Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/315

 DELAWARE COUNTY. 291 county of Delaware to be in a state of insurrection, according to the provisions, and true intent and meaning of the act of the legislature of tliis State, entitled ^ An act to enforce the laws and preserve order/ passed 15th April, 1845. ^'In making this declaration, it becomes my duty to draw the particular attention of all the citizens of the State, and espe- cially the citizens of Delaware and the adjoining counties, to the provisions of the 20th section of the act referred to. ^ Any person who shall, after the publication of this pro- clamation, resist, or assist in resisting, the execution of legal process ; or who shall aid, or attempt, the rescue or escape of any prisoner from lawful custody or confinement, or who shall resist, or aid or assist in resisting, any force ordered out by the Grovernor, in the county of Delaware, is, by this section of the law, upon conviction of either of these offences, to be adjudged guilty of a felony, and punished by imprisonment in the State Prison for a term not less than two years.' It becomes my further duty to invoke the especial and earnest attention of all civil and military officers of the State to this> proclamation, to the provisions of the two acts of the legislature particularly referred to in it, and of the responsible duties it devolves upon them. They are the guardians of the law for the people of the State, whom they have been appointed to represent and serve. They have been selected to expound, administer and execute the law, and they have solemnly sworn that they will faithfully discharge the duties of their respective offices, according to the best of their abilities. To such officers within the county of Delaware, and the surrounding counties, this appeal comes with peculiar force. It is to enforce the law in their immediate neighborhoods that the aid of the State is invoked. Around and among them the spirit of insurrection, of combined and organized resistance to the law, prevails and shows itself. The discharge of their whole duties, and the faithful redemption of their official oaths,