Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1866-08-15
Great State Trials in this
Country

4
having been clothed by recent act OF Con
gress with authority to hold a special term
of the Circuit Court of the United States
| in Richmond, it is now generally conceded
| that ex-President Davis will be arralgned
| for trial upon the charge of . treason" IN
| the month of October next.
The trial will be the most important which
| has ever taken place in this or any other
country-No such State trial ever occurred
| in England.-It is a remarkable fact In the
history of Richmond, that if the trial of
| Davis shall be held there, three of the most
| important State trials which have taken
| place in this country will have occurred In
| that City.
The history of the two previous trials is
| thus given by the Richmond Times:
The trial of John Thompson Calendar, in
| 1900, for seditious libel upon President
John Adams, was the first Of these criminal
| cases.
Calendar himself was little worthy of the
| whirlwin0 of excitement which his trial
then excited
| He was a foreigner who was represented
to have been as depraved in morals as he
was malignant in temper. His case derives
its importance from the fact that the Demo
cratic leaders of that day having marshalled
! their forces for terrible conflict with the
| Federal party, availed themselves of his
| trial, and of the rude, contemptuOus and
indecent conduct Of the partisan Judge who
presided, to break down the alien and sedi-
ton laws, and impeach the justice of the
| Supreme Court, who had made himself
most odious in mercilessly enforcing them.
The alien and Sedition laws punished with
| fine and imprisonment any one who discuss
| ed with disrespectfu asperity the public acts
| of the President of the United States. Cal
endar published harsh and vulgar political
pamphlet in which ho abused President
| Adams.
For this he was indicted, on the 2Sth of
May, 1900, by the grand jury of the Cir
cult Court Of the United States, Justice
! Chase presiding The prisoner was defend
ed by Messrs. Hay, Nicholas and Writ, aud
| the course of the trial was marked by the
most brutal and indecent conduct on the
part Of justice Chase towards the counsel
| for the defence lie refused all reasonable
and proper motions for continuance, bull
! lied and scolded the counsel for Calender,
and played the part of prosecutor in man
ner to completely eclipse the District Attor-
ney. His rulings were evidently dictated
by bitter party feelings, and why not by
justice or precedent.
When Writ was proceeding to argue TO
the jury that the alien and seditiOn act was
unconstitutional, Judge Chase insultingly
ordered him to take his seat. The coun9el
for the defence then refused to argue the
| case. After long and violent charge from
Justice Chase the jury retired, and, after an
absence of two hours, brought in a verdict
of guilty, and the court sentenced Cal
endar to nine months Imprisonment and I'M
| posed a fine of two hundred dollars. Cal
endar was subsequently pardoned by Presl-
/ don't IafTo,.-,N,, ba 1u
| =" that the law was absolute n nuiity as II
| Congress had ordered US to fall down and
worship golden image"
| The tempest which his trial occasioned
! through out the United States at that time
can scarcely be understood. The newspa-
! pers of the day were for the first time,
crammed with detailed reports of the case.
! Virginia was in flame /; for, even before
| the trial affidavits were circulated In which
it was stated that, before the trial, Justice
| Chase had said he would have no d. Dem
ocrats on the grand jury" and, . that he
would teach the lawyers of Virginia the diff
| ference between the liberty and hcentious
ness of the press He also lkened him
| self to schoolmaster who was about to
birch few unruly boys as they deserved
| His political admirers got up caricature'
of this judicial rufian stretching in turn
Writ, Hay, Nichols and other eminent Nir
ginans across his knee and hogging then
soundly. His rude, coarse and indecent be
havior during Calendars trial, was design
ed to humiiate the spirited and able bar o.
this city. The slaps he gave Nichols anC
| Hay, at the outset of the trial were terrible
specimens Of judicial rudeness.
The offended and insulted lawyers resent
ed the conduct of Judge Chase 50 fiercely
that John Randolph, at their instance, pre-
ferred articles Of Impeachment against him
five of them based upon calendar trial.
He was found guilty upon the article which
charged rude, contemptuOus and lnde'
cent conduct TO counsel, although acqultt
ed upon other charges. Nothing but party
sympathy Of the Federal members of the
Senate saved him from conviction by two
thirds vote, and the impeachment Is said Il
have utterly crushed Judge Chase.
The next great State trial, which drew
the attention of millions to the Circui
Court of the United States at Richmond
was that Of Burr, for treason, which com
menced on the 22nd Of May, 1907. Rich
mOnd was then city Of only six Thousand
inhabitants, and il is said that there were al
the commencement of the trial, twice thai
number of strangers in the city. Among
| the striking scenes of that day was that of /;
lank, ungainIy man, named Andrew Jack
son, who is described as I" mounting upOT
the steps of a corner grocery, and dcnounc
ing Thomas Jefferson for the part he haC
| taken in frustrating the schemes of Aaror
Burr. The trial took place in the presen
hall Of the House of Delegates, and the
struggle for admission was terrible. 81
great was the number of distinguished per
sons claiming seats within the bar, that law
yers of twenty years standing were excluded
from their accustomed seats Among tn,
Young men of the town, who succeeded ii
forcing their way in, was Winfield Scott
who clamered up and stood for many hour
on the massive lock of the door of the hall
Justice Marshal presided at the trial, assist
ed by Cyrus Griffin, Judge of the Distric
Court of Virginia. George Hay, who de
Tended Calander, was the United States Dis