The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1853-11-23

round them, especially in their rear, detyac-
ting their attention, and oftentimes pressing
close upon them--an annoyance probably
no other juries are ever subjected to ; and
detractive, it may be, in the hands of wicked
men to the due course Of justice-therc they
sit i'll at case, hemmed, in on all sides, until
led off by an official to their room, right
through the very heart of the crowd, which
after great noise and confusion, pushing
back, shutting feet, knocking slaves and the
well known shout Of "clear The ,ody for The
JurCr," disturbing the whole Court, is, at
last opened wide enough for the Jury. who
patiently wait hat in hand to pass through
two and two, Newgate fashion, or rather iu
single line or Indian file.
They nre ushercd into q room badly furn.
lshed with seats and no fire place, convent
ences or comforts of any kind except table
board borrowed or bought from some Tailor
shop, and couple of loose benches. After
deciding upon therverdct, they are led back
something after the fashion of a drove or
flock after being watered, through the dense
crowd, by the same maneuvering of push
ing, shutting and lodging to and fro, to re-
sumo their seats to be hemmcd in and press.
cd around until led off again. Such is the
history of the jury each Term, and vet no
effort is made to render that important de-
partment Of the Court comfortable and ea-
sy. And it is not one whit better-rathc or
worse with the Grand Jury. They have no
room nor seats specially provided for them
They use the room and seats Of the Petit
Jury-so little have their accommodations
been considered. Is there Grand Jury
the State so much ncgl ctcd--so little cared
Tor! Their entrance is cmphaticalIy the
Grand ERtree Of the Court The Pctits
vamosc-hclter skelter in every direction
giving mp their scats--spactators stand a.
ghast; and the sum. Pros. just commenced
are suspended midships at the thunder tones
of authority ''cIedr Me ,cay for the Grand
Juror" The Inquest is grand, the noise is
granjcr and The confusion is grand,st, ,nll
resulting lcgitimatcly from the construction
OF lhe Court lIeuSc.
As Tor clients and spectators, it seems to
have been well nigh forgotten, that there
ever c"uldibc more than Corporars Guard
IN nttcpdancc. The space and seats allotted
them arc not one fourth Of what they should
be. a great many persons usually attend
Court, and they are entitled rs citizens Of
the District to a place of ease and comfort
in the Hall where Iaw and Justice are nd.
mInistcrrd. Many are compelled to attend
but 1t is 4 penancc to be kept in that room
all day standing about with hat in hand, A.
mong few seats scattered about mostly
out of hearing and sight OF the Court TIL.
gallery is = decided nuisance, jutting over
head Ike n bold Promontory, USUALLY oceu-
pied by boys and females high / the air.
who furthe most part ought 10 be any wh.re
else than in a Court Room, where oflcnti,ncs
the recitsls upon the stand, and exhibitions
OF human depravity developed in the trial
OF many causcs, famliarize their mind, with
scenes, which too often occur in thi, opr
land of Bibles and Churches. Doubtless.
many good citizens Of the District wcr.
panied at the last Court. in Witnessing the
intense e3gcrncss, with which the "lobby
members y overhead, the largest number Of
whom was boys, listened 10 thu dcmnrali.
zing rccitals brought out in some of the
cases. a right public spirit, and n proper
regard Tor public morals. ought to pull down
that gallery, and extend the space bslow for
those who are obliged to be in attendance.
II 1t was really used by men who have
business in court, it would be quite another
Affair, but II is @caeraly curtaiasi by thos.
who have no business, iders and noisy bows
Now how can all this be rcmeded What
can be done to remove all these objections I,
First get the money, and all the rest vii!
follow. Let strong petition 90 up to the
LrglsI't' re for about $1,000. lancaster
seldom asks ftvors from that BODY, indeed
she is slow To demand her rights. How
much have ncighboring Districts drawn
from the State for their public buildings,
How many thousands has the State, in the
last I'VE years appropriated 10 her Court
Houses and Lancaster has received not
one cent, simply because she has not asked
Tor It, She is entitled--let her reach forth
ana take. What then after you have the
money! Let an a!d,ton oftwo rooms, below
and tw" above twenty feet wide be erected
in the western side Of the House of same
height of the present building. Continue
the passage below, westward, and const, uct
n rom on either side, one for the Coroncr,
who neverhad aroom in Lancaster, and the
other for the Grand Jury, who then could
have their witnesses before them without the
usual ba,o!, disturbing the Cour, and adver-
,ising the world Of tbs esse they are In.es-
tigating. Let the two rooms above be
comfortably furnished for tho Petit Jurie.,
tables, chairs, and fire places, the door to open
at tho elbow Of the Foreman In retiring to
make up their veriicts. the whole Court
will not then be disturbed, and business
arrested until they force their way in noise
and confusion through the croud. Let the
gallery and the present Jury rooms be torn
away, and the space for client. and specta- :
tors be enlarged and filed up with substan.