A Novel case.
--On Saturday morning last
George Baldwin and
Peter Roach appeared before the
Mayor to answer the charge of entering the house of
Hugh Reagan and abusing and threatening to violently assault and beat him. Neither
Baldwin nor
Roach are citizens — the first claiming to be a Marylander, and the last an Irishman.
When
Reagan was called to testify, the
Mayor was informed that he had been taken by the conscript guard, and was then in military custody.
His Honor immediately sent to
Capt. Coke for
Reagan, and soon after the party appeared in Court, under military guard.
The circumstances of the difficulty seem to be these:
Reagan had loaned
Baldwin and
Roach money, and as they did not pay it when due, sued out an injunction to prevent them from leaving the
Confederacy.
On Friday evening, after the writ was served,
Baldwin and
Roach went to Regan's house, probably to demand satisfaction, for which they were soon after arrested and held to bail to answer before the
Mayor at 10 o'clock Saturday morning. Before the hour of trial
Baldwin secured the arrest of
Reagan as a conscript, and thus prevented his appearance at the hour appointed.
Reagan and
Baldwin have been, and probably are now, Government contractors, but not citizens of the
Confederacy.
Reagan is a member of the
Mayor's Mounted Guard, now doing nightly service in the city.
Owing to the absence of witnesses, the prisoners were admitted to bail for a future hearing in the sum of $1,000 each; and
Reagan, the main witness, was given a furlough by the military authorities till after the examination of the above charge.
If he is not a citizen, subject to conscription,
Col. Shields will no doubt discharge him. If he is subject to duty, he has no right to ask for or expect a discharge.