Arkansas true Democrat., 1860-07-07
Grand Juries-No. III.

rho~o o,,v ,.na,ns one other oDJection ,n he d;soosei of, so far remember the ca. ..,ogu.. and that is that if the members c' the grand jury were honest men aha sovr o uros. ~ tizens they would as individua's nav n;s ph p,ho;r ecuted any violators of the Ia" wi.n:n ' .Sd knowledge before the nearest J"s.c'e' an .a ths necessity of their assembling does ~. av;st unless it be that they have failed o ~ ao their duty as men. l state the pro- .'os;t;on as well as 1 can, and think that f do it full justice in doing so 1t IS the dutv of every citizen to have person Lnown to him to have violated the law ar- vested: but not to arrest him on vague suspicion; but it is for the grand Jury to investigate suspicious and see wnelnea ,ael there is good ground for arrest ana uniess th some such power be vested some"neio 'n' law cannot be administered. .,.,
 The opposers of the grand lu,y mien1 pe entitled to some more favor and consldera- .;on # there were any originality in their v;ews. hut they are those of France and Of Sna;n, countries where the law has always been administered in very falltbe fasmon'
 France. in modern times, has adopted so much of our ideas on the jury system as to incorporate in her code the petit jury, with restrictions and notifications; and now we are asked by certain ones to give up the grand jury and accede to the French equl- 1oleni, which means strong police, sys- tenn of espionage and domiciliary visits Tn extreme cases; all of which are "repugnant to our institutions" and unsulted not only to our spirit of freedom, but also to the condition of our country.
 For adopting the petit jury system, France had reasons; for such IS the lnvet- crate prejudice between that country and England that the former cannot be sad to have adopted any institution of the latter unless it were forcibly recommended by req son and by practical utility. These reasons were that under the jury system in England justice was better administered than in France under her system. Can we say that the criminal law has been better sdminis- tered. in France than in England or the United States. No. We well know that while the Bastile was filled with prisoners century after century under the lettres de eachet, the haJeas corpus was in full force in England; and that while the judges of France were subservient to the will of every French King, James II could not get & jury to convict the seven bishops; and that when the nation, and the parliament and the king were. assured of the guilt of Sir John Fenwick. no grand jury would in- dict him, simply because they were not car ried away with the passions of the day and the general feeling of indignation; and at last bill of attainder caused the offen- der to be decapitated.
 It is by the practical working of things that you shall know them. Fine spun theories are not worth ages of practical beneficial effect. The utility of the grand fury has been demonstrated.
 To listen to the declaimers of the grand jury, one would suppose that the grand jury was an instrument of oppression to innocent men. An indictment is only an accusation, and after 1t Is found the law still presumes the accused to be innocent. It is true that an innocent person may be indicted and deprived of his liberty until his trial but that must happen any way that an accusation can be made, and actu- ally does happen in France ten times to where it does once here. In what coun- try is innocence so safe as in England and these United States? Is it in France or Spain? Could better safeguard be thrown around the liberty of the citizen by placing the accusing power in the hands of one man, or of number of men acting in other capacities?
 These are the opinions that mean to express. They have been intended less as anargument than as suggestions, to awaken further thought. Penned hurriedly in the midst of engagements, and when away from home, and little at ease, if they have not the polish that pervades the produc- tions of academic bowers, 1 think they are at least based on truth, as they are surely dictated by an affection for the institutions of my country, and dislike to the spirit of meddling which seeks to destroy our laws without giving any available substi- tute
 Not that I believe exclusively in ancient things or think that time can "consecrate crime;" but that for this there Is a req son, and my conclusion of the whole mat ter, if briefly set out, would be, that if the ! power of accusation cannot be safely en- trusted to sixteen intelligent, honest men selected from the body of the country, it cannot be safely left any where.
 
 HoMGpArHY-The homeopathic physic- ians of the United States have held their annual convention the present week at Philadelphia. Reports of their proceed