New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-04-05

" God" ard 90 on, which ar merely verdcs
n fsd. They have oosducted their investga-
tons o. Il their sole duty were 70 ascertain the kind Of
death ard they had nothing 10 do with the guilt or
innocence Of tboee eceused Of causing the death,
Thir, how ever, is undoubtedly very grave error
il i. their day 70 inquire into every ercums'-nce
la,ing 10 tie deaih Of the deceased, w,ether il
cured through accident or desigp. or through the
ero.s ignorance criminal begF genoe Of any pereon
II p the Coroners duty To .eeeive and endesvor TO
obtain evidence on ell vdes, and 10 compel the at
tendance Of such WITT esses give any iniorna-
ton in the und er investigation.
Tie inquest leld upon the bodies Of the victims OF
the recent eocden, at spuyten Duyve Creek, on the
Hudson n yer Raroad is illustration of the irfeg-
ular nap er in which such investig are usually
eopdaoted The verdict Of the Jury was that the
ess.d came 10 their death by the bridge giving
"s.Say in otsequence Of the accumulation OF zee
&" against it, No rigid inquiry was instituted az 10
wheAer the bridge originally built sufficiently
strong TO withstand the pressure Of ire, or whether
| the Directors or any persons in authority, were
aware of H. unsafe couGton II the duty Of the
Coroner in that instance 10 make careful inquiry re-
gsrding al these NATTER, end IT the jury had then
returned verdict against any party, 1t wa also h'
duty 10 arrest them Oh charge vi nvnAaughter, since
70 one can with IMMUNITY a1aGger the life Of another
through gross ignorance criminal negligence.
For instance admiDiE.t ring to child a dangerous
quantity Of sprtuous liquor, hecd'cssy or I'D oru'
spot monsaughter death be caused thereby VI
;ftle driver Of a carriage be racing with another
| car1iage ard person be consequently killed, II ~
maj sughter on the part Of the reckless driver. In
uch csses, Of almost daily in this city,
verdict Of fact merely generally rendered; or II the
| is Il
| by the Coroner.
II is a subject Of frequent discussion whether the
proceedings of Coroners Inquest are Of the nature
Of those which are conducted in ordinary courts OF
Justice or whether from the peculiar nature of the
INQUIRY they ore nearly allied to the investl-
gatio IA before Grand Jury The Ormer is apubctri
buna the latter private ONE but az the CoronerSin-
quiry frequently leads to accusation, il is advisable, II
not Necessary occasionally 10 conduct it IN secret lest
suspected party being informed OF the proof arising
against him, eudes justice by Eight or by tanp'rIng
with the Witnesses Gases may also occur in which
nryacy is necessary for the sake Of decency. Even
in cases where absolute secrecy s not required, the
exclusion OF particular individuals may be necessary
and proper OF this the Coroner is evidently prepared
10 Judge, and it is also manifest that the pos
session of such a power il necessary to him for
the due administration Of justice; for it IL impos
sibe that the Coroners Court can be conducted with
the eff ct that justice demands, if the Coroner have
not entire control the persons present and the
power of admission and exclusion according to his own
discretion II has in fact been decided on several
casons that the Coroner has the right to exclude not
only part uar individuals but the public generally.
He may en- forcibly expel contumacious spectator
from the room III which the inquest is held. Never
thelcss it is obvious that, in most cases publicity
assists the investigation Of truth and the detection OF
guilt, this power ought not to be exercised without
iust cause and due consideration Besides, it is not
esseutial-even if requisite that the inquest should
be 4ced in secret-that il should be concluded
in the sane manner, the Coroner has the I'M
doubted right to all suspected persons, and de-
tain them until his Jury either acquit or fnd verdict
against them.
The ndiscreet exerci,e by the Coroner Of the
power Of holding secret court has lately been
exenpfed in the abortion in Houston street of
this city. The investigation commenced in secret
and concluded in secret that those who could have
given information on the subject were not aware that
the Coroner had the under consideration until the
verdict was rendered. After eight days Of this secret
investigation the affair remained impenetrable mys
terry and il was only by the publication of the pro-
csediugs in the daily papers that the body of the
W nan was identified, and testimony obtained by a
Justice Of the Peace which would undoubtedly have
led TO the conviction of the accused had she not taken
advantage of the delay to eude justice by fight.