St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-12-29
An Ill-AdViSed Pardon.
INSIDE VIEW OF SOUTHERN BARBARI-
TY AND DIABoLISM.

INSIDE VIEW OF SOUTHERN BARBARI-
TY AND DIABOLISM.
Among the most remarkable and
justly odious of the numerous pardons
by which Gov. Stephens of Georgia is
signalling his gOvernOrship, is that of
Captain" Cox. Cox was sentenced to
Imprisonment for life some two years
ago, for the murder of Col. Aston.
The circumstances of the crime will be
remembered by many. The two men
were native GeOrgians, near neighbOrs
and both we think, had been Confed-
crate soldiers. The State of Georgia
has convict law, similar to those
passed in several of the cotton States
by the democrats, as soon as they came
into power, after the war. These laws
place the colOred persons. who cOnsti
tute the great mass of the cOnvicts, in
condition worse than their old state
of slavery. Under these laws, the pris
on authorities, practically without su
pervislon or restriction, may and do
lease the labor of the cOnvicts to per-
sons who, after making the lease, be-
come in fact, their masters and own
ers, with full power to work them any
where in the state under such cOndi-
tiOns as may be most profitable, and to
feed and house them or to starve and
maltreat them as suits their will.
The abOminable treatment accorded
to the cOnvicts under this system at
tracted attention several years ago,
and an investigation was ordered III
Georgia, which disclosed the facts that
the male and female cOnvicts of GeOr-
gia were worked and lived together ;
that there were among them many il
Legitimate children, and many of the
women were about to become mothers ::
that the prisoners were kept ana work
ed i'll what are known as convict camps
and scantily supplied with food of the
coarsest. kind. If they died their plac-
es were soon taken by fresh niggers
and their lives had no value in the eyes
of the men whose aim was to get out of
them the greatest possible amount of
work at the least possible expense.
The result of the system, it was stated,
was an average annual death rate of 10
per cent. from disease, and a large
death rate, under the significant head,
'Died or lost while trying to escape"
In view of the statement that blood
hounds are used to track and capture
the unfOrtunates who try TO fly from a
fate worse than death, the full mean
ing of the quotation will be under
| stood.
Aston was member of the Georgia
| legislature and of committee which
made a report which disclosed some of
these damning facts, and bore hard on
some of the contractors of convict la
Dor. Cox was one of these-and TO
| crafty his own revenge and to warn
all others that this telling of unpleas-
ant tales about white SOuthencrS had
got to stop, he determined to kill AL
stOn. He followed him about all of one
day, to fasten mortal quarrel on him.
Aston was fully aware of his purpose
but kept about his business. The two
men met toward nightfall in the office
OF the State Treasurer. Cox insisted
upon ii fight. Alston said II do not
want to have any difficulty with you
about this matter. 1t will do you nC
good to kill me, and do me none to xii
you" But Cox would fight, and boil
men drew pistols, one with murderou,
intent, the other in self defense, sew
eral shots were exchanged, one o
which hit Cox i'll the mouth, knocking
out several tech. AlstOn exhausted
his revolver first, when Cox aimed de
liberately at him and shot him in tn,
right -mple. Cox was tried, defended
by able counsel, found guilty of muir
der, and sentenced to Imprisonment
for life. Such was the brutality of hi
crime that his sentence was pronounced
just i'll II community which looks will
great leniency upon homicide of al
kinds. The decision was confirmed b,
the Supreme Court of the state, and h,
was committed to prison. Now, afte
serving less than three years of hi.
sentence, he is given an uncOnditiona
pardon.
The reasons which Governor Steph
ems gives for his clemency are tina
"many eminent citizens, lawyers, ju
, rists, merchants, bankers, ministers q
of the Gospel, journalists, mechanic
and farmers, and including IA majOrit
of the House of Representatives an
twO-thirds of the Senate of the presen
General Assembly have asked eXecu
E tive clemency," that ''there existed i
f the minds of several distinguished law
e yers, juriStS and others, at the time {
5 the conviction, doubts as to the grad
. of the crime, and that his own view
Y coincide with those of majority {
5 the petitioners" Therefore he gives
+ full pardon. The weakness of thes
J, reasons is apparent. If there were an
e force in what the Governor says,
i would only show that Cox ought
i to have been sentenced for "vOluntar
t manslaughter" instead of murder, al
o the extreme penalty for that crime
= Georgia is Imprisonment for twent
=, years. AS it is Captain Cox goes frt
V to make Il new convict lease, and ma
/. treat the cOnvicts as he chooses, wit
;, tolerable security that no Georgian wi
e hereafter make disagreeable repOr
d about the death rate in his convi
q camps Burlington Free Press.
e Poisoned by "a Needle.