The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-10-25
4 Friend Of Bryan Crimes hcard
From.

The following letter explains itself. IL
is addressed to the Edentou E-QHirrr. but
As we copied the remarks OF that paper
IN praise Of Judge Shepherd, 1t Is bat
fair 10 give Mr.. Laughinehouse an hear
ing also. We had the pleasure OF max
ing this gentlemans acquaintance last
week.
If HIS letter sounds rather severely, II
can well BE- understood that a peaceful
citizen who ha. had his barns, aud dwell
lings fired at midnight and even his wells
poisoned, BY the same gang who Killed
Gen. Crime, i not apt IL JoF muddy I,
nevertheless We regret the controversy.
WASHINGTON, y. {.
Editor or iibcmdr}s Enqnirer.
SRA friend handed me a copy 81
Your paper OF oct. 9th uitimo. in which
appears an editorial headed ~ Basclc>s
Charge which some OF my friends
think strikes N me.
Averse at all times TO uotorictl and
especially TO a newspaper controversy,
| cannot pass i'll silence anything which
i likely 10 cast an lmputatlon on my
yeracity. more especially where | am
not known.
Your editorial says the Father oi the
charges is unknown to YOU, and a You
have failed 10 specify the charges, il i
impossible for me either To assume OF
DENY the paternity Of the ann but
inasmuch a. | have made charles against
Jas. T.. Sheppard, candidate for the
T,lx.aIsN -, ,t. N,,,.rfar lFat,rf af.I
have made them publicly III the streets
OF Washington | propose to reitcratc
them so that the public as we'll n Your
self may Judge a. 10 their laselcssnc>s.
| further propose TO furnish you a te"
facts, of which you seem sorely IN need
M this time.
immediately after the arrest of the
murderer of Gen. Grimes. and al the pre-
liminary examination before a magistrat.
for his commitial on the charge OF muir
der, | charged Jas. r.. shepherd with
unproiessional conduct, and II seemed
to me di~shonorable conduct. III that he
when contering with his client III iall.
tempered with one of the >Jutc> VII
nesses then III jail. made Inn retract ms
statements made previous To That inter-
view. and that he, Sheppard, wa, there
tore guilty OF subordlnation OF ~eriurS,
and now | reiterate the charge.
Again | charged HIM with unprGtc>-
slonal conduct III that during the inter
val between the prisoners coInnIIttal the
said Sheppard approached John Is Res
pass. a Radical politician, and a Baptist
preacher and urged HIM 10 use
his influence, as a politician and 4
preacher, to create a public opinion III
behalf of the murderer. knowing a. he
did the bitter hatred OF the Radical party
towards the murdered man. | rciterate
this charge.
Ailer The trial | charged him with UNI
professional conduct in that. he tried to
induce Walter Dickerson. a witness IN
this case, to 20 over to Martin county
and create a public opinion III favour OF
his client, and inasmuch a. two base
men did villify and dciame thc murder
ed man. i'll his grave, and thereby did
create a public sentiment in the county
from which the jury which tried the
case was selected, 1t is my belief that
the said Sheppard was privy To the ON
duct OF these men. prompted and ahc,
ted II. thereby trying to murder the ct N
actcr. as his clients did the body oil ten.
Grimes. | believe these charges t. +,
true. as witness Dickcr>on testified To-
the first charge on the stand.
And now to the facts i'll his ease. ON
the 10th of August 1880. Gen. BRYAN
Grimes on his way home. almost IN sight
OF his house. was shot and INSTANTLY kill
ed.
The murder Mortified the whole coun-
try. The public mind At nee turned t.
a band of ~mcendlarles II PRISONERS who
had terrified that section of Pitt county.
in which Gen. Grimes and myself hVcd.
These dcspcradocs had burned or caused
to be burned by their gang valuable
property amounting 10 many thousand
dollars for the General, and when the
criminals were discovered they employ
ed the ablest counsel III the State and
paid out their i'll gotten plumber with Il
liberal hand III their defence, and when
Justice at last overlook one of them
they vowed the death of then enemy.
The day after the hired assassin was
arrested tor the murder of Gen. Grimes.
his employers hired Jas. +. Sheppard
to defend the murderer. and he brought
to the task a mind well fitted for its per-
formance.
III. S1 81 it tHd 'liIlli bul HIS
duty as an attorney, and cite his oath in
palliation. But, sir, does the oath OF an
attorney require him to be guilty of sub
bordination of perjury, and make war
on society. to aid a murderer to escape
the penalty of his crimes;
II it does, then, it is time the public
shouid take steps to defend itself against
such men who are i'll 10 respect superior
morally to tie telons they defend.
Does the oath of AN Attorney Justify
him (not content with enormous license
allowed him i'll the Court House in de-
bauching and degrading public opinion
outside of its walls by tricks and frauds
and talsehoods of which ever a tcIon
would be ashamed to practice for his
protection and defence? If so. then il
is time the Code of Ethics which governs
the conduct Of the legal profession was
carefully revised.
And under any circumstances can this
conduct, even III an attorney be Justified
which employs the service of hired SLAM
derers To dctame a dead hero. in order
that a telon may escape the hand of
Justice:
The Albemarle Enquirer, will hardly
endorse such conduct.
Who was Gen. Grimes. that he could
not obtain protection for either life or
property III his native State. and that
those who aided his murderer and
tried to calumlnate him in his crave
should now be lifted into high places.
and he like Caesar none so poor as to
do him reverence"
One OF the purest and noblest men
whom it has been my lot to know. with
a heart as brave as a lion, tender az a
woman, ever alive to cry of distress and
with a hand ever open to relieve it. 4
man who rode in fifty battles, who trod
the maths of honor and nlor,. nnl L..