Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1842-07-13
ROGUES IN RAGS AND ROGUES IN
RUFFLES.

Reader, you have believed this to be country OF
ta,o-the offender against which, whether high or
low, or rich poor, to meet merited pun
ishment You have seen justice represented with
bandage oser her eyes--nicely balanced scales in
infer that while she wasblind to all improper inHu-
ences, and disposed impartiay to weigh all
matters coming under her cognizance, she was
ready to visit upon the guilty, without &c fear, ia
vor, or Affection" her penalties. You have heard
much about eqnatity; it has been rung in your ears
long and so loudly that you have doubtless ina.
glned if there was region people upon the face
OF the earth, favored in equal, and just, and i'm
partial administration of law, that region, and
that people were this Republic and its citizens
All this you have believed; and you have con-
graduated yourself that your lot cast in coun-
try where such happy state of things existed
But are you not deceived! Will not the history of
the past few years, if you refer to it, and scan it.,
prove that you have been huggng to your bo-
SOM a fond deluson-that much of the talk about
justice and equay'-the exhaustless theme of
every fourth July orator. and every politician, and
every newspaper scribbler, is but as " sounding
brass and tnkling cymbal?"
Justice! Is that justice which condemns to
death, poor friendlesss wretch, and in so summa
ry manner that he has scarcely time to breathe
ere he is hurried to the scaffold while the indivd-
ual who is surrounded by wealthy and influential
friends, and is so fortunate to belong to the fash
ionabte class of society, matter how aggravated
in character his crimes, is permitted frequently to
if ,.,tb oh, ;,b o1,
nominal one. Tide, among numerous instances,
the cases of Topping and Colt, in the city of New
York. The former was poor and friendless. 1t
took grand jury but short time to find a bill of
ndictm against him--a petit jury but short
time to mike up verdict uf' guilty, "a Judge but
short time to pronounce a sentence of deathi-
1t for the murder of his wife, in fit OF insani-
ty, brought by intoxcation. This poor
wretched stood alone, with no human being
to pity sustain him, except a plain, poverty
stricken woman-his sister, who had come into
court, looking scarcely less miserable than the pris
oner to hear sentence of death passed upon him.
Before he was brought up to the bar, this poor
man who had stood by his side, wringing her hands,
and turning wild looks upon the judge was taken
from the room, for she could not stay to hear the
sentence passed The prisoner stood up trembling
and scarcely able to support himself-He was ask
ed if he had anything to say why sentence of death
SHOULD not be pronounced. Looking hopelessy
around, if for some friendly face to support him
in what he had to say, he replied
There more persons here now, than will be
at my execution, | suppose. l know no more
about it than the child unborn with the exception of
..;po ooinU iptO the nd coming ~ of
it. | lay by her three hours and half, and she
dead. i got up from my place and said to her,
" rise, there has been no v.cuals cooked Tor two
days. and | put my toe TO her 70 wake her, nut
there was no reply; rolled her on her Greast
and found she was cold-dead lifted her in my
arms, and took her to the bed, and she appeared
like chlld-she fell out of my arms upon the bed.
The stream was running warm from her head then,
and thought she was not dead and covered her
so high (ponting to his chest) with the clothes. l
put my hand upon her bosom, and my mouth to hers
but so 1t was, she was dead! When was
rested, l said we had lived together 81 years; and
were we to part that way, and if | had done it, |
ought to remember something about it. don't
even remember her features; only recollect that
there was such person. If | am to die, hope
that God will give me strength to bear Il"
The cuprt was condemned to be hung on the
9th of August.
The latter belonged to respectable family-he
had wealthy and influential friends make interest
in his behalf and although his crime, IN point of
cold boded arocity, is unequaled in the annals of
guilt and the evidence of it, as strong and paipabe
as the light at noon-day yet grand jury hestated
in finding a bill of indictment against him-a trav-
erse Jury, with difficulty made up verdict of guilty
and after being convicted, every artifce in the
way eff procrastinaton is tolerated notwithstanding
the culprit has even made confession of his crime.
According TO The Saturday Courier, the court has
complied with reques, of his counsel, and allowed
a hearing, which is to be had at Utica this
month. The N. Y. Evening Tattler, thus signi6-
cantly comments upon this business: There are
wheels within wheels, and it need not be wondered
at if at some future time the machinery of the law
be made TO work, by its eng neers, to the enlarge
ment of the individual implicated.
A case in point may be found in our own terrific
ry. We refer to the murder committed in one OF
our halls of Legislation. Here the culprt was man
of 'ocalM and standing. He provoked his victim,
by an insult, to strike blow, and then deliberate
ly shot him through the heart Whatin this case,
has been the result thus fars He underwent an
examination before justices, and was remanded TO
prison. upon the most satisfactory testimony, to
swer for the crime of murder. Shortly afterwards,
however, he brought out on a writ of haJeas
corpus and upon hearing before one of our judges
was admitted to bail Subsequently, the matter
was submitted to grand jury of the county in
which the offence was committed, and through the
extraordinary exertions of friends and counsel, and
of the cuprit himself, who had visited personally
most of the members of that jury, and used every