Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-11-04
THE DUBLIN WALKER CASE.

The defendants above named, together with
BENJAMIN F. Michael, who absconded before
his trial, were tried at the September term,
1875, of the court of general sessions for
Chester county, on an indictment charging
them with conspiracy to cheat and detraud
the county of Chester Of the sum of seventy
dollars by means of false and illegal teach
ers' pay certificate, being an order on the
county treasurer of Chester county to pay the
sum of seventy dollars to B. F. Michael for
services as a teacher, signed by B. F. Michael,
j. G. Stevenson and Henry Blake, as school
trustees of school district No. l, of Chester
county, and endorsed, "Approved and Or
dered to be paid, D. j. Walker, county school
commissioner of Chester county," knowing
the said certificate to be false and fraudulent.
A noNe prosequi was entered by the solicitor
as to Stevenson, and the trial resulted in the
conviction of Walker and Blake, with a re-
commendation by the jury to the mercy of the
court. Walker and Blake were thereupon
sentenced, the former to Imprisonment in the
penitentiary for one year, and the latter tor
three months. Application is now made to
me to intervene in the exercise of executive
cemency by pardoning the defendants, Wal
heI duu DldhS, VI Uy e'Si' 9NAA
tence to milder punishment. The papers
now before me are: First, petition, signed
by over twelve hundred of the citizens OF
Chester county, asking for the pardon OF the
defendants; second, similar petition, signed
by C. A. King, county school commissioner
Nelson Davies, representative of York county,
and endorsed by Hon. j. H. White, Senator
from York county, and Hon. A. S. Wallace,
member of Congress from the fourth con-
gressional district of this State; third, petit
tion signed by B. G. Yocum, county treasur-
er; G.. G.. Macoy, clerk of court; S. j. Couch,
representative of Chester county John Lee,
w. M. Mcdonald, j. F. Green, and about
fifty others, for the pardon of Henry Blake;
fourth, recommendation by his honor, Hon.
T.J. Mackey, the judge who presided at the
trial, based on the request of eleven OF the
Jury who sat on the case, that the sentence OF
Dublin j. Walker be commuted to imprlson'
ment for twelve months in the county Jail at
Chester; fifth, copy of the indictment and a
synopsis of the testimony taken on the trial,
submitted to me by one of the attorneys for
the defendants. 1t is proper. think, to add
that many other persons of high position and
character have personally urged upon me, in
the most earnest manner, the pardon OF the
defendant Walker.
The present case is thus marked by some
unusual features The high position occupied
by the defendant, Walker, as State Senator,
his wide circle of friends, and the array of
names appearing upon the petition before me-
necessarily render my present duty peculiarly
delicate and onerous. No one, however, will
dispute the proposition that should be false
to my official obligation if l regarded the case
with any other spirit or purpose than that
which would bring to the consideration OF
the case of the humbest man in the State.
1t appears from the testimony that the
school certificate on which the indictment
rested purported to be drawn for the year
1871, but was actually written and signed by
all the defendants in November, 1874, and
after the defendant Walker had ceased to be
school commissioner. The signatures Of all
the defendants were identified by Julius G.
Stevenson and David Hemphill, late county
treasurer OF Chester county, the latter of whom
also testified that, in a report made by the
defendant Walker, as school commissioner,
about January, 1874, of the outstanding school
claims for 1871 and 1872, no unpaid certi6-
cate Of B. F. Michael appeared. This report
was also put in evidence. F. B. Lloyd, the
present school commissioner of Chester coun-
ty, testified that he was informed by B. q.
Yocum,, the present county treasurer of Ches.
ter county, of the existence of the certificate
in question, and that upon inquiry of Walker
about it, he (Walker) requested him to look
out for the original of the certificate, but that
nothing was said to him by Walker until after
he (Yocun) had called attention to the al
legged fraudulent certificate Julius G. Ste-
venson, who was indicted with these defen-
dants, and who was made witness for the
State, testified that the certificate in question
was fraudulent, and that Michael had so told
him and, further, that Michael told him that
whenever he was hard up for money, he (Mi-
chaeD and Walker would fix up the papers,
and Walker would sign them"
The report of F. B. Lloyd, the present
school commissioner of Chester county, was
also put in evidence, comprising list ofschool
claims issued prior to November, 1873, and
unpaid No certificate to B. F. Michael ap.
peared in this report. There was no evidence
that Michael ever taught in school district
No. l, for which the certificate in question
was drawn, though it appeared that he taught
very short time at Gethsemane, four miles
from Chester court house. B. G. Yocum, the
present treasurer of Chester county, testified
that Walker gave him no information con-
corning the certificate in question till the JAN
uary term Of court, 1875.
The defendant Walker testified that on the
23d of November, 1874, as he was leaving
Chester to 90 to Columbia, Michael came to
him with the certificate in question and asked
him to sign it, saying he had lost the one
formerly issued to him in 1871; that he signed
it, but that he was now unable to say certain
ly that Michal taught school during the time
stated in the certificate. Two other witnesses
were introduced by the defense, who testified
that Michael taught school at Gethsemane in
1871.
These are the chief points of the testimony
as presented to me, and Mr.. Couch, one of
the defendants attorneys, writes me that
nothing is omitted, so far as my memory
serves me in this evidence that could do the
defendants any good"
Upon this evidence the questions for me to
consider are: First, whether the conviction of
the defendants was warranted by the law and
the facts; and, second, whether my duty,
which is to take care that the laws are faith
fully executed in mercy" will permit me to
relieve the defendants of the punishment i'm.
posed on them by the court. No suggestion is
made in any Of the papers before me that the
trial in any of its incidents was unfair to the
defendants, nor that any attainable evidence
in their behalf was wanting. | find myself
H. H. al, = fb.tt th hc