Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-08-11

District Attorney, who has so much experience
IN MS procession, to have come before the jury
, MIN the Indictment In his hand, explaining to
.heih the precise nature of the allegations con-
tained therein, and then with precision To call
their attention to the voluminous parts of the ,es
,imony which had been given in the case. He
hao hot even required to the indictment; Il had
never Deen read to them; even now they were
profoundly ignorant. of the charge contained i'm
the Indictment which they sat there TO try In
stead Of arriving at the precision Of rifle, the
SentIeman had resorted to a discharge Of mus
kerry. He would attempt to supply This defect
and to do what had been the duty Of the District
Attorney, TO call their attention to the allegations
contained therein, because il was necessary, I'm
order thai the jury might understand the nature
Oh me 0efence which would be made
MI. . went on to read the Indictment to the
jury ana said that the allegation stated that these
the United States, and unlawfully, riotoisly and
unanimously disturb and break the peace; there
was no other count In the Indictment; that was
the only charge, 1t had involved all the parties
charged with one and the same offence; these
parties could be convicted of but one offence and
they must all be proved to have participated in
tnat offence, In order to convict them of that
charge Ii the act complained OF was disturbance
of the polls, 10 was competent TO have had that
charged to them in the Indictment If IL was the
getting the swivel from the Navy Yord and the
charged that in the indictment; this specification
ought to have been made. This indictment is not
so framed; and the defence meant to press that
under well-settled principles of law, the testimo-
ny on the part OF the complainant must necessa-
rily be confined 10 that part of the offence
Fair play, justice demands this, and it must
appeal With irresistible force and commend itself
10 the just consideration of every one; he would
take the case of civil action; A is indebted to
IN three distinct accounts, and is subject to suit
upon each; b may sue and put him on his defence
Tor each OF the three at the same time, but he
must give the party notice of his action so as to
put him on his defence, and if he chooses to put
only one in suit, in the trial the testimony must
be confined to that. There are many defences
that may be united in one suit; but these several
defences must be set out separately in each count;
ana IL Is allowed TO the prosecutor to give evi.
dence to the jury touching each count in the in
OF the prosecution must be confined TO that The
dictment; but III It's confined to one the testimony
jury would perceive that this indictment was
couched in most general terms; there was no al
legation OF meeting together in the first precinct
OF the Fourth Ward; so IL is competent under
this form. for the prosecutor to select from the
various alleged disturbances, and make that the
subject OF his prosecution; yet while the law al
lows this, 1t is necessary for the attainment of
Justice that, when the prosecution gives evidence
OF particular act, ever afterwards the case must
be confined to that. Now, the District Attorney
yesterday undertook to prove from the testimony
tnat there had been various riotingS on the first
day of June, and demanded the conviction of sew
eral OF the parties Of participating In that offence
He the District Attorney undertook to show
that, at the first precinct Of the Fourth Ward be-
tween and I'D O'Clock, a riot was committed:
and that, in that riot, some of the parties now
charged In the Indictment were Participants
lie called the attention to what occurred at SUBJ
segment period on that day, and undertook to
show another riot near by, in which not all, but
some OF the parties were implicated, and some of
them there charged in the former riot, (the riot
OF the morning. He attempted to show that there
were two separate riots after the arrival of the
marines-one at the market house and another at
the pollS-an offence distinct from the morning
offence, and directed TO another and different pur-
IN emf ttit hat ho haI s,,fro
duced another, in which he sought to implicate
the two stewards in an act in different place at
different time, and with distinct and different
purpose. There were, then. four separate acts of
alleged riot, occurring at different times and
places, directed to different objects, and charged
10 have been participated in, not by all, but by
some one or other Of those acting apart from each
other. If it be true that the indictment alleges
but one offence, the prosecution must prove an
offence participated in by all of them. The pros
ecution is restricted to the proof of offence,
and that one only.
This jury have been addressed at large upon
the subject of four several alleged offences, and
they are asked to convict these parties upon the
address of the learned Attorney; how was IL to
he accounted for that under this special indict-
ILcnt their patience had been so trespassed upon
by Investigations that did not belong to the case
submitted to them. This first day Of June must
ever remain on the pages Of the history of the
country; on that day the blood of their fellow
citizens was shed on the public streets men ad-
United to be unconneeted with this disturbance
tsSclilDltO DIT q pubic place pubic and law
full purpose; inofiensive and unotfending men
standing in their own doorways,, were shot down
and butchered in the presence of the CRY author
titles, and being TINS butchered they We're left TO
Weller IN their own blood, uEcared for by the an
fhorities-themselves spectators of the deed The
City Fathers had another office, to perform; to
come back with the military and to assemble in
some part of this building and to riot over their
deeds OF blood. The historian will have to recur
to that fact, and another most startling one and
that was that these acts lad been committed in
the blaze Of day, and that up to the present time
there had been no judicial investigation Of those
acts of blood. ....
The meanest man, whose body is found dead
within this jurisdiction, is entitled to invest
CATION at the hands of your authorities. The sui
eide. the drunkaTd-all are entitled, in every
Christian land where law is known, to full,
free and impartial judicial investigation as TO the
cause Of his death. They had been told that the
President of the United States is bound 10 see
that the laws are eXecuted-here is a case In
which his experimenting care might be product
i've of some good. They had been told that the
Mayor was bound to see that the laws were faith
fully executed-here was case in which he
might have chance TO look to the matter, and
see the laws executed properly. He was sorry TO
see the District Attorney stand here and seem in
clined 10 defend the parties who inflicted those
dread and bloody acts, rather than those guilty of
petty offence against the laws
Mr.. =. said that he profesSed TO have some ac-
Quaintance with the law but he was vet TO learn
upon what principle of criminal law an unofiend-
ing and peaeeabe citizen can be shot down on his
own door sill, and upon what principle that deed
can be excused. No military inquiry had been
demanded to investigate the acts of these marines
on that day. Some Of the officers and some of
the marines themselves had been called as wit
nesses, and from their own lips, in this presence.
they have testified to what makes them Justly
and legally the responsible parties in this homi-
eide. The historian who records the occurrences
OF the LIST Of June will fail 10 do his duty If he
neglect to give prominent place to the occur
renGes of this trial.
Here he would make his acknowledgements to
the District Attorney for the caution he had given
TO the jury in his opening, and that caution was
TO guard against having their minds warped by
political feelings. Nothing, according to his OBJ
seEyation, controls the action of men SO strongly
as party feelingi we approve or condemn by the
prejudice of patty spirit; It invades the halls of
leg station, and the very laws under which we
live spring from party influences, and it cannot
lie surprising therefore, if the executive, with so
much power in their hands, should be imbued
with the same spirit. The poorest laborer on
your public works has TO bow to this shrine be-
fore he can be fit to become the qualified servant
of your executive officers. Victorious over the
ballot box, triumphant in the halls of leg islation,
he trusted never to see its hideous vsage skulk-