Daily national Democrat., 1859-11-23
Judge Lindley's Charge to the Grand

GENTLEMEN OF THE GRAND JuRY :-lhe al
majesty of the law has called you together
o perform grave and responsible duties a, a,
ouching which the court is required 10 III r
truct you. e.;o,,, .
You are made the guardians OF soeie'y
md the protectors of the public interest ~ M
stand as watchmen over the conduct Vi "iI
public officers within your county anu o.e5
the management of the County rrisoh anu
County Hospital. .i,oro,,,b.
l., investigate the munner in which they are
CONDUCTED Won can have free access at al, :
reasonable times to all the papers, books ana
records belonging to the same.
II is quite within your province to recon
mend in your Report any Improvements
which. upon your investigation, You shall De-
ieve to be necessary for the public welfare
Custom has made such recommendations
mode bv which evils (not in themselves vlo-
lations of law) are exposed to the puohc
mind and Lroaght to the attention oi the
legislature. together with some general piah
or recommendation as to the remedy. In TINS
narticular the Hospital and the financial al
fairs Of the county demand your serious con-
sideration. e.
Your attention should, however, be hrs'
directed to an examination into ordinary Puo
lie offences. The administration oil the crl'n'
inal law is entirely dependent upon your ucc
ton. and until you take the primary S'eP "
returning indictments, the Court has no 3o"
er to move in the punishment OF criminals
In this your duty is quite plain and llnhei
alive Your oath embodies it all: You
shall diligently inquire into and due present
ment make of all public offenses against tne
neople of this State committed or traole
within this county of which you shall nave
or can obtain leqak evidence, 1ou shali pre-
sent no person through malice, hatred or III
will. nor leave any unpresented through rear
favor. or affection, or for any reward OF lor
Tho nromise or hope thereof but in all your
nresentments YOU shall present the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, ac-
cording to the best of your skill and under
standing"
There is one observation-disclosures
to be so public and common and when Is SO
far.reaching and corrupting in Its lnnu'
ence as to make it proper for the court 20
especially direct your attention to IT. Az the
last January term Of this Court TINS suuJeeV'
together with that of kindred offence, was
brought to the notice OF the Grand Jury III
the following language;
at appears but proper to call your atten
ton especially to those offences which seem
either to battle the administration of the law,
or to be passed by unobserved and unpun
! ished by its officers Gaming and keeping
houses of i'll fame, are of this class, and both
are regulated by special statutes. The ditfi-
Guilty in prosecuting successfully In these
cases, arises in part from the fact that the
crimes are of more general nature, affecting
IS the individual less. but the whole body o
IS society more. The incidental private wrong
n affords keen incentive to public proseeu-
tion and indirectly brings most offenders be-
e fore the Court, but in the offences above ma
r med, nearly all who have sufficient knowl
o edge to become prosecutors or witnesses hav
: a common interest in eoncealing commo
crime and a common infamy.
The secret participation of so many per
z sons in the commission of these offences ais
: greatly tends to defeat the law. Indeed i
would seem quite difficult to keep the jury
box free from the infection. 1t is doubles
true that quite portion of our citizens
t would silence these prosecutions, but the
. other and it is to be hoped, the larger por
ton, who have regard for the moral condi-
tion of society, and especially those who have
= the responsibility of the moral and intellec-
e tual training of children in our midst, de
mand the execution of the law.
!, "Your solemn oath requires you to exam
inc into these offences as into all others, an'
d to indict the offenders.
e "Vigorous prosecutions will drive thes
IS dens of infamy beyond the public gaze am
to a great extent confne their pestilerous in
fluencts to their secret haunts.
o LAS much embarrassment attends the OBJ
e tanning of legal evidence III these cases. yo'
should be guided in this particular by th'
District Attorney, so as not to return indict-
ments upon which there will be no proba
u bility of obtaining convictions"
It That Grand Jury, either for the want of ev
.e idence or diligence, or differing with tn
- Court and their oaths as to administering til
y law, failed to find indictments. In the mean
g time, gaming has made progress in our midst
lie In order to impress you more fully as t.
> the evil tendencies and consequences of thi
\ illegal practice, and as q stronger ineentiv
~ to the discharge of your duty in this particr
he lar, the Court deems it not improper to in
ed stance the now notorious cases of crime r
he Gently committed in our county, resulting d
rectly from these practices The yonng ma
:. Burns, had long been in the employment
ch our Pioneer Expressman, and had enjoyt
X the confidence of both his employer and t
90 public. In a single nirht he passed in q
- public Judgment from being the honest,
le spected, confidential business agent of Lar
he ton, through the gambling pathway, to be
ed embezzling, absconding outcast and felon.
,o, Another instance was the alleged rece
-: attempted depreciation upon our Coul
n't' Treasury by means of county scrip, said
leh be forged by deputy public officer, who
heretofore been a respected citizen, but W
ions like the other, yielded to the seductive gai
= :. and resorted to forgery to repair his losse
Il OF the gaming table
tent These and kindred offences are the
tant spring which faro and kindred games
nm the parents. If you would protect soci
from crime, strike at the parent source.
oF- is not for you to say that the law is too
les vere You have sworn to indite for its vi
will tion, and if you can find out the offenC
.oon and obtain legal evidence to convict, you
bound to present them You will then h
e. kept your oaths and discharged your duty
toto You are required by law to keep eve
thing that occurs in the Grand Jury ro
ave the sayings and votes of jurors, and all y
'rn- investigations as profound secrets, anC
lent event of any violation of this obligation
lar. any juror, the Foreman will report the
to the Court, and the juror will be dealt Y
u"h in such manner as will secure the end sou
1t is not unfrequent that the public is in
Nh, vance Of the Court in learning what has
done in the Grand Jury room. This prac
mas tends to defeat a proper administration
It is justice, and will be suppressed by the pro
action of the court
nus A CORRESPONDENT of the Leavenw
'loei Times, speaking of a recent massacre on