Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-01-05
ADDISON COUNTY COURT.

ADDISON COUNTY COURT. NJ
In the case of the State VS.. Adelbert
Hier, charged with arson, the trial of
which was in progress when We went
to press last week, the testimony was all
got In before the adjournment Thurs
day evening, and the arguments TO the
jury were begun Friday morning. +.
II. Button made the opening plea FOO
the prosecution and was followed by
Charles F. Kingsley and Judge Slade
for the defense. These three pleas took
up the forenoon session and Ia the after
noon States Attorney Fish made the
closing argument for the State. Mr..
Slade and Mr.. Fish went through the
case exhaustively and both made strong
arguments. Judge MunsOn occupied 80
minutes in the delivery of clear and
thoroughly impartial charge, and the
Jury took the case at 80 O'Clock. The
court then took a recess to Saturday
morning, Judge Munsou saying that they
would hold themselves in readiness to
come in and meet the jury at any reason
able hour that night. At s O'Clock the
court house bell was rung and the court
room was soon well filled with curiosity
seekers, but it was s 80 before the court
and jury came in, the jury having been
three and One-half hours in coming to
an agreement. The verdict was guilty.
This outcome of the trial had been gen
orally expected, at any rate after the
episoCe of the note written for Her to
his wife telling her to have George
Palmer and hi wife here To- testify that
he was at their house at 80 o'clock on
the night of the fire. in which case he
could not have been on the way to Han
cock with Bushee at that hour. AS
Bushee had left Salisbury at about
o'clock. Another important piece of
evidence was that of Deputy Sheriff
Hubbard, who testified TO Overhearing
conversation between HER aud his wife,
in " hich HER upbraided her for letting
\ the note get into the hands of the prose-
cQtion and said to her that the note
k'AOuld send him over the mountain"
Hier denied this point blank on the
stand, but it wouldn't work and the jury
could scarcely have escaped from bring
ing in the verdict of guilty. HER has
the satisfaction of knowing that his
conviction was the result of his own
folly. Sentence has not yet been passed.
There was brief session of the court
Saturday morning, but no business was
done and a recess was taken until 10
o'clock Monday morning. Court re-
convened AT that time, with the case of
State VS.. w. A. Brown standing for
trial. States Attorney Fish stated that
an important witness IN this case was
not present, although he might be in
town, and recess was taken until after
dinner. The missing witness was l..
5. Hicks of Oshkosh, Wis, and he reached
town on the noon flyer from the north.
The case was got under way Monday
afternoon, but proceeded slowly. In
this case the State alleged forgery, and
the story of the case is briefly this: On
the 23d day of December, 1892, the re-
spondent, w. \. Brown, who had been
visiting his cousin, Curtis +. Samson, in
Cornwall, came out to Middlebury in
company with Mr. Samson and Just be-
fore the close of banking hours went 10
Cashier Pinney of the Middlebury bank
to get check cashed Mr.. Samson re,
naming in the buggy outside. Curtis
H. James of Cornwall, who had been
introduced to Brown that same forenoon
and who happened to be in the bank
introduced the latter to Cashier Pinney.
Brown called Mr.. Samson into the bank
and thew both endorsed the check.
whereupon Mr.. Pinney paid Brown the
800 called for by he check. less &C
cents, cost of exchange. The check
was dated Oak Park, H., Dee. II, 1892
and was drawn on the Oak Park State
bank, payable to the order of w. A.
Brown through the Chicago clearing
house and purported to have been signe
by l.. 5. Hicks. Brown went to Yer
gennes that night and staid with Rev
Charles Hawley, whom he had known
10 his youth in Burlington. Meanwhile
Mr.. Pinney had become suspicious oil
the genuneness of the check and made
teleSraphic inquiries about it, thus soon
discovering that it was bogus. Officers
were at once put on Browns track and
he was found in bed in Rev. Mr.
Hawley's house in Vergennes at about
4 o'clock the next morning. He was
arrested by Deputy Sheriffs Cobb and
Chapman of Middlebury and Middle.
brook of Vergennes. and, after a brie1
hearing before Justice John K. Robert
in the Office of States Attorney Fish
was brought to Middlebury that same
morning and placed in jail, where he
remained up to the opening OF his trial
The grand jury for the term of court in
session at the time of his arrest had been
discharged before the commission of the
crime, so that Brown was not indicted
until the present term.
Mr. Fish had w. w. Rider to assist in
the prosecution, and Stewart & Wilds,
assisted by the Messrs. Button, appeared
for the defense. The State was met at
the start with a demurrer to the first
court of the indictment, which charged
The uttering and publishing of the forged
instrument, and the respondent pleaded
not guilty to the second count, which
alleged the forgery itself. The point
made in the demurrer was that the
name of the person to whom it was
claimed the forged paper was uttered
was not set forth in the indictment. The
demurrer was Overruled and an eXcep-
ton taken. Messrs. Button and Wllds
on the one side and Mr.. Fish on the
other had taken up half an hour with
arguments in this matter, and then II
took an hour and a half more to select
a jury, Mr.. Wilds probing each juror
called into the box pretty deeply and
peremptorly challenging several OF
them. 1t was after o'clock when the
testimony was begun. c. E. Pinney,
cashier of the bank, testified to cashng
the check after it had been endorsed by