Year: 1867

WhtnptnR-Vhe OeIenOamg ANlhhlsh' ''fto


was Not Angry" Etc.


From the Rochester linton and Advertiser, FEB 9.


That should make this statement, feel is


due both TO myself and to the public. have


long waited for this opportunity, but In view


of the legal part of the matter, and the tnJunc-


tions OF my counsel, my mouth has been closed,


and have suffered in silence. Had been


statemsnt staten Gs OF the @ case % i Would have saved me


great deal of pain, and the public much false


Impression. But this was not the case, aud the


few words spoke in respect to the matter


were spoken to Dr. Chamberlain in


room alone, with no one present but him


but a verbal one. MY little boy lost his


mother when about one year and a half


old, o lady whom 1 loved intensely, and who


loved me with all the tenderness amt devotion


of Woman's nature After the death of my


wife my affections We're dFawn ia WI more re- CLOSELY


He was q noble, manly, and beautiful child,


very affectionate in his disposition and bright


in hls intellect. His father and friends looked


upon him with pride and hope, and should


not have been satisfied to have had him absent


from me for a week. My little boy had Won


derfully firm will enough for an adult, butthere


was nothing malicious in IL. do not speak OF


this as anything against him, but, on the other


hand, / consider IL to have been God-given


talent of the highest Importance had IL been


rightly trained. On the night OF his death, his


him to bed My little boy had been trained by


his own mother during her life, TO be put to


bed by himself alone, on account of her


feeble health she was not able to do as mothers


ordinarily would, and he would do IT just rs


cheerfqlly and happily as though put to IIs Ped in
fused TO obey my wife, and she was striving to


secure obedience. supposed word from me


would be sufficient, as he very seldom refused
10 obey me. But it was not. We questioned
whether it was best to try and force obedience
E-whether it were not best to drop the matter
and consider about it, l finally Aecided on, my
own responsibility, to punish him; not that l


cared so much for the particular thing he was
to do, but felt 1t was important to secure the
habit Of obedience. anticipated no serious
conflict at all. The instrument used was
| af 1p1rfv Nalra la oh
used for Sndlings, thirty years old, or more,
and the wood l should think was hemloc1, GER
| tainly not hard wood. My impression is that 10
might have been an inch and one-q arter wide,
possibly, but cannot state with precise


accuracy the width of it. 1t very likely
was not O thick shingles; nothing like a
club about it,. 1t occurred to be that obedi-
| than by using the hand if 1t were necessary
| to use corporeal punishment at all recollect
| distinctly of feeling when commenced that
would rather the blows would fall upon myself
| than upon my boy. AS continued to punish


him, stopping at very frequent Intervals and
talking to him, felt convinced that he knew
what / wished him to dO as his reply to my
| question, why will you not do it, Johnny? Pa
| wish to- 1 wish to do something else, stopping
crying at the same time. had undertaken To
| secure obedience, and felt that must accom-
piish it. 1t will be said that erred in COM
mencing at that hour, when my child was tired
| by the play of the day. / did err in so doing,
but, as / have said. mad no idea Of any serious
| conflict at all. II had had / should not have
nV1OT or


AS / went on / recollect that my anxiety be-
came very intense that my boy should yield.
Had the point been yielded should nave 1elt
as though a mountain had been removed from
my breast. AS to whether he understood what
was required of him, probably most will think
that he did not. 1 at the time believed that he
did. Under this great anxiety, with my mind
fixed on the necessity of my boys yielding for
his own future good, and expecting at every
of the extent to which had gone, or of the


effects was producing upon my child:
| thing to do in the case, by preventing my
| seeing the actual effects was producing; but
| the main cause, believe, was great anxiety,
| and my mind fixed upon its being neces-
| sary for the good of my child that he should
yield. / was not angry or IN passion IN all
| this. wish to state this fully and without re-
| serve, that, If know anything of the action OF


my mind, was not angry; never could have
| punished my child for an hour, or half an hour,


or anything like it, in anger Were 1t sol should
| have felt very guilty, and To have done so would
| have been monstrous But never for one houl


or one moment have been conscious of any


criminal intent in this case. No true man or


woman Will wish me to belle my convictions in


this matter DO not misunderstood me here


l have been greatly misrepresented upon this


point. consider the act to have been wrong


and very wrong; but as TO criminal Intent


there was none in any form. greatly mis-


judged, and the fearful consequences, in the


loss OF my child, have come upon me with 9


What I might have said to the Coroner as to


the length OF time 90 not remember, pnC Sno u


two to two and half hours; and should thinl


it was quite as probable that was not mort
| than two hours, as that it was two and a half


The Coroner testihes that punished the child


until L saw signs of weakness. This is mis-
| take; do not wish to provoke controversy


with the Coroner, ner am l accusing him o
| intentional Misrepresentation; but IL is q mis-
| take. i made statement TO DIR, Crawford Oh


the same day, and he win testify to the trutf
| OF what say, though it could not be brought


| into court 1 stopped punishment because
| felt that it was useless to go further. took M,
| little boy and laid him upon the settee ant
, covered him up: At the time ne ceased d the pun
| and for some time afterwards, saw no sign
| | that the child had been injured. He had JalHet
5 | during this time, and appeared natural. Thel
1 there was change and soon Afterwards Ch
I | child died. Then II was l began TO realize IN
| fearful loss, and the terrible pang the circum
stances OF the case gave to it; then II was fel
7 | and said not long after to my father, that
e could have given my own life for my darlin
. < word as to why the limbs and arms were
| extensively discolored. IL arose from this. tina


| / aimed not to repeat the blows in the sam
: place. / carefully avoided the vital parts of th
e | body. There were no blows at all upon the bod
Z of my child. am not aware that struck Oh


head at all with the instrument used nor wit
d | ANYTHING else. think the slight marks mu!
;. have been produced accidentally, as they migt
. | have been.
% | the conviction and sentence passed upon m
T, | IL may be inferred from what have said, b
% lieving as l do that former sickness had TO
n with this matter, sickness the seV Gritty an
n | particulars of which could be but imperfect


presented in courts being for years under til
3 most powerful tonics and narcotics daily,
". never has recovered and never can, IL wou
le be strange, indeed, if my mind had the san
IL ViRor which IL had before. My own iudgmel
We | is that mad il not been for this sickness ar
eu subsequent nervousnprostraJlon, more or lie
at connected,R being so for months after can
Is home near four years ago, that could II
he | look into a newspaper, that this LhiI
w | could never have occurred, But, as to the co
s yiction; II did not know mat wa; was not sngr