The Star of Empire; Phases of the Westward Movement in the Old Southwest

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V Regulation And Insurrection During the summer of this year, the Regulators prepared an elaborate petition to the justices of the Superior Court, detailing the history of their agitation and the grounds for protest, and urgently praying for redress of their grievances. The tone in which the conclusion of the petition was couched was ominous and threatening, revealing the determination of the Regulators to take the law into their own hands, if the law were not administered, whether justly or unjustly, in their favor: --Our only crime with which they can charge us is virtue in the very highest degree, namely, to risk our all to save our country from rapine and slavery in our detecting of practices which the law itself allows to be worse than robbery. If we do not obtain this (the substance of the petition) that we may have some security for our properties more than the bare number of our officers, we can see plainly that we shall not be able to live under such oppressions and to what extremities this must drive us you can as well judge as we can ourselves. As we are serious and in good earnest and the cause respects the whole body of people it would be a loss of time to enter into arguments on particular points, for though there are a few men who have the gift and art of reasoning, yet every man has a feeling and knows when he has justice done him as well as the most learned. Saturday, September 22, the court convened--at which time the court adjourned until Monday, after the defiant threat, euphemistically called petition, had been handed to Richard Henderson, the only justice present, by James Hunter. Monday morning, at 11 o'clock, Richard Henderson opened the court alone, none of the other justices being present at Hillsborough; and Henry Pendl...