Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-10-06

lawyer said he could; Mr.. Conk's lawyer
said he couldn't; Jimmy remembered
that he did; the jury were in doubt.
Finally, when the lawyers bad tangled
the jury up beyond all hope, they
stopped and the judge began.
There is no doubt in my mind" he
said, that q principal has the right to
inilict corporal punishment when it be-
comes necessary. The question for you
to decide is, how far can he go in exer-
cisin5 his authority. The punishment
should not be unreasonably severe, and
the questions of health, age, and other
conditions should be considered. The
boy was guilty of disorder. The evil
dence shows that he acted wilfully. III
you decide that he was guilty Of wilful
INSTRUMENTATION, then the defendant was
justified in Furnishing him. In that case
you have only to consider whether the
punishment was too severe"
1t was 2 o'clock Wednesday after
noon when the jury retired. Upon
reaching the jury room they at once
took vote and found that they were
divided. Some were for giving the
plaintiff $500.
Il wouldn't have any child of mine
whipped by school teacher" said one
OF these men.
Others thought the boy richly de-
served his whipping and wanted to give
the case to the defendant But third
lot thought it better to soothe the feel
ings of Jimmy Conk, but at the same
time not to be too hard on the principal.
Some of the jurors went to the windows
and looked out upon the Streets Others
began reading the papers and few
whistled. In this way an hour was
spent, and then Foreman Phillips said:
well, gentlemen, | suppose we've
got TO settle this case. Let's do some
thing"
Some one suggested penny ante, but
he was frowned down. They began
slowly to talk about the case, and at 6
O'Clock they sent down word that they
were getting hungry. After u slight
repast they renewed the discussion.
Each man repeated his arguments a
dozen times, but it was noticed that the
majority were gradually coming around
to the principals side. Toward 0
o'clock one of the jurors fell asleep i'll
his chair, and his example became con
tagious, At 10 o'clock the foreman
sent down word that the jury had not
come to an agreement, and the judge
ordered them to be locked up for the
night. When this order reached the
jury room most of the jurors were fast
asleep. People retire early in New
Jersey, and even u thrilling law suit
wont keep them up after II o'clock. AT
midnight the jury room resounded with
SHORES.
A. o'clock Thursday morning they
We're all awake, and had sent down
word that they were hungry. After
breakfast the discussion was renewed,
but it seemed hopeless to try to agree.
At 1918 o'clock they went down stairs,
and the judge asked if they had agreed?
mo, sir" answered Mr.. Phillips,
cheerfully. .m.mm
II think you had better go over the
ground again. 1t is an important case,
and ! think you might agree upon a
| verdict"
Very cheerfully they returned to the
| jury room and sat there At last ono
| juror had an idea. He submitted it to
the rest and they seized it with delight.
"Why didn't we think Of that before?"
they said 1t resulted in the following
note to the judge,
| IONT IIONOTs
Can we bring verdict in this manner?
That the boy was wilfally insubordinate
and deserved the punishment, but the jury
say that he was whipped to excess.
WILLIAM II. PHILLIPS.
Foreman.
The judge read this and smiled. .".
"Tell the jury" he said to the cons.a.
BILE, that | will accept this if they omit
the word the before punishment
A few minutes later the jury filed into
the room, proud in the consciousness of
having done their duty.
"lIave you agreed upon verdict ~
the judge asked.
Very gravely, the foreman read:
We find that the boy was wiifully in
subordinate and deserved punishment, but
the jury says that he was whipped to ex.
cess.
Then he looked proudly around the
court room.
what damage did you assess 2" asked
the judge,
The jury had forgotten all about dam
ages, and Mr.. Phillips was somewhat
embarrassed. lie led his men back int
the jury room, and they went over the
case once more. Finally they decided
that six cents would be enough, anc
this they reported to the judge. There
was some laughter in the court room
and much snickering among the boys
but the judge raped for order, and soor
the court room was cleared.
Its shame" said Mr.. Conk, "and
I'm going to take the case to the sui remt
court"
Jimmy didn't even get the six cents
and went home unhappy.
The moral is-DOn't throw spit balls