The true Democrat., 1855-05-29

Know Nothings Presented by the Grand
 Jury ill Rochester, Monroe County, New
 York-lnteresting Developments.
 Acting under the injunction of a solemn oath, the grand jury in Rochester, Monroe coun- ty, New York, at its recent session, presented to the court the following document, which may we'll claim the attention of all thinkine men. That portion of it, especially which states that the grand jury has been embarrassed ses to answer questions put to them in regard to their proceedings in secret session, upon the ground that disclosure of the facts would ren- der them infamous, is eminently worthy of the consideration of the public. It is really alarm ing to good citizens to know that there is an or ganization existing among them whose mem bers consider their obligation to a secret order of more binding character than their oaths to document. Here it is
 " To Me Hon. Court cf Oyer and Ie'mainer, cf tue
 County of Monroe, Nea0 York:
 "1 he grand jury of this county having been especially charged by the court to make inquiry as to all violations and miraculous of the elcc- ton laws of this State, have, in the discharge of this duty, called before them large num- Der of citizens, and made dilig gent inquiry on that subject. They find by section five of the general election law that if any person shall by bribery, menace, or other corrupt means or device whatsoever, either directly or indirectly, attempt to influence any elector of this State in giving his vote or ballot, or deter him from giving the same, or disturb him in the free exer- clse of the II ght of suffrage at any election in this State, held pursuant to this chapter and shall thereof be convicted, such person so of lending shall be adjudsed guilty of misde- meanor, and be fined or imprisoned, according to the discretion of the court before which such conviction shall be had; such fine in no case to exceed $500, nor such Imprisonment one year
 " It appears, from the testimony taken before us, that there are number of societies or or ders of men in this county who have formed themselves into secret combinations for political action, and that these societies meet only in se- cret; that their members are admitted under oaths and obi cations, and pledged to inviolable secrecy; that they are induced to enter the so- clety under variety of pretenccs, and to take upon themselves oaths and binding obligations that they will not vote for certain particular classes of their fellow citizens, or individual citizens; that they will cast their votes and use their elective franchise according to the behests and requirements of their order, or the officers thereof, under the rules of their order; that by their oathS and obligations they are bound to vote under the penalty of perjury, or being considered perjured, and as being unworthy to be employed, countenanced or supported in any business whatever, and as persons totally un- worthy of the confidence of their fellow citi- zens, for under these penalties they are bound to vote for the persons designated by the order without regard to their own individual choice or preference of candidates.
 That members of this society," or order having taken those oaths and obligations, are informed by the order or officers thereof that a refusal to vote for the candidates of the order will subject them to the charge of perjury, and render them Infamous and unworthy tue confi- dcncc ot all good men. And thus they are di- rectly influenced ln giving their vote or ballot or arc deterred from giving the same, and are de- tered and hnderel in the flee exercise of the right of suffrage. And it further appears that members have been threatened that if they did not vote according to the reJuisitiOn of the or der, that they should be deemed as perured under those oathS and obligations, and should be subject to disgrace and infamv, and, as false and pe1ured, be expelled with diahonor.
 "That such societies or orders, after the last general election, called their members to ac- count to them for their officers, as to the manner in which they discharged the elective franchise. and required them to declare upon oath for whom they cast their votes at the said election
 The grand jury have been much cmbarras- sed in their investigation, by the refusal of wit nesses to answer the questions put to them as to their proceedings in secret session, on the II, l:-ol1 n, z render them intanaouS, and in other cases the witnesses claimed protection on the ground that answers to the questions would crnlinate Mem- sehes.
 Having thus been deprived of the full dis closure of facts, no individual cases have been presented by US, and the jury, therefore, beg leave to make this genreal presentment against such oaths and combinations, that are, in their opinion, direct violation of the statute in rela- ton to elections, as the law was designed to pro- tect and guard every elector in a free and vol untary choice in casting his ballot, and to allow every citizen otherwise worthy to be a proper subject of such suffrage. We believe. from inc testimony before us, that such proceedings strike at the foundation of individual liberty of action and tend directly to destroy the great and cardinal principles of our institutions as DN our lOlcldJnclS, that OUT llSUllullODS can only continue to exist by the free and un- controlled action of the citizens, and that all such restraints and obligations are destructive to an elective and free government.
 "Al of which has been duly adopted and is most respectfully submitted.
 "WM. c. BLOSS, Foreman"
 The grand jury consisted of twenty persons, as follows:
 ~
 Chauncy Allen, John Graham, Caleb $. Corser, Lewis Billings George W. Goodman, Elias Garrison William 1. Hanford, Robert J. Fellows, Mason Cole, Thomas w. Walker, Ebenezer L. Gage, Roswell Lockwood, Jared Coleman, Jacob Garrison, David Starkey, Lyman Johnson. Phillips N. Simmons, Butler Bardwel David Mckay.
 Know Nothingism-Alex E.
 Stephens.
 It is not necessary to say who Alexander