The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1873-02-27

defaults, and continuances will reduce
the ever full docket, while thay attract
interest only from those parties imme.
diately concerned in them-the gener-
al interest for the term being entirely
absorbed by some rather peculiar cases,
in which VIM. Elliott, ex.Clerk Of the
District Court, was the defendant
The first one Of these, which occupied
the court from Friday last week until
Tuesday OF this, was styled VIM. A.
Robertson vs.. VIM. Elliott, Clerk DC.
and was given rise to by substantially
the following circumstances:
Robertson, some five years ago,
through G. p. Ingman as agent, bar
gained piece of land in this county
to Mrs. Chamberlain. He afterward
tried to recede from the sale, but Mrs.
c. sued for deed. and. as preliminary
paid the purchase money into the
hands Of the Clerk o. the Court. The
District Court decided that Robertson
must take the money and make deed
for the land; tho case was carried to
the Supreme Court, and the decision
OF the court below was there sustained
against Robertson. He was then, OF
course, bound to make deed for the
land, but when he came for the
money, he found that during litiga-
t;ns, >,,A a ho,,t tho =; ~, n x,f ~ n n inn
Of the District Court in the premises,
the money had been stolen from the
custody Of the Clerk, who Informed
him by letter that he could not pay the
money over because he didn't have it.
Hence the suit for recovery of the
amount, 81, 1867, with interest, from
Elliott. The interest which would
naturally attach 10 suit of this char
acter was considerably increased by
the fact that other similar claims ex-
listed total amount Of Office funds
lost by the burglary being about S.
200. This interest was further en-
HANGED by the hard battle indicated
in the able character of the counsel
employed by either party-Messrs.
Piatt & Carr, Hanna Of Muscatine
and Ed Cook of Davenport being ar
rayed for the plaintiff against Wolf,
Landt & Yates and Hon. VIM. H.
Tutbill on the part of the defence.
Time and space will not permit any
attempt at rehearsing the evidence,
which was voluminous. The prosecu-
ton endeavored, first, to build up a
theory that the money was emb ezzled
and that the entry Of the vault by
burglars was only hoax; second, they
claimed absolute responsibility on the
part OF the defendant upon the ground
that the money had been broken into
and not preserved intact as a special
deposit; the third ground for verdict
was based upon the claim that the or
binary care aud diligence required by
the law and the official bond Of defend
ant had not been rendered. In this
connection great stress was placed
upon the known insecurity Of the vault
and the fact that some $1,000 beside
that for which defendant was respon-
sible was permitted by him to be kept
there.
After lengthy and able argument by
Hanna and Cook for plaintiff and
Yates and Wolf for deft., the case was
submitted to the jury at eleven o'clock
Monday evening, whom upon the
fret ballot, found unanimously fol
the plaintiff-the verdict however, a.
we understand it, being based solely
spon the third ground-the lack Of
proper care. The case will go to the
Supreme Court.
A somewhat similar case of Burton
Va. Elliott, for the recovery OF money
paid toward the redemption Of land
sold At Sheriff's sale, is In process o.
trial at this writing.