Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1898-09-01
JUDGE ADAMS SPEECH.
He DenOunces the White Supres
macy Arguments.

| He DonOuncoS the White Supres
macy Arguments.
Columbus News.
The August term of the su-
preme court convened in the court
house here Monday morning at
II O'Clock, His Honor, Judge
Spencer B. Adams, arriving On
the morning train from the south.
Solicitor Seawell was present
representing the state. Mr.. Sea-
well is the nominee of the popu-
list and republican parties for
judge of this district,
His hopor's charge to the jury,
we will do him the justice to say,
was the best (being the only
political speech we ever heard de-
livered from the bench. We have
been reporting court proceedings
here for about six years and in
that time number of judges have
been here whose political affilia-
tions differed from ours, but we
have had no occasion to refer to
any of them in uncomplimentary
terms. We regret the necessity for
dong SO now. But when man
clothed with the judicial ermine
takes advantage of position on
the bench to abuse and to villify
as good people as there are in the
state and to mix his partisan ran>
cor with his instructions of the
law, we think it our duty as a
faithful chronicler of events, to
publish the fact.
The first point of his political
speech was to pay his respects
to folks who "were going up and
down the country abusing people
about the way they cast their
ballots" This came under the
head of ''intimidating voters"
and was evidently intended for
the democratic speakers who are
now canvassing the state, as
neither of the other political
parties have begun their canvass
yet.
His second political point was
in the nature of a defense of the
last Legislature, saying that if it
had done nothing else but pass
the law III regard to embezzle-
ment by public officers, adminiss
traitors, executors, etc., which
he was then discussing, it would
haye been worth all it cost to the
state.
He reached the climax, how
ever. when he came to discuss
for nication and adultery. He
said that "nine times out of ten if
you will chase down the fellows
who are going about trying to
stir up race prejudice you will
find them sleeping with negro
woman" When we consider that
numbers of as good people as
there are in the state are ''going
about stirring up race prejudice.
as he would doubtless call it. his
statement becomes most sweep
ing valliica:ion, aud one which
cannot be properly characterized
in temperate language. And he
said this with kind of a ''re-
member the-Maine" expression
on his countenance which seemed
to indicate his regret that there
was not law by which demo-
cratic speakers and papers could
be stopped from telling the peos
pie of the foothold which negro
supremacy had obtained under
the present administration.
And this was not all. Pro-
ceeding to the question of rape, he
argued to the jury that it was a
lesser offense than seduction, be-
cause the only difference was, he
said, that one was committed by
force and the other by fraud. 1t
required some courage for the for
mer. He illustrated his position
by saying he had rather his purse
was stolen by highwayman than
by deception. We may not be
surprised that assaults upon white
women by brutes-the lowest
crime in the eyes of the law as
we'll as of men to which it is pos
sible for human depravity to de-
scend-are SO alarmingly on the
increase when a judge on the
bench attempts to minimize its
Nervousness and argues to a grand
Jury that it is less a crime than
one for which the most extreme
penalty is a term in the peniten-
tiary.