The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-08-08
TME LARGEST GORGWl AT@M AMY N@GTm GAHDl0NA DAILY
papers. The daughter declined to sign

| papers. Inc CaugQCer uecllueu 10 SlSh
it.
At this point Mr.. CLARK protested
against the competency of this evidence,
saying that every piece of testimony that
was excluded by the rules of evidence
had been admitted by the liberal rulings
of this court. He wished the press of
the country to know that he made such
protest here.
This afternoon the evidence was unim-
portant, unless it be noted that James
| Bryant, on taking the stand, said last
March he met Dave Parker, Silas Blount
and Frank Gibble, three months after
Wigfall's death, in Newbern. About a
month after he had conversation with
Parker in Beaufort.
Here counsel had another tilt as the
whether he should give the substance of
| the conversation unless he remembered
it all Bryant finally wound up by say
ing that he had told Parker that he was
Just after the "money from jim Wigfalls
policy when he was up at Newbern and
| he, together with the others standing
there, including Frank Gibble, laughed
| at the remark" He said they had a
room 10 themselves at Newbern at sam
Jackson's house.
This evidence was apparently intro
dueed for the purpose Of showing com
| spiracy.
The argument was opened by ex-Soli-
citor Allen for the State, who reminded
! the Justices that there only had to be
probability Of conspiracy IN order to
| hold them to bonds to next court. Mr..
Allen said that the charge was one of
conspiracy to cheat and defraud insur-
ance companies and he here defined con
spiracy to mean the corrupt bringing
| together of two or more persons to com
NIT an unlawful act He said, moreover,
You might imply cCnspiracy of all from
| the overt acts OF each and then went
INTO the case taking up the policies one
by one for ANALYSIS and dissection.
Mr.. Allen cited the different signatures
on each policy as showing that there
was co-agreement between those sign
ing. This was the burden of his re-
marks He closed by saying that they
could be bound over for false pretence8
or for eonspiring together for false pre-
Mr.. Guion restricted his remarks to
|
with having abandoned the charge of
conspiracy for a mere petition-that
| they should hold them at least on
the charge of false pretences.
That in signing these applications the
doctor and the agent had done no more
than the company employed them to do,
and seemed to think on that account
they should be acquitted on the charge
of conspiracy. Said the insurance com
| panies had been accepting premiums for
nine months after they knew of this
speculative insurance, and has not raised
| any cry of fraud until there had been
deaths, saying that they would rather
pay newspapers and lawyers to fight their
cases at that stage, than pay losses.
COL Hinsdale made an exhaustive and
minute review of the principal cases;
ridiculed the idea that an agent could
not conspire to commit fraud against his
own company, and said this crime was
| one of criminal conspiracy. He said,
| looking at the different names signed up
on the policies, that the conclusion of
conspiracy was irresistible, notWith-
standing the fact that they were unable
to prove that the different signers had
come together specially for that purpose.
He illustrated this point by saying that
| the three men came to the house from
different directions respectively with
matches, oil and lightwood, and that one
| man was seen TO set fire to the house,
and the evidence of what all they carried
was found, the conclusion of conspiracy
there was irresistible, and that this ex-
| actlv coverad thia ease
Mr.. Clark confined his remarks almost
exclusively to legal discussion of con-
spiracy, the burden of which was that
there could be fraud without conspiracy;
that you had to look at the conspiracy
before you locked at the act; that you
had to establish conspiracy and after
wards apply 1t to the different facts prov
en-. Mr.. CLARK enforced this view with
considerable strength and clearness and
had the close attention of the court. He
spoke with much feeling, there being
several times spirited pas seq between
| him and counsel for the State
The decision of the justices was an
nounced at $50 in favor OF the State.
The thirteen defendants, with the ex-
ception of Samuel Williams and DR..
Perkins are held for the next term of the
! Superior court under bond in the sum
of $400. These last two are to give a
5000 bond each.