The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-09-17
LOCAL MATTERS.

/ LYONS on "A writ OF hht.dS c0rpHS for the pur
! pose of ensuring him hearing, aud of apply.
! Jug for bail. Atfve O'Clock Judge Lyons tooY
| his seat, and after the usual preimina ries
| Col August opened the case preparatory tr
| hearing witnesses. The ground taken by him
| and his associate was, that their client was
now he!u III prison. with no other pretext for
| hoidIn. htnl, save and except the oath OF Ben.
| JAmin M. Morris, police otfice~ who in.
| formed the Mayor that Grenshaw was charged
with shooting JOHN D. AsKEw, but who was
not present AT the shooting aud knew nothing
| Oh tEe circumstances under which the shoot
ing was DONE or who did it. On this hearsay
ties timony, the Mayor had issued his warrant
anu committed the prisoner, without examin-
lhg single Wltncss-and as he had been in
jail four days, and been refused hearing,
they thought he was illegally detained, and
therefore desired him to be baled. The rnita-
mus charged him with teiOuious shoot bu I
no eye-Withesses had testified 10 the fact, and
Us me law presumed every man innocent I'M
III found gullty-and rs cren4haw, after the
ahray, had delivered himself into the hands OF
the law and demanded an inyrsti igation, and
an examination had been refused him, he was
emitted 20 bail to answer when the Common
Weai tn was ready
MIR. TazeweiI, for The Common wealth. con-
Tended that the prisoner ought TO have applied
Tor nandamus to compel the Mayor to give
him hearing, and not for habeas corpus
II he was illegally detained, the Court could
not learn that fact by oral testimony, nor
could IL be introduced to set aside the Judicial
Judge Lyons refused to release or bail the
accused merely because he had been refused
an examination, or committed on the oath Of
an officer who knew nothing of the charge J
but consented to hear the evidence i'll the
cause, and then decide the question of bail.
This course being determined on, the witness
ses We're called and sworn. We append the
substance OF the evidence of each, merely
emitting repeti itlons and answers to outside
questions having no direct bearing on the
charge.
Joseph Mayo, (Mayor of Richmond sworn.
| was applied To by Alderman K. NJ. Burton,
on Tuesday afternoon, the llth inst, 10 &c 10
the office of the Messrs. CreushaW, on the
north side of the Basin, and did 50, When l
got there / found Joseph Creushaw (tae prls
oner) IN the stUdy of officer Morris, and
soon after, Mr.. Perrin came in. | asked on
what charge &. was deta ned, and Morris re-
piled that no charge had been made against
him. Morris then told me " hat he had heard
about the shooting of AskeW. l told hIm l
would commit no man to jail unless he was
specifically charged with AN offence, and d.
TeCted i'm (MorrIs) 10 the wounded man
and learn of him how he was shot Morris
went Oft immediately, and on his return
charged the prisoner with shooting ASkeW,
after having been sworn. The party was
brought before me at the CITY Hall, and on the
oath of Morris, l remanded him for eXamina-
lUn the next morning. On Wednesday, the
prisoner was brou sht before me- l asked DR..
q. a. CrenshaW, the physician of The wound
ed man, what was the condition Of his patient,
ana IeIrNlHS Inat II was very crllICdl, with
cut examining any other WItneSS, L reminded
the pri-oter unul Friday. This morning the
prisoner again appe tred before me. l again
qUeS TONED DIR. CreushdW as to The cOudItlOn
OF the wounded man, and learning thar ii was
critical, again TemaNded him for further tx-
animation next Tuesday. When l remaHded
the accused, l supposed that ali the witnesses
were in attendance. but learned afterwards
that james Meredith, a minor, was absent
He was in attendance on Tuesday, and prom
lsed To be here to-day, but failed 10 do so. |
have since issued an arrest warrant for him
Ny object lii examining DR.. CEenshaW was
simply 20 ascertain the condition OF the
wounded man.
BENZ NJ. Morris, (police officer sworn Jo-
Seph Crenshaw was committed on my afiida-
Wit. l WAS not present at the shooting, aud all
| knew about it was what l learned from the
prisoner, the wounded man. ana other par
lies. l made the arrest OF g. before | made
The charge against him. When | heard OF the
shooting, l went I'd CTenshaw Office. Justice
Burton came i'll soOu after aud seemed sur
prlsed TO fiGd ME there. l told kim | would
leave if he said so, us he was magis trate.-
He dIrec led me 10 remain with the prisoner,
aud he went after the Mayor. When the TWO
came, l told the Mayor what had heard. He
then sent me to see the wounded man. When l
saw Askev, aud perceived that he was badly
wounded, l asked him WHO did it lie said
n had been shot by Crenshaw. | asked him
which one! He replied, the one they call
JOe.' L returned informed the Mayor of the
statement made by Askew, and preferred the
charge against the accused. Samuel Robinson
tie Iirst person that tois me OF the shoot
ing. When | went TO Crens haW's, l told him
| Understood that he had shot a man. lie
pted that he did not know, but that he had
shot man.
DR.. O..A. Crenshaw, sworn.-There is no
relationship between The prisoner and myself
that | am aware OF. | an one OF the Surgeons
OF Bellevue Hospital. Askew, the wounded
man, Is patient IN that hos pltal, aud Is under
my charge He is wounded III the chest, about
non 10 ha rltyh nj hn n II
four inches below the collar boue. The wound
extends dOWuWardS and 10 the right L ran u
probe into IL to The depth o. five lnche-, with
out reaching the ball. lie has another wound
OG the left thigh, between the knee and hip,
extending upwards and backwards; and
third on the LETT cheek, apparently burned
with powder. When he came to the hospItal
| noticed the black mark on tne cheek, and Oh
served that his Whisker was slightly ecUrched,
as if by the explosion of powder. The wound
III the chest could LOt have oeeu produced by
the discharge OF pistol IA the hands OF Il
man standing in front Of The wounded man,
and firing in a horizontal line 1t might have
been produced by the discharge Of Il pistol
with which The wounded man mad beeu struck
on the head his head being tnrued 10 the
right at the time, and the muzZle or the pistol
iuclining downward at the time of the eX-
ploslon. A pistol might be so fired as To pro-
duce the burn on the left cheek ana the wound
III the chest at the same explosion. AskoW
told me that a. the time he struck his
heaG was inclined to the right, and that he
tell. Judging from the burn the face, the
scorching OF the Whisker, and the black mark
down the cheek, l am OF the opinion that the
wound in the chest was caused by the same
explosion that burned the face The wound
III the leg is merely a flesh wound, and, OF
itself, not dangerous.
Cross-examined.- The condition of the
wounded man is as favorable now could te
expected. He is quiet; has a slight fever; his
SkIu is soft and moist, ana he has a slight
pectoraton, occasionally tinged with blood
he had a fever last "Wednesday night, and lad
20 he oled profueely since then he has been
com Portable and the chances of his recovery
have increased. Askew is muscular, we'll
developed man, weighs about one hundred and
sixty pounds, and has good constitution, If
it mas not been impaired by iutem mperance.-
The chances of recovery at this time are rather
against him. The wound in the chest Is the
most dangerous. The wound III the thigh IN
creasea the chances of the mans dying.
DR.. Thomas Pollard, sworn.--l am one of
the Surgeons at Bellevue Hospital. have
examined the wounded man. When l last
saw him, his condition was as favorable as
could be expected, the severity OF his inju-
ries being considered. On "Wednesday night
last he had a fever, aud was bled copi-
ously. Since then he has been steadily lm
proving. The wound in the chest could not
nave been given by pistol fired III a horiZoL-
TAI line with the parties engaged. 1t might
have been produced by The accidental dis
charge of the weapon, with which IA bio " had
been struck and the muZZle turned downward
al the instant OF firing. DR.. l.. showed the Po-
sitiun in which the wound Is supposed To nave
been inflicted as described by .Dr. Crens shaW. !
NV opinion is, from all en- learn, that The
burn or the cheek and the wound in the chest
were produced by the same explosion. The
burn might have been caused by an upward
expIosion and the wound III the chest might
have been in ntiIcted while the man was down
The wounded man Is of iine muscular devel-
opment and not more than forty years of age
He may have impaired his constitution by iu-
ia m habIIs- he CbHncsS OF recovery
are rather against the wounded man. because
OF the nature OF his wounds.
Dr. James Bolton, sworn-I am one OF the
Surgeons at Bellevue Hospital. L was absent