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

sarS 10 justify constructive
,sse.epss, the instrument must be such as
would likely or probably produce death or
great bodily harm, and not aninstrument
That might possibly do so, or tliatfas done
so, in a single instance. One using such
an Instrument, the law presunies intend
ed to kill. But in'this case, if the instru-
ment had been such as described by the
committee, the legal presumption ofmalice
could not have obtained for he struck
but one blow he might have repeated it,
but did not do So The slave had no rea-
son to think he had killed his overseer !;
for he Immediately sprang to his feet and
pursued the slave out of the room and
even the physician who examined the
wound shortly after, thoughtit slight one.
The distinguished lawyer who drew up
that report knew full we'll the proof ne
cessary to sustain the charge of murder:
and we must conclude that he either had
not examined the evidence before he
wrote the report, or, that having read the
evidence, he found the record deficient,
and in his zeal to condemn the Governor,
supplied the deficiency. l am willing,
however, to take the most charitable
view, and am therefore bound TO conclude,
that Mr.. Robinson and those Whir mem
bers of the committee, had never read the
evidence in this Gaze when they made
their Curious report upon it. And, consi-
denng by whom this report was made, it
is Tot surprising that the Wing members
of the House supported it. | once asked
a supernatural Methodist peacher, and
very good man, why he usually slept
in church ? He said " he only done so
when "Pap Collard'' preached
waited till the text was read and
the subject divided, and knowing that
" Pap Collard" would preach it right, he
gave himselfno concern about it and went
to sleep" So it is with the Wing mem
bers generally OF the House of Delegates.
they go it blind" on any report intend
ed for political effect drawn up and signed
by Mr., Robinson or Scott. And as for
the Democrats who voted for the pream-
BILE, they were generally quite young.
Uuder our statute distinguishing be-
teen the grades of offence, the killing
must be w2ful, deliberate and premsaitatsa,
to constitute murder in the first degree.
This statute was borrowed from the code
tan tLo iinor nf tLo cor,n,or law CAT
common law ali tho burthpn of nroof Of
cxfennotino circumstances law m lbn de-.
PENDANT hit now the bnrthcn If nrooflies
IN the commonwnoItt !" Mr. S., III Of
Farnnicr in y snercL If Soma len,,,b do.
livcred on this subject in :he House and
recently published in the Times, fell into
the objectionable error, for one of his le-
S"' "-.''''.'ie'IS' W ~ sNPP'9l"o '"''U N'uci
the statute OF Virginia, as at common
law, every homicide was murder until the
defendant sLowrd lhn contrary nv nroof
~ ovtowr,tir,r o;rc,,r,st.rcos la ,,,os
VI 'NIN""'"lS 0''e "'lt',""TT'' Ai0 ""'
mistaken, IL was not Tor Hatcher to re-
ducu the offence to mnnslaurhl or, but it
InvnIvnI mn tI,n commonwealth, r., ro;so l.
w, I ~
10 huTueI' w nat lawyer, thch, VIII 'ake
the record in this case and uivest himself
of the rigorous fic,ions OF the common
I,,,, -,,,J no., Gov, tI,.+ IIo,,L,,,, ,, So,
a Will JcI;horS,o anl nrrmcIitatcJ Lii.
;nw9 What viii VIM think whrn ran
VIZ, tbot ,hn cif,, pIosncntnr who ,s,,ol,oI
3vcr ami nnrsrd this case in tho Hnst.
;n9s, Conrt of Richmond and ,L.n oJ-
Iros,aj H.. in1iunotjon mertinp hell in
tLo C;tv JT,II H. ar, .l,,,,,.;,,, ., tLn oot
of communication did NIT hnlinvo H,tcLo,',
casn If wiInI Ja,;bnratn owl A ,,rnn,,,,;
tal r ;,i".9 ' II t'i''o o,i. "tu PIGieuI
lie "un n,9,,, ,r;I, '''! e'He' 'n.i i ..o''
nn liz, 49,; ;J rao, WIN PLY w. w. TtI So'.
Tnnrt t'' ~ t H., "'," Wv i"S..'5
rnnnns sonfarca 1t";d,t o ta"'Ia,, tf a" , 81
''t' rnad rrn, to P. ,"oJ Go,u'" nln,oneI
,1 s"'m% -, ' llTo Siw f" 81 t ,I,o T
('to Mnr -'''d ~ '"' ivy AA"'' VI 'i' '''
" NJ, Jos,,,, Mayo ,o,, a., s,,,,. 1,a,.o,
scd tho meeting bri;ny. liz regretted exceeding
Iy the necessity of this meeting aud hoped these
present. w'n'a DC sa.ISu WIN III, adoption OF
T%".n,iy ill., hon" ,bo , nnrr oO sbS o. b I'VE
b,en executed, as h5 had b,.n fairly tried and
conlon,ocI by All Impartial Court, who had the