The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-02

socilitor. Sheriff Albriton and Deputy Dav7s were the ofllcers of the court.
 Soon after convention. it was announced that Justice Mclean was iil and would not, be present. Justice Hughes. who was tp town, but not in the court. sent. 5D5rd that he would not serve unlessSs had two associates. Thus Mr. GpsIon was left alone. It was then t1k the argu- ments began which last0 until noon. that MT. sessionnlal6t l6t justice of the Pineapple precir& but an associate. was empowered af 3kfy. the case or to adjourn the coarf t his will. but that he had - nk to associate to himself other Justices for the case. The contention of the counsel for the defense was that Mir. Sessions having succeeded the original maKistrate. might alone try the case. or with associates. or that he might adjourn the court until d certain day. Mfr. Ses- sions. stated that he would not alone try the case. &
 Upon these matters were arguments which were pointed and humorous. The defense stood steadily for immediate trial by, Mir. Sessions and associates that could be selected from among the justices of the county, while Mir. 0uarles maintained the point that thoug h he was willing for Mir. Sessions to cit upon the case 1t was illegal, for him ito try with associates. But 1t was the argument of Mir. Sessions that made the hit of the day. The sud- den epidemic that had siclxened the justices of the peaces of Wilcox County, he said, was remarkable. and the scarcity of magistrates appalling. One was too i'll to; serve another had. he surmised bought yokesof oxen: another had mar ried a wife, perhaps some of them were too old.
 New Crop is Needed.
 He saw even in the future. he said. no opportunity to try the case. unless there were taken a continuance of such dura- ton as to allow a young and vigorous crop of justices to grow to replace the infirfns and superannrated officials that had been represented to the court as com- prising the magistracy of Wilcox County He said that. he did not desire to sit alone in judgment upon the defendants. The case had not originated ni his beat He was there only as an, associate to assist his. fellow officers in the discharge of duty.
 He asked if he was compelled to try the case. MT. 0uarles said that he could not be compelled to try the case. Mir. Miller said that as a matter of fact, MT. Sessions, granted that he was the right man in the right place. could be made
 
 end came when Mfr. Sessions declared that he did not ''sit here as a justice of the peace but as private citizen." and refused to adjourn the court.
 And in, fine good humor the counsel, with officers of the court and the prlson- CTS in charge of Sheriff Albritton and Deputy Davis left the house. And thus the first court that ever called to try men charged with lynching in Wilcox County was to all fntents and purposes annihilated.
 The prisoners left Pineapple early in the afternoon for Camden. Four of the prisoners, one of them driving. were in carriage with Deputy Davis. The fifth was with Sheriff Albritton in a buggy.
 The town was quiet last night and all of today. The feeling on both sides of the the case is stlil Intense. but all seemed in better humor and the gravity of the situatioa was not go apparent as on the preceding daye
 It is expected that the replacement of stores that were burned Wiil begin at once. The new home of the bank of Pineapple has already been commenced
 westry. the negro charged with wound ing young Clifton Melton with a pistol, Is still at large. Melton is in a critical con- ditfon. Stevens Partridge.