The Penn's Grove record., 1904-07-22
SWIFT NEW JERSEY JUSTICE
Assaulters of Mrs. BiddIe Each Sem
fenced to Forty-nine Years.
RECORD TRIAL OF THREE NEGROES

Only Sixteen Minutes Elapsed In the
Court Proceedings at Mount Holly.
N. J.-Company of State Militia Escort
tho Prisoners From Camden to the
Court and Thence to the Penitentiary
Mount Holly, N. J.-At fifteen min
utes after 1 o'clock in the afternoon
Aaron Timbers, Jonas Sims, and Will
liam Austin, the three negroes who ten
days previously assaulted Mrs. Charles
Biddle in her home zeal Burlington,
were placed on trial before Judge Gas
kell. Exactly sixteen minutes later
all three had pleaded guilty to four
crimes charged against them. the in
dictments had been read by the County
Prosecutor, and all three given the
extreme penalty allowed by the law,
the cumulative sentence in each case
being forty-nine years. Not only was
the trial remarkable for its breyity,
but also for the splendid management
of the whole affair, not even Sheriff
Brewer nor any of his deputies know
ing that the negroes were to be
brought here and tried until about
half an hour before the special train
that brought them from Philadelphia
pulled into the station.
Every precaution had been taken,
and even if it had been known through
put the county that the negroes were
to be tried, it is quite certain that no
mob could have reached the prisoners.
Judge Gaskell, who planned the whole
affair, telephOned to Governor Muir
phy at Trenton that he was going to
try the negroes, and the Governor, af-
ter a long talk, said that he would
order Company A of the Second Regi-
ment, then in camp at Sea Grit. to
proceed to Camden and accompany the
prisoners on the train to Mount Holly.
When the train arrived the soldiers
promptly filed out and took a posi-
ton on either side of the road that
leads to the Court House, which is a
little over a block distant from the
station. The presence Of the soldiers
Of course attracted the attention Of all
the village folk, and in less than five
minutes a crowd of about 500 had as
Sembled in front of the Court House.
In the crowd were many women, and
although the men in the crowd were
very outspoken as to what should be
done to the negroes, the women were
even more Outsp0ken and did not hes
itate to voice their sentiments in the
most positive terms.
1t was a strange in the quiet
little court room, the soldiers standing
like statues on all sides, the negroes
trembling like aspen leaves, while the
faces of the spectators indicated the
kind of punishment they considered
just in the case. Amid absolute silence
Judge Gaskell called the court to or
der, and Prosecutor Atkinson arose
and read the charges against the ne
groes. George NJ. Hillman, of this
place, had been assigned to defend
the negroes, and he advised them as to
the gravity of the charges, and told
them that if they were guilty the best
thing they could do would be to say
so.
The negroes followed his advice, and
in voices that were shaken with feal
they admitted in open court that they
had committed all four of the crimes
that had been laid against them
Judge Gaskell then pronounced sen
tence, which was fifteen years for as
sault, fifteen years for robbery, twelve
years for assaulting an officer. and sew
en- years for breaking and entering d
dwelling.
AS soon as the proceedings at Mount
Holly were owe the prisoners were
escorted back to the station and the
train started for Trenton, going via
Kinkora as a matter of precaution, in
stead of via Burlington. The news OF
the trial had reached Burlington before
the train left and a large crowd was
at the depot there who thought thai
the special would pass that way. The
train arrived at Trenton at 2.15 p. m
and ten minutes later the negroes Were
in the p~enitentiary.