The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-12-03
THE SUPERIOR COURT
JOHN WALLACE, THE NEGRO MURDERER
ESCAPES The GAll0WS.
Found Guilty of Murder in the second
Degree and Sentenced to Thirty
Years-Judee Allen Orders q Verdict
of Not Guilty In the N l.. smith Case

| Degree ana ~entence 20 Th1rty
Years-Judge Allen Orders a Verdict
of Not Guilty In the ". l.. smith Case
The jury which went out Wednesday
evening at 7:10 o'clock to decide on the
life or death of John Wallace, coIored,
who was tried in the superior court on
Tuesday and Wednesday for the murder
of William Dudley. colored, remained
out all night. At 10 o'clock Thursday
morning. the jury came out to get some
additional Instructions from Judge AL
len and after retiring again returned a
verdict for murder in the second de-
gree. Wallace was thereupon %sentenc-
ed to a term of 80 years in the state
penitentiary..
Henry Myers, the negro who shot his
wife. Cora Myers. was then put on
trial for assault and battery with a
deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to twelve months in the
state pen~itentiary with leave for the
county commissioners t. work him on
the public roads. He was also convict
~ ~ 81 AHS " "CdpOI anu
wa sentenced to - term of 3 months,
to be served at the expiration of the
first term.
AlphonSo Robinson, colored, was con-
victed of assault with a deadly weapon,
Il pistol, and was sentenced to 40 days
on the public loads
Willis Mack, colored. was convicted
of perjury and was sentenced to ten
months on the public roads. He was
convicted on Monday of assault with
a deadly weapon and for carrying a
concealed weapon a pistol, and in eac
of these cases he was sentenced to
terms of 80 days on the roads, making
his full term II months. The perjury
case was the outcome of his swearing
in he first two cases.
William Brown. the negro who was
trapped and captured in the store of
E. Warren & Son, a put on trial for
store breaking. He pleaded guilty and
was sentenced to a term of two years
In he state penitentiary, with leave to
the county commissioners to work him
on the public roads. He also pleaded
guilty to being found in a store after
night and judgment was suspended.
He also pleaded guilty of larceny and
receiving stolen property and judg-
ment was suspended. He was found
guilty of carrying a concealed weapon
I'M judgment was suspended.
A case against Samuel NJ. Brown, for
cutting and carrying off wood from the
land OF another, was mol pressed.
The case of the state against N. L.
Smith, charged with embezzlement,
which was brought up at the last term
when a motion was made to make the
Ludden & Bates Southern Music House
the prosecuting witness. was called for
trial. Solicitor Rodolph Duffy and l..
V. Grady, Esq, Marsden Bellamy, Esq,
and Herbert McClammy. Esq, appear
ed for the state. Mr.. Smiths cou- sci
were the Messrs. Bellamy & Pescriau
and Ex-Judge E. K. Bryan. 1t took
till 6 p. m. Thursday evening to secure
the jury, which was composed as fol-
lows: w. NJ. Wise, S. H. Terry, J.. T..
Batson, o. A. Virgins, T. ]. Presson,
w. B. Bowden, Bertram Quelch, T. S.
Toler. G. w. Parker, H. E. Bonitz, Will
liam KONG, and M. F. Costin.
After the jury was secured the court
took a recess till yesterday morning at
$3.50 o'clock.
MIR. SMITH ACQUITTED
The court met Yesterday at $50 a. IN.
and resumed the trial of the State
against n. l.. Smith. charged with en-
bezzlemenI. The prosecution set out to
show that the defendant while agent in
Wilmington for The Ludden & Bates
southern Music House, retained and
refused 10 pay over S107O.45 of funds
/ ~ He lOOh III lOT the while
acting as its agent in the sale of Ma
thnshek rlanoS Ii.1 'Iamlin organs.
The first witness for the prosecution
was G. {. buckingham, of New Haven,
Conn. secretary and treasurer of the
corporation known as the Ludden &
Bates Southern Music louise He tes-
titled that the defendant Smith acted
as the companys' agent and that ac-
cOrding to the company's books ana
also according to a statement SEM to
the house by Mr.. Smith. that the de-
PENDANT was in arrears S10T0.45. On
cross e~NaTina-ion by Mr.. Smit,I's at
torney'S, he testified hat his
owed Mr.. Smith ar out 81, 500 in contln-
gent and earned commissions after de-
Quoting the $l0I0.45. The earned COM
missions were on sales of instruments
on which he had made collections, and
the contingent commissions were on
the sale of instruments which had been
sold OF contracts allowing time to the
purchasers in which to pay for the in
struments. He also admitted that some
II these contracts in which Mr.. Smith
was interested to the amount of his
commissions had been transferred by
the Ludden & Bates Southern Music
| HOuSe to the MathuShek Piano Manu-
ufacturing Co., and to Mr.. udden for
debts due by the Ludden & Bats
| Southern Music House to those crcdi-
tors. w: ". Station, the present Will
mington aSent of the Ludden & Bates
Southern Music House, Il J. V. Grain
ger, cashier of the Murchison National
Bank. were also examined as witnesses
| for the prosecution.
The defendants first witness was his
brother, J~asepersen Smith, who was
treasurer up to February 1891 of the
Ludden & Bates Southern Music House.
He testified that the books of the COM
pany showed that Mr.. Smith was due
the company S10I0.45 for funds retained
by him on contingent commissions. He
testified that it had been the custom OF
the Ludden & Bates Southern Music
House to allow its agents to retain
funds amounting to fifty per cent of the
contingent commissions for the purpose
of meeting the expenses Of the piano
house of the company in Wilmington.
He testified that UP to the time he sew
cred his connection with the company
as it's treasurer that the defendant had
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