The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-07-31

l-Ol-A1I MA L l. Llt1.
DIsPATCH FOR THE SpRiSa-.-fcrsons gong
10 the Springs or other summer resorts can
have the DAILY Di.PArcH sent them 1t SIXTY
cents per month. Orders lief; at omr counting
room VIII receive attention.
TIE CASE OF Mrs. AEEAnAMS, "F KING
WILLIAM CorNTY-SENSArIoNAL STORIES
IN THE NORTHERN PArER>.--It will be re-
mcmhcrcd bv our readers that Il Mrs. Ann
Catherine AbrahamS was brought from the
county of King William to this city about
the 10th of June last, under the arrest al
the military authorities, for the purpose "l
being examined before military tribunal
ON the charge Of having bccu guilty OF
ticndi>h and persistent cruelty TO the ne
grocS in her employment, particularly to-
wards Il negro girl named Martha Ann
Banks, who had been the slave of Mrs.
.ibrahamS up TO the time Of the evacuation
OF Richmond. \ portion Of the testimony
elected in the investigation has been scnt
to the New York TrD,He and other north
crn papers for publication. 1t is not our
purpose 10 enter any defence oi Mrs. -hhra-
hans--ior if what She i charged with b.
true, she could find no one i'll the south
who would defend or Justify her III it--but
to show that many OF the statements in tn"
article in the Ttibune arc false, and also t"
show that the testimony As published i
garhlcd, that material portions OF II are
SUPPRESSED. and that il was elected unfairly
and in a manner that no court IL the land
would have permitted. The publication
spoken Of is prclaccd with the following
statement "Thc investigation made be
fore the Judgc-Adyucatc III Richmond
proves tia, this monster, Mr.. Ahrahans,
whom hQif The hlryf$ Of E,cbmo" ro!a"-
h.ytah h,GnI," &c.
That any lawyer oi' Riclmond volun-
tccrcl to defend Mrs. Abralams is I'M
gualiiirdv false. McS>rs. Crane an!
Du"lrv were regularly retained for her de
fence. when >hc was first brought here. aiId
for their services they have received, or
will receive, 4 fee commensurate with the
services rendered. Atlcr having employed
these gentlemen. She expressed Il wish I"
have additional c",iH>cl, AMI SI@nlird 4
preference for Mc>>r>. August and Lyons.
The gentlemen first retained "rr" "i
course willing that they should hc lrtan-
ed. It was done. Mr. CraAr aud Mr..
Au.u>t, and no otlrr lawyers, wrr" pre-
sent AT the investigations. In rc4art I"
What is published rs the testimony at Ia"
ncgroc> who were examined for lh" Go
yrrInnrnl, We can >ay, in tAr inst place.
that only that portion al Il" Testimony =
puhli>hrd which is most damaging t" Nr>.
AhralIauS, all that would have hId any
hearing in her favor having been suppress
ed. The TESTIMONY ui four or Etc -! lirr
former slaves is published, but that OF t""
hired NEGROES, who lived with her ir"lh
about the first of January last until sh"
was arrested, is suppressed. In order L"
understand fully the merits OF the case, II
should hc known that tn" princlpa! charge
against Mrs. Ahraham> is that >h" treated
a negro girl named Martha Ann Banks
very cruelty, by whipping her with
switches, heating her with sticks, axe
hclyr<, pokcr>, &r., and by j"'n''J h,r ttb
,tanh> Of III, u,d Erc coats. This girl Is
one Of Il pair Of twins, about seventeen
wears Of age. is almost Il dwarf, and has
always been a puny, siclly. haii-ldlotlc
negro. She had, when brought to Rich
mond and placed in hospital, burns on
the back of her head, each of her shoulder
blades, her buttocliS, and the back part oi
her arms above the elbows. 1t Is charged
that Mrs. AhrahamS inflicted these bur">
with chunk of fire. The twin sister "l
the girl said She had seen Mrs. Ahra'mm>
hoR u chu"k Of tI, on ho' b0ck "a hDHr ~
time, Is ii not singular that the most
prominent and salient points on the slrl ;
back should have been burnt, whilst the
depressed portions, the concaNitic>, were
not t"uchrdt Is it probable that the
chunk Of fire was first applied 10 the back
oi her head, then tn each Scdpul", then t"
each buttock, then 20 the back OF each
arm above the elbow Ontllc other hand,
is it not much more probable that the cN-
plAna,on given by Mrs. AbrahHinS, wh'ch
is corroloratcd hy the general appearance
OF the girl, and by the testimony oi som"
of the witnesses which has not been pub
ishcd, namely, that She is subject to tits oi
some kind, having never been healthy,
and that she must have received these
burns by having fallen backwards III the
lire whilst III fit
The photograph taken ior the correspond
ent Of Hrpu''S W"h1y, and which was
reproduced on wood cut in the last NUM-
Der OF that journal, shows that the location
of the burns is as We have deScrlhcd.thcm.
The witness we have mentioned above
/ this girls twin siStcr--Said that She had
seen Mrs. Abrahams strew hot cnhcrS and
/ live Goals on tie floor ~ her ch","bn' and
make this girl lie down on them. Now, Is
not this probable story
1t must he remembered, too, that these
burns were all Of recent datc-wcrc sup
! purating at the time of the examination.
. We will give now some of the suppressed
testimony: that OF a negro girl named
Julia Ann, who was hired by Mrs. Ahra-
! hams, and who has been living with hcI
! from the lst OF January last; ais" that OF
hov named Robert Robertson, who was
! hired at the saline time, and has llve'
! there ever since. Julia Ann WAS thtl
house girl, and the boy was q sort ol man
ot-all work, and knew what was gong oi
about the house. Both OF these wltncsHr'
were introduced hy the prosecution. They
are both bright. intelligent negroes, aud
knew very well what they were talking
about. They were closely questioned and
although thcyiold that they had known Mrs
! AbrahainS 10 whip the girl, and 10 >trik" h"'
! with the "poking iron, &C., neither" "1 Their
! had ever heard one syllable about her bnrn
ing her with chunks of fire or anything else
The burns were recent, and il they had
have been inflicted by Mrs. Abrahams, one
of these witnesses must have known some
thing of il. And furthermore, when Mrs
Abrahams Vas brought 10 Richmond sli,
was told that this girl, Julia Ann, would
he allowed To remain with her /" wait ol
her. But instead oi this having been
done, she did not see her from Friday, the
dav on which she got here, until WcdEcs
day. the day on which her testimony was