Vicksburg weekly herald., 1870-08-13
..sCALAwAG."
An Interesting Judicial Definis
tIOn Of the W0Td.
From he New Orleans Bee ]

From no New Orleans Bee
Our readers no doubt have an
idea of the meaning Of the word
"scalawag," as well as a knowl-
edge of the character to whom it
is applied, but it will perhaps be
news to them that the term "scala-
wag' has been judicially defined,
or rather that the word is recog-
nized by courts of justice as hay
ing q well.understood meaning,
Looking over q volume of decis-
ions of the Court of Appeals in
1865, We have come across a case
where hogs fed upon beech-nuts
and acorns or fattened at n still
are called "scalawags," in contra
distinction to hogs fed upon corn,
which are known to the trade as
"hard.fed hogs"
The facts of the case are thus
stated in Titfan's Reports, volume
I, Court of Appeals, New York:
This action was brought in the
New York Common Pleas to re-
cover for q balance due on the
sale of a quantity oflive hogs sold
by the Plaintiff to defendant. The
defense is that the plaintiff war
ranted the hogs to be cOrn-fed
hogs, and suitable for the New
York market, that on the contra
ry many Of them were not corn.
fed hogs, and were unfit for
market"
Mr.. Justice Porter delivered the
opinion of the court in these
words:
IF the rulings of the Judge on
the trial were correct, then
whether or not there was o war
ranty on the sale of the hogs il
question to the defendant, is set
tied by the verdict of the jury tC
whom that question was submit
ted, and whose province it was tt
decide it. 1t is urged that by i'm
proper exclusion of certain evi
dence by the Judge on the trial
which was offered by the defen
dant, and by the improper aumis
sion of certain other evidenC
offered by the plaintiff, tn
proper presentation of tn
evidence of warranty was pre-
vented. The averment of til
terms of warranty, in the On
swer of the defendant, is, that th
hogs were hard or corn-fed, an
were suitable and proper for tn
New York City Market 1t Gu
hardly he seriously urged, l thinl
that so much of this claimed wa
ranty as is in the following words
that they were suitable and prol
er for the New York city Market
If used by an Ohio drover to a
experienced New York city brC
ker of the same article, who ma
he presumed best TO know tn
wants of the city in that regarC
was understood by the latter to b
Of the warranty. 1t would be br
the expression of an opinion upo
n subject upon which the purchase
had much the better opportunity {
knowledge and were it otherwis
it would not constitute u warrant
in law. The assertion that the
were hard or corn fed hogs Nigh
constitute q warranty, as 1t wa
shown that hogs fed on corn ar
known IN the trade as hard'fe
hogs, and are superior in value
and command a higher price i
market than such as are distir
guishcd as scalawags,' 'shackers
soft hogs, fed upon mast, sue
as beech-nuts and acorns, or slol
ped hogs, fattcned at 4 still"
Justic Davis concurring, ais
drew distinction between the tw
kinds of hogs. He describe
corn.fcd hogs" as hard, an
those not fed upon corn to be sof
and in another part of his opinio
described hogs not fed upon COZ
as trash, or scalawags."
These definitions describe ver
accurately the human scalawag,
Like the hog who is not fed upo
corn, hut lives upon what he picl
! up, that is what he finds aroun
= loose in the woods or elscwher
the human " scalawag" lives upo
what he can pick up in the polit
, cal avenues, like the chifonnie
. of Paris. He is contra-disti
+, guished from other men who su
sist upon honestly earned grain
This hog "scalawag" is synon
nous with trash in the opiniC
e of Justice Davis Of New Yor
r We accept the definition as appli,
, to the human "scalawag." Th'
exploit railroads and judgshir
+ and are not above specializing
d fancy stocks on Carondelet stre'
f such as Slaughter-house Shi
y island, and other stocks Of th
character.