Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1854-03-11
JUSTICE.

1t there is anything which seems to be, natu.
ally as it were, the prop and pillar Of Republi
can Government-one of its indispensable accom-
paniements for the preservation and perpetuanol
Of such a Governmental is justice Justice il
its criminal courts-that proud, strict, impartia
and unyieldlng Arbiter, 10 which the lowly a
well as the lofty, the infdel as the Christian, tn
Catholic as the Protestant, the Mahomedan as tn
Jew, the foreigner as the manor-born, the servik
and. ignorant African as the proudest and most en-
lightened of the white race, can look up to If they
have been unfairly dealt with, and have the fules
confidence that the most unequivocal satisfaction
will be rendered them. We have lived to learn
however, that justice is amere chimera, the veri.
est lottery, when it is reckoned upon within the
precincts of a court-house-equally absurd, il
il is calculated to emanate either from the Grand
Jury, the States Attorney. the Judge or the Petit
Jury. Unwarranted passion, the ready hand, the
knife and the budgeon, seem to have usurped the
seats of these administrators Of right and justice,
in the settlement of disputes, and to stalk abroad
proud and defiant.
This state Of ethics and equity, however, which
we allpde to land other minds than our W can
point to the districts in which they exist we are
glad to say are not prevalent in every section and
division of our country. In the North and in the
West, statutes of law, to regulate the good order
aad wel-being Of society, do not exist a. a mere
nullity, In those sections, Grand Juries do not as
semble without a Just conception of the great res.
ponnblity Of their position, the necessity of free
and independent thought, and the exercise of a
clear and unbiased judgment on the par. of each
juror the States Attorney, by word or by action,
does not show aught else but that he is controlled
in his sphere by the all.powerful mandates Of Law
and Justice, and looks upon the parties iutere,ted
but Is 30 many automatons-their stations in life
their feelings, their politics and their religion h.
knows nothing while interrogating plaintiffs and
and witnesses in the Grand Jury room, for it is 70,
reign to any knowledge necessary for him to pos.
sess; where the Judge allows no morbid feelings
of pity, or misapplied sympathy, station or de-
gree, to interrupt the solemn functions of his Office 1;
and where the Petit Jury are twelve proud, edu.
Gated and conscientious men, las the Grand Jurors
likewise are) who are above and beyond the in
Auence of Judge and prosecuting Attorney, or the
sloquence Of the lawyer, and towards whom the
humbIest as the proudest Of their fellow-citizens,
can look with calmness and confidence that a Just
and truthful verdict will be given. Such is the
general aspect Of our courts at the North and West,
md everywhere else where justice is strictly and
mpartialfy administered. L. it 20 heref W.
cave those to determine who have, like ourselves,
Witnessed the result Of matters relative to the
hove subject, which have, from time to time,
in various sections Of this Stste, and
,hich lead to the following conclusions: