New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-08-22

he ready ~ meet tht charge. IL IL hCCVcc 10 SAVE
tho sufrrirps of iDnoc. ice, AMI not to favor thu
tecspe Of guilt 1t should, therefore, be regulated
ny the application of t@o PRINCIPLES. FIRST the
oeg,ee Of probability of the suit OF the party; and,
~copdl. By the Deces.ity Of occurring his preseuce
., the time OF trial In proportion ss mau is likely
to lie Innocent are the chances great tnat he Will
court rather than shun trial In cases of very
dubou, guilt the amount Of bail should be tnoder-
ate in proportion to the worldly condition OF the
party accused-so that the poorest need not SUB
nit 10 il carceraton if there Is rea 'Onanle belief
snopg his Iitnds tbs! be will not avoid his trial.
| Imprisonment to naDy persons in humble life Is
| equivalent to the ruin Of themselves aud their
families. All the capital they have is invested IN
their thews and sinews, and il that be withdra ~n
from tn ms'ket they, aud oil connected with theui
| are popr indeed. To thus class OF persons re-
auirt mept TO fird bail in five h1ndred or even IN
| two hundred dollars, is equivalent ~ hopeless
| communal. They have no frends, as rule, ABLE
| il willing 10 risk such sum, or @hO should be ac-
| ceptx6 by discreet magistrate. While for GUMS
less than City dollars it ia probable there are very
few honest lsborers who could not find friends both
able and willing to back them. For this class OF
subjects for bal its amoun, should be very material
| ly reduced IN the use Of wise discretion
When the proof against tho pcSOn charged Is
strong, and the probability Of bis guus and conse-
gu ut desire to eyade trial proportionsbly great,
| the amount Of bill should be- raesbly increased.
And in the ease Of wealthy criminal it Sd 'dld bs
denied alt"gtth.r or put at a point whiol should
entail ruin should be attempt TO escape by forfeit
iDg il. 70, example, had Robert Schuyler been
| arrested for his entertainments Of millions, he
would have probably been released on bail OF
| $40, 900, or at most $4,000. Now, be must have
| bren q much worse fnsncier than hs was held to
be, If be could not have compounded his felony
with the State on there easy terms, and ye. had
plenty left TO wear away comfortably the rest Of
his we-spent life in the elegant seciusi IN of his
| villa on the Rhine or near Genoa, whichever i.
| was instead of at Sing Sing on tho North River.
| Thi lie an eI reme case, but cases of Analogous
| character less extreme are in the mind of every
nan who has had his eye on the criminal courts al
! over the country. In England ban would be
refused in cases like this and it should be 80 here.
OF course, the proper Interpretation aud apQli-
cation OF the law Of bail mus, rest with the com
| niturg magistrates, and heDce the Importance Of
having ID class OF men to fill those Offices Asfar
40 personal hardship is rned il is o. more cen
Sequence that the Juogs whom the citizen charged
with crime first confronts should BE- of the first
order OF Judicial minds than the one before w1om be
appears for his final dtli,ersncc AN Innocent
nan does not very often receive sentence OF mpris-
| Onn ent fr ID the latter, while from the former tue
c.rds of the court show that be not unfrequently
| does We freely admit that this ed lsIment OF
ba to the demands of Justice and the particular
merits of every case il very nice snd CRIT cal op-
| Grafton Il 10 much easter to have regular tariff
OF sums TO be asked for ,frnses OF certain grade.
But this nice aud critical udQm- ut i. exactly what
tho people have q right TO demand aud wat, If
made intelligent Of h- matter, they sill bs willing
to pay for. We bel eve in cheap Justice, but noe
in cheap justices. Tne one may not uufrcqu .ntly
.tand il the way Of the other. That mt.ter bow
ever, will arrange itself al soon as tn" paope un-
derstono full, how material thing thus is to the
int rests Of public justice, we'll as Of justice t.
| The Individuals with whom is has to do.
Closely connected with this matter is the u,prs.
oDnent OF Hen guilty only OF hay ns been lockers
| Oh when OF, nse committed Tdls gross and
flsgrant Injustice demands redress in mos. emphatic
fonts. What can be greater Outrage on justice
than committing p'rltcty Innocent man 70 all in
company with icloDs because he canaot procure
BIZ is for BIS Appearance at Court, ~h le, perhaps,
the crmiDa! bmscf Ii at large on bail, and prossi
by taking himself under its cover Odt Of The juris-
dcrIon II it be said that the ends Of justice
could DOT be answered Unless The witnesses were
II ade ture Of ir may be answered tina, Justice,
for the guilty, is dearly bought az ne cost Of jas
tee to the innocent. And, besides, though this
Sstcm may secure witnesses in some cases,
yet it must tend to defeat justice in
, Many others by keeping witnesses from
coming forward who may be wiling enough
10 tell the truth, but very naturally ndl-posei
IL be punished for it by Imprisonment IN the CON-
IL Cd jail So we think the breadth of tina. matter
il ju.t about equivalent to its leogth. IN Cuba, il
il said that when O murder is commit ed, instead
Of going 10 tho assistance OF the wounded mao,
every body turns tail and away. This, because
be pr ption Of the law there that the nesres.
person ID the aSsasslp, apu inc puluen vi PROOF TESTS
spou bin, TO show that be is not. We should think
that the sta'e OF our laws would have the same
effect every spectator of crime who did not
enjoy the sweet Consciousness of substance suffi.
Client ~ .aye him from keeping the cuprlt com
paby till his trial Surely thus outrage on jus'i,e
nLd I'LL on al se may be cured. No such Custom
prey ais il England, excepting that the compa n.
ant 10 somt times und over to prosecute aud w
injury 10 justice such as is feared here folio Ss.
Personal recOghizances might be demanded, aud
ct1topl) the procers Of the Courts is sufficient to
reach all Within tee jurisdiction. As to strangers,