State v. Collins

Full title: STATE v. COLLINS.

Court: COURT OF GENERAL SESSIONS OF DELAWARE

Date published: Nov 2, 1898

42 A. 619 (Del. Gen. Sess. 1898)

1 Pen. 420

Opinion

11-02-1898

STATE v. COLLINS.

Robert C. White, Atty. Gen., and Peter L. Cooper, Jr., Dep. Atty. Gen., for the State. William T. Smithers, for defendant.

LORE, C. J.

Charles G. Collins was tried by the court on an information, under Const. 1897, art 5, § 7, for influencing a voter to register, and found guilty.

Information: "Robert C. White, attorney general of the state of Delaware, now here in the court of general sessions of the said state, now sitting in and for the county aforesaid, information makes that Charles G. Collins, late of South Murderkill hundred, at the county aforesaid, on the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, with force and arms, at South Murderkill hundred, in the county aforesaid, did unlawfully, by the use of money, to wit, the sum of one dollar in paper money, the kind of which is to the attorney general aforesaid unknown, influence one Alfred Henry, who was then and there a resident and citizen of the state of Delaware, and possessing all the qualifications to register in the Eighth election district of the county aforesaid, as an elector for the election to be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, as provided by section 7 of article 5 of the constitution of the state of Delaware, by then and there giving to him, the said Alfred Henry, the said sum of one dollar, as aforesaid, to pay the registration fee of him, the said Alfred Henry, in order to enable him, the said Alfred Henry, then and there to register and qualify as an elector in the election district aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, and did then and there, by giving unto him, the said Alfred Henry, the said sum of one dollar, as aforesaid, induce him, the said Alfred Henry, to become registered as a qualified voter in the election district aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, and for the election to be held as aforesaid, contrary to the provisions of the constitution of the state of Delaware in such ease made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state."

Alfred Henry, the prosecuting witness, a colored man about 70 years of age, testified substantially to the facts as set forth in the above information, stating that on a certain Friday, late in the afternoon (the Saturday following being registration day), Collins drove up to Henry's house, and stopped his carriage near the wood pile where Henry was at work, and called him, and that the latter came and stood near the carriage, when the following conversation took place: "After he drove up, he talked a while as usual, and he asked me if I was going to get registered. I told him I did not know, and that I was not thinking much about it He asked me if I had any money, and I told him I had not a dollar. He thought a while, and then he said, 'There lays a dollar; pick it up.' He asked me, after I picked up the dollar, if I would now get registered. I told him, 'Yes.' I found the dollar, I reckon, about a foot and a half from the carriage. It was a paper dollar. I did not see the dollar before he came there. I had been walking around there where I picked the dollar up, and had not seen any money. I got registered with the dollar at Frederica the next day. I don't suppose I would have registered on that day or the next if I had not got that dollar, for I had no other money."

Alexander Minner, registrar in the Second election district of the Eighth representative district of Kent county, testified that Henry was a registered voter in said district. The record of the registration above referred to was admitted in evidence without objection. The bail bond of the defendant, taken before the justice of the peace, was also admitted in evidence without objection. It was admitted that the above information was filed by the attorney general after examination and commitment or holding to bail, by a justice of the peace, of the accused. No objection was made by counsel for defendant to the information filed in the case.

Charles G. Collins, the defendant, testified as follows:

"By Mr. Smithers: Q. You are charged here with giving a dollar to one Alfred Henry with which to register. Will you state to the court briefly, and in your own way, what you know about it? A. Yes, sir. On Saturday, the 16th of September last, I went out to my camp ground, where I was holding a church camp. It rained on Thursday night, and I wanted to see if everything was all right. Q. You mean on Friday? A. The 16th, on a Friday; because I say it rained on Thursday night, and I stopped at Mr. Lewis Downes' and had a talk with him. He was whitewashing his house; and I thought to myself, and I said, 'I would go down to the camp ground to see if the lumber was all right.' It was borrowed lumber. And I started, and I said to myself, just before I got to the ground, 'No, I will not go down there; I suppose it is all right' And, after I had gotten possibly 100 yards below Mr. Henry's house, I turned around, and came back, and he was standing around the house by the wood pile, or somewhere there. I said, 'Heighho, Father Henry,'—everybody around there calls him 'Father,'—and he spoke to me, and I shook hands with him, and we began to talk. First, our talk was about the ladies being so kind to him. They had been to his house, and whitewashed it, and put him down carpets, and fixed him up comfortable. We talked about fifteen minutes, and just before going on I said toFather Henry, 'I suppose you are going to register tomorrow?' He said, 'I don't know, Brother Collins, I have not money enough.' I said, 'Pap Henry, how much money have you?' and he said, 'I have ninety-three cents.' I said, 'Who owes you that, Pap Henry?' He said, 'Mr. Reed.' I said, 'O my dear time of life, you can get the other seven cents!' I said, 'You go to Mr. Reed, and tell him to pay you your money,' and he said, 'All right, I will be there to-morrow, and see if he will not pay me.' I said, 'Goodby, Pap Henry,' and I drove on to Mr. Downes', and stopped there, and ate a few grapes. The next morning Pap Henry came in, I am informed. I never saw Pap Henry any more until Saturday morning, between nine and ten o'clock. At that time I was standing in the stairway of the town hall, with nineteen men ahead of me to register. Naturally, I was at the first step; and when I saw Pap Henry again he came in the hallway, and I said to him, 'Heighho, Pap Henry!' He spoke to me as usual, but I did not shake his hand. There was another man between me and him. I gradually went up, and he complained of having a headache and of being tired. I said to Mr. Miller, the gentleman that kept the stairway to keep them from rushing up: 'Won't you allow Father Henry to come up and sit down? He is an old man, about seventy, and he is sick.' He said, 'Certainly.' And he went up, and sat down on the steps, where the head men were, and gradually we went up and up, until we got about the top, and he complaining, and I was with him. * * * I said to him 'Father Henry, you may take my turn to register if it will help you any;' and he took my turn, and he went up, and I suppose registered, and he passed me right while he was going down. There was another gentleman registered ahead of me, but how that is I won't say. However, as he started down, there was a crowd behind me, and I got Father Henry by the hand after he had registered, and held his hand after he came down from the registration, as far as I could reach, and then he left. Q. You have no knowledge where he got the money to register? A. No, sir; not a bit more than you have. Q. Where do you live? A. Frederica. Q. What is your occupation? A. I am a minister."

Cross-examination by Mr. White: "X. What day did you start out to go to your camp meeting? A. September 16th, on Friday. X. That was the day you started to your camp meeting? A. Going down to the camp ground. X. What did you say to yourself? A. I said it was not necessary for me to go down there. X. There was nobody with you? A. No, sir. X. What else did you say? A. I said, 'I will go on back home.' X. How was it you did not say to yourself before you started to the camp ground that it was not necessary? A. I was just going down there, but it was about an hour by sun, and I saw that it was near night. X. Why did you not think of that before? A. I did not absolutely leave home to go to the camp ground, but I went up to see Mr. Downes. X. Who is he? A. A colored gentleman. X. A member of your church? A. Yes, sir. X. You saw him? A. Yes, sir. X. That was about an hour by sun, Friday afternoon? A. When I saw him, probably it was an hour and a quarter or such a matter, but it was about an hour by sun when I saw Mr. Henry. X. How far did Henry live from the main road on which you were traveling? A. He lived immediately on the road. X. You stopped there, and talked with him? A. Yes, sir. X. You were in your carriage? A. Yes, sir. X. You had some conversation before you approached the subject of registration? A. Yes, sir; about how kind the women were to him in cleaning up his house and such like. X. What did you go to see the other man about? A. He is my treasurer, and I went up there to get him to pay mo some money. X. Did he pay you any money? A. Yes, sir. X. How much did he pay you? A. I drew of him one dollar of the money which the stewards had given me, and the simple trouble was I had not been up there after it. I don't generally take up my money Sunday, but have it deposited with the treasurer, and I drove there and got it. X. You were on business relating to the church and your camp meeting and yourself? A. Yes; and that only. X. You did mention the matter of registration to Alfred Henry? A. I happened to mention it. X. How came you to do it? A. Well, I knew he was an aged man, and just merely thought of it. X. What has his being an aged man to do with it? A. I don't know that that has anything to do with it, but I just merely thought of it, and that is about as good a reason as I can give. I spoke of it to him, and said that Mr. Downes and I were speaking of the registration, and he said that he was going in to-morrow to register, and he said he wanted to go in as early as possible. X. Was that the first or second registration day? A. That was the second registration day, to my knowledge.' X. You did speak to Alfred Henry about registering? A. I just asked him. I knew he had not registered. X. How did you know it? A. Because he told me two or three weeks or a week before. There had not been a dozen men in the Neck registered. X. You inquired about it? A. No, sir; nothing more than I heard men talking about it in the streets. As I passed along I often heard things. X. Did he tell you? A. I heard him say, possibly two or three weeks, at least ten or twelve days, before that time, that he had not been registered. X. How long had the registration begun? A. I don't remember when the first registration was, because I was away from home. I heard he had not registered. X. And you asked him about it? A. I did not ask him if he had not registered. X. When you asked him about registering, what was it he said about having but ninety-three cents? A. He had not quite moneyenough. Then I asked him how much he had, and then he said ninety-three cents. X. And you said to him, 'Who owes you that?' A. I said, 'Oh, my dear Father Henry, you certainly can get the balance of the dollar!' and I said, 'Who owes you that money?' and he said, 'Mr. Reed.' X. He told you he had ninety-three cents? A. Yes, sir; that is true. I am on my oath. X. Then you said to him. 'Oh, Father Henry, you certainly can get the other seven cents!' A. I said, 'Oh, my dear Father Henry, you certainly can get the other seven cents!' X. Then you immediately asked him who owed him the money? A. Yes, sir. X. And he told you he had ninety-three cents? A. Yes, sir. X. Why did you think somebody owed him? A. He said he did not have the money, and he said here he did not have the money, and he said there he hadn't enough money, and I asked him how much he had, and he said he had ninety-three cents, and I asked him who owed him the ninety-three cents, and he said Mr. Reed. And I said, 'Oh, my dear Father Henry, you certainly can get the other seven cents!' Then I said, 'Who owes you that?' X. Why did you ask him the question who owed him, if he said he had ninety-three cents? A. Merely a matter of talk with him. X. What gave you the idea that notwithstanding he said he had ninety-three cents, that some man owed him ninety-three cents? A. I know he worked occasionally. X. Had you reason to believe that he had not the ninety-three cents when he told you he had? A. Not any more reason to believe that he had or he had not, but it merely came to my mind to ask who owed it to him, and he could just as well have said that no one owed it to him as not. X. Why did you ask him who owed it to him? A. Just merely because I thought of it, not because I had any idea of giving it to him. X. You deny that you said, 'There is a dollar lying down there?' A. Yes; there is no truth in that. I am a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. X. You tell us that the next day you were in line registering, with 19 men ahead of you? A. 19 men, because I counted them. X. What were these men,— white or colored? A. It was a mixed multitude. X. You were there? A. I was. X. What time of day was it? A. Between 9 and 10 o'clock. X. You were anxious to get registered? A. Yes, sir; because I had other business to attend to. X. You were anxious for Uncle Alfred to get registered? A. I was anxious for every man to get registered. I thought it was his duty; not more anxious for him than any other man to get registered. X. You paid particular attention to Alfred Henry, —took him by the hand? A. Not because he was registered. It was simply because I respected him as an old gentleman. X. He is a pretty active old man? A. He is sometimes. X. Was he not as active then as he is to-day? A. He told me he was sick Saturday morning. X. You saw him Saturday morning? A. I saw him standing in the stairway. X. He was waiting to get registered. You were very much interested in the registration on that day? A. Nothing more than to get registered. X. Have you been at the registration any other day since that day? A. Only that day. X. You have not been around the polls? A. I have not been around the polls before nor since. X. How far were you from the camp meeting when you turned around? A. I was possibly 300 yards or a quarter of a mile or such a matter. X. When you turned around? A. Yes, sir. X. You did not go to the camp meeting when you were that near to it? A. No, sir. X. How far is the camp from Frederica? A. It is very nearly three miles. X. Then you had gone nearly the entire distance, and concluded to turn around? A. I did not go absolutely for the special purpose of going to the camp ground; but I started to Mr. Downes', and Mr. Downes lived about eight minutes' drive from the camp ground. X. You said first you thought you would go to the camp ground, then you changed your mind, and thought it was not necessary? A. Yes, sir; after I went to Mr. Downes'. X. How far does Alfred Henry live from the camp ground? A. I suppose 350 yards, taking it around the road, but taking it across the field it would not be more than 150 yards. X. He lived between Downes' and the camp ground? A. Yes; Henry lived between Downes' and the camp ground. X. And you saw Henry after you saw Downes? A. Yes. sir. X. You went to Downes', and got your money, and then came back by Henry's? A. I did not draw my money before I came to Henry's. I said that I went to Downes' to get my money, but I thought I would go to the camp ground first, and come back there. His children were gathering grapes, and he was whitewashing, and his wife said she would give me a few grapes; that she had a basket she wanted to fill, and after she did that she was going to get some for me and my family, and I thought I would go to the camp ground while they were gathering those grapes. After I got within 300 yards of the camp ground, the sun was so low I thought I would not go on there, but would go on back to Mr. Downes'. I turned around, and merely happened to see Father Henry, and spoke to him and shook hands with him. X. Did you get out of your carriage? A. No, sir; he came up close to the carriage, and, after shaking hands, went back on a little hill, and stood there."

By Judge Grubb: "Q. Did you stop at Downes' before you saw Henry? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you stop at Downes' after you saw Henry? A. Yes, sir; after I saw Henry I came on back. Q. When did you get your dollar? A. I drew my money after I came back. I drew my money to get my provisions with, for my wife and children, Sunday. Q. You drew a dollar? A. To get my provisions on Saturday night; yes, sir."

Redirect examination by Mr. Smithers: "RQ. When you were at Henry's, you hadnot drawn this dollar? A. I had not a dollar about me anywhere."

The defendant produced three witnesses who swore that the reputation of Alfred Henry, the prosecuting witness, for truth and veracity, in the community in which he lived, was bad; two witnesses who could not testify as to his reputation in that respect; one who swore that he never heard that his reputation for truth was particularly bad, and he thought he would tell the truth. The state, in rebuttal, called three or four witnesses who swore that Henry's reputation for truth and veracity, so far as they knew, was good.

Argued before LORE, C. J., and GRUBB and PENNEWILL, JJ.

Robert C. White, Atty. Gen., and Peter L. Cooper, Jr., Dep. Atty. Gen., for the State.

William T. Smithers, for defendant.

LORE, C. J. Charles G. Collins, you are charged in the information now before us with giving to one Alfred Henry, at South Murderkill hundred, in this county, one dollar, the amount of his registration fee, thereby unlawfully using money to influence and induce him to be registered as a qualified elector in the Eighth election district of this county, on the 17th day of September last. Your case has been heard by the court, sitting, under the new constitution, as judge both of the law and the facts, without the intervention of a jury. The testimony in the case has been heard by us, not only in open court, but the official stenographic report thereof has been carefully reviewed and examined by each of us. After the most thoughtful consideration, we have been unable to arrive at any other conclusion than that of your guilt. We therefore have all adjudged you to be guilty of the offense as charged against you in the information. We have reached this determination from the testimony before us, which only we may consider in such cases.

Mr. Smithers, have you anything to say why sentence should not be pronounced against the prisoner?

Mr. Smithers. No, sir; nothing to say.

LORE, C. J. Section 7 of article 5 of the constitution, which went into effect June 10, 1897, relating to election bribery, under which this information was framed, defines several of such offenses, among them the one with which you are charged. In order to adapt the penalty to the offense in each particular case, the constitution gives a liberal discretion to the court; ranging from a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, or imprisonment for a term of not less than one month nor more than three years, or both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. In this instance, we will not impose the extreme penalty. You may have had no corrupt motive in giving Henry the money; you may have intended merely to furnish the money needed by him for his registration. But so jealously has the constitution guarded the purity of elections that even such action is within its terms, and a just enforcement of its provisions, even to that extent is necessary to prevent unlawful interference with the freedom and the purity of elections in this state. The court has determined your sentence, after giving the most charitable construction to your conduct. This is the first case under the new constitution, and therefore one of great interest and importance. We take occasion now to emphasize this point: that it is the intention of the court jealously to guard, and vigorously to enforce, the constitutional provisions respecting elections, to the end that hereafter free and equal elections may be had. The sentence of the court is that you forfeit and pay a fine of $1,000; that you be imprisoned for the term of six months, commencing on this day, and ending on the 3d day of May, 1899; that you pay the costs of the prosecution; and you are now committed to the custody of the sheriff until this sentence is carried into execution.

The case was thereupon appealed to the supreme court, and the prisoner was released on bail. At the January term of the supreme court, 1899, consisting of Chancellor NICHOLSON and Associate Judges SPRUANCE and BOYCE, the said appeal was abandoned, and judgment below affirmed. The defendant was produced in court, and resentenced as above.