The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1867-02-13
~ For the Ashland Union, c,.,,.
CORPORAL Punishment i'm Sch0ol

i prosecution now pending in our court, q
10 account Of the inainction Of corporal a
punishment on. scholar in Sub District
No. -, IN Vermillion township. The
,ase was substantially as follows: A boy /,
was requested BY the teacher 70 9 % %desist
from certain mischief which was disturb.
ing. the school. Notwithstanding fire.
quent requests on the part Of the teacher,
he persisted in bis course Of disturb
ance and disobedience; whereupon the
teacher proceeded to whip him over the
body with an ordinary sized switch, CON
tinuiDg the inAiOti6n only till the boy
promised to cease his mischief and obey
the teacher. The whipping was not un'
usually severe; not near as severe as had
been inflicted iu former years in the same
district J, was confined to the body Of the
boy, inAict$sby rod only, aud caused
no permanent injury. Notwithstanding
this, the teacher was arrested, tried, and
bound over TO court.
The interest of teachers and communi-
ty in general would appear to require that
som9 notice should be taken Of this re-
markable occurrence, and the principal
actors in it.
1t is not my purpose to advert particu
larly to the law touching the matter, as
that was properly laid before the court by
the able gentleman acting for the defense,
further than to repeat.the feet that in all
courts Nh,re any such cases have been
heard, the teacher stands in the place Of
The parent, or, as our legal friends would
Say IN loc'parends. Hence the right Of
teacher to infict reasonable punishment,
with an intelligent court can no longer be
IA question unsettled.
The teacher was arrested by special
Constable, (ihe incumbent Of that ofice,
to bis credit, having some excuse from
from actinR) and the prosecution attcmp'
ted to force her to trial without giving
her the time allowed by law to make up
d. fense, and children were ordered by
this newly-aedged official to tho squire'f
without subpoena, or even allowing them
time to get anything to eat. In short
the preliminaries on the part of the pros
ecution we're more arbitrary than should
be allowed or justified in case where the
highest crime known to our statutes hat
been committed. Yet the prosecution il
e this instance was wagcd against lady
for an act which am quite sure superi
or curt will justify, and for which ever,
intelligent, unprejudiced person present o
the trial will justify her. Thepreliminar.
e arrapg, menIs ccpplet' d, Brief sketch o
Il The contestants may be proper The de
f pdant is a lady of acknowledged abilit,
aud worth a graduate Of VcrmilliOn In
stilule, where she was esteemed as one it
). most worthy PUPILS; her career as teach
er marked by success and worthy of com
III eLdalion. The prosecutor is gentle
nan (pardon me the exprcssion) who Ia
more than once been engaged in, if nc
- the direct source Of, trouble in their scboc
always displeascd, arbitrary and faul
,e fuding-pot conspicuous On account Q
n those virtues that would render him
good citizen and agreeable neighbor =
During the progress Of the trial, when
child, in honest simplicity asked, th
teacher what il should tell, she franl
i. ly and kindly told it to tell the trutl
e while rumor charged the prosecutor wit
y attempting to manufacture testimony, an
he certainly showed marked signs of Gel
sure when on active boy testified that &c
tain pieces Of switch gathered by Il
nd prosecutor in his dark-lantern tour we
'er not those used in furnishing the boy
certain witness testified that he HI
knocked down scholars aud would do
Of again; and yet ho thought the punis
ar. ment in this case had been unnecessari
ate severe. His testimony was ercess,vt
of consistent, and would be as valuable |
in fore an intelligent court as that Of the 9
et' lady that had never reared child. T
defense was well made by the legal g
: tleman employed for the case, though
gal facts and logical reasoning did not I
= pear popular. The pleadiugs Of the pr
ecution reminded me Of the stump speal
rug Of military turn of mind, when he pi'
en-. ured 10 glowing terms how be had foug
}. and bled, and died for his country, as
. legal gentleman concentrated all his
forts in telling the court that the "tea
- or had murdered the boy. Yes, just m
the dersd the poor innocent child" while
ses' ''a' bright little boy was gay and lively as
had ever been, playingvcarelessly In
presence Of the court, not dreaming
the. storm he had caused. But still
,io: was blood aud murder in heavy tone
op- blood blood ! !! blood u
As teachers, every lady aud gentler
: in the county, now in the school room
directly interested in this matter, ant
- them | address myself personally and
what il is that prevents you or me +
Vest being under bonds to-day, eomPelle'
o. submit to wrong, cr pay out our hi
iiey earned money to defend Us from an IN
u nrosecution Ia II because we are be