New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-11-22
THE STUART TRIAL.

Justice Stuart, in his remarks on the rendering
of the verdict that he was not guilty but ought to
| resign, sOlemny ayerred his entire innocence Of
the charge laid against him, and charged the
woman Connolly with partial and most material
falsehood in her testimony inculpating him. We
think he was less explicit in these sverments than
the ends of public justice absolutely required
that be should have stated precisely wherein and
to what extent the wOman's testimony was false.
We trust he may yet do so and, though the pub
LEGATION will no longer be privileged as against &C
tons for libel as it would have been had he made
his statement in open Court. We tender him the
use of our columns for this purpose. If there be
an explanation which exculpates one of our Ciys
criminal judges from the alleged completely aud
raternty with the very worst Of harlots and
felons, it is due to the reputation of New-York
that such explanation be fully set forth.
And while he is about it, we could wish that
the Judge would enlighten the public as to the
working Of the machinery of Justice in our City,
especially with regard to the entering Of this salts
faction on an untried indictment, or by whatever
Yankee term the performance known to lawyers
as mol pros may be expressed. 1t does seem to
U.S. judging from the testimony adduced, that
quite apart from the consideration of Judge
Stuart's conduct in the premises-this power of
mol pros in the hands of the District Attorney is
one very imperfectly guarded and loosely e1er-
c;sed If any officer may on his mere volition,
and by a stroke Of the pen set at liberty deter
mined and gerous burglar or thief, how do we
know that corruption may not yet invade the de-
partment Of that officer What is there to him
der even a Dishict-Attorney from being tempted,
if fye.hundred dollar bills soe to be earned so
easily and with scarcely chance for exposure?
We do not Imply that shy of our present prose
cutting officers have ever taken money for such an
act; but it does seem to US that Justice Stuart is
not the man to have invented and first put in Ope
ration this mode OF adding to the incomes of our
ministers of justice. Depend on it, there have
been loose dealings with indicted or arrested cul-
prts in our courts before Mrs. Margaret Murphy
io-Duval- Connolly, ever paid that fam
GUS visit to Justice Stuart in February last.
We have had sample of two of the highest
functionaries connected with our criminal juris-
prudence combining to bring another with whom
they were necessarily on terms Of daily intimacy
to Justice for his alleged corruption in office; aud
the publc thanks them for their moral courage and
frmness in the discharge Of duty. Whatever may
be the fact there is no doubt, we presume, that
Recorder Smith and District-Attorney Hal be-
heyed Judge Stuart culpable, and therefore de-
nounced him. That they were obliged to bargain
with desperate criminals, and allow one such to
escape from the tolls of justice, in the discharge
of this painful duty, was perhaps unavoidable.
Cannot Judge Stuart eyince equal herosm in his
devotion to the same high purpose Can he not
enliphten the public for example, as to the impu-
nifty enioyed BY the hordes Ct blscklegs, and policy
vendors and brothel-keepers, who infsst our City,
The law saws these social vampires shall be ar
rested, indicted, punished why is it never done
Capt Carpenter states that he has often reported
some OF these criminals and crime meters to his
supe1ors; but that wss the end oft. Every three
months or SO, some police functiOnary makes
swoop on gang Of shabby negroes, gambling for
pennies or drinks in the back room Of some low
proeshcp and marches them of in triumph to the
station but the magnates Of the gambling frater-
nity, who give game suppers nightly in their stump
taous palaces, and spend $50 900 year out Of the
plumber of school after school Of green dupes-the
boss policy hacker, who is said TO make twice a,
much on the daily sales of his hundreds OF retail
ers-we never heal Of the law taking rank hold
Of them. Nay; we think it would not often be
suspected, from the annual Messages oil our May
ors and the semi annual Reports Of our Chiefs Of
Police, that such q crime as gambling existed in
our City Of New-York. 1t does seem to US that
Justice ia blind here at least in one Of her
optics, and squints viciousy with the other. Can