Originally heard in the Oyer and Terminer of Clarion County.

The defendant was jointly indicted with one Ira Davis, for the murder of Jared Lewis, but was tried separately.

He had robbed the house of Thomas Stewart, and had absconded.  On the information of Mr. Stewart, a warrant was placed in the hands of constable Cartwright for his arrest.  Cartwright wrote a deputation on the writ, and gave it to Jared Lewis, a private citizen, to execute, for which service Stewart was to pay him.

The jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.  There was a motion made for a new trial, which on argument was overruled, and the prisoner sentenced.

The case was then removed into this court by writ of error, where there were seventeen assignments of error presented by defendant's counsel, only two of which were noticed by this court.

And now, to wit, February 25th 1861, the judgment of the Court of Oyer and Terminer in this case is reversed, and a new trial is awarded, and the record is remitted, together with a copy of this opinion.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County.

This was an action of ejectment brought by Samuel F. Plumer and Frederick G. Crary, for the use of Frederick G. Crary, against John L. Reed, for twenty-two acres of land in Licking township.

The case was this:  In 1837 Mrs. Curwin entered into articles of agreement with Henry Neely, for the sale of 216 acres of land.  Some time during the same year Neely agreed to sell John L. Reed one end of this tract, containing about 116 acres, under which agreement Reed paid $ 5, and went into possession, built a house and stable on it, cleared a portion of the land, and is still in possession.

The case was tried twice.

[Opinion]  The action seems to have been brought for 22 acres, including, I suppose, the 12 acres for which the defendant took an article of agreement from the plaintiffs in 1849.   But the question discussed and decided, related only to the 10 acres which Teats swears he ran off for Reed by Crary's direction, and in his presence.  If Reed have not paid for the 12 acres according to his contract, the plaintiffs have a right to turn him out of that part; but the 10 acres he would have the right to hold, if the jury should find the facts alleged.

For not submitting the evidence of those facts to the jury, the judgment is reversed, and a venire facias de novo is awarded.

Originally heard before McCalmont in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County.

This was one of thirteen actions of debt brought in the court below, by Samuel Wilson against Alexander Guthrie and Hugh McGuire, which by agreement were submitted to arbitrators, whose award was to be final, but with the stipulation that if "any legal questions should be raised and decided by the arbitrators, they or a majority of them should set them out specifically, and make report to the court for adjudication and decision thereon, with leave to either party to take a writ of error from the decision of the court."

The court below dismissed the exceptions in all the cases, and directed that judgment be entered on the awards in the respective cases, according to the report of the arbitrators.  Judgment affirmed.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

In its decision, the Supreme Court cited Washburn v. Russel, 1 Pa. 499, which makes specific reference to "a tract of land in Clarion county, on the waters of the Clarion river, situate on the east side of the river."

Certiorari to the District Court of Allegheny county.

This was a bill in equity filed March 13th 1860, by Nimick & Co. against Shriver & Dilworth, in which complainants averred, that in November 1857, John L. Miller executed his bond to plaintiffs and defendants jointly, conditioned for payment to plaintiffs of $19,000, and to defendants of $5600.  That on said bond, judgment was had in Clarion County, and execution issued, under which Miller's personal property at Catfish and Franklin Furnaces in that county, consisting of pig metal, material for manufacturing iron, horses, wagons, mules, merchandise, &c., was levied on and sold to defendants; that on the 25th November 1857, [an] agreement was made between them.

Appeal dismissed at the costs of the appellants.

The parties to this controversy were joint creditors of John L. Miller, of Clarion county, and had a judgment against him for the sum of $24,600; the undisputed proportions of which were $19,000 to the plaintiffs below, and $5600 to the defendants.  On the sale of the personal effects of Miller, on this judgment, Shriver & Dilworth bid them in, and the plaintiffs paid their proportion of the purchase-money of the sheriff's sale, by receipting the execution for that sum; the balance was receipted by the defendants, and the costs were afterwards paid by them, and the amount charged against the furnace, which was, by the agreement between the parties of the 24th November 1857, to be run for their joint benefit, until the "stock and material" purchased at the sheriff's sale were worked up.  Shriver & Dilworth proceeded to run the [Catfish] furnace in pursuance of the agreement, and delivered all the metal, both that which was purchased at the sale, and that made afterwards, to the plaintiffs, in the proportion agreed upon, according to the terms of the articles of agreement, and there is no dispute about this.

Originally heard before Campbell in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County.

This was an issue, directed by the court below, to try the validity of a judgment which had been entered in the Common Pleas against John Trainer, in favour of James Dickey, for the use of John W. Turney, under the following circumstances:--

George Means was the administrator of the estate of Archibald Dickey, deceased, and John Trainer and Samuel R. Travis were administrators of the estate of Michael Trainer, deceased.  Dickey, in his lifetime, held notes against Michael Trainer, and notes signed by Michael Trainer, John Trainer, and Graham
Trainer -- on which payments were made by the administrators of Trainer.  On the 21st day of July, A. D. 1856, a settlement was made by George Means, the administrator of Dickey, and John Trainer, one of the administrators of Michael Trainer, at which there was found to be due the estate of Dickey the sum of $431, for which John Trainer gave a writing.

The court below instructed the jury that on the face of the paper John Trainer was not personally liable, but that he was liable as administrator of Michael Trainer's estate, which was the main error assigned by the plaintiff.  Judgment affirmed.

Originally heard in the Oyer and Terminer of Clarion County.

Joseph Walters, Philip Walters, and Philip Huling, the plaintiffs in error, were jointly indicted with Joseph Snyder, Joseph Harman, and George Fulmer, for the murder of Martin Keleher, on the evening of the 2d day of September 1862.  Harman and Fulmer were tried along with the plaintiffs in error, but were acquitted by the jury.  Snyder elected to have a separate trial, and his case was continued to February Term 1863.  The indictment contained three counts.  The first two were for murder, and the third for voluntary manslaughter.

The court, in their general charge, instructed the jury as follows:--

"If, however, the design of the serenaders was merely to go there with bells and guns for the purpose of making a noise, and with no intention of injuring persons or property, and for that purpose alone marched into the yard and up to the porch, and one of their number asked to see the bride and groom, and without design got into an altercation with the inmates or guests of the house that resulted in a fight, and in a general melee one of their number struck the deceased so that he died, all assisting or taking part in the serenade, would be guilty of manslaughter.

"But it is contended that even if the homicide was committed by Thomas Keleher by an accident, still the defendants are guilty of manslaughter.  This question is not free from difficulty, but we instruct you that if these defendants and others combined with them, intended to enter that house in a riotous manner, and that if they had commenced an attack, and were forcing their way into it, and that Thomas Keleher was fighting in defence of himself and the house, and while so engaged in repulsing the assault of the rioters, accidentally struck his brother so that he died, all the assailants, their aiders and abettors, would be guilty of involuntary manslaughter."

Under these instructions the defendants were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced to three months' imprisonment, a fine of one dollar each, and the costs of prosecution.

This writ was then sued out by defendants, for whom, the answers given by the court below to the points propounded as above stated, the instructions given as above in the general charge, and the permitting a verdict to be found against defendants for involuntary manslaughter, on an indictment charging only murder and voluntary manslaughter, were assigned for error.

Now, to wit:  January 26th 1863, after argument and consideration by the court, the sentence of the Court of Oyer and Terminer of Clarion County is reversed, and the prisoners, viz., Joseph Walters, Philip Walters, and John Huling, are discharged from confinement in the same.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Forest County.

In the court below this was an action of replevin brought by Fleming, the defendant in error, against Brewer, Williams, Black and Frasier, the plaintiffs in error, to recover 10,000 feet of timber which had been cut by the defendants, on land claimed by the plaintiff to be his.  The timber was replevied, and 4000 feet of it were taken away by the plaintiff.  A claim property bond was given by the defendants, and the remainder was delivered to them.

The plaintiff claimed under another title.  This land was sold for taxes in 1858, bought by the county, and deed made therefor, dated September 10th 1858.  It was acknowledged June 14th 1861, by the treasurer, who made it, but whose term of office had expired in January 1860.  The commissioners conveyed to one Clark, June 22d 1863; Clark conveyed to F. B. Guthrie August 1863, and in March 1864, a few days before the replevin issued, Guthrie made a bill of sale of the timber to the plaintiff.

The case was tried at a special court before Hon. S. P. Johnson, President of Sixth District.

A verdict for $846 was rendered for the plaintiff, on which judgment was entered, and a writ of error taken by the defendants.  Judgment affirmed.

On July 29th 1854, Lane & Mylert held the legal title to a tract of land in Clarion County, and on that day sold it by articles of agreement to one Clover, who paid $500 hand-money.  May 12th 1855, Clover, without having paid any more of the purchase-money, assigned his article to Fleming the plaintiff.  After this, Bredin & Campbell became the owners of Lane & Mylert's legal title.  On January 27th 1862, Fleming, by his attorney in fact J. W. Guthrie, sold and conveyed his title to the land to Brewer, Williams and Black, defendants, and by the instrument of conveyance authorized Bredin & Campbell to execute a deed to them "by paying the balance of the purchase-money, which is $3550," &c.

On the same day Fleming, by his same attorney, receipted to Williams, Black & Co. for $2550 on account of the purchase-money of above land, "they to have 60 days from this date to examine said lands, and if at the expiration of that time, they do not pay the balance of the purchase-money to James Campbell and James Bredin, and also a balance to J. M. Fleming, equal to $8 per acre in all, the said J. M. Fleming, by his attorney in fact J. W. Guthrie, agrees to pay back to the said Williams, Black & Co., $2550 with interest within four months from this date, and on failure to do so this agreement to be null and void, and of no effect."

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Forest County.

Mellon, to the use of Duff, having recovered a judgment in Clarion County against Guthrie and McFadden's executors in Clarion County, transferred it to Jefferson County, and -- after the erection of Forest county out of a part of Jefferson county -- entered in Forest county a transcript from Jefferson, and proceeded upon it, in Forest county, by sci. fa., obtaining a judgment by default, under which the land of the defendants in Forest County was sold by the sheriff.

The defendants entered a rule to show cause why the judgment by default, and the original judgment in Forest county, on which it was founded, should not be stricken off, as being an exemplification of an exemplification.

The rule was made absolute by the court below, which was the error assigned.  Judgment affirmed.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County.

This was an action of ejectment for two tracts of land, commenced August 8th 1863, and on the same day the defendant confessed judgment for the land described in the writ, to be released on the payment of $135.76, to wit:  $90 on the first day of June 1864, with interest, and the remaining $45.76 on the first day of June 1865, with interest, costs of suits, &c.

On the 11th of February 1865, on motion of plaintiff's counsel, an habere facias was ordered to issue.

The order of the court awarding an habere facias possessionem is reversed with costs, and the record is remitted.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Armstrong County.

This was an action of assumpsit, commenced January 16th 1866, by David Stewart against J. B. Finlay.  The declaration was on the common counts, and there was filed with it a bill of particulars for one-half of certain advances, alleged to have been made by the plaintiff on the joint account of himself and the defendant.

The verdict was for the plaintiff for $5906.47, and the defendant removed the case to the Supreme Court.  Judgment affirmed.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Indiana County.

On the 22d of May 1865, Charles Gompers, James G. McQuaide and F. M. Kinter, for the use of James G. McQuaide and Charles Gompers, brought an action of covenant against John C. Rochester.

The covenant on which the breaches were assigned was in an agreement dated July 18th 1863, by which Rochester agreed to sell to Gompers, McQuaide and Kinter, for $ 2500, his lot and storehouse in Marion, Indiana County, and also all his stock of goods in the store.

It was alleged by the plaintiff, and they gave evidence, that John C. Rochester was the owner of the store kept in the name of his son. The jury found that this was not so.  Judgment affirmed.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Armstrong County.

This was an action on the case, brought January 30th 1862, by John A. Humphreys against the county of Armstrong, to recover damages for injuries received by him in consequence of the falling of a bridge whilst he was crossing it.

The bridge was a county bridge, erected at Rockport Mill, over Red Bank creek, a stream which is there the dividing line between Armstrong and Clarion counties.  The bridge had been built at private expense in 1850, but by Act of Assembly of April 11th 1859, it was declared a county bridge, to "be governed by the laws relating to bridges on county lines."

There was evidence that the plaintiff knew the condition of the bridge, also that he advised others to cross it, and that wagons had passed over it safely on the day on which it fell.

There was evidence also that both the supervisors of the township had examined the bridge, and found the wood of the large braces rotten, and, considering it unsafe, closed it up twice, but it did not remain closed, because there was no other way of getting over.  In September 1860 the commissioners of Armstrong county were notified that the bridge was unsafe and needed repairs.  They examined it, found the braces and sills decayed, and "came to the conclusion that by tightening the nuts, and putting on some new plank, it would do till spring, as they were scarce of funds." They made a contract for putting on plank, limiting the expense to $30 or $40, but they did not think that such repairs would strengthen the sills.  The bridge was thus repaired, and the public travelled over it.  Judgment reversed, and a venire de novo awarded.

On the 10th of November 1860, the plaintiff, with two other men, were slowly driving over the bridge in a wagon drawn by two horses, when the span on which they were went down. The whole floated down the stream about a mile and a half, when they were caught on a rock and were landed. The plaintiff was severely injured, his scull having been fractured.

The bridge had been built about ten years, and had been a county bridge one year and seven months when it fell.  On the 10th November 1860, about three o'clock in the afternoon, whilst the plaintiff and two other men in a wagon, with a grist of ten bushels of buckwheat, were crossing the bridge at a slow walk, it broke down and the whole span went down, the Armstrong end of the bridge going down first.  All floated down the creek together, and landed about one and a half miles down, caught on a rock, scattered the bridge, and the horses went out on the Armstrong side.  The defendant got his wound on the falling of the bridge.  His frontal bone was fractured, and he was trepanned.  He was very ill for several months, and the injury left him deaf of one ear, and when his physician attended him he thought he would never be able to attend to business.

There was evidence that in the spring of 1860 the bridge was in so bad a condition that the constable of the township reported it to the court; that it was shut up afterwards for a while, and then opened.

The repairs directed by the commissioners were made, and after it was repaired every person travelled on it, and it was generally used by the public, and Amos McMillan, one of the persons in the plaintiff's wagon, had crossed the bridge the morning of the accident.

The bill was by William Getty and others against Samuel Wilson, Thomas Baker and others, amongst whom was The Philadelphia National Bank.

The cross-bill was by Samuel Wilson, Thomas Baker and others, who (except The hiladelphia Bank) were defendants in the bill, against William Getty and others, plaintiffs in the bill, and The Philadelphia National Bank.

By agreement, Thomas Robins was afterwards substituted in each case in the place of the Bank.

Both parties appealed.  Decree affirmed at the costs of the appellants.

Originally heard in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County.

James T. Burns was treasurer of the county of Clarion for the year 1861.

County auditors charged a treasurer with tax lost by a defaulting collector; the treasurer did not appeal and paid the money.  An Act of Assembly required the auditors to open the settlement "and resettle and equitably adjust the same."  Both the auditors, and the court on appeal, were bound to act upon the equities of the treasurer as intended by the act, and not on strict legal principles.

"And now, to wit, January 4th 1865.  In pursuance with an Act of General Assembly, passed the 8th day of April, Anno Domini 1864, entitled 'An act for the relief of James T. Burns, Esq., former treasurer of Clarion county.'  We, the undersigned auditors of Clarion county, proceeded to open the accounts of the said Burns with the county of Clarion for the years 1860 and 1861, and having duly considered and heard Mr. Burns's statement, have concluded not to make any alterations in said account, and hereby leave the report the same as made by former auditors."

The county commissioners on the same day approved the report; and Burns appealed from the report on the 11th of February 1865.  On the appeal the court ordered an issue in which the county of Clarion was plaintiff, and Burns defendant, the auditor's report to stand for a declaration, and the defendant "under the plea of payment to give all matters in defence in evidence or matter entitling him to a balance in his favor."

Judgment reversed, and venire facias de novo awarded.

On the 6th of May 1861, W. W. McClelland was appointed constable of Porter Township, and entered into bond in the sum of $500 with Elisha McClelland and Jarius Thompson as his sureties, the amount of the bond and the sureties having been approved by the court.  The amount of the duplicate of Porter township delivered to Burns was $1889.99; having collected some part of it, he put a warrant and schedule of the balance into the hands of McClelland, the constable, on the 2d of September 1861.  McClelland accounted to Burns by payments and exonerations for this balance except $651.69.  On the settlement of Burns's accounts by the auditors in January 1862, a balance of $9881.84 including the $651.69 of the Porter township duplicate was reported to be in his hands.  He paid the whole amount to his successor in office.

On the trial before Campbell, the plaintiff gave in evidence the report of the auditors in 1862, that the defendant did not then claim any credit on account of the Porter Township duplicate, and that he paid the whole balance to his successor; that when he paid it he said part was his own money; at one time he paid about $500, saying that he paid it because he wanted to get rid of the debt; that the money was in the hands of McClelland and some others at that time.

Burns gave evidence of the amount of duplicate which went into McClelland's hands; he also gave evidence tending to show the insolvency of McClelland and his sureties.  The plaintiff in rebuttal gave evidence that no suit had been brought against McClelland or his sureties.