Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-12-25
ADDISON COUNTY COURT.

CRIMINAL AND OTHER CASES DISPOSED OF.
Court commenced at 1910 o'clock
Monday morning and the first case called
was that of State v. Charles and Stephen
YHallock and Thomas Brown, who were
| Jointly indicted for arson at the present
term. This was expected to prove the
star criminal case of the term and States
Attorney Fish had w. II. Bliss of Bur
lington to assist him, while the Hallocks
had for counsel w. w. Rider of Bristol
Hand Judge Seneca HaseltOn of Burling-
hon. Brown had no counsel. The court
room was crowded nearly all the time.
The prisoners were arralgned at IL
O'Clock. The two IIallocks, who are father
And son, pleaded not guilty. Brown
pleaded separately and pleaded guilty.
FThe charge was burning the barn OF
Francis W. Labor at Bristol Notch on
the night of October 3, last. 1t took I'M
Ill the noon recess to secure jury salts
Factory to both sides, and the introduce
ltion of evidence was not begun until
afternoon.
There had been a feud for several
years between the Hallocks and the
Labors, who are next neighbOrs, and
Labor has been the victim of numerous
outrages, which he laid at the door of
the Hallocks. Six years ago Labor fired
a charge of shot into the Hallocks one
night, claiming that they were in his
5arnyard seeking what they might steal.
He had previously missed various farm
ing implements and charged the Hal
locks with stealing them. Both Hal
locks were wounded, but neither of them
seriously. Labor was arrested aid in
dlcted at the June term, 1890, and the
indictment was nol-prossed at the De-
cember term, 1891. The next spring a
new sugar house owned by Labor was
burned to the ground and the Hallocks
were suspected of that crime. Last sum-
mer fire was set in a new L-part of the
Labor house, entrance evidently having
been effected through an opening left for
a window. This was the last until the
fire by which the barn and most of its
contents were destroyed October 3. Be-
sides the barn, about II tons of hay, two
horses, five cows and some farming i'm
plements were consumed. The State
used up Monday afternoon and up to /
O'Clock of Tuesday afternoon in putting
in its evidence in chief. 1t was shown
that the Hallocks had made many bitter
ly hostile remarks against Labor to
many people at different times. Brown,
the third respondent who had made a
confession in the jail, was put on the
stand Tuesday forenoon and was the
main witness for the prosecution. He is
81 years of age, apparently not over
bright and from last spring until his ar
rest after the fire had been in the employ
of the Hallocks. He testified that Steph-
en- Hallock hired him to set the fire
promising to give him 81 in money or
the best pair of shoes that money could
buy, and that Stephen also offered to
give him his half of the farm owned
Jointly by his father and himself If he
would also set fire to Lat Or's house.
After several conversations Brown
agreed to fire the barn and it was ar
ranged that it should be done just after
dark on the night of Saturday, October
g. That afternoon the younger Halock
drove away ten miles to a place where
his father was at work, the arrange
ment being that he was to bring his
father home after the fire had got well
under way and thus divert suspicion
from both the Hallocks. This arrange
ment worked to perfection. Brown set
the fire after dark. He bored a hole
with an inch bit, with which Stephen had
provided him, in corner of the barn
where the hay was known to be and
threw in lighted matches until he saw
that the hay had caught fire. Then he
took himself of by the route he had
fire had nearly burned itself out. They
remarked then and subsequently,: "Well
they can't lay this to the HallOcks.' On
.cross-eXamination Brown stated that he
did not know what perjury was or that
there was any punishment for false
swearing, but his marin story was I'M
shaken. Brown was arrested soon after
the fire and has been in Jail here under
suspicion for the past two months. But,
he said, he never got his shoes or the 81.
At the conclusion of the States main
testimony Tuesday evening Mr.. Foster
moved that Charles Hallock be then dis
charged, as no evidence whatever had
been put in to connect him in any way
with the fire. After briefly comforting
with his associates, Judge Tyler said
they would let the jury settle the cases
of both respondents.
The evidence for the defense was be-
gun at 80 Tuesday afternoon and was
completed at 10 40 Wednesday morning.
Its general tendency seemed to be to
raise in the minds of the jury belief
that the LabOrs set fire to the property
themselves for the sake of the insurance.
Wednesday morning they put on the
stand one John w. Ryan, detective at
tached to a private agency, who had been
employed by the State to go into jail in
the guise of prisoner and see what he
could worm out of Brown In regard to
the fire. The prosecution had not called
Ryan, but he made better witness for
the State than he did for the defense.
Only one witness was put on in rPbuttal
and the evidence was closed at II o'clock.
The motion for the discharge of Charles
Hallock was then renewed by Judge
Haselton and the motion was again
over-ruled, the court holding that the
whole case should go to the jury.
The arguments were promptly begun,
Mr.. Fish opening for the State and using
up the remainder of the morning session.
In the afternoon, at 80 o'clock, Mr..
Rider began the argument for the de-
Tense. Mr.. Rider argued until nearly
O'Clock and was followed on the same side
nv Mr. Encfar ~