The Louisiana Democrat., 1865-10-11
judge Ryanss charge 70 tine
Grand Jury. ss
,utlsmen Of the Grand Jury
of the PdriM of Rap,des:

OF the Fdrih ot hdpideS:
/ am happy to meet yoa assembled ia
voarIolticj.Fcapaeily; hope this Is The be-
ginning Of the reign Of civil law and trust
o. order. Its,becornes necessary for me to
impart to you such general information as
will telm to a knowledge Of the matters
which will come before you, and also to
give sach special instructions as are made
n,y n duty by the General Assembly Of the
State. II is hardly necessary for me to re-
mind You that the duties Of grand jurors
are exceedingly ancient aal hlghly impor-
tant. At no time, however, in the history
of this Staie,sor Of any other State, have
the duties of your Office been SO momentous
as they are to-day. Just emerged from a
revolution, the most bloody that ever marked
tbe records of time you find society in
state Of chaos aud di-organizatioa. During
the last four youts the civil law was
nearly silent crimes Of every desorip-
tion were CON nitted gitl almost mppnIty,
and the military chieftan exercised the
yancsioasofthe eisdl n'agistrtte. War,has
ct last ceased, peace has once more come,
and soc ETY. is about to resume its accaa
toned yocatlons. In order that the brs.
sings Of peace should be ftltby allla firm
and 7igorou, execution of the laws Is abso.
lutey necessary. Its necessary that past
crimes should be punished. to prevent their
recurrence 10 the future. Without the civil
law there is no security for property, NJ
guarantee for life, and iadeei no real llber
ty. On you much depends as the grand in
quest f this parish, 1l,bocomes necessary
for you to present every vio'at7r of the
law, no matter who he may be, or what po-
sition he may occupy !, and in doing SO you
will have to investigate whether any citizen
has been deprived Of bis life, liberty or
property contrary to the laws of the land
And il you fnd sucllto be the case yoa
will present the party to this Court. In
order that the trial byJary, SO far as it de-
pends on yon, may be effective, it must be
pure; it must be impartial. Yoa have
sworn to present no man from hatred, malice
or revenge soalso you have. sworn to leave
no man unpresented from fear, favor, or af-
fecllon. II Foa follow theserules you cam
not fail to do your duty. Remember, how
ever, that while yoh are the viadieators Of
the mqj-sty Of the law, you are also the
gaasdiaas Of The rights Of every citizen.
And whttiyon should cave no mau-unpre.
senfea, who is.found to be guilty Of crime,
you should be careful to present no one u,.
less the evidence b fore yea. If laid before b
petit jury, would lead to his conviction
For the finding Of a bill by the grand jury,
even though the party should be acquitted
leaves q. stigma mt easy to be eRacea. By
pnrsuirg this course you will make the trial
By jury that which ii vas intended to be.
the panoply which protects the citizen
against the caprices ard tyranny Of The
jndge, and the clafaors Of the pnpu'aee.
You have. gentlemen. lost your property /;
yoa havenoteatirey lst yonr liberty. Aud,
indeed, 1t is doubtIal whether any people
can ever lose their liberty. who have an in.
partial trial byjlry. Rome has lost her LID.
erty; S.aria has lost herss so also has
! lCarihage bat a. the time these nations
lost their liberties, as has been vel said by
the ableSt commentator on the common law,
fhpy were strangers to the trial by Jury.
While E4g'end, il q cormict of a Thousand
years with the neighboring nations. from
the sixth to the sixteenth century. preserved
her liberty because she ever cherished the
tfial hy jary Yon may, however. lose
your liberty unless you use proper diligence.
Liberty is the price Of vigilance" As
hare marked yop. are not now in war, but
III peace You have been tinler military
power, and haveinot yet entirely been freed
from that power. Ii order to get rid Of the
military it is your duty,as citizens Of the
United States, to yield obedience to yonr
ruless and show that YOU are. wiling am
capable Of carrying ont tie civil avs of tht
government. 1t tisuseIess !" to kick against
tie pricks; yen have a paaled to arms, and
the God of battles has .frowRed upon tile
contest. / ask you 10 do yonf duty; in
tend to do mine. So long as Z Sitnpep, this
bench shall be '@dW Ca{say aM NH l;"1
sbaifadmini ster the law. lsatl be clothed
with the substance and not the shadow 81
the minister Of Justice shall execute .ehe
law as und rstahd it, and according to lis
common Interpretation, regardless of all
military power. And whrn | shall have ,ex
haused all the means IN my power fer lhe
enforcement Of my DEGREES for the protec
tion of life, liberty and propertytand ,shou,t
be overcome hy military VIC ence, shal
resign the office which / bold. I won {
scorn tohod it a moment longer than
could be the proper dispenser r of Justice
To some it may be profitable to receive tn
emolumeuts oil the dfip; to none could j
be honorable; to me it could be meth
honorable nor profitable un'ess cop.d b;
the defender of the law, and ab'e to execui,
Its provisions. Be not frightened from you
duty by the recent high handed Outrage il
the arrest Of judge of. neghborin.
district wilhelm the disl haFge Of ihe.du,ie
ofhis Office; it was most fagrant outrage 0
oil law. TEf 3A
| leave to the District Attorney. who vii
be in attendance, to give you the .finitio
of such crimes as may come before yor
You have the right to summon wilnesse.
You have the right to adjourn from day
,dar, not exceeding three days, without tn
leave of the Court. You must be careful +
keep secret all matters that may como be
fore you.
l promised you in the commencement {
my charge to give you such special informs
tiou as the General Assembly his made
my duty to give. FIRST. yon will iaqur
whether the oyerseers of the public road
and lesees have done their duty. Secondly
whether any navigahe sir,ams have bee
impeded in their course by bagasse or othe
distractions. Third v, whether there hav