The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-02-13
LOCAL MArTnRe.

disposiDg Of certain civil business the case :
Roger Pryor. indicted for misdemeauor. va
called. and aofte proseqai entered by the Attor
nsy for the Commonwealth, by the advice of th
Goutf afssr hearing the following letter, from Dl
Finney, read:
/ RIc sMosD, Nov 25.h, 1856
onH Hefs andlng that there is prosecution pendin
m tne Hastings Court of the city of Richmon
seahsl roger A. Pryor, Esq for assault and BIS!
seS COMMITTED on me, take pleasure ia exoneratin
Tr: rIyor from the chargs of unprovoked assault
onaer erroneous impressions with regard to 8 publ
rHi'n 10 ths Enquirer, of which Mr. Pryor was ispo
.hn., en-, nsa asnounced him 10 unmessured terms N
| snreatshed 10 post him This dsuuncistion was re
ported to him, and when we met he had good reaso,
70 behsys that was armed and INTENDED to a.tacI
a.T NJ ms s suoseqnent conduct was desisred by him
s.l, 20 DOUBT, e. measure of selfdefsrcs and il
that hght may with good reason be REGARDED. earn
esiy desire that the prosecution against Mr. Pryol
may De dismissed aud thst he may b, no furthsr na
Tested for any matter growing out of our late disr
| en:e. q E,nsn
The next case called was that of William e.
| Clarke, charged with felony. After hearing thu
evidence. the case was submitted without srgr
ment, and the Court sent the prisoner on for ana
trial at the next term of the Circuit Court and ad
| mitted him to bail for lis appearance in the sum
OF SlooO, which be readily gave Two witnesses
! were introduced for the defence, one of whom
proved that he saw a man give the prisoner goL,
watch on the morning after the robbery OF H. 4
rearces $ store, while talking to him in the mar
! kes; and the other, that he met man on l7th
| street, calling himself Smith, who offered to sell
1
| taoilshed to the satisfaction of Jury, they will
| doubtless have their due weight
| WhipDiag a White Man.-The case of whining
| " hlte convict in ths chain gang the evidence in
which we laid before our readers in the last issue
| Cf the Dispatch, came up before the Mayor yes
| serday morning, and was argued at le1gth by r.
| H. uo"iioD. isq in defence CT Overseer Perrin
| caar ged with the set, and WIN. F. Watson. Esq
VINO asked to be heard, not as an advocate but as
| citizen The great length of the argams nts to-
gttaer with the opinion of the Mayor, prevents US
from even attempting an outline of the various
| speeches, which yere listened to with marked
| attention by large concourse of persons mapv
| a whom expressed no little anxiety to hear what
| was said on both sides
Mr. IIowison led off in a very happy effort,
| aud took the broad ground, that under the com-
mon law jaier had right to enforce subordina-
tion among his prisoners by eorporeal punishment.
and quoted authorities to sustain his position
| The oversesr OF The chain gang had authority,
under the statue OF 1876 and the ordinance of the
| Council to compel proper decorum and obedience
| among those under him, by force and as Perrin
| had Ussd no more force than was necessary to
| suodue refractory prisoner, be had not trans
| cended his duty as an officer Mr. III. thought the
chaStisement administered to Shahee, whose char.
acter was of the very worst vas perfectly iusti-
liable as an act of self defence, as be had raised
| an iron ball and threatened to kill his overseer
| fore he was beaten. He then read the law Of
self defence, applied it to the case in point and
| concluded by pointing out the saluiary effects of
| of the chain gang On the pauper class of this CON-
| muni'y, and to the great good it had effected by
| preventing the assemblage here of vagrants from
| all parts CT the world, TO seek winter asylum
| where they were fed and clothed at the expense
/ OF the lahorDg, industrious classes.
| Mr.. Watson was in favor OF woik~house in
| which vagrants and paupers may be confined and
made to labor, but he could not tolerate the idea
| of applying The lash to white men put to work on
the streets for petty offences and fei, assured that
| the law did not justify such degrading course
| 1t prisoner were refractory, it was the duty of
| the ovefseer to take him back to jail and report
him to the Mayor-but not to take the law in his
| own hands and punish him by the lash, at bis
| discretion. The ordinance of the city had given
| no policeman the power to assume the position Of
judge snl intlict punishment at his discretion; and
until that express power was given, no officer had
| the right to assume and act upon it.
Mr.. Howison replied briefly, and insisted that
| the power was vested by the common law till ta-
ken away by legislation, and referred to the action
| Of Judge Fry OF the Wheeling circuit, no. 10
| similar case, had decided that the overseer had
right to whip the refractory convicts Of the chain
| gang In that place-or rather to compe, them to
| labor by the application of corporeal punishment
| At the conclusion of the argument the Mayor
| went over tue entire ground assumed by the two
| gentlemen who had addressed him, and after citing
authority after authority, and giving his views Of
| the @ )mmCn law, the 8 atues of Virginia and the
Ordinant eof the city, decided that the Overseer
of the Chain Gang had no authority, to iufl'ct
corporesl punishment on any of the prisoners
entrusted to his charge. II they were refractory
it as his duty to take them back to the city JAIL
| and report their conduct to him or the Hustings
Court; but he had no authority to punish them in
any other way. jailor, he admitted, could use
| the necessary force te keep securely q convict
submitted to his charge, and to that end might
| resort TO corporeal punishment, but in no other
| instance. A police officer, too, could resort to
| force, il assaed, in executing the laws; but no
| officer, save in the execution Of the sen ence OF
4 yhn IJufyv had thn rtrtf ntAnIxy
| lash to white man. With all the lights before
him. he could not say that Officer Perrin, in beat
| ing Shahee, had acted in seit-defenee, under the
| Interpretation of the Jaw. He could not, and,
| therefore, would not, attempt to justify the con-
| duct of Perrin towards Shahee. however kind bis
| conduct had generally been to the men under his
control. His only object now was to enquire into
the affair, and to give hi, opinion to his officers
| We understand that an effort will be made to-
| day TO have Officer Perrin presented by the
Grand Jury which will be in session at ~ o'clock.
and we suppose that all the witnesses who have
testified either side before the Mayor, will be
| in attendance on that body.
| Shooting Scropc-Charles D. Landrum was ar.
| raigned before the Mayor yesterday to answer
the charge of shooting at with intent to KILL Chas.
| W. Glenn, on Monday night last. The evidence
| proved that Glenn lad shot himself in the neck
| that evening, before going to Landrum's house,
where he behaved SO badly, ia presence of ladies'
| that he was ordered out aud threatened with vio-
l
the street by of his friends aud there held til
| Landrum put up his window shutter and lock ed
| his door-and that he then kicked out a panel oil
| the door and was trying to force the door open
| when Landrum fired pistol towards him, but did
| him injury. The evidence was so conclusive
| against Giann, that the warrant was dismissed and
Landrum released.
| Bread for tie Poor.--Mr Bates, the Superinten.
dent of Streets, received aud dst ibuted
one hundred loaves of bread, sent to him for tie
/ poor from Adams bakery
| Tie Treasurer Of the Union Beney olent Society,"
/ acknowledges the receipt of fifiy dollars from X
| FL Dula sey, E.q, of LoGdonn county, Va, for the
benefit of the poor OF the city. Also thirty. 70
dollars through the hands Of Rev. Mr.. Peterkin fol
| tae same object.
| Transfers and owners Of all other vehicles als
stirring up hornets nest, from every cell Of hici
will soon issue q policeman, With q summons Il
| show cause why they should not be fiaed. A Late
ordinance passed by the City Council, makes ii ih,
| outy of each of these gentlemen to call on ths
(hanberlain and obtain licenses for their vehicles
| AS yet not more than one-fourth of them kav.
roml lied with this law, and as eleven days hav'
rolled by since the appointed time, the police Off
GERS will 90 10 work At once and report 10 the Mayo
all carriages, cabs, omnibasses, wagons, dfays ant
carts found on the streets aud not regularly d
ceased The fac for each offence is not less tha,
| &y nor more than so. and In order 10 save tha
much we advise our teamst rs 10 walk up to III
captains Office and settle forthwith
| W.;