St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-05-24

Sd day of October, 1898, address the
SAID Hedberg a grossly dsrespectful
and insulting letter in tenor and form
as follows:
Your cowardly action in attempting
to use your pistol when your want Of
courage made your threat to use it but
the empty boast of cur incensed me
to the degree of determining to kill you
as you deserve. Cooler thought points
out how degrading that would be, and
therefore you are spared. My advice to
you Is not to provoke Inc again.
81. A. Nancy"
And did cause said letter to be de-
!lvered at the private quarters of said
Hedberg with the intent to manifest
gross disrespect toward ana insult the
said Iceberg. This at Fort Sheridan,
III. S. II. GROssRFCK
Judge Advocate United Slater Army.
AS soon as the charges and specifica-
tIons had been read, Col. Barr asked the
defendant to plead, whereupon his
counsel arose and said that at this time
he desired to interpose special plea in
writing. This he read to the court. 1t
was as follows:
And the said James A. Nancy. in his
own person. cOmeth into court here, and
having heard the said charges and
specifications read, says that the said
court here ought not TO take cogniZance
OF the said alleged wrongful killing in
the said first specification above de-
scrlbed; because. protesting that he is
not guilty OF the same, nevertheless the
SAID James A. Nancy says that the Of
tense charged in said first specification,
and laid under the sixty-second Article
OF War. is the offense of murder, of
which said offense this court martial
mas no Jurisdiction. AnG this he the
said James A. Nancy, is ready to verify;
wherefore he prayS judgment if the
SAID court martial now here will or
ought to take cognizance of the specifi-
cation and charge aforesaid, and that
by the court here he may be dismissed
or discharged, etc.
And the said James A. Nancy. in his
own proper person. cometh into court
here. and, having heard read the ad-
dltlonal charge and specification there
under, says that he is guilty to the facts
alleged i'll said specification, except as
10 the words 'having engaged in
a quarrel with Capt. Alfred Hedherg,
Fifteenth Infantry, during whium eugry
and provoking words were exchanged,
and as alleged by said Nancy" and ex-
cept as to the words "glossly disrespect-
ful and insultlng;" and except as to the
words with the inteut$ manifest gross
dlsrespect toward and insult the said
hedberg." And to the excepted words
not guilty. To the charge under which
said specification is laid the said j. A.
Nancy says that he is not guifty.
Inc said James A. Nancy, in his
proper person, now comes into court
here, and, having heard the said charge
and specifications read, and the matters
therein contained, says that he ought
MOTTO be put to answer the said first
specification. he having been hereto
fore. i'll due manner of law, acquitted of
the premises, and in and by the said
specifications above specified and
charged upon him. And for plea to
the said specifications he says that the
said United States ought not further to
prosecute the said void specification
against him, because, be says. that here
totore, to wit, at the circuit court OF the
United States. in and for the Northern
district of Illineis. Northern division,
and at the April term, 1884, thereof, he,
the said james A.NIaney. stood indicted
and was duly arraigned upon said in
dictment, that he then and there plead
not guilty to the said indictment, and
was i'll due form of law tried by Jury,
who upon their oath did then and there
Say that the said James A. Nancy was
not guilty of the premises charged upon
him, and that he should be discharged
and go quit thereof, without day, as
by the record of the said proceedings
now here appears.
Then followed the reading of a certi-
fed copy of the Indictment as found by
the United States grand jury at Chica-
go. and under which Lieut.. Nancy was
tried and acquitted by the trial jury.
ARGUMENT BEGINS.
Lieut.. Col. Barr. OH behalf of the
prosecution, stated that he had no de-
sire to interpose any delays at this time
to the arguing of the question at issue
by preparing written reply, and re-
Quested MIR. Blair to proceed with his
side of the case. The able attorney
supplied the members of the court
martial with printed copies of his brief
supporting his plea. His statements
were revelation 10 many of the people
present. He seemed to have every
authority at his command, and to have
prepared his case with painstaki ng
care. In opening he said: II AIN
aware of the fact that some courts mar
tiai hold different in their decisions
from this plea. But desire to submit
the question to this court if defendant
should second time be tried for the
same offenSe? This would shock the
AngioSaXon sense anu the spirit of
American Jurisprudence, in which we
find 10 contrary case to the views set
up by this defendant.''
Mr.. Blair cited numerous cases and
authorities, i'll order to establish the fact
tnat in the case at bar but one sover-
eighty was Otfended-i. e. the United
States. The court of the United States
had already acquitted him, aud now
comes another court, of the same sover-
eighty, created by the same authority,
although under another name, and pro-
poses to try him again, On precisely the
same charges.
At this point recess tor the noon
hour was taken, and Col. Mason an.
ncunced that. owing to the limited
room, the trial would be conducted in
the large post hall, beginning with the
afternoon session.
When court convened after recess
Mr.. Blair continued with his argument.
All through its delivery the members of
the court martial honored him with the
most marked attention, and on occa-
sion, when he brought out particu-
larly strong point, he was interrupted
by Col. Mason, who asked him to
state the authority and marked it down.
Mr.. Blair consumed the afternoon
session and closed saying: "The prin-
ciple OF 1ot trying man Twice Tor the
same otfense is older than the Magma
Cnarta. The Angio-SaXon races began
the struggle for that principle over 200
years ago i'll the forests of Thuringla.
The spirit of the criminal law is peace.
If you vex the defendant twice for the
same otfense you proceed against your
own interests and set at naught this
spirit. which, if defeated, makes it pos
sible for man to be tried forty-four
times, or il every state Of the Union.
You gentlemen in military life will
realize this readily"
At this point, the hour of having
arrived, Col. Mason adjoured the court
until IL o'clock this morning MIR. Blair
stated that he would consume one more
hour in closing his argument, when he
Will be followed 10y Col. Barr for the
prosecutions.
MAXWELL NOT COMING.
OMAHA, MAY 23-Lieut-M Maxwell