Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-01-25

the proceedings in court in tho
case OF the Commonwealth Us. H. Rines
Pollard, being the legal examination re-
lative to the fight at S~pottswood House.
The Examiner reports the testimonYas
follows:
"Mr. E. G.. Brooks, correspondent of
the New York Times, was duly sworn,
and stated that on Friday last, at about 2
P. NJ he was in the biHiard-roem of the
Spottswood Hotel; a gentleman, connect
ed with the EranliHer came down. and he
(witness) supposed therefore, that Mr..
Pollard was abouti he went up stairs, and
at the head of the stairs saw Mr.. Pollard
and the gentleman who had been in the
billiard-room, pointing to him, said, That
IS the person; Mr.. Pollard then said:
Are You the correspondent of the New
York IinlesF Witness replied, Yes,
whereupon Mr., Pollard, seizing him by
the collar, put his hand in his pocket, drew
out a cowskin, and struck him (witness)
everal times he struggled with Mr.. Pol
lard, holding his beard until they reached
the counter, where Mr.. Pollard showed
his head through the glass window of the
office, and, letting go the cowhide, began
to strike him very hard in the face with
his fist and choking him, when he, wit
-nsss finding his strength fast failing,
called out to the bystanders, i protest
against this, gentlemen; ! can't stand this
much longer ? he then defended himself,
was struck several times, and the blows
were returned with interest when they
had neared the door of the saloon, they
were parted; in the course. Of the fray,
witness stated that Mr.. Pollard said, FIJI
teach you, you Yankee scoundrel, to insult
a Southern gentleman v5r
Under cross-examination, the corres-
pondent Of the Times made an ass of him
sell, or he has been reported with malicious
art:
He stated again that Mr.. Pollard had
never, to his knowledge, insulted any one
personally, and that he (witness) wrote
the letter in question because he thought
it would prove acceptable in the North;
he did not see any personal insult in the
(" cynical manner y which he, in his let
ter, had attributed to the Examiner; this
cynical manner was characteristic, and
was not personally insulting 70 any
Northern correspondent, but only accord
ing to the general tone of the paperi wit
ness did not intend to make himself the
champion of tina correspondents of the
Northern papers, but, doubtless, if he did
20 they would back him. With reference
to other portions of his letter, witness
stated that, at the time he wrote, he did
not believe Pollard would fight, but had
LsiRee changed his mind, He did not
i~talicize the word did in reference to
the late John NJ. Daniel this might have
been lone by any of the proof-readers or
compositors he was not a witness of the
Fight at the Capitol described it from
what he was told did not know that
Pollard fired the first shot as fact [al-
though in his letter this was stated as one
thing c~ertainT he then stated that such
words as he had used would have been
gross insult if applied personally or verb
ally, but that they were justified when
published as allowed by the license per-
mitted to the press Judge Crump asked
the witness to define this license, hut the
Court oyer-rpled the question:; he said
he had no more cause for resentment
ageinst Mr.. Pollard, then that given by
the articles in the Examiner, rejecting
generally upon Northern correspondents,
and the way in which they obtained their
information the Examiner had never i'm
puted any want of courage to a Northern
correspondent the witness still maintain
ed that his expressions were testified by
the customary license of the press; he
said that ne did not see " the courage
ooze out of Mr.. Pollard's fingers" said so
beeausehe thought proper; he wroteso asto
make his accounts acceptable to his read
ers he wished to see Mr.. Pollard, if he
died, buried in a Christian manner, and
his expression in reference to "the grave
stone which he deserves" was a little
piece of extravaganza to make the letter
acceptable. for the same rAaaHn-hAk~1
stated that Mr.. Pollard did not take his
cocktail as usual = did not know Mr..
Pollard was addicted to drinking, and had
not been told SO; it was a coinage of his
brain, and done to make his lettea agreea-
bic; did not think that saying the "Exam-
liner fellow was any mark Of disrespect.
"Captain F. W. Dawson testiaed-He
was present at that time; was there when
the assault commenced ond when it ended,
and returned with Mr.. Pollard to his
rooms. When the affair had ended, wit
ness noticed a collection of twenty or
thirty men arouud; they were crowding
upon Mr.. Pollard; so much 50, that he
(Witness) believed Mr.. Pollard had reason
to be apprehensive of q continuance Of the
difficulty witness thought there would be
a collision between the friends of Mr..
Brooks and Mr.. Pollard; saw a number Of
| United States officers in the throdg, and
there was q number Of Southern gentle
men there; saw a number of United
States officers in the throng, and there
was a number of Southern gentlemen
there; all excited; in fact, several of the
latter ran up stairs, witness thought, for
the purpose OF arming themselves. Mr..
Pollard drew his weapon after Brooks
had been taken away; he took it out for q
moment and put it up again; did not
think the weapon was exhibited moro
than a minute or two"
Judge orump, the attorney Of Pollard,
in theeourse of hisremarks, said
Here ia a correspondent OF news
paper, who admits to your Honor that be
has written articles intended to insult and
degrade the person at whom they were
aimed. If Mr.. Pollard had committed this
assault without this previous ~provocation,
he would have laid himself liable to CEN
sure. But there is not a man here who
does not know that the Southern people,
crushed and oppressed, have been maligned
andinsulted by correspondents, who, as
this one in court admits, do not write for,
nor seek the truth so their correspondence
please, and suit the tastes Of their readers.
He, Brooks, stands a confessed ealumnia-
tor and insulter. If his chastiser had
treated him with silent contempt it would
perhaps have been better, but tainted and
stung and sought to be degraded, he
sought him out-not to infiict bodily harm
upon his person with deadly weapons
but to disgrace and degrade him by using
upon his person a cowhide. He has done
50. He has chastised him, and the dis
honor which he attempted to put upon
Mr.. Pollard has been put upon himself.
Mr.. Pollard has wiped out the imputation
sought to be placed upon his character
on that SCORE they are square"
Judge Crump further said, that under
these circumstances, he would ask the dis
missal of the case, and the release of Mr.,
Pollard.
The Magyar responded, that his opinion
OF the bench might be diiferentfr from what
it would be off the bench. The party had
no right to inflict the punishment COM
planned of in the summary manner he did.
There were other and legal modes of re-
dress. There was evidence that an as
sault was committed, and he would, there
fore, send Mr., Pollard on for the action of
the next Grand Jury of the Hastings
Court. Mr.. Pollard gave bail in the sum