tives on the jury the people of
the district have concluded to live in a condition of timid
subjection to a band of assassins settled among them. And not
only they, but the great national railway, which passes through
their district, felt called upon, on behalf of the same lawless
crew, to heap abuse and obloquy upon, and finally to dismiss one
of its own officers for busying himself with the enforcement of
law against them. We should be greatly cheered to think that this
jury which betrayed the public safety committed to it by law, was
exceptional, and that the district could yet be roused to
vindicate law and order."

In all these articles it is assumed that the reason of the jurymen not
agreeing on a verdict of guilty was their personal fear of the liquor
men. There is another possible aspect of the case which is not touched
upon by these papers, viz., that the jurors may have been friends of
the liquor party, and their disagreement may have been intended not to
secure their own safety, but to shield the hotel keepers from such
punishment as must follow a decision of guilty on the part of the
jury.

We quote here some of the communications mentioned above, which were
sent to the editor of the _Witness_ regarding the settlement of the
assault case. The letter given below, signed "Justice," was written
from Sweetsburg under date of March 12th, 1895:

"SIR,--The Smith assault case is concluded, but the people are
not done talking about it, by any means; and for some time to
come the privilege of free speech will be exercised on that case.
The judge in his charge to the jury on Thursday said: 'No
intelligent and right-minded jury can fail to bring in a verdict
in accordance with the testimony.' The evidence for the
prosecution proved unmistakably the guilt of the prisoners, while
the testimony for the defence was evidently manufactured for the
occasion.

"The prisoners on Monday pleaded guilty to common assault. If
Howarth, Jenne, Wilson and Kelly were guilty of anything, they
were guilty of more than common assault, if ever there was a
deliberate and well-planned scheme for 'doing up' any person,
that plan was made in this instance, and the nail was clinched
when Howarth, at Richford, paid to Kelly the fifteen dollars
earnest money, which was to be followed later by the hundred and