New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-10

10y or tie State a. alrst number II the mott active
,feufrrs WHO succe.drj IN .lairg the v.giltucn of
the ofi..r ano fed Into IL. State Of New.lurk 81.
soon afe er r.iqrT ed. v.Li before Ja-uce IN Kent
srd pleaded guilty on complaint procured by them
selves aided by th'se who had in-iigated taem 20 the
commission of the ofense were fined - each. and
uere di,eharged wiiLoat the payment ~ costs. ricv
wee subsequ, n'ly sei he ench warrant aud
after vtrH trss before the superior Court resulting
mostly in dsscreeaens Of the Jury, have al been
, nGaiy acquitted.
IT.. nrc,ecntirc officer q the comfy hss made TIE
most oihgent srd per-everng efforts - bring them to
/ iustcs bui al xiihou: avail
L. soon became apparent ths' The deed was premei
tatei sud tha, unprir cip,d f property AMI in-
fu.rce lad combined toseth,r 10 plan ami in,t,aie
t The uTr8Ce.
Ian Ir.st then an Attorney and Ju1ce oi Prph,= in
Ken. lie subsequently aEFe.tat on ne chsrse ot
taking uorcy-'riter from the Po,t-Ohirs ID ,ni
vlicn Ia been mailed by tie owner, aud which coo-
taiu,d Sc Tie was found guilty aud seutan ,ri -
two vesr. .fugrurmeu' and after serving ont litt.e
more tran s. NJ time has IL j. understood through
the inercessiou OF Mr. Secretary Toucey, recently
ceiysd plIdon from Pre.iden Bu,hanan.
More than onehslf of the stolen money is still unre-
fupded.
Hoping TO obtain Justice through a Connecticut
Cont and Jury. bruug5t civil -uit az ains Bepjl
min Tompkps ard hi. son EberS rompkns charging
them with aijirg sbstting and nsieatlrg the assault
Its frt Trial was hadat the N0vembe Term, 1897 vf
the Superior Court for this County snd resute ia the
disagreement Of the Jury IN damages only.
A few days before this first trial, one Joseph s.
| Jones' who, il was thought, had or would make dis
closures relative 10 the matter was most brually as
santed in the night season, 10 his dwelling house in
Kent A stone weighing mcrsihan two p0nncs was
thrown h great force against bis head cutflng ani
bruisrg ls face severely and endsngering bls h.e.
One of tie defendants, Eber :. Tompklus. was one of
the patty Of assailants, and It is generally believed
that the object of the assault was to disable Jones SO
as TO prevent him from appearing rs witress in the
sboveLamed trIal. He, however, dlt appear, though
. al ltau ftn.a
of.rse has never been prosecuted the authorities
usrg to take any action Jones AMI others who have
made disclosures, have been subjected 10 series oi
malignant prosecutions of very aggravated nature.
The asf trial OF my suit was at the late September
term of tie Superior Court.
To give the public a correc. idea Of the it may
be proper to state briefly some Of the sroog points of
the evidence applicable to Benjamin TompkGs the
only responsible dcf-ndap, in the suit
One " tness swore that defendant told him few
DAYS prior to the assault that Kellogg wond be ared
snd esthered and invited him to be present and sAi
If those who had engaged t. do it failed he had that
in Lis house that would Mt axe them do it, Defendant,
while in company with William Treat invited two
highly respectable gentlemen of Warren To be present
| and To give bis own language, as sworn 10 by both
these Witnesses, said tell all our sort of boys To come,
for going to have good deal of Il ne, or in
other words he'll of time. One OF the last wit
u, also to conversation between defendant
and one George Taylor where Taylor stated defendant
had exhibited large roll of money and said that was
TO carry on that scrape with lmaanipg the tar AMI
feather srrapfl, ana that defendant requested
Taylor 10 keep sti about il. That defendants hired
man ives in his kitchen the morning before the as
sallt with his hands and face blacked and otherwise
disguised; snd that the hired man marched con-
ps,y up from defendants house to the place OF trial,
hinssf among theni and that said hired man was
the chief leader in the assault ~as fact proved, and
admitted by defendant himself.
Nine or ten respect sble witnesses substantially
that defendant at the time urged tem or others IN
their pIesence to help tar AM feather Kellogg telling
tJa, h.. f,nft no al nj hy
and after the affrsy, commenced telling them 10
rush up" putting Ei- hand against them aud push-
ing them up, saying, D. him; pnt il on 70 him -
Several of the witnesses swore that when the as.ai
ants were holding back defendant called out TO them,
I" II the yourg men are not going ahead and do il,
lay down the tools neaning the tar and feathers.
and the old men will take hold-he "ould for one
Mr. SpeIry, the Deputy Sheriff testified that hs step
ped up to defendant and asked him Ia assi. in stop
ping the riot but he made reply. Three witnesses
swore thnt defendant requested ihem to g. to his
prs meee after liquor, and Of them vert. Ti,
what he had "tbat wouli make them do it, One
witness set by defendant to watch, and when
started for home Ia give notice. and defendant said to
witness they waited to get men who had property
to tar and feather Kellogg because men of property
would have to pay heavy damages, and to others
hibitsd piece Of money saying vas all he had with
bim In; he had got $500 in the oil pocket-book at
home, and he would spend it all for the boys.
When Efforts being made to arrest the offend
ers, the defendant sent wori to them 70 meet at a
certain place, ard b. sscreted from the officers; while
III company with sad Treat in their place Of conceal
ment, and advised them 10 leave The State-at the
same time saying il they had 10 go to jail, he defend
anti would roll barrel Of brady in 10 them
The foregoing few of the most prominent facts,
as sworn to by about thirty urinpeaehed Witnesses,
and uncoDtradIcted 10 any material point, except by
defendant himself.
The defendant introduced number Of witnesses %
prove that he did at stage of the af ay tell them
II time to stop H. which was taking int, cOnder-
alton bis previous conduct and decarations doubtless
isse and fraudulent pretense, and few swore to
shallow perversion Of the plaintiff evitencs-to ~it,
the yourg are not going to take hold aud stop
" it, the old men must the young men being those
who were actually engaged in the riotl.
TIE dett ndant claimed that he tried to get away the
bag Of feathers from the rDters but the truth
out in the following manner: ID. Couch, one OF de-
feudapts Witnesses, swore that be heard Benjamin
Tompkips tel Gordon Peet to get the bag Of
feathers. Eber s. Tompkips tuat Gordon Peet
did take tie feathers from him. {. Griffin, another Of
detopdalts witnesses, swore that Gordon Peet was
the u an that Put the feathers Oh to Kellogg.
And yet in the face Of all this proof, and more
Jury Of twelve men, under oath, in Ltchhed County,
in the 81 .e Of Connecticut, returned verdict IN favor
of Ber amin TOmpkins, to recover his costs. YER
diet against the other defendant Eber ;. Tonpklns,
aLd 0gains. whom there much less proof, Was re-
timed 10y the came jury for slj damages and tlo
costs!
Ills verdict Of the Jury and its acceptance by the
Court, can regard III other light tnan deliberate
Justification Of the outrage wrong in greater de-
gree, and studied insult more yenonous IN Ito cnar'
acter than the assault itself.
Suppose Judge Of the Superior Court bad been
met II the street by band OF drunken romans;
seized, chOked, beaten and bruised, tarred ana
fcaiLered, and rode on rail think you, Mr. E1i'of
he would have accepted fifteen dollar verdict IL
he thinks go le. Linn try it on, ald VIII pa'!ehty
await the result.
Ia al the investigations q tls matter it has not
been pretended that ! treated Elwyn, or any 3'ners