Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-07-01

Affairs at ChattanOOgR-EmPO Lee
gal Oeeedings-Damage Suits, Con-
Eederate Tmpressments, etc.

Rederate improvements, etc.
Correspondents Of the Union and Americana
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn, June %, 1866
Our Law Court adjourned yesterday, after
a session ofsome ten days, Judge W. L. AD-
ANS presiding. About half the time of the
court was consumed in dispensing justice to
the pecuIiar pets Of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Several Of the colored fraternity will, in
obedience to the Judgment Of the Court,
charge their domic;I from this city to the
State Penitentiary for the period Of one,
two, and twenty-one years respectively
cause for why'-stealing. This Is some
thing new in the history Of our State, and
remains to be seen whether the policy Of
sending negroes to the penitentiary will
benefit the community, and check the natu-
raj tendency of negro to steal. The ne
gro who goes for twenty-One years re-
marked, after sentence, I'D if ne
cared, so they gave him plenty to eatP and
have no doubt he uttered the truth. /
think, and can safely say, that three-fourths
of the crimes committed here are by ne
groes, ''able-bodied, sound, and healthy"
One case on the civil docket, involving
very important legal questions, was tried,
and the holding of the Judge in the prem
ises is a matter Of very great surprise to
lawyers. 1t was the ease of Judge GAUT, of
your city, rs. w. w. SUMMERS, brought to
recover the value of some hogs taken from
the Judge by SUMMERS for the Confederate
army Judge ADAMS held, and so charged
the jury, in substance, that the Confederate
Government could not communicate au-
thority to any one that would protect him
from personal liability for acts done under
that authority. The jury could not do
otherwise than return verdict for the
plaintiff for $500; but an appeal has
been taken to the Supreme Court, and if
affirmed, you may look out for squalls.
One damage suit" was tried, in which
the plaintiff claimed $4,000 for arrest and
false Imprisonment, and the jury, mostly of
Union men, gave him three hundred dollars.
This shows decided improvement in pub
lie sentiment, and it Is my opinion that ere
long you can't find a man who will own he
ever brought damage suit"
A letter from Occasional" in the Press
and Times of the sd inst, relative to affairs
in Washington county, charges that recent
events proved rebels guilty of the numerous
outrages in that comfy, and many were in
the Jonesboro Jail awaiting taial." Moth
ing is more false and slanderous. Is it
reasonable that rebels are whipping, muir
dering and driving each other from the
country? No sane man believes it for a
moment Is it reasonable that forty rebels
in the town of Jonesboro would go to the
house of JAS. w. DEADERICK and drive him
and family from home, or that several
hundred rebels would organize, mount, arm
and equip themselves, and traverse that
loyal county in the day and night time,
whipping, numbering and robbing Southern
men Is the Loyal League" of that county
composed of several hundred men armed
and equipped" made up of rebels? Noone
but a Radical could have the brazen effron
terry to make such charge so false and
slanderous in every particular. The recent
investigations there by General GRANGER,
will saddle the responsibility for all the out
RACES in that county on the Loyal League"
composed entirely of Radicals l have
doubts whether you could by search war
rant find more than half dozen Confeder-
ates in this county-they have been driven
off.
Trade duh and falling of-money scarce,
rents and cost Of living high.