Case Of John B. Mahan

A statement of this caso has appeared ni fu 11 in the Philanthropist. It appears, that in August, 1838, Mr. Mahan was indicted at the Mason Circuit court, on the the ground that he had assisted two slaves toescape out of the State of Kentucky; whereupon the Gov. of Kentucky made a requisition upon the Governor of Ohio to deliver up the said Mahan, as a fugitive from justice, notwithstandingsaid Mahan had not been within the jurisdiction of the court in uinetcen and a half years. - Accordingly he was delivered up and imprisoned for ten weeks in Mason county jail. On the eecond day ofhis imprisonment, a capias was served upon Mdhan to answer uuo Greathouse, the owner of the slavfcs, in the eurn of $1700, the vaiueof the The law of Kentucky makes the aider of runaway 6laves answerable for their value. Mahan was acquitted onthe indiclment, but on the euit fi r damages, thejury Teturned a verdict fcfc$lG0ü, the value of the sluves. This result was mainly owing to the perjurcd teslimony of iwo wimesses, oae u swindler, and the otíier a wonian oí' nfunious character. - Mana n showed in defence by muny affidavits, that one of the siaves never cumenearer to hia residencc thari fuur mile?, and to the Qther he only gave entertainmetit lor one day at bis table, hut did hot in any way assist in fucilitating his escape to Canada. A record of the court Is to bo forwarded to Ohio that ihe judgernent thus rendered may becollected. Mr. Muhan wül probably contcstthe legality of the entire procedings of the Kentucky court. Should the leg;i!ity of the record be affirmed, it will foliow that a einzen of Ohio will be subject to twosets of laws at once; the first made by the representatives of Ohio, it whose election he had n voice, and the olher set made by represenlatives over whose actions he had no control. Upon the principie assumcd in this case, a ciiizen of Ohio would be bound to keep al the laws of his Stute, and of every other State in the Uniun al the same time. This decisión should be resisted at the thrcshold by all abolitionisls. It udds one more ti ihe long catalogue of insolent and dotnin eering altempts at harassing the NortJi iii to a tuleration nnd countennnce of that systcm of crueliVj lust, and wickednes3 to which the Souih chooses to bow down and worship.