The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-04-08
;mFToN STATEMENT. ],
THE CIRCUIT COURT.

THE CIRCUIT COCN'A'
The Circuit Court continued i.s ee aa;orr,,-
49, owning last, at which time 1t aoJourh-
- ~ the regular term in May neNt. All
gu oVol -: :o1 business on the docket was dis
Sos w of in short order, and ample punishment
p t.tod ont to the unfortunate offenders agalhs'
the law. of +ba
~, wednesday morning, the case OF tne
Sto+o va Nathan jenkins for perjury was 1rleo,
snd The accused found not guilty, on the ground
sto+ N o. Trial. Justice who first tried hlm Oh q
oha,e,a If larceny. did not have jurisdiction as
the amount of the property stolen waa,
than twenty dollars, and thas ne colalni'a III
neriury (if any, unknow1ngfy' ino go 81
cautioned the Trial Justices 10 DC 'ioio 49,.
,n;ths future; and to make; out tneir "ail~'' ~
>, accordance with the facts OF eacl os''0' 49,
.order to prevent multiplicity OF trials'
rho case of the State VS.. Henry Selger' "r
..,-dor was next called, and upon hearing
49, aeidavit Of the prisoner to the effect tnas
soorod an impartial trial would not oe grant,
aS him in this County, and upon the afhdaV1ts,
nd on motion of Messrs. Burt, Broyles anu
mR Murray, his attorneys, an order lor =
change Of venue TO- -Greenyllle Counsy "''
c,ranted by the Court, and it was 1urtner or9ol-
"a +hat the prisoner be forthwith conveyed "
.f.raaarniville and placed in the custody OF .ne
sbariff of that County, to await his trlal' "ni'n
ill take place on Wednesday during the
-T,,,o term Of the Court of General Sessions al
Greenyille Court House. The Judge no'inoO
all witnesses in the case to be present al "feen
Vile during the trial, as no iur'noi no'-0'
would be given them.
70 n
The Censtables who had been senC1o 1ohe'''
on Tuesday toybring James Walker before the
Court having arrived with the prisoner ne was
inomIeediatelv arraigned and his trial proceeded
.,u;tl.,.-The remainder of the day was taken up
with the selection of a suitable jury, and the
e5an4ination Of the witnesses on the part Oh
the State. On Thursday the trial OF Walker
for murder was continued, and the morning
employed with the examination OF the VII
nesses for the defence, and few on the part Oh
the State in reply. The whole OF the evidence
,,ent to show that the character of Walker was
oood while that of the deceased, Hiram Coch-
ran. was of the worst grade, he having peen
considered dangerous character, "h'le w aiA-
ar was quiet. inofensive and orderly. 1t was
clearly proven that the difficulty which Leo 10
the killing of Hiram Cochran occurred In the
store of Mr.. J. r. Cochran, whittier walker
f1vho had been to the blacksmith shop with
some ploughs) went to purchase box OF paper
collars. and being insulted by Hiram, he lett
the store. and proceeded along Granite Row, IN
the direction of Capt. J. B. Moore's, where he
lived. He was followed by Hiram, VINO
stopped for moment on the way to oorro"
knife from friend, and then continued the
pursuit until he goti front OF Walker on the
sidewalk. and with one hand under his coat, ne
clutched at his throat, when Walker (kno"lhe
him to be dangerous MANI drew his knlfe,
and dealtsthe fatal blow, acting (as he thought)
in selfdefence. The whole of the evening was
occun;ed with the arguments of Messrs. Nc
Gowan and Moore, counsel for the accused,
and of Solicitor Blythe on the part OF Tie oea'e'
all of which were eloquent and able Aiter
hearing Judge Cookies clear and lucid explaila-
ton of the law in regard to the different grades
of homicide, and the extenuatlnS clrcuulstan-
roc of the case as set forth in the evidence, the
iury repaired to their room, and after some ue-
liberation, returned with verdict OF "Gullty
of Manslaughter," but recommended the prls-
oner to the mercy Of the Court. Before pass
ing sentence the Judge made some wel-timeo
remarks, saying that the Divine lawis, "Whoso
sheddeth mans blood, by man also shall his
blood be she'd" but that human law, regarding
the weakness and frailty of mans nature, mas
nroyided for certain cases where, through force
of sudden heat and passion, one human being
DESTROYS the life Of another, the punishment
meted out to him is in accordance with the de-
gree Of the offence, and the motives "hich ac-
4uate him to commit the crime. he warned
the colored people against giving hot suppers,
whether for gain or otherwise and said that ne
believed these very suppers were the origin Oh
more difficulties and crimes than anything
else. He told them that during his short Pc
riod of two wears on the Bench, it had
been his painful duty to preside at the trial
of six murderers, whose dark crimes were
all traceable to shot suppers." He said 1t was
the duty of all ministers of the Gospel among
the colored people to endeavor to put stop to
this demoralizing custom, and If they did not
succeed, to report the case or cases to the near
est Trial Justice who would investigate the
matter, and if sent up to this Court, rest as
sured they will get twelve months in the Peni-
tentiary as vagrants.
The prisoners having been brought into
Court. the Judge sentenced them as follows:
James WA CouFlCCoo VI Ahe'hSi"ut''oA,
to two years at hard labor in the Penitentiary,
with proriso, however, that if at the expira-
,Mon of one year his conduct was said to be
good, he, would be recommended for pardon.
Alexander Campbell, convicted Of an assault,
sentenced TO pay fine of slO and costs, or be
imprisoned in the County Jail for thirty days
Andy Spencer convicted of an assault upon
an officer. Sentenced to confinement in the
County Jail for three months, and to work
upon the streets during the day time.
Charles Murray plead guilty to grand larce-
ny. Sentenced to be confined at hard labor in
the Penitentiary for the period of ten years.
James Anderson and Andrew Thomas, con-
victed of grand larceny. Sentenced to be con-
fined at hard labor in the PenitentarY for the