Cochise review., 1900-12-15
Tombstone letter.
From Our Special Correspondent
 TOMBSTOEE, Ariz., Dec. IA, 1900.

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 ToMBSToEE, Ariz., Dec. IA, 1900.
 EDITOR REVIEW; The tax, ayers ol Coch,se county may now have some thing to ponder over in the result Oi the Downing case, which occupied the attention of the court and a large part of the county, since Friday of last week.
 It is no doubt remembered by all who have lived in this county for the past year that William UowAing was iointly indicIed with Burt Alvord, Billy Stiles and Mat Burts, for the robbery of the Wells, Fargo X Co. s express, at CochiSe station, on the night of Sept. 3, 1899, the subsequent arrest ot the accused, the jail delivery by Stiles, who, for an obvlOuS reason, had been given his liberty, and, finally, the turning of states eVeldence by Stiles and BurtS, resulting in the'trial of Downing, to which l nave just re- ferred, upon the testimony of his alleged accomplices.
 Act number two of the 10th Legisla- tive Assembly of Arlzona provides that anyone who shall assault any railroad train, or any employe thereon, or who shall counsel, aid or abet, any one in assalting, etc., upon conviction thereof shall be deemed guilty of felony and shall suffer the penalty of death.
 By the confession of Stiles and BurtS, they held up the train and robbed the express car, conuseled, aided and abetted by Alvord and Downing who remained in Wilcox. Upon the witness stand Stiles acknowledged that he had been promised immunity from prosecution by the district attorney, if he would return from Mexico and tes- tify against Downing, and Chariy Hood an employe of Wells, Fargo x O., had promised him money enough to leave the country afterward.
 Upon their voir dire, seventy two iorors said that while they were not opposed to capital punishment. they would not find verdict of guilty in a case of robbery where no life had been sacrificed. Three special venires had been summoned, from various and distant parts of the county, entailing an extra expense upon an already over taxed peope, and for the purpose of giving two great mOnOpOlies degree of protection that is not given to 8 cit iZen. Such laws are naturally repug- Dant to any fairminded man, and the natural result was the acquital of Downing. Some of the jurymen said after the verdict that they could not reconcile the fact of granting immnnity to those who were cOniessedly guilty and convicting one who, if all the tes- timouy were true. did not actually par ticipate, personally, in the robbery, with even Justice. The general opin- ion is that this obnoxious act of special Legislation should be repealed It does not seem consistent with the spirit of our laws and politlcal institutions, that a corporation that possesses nothing of an eleemosyLary character, should be specially favored aud the long suffering taxpayer have to foot the bill of eX- pense. . I
 Yesterday afternoon d jury was em- Paneleled to try the case of the Terri tory vs. Sid Page for the murder of Chris Robinson, at Pearce, over year ago. This is one of the causes celebres of Cochise county, two former trials having resulted each time in hung jury.
 It has been intimated to me that Mat Burts knows more about this killing than any one who has ever testified, except the accused.
 The following cases on the civil cal endar were disposed of:
 Monmonier vs. Geo. Fl. Eitts et al., was dismissed. McKernon vs. Shibley, on appeal from justices court, dismiss ed. Smith vs. Smith, Trask vs N. M. X A. R. R., Commonwealth Mining Go. vs. Carlyon and Martin, Bosworth vs.