Litchfield enquirer., 1863-10-15
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SUPERIOR CoURT.-Catlin Us. Gayl ord. This l ease, to which we made brief al fusion last week, grew out of an injury received from the discharge of a gun, claimed to have been in the hands of the delft. Damages laid at 900. The circumstances appear to be about as follows: 4 Secession flag was placed upon barn belonging to one Andrew Palmer, in North Goshen, on Saturday night, June 22d, 1861. It was flying on Sunday, occasion Ing much excitement and indignation in Co., shen, and q committee of six citizens were appointed by the town to wait upon Palmer, and request him to remove the flag. This seemed not ta have done, and on Monday, the 24th, Deputy Sheriff Peck went up from Litch- field, with posse comitatus. to arrest Palmer on charges of high treason, disturbance, sus- taining nuisance, Sc. At the arrest consid erable of melee ensusd, during which the prff in this ase-Catlin-received gun shot wound in the ankle. Several witnesses were brought forward to prove that the gun was discharged by the dsf't, Capt. Gaylord. On l tAS SAS 0Cl pIOSSu tu8L the QlS = charge was from gun in the pl'f7s own hands, and which he had thrown from him during the scufae. The defence alss offered to prove that Catlin was aiding and abetting Palmer in sustaining the rebel flag, and resis l ting the officer in making Palmer's arrest The trial consumed the whole week, up to Frida y evening, and was ably argued on either side, by the Messrs. Seymour for Prf, and Hub Judge McCurdy, reviewed the case Iucidly and thoroughly in his charge to the Jury, and defined the law with regard to treason, riots, nuisances, &c., under the latter class of which, at least, the emblem of treason, which was produced in Court, clearly came. After being out for five honrs, the Jury failed to come to verdict in the case, and the papers were returned to the Court.
 In our opinion, it will be hard matter to get Litchffeld County Jury to agree to give the plaintiff in this case vsry heavy damages.
 Patterson ps. Hitchcock. is case of assault and battery, with damages laid at $500. It grew out of a cheerful state of things which, it seems,has agitated the Eccle- siastical Society of New Preston hill for some time. Not to go further back than the day of the alleged assault, on the 29th of December last, it appears that meeting of the Eeclesi- astical Society took place in their Meeting House, for the purpose of the election of off, cers, and eff renting the pews of the Church. Some discussion arose as to whether that was the legal time for holding the meeting. MT. Patterson affirming the right to hold such meeting, and reading to that effect from the Statutes of the State, and MT. Hitchcock de- nying the right, This led to other excited discussion, during which witnesses on the part of the pl'f, together with the plf him self, swore positively that the def't came from his seat and struck the plf upon the head, and that with the most oPprobious ephhets on the part of the delft, which desency at least should exclude from this report, whether it should exclude them or not from Society g hand, the def, and witnesses forsshim,a as posi- lively state that the prf had called the delft . liar, two, three, or four times, before the blow was struck, and that the blow was struck with no more force than would bear out the defts previous warnings that che would set up his-the prf's-ears." ," There were two or three other instances upon which an assault on the part of the delft is claimed to have occurred, but the above is the principal charge. The case was very ably ar party. It is out of our province, generally, | to express an opinion upon the cases which we report, leaving that consideration to the Jury, and the individuals and communities most af- fected by the verdict. In this case there will be undoubtedly as decided diversity of opin- ion as there was of testimony upon the trial. which was as contradictory, even down to mi- nutim, as anything we could we'll imagine outside of the Society of New Preston Hill, where politics and religion go hand-in-hand, or rather hand-over-fst together, and where sometimes one "sets up the ears'' of the other. The case was given to the Jury yesterday afternoon, after fair and impartial charge by the Judge, and verdict was rendered for the Plaintiff to recover $l00 and costs.
 For prf, Hubbard X Hollister. For Delft o. s. & E. w. Seymour.
 The case of E. NJ. Kellogg Us. J. L. Brown was taken up Wednesday afternoon. and, by agreement, tried before the Court Case still on.
 The Jury was discharged until Tuesday next, when the negro charged with the murder of an Irishman will be taken up. s.true bilr' was found against him by the Grand Jury on Wednesday last, and he was present ed for trial.
 A MILTON correspondent. signing himself, [" Anti-spakes," complains of the appointment of those of the opposite stripe te the responsi- ble ofice of ''titbing men" in the Congrega- tiapal Church st MiAon, but mere particularly because the three individuals appointed. sell don, if ever attend church ,hero. Which is greatly to be rejoiced at, in our opinion.