The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-08-15
ANDERSON, S. c., THURSDAY MORNING
BILL ARP.
Arp and His Friends Discuss Old-Time
Lawyers.
Atlanta Consti.ution.

Arp and His Friends Discuss Old-Ttme
Lawyers.
atlanta Constitntion.
It waa d goodly cot1lpahy and We phi.
losophised and criticized and told anec.
dotes till the small wee hours of midnight.
Judge MADDOX was there and 6ar preach.
er, and that is proof enough that our
conduct aud conversation was genial and
becoming. Irecall that we were discuss.
ing the tricks and strategies by which
lawyers SO often acquit the guilty and the
Judge remarked "And that reminds me
Of Judge Underwood's charge to the jury
in criminal case Of some Importance
and which had been preceded by several
cases in which the defendants had been
acquitted. The judges charity for the
infrmitiss sf human nature WE'RE exhaust.
ed, and juat as soon as the argument was
closed he leaned forward to the jury and
said: Yes, gentlemen, you have heard
the counsel for this prisoner repeat that
old thread bare, worn out, scare crow of
an adn1dniEiUn that 1t Ii betthf that nine
ty-nine guilty persons should escape
rather than one innocent man should
suffer, and he said that the good book
says SO. l charge you, gentlemen, that
the good book says no such thing. Tho
good BOOK says that the angel, rejoice
more over Che repentance of one sinner
than over ninety nine who need no
repentance, and that isall the ninety.nine
there is in it. Nevertheless, gentlemen
Of the jury, there is such q maxim, and I
chatge you that ninety y.niHe guilty per.
sons have already escaped, or are escap.
ing; and the court has no recollection Of
an innocent man having suffered, nor is
duch 0n,s, in any danger id this tribunal:
But charge you,. gentlemen, that the
innocent are in danger from the guilty
ninety. nine who have escaped and that
danger is increasing every day. The
maxim of the law used to be that when 9
man was acquitted that it was presump.
tion of his innocence, but nowadays it is
a reasonable presumption of his guilt,
and this court cannot restrain desire to
pass sentence on many man who is not
foundguilty. The court cannot help 1t,
gentlemen
'iIn due time the jury returned with a
verdict of not guilty, and the judge re-
marked: 'Well, that forecloses the
mortgage, and makes an even hundred
who have escaped. Hereafter shall
rule that the maxim does not apply in
this court. Madam Roland exclaimed,
'Oh, Liberty Liberty how many crimes
are committed in thy name and this
court can exclaim with equal emphasis,
tOh, Justice Justice how many rascals
are acquitted under the machinery of the
law"
Judge Underwood's abhotrence of
ctime and criminals was 80 great that lie
Was called the partner of the solicitor,
and the lawyers had to fight one as hard
as the other, and when they succeeded in
clearing fellow they would jokingly say
to him during recess or at night at the
hotel: "Well, judge, you lost another
case to day." he took this badinage
most kindly, and would say, eyes,
gentlemen, I lost another case, for it
seems that the devil reigneth in this part
Of the country. And the Lord said unto
satan whence cometh thou?' And Satan
said, from going to and fro on the earth.
and walking up and down in it. And if
he were to- answer now he would add,
tAnd I spent to-day in the courthouse at
Dallas, and harvested among the law.
yers.'"
The first time he ever held Court in
Harralson county he was not aware of
the sparsity Of the colored people in that
region, for it was remote from railroads,
and the corruptions of civilization. And
when negro man aud his wife were ar.
raigned before him for petty larceny and
were convicted, the Judge said: "Well, |
will dispose of these parties right now.
These free persons of color seem to have
now taken notion that the Almighty
made mistake when he said, by the
sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,
and they have quit sweatening and gone
to stealing for living. The negroes are
stealing and pilfering everywhere. II
you have one to work in your field he
steals your corn and your pigs, and your
chickens and your AK. He does not want
the Ak to cut wood with, but to 90 pos.
sum hunting and coon hunting and cut
down tree. I have known him to steal
"a gunsto go rabbit hunting with. The
cook steals -four and lard and sugar, and
the washwoman steals your clothes. ]
am going to make an honest effort to stop
their trade wherever preside, and so
will send this man and this woman at
hard labor in the chaingang for two
years. I'll stop their pilfering in Har.
ralson county if I have to depopulate il
of their COLOR" Now, Merrill had de-
Tended the darkies without fee or reward
but in the vain hope that if he cleared
them he would make them work it out il
his cotton patch. And so he rose
forward, and with great gravity said
"Allow me to congratulate your honor OF
the premature success Of your honor'l
determination, for these are the only twt
darkies in Harralson county"
Bob. Fouche was employed to sue ole
Father Bigelow for lot ofland. During
the trial he introduced 3 witness to prove
that Bigelow was common squatter, ane