THE REP OR TE R. JTpKPPKK, f-'a., | J. T. DARLINGTON, Editor, Attociate Editor ~ THURSDAY, MARCH 14,1878.~ CORPORAL PUNIBBMENT. The administration of punishment as (be penalty for violations of law and commission of crime is not so muoh to measure out retributive justice to the offender, as it is fur an example to others, io the hope of guarding the interests of society and detering otbeis from a course of crime. Punishment is, therefore, in tended to ftevent crime, and 'the most effective method would doubtless prove moat satisfactory. The records of our courts show that lnrceny is the most prevalent orime throughout the South, and the question should be, how can it be suppressed. A majority of those who steal are persons of vagabocdish habits, with no self-respect, and whose characters suffer nothing from the stigma of a term in the penitentiary In tact | a thief, too lazy to work, prefcring to make a living by depredating upon the property of others, rather looks forward to the penitentiary as a harbor of rest from his labors. Two full meals a day and an ample supply of clothiug does not impress biui4fcs being severe pun ishment, and therefore we often see men who contrive to return themselves to the State prison a second and a third time. As the Lumberton Times soys : "What does a rogue care for going to the peni tentiary to work out a term of from one to ten years ? Just so they get some thing to eat and wear th >y are satisfied, and no doubt many a one, being scarce of food, steals something just to be sent there." The last General Assembly of this State authorized the establishment of an Interior C >urt, to reduoe jail expenses by providiog for speedy trials for cer tain offenses. Three fourths of the cases in this county over which said court woald have jurisdiction, judging from past records, would be in charges of what might properly be termed petit larceny. Jurors, justices, court officers and a lawyer, constituting the court, are paid from the treasury of the county; and when the criminal is convicted in nine cases out of ten he regards his as signment to the penitentiary as a fortu itous circumßtsnce rather than a sentence for nunishment. A change in this method eonld be made, with wholesome effect If magistrates were given final jurisdic tion ia all such cases whero property Ims in value than twenty dollars had been stolen, a vast amount of court costs and jail fees would be saved ; and if thirty-nine lashes was prescribed as a penalty for every ca-e of petit larcery, the tendency to diminish that variety of crime would be instantaneous. The only effective plea raised sgsinst the re-establishment of the whipping post is that while small thieves are pun ished, those who Bteal large amounts will escape it. We know in some cases this view will be correct. Those w: o Bteal Presidencies willeseape flagelation. Men wbo steal millions, like the Credit Mobilier combination, will not be treated as they deserve But instances of such gigantic robbery are not of every day occurrence. The country generally suf fers mostly from the depredations of petty thieves, and counties are afflicted with the costs that prosecutions entail Men like Tweed, who steal millions, and those of lesser note who steal thousands, are generally persons of high and re respectable family connection, used to the higher circles of society, and, not withstanding their guilt, are sensitive of personal degradation when convicted. To them the penitentiary presents no attraction ; on the contrary, it is the very embodiment of shame, disgrace, .humility and punishment. Not so with with petty thieves. The wbippiug-post alone will tetrorize them. But souio States distinguish between petit larceny and grand larceny, punish ing, each offense in its own degree. For instance, if stealing to the amount of twenty dollars or less is petit larceny, any amount over that sum is grand lar ceny If thirty-nine lashis is tUe pre scribed penalty for petit laroeny, grand laroouy might be punished with thirty- Bine lashes, and a fine covering the i>uui stolen, and in default of security for tbe payment of said fine, an additional thirty-nine lushes could be administered within two weeks from date of first cas tration, and before the prisoner was dis eharged from custody. If the value ol the stolen property exceeded one hun dred dollars, penal servitude for a term of not less than ten years would illus trate the truth of the proverb, "Honesty b the best policy." We hope tbe next Legislature will re vive the wbipping-post, and place the hearing and disposition of petit larceny &tses within the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. Advice to Farmers. Under the above head we find the fol lowing article in the Oxford Torchlight As a general rule, farmers are disinolined to take advioe from cither books or pa pers, bat oling with ruinous tenacity to the customs of iheir forefathers. But believing that the theory advanced by our contemporary will apply to Stokes county as well as to Grauvi le, we give it for what our farmers may think it is worth : "We will arrogate to ourselves the liberty of saying a word of couusel to the farmers of Notih Carolina. The advice which we propose to give is gra tuitous and will apply to farmers in other than tobacco districts. The advioe which wo give you is to make your breadstuff*, bacon, etc, at home. It will not do t• depend upon buying corn and wheat, even if tobacco does seetn ingly pay better. Make a little less to bacco and it will, by reason of not being so abundant, bring a higher price per hundred pounds, liaise your own pork even if you can buy Baltimore bacon for less than you ouu raise it. There is no r.eason that the farmers or other citizens of (pranville should buy a inulo or|n horse not raised at home Let some of our fanners raise stock for this market. They can make money selling Granville raised mules at $75 to SIOO per head, and horses at SIOO to $125 pe: head These prices may seem high, but very few farmers in this secticn would sell a 3-year old mule ior less than from $75 to SIOO each, unlcsg below average in size and style, and oftentimes they ask a* high as $l5O for a 3 year old horse of fiir form and size. The tax on farmers of buying horses and mules that should be raised at home is enormous. We hope to see this leak stopped The remedy for the evil is attainable, and should be applied " The Clock Strikes One 1 One year ago to-day Rutherford B Hayes took the o:tth of office as President of tho United States. The fourth of March last year came on Sunday. Mr. Hayes took the oath stealthily, in the evening. He knew—for he must have known—full well that his title to the of fice was vicious ; hence, although it was Sunday, he and his advisers did not deem it safe for him to go to sleep that night without having tiken the oath A guilty conscience needs no accuser, and Mr. Hiyes, although standing on the very threshold of the White HoOse, knowing that he had no right to be there, was fearful lest some slip might occur Kofnrn hfl should get inn. and it was thought prudent to take every pre caution, and to incur no unnecessary risk. The day following, Monday, Mr. Hayes repeated the oath of office in publio, very few knowing at the time, that be had taken it in private the evening pre vious. One year, of the four for which Mr Hayes assumed the office, has now passed It is not too mnch to say that it leaves bim in a position never before occupied by any man holding the office of Presi dent of the United States. He is, in almost literal truth, without a party and destitute of friends—an object of ridi cule to Democrats and of pity and con tempt to the Republicans who voted for bim If a National Convention of the party which supported him were to be oalled to morrow to name a candidate for his successor, it is quite safe to say he oould not obtain one solitary Vote for re nomination. The year that lias just elosed has not been barren of progress toward the un seating of Mr. Hayes from his office.— Mr. Justice Strong of the Supreme Court of the United States, whose vote, as a member of the Electoral Commission, plaeed Mr. Hayes in the Presidency,has expressed the opinion that his title rested solely on a technicality, and that he was not lawfully elected. Ooe of the publio officers wbo concocted the fraudulent re turns ia Louisiana by which Mr Tildes was cheated out of the Presidency and Mr. Hayes put in has been convioted of forgery and sentenced to two years in the Penitentiary. f The voice of the pablin press is sl most unanimous against Mr. Hayes.— Such Republican journals as the New York Timet and the New York Tribune represent him as isolated, friendless, and powerless. The verdict of the country is appar ently made up—that Hayes is incompe tent, and that bis title to the office is vicious. Judging from the advance wbioh has been made by the Opposition to Mr. Hayes in twelve months' time, be would be deemed a bold prophet who should predict that the Fraudulent President will be permitted to rstsin his office three years longer. We look for further very damaging disclosures in the oear future —threatened oonfessious already fill the air; while the feeling grows daily and hourly stronger and wore strong that the mau who came into the offioe of Prasi dent by fraud has been in long enough. —X> a- fork SIIII, March 4th. The Views of a Citizens. BEAVER ISLAND, Stokes Co., N. C.,} March 8, 1878. j Editor* Danbury Report«r : As you profess to take great interest in county matters, especially in both general acd special improvements, also in some special fioancial projects, etc., will you not allow us in the most friendly and huuible manner to make some sug gestions, which might be of interest to I some of your numerous readers in the ! county, if it does not seem practicable i to yourself. In the first place, we would call your attention to tbe condition of | the public roads and streets in and about Danbury, as well as in other localities. Would it not be of more general inter est to have well worked and advantage ously laid out streets and public roads, and have them unobstructed by un sightly wood piles,lieaps of stones, and old dilapidated vehicles, etc., as some of the streets of Danbury are, than to be occasionally calling attention to some old shop, which we might consider a inonu meat to aomp of your industrious decessors ? The roads leading to your town, which in most instances follow the old (Indian trails, beaten perhaps centu ries ago, might occupy your utttention I for a short space, and we might have an occasional appeal to somebody of our boasted age of modern improvements. 1, for one, am firmly of the opinion that better and more systematically laid out roads to the Court House is an actual necessity of the times. If you remem ber some years back, there was no little talk about moving tbe publio buildings trom Danbury. T.his feeling may have partially subsided, but I can assure you that if there is not more interest taken in constructing roads leading to Dan-' bury, the feeling that was onco agitated cannot remain dormant much longer. It is slumbering now, and if it should agaiu be stirred up, it will not so easily snb side. You have made some suggestions as to a bridge across Dan river. It is not a bridge that the general public most desire What would it profit an indi vidual to cross a bridge and then plunge into a mud-hole or deep gully, and run the risk of being thrown down a preci pice ? Let us have roads and streets first; then it would be time enough to talk about building a bridge, that would cost probably more than it would to build a now (3>urt H >use and Jail on a more accessible, aud we tuight say a more comely site. It does seem to me that property owners in i anbury are inter ested in this matter, some way or other. Secondly, you have of late been giv ing your undivided attention to s>meof our public servants; to which I do not object in the least. But, Messrs. Edi tors, are you not a little ecceDtric in your criticism* ? Are there no other public officers io Stokes whose public and offi. cial actions would bear scrutiny ? would they not justify public condemna tion ? They were elected as Democrats, received the arduous support of the ed itors of the REPORTER, and it may be not a little from your most humble cor respondent ; yet their actions are allowed to quietly pass, and not a word is pub lished concerning them. Could you not give us a slight sprink ling all around, if in your opinion it would be of any advantage, as you pro fess not "to \}e at the behest of any party, clique, monopoly, or other combination 7" It does seem to me that the local columns of the REPORTER might be filled for weeks from some such subjects, etpec tally in thoe hard timet f r old Slokei. We, as Democrats, should remember that it is in our hands, as a party, to better the condition of our internal or local affairs; and if we do not at least attempt such a thing, we will t>e justly held responsible for it by the people at the ballot-box. No public servant should fail to recieve a just condemnation from the publio press for his malpractice in office. Probably if it had not been for some such things the Democratic party would remain aa firmly planted in the breasts of the people of Stokes as your native Sauratown mountains that tower above your little village. Let every man have fair play. So wa'e up, Messrs Editors. Let us have some suggestions pointing to a gen eral improvement of our roads and water fords, at least. Do not let per sonal animosities, and some particular friends hankering after somebody's old shoes, entirely absorb your attention from thisooe important matter of publie in terest. It might look a little picayunish to occupy too much time with "oheap Johns" and "dirt throwers," to tbe ex elusion of some others Let us hart a few stone* now, and let them be well aimed. It might be beneficial in the end. Yours, respectfully, !'***«* Negro boys Bell young alligators for pi.ts in the streets of New Orleans. A Theory About Wells. The theory is advanced by General Gibson, a Louisiana Representative in Gongrew, that J. Madison Wells is in sane, says the Philadelphia Time*. The plea is plausible, and tho position is much more tenable than any that has been ad yanoed by his friends, among whom, happily, General Gibson is not number ed. Certainly it is the most charitable way for accounting for bis long oareer. It is an error to suppose that Mr. Wells has none bat a Returning Board notor iety. His name has long been conspio uous in the criminal calendar of Louis iana. Many years ago he was short in his accounts as sheriff of Rapides parish to the amount of $200,000 or there abouts. lie now has a claim for $656,- 000 before the Southern Claims Commis sion, which the Legislature has pronounc ed fraudulent and based on perjury.— May not this have been the fruit of a diseased mind? A few years ago two stolen mules were traced to his planta tion, and when the overseer was offered fifty dollars to point out. the animals it is related that his reply was : ''Doui mu'ea is on de place, but 1 ain't gwine to pint 'em out for no money.- D,: fac is Massa Madison is a great rascal, but he is good to old Robin and I ain't gwine agin him. And I tell you dis, if all de mules on dis place was pinted out dat don't belong here there wouldn't bo more nor three left." The theory of insanity would fully explain this remarkable disposition to stock his plantation at other people's tx pense. Tlio cold blooded mutder of Matt. D'Espalir, an unarmed neighbor, by J. Madison Wells, is one of the black est spots on Lis character. Insanity, however, is a cloak broad enough to cover this spot. Then, when we come to lhit:k of l>is viiulent temper as displaced last Winter, and his attempt to brain Da\id Dudley Field in u committee room, bow well this plea fits. And how else cau his persistence in forgery and pcrjiry to keep die Democrats from controlling Louisiana, notwithstanding their right ful majority, be expUiucd to the satis faction of any rational being not already convinced ttiat he is a bold, bad uiau '! The plea of insanity is a strong one.— Let the defense rest its case thou. Ruth and Jacob. 1 ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS WANTED FOR A KISS THE OLTOKK OF KRBEKAII. ' Galesburg, 111.. Feb 22 —ln the Cir cuit Court to-day the case of .Maltha J. Cliue against Henry Soldwell for SI,OOO damages, was heard. This was a ease ol trespass upon the person. Tho parlies are members of the Older of Odd Fel lows in Yates city. On opening the case Attorney Wil loughby stated to the jury that the crime charged against th> defendant was "kiss ing the oomplainant in the dark without her consent." Mrs. Cline complainant, was the first witness sworn, and testified substantially as follows: On the 22d day of December, 1875, she attended a meeting of Odd Fellows at Yates City, Henry Soldwell belonged to the lodge, and she was a member of the Order of Kcbckah At the close of the but in ess meeting the brothers ai.d sisters of the lodge indulged in a social game of liuih and Jacob. Soldwell was Jacob and she was Ruth. In this game Jacob took un warrantable liberties with Ruth, *que> Zed her hand, ctfased her behind the door, and made an assault with attempt to kits. On the same evening about 11 o'clock, her husband not being in attendance a' the lodge, Soldwell acted as her escort home On the way, when near her res idence, he threw his arm around her and kissed her three times, right there in the dark. She —all th« time resisting—freed herself from hisembraoe and ran homo alore. Mrs. Cline's husband, thirty years her senior, testified that lie was sitting on a pile of lumber near his house, waiting for his wife to come a'ong with some of tbe neighbois, and, al though it was dark, be was sure he saw the faces of defendant and complainant in very close proximity ; that she left him and ran into the house, and on his (Cline's) giing in his wife told him all about Soldwell insulting her. The de fence olaimed that it was a pure crse of blackmail. Cliue owed Soldwell $625 This morning the jury, after being out eight hours, brought in a verdiot for the defendant.— L'hicoyo Timet. A correspondent at Cleaveland Mills writes to the llaleigh AVtc» ; Martin Ledford, a young married man of Cleave land county, a class leader, and the son of a local minister, eloped last Sunday night with a young woman, Julia John son, taking with him all the hotter part of his household goods, including his wife's clothes, and leaving her and one child (the only one) to the «old charities of the world. Hia wife is an orphan, without either father, mother, siater or brother. When last heard from, they were in Rutherford oounty, winging their way towards Tennessee. Perfidy, Jealousy, and Murder. A FAITHLESS WIFE AND HBR PARAMOUR LOCKED UP IN A N EBRASK A JAIL. SIDNEY Feb. 26.—Charlie Philips suddenly disappeared from tbe ranch ol It. J. Walroth, a wealthy tttock who lives about five miles this side of Big Spring*, the scene of the Union Pa cific express robbery. Philips had been engaged OD the farm for a year past. He was 18 or 20 years of age, sober, and in dustrious. Walroth, being absent from home a great deal, conferred upon Philips the authority to look after his inter »ts at the ranch. Mrs. Walroth is D-it more than twenty one years of age, full of blood, and a lit tle given to flirting. Walroth suspected an illegitimate intimacy between his wife and Philips, and to guard bis home from dishonor during his long trips to other parts of the Stale, he engaged Harr Duboise to live at the ranch and do gen eral work. This was about nine months ago, Duboise is a fine-looking fellow, twenty one years old. dresses well, and is a printer by trade, well educated, and polite. He outshone the other fellow, and the fickle and faithless wife trans ferred her affceti ns from the first to the last employee of her husband. Jeal ousy prompted Philips to threaten her exposure to bur Lusbaud, On Suuday last Mrs. Walroth con fesaed that she knew where Philips was; that he had been murdered and the body thrown into tho rivtr, and that the deed bad been done by Harry Duboise. She said that on the day before Philips was to be sent away he had threatened to tell her husband of her shame, and *he told Duboise of it, aud told him he must kill Philips. Then they arranged a plan to entice him away from the house and murder him. Duboise called him out to the stable, at 10 o'clock that night and told him that he (Duboise) was a meui ber of the gang that robbed the express train at Big Springs; that 820.000 ol the gold was buried on the lands of the I'latte river, which is only three hun dred yards from Walioth's house, lie told Philips that SIO,OOO of the money belonged to one of the robbers who had escaped the officers, and the remainder belonged to himself. He had advices to the effect that the unknown robber would return the next day for the money, and proposed to Philips that they should go immediately, dig up the money, and gel away with the cash, each taking half.— Philips consented, and they started at tiiiduight. Wlule they were treading a narrow path by th) river bank where it whirls in deep eddies in its sandy bed Duboise siltutly dropped behind Philips, aud firing with a revolver, struck him centrally In the back of the head, the bullet coming out between the eyes.— I Then Duboiue filled his victim's pockets with sand and threw tbe body into the ' river. Duboise and Mrs Walroth were lodg ed in Sidney jail yesterday, Philip's body was found in the river, half a mile below the scene of the murder.— Omaha ller aid. NEWS OF THE WEEK. STATE NEWS. . Kerosene oil sells at Charlotte for 14 cents H gallon. The fishermen of the eastern counties have begun active operations. The banks pay 93 cents for the Mexi can dollar —pay it out for 100 ceuts aud reluse to take it for deposit. Milton Chronicle : Some men ' too poor to take a paper" are not too poor to waste one hundred dollars a year on drinks. The Coneord Register says there is a man and woman straying around passing themselves off as a Baptist minister and wife, who are impostors. North Carolina sends peanuts to Italy, where they are fed to young Indies about to make their debut as opera singers.— Tbe oil of peanut greases tbe high notes. There is such an excitement and alarm in McDowell count; on account of the exiatenoe ol hydrophobia, (hat the town marshal of Marion has been in structed to kill every dog seen in the street for the nest twenty days The Milton Chronicle tells this one; Perxon county boasts of a dame who pulls down 215 lbs, and who gave birth to a child on Saturday, another on Sunduy, another on Monday, another on Tuesday, another on Wednesday, and one on Thursday Four of them are living and doing well. Tho Monroe Exprets wants the far rners of Union county to stop tho culti vation of the fleeoy staple and devote their energies to tobaoco, and oites an iustance where a citisen of that county sold tobacoo raised from one acre for 9305. at a time when the price is lower than it ever has been before. On Monday last officer Andrews, of Chapel Hill, attempted to arrest Cass Merritt for brutality to his wife, when Merritt drew an axe and threatened to take the life of Andrews. Andrews drew his pistol and Bred on Merritt, but missed him. This brought the rascal to terms and he was taken in custody. Near Indian Trail, in Bandy Ridge township, Union county, Mr«. l'bos. Ivey was severely injured by a tree being ent down across the honse. The bouse was just about completed and some one fell ing a large tree near by allowed it to fall io the wrong direction The injured lady was cot killed immediately, but was not expected to recover from her io juries. i There is said to be at Murray's Shop, near Bcrea, Grinville county, a sign-post of heart sassafras, which trudition says wus put up by the colonial authorities when the road was cot by them from Bnth to the Swaratown settlement during the reign of George ll—long before the Revolution. GENERAL NEWS. Some of the young members of a church in Tunbridge, Vt, got themselves into troubla by turning a prayer meeting into a kis&ing party. Cumberland, Maryland, has • law un der which all boys under 16 yesrs of age will be arrested when found loitering on tbo streets after 8 o'cl >ek at night. Mrs. Myra Clark Gaines 830,000 from the city of Baltimore by the decision io a recent suit. She expect) to attack Kalamazoo, Michigan, next. A family near Evansville, Ind , con sisting of father, mother, and son, have all committed suicide within the past four months. * EVienecer Haskell of Philadelphia has expressed in his trill a desire to be cre mated, and placed, in the form of ashes, under a rose bush. It snowed once in Lisbon, Portugal, during the past winter for the first time since 1840. Similar slight falls occured also in 1837 and 18H9. It is Pr. Fordyce Barker's opinion thai city wotueri are healthier and hand somer than country wouien, as a result of better food and more diversion. A young woman of Newgurg, Wis , se verely thrashed her faiber because he would not raise 8500 to give her as a dowry, in older to uiarry a man who wanted his wife to have that com. Mr. Henkle, of Maryland, Monday, introduced a bill for the relief of Samuel l\ Mudd, of Maryland, the physician who gave professional assistance to Booth af ter he killed President Lincoln. Mary Keneally is only 17 years old. yet she has been arrested eleven times fur drunkenness in Full River. She ia well-behaved when sober, but oannot re sist her appetite for strong driok. The art of cutting and polishing dia monds tlmt had so long been monopo lized bv Amsterdam experts, has been brought to the New World, and is now successfully practised by young women in Bo»ton. A certain tenor singer, whose name ia not menliiined, is, according to the Drx mntic New*, compelled by his jealous wife to telegraph to her daily during his (ours, as an at-aurance that he is not for getting ber. There are about one hundred men in ihe South who were pensioners as veter aus of the war of 1812, and because of their participation in the late war, were stricken from the pension roll. The Sen ate has passed a bill to restore names to the roll. The convict choir at Auburn prison is a remarkable musical organization. The organist is sentenced for grand larceny, the first violin, the first tenor and doable bass arc murderers, the second tenor, basso, and sopranos are all burglars, and the professor if a forgur. Daniel McFarlsnd, who was tried and acquitted in this city eight years ago on a charge of murdering Albert D Rioh ardson, is or wag recently an empl >yee in a wagon factory at South Bend, Ind. Ha is siid to be a hard drioktr and of vagabondish propensities. A monument to John C Breokioridge is proposed in Kentucky. The Legisla ture of that State has incorporated an association whioh will colleot foods for the purpose, and a bill appropriating $lO - for the monument has beeo passed to a jocond reading. A newly-invented car for testing the strength of bridges is to be used in Con necticut. It contains an immense tank filled with water. In oase the bridge gives signs of weakness the movemeat'of a levey opens the sides of the tank, and the water instantily poors oat, relieving the bridge of 80 toos weight. In China criminals are permitted to hiie substitutes to be punished in (Mr stead. The tame practice has been at tempted in Reno, Nevada, Ah Cbonaj murdered a fellow oountryman, and vaa arrested ; but by paying a Sheriff SSOO, another Chinaman waa substituted for HI ID , the latter agreeing to take the ohaaM of hanging for a specified sun. Ah Choney was deteoted before be oonld get oat of the plaoe, and the Sheriff was also put under arrest. David M. Brewer refused to marry >liss> Ely tics, in Ni'hville, after a eoart ship of several yvurs. The jilted girl'a mother put a revolver into her pooket, ind went out. tn gid Brewer. He bad been informed of her murderous ioten tion, and on meeting her in the street, he dodged behind a friend a»d oloag tightly to him. The friend did not like the danger of being a barricade, and ea caped from it by slipping oat of his ov« erooat which he left in Brewer's hands. Then Brower ran with all his might and Mrs. liynea ohased him, while kaepteg up a scattering fire with the revolver.— She was st last captured bj a polios UIUU.