A Gross Outrage

On Friday afteruooii of last week au outrae was perpêtrated iu our city, of sueh a naturo and so unparftlleled, that it is our duty as a journalist to preseöt the facts to the public, On that aflernoon Prof. Lawton, Piindpal of the High School, and Superintendent of Schools, in the discharge o.' his duties, visited ihe jlh ward school. While there he took occasion to roprimaud two or tliree of the largar boys in the bighíst grade, for disobedienee of the rolos of the school, disregard of the orders of the teacher, and persistent mis cpnduct- anfl not for the violation of the tardy rule as is stated by a contemporary. These boya liad been repriinanded on several occasions boforo, and at this tiius Mr. Lawjoh, iu the e.ccrcise of the diseipliuary power conforred upou him by the Board, tbought best to administer a litHe chastisoiuent that might be cemenibared lon'ger than mere words. ïliis was done, by aittinj in his chnir, taking the boys by Iheir coat collar-, dra wring them across his knee, iind while in that position whippiüg them wiih. a small willow switch. Whüe in the act of thus cbASljeing the second boy, Alpuosso Covert, we believe the larget pupil in school, roso his seat, pulled off his coat, and coinmenced cursiug Mr. Lawton, ordering him to stop, threatoning to whip hiiu, and making other demonBtrations. Mr. Lawtos noüü'ed hiui to leave the room, whieh ho refuaed to do at fiist. bat aftcrwards did ; but soon returned, seized a large iron poker, and ngain eomiuenced demonstrations agairint Mr. Lawtox. ín the meantirae school had been dismissed for recess, nnd the teacher and but feY children were in the roam. Covkrt fïnally dropped the poker, but refusing to leve the room wifs summarily ejected by Mr. Lawtom. He soon returned accompanied by his father, J. P. Covert, and a Mr. Hbrz, father of one of the boys who had been chastised. Mr. Lawton, not knowing the men, norsupposing that violence was intended by them, met them wilh an attempt to state what had occurred. Taken off Iii guard, he was seized by the men, and held while the boy pouoded him seïerely about the head and face, the men doing a little on tbeil own account, and also attemptiog to ohoke him. The pummeiing was accompanied by cries of "pound him," "take $25 worth out of him," "d - n him, give it to him," 'kill him," etc, etc, Breaking from the corner in which he was firsl taken by surprise by the three, Mr. Lawton left the building, but was pursued and agaiu sssaulted upon the walk. By this time bowever, several citizens reached the spot, and the parties wsre oom pel led to desist. Variouê minors are afioat as to the sereiity of the chastisement. administered by Mr Lawton, which hare no foundation in truth ; and we trust the co'nmnnity will not senteuce Mr L. to capital punishment or banishraent until they shall know (he facts, whieh will be developed in the progres of the trial of a complaint brought against him for assault and battory npon one of tho boys ; at the instiga! ion, report saya, of a distinguished citiizen who hns made it his boast for the last year, that he would drive the School Board out of office, and Mr. Lawtok out of town. But whther the chastisement adaiinistered by Mr. Lawton was mild or severe, thsre is no shadow of excuse for the interfereuce of young Covert, who was not under discipline, had not even been r"primanded, and who voluuteered, it is believed in consequence of a preconcerted plan, to get up a row. Nor is there the slightest excuse for the conduct of the two men, and the sererest penalty of the law should be inflicted upon all three. And if others are inciting such outrages, they shocild be held legally respousible as conspiratois ; or at least should be vi4ted witu public scorn and indignation. Teachers may not alwaye be blameless, tflfly are but men and ooien, and raay err ; but the vexationa suits which they have been subjected to during the last threa or four years, incite to disobedience and lawlessness among pupila, increase the labors of the teachers, promote disorder in the several schoola and worse than that, are devtroying the reputation of our city and our schools thioughout the State. It is time that all citi. lens who have the interest of our city and our schools at heart join with Board and toacli. ers in maintaining good discipline, and in wiping out the stain that is fast spreading over our fairfame. If the Board make such rules as shall be disapproved after a fair tria! and fiill understanding of their workings, anc will not change them, change the Board. We are quite confident that no members of the Board are getting rich iu purse, or winning fame anough to induce them to wish to hold tho position an hour longer than they are desired to do so by tho better judgment of oui citizens. Brit, while continued iü office, a fe_v evil disposed persons should not be permitted to uudo the good they labor to do, and ds. trov the schools. In this connection we miglit say tlmt we hear some complamts tliat iemales fre employed as principáis of the ward schools, ano tbat tho Superintendent is given any contro! over them. We beüeve that the Board have nvéstigated tlie matter fully, and that they have found the present system - which bas been adopted genera 'ly in all the eities of the State, except Detroit - to work as well and as sat isfactorily as the old on under which male teachers were at the head of our ward scools In nine casas out of ten a good female teacher w 11 govern one of tliese scIiooIb as well as a male, and in the other one ease there vvill beno difficulty ifparents and outsiders wil] lend thcir aid to maintain discipline, instead of prompting scholars to rebel against their teachers. And, if our memory serves ns properly, male teachers have been whipped in the schools of this oity, and in the yery school I where tho difflculty occurred, since oir residence here. So either system does not al. ways produce subo;dination. The duty of the Superintendent, so far as the waid schools is concerned, is not confined to tho discipline and punishment of refractory scholai'B, but extends to the (reneral supervisión of the schools. "He sees that the schools are properly "raded, tliat. the course of study markedout by the Board is properly obscrved, that the attendance is as recular as possible, and that the rules prescribed by the Board for the government of the schools, are the guidejof both teachers and scholars. It is rarely that he is called upon to administer ■ discipline in a ward school, except by reproof, and the cases would be rarer if parrnts and mianlians would lend their aid to secure the obediencc of children to tho rules. It has , not before occurred in the room in question since his conuection with the schools. I As to corporal puuishmont in the schools, il is neilher enjoined nor i&bidden l' the üoavd, and, wc believc, is only resorted to when otlier nieaus haye failed to mako the proper impresioo. Ita proi.rioly or iinprupriety we will not discuss, bul, wo inay say that pareats disagree upon tliis pohit, soino of them rpqiiesüng teachers-, to wliip llu-ir cliiklren if disobedieiit ratlier thau suspend the, and otliers prefeniug a reqnest that their childrsn be suspended. It is üwn-ivve, left to teaeber to be govwued by cii cumstances. With this statement we Ieave tlie matter until the law bas liad its comae, at least for the present. EgT The-Detroit Tribune and Advertiser-we buy a copy oocasionally- boasts of having a "paid correspondent" in ourcity, and of givïng ''more local news of Ann Arbon than all of its papera put together." Tlio Tribune certainly steals liberally from the Ann Arbpr papers, and all otlieis with which it deigns aii excliaiye. but mangles terribly in the stealing, hoping, perhaj, to avoid detection in that way. And, as to its 'paut correspondent," lie steals too, or draws ou a vigorous imagimiüon, mahncf his "locáis," er distorting wonderfully whsn he lías a ground work lo build upon. Just now he is engaged in magnifying rows between the students and "tOWD rowdies," iu which- he always pronounces the latter the aggressors. A while ago ho made those "town rowdies" shaye, and tar and feather an inoftensive student, when if lie knew anything about it, he knew the offense was committed by students ■ and last Wednesday night, "abont 12 o'clock," he perpetrated a row 'between a party of students and a crowd of dnmken rowdies in front of Behe's safoon," in whicli ofcom-se the ' gali int" students performed wonders. Now, il might have been well for tBu "paid correspondeot" to have told what this "party of stiidents" was doing at tiiat hour of the night nt- oh, "in fro'nt of- Behr's saloon. We do not believe it worth the Tribune's whilo to end its columns to foster jealousies between the students and "town rowdies"- they ought to be friends - and would suggest that it adTise the students to observe early hours, and keep away from the haunts of these avvful 'ellows. - Seriously, we do not believe thit all the deiiltry perpetrated in our city is cbargeabie to students or vice versa ; but we do believe that the courseof the Tribuna's correspondent is calculated to engender and promote the growth of ill-feeliog betweeu studonts and citizens, for all are neither " dranken" or 'town rowdies" who occasionally have cause to complain of the ill-njanners cf a few students who do what they can lo bring iuto disrepute their large body of the well-behavedassociates. EiP At the annual meeting of tb Wrshterflw County Agricultural and Horfcicultural Society, held at the Court Eouas on Tuesuay, the following officers were elccted : President - Thomas Wiiite. Vice Presidente - Calvin Wheeler, Biram Arnold, RiinJolph Davis, Lorenzo Davis. Eecording Secretary- David M. Fintey. Curre tponding Secretary - Charles ft. Clark. Trrasurtr - Isaac S. Pieroon. Ezecutive Committee - James B. Vanatta. Ransom Townsend, Hirara Thompson, Horac Lathvop, Joshua G Leiand, James B. Arras, Lyman S. Wood, Juniuai Short, Stephen D. Whittaker, John K. Yobum, John J. Kobiaon, David M. ühl, Alonzo M. Noble, Othmel Gooding, Zenas Bard, Edward Treadwell, Norman A. Phelps, Henry Milier, William Boise. William Arnold, William F. Hatcii, Lucien B. Kief, The attendance vas very small. L3L" It is reported that a meeting of radical politickns has been hold in WahingtoD, and Abraham Lincolx oofniuated ior the Presidentiai carapaign of 1868. As " it is uot sisfe to swap. horses while crosaing a streRtti," and as the Fall of 1868 is likely to find us ntill in deep water, we have little doubt that the re-eleotion of Abraham will be ndjudgtftl a " military necessity." JP3T' öome of our frieDds are of an inquiring turn of mind, and desire to know whether tbe difference between the one and three years men will be allowec by the Provost Marshal General, to the towns wbich furnished tlie latter, in apportioning the quotas under the cali just made by the Presideut. We presume that tbe account will be kept open, with a promise to adjust on the next draft.