"Matthew Bullock"

Was an African American who fled to Canada and became a cause celebre in the early 1920s.Originally from Norlina,North Carolina,Matthew  saga began when his brother Plummer attempted to return 10 cents worth of apples,which he claimed were bad.The store refused the request, and an argument broke out which escalated to an exchange of threats between the two men.Later that evening a group of whites confronted a group of blacks.Gunfire was exchanged,but no one was hurt.While both Bullock brothers claimed to have been several miles away from these events,they were charged with inciting a riot and Matthew was charged with intent to murder.The next day Plummer was arrested and imprisoned in the local jail.The following morning a mob stormed the jail and lynched Plummer,and another Black man named Alf Williams.Matthew fled town,and eventually made it to Canada.There he settled in Hamilton,Ontario working in the construction industry.When he was located to Canada in 1922 his extradition was demanded,and Matthew was imprisoned in the Hamilton jail for immigration violations.In Canada he became a cause celebre as activist insisted that he would not received a fair trial extradited to North Carolina,and could face the same fate as his brother.The campaign for his release was led by by the St.Paul's African Episcopal Church and by the newspaper The Globe which gave extensive coverage to the case.There were five editorials about the case in the New York times.In the United States the NAACP campaigned on Matthew behalf,but the white residents of Norlina circulated a petition demanding is extradition.North Carolina Governor Cameron  A Morrison pressured the state Department to have Matthew returned to face trial.On January 26, Charles Stewart,the Canadian  minister of the interior,announced that Matthew would be released from detention in Hamilton,and that his illegal entry into Canada would be forgiven due to his exemplary behavior while living Canada.Only a few weeks later,however the Americans reiterated their demands for extradition and Matthew was again arrested.The judge in his extradition hearing Colin George Snider,demanded that evidence of Matthew guilt be presented before he would be extradited.Since almost the evidence was eye witness accounts,this would have forced the government of North Carolina to go to considerable expense transporting witnesses to Hamilton.Governor Morrison rejected this,and the Canadadian released Him.