The Cleveland Daily Herald

Cleveland, May 12, 1859

Langston Sentenced – More Wellington Men Pleading Noli Contendere.

      The Court Room this morning, Thursday, was again crowded to hear the sentence of Langston. We have given a sketch of the remarks of this “nigger” in our regular report. And we hope some, at least, of the jury that convicted him were present. If they ever could be made to see how unjust was their verdict, the speech of Langston would produce that result. We say we hope they were present, and yet from regard to their own feelings we do not hope so. By the way, here, although very late, we wish to correct what we said about two of the jury being old Whigs. One of these two voted for Buchanan, and if that does not make a man a slavery extension Democrat, we do not know what act can.

      After Langston had received sentence, Judge Andrews, in behalf of Messrs. Loveland, De Wolf and Wadsworth, asked that a plea of noli contendere might be interposed. We hardly know what to say relative to the speech of Judge Andrews. He spoke under instructions from his clients, but if ever there was a complete surrender of one’s manhood, these men, through their counsel, laid it down at the feet of Federal Judicial power. If the sentiments of those men were truly uttered, all they have to do is to lie down and let Federal arrogance roll them in the dust.

      We make great allowance for the excitement of the moment; the man was lost in the advocate, and in the heat of his eloquent pleading for mercy to be extended to these men, we saw rather the lawyer Andrews, wedded to legal precedents, impounded in his admiration for judicial decisions than S.J. Andrews, the eloquent defender of human rights, the hater of infamous enactments, the rebuker of sin in high places.

      But all people do not thus distinguish between the representative character and the personal character, between the paid advocate and the man acting purely from unbiased conviction of right, and hence the Dred Scott, nigger Democracy were so jubilant over the speech of Judge Andrews that their joy could not be confined. The speech of Judge A. was deemed the key stone of the triumphal arch now raised by Federal Law over the rights of the free citizens of Ohio, and since the enactment of this disgraceful Fugitive law, nothing on the Reserve has given it such vitality, nothing so strengthened its shackles, as the speech of Judge Andrews, above referred to.

Turn About is Fair Play.

      The pious Jennings; the Arkansas tooth-pick Mitchell, the hand-cuff Davis, and the two-dollar-a-day Lowe are snugly in jail at Elyria awaiting the result of an application to the Federal Judge for a writ of Habeas Corpus. To whom application has been made, whether to District Judge Willson or Circuit Judge McLean is not known, but beside the current rumor that such application has been made, the fact that Lowe, who was out on bail has delivered himself to be put in prison, proves the rumor correct.

      When these notorious men arrived at the Elyria Depot about 6 o’clock last evening, (Wednesday,) a large crowd gathered and escorted them to the jail. No demonstration was made but these men shook in their shoes and welcomed the prison bars as a defence against the unspoken indignation of an outraged community.

      Court sits Tuesday nest, Judge Canfield presiding, and we suppose the cases will then be tried unless something turns up to prevent.