Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-08-31
From the Maysville, KY, Eagle, Aug. ~.
Interesting Legal ProcccdiMg-A A
White Slave Declared Free.

One of the most remarkable and in
tensely interesting cases, ever brought
before court of justice, was tried and
disposed of in our Circuit Court last week
The plaintiff, Ann Goddard, was hand
some young woman, about twenty -one
years OF age, perfectly white, with long,
luxuriant and straight hair, graceful and
easy in manners, and having all the APP
pearance OF an accomplished and wei
raised lady. Her features bore the high
est marks of European perfection, and
there was not the slightest Indication of
African blood in her VEINS
She brought suit for her freedom, alleg-
ing that she had been forcibly arrested
by the officers and lodged in the negro Jail
of the late James Mcmillan, under the
claim of the defendant, Mary Goddard
that she was her slave, "when in truth she
was free white woman.'
The suit was brought nearly two years
ago by Hon. h. II. Stanton and prosaru :ed
by him, with the assistance of Hon. w.
II. Wadsworth and Judge j. d. Taylor,
and defended by Hon. II. Taylor and T.
c. Campbell, Esq. When the jury was
sworn, the only testimony relied on by
the plaintiff, was the exhibition of her own
person for their inspection, her counsel
claiming that her appearance was prinaa
tocta evidence of her freedom, and the
presumption thus being raised, of course
tile burden of the proof rested upon the
defendant to establish her Il slave An
attempt was then made by the defendant
to prove her the daughter of mulatto
named Matilda by whom the plaintiff had
been reared from infancy, but in this they
did not succeed, as no witness was intro
duced who was present at the birth of the
Child.
The case was ably argued on both sides
and much feeling was manifested in the
community on behalf of the plaintiff When
the jury brought in their verdict, to the
effect that she was free aOhite wonsom,"
the Judge was compelled to address the
audience upon the improperly of any de-
of applause in Court of
Justice, in order to keep down universal
impulse to show the satisfaction given by
the result.
Is not the above beautiful i'll ustra,ior.
of the Democratic" institution of SIa-
very, which that party are attempting by
all kinds of fraud and violence, to force
on the people Of the Territories. Look
at it: "AM accomplished and erelL-roised
Iaely, graceful and easy in her manners,
perfectly achite, a0ith Iururjaat and straight
hdir, ,her features bearing tie highest marks
Of European perfection, &c, is seized by
rufian hands, and thrown into common
Negro pen, and after being kept there for
two years, is only saved from the name
less horrors and polutions of that develish
system which Wesley pronounced "the
sum of all villainies," by the simple fail
are to prove that the dealers in human
flesh had kidnapped her mother
Let it be remembered that this is a re-
port of Kentucky paper on the spot, and
not any Republican version of the stoI
and further, that it occurred in Mays
vile, right on the borders of Ohio, in a
part Of Kentucky, where slavery scarcely
exists, and the popular sentiment is OPP
posed TO such scenes. But suppose it mad
occurred in one of the more Southern
States, what would have been her fate -
That of hundreds of like cases. She
would have been placed upon the Auction
Stand, prize to be secured by wh"crcr
Of The bcastiaI cipNd would Iay Tie