Portland Gazette, And Maine Advertiser

Union Town, (Penn.) Aug. 10.
On Sunday night, 31st ult. a party of
armed soldiers from the recruiting ren-
dezvous at Brownsville, entered the
house of a certain James Smith, in Plump-
sock, and forcibly dragged him from his
bed saying that he was a deserter, and
must go to Brownsville with them. This
enterprise was conducted with such se-
crecy as to escape the notice of any per-
son except the helpless family of Smith,
& a negro man who lived adjacent. Short-
ly after the party had set out with Smith,
the alarm was given by the negro to se-
veral of the neighbours, who armed them-
themselves and went in pursuit of those friends
and protectors of the liberties of Ameri-
ca-- they were overtaken at about eight
miles distance, and the innocent unof-
fending Smith was rescued from the A-
merican press gang, and in the course of
a few hours restored to the arms of his
wife. Mrs. S situation at this time was
such as demanded the most tender atten-
tion of her husband -- her feelings can be
better felt than related.
Can such outrages be tolerated in a
country that boasts of a government of
laws ? Is the law of the country to be
trampled! on by men merely because they
wear the arms of the country ? If Smith
was a deserter, which cannot be proved,
because it is a well known fact that he
never enlisted, could he have been arres-
ted by this party unauthorized as they,
acknowledged, and in the manner in
which the arrest was made, without the
gross violation of the civil law, or even
without an assumption of military au-thor-
ity highly criminal, and demanding imme-
di ate punishment? We apprehend not
and cannot withhold an expression of our
surprise, that the officer who commands
at Brownsville has taken no measures to
repress such licentiousness-- but on the
contrary, has intimated an intention o
seizing the person of Smith, unless he
should come forward and clear himself
of the charge of desertion !
We ask the citizens at large, whether
one single instance of imprisonment, such
as that just related, is not infinitely more
inexcusable than a dozen, nay, an infinity
of impressments of naturalized citizens by
a foreign enemy ? For the latter we have
declared war, and have sacrificed thou-
sands of our native sons! May we not
then expect: that those more aggravated
offenders shall be brought to due legal
punishment !
Fayette Spectator.