The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-06-30
Latter from GEN. Dodd,

Letter from Gen. DOddI
Sheriff Gavitt received last evening,
and handed to US for publication the follow
ing letter from Gen. Dodd:
TERRE HAUrs, June 29, 1856.
]. S. lvITT, Esq
Dear Sir:-The trial of the persons are
rested in Clay county, came off yesterday,
and, as was predicted, thong Ill the Slate prov
ed by two witnesses that several Of them
were guilty, the defence had no difficulty in
proving an Glibi, or in convincing the Court
that these two witnesses we're unworthy of
belief
Some forty persons were examined, living
in the vicinity of these outrages, and in
nei .hborhoods where the men who have
done the work, must have come from, yet
every man swore that he never had any
knowledge that it was to be done, nor did he
have any idea who did it.
When an abb could not be proven, (aid It
was impossible in some of the cases to find
a pretext for IT'D they resorIed to impeach-
ment; and it was no hard task to convince q
Clay county justice, that any evidence es-
tablishing the guilt of the parties was un.
worthy of belief.
Thus has ended in legal farce, The last
effort which Git is hoped) the State of Indi-
ana will ever make to bring an offender
against the law, to justice in Clay county.
The State has exhausted every effort,
through the authorities in Clay county, to
l.protect public or private properly, and it has
hereafter to be at the mercy of an unpriR-
cipIed and irresponsible MOB, or the State
must find some means to- arrest offenders and
take them out Of Clay county for trial.
Alter the adjournment of Court Capt.
John Osborn addressed the crowd in high.
| ly infammatory speech. denouncing the Gov
ernor, the military, and the proclamstions,
in unmeasured terms; and saying, but for his
efforts, and those of a few other "law-abiding
citizens" in restraining the people, the flow.
er OF Evansville would have been trodden
beneath the feet of Clay, or drowned in blood
-or thrown in the canal-=a climax whirh
some of your boys reached without the inter-
ference OF Osborn and his army.
| TWAS a valiant speech, and stirred up the
/ feelings If his auditory to great pitch, but
fortunately no damage was DONE though the
poor witnesses for the State were in some
danger, until the deputy sheriff, Cromnell,
interfered and protected them.
tits to be hoped that no further injury will
be done 10 the Canal. as the Trustees have
hands now employed at the clearing of the
reservoir, but there is no security for life OF
property there so long as a band Of reckless
and unprincipled men control public opn-
ion, themselves controlled in turn, by knaves
and demagogues. who pull the wires to ad'
vance their own ends.
saw the proceedings of your meeting af-
ter your return. and for the fattering man.
ner in which am spoken of by all concern
ed and in the resolutions, you have my
thanks.
| Present my compliments to my friends
DENLY, Kenyon, Carson, Reed, and others
acquaintance made while we were to.geth.
! err.
trust we shall not soon forget either the
hardships or pleasures of our biuouGe upon
the shores of Birch Creek.
Write me at Marion. l shall be glad to
hear from you. Yours truly.
J. w. DODD.