COMMITTEE OE INVESTIGATION, ETC. 201 
return to Lawrence, which they did that night or the next morn¬ 
ing- 
The morning after the attack, our citizens called a meeting to 
take steps in regard to it. Speeches were made in reference to 
the whole matter, and the following resolutions, expressive of the 
sense of the meeting, were passed : 
“ Resolved , That the attempt made in our town, last evening, 
upon the life of S. J. Jones, Esq., while claiming to act as the 
sheriff of the county, was the isolated act of some malicious and 
evil-disposed individual, unexpected and unlooked for by our com¬ 
munity, and unsustained by any portion of them. 
“ Resolved , That, in the opinion of this community, it was a 
cowardly and atrocious outrage upon Mr. J ones, and an insult and 
injury to the public sentiment and reputation of our town, and a 
crime deserving condign punishment. 
“ Resolved, That notwithstanding the unpleasant relation which 
existed between Mr. Jones and our citizens, if the attack could 
have been foreseen, or considered at all probable, we would have 
neglected no means to prevent or defeat it. We deeply sympathize 
with the wounded man, and will afford him all the aid and comfort 
in our power. 
“ Resolved, That we deeply regret that the perpetrator of this 
deed is unknown; and, if known to us, we would unhesitatingly 
expose and denounce him as the criminal. 
“ Resolved, That it is due to the reputation of our town, and 
loudly demanded by the deep and universal indignation which per¬ 
vades our community, that the guilty author should, if possible, 
be sought out and surrendered to justice. 
“ Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed, whose duty 
it shall be to investigate the circumstances connected with this 
deplorable occurrence, and, if possible, to ferret out the guilty 
agent; and pledge ourselves that, although not responsible as a 
community for this act of a depraved individual, we will use our 
best efforts to show to the world that we have no sympathy for 
crime in any shape, and are prepared to treat the perpetrators 
