The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-30
Habeas Corpus Case from Mer-
Ger County.
DEATH OF A GIRL FROM ALLEGED ABoR-
TION.
The Alleged Abortionist Admitted to Bail.

A case OF no little interest was hearu ny
Judge Peasants last night Thursday In
relation to admitting prisoner to bail.
DIR. John w. Cloves, of New Windsor,
Mercer county, was recently arrested on
warrant, for murder, and confined in Jail at
Aledo. He employed Capt. John Z. Pep
per, the leading lawyer of that county, to
attend to the case, and Capt. Pepper pro-
cured from Judge Peasants writ of ha-
beas corpus to bring the body Of the pris-
oner before him for preliminary hearing,
to decide whether he should be admitted
to bail. The States Attorney for that
county, B. F. Brock, ESQ.,, together with
B. G. Taliaferro, of Keithsburg, and Isaiah
Fugate, Esq, of Viola, appeared for the
people, and Capt. Pepper for the prisoner.
Noah H. Guthrie, the Sheriff for Mercer,
was present with the prisoner. Quite
number of witnesses were also present.
The Judge, knowing the desire of the wit
nesses to return home, gave the night to
the hearing, which closed after II o'clock.
The effort is made to prove that DIR.
Cloves is guilty of the murder OF Miss
Tabitha Goddard (who died on the goth
inst J, by producing an abortion upon her
person. The evidence of the fact, if it
is fact, rests wholly upon the dying state
ments of the girl. A paper was put in
evidence, which was executed by Joseph
NJ. Christy, Esq, Justice of the Peace,
who testified on the stand that he wrote it
out after death; that he was present just
before she died that he administered the
usual oath to her; that she was questioned
by Lawyer Fugate, himself, and others,
and that afterwards he wrote out her
statement in his own language,
giving her ideas as near as he could.
Another paper was presented, signed by
the girls mother, detailing the statements
of the girl, from which it appeared that
she was, for some four days, at the house
of DR.. Cloves, in New Windsor. for the
purpose of having an abortion produced,
and that while there he operated on her
with instruments. Dr. Hall, Of Mercer
who attended the girl in her dying NOM
ents, testified that she said DR.. Cloves
had killed her. He also testified that he.
assisted by others, held post mortem
examination If the body of the deceased
and found state of inflammation which
he believed olused her death. and that this
inflammation must have been produced by
the use Of some instrumental whose
hands of course he could not say. Dr's
Truesdale and Plummer, Of this city, testi-
fed as to the probable effect of an opera
ton, such as alleged. There was no cor
roborating evidence that the girl was ever
at the house of DR.. Cloves at all-and the
evidence for the people was good deal
shaken by witnesses who proved that she
had attempted to get DR.. Cloves to per
form the operation and that he had posi-
lively refused to do So
Arguments were submitted by Messrs
Brock, Pepper and Taiaferro, after which
the Court carefully reviewed the evidence
announcing that dying statements, wher
brought out by interrogatories, were hard
ly admissible, and were subject to consider
able doubt as, to their accuracy especially
when the dying person seemed to have
been under examination by lawyer an6
others, as in this case; that such state
ments, in order to be free from doubt
should be voluntary and without appearance
of having been inspired by any one. The
Court, from a review of the evidence, wa;
of opinion that, as presented, it would moi
convince Jury, beyond Goubt, of the
guilt of the prisoner. How the evidence
might appear on the trial of course coulC
not now be tOld-but as at present presen
ted he was of opinion that the prisoner was
entitled to bereleased On such bail as would
secure his presence at the trial Of the case
He would prefer that the States Attor
ney and the counsellor the prisoner SHOULD
agree upon the sum. The sum was fixet
at $4,000 and Mr.. VIM. T. Hammond, ;
wealthy citizen of New Windsor, became
security and DR.. Cloves was released.
The deceased was Is years of age, an(
} she alleged that Reuben H. Spicer, Jr., o
Viola, was the father of the child Spice
is young man about 19 years of age, Sol
of highly respected citizen of Mercer. Thu
child was born alive, some two or three
weeks after the operation, but lived only {
few hours. Deceased was the daughter o
Joshua Goddard of RivoL tp who resides
some or5 miles south west of New Wind
sor DIR. Cloves has, for some years, been
resident of New Windsor, and formerly re
sided near there, in Oxford, Henry county
He is poor man and much crippled will
rheumatism There seems to be a goot
: deal of sympathy for him, and one witnes
i Mr.. Hammond testified that he and som,
Is or 90 others, believing him innocent, haC
made up a subscription to aid in his de
: Tense
We think it would be difficult for any impair
tial person to hear the evidence and com
to the conclusion that the statements of tn
girl are wholly false-but the difficulty wi
be to find such evidence of the Dr.'s gull
as will, under the law, convict him of mur
der He must either be convicted of mur
der or acquitted entirely.
No doubt exists in the minds of peopl
generally that the crime of abortion i