Morning journal and courier., 1881-06-25
NEW HAVEN, CONN. SATURDAY MORNING. JUNE 25. 1881.
Saturday Morning, June 25, 1881.


THE MURDER OF COLONEL SHANNON. About year ago Colonel Cash killed Col l onel Shannon in duel fought in Darlington county, South Carolina. Colonel Shannon
 was an aged and reputable lawyer and was
 counsel in 8 case in which Mrs. Cash was 8 defendant. It was alleged that in the plead ings there was charge of fraud against that lady. Colonel Shannon disclaimed all knowl- edge of the offensive language charged, but this did not satisfy the Bash family who pro- ceeded to make it unpleasant for him. Cash challenged Shannon to fight a duel. Shan non declined to fight his reasons being the same as those of any gentleman in any north ern community. He did not believe that anything material could be proved or dis proved by the ordeal of single combat. Up- on this Cash ''posted'' Shannon as coward and pursued him for weeks as a poltroon, a seoundrel, and being unfit to live. Finally, being especially enraged by a lampoon pub lished by the younger Cash, and probably feeling the implied rebuke of 8 community where false notions of personal honor" pre- vail, Shannon challenged the elder Cash. When the duel came off Shannon fired and missed. Then Cash, who is good marksman and had been training for the fight, took de- ibsrate aim and shot his antagonist dead. There was great public excitement. Cash
 was arrested, and has been twice tried. On the trial in February the jury disagreed.
 On Tuesday last he was tried again and was acquitted.
 The state of society which made it impos- slble for this old man to avoid fighting duel and at the same time remain respectable" and which made the aequitta1 of his murder CT possible. not to say populer, is deplorable. As the New York Tunes says: 'sThe verdict is a clear and unmistakable approval of the custom of dueling. In no other section of the Republic than the South could such Q conclusion be possible. And yet our fellow citizens of that region demur at being told that their form of civilization borders on the semi -barbarous It is not worth while now to bandy words about the relative prevalence of crime North and South. Unhappily the evil passions of men are not radically iniu enced by degrees of longitude and latitude, nor by geographical conditions. But the blighting effects of slavery are to-day percep: tible in the arrogance, intolerance, cruelty, and brutality, which, in southern commit nity, combine in public sentiment which condemns man who refuses to fight a duel and acquits man who stays his fellow in 8 dueIr
 It is but fair to note that the affair has not met with universal approval even in South Carolina. The anti-dueling association of Kershaw and Camden counties and the Cheraw Sun spoke out boldly against the crime, and the judge in the case charged the jury that killing in duel was no less murder than when the homicide was the result of premeditated and secret attempt to take the life of one's enemy. It was killing with out provocation and not in self defense. But the sentiment of southern chivalry was too powerful to be overcome, and the con- doning of the murder of this old lawyer was added to disgraceful record