The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-03-17
& 81. T:ir5'!.i.,'s :. -
THE TOLITIOAL C4SFS,

THE FOLITIOAL C4SE6,
"A Lively Descriptions Of tho Scene In Com
missioner Baaskett's Court..The Officers,
!, tho Lawyers and tho So Called Priso,,ero,
I tCdlsf''e9'ia Letter to the Auqusta Chronicle ]
The scenes IN the court room OH tIis
occasion were at times striking and
dramatic. Seated on ono side OF q
long table was the Commissioner, John
Bauskett, a sop of tho distinguished
Carolina lawyer Of that, name, a man
who hqs passed middle life and has
evidently telt some Of tho cares aud
burdens Of the world. On his right
sat James II. Martin, a renegade North
Carolinian. who was deputy marshal
at the last election, and who was relied
Oh by the government to Erove the
conspiracy in which the prisoners had
been engaged. His general appear
ancc was most unprcposscssing, and
his face fifty illustrated the infamous
work in which he was engaged, but no
exhibited pfcpondcrance of that
material which was first worked upon
by Tubal Cain. He was ign6rant in
the extreme, and delivered his testi.
mony IN style Of uncqualled bravado.
Hc repeatedly stopped to recall some
circumstance eliminating the prisoners,
which never happened, and yet was
necessary to establish the charge put
forth by the accusers. lie had been
we'll drilled, and repeated his story
with tolcrablc precision. On the right
OF the witness sat ex-JudSe Willard,
counsel for tho government. Willard
is a genuine, thoroughbred, unadul-
tcrated carpet-bagger. Being gifted
with an unusual share Of what is yul-
carly termed "brass," and by "ways
that are dark and tricks that are vain"
he succeeded in having himself elected
an associate justice Of South Carolina
by the vulturcs who fed upon the State
in the days of Radicalism. ThS other
associate justice ut the time was an
imbecilc negro. The Supreme Court,
rs then constituted, was u proper Judi
cial tribunal for the corrupt DAYS in
which it existed. Upon tho death .of
Chief Justice Moses and the accession
or the Democrats to power, Willard,
FOR supposed services rendered tho
party at critical tilno, was rewarded
by being elected for Moses uueXpircd
term. lie has, since his retirement
from the Supreme Bench, returned to
the Radical hoSpen, and s.!oJlc of the
Vllcst and bitterest Of tho crow in tho
State. He is an old man now, his hair
Is trQstSH with age, and as he sat there
and eXhibitptl his bitter hatred Of tho
decent people Of the State anu endeav-
ored to fix crime upon innocent and
loyal incn; while he was so near the
final Judgment himself, l wondered if
tie fear of hereafter was not;er pres
ent with. .liiin. Immediately in front
OF the Commissioner sat Major Tom
Woodward, Of Fairfield, locking the
image of Senator Beck, OF kentucky,
his fine face elie@ing his intense inter
est in the welfare of his friends, and
rejecting his contempt for the base
wretch!Hi WHO were attempting to fix q
graNe oflcnse against the of their
their country upon ,tlcmh. lie, >, wap
the accused. ir
On Major WoeawayN's right sat Col.
). 9. Haskell, assistant counsel fpE tho
defendants. He conducted tie cross
examination OF the witnesses in q
manner which. showed his thorough.
familiarity with the cases and dis
played his high legal ability. At the
opposite end of tho table from Judge
Willard and nearest Colonel Haskell!
sat Hon. IL. a. Gnillartl. leading coun-
sci for the defense. In front of him
were piled his law books and papers,
and he closely watched every point in
the case and exhibited al eager inter-
est in every word uttered by tho wit
! nesscs. lie was always on the alert,
and his quick discernment enabled, him
! to take advantage Of everything favor
ing his friends and clients. The other
vacant places around tho table were
! occupied by representatives 6S TIC
press, who were gathering news for
the benefit of tho thousands of news
paper readers in the country and COM
piling material for the future histo:
| rian. =, , :;
table were the seventeen defendants,
as fine looking men rs could be. foUpd
! in any quarter Of the gloAa; their eyes
! firmly ;,fxqd .,lpon the J;i;ias Iscariot
who was, endeavoriny to swear away
theft liberties and send them to suffer
III foreign prisons. 1t was easy, to
read in their faces that tlJey Under
stood tho animus Of the prosecution
and THAT they werc not men,to quail
/ before the attempted intiinidatioli oj
miserable puppets.