ents
were now willing to withdraw their former pleas of "not guilty," and
acknowledge themselves "guilty of common assault."

Then the lawyer for the Crown, who had on Friday been so eager to
proceed with a new trial at once, but who now seemed to fear that
another jury would mean only a second disagreement, assented to this
proposal; while the judge, who had given such a strong charge to the
jury and appeared so much surprised at their failure to declare the
prisoners guilty, now agreed, on behalf of the court, to withdraw the
indictments for "attempt to murder," and accept the pleas, "guilty of
common assault."

John Howarth, Marcus L. Jenne and James Wilson then pleaded "guilty of
common assault," while Walter Kelly was indicted on a charge of
"committing assault with intent to murder." However, he also pleaded
"guilty of common assault," and the plea was accepted.

Then Mr. Racicot, not content with what had already been gained, asked
for the leniency of the court towards the prisoners in giving sentence
for the charges to which they had pleaded guilty, and the judge
appointed to each of the four prisoners the light sentence of one
month's imprisonment in common jail with hard labor, accompanying this
sentence, however, by some very severe remarks as to the seriousness
of their crime, and the disgrace it had brought upon themselves.

Thus ended this assault case, so far as its hearing at Sweetsburg was
concerned, and the prisoners and their friends departed from the court
room well pleased with its termination.

CHAPTER X.

THE DECISIONS OF ANOTHER TRIBUNAL.

The Court of Public Opinion is an important tribunal before which all
such affairs as this we have been considering must come for decision,
and its judgments are not always identical with those of the judges
and juries in the courts of law. Therefore, it must not be supposed
that the temperance public were at all satisfied with the termination
of the assault case related in our last chapter. On the contrary, they
were quite disappointed and indignant, although their opponents seemed
very well pleased with the turn affairs had taken.

Some of the criticisms from temperance papers and people are here
given. The following comment by the Montreal _Witness_ was quoted in
_The Templar_ of March 22d:

"The sentence of one month in jail for each of the tavern
keepers, who pleaded guilty to having procured an American idler
to commit a