The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1883-03-28
FoR THE RECORD.
FOE
sc NO CAUSE,u

complimentcd me in saying that honor.
ed the low, mean, petty Office of pound
keeper, more than any man he ever knew.
have recently sued person for dam
age-the trial went against me-verdict,
no cause. II would be highly improper
for me to question the wisdom or motives
of the jury in their decision, or to sup
pose for a moment, that they were in any
way influenced in their verdict by polit-
ical considerations, although | could not
but think when saw the composition of
the jury, that it was rather unfortunate
for me, it was so near election time. Out
of jury Of six men six of them were
Democrats. AS this is a question in
which the public is equally interested in
enforcing the law for the protection of
their property from the depredations of
cattle and swine running at large, | now
state the case as presented on February
the twenty-fifth. found three COWS tress-
passing in lot which rent just across
the street from my own, in which had
twelve hundred lettuce plants, covered up
with straw. Two Of the COWS had tramped
the whole length of it, about seyenty-fiye
feet and when first saw them they
were all three standing upon these plants
The ground was very soft, nearly foot
lock deep. The pen where | usually keep
cattle was very icy and feared the cows
might be injured If put them in, so
closed the opening and left them in the
lot and kept them off the lettuce. This
was about five o'clock. / sent word to
the owner of them that his cows were in
the pound. The boys which | sent saw
not the father but the sou and mother,
and they said they would attend to it.
| waited about an hour and no one came.
1t was getting dark, SO went myself and
and saw the owner. | asked him why he
had not come to take out his COWS. He
told me he didn't know they were in the
pound. | told him had sent word an
hour ago and they said they would come
and see ABOUT it. He said his son had not
not doing this was that his son was to
blame in not looking to the cows, and l
inferred from the manner in which he
spoke, that his son feared a flogging. lie
asked me what the impounding would be.
told him. He said he would not pay
1.-THE cows might stay in all night.
. faA a hat
house and staid about three quarters of
hour and went down again, and found the
cows had been stolen out. The owner of
the cows never came near me, although
he lived but two squares off, either that
night or the next morning, to inquire how
the cows got out. At noon when he was
going to his work, he called to me as he
was passing my lot and asked me who let
the cows out. | told him | didn't know
unless his son did. Then he said ~ was
just hunting round to borrow the money
to come and take them out when the
cows came home.n This is substantially
what | stated to the jury. These things
{
were in the pound they knew that they
were stolen out in the interest of the de
PENDANT they further knew that the de-
PENDANT received the cows when he knew
he had not paid the poundage. Now we
do not mean to imply that the defendant
knew who stole the COWS out-we say
stole, because these were my COWS for the
i time being. No person could rightfully
take them out. could have kept those
cows for time aud sold them unless
some person had come and redeemed
them by paying the ponndage. Now if
the verdict of the jury is correct, all that
person will have to do if their cattle are
the poundage, is to leave them in till
/ dark and steal them out. If this decision
/ is valid it will be necessary hereafter
when the council appoint pound keeper,
to appoint policemen also to guard at
night. ISAAC w. CLRvENaER.
Correspondence of The Hpmteyion Repu5iicdn.
johnny k'Aiash's "Sedition."
+ Fifty years ago there was an old soldier
going about this county by the name of
John Marsh, or, as he called himself,
/ Johnny k Mash. There are number of
elderly people, still living, who remember
him. He led sort of wandering life, GO
ing about from house to house among his
friends and staying few hours at place.
He was kindly received and made welcome
on account of his Revolutionary prestige
lie always carried a knapsack to make
him still seem like soldier and this was
commonly well filled with cakes, dough-
nuts, fruit and knck-knacks given him
at the farm houses. He never slept in q
bed, but spread his blanket before the
open fire place, and laid down with his
feet on the hearth stone. This was, per-
haps, to keep himself, or his friends, in
remembrance of the hardship of his camp
life at Morristown and Valley Forge, dur
ing those terrible winters of suffering and
starvation He was fond of a drink of
cider or whiskey proffered, in those
times, at almost every house. If little
tipsy, he would try to amuse the children
by attempting the ludicrous. A favorite
accomplishment, in this time, was sort
of vigorous squeal, similar, somewhat, to
that of young horse. The writer often
heard it 10 his boyhood
During the administration of the elder
Adams there was a law of the Federal
Congress, making it sedition, punishable
as a misdemeanor, to speak disrespectful-
ly of the national rulers. There was, at
that time, an old Tory tnsmith living at
Dogtown now Cherryville) by the name
of John Adams. Marsh, happening to be
in New York and under the influence of a
dram of whiskey, gave expression to sew
eral emphatic, inverted blessings on John
Adams He was nromptly arpested and