The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-01-14

Among..thes.las acts Of Governor
| Carr Of North Carolina, vas 10 annul,
repeal, nulilfy and G"erturn a judicial
act Of The last term Of the Superior
court Of the First Jud:cIa! Circuit Of
| North CarDilna, which vas an ou,tage
| upon justice, an outrage upon the good
order Of society, an Ou.ra5c up'r me
| good name II North Caroi.na, upon
the purity Of tn erminc, and d stigma
| upon The learning, integrity and honor
0! the bench.
Al the last term Of the Superior
Court Of Cn)wan county, Charles J.
Pratt an officer Of the police force Of
Edcnton, John Hairs and William
| Leggett, were arrested upon the com
plant Of Neil Skinner, fox assault and
battery upon Skinner, a VIGOROUSLY
lawIess and desperate negro Of Eden
ton, and for using unnecessary violence
IN his arrest a store had been broken
INTO in the town, the burglar was driven
| off, and Pratt was Informed that Neil
SKIM r was the guilty party. Pratt
soon found Skinner near by, and know
ing his desperate character, ne sum
moncd John Harris and William Leg
gctt 10 assist ann III the arrest Skin
| ncr, wiz hal name As negro bully,
dehtd them and resisted the arrest,
giving Pratt a terrific blow and Sc
verely biting Hairs. The fight Vas a
rough one, ami the policemen had to
| use their clubs to make his arrest and
proven, his doing further injury to
them. A negro mob not was mmi-
nen,, and by authority Of Governor
Carr, Mayor Vann called Oh the Eliza
beth City "Naval Reserves" who ar
rived promptly and quoted the threat
ened violence.
/ he officers were soon arrested, upon
representations Of Skinner, and were
tried at the last September term of
court, convicted by the presiding Jatgc
without allowing jury - render a
verdict, who then sentenced Pratt to
the county jail for II months and Har-
is and Leggett for months each
We are glad We do not know Ger
talnly, what Judge was holding court
at The time, Du. whether he was Of our
political faith or not, he was disgrace
to the hpnoreI judiciary Of North
Carolnl |, and should have been ares
ted by order Of Governor Carr, II lie
had authority, stripped Of his judicial
rJb@s and put III The county jail for
HE. We hope he was one OF those
raccoon I1ges chat ;'erc appointed by
thu IAal hy Bird Legislature Of North
Carolina.
Governor Carr di no. drag JrffrIes
from HE bench, but lie did mex: bcs,.
U1sn petition from The Citjz:ns OF
!-isn,'a, III verr;de the Judgment OF
the ms reant who sentenced fiilLfIl
officers # The law 10 The county jail ioI
dong their duty, parinord ;i5 lai;h-
IL! OH -, IS ice law, and in doing so,
c,mmenIe1 their conduct in these
words:
"Iaey were only doing their duty as
tx, knew Il. In my opinion i; would
~ .tIe less thln public calamity for
re>e men, who thought they were
q nag their tuty, and would undoubt-
eddy have been ccEsured and punished
had they failed II arrest this man,
should now suffer hurnlIiatlns punish
meat and the alleged itlon 60 free,
under the direction of the court. The
crime OF resisting an officer in the dis
charge OF his duty is much too fire.
quent. y complete pardon is hereby
granted tie three officers"
We thank Governor Carr. Honor
to whom honor is due. Praise to
wh0;a praise is due And gratitude to
oar Chief Executive for the crowning
act o! his excellent administration.