The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-09-10

'into the Treasury, all sums on the books thereof
charged to and due by him." By section l., of
Article X. it is further provided that every officer
of the State, except the Governor, "the entire
"amoant of whose pay or compensation, received
'for the discharge of his official duties, shall ex-
'ceed the yearly sum OF So, 900, shall keep
"a book in which shall be entered every
sum or sums of money received by him, or on his
account, as a payment or compensation for his
performance of official duties, copy of achich en-
tries, in sad book Uerifed Jy the oath of the officer
By achom it is directed TO be kept, shall be returned
yedrly to tie Treasurer Of the State for his nspec-
ton and that Of the General AssemJlye Of Maryland:
and each of such officers, schen the amount
rccei0fd By him for the gear shall ereeed
the sum Of $4,000, shall yearly pay ocer
TO the Treasurer the amount Of such e1ceSs
By him receiged subject TO such disposition thereof
as the Legislature may deem just and equitable
Ind any such officer failing to comply arih the said
requision shall be deemed 10 haze vacated his office
and be subject TO suit by the State, for the amount
that ought to have been paid into the Treasury"
Now-waiving the question as to whether an Off
Ger, who is required to pay over, annually, the
whole amount of the excess of his receipts beyond
$4,000 per annum, without any exception for ex-
penses is entitled to retain at the rate of nearly
80, per annum for depuy's salary and his ex-
penses, as allowed in the statement of The Ameri-
can, and as Mr.. WHITNEY has certainly done
It must be very obvious, that if that st tate
ment be correct as on its face it appears to be,
Mr.. WHITNEY had ''vacated his office" on the 1st
of January, 1860, and was no longer 'eligible'
to or legally qualified to fill the same. The act
of 1885, CHI l6, passed for the purpose of carrying
the aforegoing constitutional provisions into eff
feet, expressly declares in its I'd section, that the
subsequent payment of arrears in default shall
notbe held tocure an ineegibility previously exist
ing, or 10 validate preceding invalid election, so
that even if Mr.. WHITNEY has subsequently iqu-
dated the large balance, shown as above to be due
when he entered on his present term of SER
vice, he is still obnoxious to the consequences
of all default existing at that time It is fur
Their deserving of notice, that the act Of
1854, oh. 1885, now constituting section so
of art. 80 of the Code, makes it penitentary Of
fence, punishable by Imprisonment for not less
than eighteen months nor more than ten wears for
any public officer fraudulently to appropriate to
his own use any Hmoney, funds or evidences of
debt, which he is, by law, bound TO pay over,
account for or deliver to the Treasurer Of this
Estate, or to any other person by law authorized
ito receive the same" Whether the provisions of
that act apply to the case-supposing the statement
OF the american to be unanswerahe, as it certainly
has been uncontradicted, so far as we know
Is OF course a matter too grave to be deter
mined otherwise than by the Grand Jury, after
careful investigation of the truth of the facts
alleged, and thorough review of all the circum-
stances involved. 1t is not our intention to ex-
express any opinion on the subject, with our
present lights, but Of course no Grand Jury,
having a proper regard to its sworn obliga-
tons, 10 the just administration of the law, the
integrity Of public functonares the security of
the public revenue and the grave interests of the
whole community involved, can permit the matters
to which we have alluded, in connection with Mr.
WHITNEY S name, to go without due investigation
and such action as they, may demand The
dockets and records of the Court; the books
Of the fiscal and accounting officers of the State
and City, as well as the accounts of the Sheriffs
past and present. and of the Clerk of the Court;
are all subject to the examination of the
Grand Inquest. The jurors can call before
them, under oath, every functionary of the State
and City, and every private individual, whose
testimony cln enlighen their Judgment. 1t is
their bounden duty too, to do all this thoroughly,
for justice to Mr.. WHITNEY and the reputation of
the office which he fills, demand, alike, that he
should be exonerated altogether, if his skirts are
clear; while the welfare of the whole community
exacts his conviction and removal.
if he has been guilty in any of the particulars
which are indicated by the Constitution or pun
nished by the laws. Certain it is, in every event
that the circumstances which we have enumerated
afford striking illustr alton of the argument
which we have adduced them to support-and
that is-that the Grand Jury must act for them
selves and keep their own counsel and that they
cannot deal with the States Attorney, as hereto
lore, as if he were in some sort member of their
own body, and free to participate in their deiber-
atoms and enquiries.