Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-12-31
Washington County Court,
Hon. TIMOTHY p. REDFIELD. Presiding Judge
Hon. PHtLANDER RIF0RD, AssistantJud ge.
Hon. JAMES A COBURN, Assistant Judge
MELVILLE Z. SMILE, Clerk.
FRANK PLUMLEY. states Attorney.
JOHN T.. FUTILE, Sheriff.
~ Etannaranh

HENRY 0yIATT, Stenographer.
The time of the court during the past
week has been taken up with the trial oil
two cases-State vs.. Charles A. Blay and
Philander Searles. for larceny, and State
vs.. Joseph and John Eddy and Joseph
lancaster, for arson. The latter case,
which is the final jury trial, is now being
argued, and will be finished tonight. The
remainder of the week will be devoted to
miscellaneous business, and ON Saturday
the term will come to an end, as Judge
Redield on Monday must so to Burling.
ton to sit rs one of the judges of Chitten-
den county supreme court. Some import
ant cases 90 over to the March term,
which will probably be of more than usual
length.
In the Blay and Searles case the re-
spondents were indicted for the larceny of
a lot of carpenters tools, pail and hal
ter from one of the box stalls on the Mont
pelier fair grounds during the soldiers re-
union last August. The stolen property
DGlOD0tu " Nlls 11OWlduu vi
this place, and few weeks after portion
of it was found at Bay's fathers, where
both of the respondents then lived. The
boys denied the theft, and accounted for
the presence of the property which was
found at the elder Blay's by ridiculous
story to the effect that on the second
night of the reunion, while taking their
supper by their fire, stranger accosted
them and offered 10 sell the tools and pail
for three dollars, saying that he had Just
finished his job on the fair ground build
Ings, was going away, and did not want
the tools any longer; that Blay offered
him TWO dollars for them, which, after
some banter, was accepted. Probably
counsel did not really expect that the Jury
would believe such nonsense as that, and
in fact the only positive defence was as TO
Searles, in regard to whom it was claim
ed that he had nothing to do with the
theft, if any was committed; that the
stolen property was never in his posses.
sion, and he never reaped any benefit from
it. Seares is counting Rosa Blay, his
companions sister. and all the family
turned in TO rescue him from imprison-
ment, no matter what might become of
Charles. The jury put on the charitable
construction of his acts and returned
il verdict of acquittal in his case, but
Blay they found guilty of grand larceny.
Messrs. Fuank Plumley and George W.
Wing for the state; Messrs. Heath &
Carleton for the defence.
Lust Friday afternoon a Jury was en-
panneled in State VS.. Joseph and John
Eddy and Joseph Lancaster and has been
on trial ever since. These respondents
were indicted by the last grand jury for
burning the farm buildings situated in
Roxbury and belonging to Joseph c. Rice
of Mortified, in the early morning of the
10Th day Of last April. They had been
tenants of Mr.. Rice and had moved out of
the buildings II few days before the fire.
There was no doubt that it was an incen-
diary fire and the state in trying to fasten
the crime upon these respondents intro.
ducod evidence tending to show that there
had been ill-blood and hard feelings be-
tween Mr.. Rice and them for some time
before that, and that many threats had
been INDUCED in; some witnesses claimed
to have 70 md the tracks of three men,
which the boots of the respondents fitted,
the next morning leading across the fields
towards the burned buildings. The de-
fence introduced evidence TO prove an
alibi and to throw suspicion on other
parties. The arguments are being heard
to-day. States Attorney Plumley, s. G.
Shurtleff and j. w. johnson appeared for
The state, and j. II. Senter, G. H. Heath
and Geo. M. Fisk for the defence.
The indictment against Tom Mullaly
and the Douahues for arson was quashed,