Year: 1878




Tn DOdsOn Farce Ended.


A miserable three days farce has just
ended at New Castle, and Mrs. Dodson
and her two boys, Vincent and New
comb, have been acquitted of any COM
plicity in the shooting of James Jones,
the eolored man, who dragged himself
to neighbol ing house from the swamps
of Appoquinimink, where, on the night
of the 18th of November, he was shot
through the head by somebody. We
not only foreshadowed, few days ago.
the acquittal of the parties charged
with such terrible directn-ss by Jones,
with an attempt to murder him, but We
said, incidentally, that Jones would be
lucky if he got away frsm New Castle
without being hung. With these ideas
prevailing, We are not surprised at the
verdict which was rendered. Were il not
that Jones had bullet hole through his
head as evidence that an attempt had
been made to murder him, 1t would
have been just as easy to prove that
h. had never been shot at, as it was to
prove that Vincent and Newcomb were
courting the Dodson girls on that night
when Jones said they were up III the
Appoquinimink forest making bullet
holes through his (Jones' head.


The Dodson family however have
made out bill OF character tor the
girls, verified by the highest court OF
Delaware, and poor Jones, the. despised
negro, is made the scapegoat which
bears their sins off into the wilderness
and leaves them spotless as the virgin
snow. We do not say that the mem bers
of the Dodson family committed perjury
when they all agreed in their beautiful
description of the family group, with
tlUCtuL dH'l view CDHD dS luC IdHliy
guests, ,on that dark dismal night when
somebody was making pepper-box of
Jones head in the Appoquinmink
woods, nor would We say so If we
knew it to be true, but no one will deny
that the situation was such that if ever
there was time when perjury could
be excused that time had come in the
history of the Dodson family. Charac.
ter was at stake and only poor hum
Bile negro who sometimes prevaricated
in telling things altogether straight was
in the way, and character must be es-
tabl ished though Jones goes to the wall
and the crime of shooting him BIZ laid
upon some one else rather than Vincent
and Newcomb. We reckon the girls, with
their two little bi others, one OF the lat
ter member Of church, cannot be
bl amed, and after all there is no evil
dence to contradict their testimony.
There were no idle spectators connected
with that happy family group, the fami-
ly and their two guests equally inter
ested are the only ones who composed it.
We have no fault to find with Messrs.
Gray and Lore for the able defence of
Mrs. Dpdson and her two intimate
friends. 1t is but another instance of
their ability as lawyers WHICH rebounds
to their credit. They did the best they
could for their clients and they cleared
them. With the jury we have no fault
to find. The evidence Of witnesses of
the Dodson family was before them un-
contradicted and it had to be accepted.
With the judges charge no fault IAN
be found, as the charge was made in
accordance with the law. The State
labored under the disadvantage of hav-
ing Mason and Dixon's line between the
place where the murder was convicted,
and the witnesses who might have been
used with advantage, even the little
village of Warwick and DR.. Wright
were in Maryland. We are glad how
ever that the farce is over, and no one
will be jealous of the victory obtained
by the Dodson family, though verified
by the highest judicial tribunal of
Delaware. Jones comes from the
Jail where he has been confined as a
witness, branded by the court as a liar,
but with bullet hole through his
head as an evidence of his truthfulness,
and the public will Judge who had more
cause to attempt to take his life than
the parties charged by Jones and cleared
by the court. Convince a man against
his will. he's of the same opinion still :"


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