The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-02-08
1AE NAMELEss CRIME.
Extraordinary Statement Of Joel Linds-
ley, the Clergyman who Beat his Son
to wDeath-TwS ana n Half Hours
whipping-The Defendant Admits "EIo

WhtnptnR-Vhe OeIenOamg ANlhhlsh' ''fto
was Not Angry" Etc.
From the Rochester linton and Advertiser, FEB 9.
That should make this statement, feel is
due both TO myself and to the public. have
long waited for this opportunity, but In view
of the legal part of the matter, and the tnJunc-
tions OF my counsel, my mouth has been closed,
and have suffered in silence. Had been
statemsnt staten Gs OF the @ case % i Would have saved me
great deal of pain, and the public much false
Impression. But this was not the case, aud the
few words spoke in respect to the matter
were spoken to Dr. Chamberlain in
room alone, with no one present but him
but a verbal one. MY little boy lost his
mother when about one year and a half
old, o lady whom 1 loved intensely, and who
loved me with all the tenderness amt devotion
of Woman's nature After the death of my
wife my affections We're dFawn ia WI more re- CLOSELY
He was q noble, manly, and beautiful child,
very affectionate in his disposition and bright
in hls intellect. His father and friends looked
upon him with pride and hope, and should
not have been satisfied to have had him absent
from me for a week. My little boy had Won
derfully firm will enough for an adult, butthere
was nothing malicious in IL. do not speak OF
this as anything against him, but, on the other
hand, / consider IL to have been God-given
talent of the highest Importance had IL been
rightly trained. On the night OF his death, his
him to bed My little boy had been trained by
his own mother during her life, TO be put to
bed by himself alone, on account of her
feeble health she was not able to do as mothers
ordinarily would, and he would do IT just rs
cheerfqlly and happily as though put to IIs Ped in
fused TO obey my wife, and she was striving to
secure obedience. supposed word from me
would be sufficient, as he very seldom refused
10 obey me. But it was not. We questioned
whether it was best to try and force obedience
E-whether it were not best to drop the matter
and consider about it, l finally Aecided on, my
own responsibility, to punish him; not that l
cared so much for the particular thing he was
to do, but felt 1t was important to secure the
habit Of obedience. anticipated no serious
conflict at all. The instrument used was
| af 1p1rfv Nalra la oh
used for Sndlings, thirty years old, or more,
and the wood l should think was hemloc1, GER
| tainly not hard wood. My impression is that 10
might have been an inch and one-q arter wide,
possibly, but cannot state with precise
accuracy the width of it. 1t very likely
was not O thick shingles; nothing like a
club about it,. 1t occurred to be that obedi-
| than by using the hand if 1t were necessary
| to use corporeal punishment at all recollect
| distinctly of feeling when commenced that
would rather the blows would fall upon myself
| than upon my boy. AS continued to punish
him, stopping at very frequent Intervals and
talking to him, felt convinced that he knew
what / wished him to dO as his reply to my
| question, why will you not do it, Johnny? Pa
| wish to- 1 wish to do something else, stopping
crying at the same time. had undertaken To
| secure obedience, and felt that must accom-
piish it. 1t will be said that erred in COM
mencing at that hour, when my child was tired
| by the play of the day. / did err in so doing,
but, as / have said. mad no idea Of any serious
| conflict at all. II had had / should not have
nV1OT or
AS / went on / recollect that my anxiety be-
came very intense that my boy should yield.
Had the point been yielded should nave 1elt
as though a mountain had been removed from
my breast. AS to whether he understood what
was required of him, probably most will think
that he did not. 1 at the time believed that he
did. Under this great anxiety, with my mind
fixed on the necessity of my boys yielding for
his own future good, and expecting at every
of the extent to which had gone, or of the
effects was producing upon my child:
| thing to do in the case, by preventing my
| seeing the actual effects was producing; but
| the main cause, believe, was great anxiety,
| and my mind fixed upon its being neces-
| sary for the good of my child that he should
yield. / was not angry or IN passion IN all
| this. wish to state this fully and without re-
| serve, that, If know anything of the action OF
my mind, was not angry; never could have
| punished my child for an hour, or half an hour,
or anything like it, in anger Were 1t sol should
| have felt very guilty, and To have done so would
| have been monstrous But never for one houl
or one moment have been conscious of any
criminal intent in this case. No true man or
woman Will wish me to belle my convictions in
this matter DO not misunderstood me here
l have been greatly misrepresented upon this
point. consider the act to have been wrong
and very wrong; but as TO criminal Intent
there was none in any form. greatly mis-
judged, and the fearful consequences, in the
loss OF my child, have come upon me with 9
What I might have said to the Coroner as to
the length OF time 90 not remember, pnC Sno u
two to two and half hours; and should thinl
it was quite as probable that was not mort
| than two hours, as that it was two and a half
The Coroner testihes that punished the child
until L saw signs of weakness. This is mis-
| take; do not wish to provoke controversy
with the Coroner, ner am l accusing him o
| intentional Misrepresentation; but IL is q mis-
| take. i made statement TO DIR, Crawford Oh
the same day, and he win testify to the trutf
| OF what say, though it could not be brought
| into court 1 stopped punishment because
| felt that it was useless to go further. took M,
| little boy and laid him upon the settee ant
, covered him up: At the time ne ceased d the pun
| and for some time afterwards, saw no sign
| | that the child had been injured. He had JalHet
5 | during this time, and appeared natural. Thel
1 there was change and soon Afterwards Ch
I | child died. Then II was l began TO realize IN
| fearful loss, and the terrible pang the circum
stances OF the case gave to it; then II was fel
7 | and said not long after to my father, that
e could have given my own life for my darlin
. < word as to why the limbs and arms were
| extensively discolored. IL arose from this. tina
| / aimed not to repeat the blows in the sam
: place. / carefully avoided the vital parts of th
e | body. There were no blows at all upon the bod
Z of my child. am not aware that struck Oh
head at all with the instrument used nor wit
d | ANYTHING else. think the slight marks mu!
;. have been produced accidentally, as they migt
. | have been.
% | the conviction and sentence passed upon m
T, | IL may be inferred from what have said, b
% lieving as l do that former sickness had TO
n with this matter, sickness the seV Gritty an
n | particulars of which could be but imperfect
presented in courts being for years under til
3 most powerful tonics and narcotics daily,
". never has recovered and never can, IL wou
le be strange, indeed, if my mind had the san
IL ViRor which IL had before. My own iudgmel
We | is that mad il not been for this sickness ar
eu subsequent nervousnprostraJlon, more or lie
at connected,R being so for months after can
Is home near four years ago, that could II
he | look into a newspaper, that this LhiI
w | could never have occurred, But, as to the co
s yiction; II did not know mat wa; was not sngr