Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1866-07-17
For the Spectator.

JuIOrS, WHO are more competent TO the task tndn
myself, would have defended the jury before
this time, but find that these gentlemen do
not think it necessary to kick at every fee that
may happen to bark at their heels. And, for
my part, l am little concerned what opinion this
mass of vanity may entertain of us: but to dis
abuse the minds of the public I will here give
some OF the particulars in the End Indictment
| las to the first know nothing about it-heard
none of the trial, but have been credibly in
formed that our most excellent Judge Shefey
applauded the jury for their wise decision. y
Law and order says ''he is opposed to giving
free license to steal" So am I, and [ believe
that the man that will steal one pig, will steal
$40 worth of hogs and in one sense the crime
is equally grave but the, law, (not MIR. Order)
has fixed the penalty. In this Indictment No.
2, we did not doubt the truth of Mr.. Baylor or
any other witness that was before us they were
all men Of respectability, and we took each
mans s! testimony for truth; but the hogs that
this Dictator speaks of were not hogs, but pigs
pigs according to all the testimony before u.s.
under two months old. The owner of the pigs,
Mr.: Koiner, said he knew they were his from
various reasons; one of which was, that, after
having been gone for ten days, when he took
them home they ran to their mother and COM
menced sucking. From the testimony of all
the witnesses compared, the pigs would not
weigh quite thirty pounds. The jury was COM
Rooou VI pidCslCS idTuielS, Oi ulHerenC parts OF
the county, and in no section in which either
| one Of us lived, had stock hogs been selling for
more than ten cents per lb. in currency our
instruction from the Court was, to make our
calculation upon specie basis-at the time the
theft was committed gold was worth 1873 which
would make the pigs worth less than Sets per
H., but being an extra lot of pigs, we estimated
them at 1Octs. The concurrent weight being
about thirty lbs, and six in number. As sworn
jurors without perjuring ourselves, we could
make them worth no more than $lS. Were we
to send him to the penitentiary merely because
his name was Greaver? We were not trying
the man for his antecedents; with his former
actions we had nothing to do, and if his name
| had been Llcyer, the verdict would have been
the same; it it had eren been LAW and ORDER
| we could have done nothing more for him.
But, in the face Of these facts this Dictator gets
upon his tiptoes, swells himself to the magni-
tude of a certain frog, of which Esop speaks,
and says: .! do enter my solemn protest against
dered" l, who? Law and Order No sir
Neither word is applicable to any such person
age; it looks like stealing mantle from heaven
to serve the Devil in; if he had halt the brave
ry OF a dunghill rooster or the spirit Of cow
ardly cur, he would give his real name-as he
is SO violently opposed to stealing, in Heavens
name let him not give the example-they (we)
have sent the scoundrel, says this Dictator, 'on-
ly to board few months with Mr. Harlan,
while you, and 1, and all peaceable and law
| abiding citizens must pay his board" Does he
thus intend to say that we are not peaceable and
law abiding? if so, in behalf of myself and my
associated jurors, l hurl the SANDER back in the
teeth of its author as lie of the blackest cast
This matter was fully discussed between us,
and, as the law exists, we could do nothing more.
AS this Dictator appears to want to be very
economical, would propose that juries of twelve
men be dispensed with, and he be chosen to try
all such cases if his person is in proportion to
his vanity, with his Lions hide and long ears
he could FILL the place of twelve yeomen.
The only thing can agree with him in, is:
he says he don't believe in equality neither
| do with him, [ agree, that there are three
classes: The first composed Of all gentlemen
who live honestly and attend to their own busi-
ness; the End, the Negro, who carries upon his
forehead the mark of distinction written by the
finger Of his creator the third, and last class,
those Of the character of Law and Order, who
are ever ready to throw the apple of discord In
and few of his fellow associates were taken to
their reward, harmony and good fellowship
would exist in our midst, and our once happy
! land would again blossom as the rose. This pc
culiar animal has had the impudence to bray in
| the face of our Sheriff; telling him that the
people have got home from the war, and he
ought to select good men for jurors. / would
say so too, If did not know that by such Sc
lectiOns this scrub would never be selected
The brave soldier that faced the deadly cannon
on the field Of carnage is not afraid to afix his
name to what he has to say-and as this miser-
able Dictator claims to have more wisdom than
25 OF his fellow citizens (our judge included) the
Sheriff should never fail to have SO distin-
g,lished a parsonage on the jury will further
say to him, as he appears to have that vacuum
IN his head, that the Almighty designed for
brains, filled alone with ink, that if our people
should ever be SO unfortunate as to be misrep-
resented IN the legislative halls by him; that,
as all classes OF men are now tried by the same
law and liable to the same punishment, and
that as the probability is, that in short time
the JallS OF the Commonwealth will be filed with
victims for petit larceny Of all colors and kinds,
to the great expense of better citizens; there
fore would suggest that our next Legislature
alter the criminal law SO that all victims con-
| demned for petit larceny will be compelled to
! work at hard labor, either upon our streets, or
roads, or have work shop for that purpose
erected In every county seat, in which the thief
will be compelled to earn his board and pay for
the attention he gets If some such steps are
not taken the time will come when we will find
that fragment of our community will commit
| crime merely to be shielded from the stormy
blasts OF a piercing wlnter-with the already
degraded there is no disgrace in spending few
months In county jail where there is plenty to
eat. BY wise legislation these culprits can be
made to pay compensation to the county in
stead of being an expense. Let it be done.
will say to the people, that who this SIAN
derer is | have not the remotest idea; and |
care as little as / know; but being one of the
slandered party, | feel it duty incumbent upon
me to hurl it back in the foul mouth of its
author, without fear, favor or affection
We have just past through a reign of terror,
is the desire of the great mass of the people,
and such would be our happy lot if it was not
for few bigots of the temperature of LAW AND
ORDER. Respectfully,
E. L. HOUFF,
ONE OF THE JURORS.
What singular creatures girls are. Offer one
OF them good WauaS tn uorR FIR ro,, onJ 10,