Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-05-14

| bloody treason fourished its whips of scorpions
| Richmond where the slave trade so long hello
| high carnival, where the press has found the
lowest depths of profigacy.; where licentious
ness has ruled UNTIL probably, a majority oi
births were illigitimate or without the forms o1
law where the fashionable and popular pulpit
had been so prostituted that its full fed minis.
tering gay Lotharios generally recommended
the worship of what they most respected, pleas
ure, property or power, corresponding to the
pagan or NEUROLOGICAL ideas of Bacchus, Nam.
mon or Mars
Goods brutal, partial, passionate and unjust;
Whose attributes were rage, revenge and lust,
1t was as if the iends prevailed
Against the seraphs they assalled;
And fixed on heavenly thrones should dwell,
The freed inheritors of hell.
So soft the scene, SO formed for joy,
So cursed the causes that Destroy
''But we are reminded that, where sin a.
bounded, grace may much more abound, and,
in the light OF recent changes. may we not hope
material and moral future for this city of
Richmond, in strong contrast with its awful and
atheistlc and in harmony with the salubrity OF
its climate, the poetic beauty of its scenery and
the magnifcence Of its water power.
Il have sometimes found that, by the usa-
ges of this State, which have given the selec-
tion of juries to the sheriffs and marshals, or,
in professional language, have packed juries in-
stead Of drawing them from box OF names Sc
lected by other officers, as is done in most OF
the States, there was danger of getting differ
ent persons upon the panel but the care and
rare judgment which our marshals have always
shown In their selections, prove my fears un-
founded, and L am truly gratlhed to lind so
many gentlemen of public and private worth
upon the present jury.
'We so often hear, from reasonable sources
around us, of cruel acts passed by Congress
since the beginning of the war-acts which we
are called upon to enforce-that it is well, per-
haps, tor one moment to consider the utter
falsehOOd Of such charges, and to fad on exam-
lnatlon, the unparalleled clemency and torbear-
ance OF the victorious Government which, but
for the cost of the rebellion, would now be felt
only in its protection and its blessings. While
it has heretofore been the common law of all
nations, our own included to punish treason by
death, it was reserved for the American Con-
gress, In the midst OF a gigantic rebellion, on
the l7th day OF July, 1862, to reduce that pun
ishment, if courts should see fit, to fine and
imprisonment Again. it has been the usage
OF all nations, In peace as well as war, to make
the wrong doers, even In the most trivial tres
pass, respond out OF his property to the full
| amount OF the damages he has committed; a
practice and usage also OF victorious govern
LICilto III dll Oiultldly WuiS-dlu yGl VIC nave
seen patriot statesman, remarkable alike for
his age and the blessings of education, culture
and improvements he had conferred upon his
State and country-a statesman greatly eminent
among his feliow-leglsiators, and, by common
consent OF successive Congresses, acknowledged
as leader and father with Difference that
neither Clay, Fox, the Pitts, nor even Cicero
had ever known This noble man we have seen
assailed with bitterness and falsehood peculiar
to the authors and leaders OF the rebeilon, its
plmps and apoioglsts, and for what? Why,
tor proposing that few OF those who had been
chiefly instrumental in filing the land with war
and mourning, aud debt and taxation, and who,
like the late Secretary ct the Rebel finances,
had made millions by blockade running and by
speculatlng upon the general distress. should,
out OF their princely estates, contribute one
| tenth OF the damages they had done, and at the
| same time expressly exeaiptlng from penalty all
the great masses OF those who had been drawn
into the late war; This humane statesman al
so proposes not to punish any with that extreme
rlgor usual In civil wars, and not even to the
extent exacted by every European nation in Or
dinary foreign wars. Was such moderation and
clenency ever before so abused and nsulted p
May the grandest old statesman of our country
and age still continue to strive, notwithstanding
the advance OF years and disease, and we may
yet be guided by his wisdom and benefcence,
until the great questions now pending be declv
ded In the interest OF peace progress and free
dom.
Il regret, gentlemen, that cannot encourage
you with the hope OF short or light session, as
l am informed by the District Attorney that
your labors may be considerable.
The unmltlgated disloyalty which animates
| so large portion Of our newspaper press, is
producing sad effects upon the public morals,
especially in creating disposition, by fraud and
perjury, to escape taxation necessary for the
support OF the Government, in encouraging the
circulation OF counterfeit money, and 1t is to
be feared, the anxiety to vote at the approach
ing elections by persons engaged In the late re-
belllon, IS about to produce an immense amount
| OF labor for our grand juries.
''On this subject | may have occasion to ad-
dress you more at length on future occasion.
Y our attention is particularly called to an
abuse which had assumed an alarming aspect
IN this city, as relic Of the old barbarism OF
slavery, mean the brutal rejection Of great
laborlng and useful class of the people from the
| street cars. Under the act Of Congress COM
monty called the Civil Rights bill, there is an
undoubted remedy for such outrages. Char
tered transportation companies owe impartial
duties to the public, and the gross wrongs COM
planned OF deserve your indignant reprobation.
l know the matter has been arranged by the
Commanding General, with his usual great pru-
dence and judgment; but it is, from its nature,
a mere temporary settlement, and needs con-
frmation by the legal sanction Of courts and ju-
ries. | only ask that you add your weight to
what has been so we'll and wisely done by the
General. II any of your number know of any
violation of law, it is your duty to report it to
the body which should always be Sixteen in
number, and the assent Of twelve is required to
find a true bill.
The charge having been concluded, the judge
instructed the jury to re assemble this morning
at II o'clock. and ordered the crier to close the
| court
AS the orier ceased, the grand jury, white
and negroes, hustled out followed by the judge,
and the citizens dispersed
| In the course of some conversation with a
newspaper correspondent, Judge Underwood
stated that the Court he was about to hold was
the Circuit and not the District Court.
The Grand Juryman, Cornelius Liggon Har-
ris. is the negro shoemaker who has shop on
| Fifth street, near st. James Church. John
Oliver is Governor Pierpont's newly appointed
negro Notary Public. Harris seemed as pleased
as Punch at his seat on the jury along with
''the immortal Bolts, and it would have de
lighted Mrs. Stoves heart to see the sweet and
con,plete determination Of the Caucasian and
the ebo shin. This is the first occasion in the
history of the world when negroes composed a
part of a Grand Jury. The Judge in his charge
gives the credit of the negro selections to his
marshals. but it will be difficult to make the
world believe that they were not dictated by
the learned Judge himself.