Newspaper Page Text
Charleston —By N, P. Willis.
We cop\ T from that most readable of newspa
pers, the Home Journal, a brief sketch of
Charleston, by Mr. Willis, one of its Editors,
during a Southern tour for the benefit of his
health. Though shadowy and incomplete, it
displays a ready appreciation of our distinguish
ing characteristics, and we can but express a
hope that, under happier auspices, he may here
after have ampler opportunity for the exercise
of his rare talent of word-painting, in which he
is unequalled, in giving a more elaborate picture
of our Ocean City.
The extracts at the close of the article are
most appropriate and inciting to the efforts now
making by our citizens to relieve themselves from
the obloquy of neglect and indifference to the
memory of the Great Statesman, whose remains
have been entrusted to them:
With a presentiment (afterwards confirmed)
that, by going too early North, I was leading
what little convalescence I had picked up in a
w armer clime, I embarked for Charleston, on the
evening of the sth of May—arriving the next
morning, after a rough, cold and thoroughly un
comfortable passage. Quite prostrated by sea
sickness and influenza, and having more desired
to see Charleston than any other point of my
winter’s travel, l had never found illness more
untimely. We rejoined, here, some of our fel
low voyagers in the Tropics, hut the most ad
mired and beloved of that happy company lay
dying under the same roof with us, and a mel-
ancholy sadness weighed upon all who had
known her. Altogether, I obtained but an im
perfect and clouded view of the great metropolis
of the South. i\l y best remembrances of it were
suchAas do not come within a traveller’s chroni
cle ; the meeting with valued friends and ac
quaintances. It must pass for the broken page :
of my Journal, to be rewritten, if possible, with
better knowledge hereafter.
In what little I saw of Charleston, in my j
mopings about, l was impressed with tne air it j
wears of a town built for gentlemen. It is a lit- j
tie behindhand with paint and repairs, but, in the
contrivance and character of its private residen
ces, there is the original imprint, still legible, of
first owners who built exclusively, each one, for
taste and comfort of his own. There is none j
of the amputated look given to city buildings by ;
the more utilitarian taste of the North. Even
in houses of very moderate pretensions, it was
quite evident that the plan had not been sent
back to the architect, shaved of all its superflui
ties of elegance merely. In the bay windows,!
verandahs, odd angles, porticos and gardens, j
and in the unstereotyped variety with which the
caprices of ornament had been combined, the
look of refinement quite at its case and appre
hensive of neither eclipse nor criticism, is very :
manifest. Every house looks as if the same fam
ily had always lived in it. Without strict archi
tectural taste, this atmosphere of household gods
may be made to envelope a homo with an indi
viduality more attaching to children and more
inspiring of respect ; and I must own that, to
my eye, it is an innovation upon art worth stu
dying.
In the days when the North and South were
more intimate—the gay society of the two lati- j
tudes holding an equally divided empire over j
Ballston and Saratoga—Charleston was the un
questionable Corinth, fiom which came the best !
models of gentlemen and ladies. With the plan
tation conservatism of family—custom of send- !
ing sons to Europe for education—general hab- j
it of yearly travel, and prevailing tone of courte- |
sy and chivalry handed down from a superior
class of first inhabitants—this may easily be
for. The marks of it would still im
pre&sa stranger in walking the streets of Charles
ton jbr looking in upon its society. Shouldered
aside* as the city is, somewhat, perhaps, by the
currenEjof “progress,” and becalmed in the still
water op such respectability and dignity as this
“fast” sage will leave behind, its gayeties proba
bly assemble, at the present time, a higher-bred
class/ol’ men and women than any other capital
of oufr country. The epidemic rage, for action j
and /contact with the world, which is setting the !
noblemen of England to lecturing, will soon reach
her®, doubtless, and lively-fy Charleston up to
the/dreg stirring activity of New Aork; but,
meantime, its streets are walked by gentlemen
yvho look tranquilly noble, and its drives are
graced by ladies who si'in their carriages with j
the air of princesses at leisure.
There is a childish disappointment, (which I j
do not find that I outgrow,) in the first visit to !
most large capitals. ‘Until one sees a famous
place, its great men form a conspicuous part of j
the ideal picture of it. A boy, in going for the
first time to Boston, for instance, would feel an
unexplainable disappointment not to see Web
ster with at least a dome and cupola ; Prescott
with a Gothic arch to him; Emerson with a ,
steeple, and Everett with a colonnade all round
—or some equally tangible, visible and imposing
ly architectural proof that this is the Boston of j
which, as seen from a distance, those men com
pose so large a part. 1 had always thought ot
Charleston, South Carolina, as a city built not
so much of brick as of Calhoun —not so beauti
ful for its public walks as for its W ashington
Alston. To arrive there, and walk through it,
and drive round it, without seeing any thing ot
them—no sign of the statesman and painter who
would still show for Charleston, though the city
were sunk by an earthquake—was and is
“less of a place” than I had expected—to take
out the glory from the picture and put in brick.
It is to this feeling (among others) that cities
owe monuments for their great men. Willing to
pay for gas, they should be willing to pay also
for the “nebulous aurora of genius which, shin
ing from there, lights them up so that they are
seen the world over.
The Dutch have an invention’ for helping a
. ves*el when she is aground ; placing buoyant
floats on each side of her, sinking them till they
can run a timber through, and then removing
the weight so that ail rises together. Corrobo
rative quotation is sometimes necessary to do a
similar service and bring a writer safely into
port. In the present state of low water in the
river of poetry, I have probably run aground in
the passage just written, and will, therefore,
make sure of a buoyant conclusion, by applying
a float or two in the way of confirmatory re
marks by greater authors, on the same sub
ject.
‘ Foutenelle was never more gratified than
when a Swede, arriving at the gates of Paris,
inquired of the custom house officer where Eon*
tenelle resided, and expressed his indignation
that not one of them had ever heard of his
name.”
A distinguished man, in a eulogy on Liebnitz,
said, “The Elector of Hanover united undei
his dominion an Electorate, the three Kingdoms
of Great Britain, and Liebnitz and Newton.”
“Spinoza, when he gained an humble liveli
hood by grinding optical glasses, was visited by
the first General in Europe, who, lor the sake
of tliis philosophical conference, suspended the j
march of the army.”
“A solemn funeral honored the remains ol !
the poet Klopstock, led by the Senate of Ham- j
burg, with fifty thousand votaries, so penetrated ;
by one universal sentiment, that this multitude j
preserved a mournful silence, and the interfer
ence of the police ceased to be necessary
through the city, at the solemn burial of the man
of genius.”
“In Ferrara, the small house which Ariosto
built was purchased, to lie preserved, by the
municipality, and there they still show the poet s
study ; and, under his bust, a simple but affecting
tribute to genius records, that Ludovico Ariosto t
in this apartment wrote.”
“Travellers never fail to mention Erasmus
when the city of Basle occupies their recollec
tions, so that, as Bayle remarks, ‘he rendered
the place of his death as celebrated as that of
his birth!”’
“The Grand Duke of Tuscany became jealous
of the attention paid to Magliabeccbi, as stran
gers usually went to visit Magliabeechi before
the Grand Duke.”
“We cannot bury the fame of our English j
worthies—that exists before us, independent of
ourselves; but we bury the influence of their
inspiring presence in those immortal memorials
of genius easy to he read by all men —their
statues and their busts, consigning them to
spots seldom visited, and often too obscure to be
viewed.”
dl fi&mts aiti) ffimimd
GEORGIA.
FRIDAY MORNING, MARCH 25, 1853.
Congressional Election in Alabama.
Some short time ago there was much talk in the
Second congressional district in Alabama of a conven
tion to nominate a candidate for Congress. Hilliard,
Chilton and Moss were recommended as the most sui
table men for (lie office ; but the claim of Macon coun
ty, “the banner whig county in the State,” to the
Congressman for the next four years, was very generally
conceded. Os late we have noticed that a dead silence i
is observed on all hands. Even the babbling Journal
is silent. What is the matter, gentlemen ? Are you |
scared ? Has the sight of the honest face and strong
arm of your bile representative curbed the freedom of
your tongues and disconcerted your schemes? Speak
out, gentlemen, and let us know whether you are to have j
a convention ? Is Mr. i lilliahd tired of staying at
home and taking the chances for a Foreign appoint
ment, now that the democrats are in power ? Or is the
vaulting ambition of Mr. Moss too elastic to, be longer !
compressed ? And more particularly, what has James j
Abercrombie, “the honest old former of Russel,” done
in his congressional career to forfeit the confidence of j
his party ? It is true, that he refused to support
General Scott for the Presidency, and thus rebuked ;
the profligacy of the whig party, which by his nomi- j
nation, indicated a willingness to sail under any flag,
provided, they could thereby retain power and share !
among themselves the rich spoils of governmental pat
ronage. Is this his sin ? Then are all persons who
voted -the Webster ticket to be proscribed ? Or will
the vengence of the “trace men 5 ’ of Alabama be appeas
ed by the sacrifice of the “Big Captain ?”
We are very happy to learn that Captain Abercrom
bie has returned home in good health and spirits, and
is in good condition for another race. Now, if weave
under the necessity of being represented in Congress
bv a Union whig, we candidly acknowledge that we
would prefer an old farmer like the “Captain,” who is
identified with the district and has no ulterior designs
to accomplish by his congressional career, than by a
mere politician, who looks to the Federal Government
for office, and changes his sails with every wind that ,
blows from the North to be sure to keep his little bark
upon the tack cf preferment.
If a convention is called, however, and Captain Aber
crombie allows his name to go before it, he will commit
political suicide. We know somewhat about the 2d !
congressional district, and how it has been managed
for some years past. The Circuit Courts are now in ses
sion, and we venture that some sly representative of
Montgomery is now on the pad attending every court,
calling whig meetings, directing the appointment of
delegates to the convention, prejudicing the ininds of j
the people against Captain Abercrombie, and the re- j
suit will be that if a convention is called and he lets his
name go before it, he will hardly get a vote out of Rus- j
sell county.
A word to Post Masters.
! We scarcely receive a mail that does not contain
| some letter complaining of the irregularity of the mails.
| A valued subscriber at Magdalena, Geo., writes us, that
: the Tost master at that office says ote half of the pa
j pcrs due there never come to hand, and very properly
i concludes by saying, “something wrong—subscribers
will dropoff.”
Another informs us that while lie lived at Florence,
Geo.. he received all his papers regularly, but since he
removed to Lnnnahassee, Geo-, he has not received
“near all bis papers.”
Xow. we use the greatest caution in mailing our
papers regularly to every subscriber, and wo are sure
no fault attaches to us. We are equally sure that the
great body of Post masters attempt to discharge their
duties faithfully and punctually, but it is evideut
that there is a careless Post master some where in
South western Georgia, who neglects his duties, irri
tates our subscribers by’ his negligence or mistakes,
and inflicts a pecuniary loss and much troubis upon us.
If he will inform us who he is, we will double his salary,
if he will promise to do his duty in future, provided, the
President does not turn him out of office. And he will
pardon us for saying that a man who neglects the duties
of an‘office which ho voluntarily accepts, is dishonest
and ought not to be trusted by his neighbors.
The Blue Ujdge Rail Road. —The city council of
Charleston has subscribed 500,000 dollars to the Plue
Ridce Railroad to secure its charter.
Trowbridge, formerly a telegraph clerk at Louisville,
Las beeu sentenced to three years’ confinement in the
penitentiary for forgery.
A Passenger Depot at Last. — We are much rejoic- j
ed to learn, spys the Atlanta Intelligencer , that the j
officers of the respective Railroads terminating here,
have finally come to an agreement, and commenced ar- ,
langcnients for the erection of a joint passenger depot j
n this city. The building is to be three hundred feet j
in length by eighty feet in width, affording sufficient j
room to accommodate, at the same time, tour different |
passenger trains, one for each road, with the necessa
ry offices for each company. The work, we un
derstand, is to be commenced immediately.
| “ j
Spireia Pruuifolia.
We are indebted to Mr. Charles A. Peabody for a
! sprig of this beautiful flowering shrub, than which noth- |
j ing can be more superb. It is a bush of from five to
| ten feet in height, with a bushy top; and every limb is
) covered with minute snow white flowers, as double as
the most doubled rose. It blossoms early in March,
and this fact will commend it to the notice of hlorists.
; It is a native of China and was lately introduced into
: Europe by Mr. Fortune, the celebrated English tra
i veller.
j Steamer Gaston.— This Steamer broke her piston on
i the 16th inst., when off St. John s bar. It was
• blowing a gale at the time, and the anchor was east
outside the bar during the night. Next morning the
U. S. Steamer T. Corwin came to her relief and tow
ed her into St. John’s harbor. The Gaston Was with
in 100 yards of the breakers when the relief vessel
reached her. The Steamer Jasper will take the place
of the Gaston.
The State Register.
This Union whig paper published in Montgomery, i
Ala., has been discontinued for want of patronage. It is
ominous of the fate of the defunct Union whig party |
which Sandford, llolsev, et id omne genus, are at- j
tempting to re-juvenate in Georgia. The Register
says : j
We do not deny that it the publication of the paper had
been either profitable to ourselves, or called for by the
state of parties in Alabama, we would have kept it going. !
But it has never been to us a source of profit; and we I
conceive that our polities don't suit parties existing in
Alabama at the present time. It is not our purpose here ]
to discuss the why and wherefore of our nearly isolated j
political position. Suffice it that there has been a “scat- !
location” in some quarter, and that the Union banner, j
which we upheld even to the “last extremity,” no longer i
waves over a victorious, or even a strong and united party,
in the South.
Cicero Mehafley, formerly a mail carrier on the route
from Atlanta to Carrollton, was arraigned for embezzle
ment, and pleading guilty, was sentenced to ten years
in the Penitentiary.
Small Fox in Albany.
We learn from the Albany Patriot that hut one
case of Small Pox has occurred in that place, and that
the most stringent measures have been adopted to pre
vent the disease from spreading.
Mrs. Bostwick’s Farewell Concert.
The perfect successor Mrs. Bostuickai Iter last
concert, at Odd Fellows’ Hall, when she removed
every lingering doubt that may have previously res
ted on the mind of any one present, with regard to
her real scientific acquirements and the excellence
of her remarkable natural gifts, is a gu ran tee that
the entertainment a tjiifi this
evening, will be attended by one of the most dis
criminating and brilliant audiences ever assembled
in a concert room in this city, Without the pres
tige of a European reputation, and with no stronger
claim upon the public notice than the approbation
sue had received in New York, and during her re
cent Western tour, this gifted American lady was,
on her arrival in. New Orleans, ns utter a stranger
to its musical circles, as if it had been her original
debut in professional life. Her performances, how
ever, at her first and second concerts, stamped her
as an artist of extraordinary* merit : but it was only
subsequently that our musical public cordially con
firmed the previous verdict of criticism, and with
one exception, she now siands in public estimation
as second to no singer who lias ever appeared in our i
ity: The piece she is to perform this evening are I
well adapted lor the full display of the purity, rich
ness, compass and flexibility ofher exquisite voice.
The programme will be found in an other column.- ;
N. O, Com. BcUelin.
Opinions of the press.
The Soil of the South. —This excellent journal,
for March, comes to us laden with rich fruits from,
the garden of agricultural knowledge and practice, j
It is an admirable, and we think, necessary in: pie- i
menl for our farmers to have on the plantation.—
Price only’sl,oo.— Larensvills Herald.
The Soil of the Scu'h. —This a publication we
cannot too strongly recommend. It lias now reach - ,
cd its third volume, and is decidedlythe most useful,
i delightful and attractive journal devoted to Agricul
ture, Horticulture, and the general planting interes
ts, published in the South. We have no hesitation
; in saying that ‘‘every Southern man who cultivates
a plantation, works a farm or garden, or piuncs a
, tree or a flower, will find the Soil of (he South an
invailiable companion:— Democratic Aihccate.
The Sail of the South. —This truly valuable agricul
tural paper, published in Columbus Geo., has lately
, increased in size from 16 32 pages, thus giving its
; subscribers a greater amount of informal! >n, at the
| same rates as before It is edited by Messrs.
! Chambers &. Peabody, and the valuable informa
tion it coni fins in all departments of agriculture,
renders it well worthy the faithful and continued
patronage of every southern farmer.— Spirit of the
Sou’ll. .
England and the I . States.— A Vv ashing
ton correspondent of the Baltimore Sun, says: j
The British Government, as we learn from j
late proceedings in the New Foundlaud Legis- ;
lature, are solemnly pledged to enforce their ex- i
treme construction of the Convention of 1818. j
in regard to the fisheries, and we know also that j
they will not abandon their occupancy of the I
Bay Islands. War is therefore inevitable within
a year; and, perhaps, a state of things may
that will demand an extra session of Congress
during the summer.
[From the Constitutionalist & Republic.]
The Next Governor.
An article in the last Federal l/nion , recom- I
mending Col. Henry G. Lamar to the Demo- i
crats of Georgia, as their next candidate for j
Governor, prompts us to say a few words on ;
the general subject. I
We have, from time to time, in the last few
weeks, received communications, some ot them :
written for publication, in reference to the next j
Gubernatorial election We have, however,
declined opening our columns for the discussion j
of the question, thinking it premature, and de
sirous of allowing as much time to elapse as
possible, in order that past acerbities and un
friendly sentiments among Democrats, divided
on theCompiomise question, might die away
i and be obliterated forever. Time is the great
physician in all strifes like this, when no prac
tical questions place men in antagonism, and
when a thousand practical questions, and the
political sympathies and convictions of a life
time, counsel them to harmonious action.
In these results we are not disappointed, so
j far as we have been enabled to ascertain the
! drift of sentiment among the Democrats. W T e
are already appris . of many cases where Dem
ocrats who were estranged from each other, no
longer back than last summer, in reference to
the electoral ticket difficulty, are now coming
: together cordially, as Democrats, in support of
! the general principles of the party, ami of Gen.
Pierce’s administration.
Differences of opinion as to the right of State j
secession, are not incompatible with co-opera- !
tion and union on well recognized and admitted |
principles of Democratic policy. Our country
has prospered under it. Under it, and by rea- j
son of it, in great part, have been achieved our
greatness and power as a nation, et, in that
vast aggregate of Democrats, which has made
up Democratic sentiment, and established Dem
ocratic legislation over the country, there are all
shades of speculative opinion as to the nature
and structure of our complex system of Govern
ment. Such is the constitution of (lie human
mind that, in polities, as in religion, absolute
! concordance in large masses, united for com
-1 mon objects, cannot lie expected. No two j
leaves in the forest are precisely alike. So in
the world of intellect; no two minds receive
impressions and prevent phases identically simi
lar. It is a wise law of our nature. It is a lead
ing cause of all progress and improvement.
Nothing but the infirmities of human temper
and the pride of opinion exist now, to keep Dem
| ocratsapart in Georgia, who have been divided:
and these.causes are gradually declining. It
is now getting to be time—perhaps, we should
say the time has now arrived—when the Demo
crats of Georgia must take steps to consolidate
their strength, and make their part y here worthy
of its principles and past history, and worthy of
the sympathies and alliance of the Democratic
parties as they exist in our sister States of the
| Union. A State Convention of delegates will
be a fitting commencement of the work; on
1 which occasion the nomination for Governor
i can be made, and the measures initiated for his
I cordial support and triumphant election.
Omhe suggestioiTof the name of Col. Henry
G. Lamar, we have, at present, nothing to say,
i but that he is an intelligent and amiable gentle
man, a zealous democrat, and one who, ifnom
- inated, will receive from us a very cordial and
i earnest support. We take occasion, also, now to
state, that the name of Gen. Hugh A. Har
alson has been urged in one of the com
munications received by us in terms of warm
admiration. This gentleman, also, whose tal
: ents and high character we fully appreciate,
would, in the like event, receive our very cheer
ful support.
In another the name ot Judge Henry R. Jack
son is suggested, and the considerations urged
in behalf of this suggestion, struck us with great
force, and coincided with views previously en
tertained, and fully expressed by us in letters
and conversation. We believe the nomination
of this patriotic young Democrat, who now
wears the judicial ermine as gracefully as he
did the soldier’s sword when our country called
for volunteers for service against Mexico, would
j he a well bestowed tribute to merit, and at the j
same time a pledge of mutual mnity and confi- i
dence and restored good feeling between Un
ion and Southern Rights Democrats. The pa
triotic course pursued by Judge Jackson and
Judire Johnson last summer, which did
! o
much towards bringing the two wings of
the party together, first suggested to us the !
name of the former, in connection with this
nomination. We have named Judge Johnson j
in this connection, as an act of s'net his
torical justice, and to say that to him, equally j
with Judge Jackson, is praise to he accorded
in this matter. We have not mentioned his
name to bring it into view for the nomination, j
not that we consider him in any respect Jess
entitled to it, hut because we desire, in placing
the name of a Union Democrat first before our
readers, to afford an earnest of the feelings
with which we have advocated the re-union of
the Democracy and the spirit in which we think
every Southern Rights Democrat should meet
the Union Democrats in Convention.
We should not omit the names of the Jlon.
Robert M. Charlton, and of the Hon. Thos. M.
Forman, in connection with the patriotic efforts
made last summer to bring together the dissever
ed wings of our party. -Judge Lumpkin, Col.
R. Flournoy, Judge Warner, Col. Chastain and
the Hon. Charles Murphy, will be kindly ro-,
membered in this matter. We could extend
this list much further, but the names of tiiose !
most conspicuous in the good work will readily j
occur to the mind of the reader. Both those I
that tendered and those that accepted the Olive
branch under which Southern Rights and Union
Democrats marched together to victory last 1
November, should be remembered with equal
! kindness by every well wisher of the party.
We would be unfeignedlv gratified to add to
: this list the name of his Excellency, Governor
Cobb: but we regret to say we have not the evi
dence that he gave his influence and good wish
es to the Democratic ticket which cast the vote
of Georgia for Gen. Pierce. Ilis sympathies, if
not his secret exertions, were strongly suspect
ed to be in favor of the Tugalo ticket. The
efforts and the votes of most of his personal and
political friends whom it was generally presuni
ed he could influence, were openly given to that
ticket.
We should be very ‘happy to be mistaken j n
these impressions, as to the course of C|ov. Cobh
in this matter. If we have judged him wrong
ly, or misconstrued his course and his motives
we shall be most happy to make the amende
for we utterly disclaim personal hostility or urn
kind feeling towards that gentleman. R gave
us no pleasure to see him in past days pursue a
course by which he jeoparded that influence
and popularity that his talents legitimately en
titled him to, and which he once unquestionably
and deservedly possessed in the Democratic
party of Georgia.
From the Macon Messenger.
Trial of the Robbers of John Jackson.
Foksyth, March 14th, 1853.
Messrs. Editors .-—The Superior Court of Mon-
I roe county has been in session for two weeks
past, and as it has been occupied almost the
whole of the time in the trial of some of the men
who were concerned in the robbery of John
Jackson, near the line of Pike, last October, it
may not be uninteresting to your readers to have
the details of the robbery, as developed by the
J testimony placed before them.
It appears that about five weeks before the
robbery, two men who then passed by the names
| of Cooper and Williams, but who now answer
; to the names of Simpson and Copenhaver,
stayed all night at Mr. Jackson’s, and on pav
ing for their fare the next morning, handed him
a S2O bill to be changed. In changing it,
Mrs. Jackson got some money out of a trunk
in the closet, and thus they ascertained where
the money was kept. About midnight, on the
12th of October last year, the door of his dwell
i ing was suddenly burst open, and several men
entered the room occupied by Mr, and Mrs.
Jackson. One, recognised by them on the trial
1 as Copenhaver, a stout, athletic man, went to
their bed, and caught the old man by the throat
with one hand, and in a threatening manner,
would slightly touch his head with a stick in the
, other, and upon Mrs. Jackson’s screaming, he
: ordered her to hush, and drawing a pistol, told
her he could make her hush. Another, since re
! cognised as Dr. Roberts, held a lighted candle
in his hand, while the others opened the closet
door, and took out the trunk—they immediately
left the house. They were pursued early next
morning, and about a quarter of a mile from the
house, the trunk was found broken open, and
; rifled of its contents, amounting, according to
| Mr. Juckson’s testimony, to about $6,500, all
i silver, except about SIOO in gold. Their trail
was followed into Meriwether county, where
: they separated, three going a road in the diree
| tion of Tennessee, and two towards Newnan,
j Coweta county. These two were arrested late
| in the evening in Newnan, and one called him-
I self John B. Simpson, and the other at first re
| fused to give his name, but afterwards acknow
ledged himself to be Dr. Roberts. In their sad
; dlebags were found about $946 in silver—a large
i amount of bills, most of which were counterfeit
; two forcepts, for unlocking doors on the out
| side, when the key is within —a bunch of skele-
TToiTor ialse keys for iff)taking lijitt ks, bureia
desks &c., a brace, such as is used by carpen
! ters for boring, two pistols and a slung shot, or
a stout piece of leather, loaded at one end
I with lead. They were brought to Monroe, and
i one of them, Simpson, under promise of being
released, made a diseloseure, by which the other
. three were pursued to Tennessee, and two of
| them, Copenhaver and Clark, were arrested and
■ brought back. Clark, when arrested, made a
full confession of the robbery, without any prom
ise of being released, and upon the back, con
ducted the persons in charge of him to the
place in Meriwether county, where more of the
money was secreted ; it was concealed in three
separate parcels, and amounted to $1,217 in
silver.
Two bills of indictment were preferred against
them and found true—one for Burglary and the
other for Robbery ; and Dr. Roberts was indic
ted singly as a rogue and vagabond, carrying
about pick-locks, false keys, &c. He was bound
guilty of the three offences, and sentenced to
nineteen years imprisonment in the Penitentiary
Copenhaver was found guilty of burglary and
robbery, and sentenced to the Penitentiary for
fourteen years. He was indicted for perjury,
alleged have been committed during the Court,
and the case was continued until the next term.
Clark plead guilty on one bill; and in consider
ation of his full and frank confession upon his
arrest, and also of having been led by the in
fluence of another man to join in the robbery,
he was sentenced to only four years confinement
in the Penitentiary, and the other bill was no!
prosequied as to him, Price, another of the
offenders, who escaped to Tennessee, upon his
return there, was arrested and confined in jail
j for a murder previously committed Has been
i recently rescued from prison hv some of Jiis
friends, and is now at large.
j But perhaps the most interesting part of the
• trial was the examination of Simpson, as a wit
| ness, on the trial of Roberts, as a rogue and
vagabond. He was told by the Court, at the
commencement of his examination, that he was
not bound to answer any question which would
j criminate himself; and he frequently availed
| himself of that exemption,
It seems that Roberts become displeased with
j him on account of his betraying his associates,
and appearing as a witness against them ; and
, being pretty well posted up with his history,
from his intimacy with him, he was enabled to
! suggest many questious which Simpson refused
I to answer ; and as his refusal was based ori the
, ground that he was not bound to criminate him
; self, the legitimate inference is, that the questions
j propounded to him, and which lie declined to
i answer, implied allegations of crime which are
| true.
When asked his name, he answered to the
name of John B. Simpson. He was asked il
his true name is not Jonathan Clmlfant lie re
fused to answer. Upon being asked where he
was bom, he said in Ohio—that he lived tnere
until nineteen years of age, and then went to
Kentucky. He admitted that he knew ChaHant
—that he was born Ohio and at about the same
time that he was Upon being shown the slung
shot, and asked whose property it was, he re
ulied, he supposed he had as much right to it as