The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-04
CURRENT TOPICS.


nrosar+ raou;remeut of unanimhty in jury trials
| "Fscb ;prv shall consist OF twelve jurors the
| ocr,emant OF two-thirds of whom shall be sutf-
cient for verdict, in all cases, both civil anu
nenal except in capital cases, when three-fourths
must agree to mako verdict valid. But tho
foreman, in rendering the verdict shall state
how many jurors have agreed In support
/ OF this he alleges the often defeats OF Jus.'co
by the unanimity requirement, the incohsis'eh-
| cy of the attempt to make agreement pS CON,
| fnement, the fact that nowhere but Ill Eh'ia'iu
and the United States is this unahihiit! re-
ouired to make a verdict, the VIOLATION oi inc
rnle that no man shall be placed In jeopardy
twice upon the same charge, when Is wrought
| by calling that no trial in which the jury 90 not
| aoree and he reasons as follows: What ls una
nimity worth when it is enforced, or when the
eury' is out any le r;th of time which proves that
the formal unanin:iy. the outward agreement ID
| merelv accommodative unanimity, If l may make
a word? Such u verdict is not an intrlnsically
truthful one; the unanimity is real enforcement
or artificial. Again, the unanimity principle puts
it in the power of any refractory juror, possibly
sympathizing more with crime than with society
and right, to defeat the ends of justice by hold
| ing out Every one remembers cases OF the
plainest and Of W. Ii proved atrocity going unpun-
ished because of one or two jurors resisting the
others. either from positively wicked motives or
some n,awkish reasons which ought to have pre-
vented them from going into the jury box alto
gether Inc french anu
German rule, and believe tho Italian also' Is
| that il seven jurorg are against five, the judges
retire, and if the bench decides with the hve
AGAINST the seven the verdict is on the side OF the
five. II eight jurors agree against four, it ID
verdict, in capital as well as in common criminal
cases. There is no civil jury in France. Germany
and Italy," We think there is general dlminu-
ton of respect for jury trials Lawyers seem to
look upon them as impediments to justice, and we
suppose this estimation does not change when
lawyers come upon the bench. It is most pro-
vokng oppression when, after costly trial, one
| refractory juror defeats verdict. Obstructed
justice is injustice. Public opinion does not
attribute such a sanctity to this mode OF jury
trials as to make reform impracticable. Perhaps
such modification would increase the popular re-
| spect for trial by Jury.
| THE LAUTY Of our marriage laws has been
matter of reproach toSs with our English critics,
but if some recent statements OF the London
journals are to be relied upon, the morals OF the
British middle and upper classes are far below
| those OF average American families. The las-
number of the London Reuie1 on hand says
| F." Concubinage is on the increase in London,
and We regret to write it, the greatest laxity in
respect to the relations between the sexes exists
among great number Of literary docirinaradns,
who are indeed giving practical evidence OF the
free love faith, which they accept after reject
ing every other. The Paganism OF tho upper
classes is the result of cultivated indulgence,
ard of the customs and dresses which keep the
fever of passion at the highest; the Paganism OF
writer's aud thinkers is not SO easily explained
One OF the most disagreeable sights in the world
is profigate philosopher, reminiscent OF the
sty and the study; but what shall VIC say OF the
intellectual woman whose domestic life Is regu-
lated by the marital institutions OF the Paclhc
islands ?" This is 8 very grave statement, and
one which cannot be either verified or denied this
side of the ocean 1t is matter of common no
toriety, however, that Miss BRADDoN, the novelist |
is the mistress of MAXWELL, her publisher, and 1t
is also known that Miss EVANS the authoress OF
ssRomolo and Adam Bede," is living in unhoy
bonds with LEwEs, the Comptist philosopher.
When RusKM's wife left him for MALLAIs, the
ARTIST it did not prevent that eloquent writer from
subsequently warmly praising the pictures OF the
successful rival to his wfes affections, and when
RUsKIN lectures, Mrs. RUsK1N and her paramour
are frequently seen in the audience, applauding
the deserted husband We presume that it is
these, and similar cases not known here, to which
the writer in the Rer,e,p aludes in the above ar
ticle. Certainly no such charges will lie against
our literary class. All our really noted authors
and authoresses 80 far as the public are aware,
lead blameless lives. Notwithstanding the lax
divorce laws Of some Of our States, we doubt If
there is 4 country upon earth where domestic
purity is so general highly regarded as it is
among the white people Of the United States.
The PARIS CORRESPONDENT of the Boston Gazelte
says "Recent Investigations made here have dis
covered that there are nine thousand families who
live by supplying the objects required at or after
funerals; cofins, flowers, tombstones, or who are
pallbearers, grave-dggers, bury
ing-ground gardeners, etc. Reckoning each OF
these families to be composed Of three persons,
you have twenty ty-seven thousand person who live
on death Who'd have thought we had so many
OF these ghouls is the censorship of epitaphs No
inscription is allowed to be put Oh tomb In
Paris until after it has received the ,prinattr OF
this censor. was sstonished to hear of the ex-
'stence Of this officer, for walk in any OF our
g..ave-yards is as good as reading Joe Miller, so
luticrous are many Of the inscriptions. remem-
Der there is ono at Pere Is Chaise: Sacred to the
memory Of Nine. Herbert, one Of the bost saus-
age makers Of Paris. Her disconsolate husband
continues to carry the business at tho old stand
No. so Rue st. Antoine, and then suggests tself:
Sacred to the memory of Nine. yAssAIDE, wife Of
Mons. LOUIS VAssA1DE, blacksmith; the railing
around this lot was made in his smithy;' and here
is another: Under this stone sleeps HENRI SoHNEI-
DER, our only son, who sailed in the ship Agte for
China, and was never heard OF afterward.' Where
was the censor? I have made inquiry, and have
been told his positive orders to veto no epitaph
which is not absolutely inadmissable He vetoes
about five hundred year. How grotesque they
must be What strange alterations the soundest
mind is guilty OFF,
THE CINCINNATI GAZETTE says that for years past
it has been known that valuable pearls might be
found in the muscle shells OF the Miami river,
which, at times, has been the cause Of consider
able excitement Occasionally when some one has
been fortunate in hunting these precious articles,
parties would become infatuated with the idea that
they might find sufficient number in short time
to make them possessors Of vast wealth, and have
thus been led to spend days and even weeks to-
gether in fruitless search. Then again, other
parties, without really expecting to be fortunate in
this line, have, by accident, discovered most beau
tiful pearls. Recently this has been tho case with
several gentlemen with whom we are acquainted.
On last Saturday three gentlemen, amusing them
selves in the search, discovered pearls which are
said to be worth fifty dollars. We have seen these
specimens. 80 beautiful in shape and color as to
excite the admiration of all who have seen them.
We were informed by the possessor of these that