Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-10-08
Washington County Court.
Hon. 7. P. REDFrELD, Presiding Judge.
HON HON fT mrs cd nITesD Assistant Judges

MELVILLE Il. SMILE CIfrk.
John l., FUTILE, Sheriff
FRANK PLUMLEy, States Attorney
HENRY OviArT, Stenogrdpher.
The civil jury docket will be finished this week,
and II is probable that the court will then take a
recess until the middle Of November, when the
trial OF tho criminal cases. including that Of Carr,
the murderer, will take place
The greatest excitement around the courthouse
during the past week has been in the vicinity Of
the grand jury room, within which unwilling wit
nesses have been asked to tell what they know
about the traffic in intoxicating liquors It is r-
mored that the grand jury have obtained infor-
nation enough to warrant the finding Of a large
number Of indictments, and that the " monrners"
will soon go about the streets.
Mr. Edward w. Bsbee OF waitsfed and Mr.
Levi Smith of STAFFORD have been admitted to
the bar. Mr.. Bisbee is graduate of Mr.. j. A.
Wings office and Mr.. Smith Of the office OF
Messrs. Heath & Carleton. Both are promising
young men and both passed unusually good ex-
aminations Mr. Smith will practice in STAFFORD
and Mr.. Bisbee in one Of the larger towns in
Washington county.
The following is resume Of the cases tried
by jury
II. s. Thresher rs. Lucius & Richard Smith
Some mention was made of this case in our last
report The parties are from Moretown, and the
ARRAY whence arose this suit took place in the
winter. 1t appeared that the plaintiff, who was
driving team with n load of wood, was met by
these defendant brothers who had a double team
and two pairs Of traverse sleds, and on the back
sleds was threshing machine. A consultation
followed upon the feasibility Of each party turn
ing out Harsh language INDUCED in by
both parties, and the denouement Of the whole
business was that one Of the brothers struck Mr.
Thresher with stick of some kind inhcting two
quite ugly wounds, one an inch, the other three
inches long, upon his scalp Blood flowed freely,
and some Of the witnesses testified that the
ground had the appearance of having been trav-
eled over by "stuck hog" The defendants
claimed that they were justified in their assault
upon Mr.. Thresher; that be put his hand into his
pocket and assumed the threatening attitude Of
drawing revolver; and that he raised a stick OF
wood over his head in n very menaciDg manner.
But after ofthe defendants testified that, when
the ARRAY was substantially concluded he set the
plaintiff up in the boot business for three consecu
tive times, the court thought that the element Of
justification was wanting and sent the case to the
| jury on merely the question Of damages. The jury
returned verdict of sos for plaintiff Messrs
c. NJ. Johnston and Heath & Carleton for plaintiff
James A. johnson and George NJ. Fisk for de
PENDANTS.
II. c. Worthen and wife u.s. Ransom Dickey,
Edison L. Colby and Grin Eastman. Messrs. S. C.
Shurtleff and Joseph A. Wing for plaintiff Asa
NJ. Dickey and Clarence II Ptkin for defendants
Mr. C. W. Clark of Chelsea was original counse
for the defendants, but owing to his illness he
has been obliged to abandon the case The sui
| was brought to recover upon a note Of 81, 100
| payable to Miss Ida Eastman, the wife now Of ii
| c. Worthen, and one of the plaintiffs, During
Miss Eastman's minority her mother died, leav
ing her and two other minors heirs to quite an es
tate, through her 1.-THE mother 81 father, whose es
tate was in process of settlement. Miss East
mans father was appointed guardian of the mi
nors, and Peter Dckey, now deceased, Ransom
Dickey and Edison f. Colby became his bonds
men. Mr.. Eastman managed affairs so that HI
very soon became insolvent, and so that his bonds
men had to incur the responsibility of property h
had had in trust for the minor children. He Mr.
Eastman, executed to his bondsmen a mortgage
deed of his farm in Washington, upon which Their
was already prior mortgage held by Mr.. James W
Brock OF Montpelier. The farm was worth abou
So 800, and the Brock mortgage was about 50, SOC
so that they had only partial indemnity agains
the claims of the minors, amounting to som
$1,000 When Miss Ida Eastman became Of az
they executed to her note for S1.10O, in full sci
Element of her demand upon her father. This
the note in question, and the defendants elaine
that they had paid 1t. The facts turned out /
evidence are these: The young lady kept thi
note for q time, when her father, upon some pre-
tence which did not fully appear, induced her t
let him take it, She thought it was perfectly sal
in his hands and made no special inquiries about
until after her marriage to Mr. Worthen. But he wa
more anxious about his wife's property, and sc
to work at once investigating matters. He yer
soon discovered that there deed lying in IL
office of the town clerk of Washington, conveyin
to his wife one undivided third interest in I'll
home farm, executed by Peter Dlckey, an
claimed to have been so executed in behalf of a
the bondsmen. lie and his wife did not propo'
} to accept the deed in satisfaction of the note
the bondsmen claimed that it was given; but r
turned it to the town clerks Office. They had
the meantime been living on the farm with HI
father under some contract, as they alleged, wit
her father and bondsmen In addition to Il
: plaintiff claim that the deed was executed
satisfaction of the note they also maintained thu
Mr. Worthen and wife had ratified the barga
and had been holding the farm under the dec
, The Brock mortgage in the mean time was
process of foreclosure. But before the deed
the one-third interest had been executed to Mi
Eastman, the Brock mortgage had not been pa
, and it being mere quit-claim deed she won
a have had to raise one-third of that mortgag
q This would have left her but mere pittanc
= and 1t was upon the improbability of her makir
n such trade, as well as her positive denial OF
. that the plaintiffs stood. On the other hand, II
a long after the deed was given to Miss Eastmi
:, the bondsmen paid of the Brock mortgage, al
a claimed that it was understood in the trade tn
she was not to be burdened at all with it. TT
n case was ably argued but the defendants effor
h to conceal the incongruity and unfarness Of d
il. trade with the young lady were unavailin
e and the jury found for the plaintiffs to recov
Il 81, 2265O Only $500 was due on the note at t
n time of bringing the suit
"a Frank p. Page Us. Lucius W. Scott.-This WI
n an action OF replevin brought to recover the p'
- session OF one black colt attached by the defen
ant, as the property OF the plaintiffs father, j.
Page, in the action Fannie P. Currier, executl
ID Us. J. Parker Page 1t was claimed by the pla
tiff in this action to be his property, and only IL
rs with his father for the purpose of fitting it up
ID sale. There was also large amount of evider
L. produced tending to show how the colt came
1t be the property OF the plaintiff The defen
a. claimed that the property belonged to the faith
ut and was put into the hands OF the for the p
a. pose OF defrauding his creditors and to av'
is paying his honest debts, and introduced evider
ut tending to prove the same. But the jury thoul