The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-12-10

tragedian Gustavus v. Brooke
For the Crescent.
The Press and tho Judiciary.
Under this attractive caption, Messrs. Editors,
you seem to but follow nnocently. but not nnocu.
ously, in the wake of the Delta, in giving publicity
to the following statement in relation to the anna
BILE and accomplished gentleman who presides over
the u. s. District Court in this city -
The Judge orders gentlemen who haue read pre-
lindry reports in the newspapers, TO be set ASIDE
as Jurors, IN the cases brought up, and censures
| the course of newspapers in publishing such pre-.
| liminary Investigations"
| This is the assertion, and, it is presumed, the
| matter "-the teterrima cdusa-which led to your
elaboration of an argument to prove that, by this
decision of an amiable and accomplished Judge"
| "either pTesumptive rascas must escape free of
publicity, or men who cannot spell through news
papers, or are too sleepy to read them, must be-
/ come The sole jurors of the land" %!
Now, Messrs. Editors, instead of an argument
TO lead to a common sense conclusion from an in
disputable premise, allow your humble correspon.
dent to show wherein you have been misled as to
what his Honor did decide, and misinlormed as to
the nature and intent of his remarks addressed to
| the gentlemen of the Press.
The occasion which called forth the Judges
decision and remarks was, as you are probably
aware, on the empannelng of a jury to try case
of fraud on the revenue, alleged against foreign
importing merchant of this city. Most of the
jurors called up testified on their Uor d,re that
they had, some time since, read an account in the
newspapers of the preliminary investigation of the
charge before Commissioner and also that in
the newspapers of the day, of the trial and convc-
ton of the defendant on similar charge the day
acknowledgements g. (rhs circumstance, Messrs.
Editors, may serve to show that none of the gen.
tlemen called up were of that class Of citizens
described by you as unable "to spell through
newspapers, or too sleepy to read them.o Did
the Judge, as you suppose, thereupon oatlaW I"
the gentlemen thus testifyinga No, sirs; the
great majority of the jurors who actually tried
the case, testified to this effect. Some of them
further stated that they had, at the time of
the preliminary investigation, formed an opinion as
to the merits of the case and Of these even, such
as expressed themselves still open to evidence on
| the subject were sworn in. Who, then, were re-
| jscted as incompetent, or Outawed," you
term it! Your correspondent is not at liberty to
| name the gen,emanly outlaws - but he may
state that there were three only. And why re-
jected! Simply for the reason which you, Messrs.
Editors, as counsel for the defence, would have
| insisted on, with "many a wise saw and modern
instance" and, as attorneys for the prosecution,
could not have rebutted-that they had either
formed and expressed an opinion or judgment on
the merits of the case, or were aborng under such
an impression as amounted 10 bias unfavor
able to the defendant. His Honor decided such
only to he incompetent to try the case. Surely,
Messrs. Editors, you do not disagree with him in
opinion"!
Now for the alleged "censure of the news.
papers," Far from INDUCING in censure of the
press, Ia course of remark entirely foreign to your
amiable" friends taste and pursuits, you well
know, Messrs. Editors,) his Honor, we thought,
testified his high appreciation OF the great lever Of
public thought by the remarks which he uttered.
The general tenor of his exhortaton and counsel
for such it waste the gentlemen of the press in
court is pretty well reported in the True Delta -
OF the 5lh; but the peculiar circumstances which
ELECTED his appeal do not seem to have been pro-
perly understood.
The defendant in the cause pending before the
Court, had the day previous, been tried for and
convicted Of a similar fraud on the revenue, and,
as matter of course, the result Of the trial was
published in the morning papers. As might have
+ been expected Of the news-readng and intelligent
gentlemen summoned Jurors, several of them
stated that the snprsssiom of the defenaaats guilt
was quite fresh in their minds, owing to their late
perusal of the case just referred to. His Honor,
perceving at once the main of the difficulty
Of empannellng Jury absolutely free from all bias,
in such case, doubtless thought it an appropriate
opportunity to counsel gentlemen of the press to
look little more closely into the policy of hastily
publishing such items Of news as might, by any
possible chance, obstruct the administration of
justice. But he did neither OUTLAW the Jurors,
Messrs Editors, nor csnsurs the public press.
| While vouchng for the strict correctness oil
what is set forth above in vndicaton of the truth
your correspondent, Messrs. Editors, can not but
regret that he should have robbed you of the plat
form on which your interesting and really philo-
sophcal observations the wisdom of public
warnings to wrong doers and "presumptive
raseals" are founded. Justice, however, to one Of
the established and respected tribunals of the Re-
public, cannot rob the press of its gems of thought
nor detract one ota from its just influence on the
testines of society. Even though it be our lot to
stand on the banks Of our noble river, while they
they are treacherously sinking beneath our feet
let our dea;h-ery be the shout-Fiat js.sttis ruat
| DELTA.
Sir John Franklin's Expedition - The shin
Dedalus, the supply ship, from the expedition sen,
out by the British Government in search of Sir
John franklin, arrived at San Francisco on the
23d October, from Port Clarence, Behring's Straits,
which she left on the first Of that month. She
brought as passengers Lieut.. Cooper and Dr.. Simp.
| son. of II. NJ. ship Piover, which vessel had re-
| turned to Port Clarence from her summer expedi-
ZION, having been unable penetrate further north
| than seventy-one degrees.
| ----------
Western Produce,-Thousands of live hogs are
arriving al Dunkirk, N. Y. for uanshipmenr to
the East and lens Of thousands of barrels Of -four
are stored there, waiting their turn for shipment.
At Utica, 5000 head Of cattle have been packed for
the NewYork market.