Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-07-14

er to escoro ~ ",'u hRVir 1led from the
would otbe s me chPOGer as he ran, al
room, dr". STV'eerscer was pressing close
thor.i Hlm,
No previous threats or acts Of insub-
ordination. He struck asingle blow and
rum, dropping tho poker as hcrau, though
the overseer was pressing close behind
him. He had no more, nor as much rea-
son to suppose he had seriously injured
his oyerseer, as the physician had in u
few minutes afterward to pronounce it n
slight wound requiring only the applica-
ton OF cold water and vet while Mr..
jackson was pressing upon his heels with
the yigor Of unsubdued manhood he did
not seek to repeat the blow, but threw
down the poker and escaped with all his
strength and activity from the chastise-
ment he thought Mr., Jackson would give
him if he suffered himself to be caught,
Who can believe that this slave under
these circumstances intended to kill his
overseer? Who does not rather think
that his object was to escape the chastise-
mont he was receiving? Where is the
evidence of wi!fulaeSs Of purpose or malice,
which in Vlrgininia is the essence of crime
in the eye Of the law, as it is throughout
Gods civilized universe in ethics
This whipping and kicking, this eek
element and suffering" was no proyoca,
ton for the slave to kill his oversser Go
vernon Johnson never said It was. He
said in his message Ct the nth of May,
and he still thinks, that the death of the
overseer was not " contemplated or desired
By the SlaVe." Why should he in his mes
sage seek to adduco justiliable provoca-
ton for an offence he never thought, and
that no person now thinks, the slave in
tended TO commit II he had taken the
position that the slave intended to Kill, and
then committed the punishment on the
ground "that the injury was inflicted by
single blow, given at moment Of great
excitement and suffering produced rs it
was in this case, by the exercise of law
full right on the part of the master, then
might the Wing members Of the commit,
tee Of Courts of Justice, and the Wing
members of the House, together with
few gerry young Democrats, with truth de-
clare that "The act of the Executive,
with the reasons assigned for it in the for
mer message, had-a tendency to produce
a spirit of INSTRUMENTATION dangerous 10
to the community" The declaration is
libel on the Executive of the Common
wealth And until the recorded vote is
expunged from the Journal of the House,
"a dark and damning stain will be stamp
ed upon the honor of the State. His
message of the 18th of May stands unre-
tracted, unaltered, unmoIifed-the act
OF communication is unregretted and unre-
pented OF. If the act and The message
had tendency to produce spirit Of
INSTRUMENTATION dangerous to the commu-
nity," the past, the present and the fu.
ture glory of the country demand, either
that the author of the act and message
shall be impeachcd or that the libel on his
fair fame shall be expungcd from the
Journal of the House.
When this language was used the Go,
vernon was giving a history Of the case,
as he understood the testimony to exhibit
h;.pnd was endcavoring to show that the
Object of the boy was to avoid the {" chas-
tisense"t he 'nas receiving," Whipping and
kicking, in this case, lras intended and no
doubt did produce excitement and suffer-
in9" If, then, we admit that the Gfri-
can slave is human being, or, that he be-
longs to the animal creation, we are bound
to conclude that the whipping and kick
ing which this halt-witted boy of 7 years
of age received was calculated to excite |
and cause him to seek to avoid the suC- |.
lerIng consequent upon this species of.
chastisemeut. So Governor Johnson
thought and said. So think-so YOU
think. If this be treason, let those who
think it such, make the most Of it 1t is
the teachings of common sense and it.
addresses itself as well to the Jew as the
Christian, and to the savage as well as to
the civilized man
Nothing can be presumed in this case
from the character Of the instrument used.
lie did not place the weapon at the stove
he did not go to the stove at his own
option-there was no premeditalion on
his part in the use of tho weapon, and if
there had been, the character of the wca-
pom, as shewn in the official record of the
case sent to the Governor, was not such
as to justify the legal inference of malice
or an intent TO Kill. The size or weight of
the poker was not proven; nor was ii
proven to be an instrument from which
death might probably ensue from single
blow, Here let me notice an interesting
item in the Wing preamble adopted by
the House OF Delegates.
"On examining the record, We find that Hatch-
or struck Jackson on the head with an iron rokcr
Of sufficient size and ,ocigh to gioc moriut Jipc
the instrument was such as would probably have
accustomed death or great bodily harm. Such be-
ing the character of tho instrument; the absence
OF al intention TO kill is not of itself sufficient to
prevent the homicide beiug murder"
appeal 10 that record to bear witness
to the PoIpabIe misrepresentation of facts
OF vital Importance made in this extract.
The record says it was an iron poker but
1T no where says it was "an iron poker If
sufficient eeeigAt o"d size to give mortal
GI0V : nor does this record any where
say it would proba6iy Aage occasioaed dsatA