The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-06-17

VI tuo sui, ~ piducb oh tuv iuoqunhuc
of the road and ellis the hollows, leaving
I the road mach smoother than can b.
I done by hand; on soil not too hard !
] can be used without preliminary pillow
F, ing ut the sides of, The road gouging nj
: the soil throwing IL where required, ant
. shaping the surface perfectly, being
, wholly under the control of the opera
tors; and 1t Is capable of moving more
3 dirt with the same team than others
/ The machine Is sold outright, without
7 any restrictions in the way of town Of
: district rights, and is reasonable In
) price. 1t seems certain that they car
effect an immense saving in our annud
: road repairing, and we trust the towr
: fathers and highway surveyors will
look into the matter carefully and see
Slif 1t is not going to be much to our In.
terest TO have sufficient number Of
road machines 10 handle all the roads IN
town.
Ono of cur jealous policemen was
much offended at our special reporter
who was seeking light OH tho matter Of
the peanut man who has occupied some
little attention during a day or two,
and advised the said reporter not 10
"stick his nose into other peoples bust
ness" AS 1t is the reporters business
to obtain local news items for our
columns, IL would seem that this police
man regarded this matter of driving a
man of from the public streets as his
own private business, and not to be
meddled with by newspaper. We
can hardly admit this. BY universal
custom 1t Is understood to be the bust
ness of newspaper to furnish all pub
lie news which It's readers want to hear,
and we very seldom find officials or
4 private citizens who do not acknowl-
/ edge this, 80 far, at least, as to treat q
reporter courteously. Besides this, the
reporter in question is a citizen of this
town and village, and has the same
right as any other citizen to understand
and pass upon the public acts of the
town OF village officials. A policeman
is not a master, to do his own arbitrary
will, and courtesy toward the citizens in
whose service he is employed becomes
him better than insulting language to-
wards them.
1t may be taken as rule that a news
paper reporter in his Inquiries in re-
gard to any matter, is simply minding
his own business, for Il is his business
to find out the news. Courtesy toward
him is never lost. And il may be gen.
orally accepted that no one is o better
Judge than he Ms To what is not proper
for his columns, as well as to what
should be published. If his inquiries
show him that matter is trivial, or for
other reasons unsuitable to be made
public, he may be trusted to know it
quite as we'll as any one else, and to
act accordingly. There are doubtless
many occasions when people may re-
gard his inquiries as impertintent, but
they should remember his business,
and remember that any person fit to be
connected with newspaper will, so far
as his trained judgement can direct him,
make no improper use of his informa.
| ton.
In saying this we have no intention to
censuro. The policeman spoken Off
one of our exceedingly few officers
who seem disposed 10 do their whole
duty under tho law, and deserves espec-
ial credit and encouragement from every
good citizen. But when he talks about q
citizen "meddling" in matter which
belongs to the whole public, especially
when this meddling consists simply in
asking for information, he seems to en-
tirely forget his relations to his fellow
citizens. y
lNADDIsON COUNTY COURT.-The case
lof Judge Knapp VS.. w j. Fuller and
+. Z. Smith ended last Friday evening
in q verdict for the plaintiff, giving
him two hundred dollars damages and
costs. There were large number of
witnesses called OH both sides, of
whom twenty-nine of our best citizens
testified in favor of the plaintiff, while
five testified against his good charac-
ter and standing. The defense made
very weak and insufficient attempt TO
sustain the truth of the alleged libelous
publication on account of which the
suit was brought, their chief reliance
being in trying to show that the plain
tifi's character for chastity was not
good. The arguments of counsel on
both sides were very able, that of Gov.
Stuart especially being brilliant and
witty. We give a portion of Judge
Pierpoints excellent charge elsewhere.
We learn that majority of the jury
were in favor of awarding much larger
damages, and that the sum awarded
was finally accepted as a compromise.
|
case of Charles N. Mosely Va, The Yer
mont Fire Insurance Company. This
is an action to recover $1,000 insurance
fence claim that the plaintiff set fire TO
his store himself, and fraudulently
overestimated the value and amount OF
his goods. E. II. Hard and Henry
Ballard for plaintiff; j. w. Stewart, K.
j. Ormsbee and w. d. Wilson, of st.
Adams, for defendant. This case has
occupied the time of the court up 10
this time, and the examination of wit
nesses, of whom there are perhaps
l forty or fifty in all, is not vet conclnd.
Ned. 1t is thought the case will not be
finished before Saturday.
The following are the indictments
found by the grand jury:
II Against James Persons, of Ripton
} for an assault with intent to kill, upoI
Wesley Il. Howard, at Ripton, Janu
airy q, 1881; against James Coolihan
of New Haven, for an assault with in
tent to commit rape upon Julia Ash
lin her twelfth Year, at New Haven
{. December IL, 1880; against IIenr,
a Race, of Middlebury, for an assault
and battery upon Hiram Curler, a
Q Weybridge, September 2, 1880; agains
Matthias Nolan, of New Haven, tor al
: assault and battery npon Jesse c. Gro
I YER, at New Haven, February IL
1881; against Hiram G. Sessions, o
l Middlebury. for All assault and batter
upon v. V. Clay, at Middlebury, Jun
e s, 1880; Dealy, of Bridport, for assanl
a and battery upon his wife, at Bridpori
# on tho 18th OF May, 1881; against JIG
u seph Gaudette, of Salisbury, for sellin
u liquor at Middlebury on the I'd of Ser
?. TENDER, 1881, during the county fair.