Excerpt from State of Illinois, Supreme Court, Third Grand Division, April Term, A. D. 1866: Madison Y. Johnson, Vs. J. Russel Jones, John C. Hawkins, Oliver P. Hopkins, Elihu B. Washburne and Bradner Smith; Appeal From Jo Daviess County; Abstract, Brief We deem it unnecessary, that any apology should be made, for publishing in the present form, the record and proceedings 'in the following case of Arbitrary Arrest. The questions therein dis cussed, and the adjudications had, are the clearest vindication Of personal liberty, and the triumph of law and right, over fanaticism and wrong, that has appeared among the many cases of outrage, that were committed by those entrusted with power, during the late civil war. We need not state, that during those dark days, we were not of those, who approved of the policy Of the Admin istration in carrying on the war. We believed that a little con ciliation and statesmanship, might have averted the calamity, and we showed our disapproval, in a legal and proper way, by earnest ly protesting, against the usurpations and outrages perpetrated against liberty, in the name of Union - that imperiled the very existence of constitutional government. Disapproving of that policy, and seeing that its success would result in a change of Our form of government, by the introduction, as a political element, of an ignorant, servile race, we but exercised an undoubted right, in freely and fearlessly pointing out, what we believed would be the result of the con ict - denouncing the wrongs committed by the Executive, and those in power, as if committed by others: We knew then, as now, (for all history teaches the fact, ) that no one, who supported power in all its excesses, ever became a victim, to its arbitrary exercise. Yet preferring to follow the convictions of right, rather than purchase personal security, at the expense Of. Manhood, we denounced the policy introduced, that sought to terd rify the masses, into a support of measures, inimical to the best in tercets of our common country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."