Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1861-03-26

A case which afforded good deal of fun, ant
which involved knotty point Of law under III
comical exterior, came up recently in the Su-
prene Court of Pennsylvania, at Philadelpbia
The history of the case and the scenes in thu
Court are thus related by the Bulletin; s"-'
It seems. that away up in Luzerne county
| lived q man named Elisha Harris. He owned
large farm, and was supposed to have saved
considerable money. He was an eccentric and
close listed individual, and he lived entirely
secluded and alone. In July, 1858, he died.
His administrators ceuld find no property but
the ordinary household furniture, &c. Accord
| ing to custom, they had q vendue, which was
well attended, it being inferred that the money,
which it was supposed the deceased died pos
sessed of, bad been concealed somewhere. and
old chests and bureaus probably never before
sold 30 well at an up country sale.
Well, one David M. Huthmacher, an honest
Dutchman, went to the sale, and a nondescript
article Of furniture was struck off to him for
fifteen cents. IL was q square hlock of pine
wood, about three feet long and ten or twelve
inches square, supported by four legs, each
about foot and a half in length. On the tor
was horizontal wheel, with an iron spindle at.
tached to it. II was an outlandish affair, and
II might, for all we know, have come out OF the
ark, and been applied to antedluvian uses
David paid his ifteenscents, hauled his purchase
home, and threw II on the wood pile. In course
Of time it came to be split open for FIRE wood,
when, 10! 1t was found to contain SO, 3,754 so in
gold and silver coin and promissory notes Da
vid, though poor, was honest, and he informed
the administrators of his discovery. The result
was, suit was entered to determine to whom
the treasure should belong. The lower Court
decided against honest David, and he appealed.
Such was the case that came up yesterday, and
IL occasioned much merriment d. .
The case was argued by Hendrick B. Wright
Esq, for David, and E. L. Dana, Esq for the
estate of Harris.
Mr.. Wright contended that David was guilty
Of no fraud or Misrepresentation, and that he
was entitled to have all that he boupht-Iog,
spindle and money. He cited divers old cases,
such as that Of the bedstead of Richard III ).
which, many years after the battle of Bosworth
Field, was sold, and the buyer found the frame
and posts filled with gold coins; and the case
of a TROPICAL bird, sold recently in New Orleans,
the owner finding in Its craw some valuable
diamonds. Were these jewels sold with the
bird2 .a.
Chief Justice Lowrie suggested he had for
gotten one case--that OF the man who bought
"a pig in poke" Mr.. w. replied that was an
Irish case, and might not be considered as au-
thority In our Courts.
Mr.. Dana contended that log and spindle were
all that David bought, or that the admins
traitors intended to sell, and that David could
not have any more, except on the paradox that
the administrators sold that which they did not
assent to the sale of, and had not offered for
sale, and that David purchased that which
he did not bid for nor pay for Lots of 9TH
er "wise saws and modern instances" were
cited by Mr.. Dana, from Plutarch down tc
Story. He gave the following from the
life of Solon: Plut. Lives, p. 205-''When
some Coans once were drawing net, some
strangers Of Miletus bought the draught unseen
and at venture. There CHANGED to come up
golden tripod, which Helen at her return
from Troy, on the remembrance of an old pro-
phesy, had thrown in there. The stran gers
contesting with the fishers about the tripod, and
the cities espousing the quarrel go far as to en-
gage in war, Apollo, to end the controversy,
advised that the. tripod be presented to the
wisest man. After passing around in fruitlcss
search from one to another, it eventually came
back to the temple Of Apollo, and the Court, by
reason of inability to decide the case, became
the oDner gthe subject matter ofthe CONTROVERSY"
Mr.. Wright said he did not wish to intrude
any advice upon the Court, but If they found
David's case knotty one, they could make
short work Of 1t by following the example Of the
ancient tribunal.
II is needless to say that there was more
laughter in the Court Room than ia usual in
arguments before this august tribunal The
Judges will decide, at their leisure, the ques-
ton involved in the case.