Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-03-18
WHAT GEN. s,GElow sAys.
ne TAin1 Ne. Is e.. :. .: s:s..a for

He Thinks Thew o. no Ground for Q
New C0urt-maKt1Al.
Cen Bigeiow, Sergt, Mason's counsel,
was interviewed last evening with re-
ference to certain rumors. which have
been current concerning the illegality
OF the trial by the court-martial. Gen.
Bigelow stated that he had investigated
the report, but had been enable to find
any truth in 1t. His opinion was that
it was entirely unfounded. He deemed
it his duty to look into the matter: how.
ever, and should il turn out to be as
represented he would at once apply for
a writ of habeas corpus. Here the ques-
ton of new trial would arise. In his
opinion, however, the first trial would
thus be simply mis-tTial, and as such
Mason could be retired. The course
Gen. Bigeiow will persue is very simple.
He Is getting up petitions all over the
country. They are being signed by
thousands of the most intelligent and
respectable people, including many
prominent judges and lawyers. They
ask for the unconditional pardon Of
Mason. Accompanying the petitions
will be a critical, thorough and careful
resume of the case, O. review of the
evidence and a concise grouping of the
various flaws in the indictment. The
main point which will be made is, that
Mason could not he legally tried for
attempting to kill Guiteau, inasmuch as
the law does not, in any case, recognize
legal intent to kill, where there was
an actual impossibility to kill.
Speaking of this point, Gen. Hgelow
said the only thing upon which the
court hinged was the above proposition.
They fully acknowledged the fact that
Guiteau, as a matter Of fact, was not at
his window at the time the shot was
fired, and that he could not have been
seen by Mason had he been so situated.
They convicted simply because they
were unable to recognize this fact-that
the law does not recognize legal intent
20 commit an impossible crime. The
severity of the sentence, Gen. Bigelow
thinks, was entirely owing to the man
ner in which the court regarded the
crime-as gross breach of military
discipline. There should have been
another count to the indictment. Ii
was illegal as it stood. The second
count should have charged Mason with
having fired his musket while OH duty
without the order Of his superior officer,
to the prejudice of good order and dis
cipline. Upon this second count he
might have been convicted, in which
case the most likely punishment would
have been imprisonment for six months,
with loss of pay and allowances and a
reduction to the ranks. The plea OF
insanity was not set up, partly on &C
count of its unpopularity and partly be-
cause of the fact of the illegality of the
indictment was OF itself thought suf-
ficient to clear him. He could not
have been convicted of the offense in a
civil court. Gen. Bigelow speaks
highly of the cOurt-martial, of their
honor and intent to do the prisoner
justice. Singularly enough they stood
half and half, six being graduates of
West Point and six having risen from
the lowest ranks.
The order sentencing Mason, which
has been read to him, will he published
to-day to the garrison. The officers at
the barracks who were on the court
martial, deny that the results of the
trial are vitiated by the neglect of the
court to have the prisoner present when
the court was sworn. They say that
the errors was Immediately remedied
by the president of the court, who had
the ceremony stopped until Mason was
brought in.
Much better do without sugar and coffee
than to be out of PERUNA.