But independent of this acts, the proceedings in this case, were <altogether> illegal. Providing the Court was sincere which it was not, and providing these mens oaths were true and Joseph and were guilty of treason, still the whole course was illegal.
The Magistrate made out a and committed them to prison without a hearing, which he had no right legally to do. The statute Law of expressly provides that “all men shall have a hearing before a Magistrate before they shall be committed to Prison, and Mr. Robert Smith the Magistrate had made out a mittimus committing them to prison contrary to law, without a hearing. As I was informed of this proceeding I went immediately to the and informed him of it, whether he was apprized of it before or not, I do not know; but my opinion is that he was. I represented to him the character of the parties who had made oath, the outrageous nature of the charge, the indignity offered to men in the position which they occupied and that he knew very well that it was a vexatious prosecution, and that they were not guilty of any such thing. The replied that “he was very sorry that the thing had occurred, that he did not believe the charges; but that he thought <that> the best thing to be done was in the premises, was to let the Law take its course.” I then reminded him, “that we had come out there at his instance, not to satisfy the law, which we had done before; but the prejudices of the people, in relation to the affair of the press; that we had given bonds, which we could not by law be required to do [p. 31]