Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1870-08-25
LOCAL NEWS.

Justice in small cases is one of the osttryipg
tasks that is devo]ved, by our evil polity upon
the citizen official. Without the assistance
which is afforded to the Courts of record,
in the shape of counsel, precedents, &C.,
the Justice is obliged to decide cases as intri
cate as those which engage the attention OF lot,
tier tribunals. The subject matter is often tri-
fling in actual value. but small as it is, it fire
quently represents no incoDslderable por
ton of tho whole worldly store of the poor
litigants The prime importance of deciding
equal justice in such GASES is apparent, but
wheo the suitors conduct their own cases in
their OVID way, and all the passions aud tollies
Of the ltig ants come in and seem to be part oil
the CASE it is no easy matter for the Justice
either to command bis temper or hold the
balance of justice with even hand. Often
pathetic and still oltener ludicrous, are the
scenes in which the Justice must bear part.
Such case invoicing the ownership of two
ducks came before Justice Beach yesterday.
Charlotte Williams complained that Mrs.
Swansbury had seized and held possession OF
two ducks belonging to her. The Jusic, in
forms US that he Immediately issued warrant
tor the unlawful detainer' Of the ducks. anu
assigned yesterday afternoon for the trial Of
the case. Each party appeared with numer
Gus witnesses The plaintiffs witnesses prov
ed that Charlotte Williams had some ducks,
but. as there were no means OF Identifying
them at the Magistrates office, an officer was
dispatched with two witnesses to the residence
1t Mrs. Swansburg to identity the ducks
of oGo bod nd
lwp Ut them identified by the witnesses as the
property of Charlotte Williams. They return
Cd t, the Office and made report, The defen.
,!anls witnesses then sWore That Mrs. Swans
bury had many ducks, and some of them ad
ded on oath that they believed that the two
ducks in controversy belonged to Mrs. Swans
bury. The testimony Was even. aud for awhile
the scales OF justice hung undecided The Jus.
tce, however, rememb eIed the precedent Of
5 Iomon followed 10 noted case DS Sir
Thomas Moore, and determined to avail him
sci Of these venerable precedentS 10 the solu
ton # his case. Ascertaning that Charlotte
Williams resided not far distant from Mrs.
Swanstury he adjourned the trial to that neigh.
borno5d. and proceeded thther accompanied
by the crowd which had gathered at the Mag.
>tratc's Office dur,op the Trial, and which, by
tn. time he new ''drcdnd 1uSt,titae Was reach
ed I'D swciled to over hundred persons.
Arriving at the spot the justice caused the
witnesses for the plaintiff again to identity the
two ducks. Then he directed the gates OF Mrs.
S.. yard to be thrown open, and the whole
h1ck of ducks to be turned into the street:
on they came. quacking aud cackllng, and
surrounded by halt the noises OF pandemonlum.
No sooner was the open street gained than the
two ducks, whose testimony on the subject OF
their ownership it was the object of the Justice
to obtain 10 this novel fashion, made tracks at
once for the house Of Charlotte Williams
while the rest of the e gck remained near the
gate where they had come except one old
drake which started for the residence OF COL
ored man in the eighborhood, and was claim
I'd by him. The Justice decided that upon
the testimony OF the two ducks he must give
Judgment tor the plaintiff and be accordingly
did so.
MURDEgERs ARRESTED. The particulars
Of the murder of Capt. Miller, of the canal
boat Flile, On the Chesapeake and Ohio canal,
near Ola Town, Md, on the l7th, were pub
lshed in the Gazette, at the time, and we now
learn from the Hagerstown Twicea Week, that
on Saturday last, white man named John
Lewis, but who says his real name is Howard,
and negro named Joseph johnson, were
brought to that place, in charge Of an officer,
who had arrested them at Clearspring, charged
With being the murderers. Capt. NJ. was
found lying upon the deck at the stern of the
boat beaten about the head with club OF
some kind, but lived long enoug to name the
perpetrators of the fendish deed-the white
man John Howard, alias Laws, alias Evans.
Howard is from Georgia, and went to Mary
land with the Confederate army, from which
he deserted, aud has since been hanging around
the canal as driver, &c. He is man OF prob
ably twenty eight or thirty years Of age, about
five feet eight inches 10 height. is thin but
very muscular in build, and bears about him
the unmistakable marks OF the conventional
canal boatman. The negro is stout, we'll built,
and is q pure African in appearance. The
white man says the negro did it, and the negro
says the white man did it,
The CENsUs.-The census of the city is now
completed, but the returns are not 10 such
state of forwardness asto authorize the Deputy
Marshal to pane the sum total OF the figures,
and the information which is allowed to be
communicated to the public by the Assistant
Marshal is strictly limited to that one fact. So
lar as the summing up Of the census has pro-
crossed there is no reason 70 believe our popu
atiou will much exceed fourteen thousand.
4 The census of the 1st, Fad and 4sh Wards was
4 taken by Deputy Marshal Garwood. and that
e Of the 3rd Ward and Of Washington, Jefferson
q and Arlington Townships of the county by u.
4 v. Parker. We hope to obtain summary OF
i the census 10 few days.
3 Tue FALL Trade Merchants will
q have, this fall, extensive supplies of goods for