12.
Mr. Editor : Will you permit me to say
a few words in your columns, to the old Free
Soil party in this county. In 1848 nearly
one third of the electors of Tioga county, be
ing then “opposed to the extension of slavery
to free territory, *’ organized and at (he elec
tion voted the national and county froe.soil
tickets. Since that lime, nearly the whole
parly have acted with the Democratic organi
zation j giving to it nearly one half ita
strength, and enabling jt to elect nearly all
of the county officers from that time to the
present. And now, Free Sellers, what has
been the treatment you have received frou;
the Democratic party in return 1 A proscrip
tion as hitter and inveterate as any party.of
men ever, experienced, .la Itija.'facl.denieß't
Then to the vecora and lhe evidence. 'Thu
Democratic county conventions from 1849 to
1855 inclusive, have made eighteen nomina
tions for the principal county officers, as fol
lows : For Representative, seven; Sheriff’,
three; Prolltonolary, [wo; Recorder, two;
and Treasurer, lour. This embraces nil of
the county officers of any consequence, either
for honor or profit. How many ul these
eighteen nominations have been given to Freo
Sutlers? Just one! One to seventeen ! If this
is not proscription where will you look for it f
Why even that band of ruffians who called
themselves the Legislature of Kansas were
as liberal. They permitted one free soil
member to retain his seat ns long as he chose
to disgrace himself by associating with them.
At almost every convention more or less Free
Sutlers have been presented as candidates, but
“defeat them” has been the wnlch-word of
the parly and most religiously have they ob
served it. lam aware that it is replied to all
this, that as a matter of principle, it makes
no difference from which branch of a party
the candidates ate -i .■ cted. That the besf
men should be nominated from the whole par
ty &c., 1 readily admit, that in a case whero
two branches of a party, differing on some
points, but united for the purpose of advanc
ing principles of greater importance, it would
be immaterial from which branch the candi
dates were selected, if they were sound upon
those principles of greater importance, and
even if a single ticket should be made exclu
sively from one branch if honestly done for
the purpose of securing the best men, it would
form no reasonable ground of complaint.
But where as in the case under consideration-,
it becomes a settled policy ; steadily pursued
for a series of years; clearly evincing a
fixed determination to exclude one branch
from nil participation in the offices or influence
of the party; and where, too, the difference
between them is a radical one of principle,
and that upon an issue far more important
than all others at slake, it may then well be
come those thus excluded to consider wheth
er they will longer aid in sustaining men who
proscribe them and princnles at direct vari
ance with thiir own Again have the mas
ters of ceremony presented a ticket and de
mand for it your support at the coming elec
tion. Look at it from lop to bottom. Clear
Hunker! Not a man on it who was ever
suspected of entertaining a fro soil senti
ment —not one who would not vote ' - Fierce
or Douglas if so ordered bv r t . v lead
ers, not one who would not if in his power,
send another Broadhead from Pennsylvania
to the United Slates Senate to aid in making
Kansas a slave state. But they deny these
things just now, do they I Call them lies!
Wonderful ! Where would they get free soil
voles enough to help elect them if they did
not deny until after election. When have the
candidates of that party, failed to deny every
thing which they thought necessary to secure
free soil voles before election, or to carry out
rank Hunkensm afterwards. Look at the
past, see if you cun find a single instance in
which the old Hunker Democracy of this
county or of any other, have failed to obey
the commands and answer the purposes as
far as in their power of the Slaveocracy that
rules at Washington. As it ever has been,
so will it be again. Professions are easily
made, resolutions easily adopted to suit the
times, but depend upon it, pro slavery old
Hunkerism was never more rampant, never
more desperate in Tioga county than at this
moment. Where comes tho unscrupulous,
vindictive and determined effort, now being
made to defeat T. L. Baldwin ? Clefsrly from
southern influence. He will not vote for a
pro slavery United Slates Senator and they
know it. Hence the command from head
quarters, “Baldwin of Tioga must be defeated’ 1
and faithfully are their allies in this county
laboring to accomplish the object. Shall they
succeed I
Agnm look at the standard bearer of iho
Democruilc parly in Pennsylvania. He who
figures in large capitals at the head of the
ticket, Arnold Plutner of Venango. \ more
inveterate pro slavery old Hunker Pennsylva
nia has not within her borders. A worthy
representative lo siand upon ihe platform
adopted by ihe convention which noimnaied
him, endorsing the administration of Frank
lin-Pierce.
Look at that p.iaiiorm Free Sellers of
Tioga and remember that those are the prin
ciples and sentiments which you endorse, and
aid lo sustain, if you vole the ticket headed
by Arnold Plumer. Will you do it? That
is the question lo be answered at the ballot
box. FRRE SOILER OF ’4B.
Neves lake a paper more than ten years
without paying the printer, or at least send
ing. a lock of your hair lo let him know (hat
you are about.
Standing water is unwholesome, so, too, is
a standing debt.
Tub game of fashionable life is to play
hearts against diamonds.
Tub best mode of revenge, is not lo im
ilale the injury.