Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1867-10-18
Friday, October 18, 1867.
THE RECENT JURY ORDER---G0v. ORR's
LETTER AND JUDGE ALDRICH's ADDRESS.

THE RECENT JURY ORDER---Gov. ORR's
LETTER AND JUDGE ALDRICH's ADDRESS
Governor Orr has recently addressed a let
ter to the President, in which lie earnestly
protests against General Canby's recent Jury
order aud asks that it may either be entirely
revoked or be suspended until the termination
Of the fall terms Of the Courts. The lette
presents forcible exposition Of the evils which
must result from the enforcement Of tho order
and vindicates the correctness of his conclu
eral order will moro completely unsettle the
laws relating TO persons and property, than
all other orders which, have yet been issued by
tho Military authorities Of this District"
Judge Aldrich, in his address to the Court
at Edgefield declines TO obey the order, upon
the ground that it coufict. with his oath o
Office, requiring him, to the bcst Of his ability
"to discharge the duties Of his Office, and pro-
serve, protect and defend the Constitution OF
also so far as he ''may be concerned in the
6ra,eing, taloting. impanneli"g or sunmonin9
juriss. truly. diligently and uprightly. to carry
into due and faithful effect, the Act Of the Gen.
orai Assembly. commonly called the Jury Law,
passed A. D. 1881. as the same has since been
altered and amended"
BY complying with the order the Judge be-
lieves that he would DO lending his sanction
to the usurpatiops Of the present Congress in
their attacks upon the Federal and State Con-
stitrtioue, at the same time that he would fail
to enforce the law Of the State. which requires
that tho juror be white male citizen or for
oign emgrant who has given notice of his in.
tention, been a resident Of the State for ono
year, and in addition. be u taxpayer on prop
srty in his own right.
Even under the Reconstruction Act ITSELF
t4srs io nothing to justify the recent assump-
tion of authority BY Gen. Candy. 1t contains
prov isions a. to outrage and Office but nothing
as to the qualifications Of jurors. Other and
manifold objections to the o,dsr may DO urged
that it proscrbes a largo mass of the intelli-
gence Of the State simply on the ground of
past political opnious-that it sxcludss all
who have failed or declined to rsgister-that
it destroys the property qualification, and sd.
nits to the jury oil who muy have paid cap.
itation ta1-that whilst excluding large
number of the white race, it opens . wide door
to tue ignorant and pauper black race. thus
enabling them in some Districts entirely TO
control the lives and property of the whites.
On this point read the forc,ble exposition Of
tho Governor:
There are white msjorities in but six dis.
tricie. In two dstriots tho numbers ore about
equal. In each OF the remaining twenty. three
districts OF the Stats-thsrs being altogether
.hir.y-ons-ths registration shows . coloured
majority. In Charleston. the coloured MAORI
~ 10 1912, the regstsrsL whites bsing 1886,
and the blacks 5O9s. OF the whites lls were
unable 10 sign their names; Of the coloured
1866. In Charleston and Columbia a larger
number Of the latter class Of persons can read
and write, than in any other portion Of the
State, very much larger number. because
they havo had facilities before aud since eman-
eipation Of obtaining some education not en-
joysd by their class in all the rural region oi
the State, to which shall advert more par
tieulsrly hereafter. In organizing a jury in
CharlestoD, therefore. assuming that all have
I'D their taxes. this proportion would give
nearly eight coloured jurors to four whites
and five of these eight would not be able tc
sigu their names. In Beaufort. Georgetown
Colleton. Berkeley, and other districts, the
showing is even worse. Partial returns from
Beaufort indicate that. there are $3.50 coloured
and but six.y-five white votes registered.-
This proportion would furnish but one white
mum to every fourth jury. or the coloured
voters registered III the rural districts .esL-
mate that not more than i've per cent. of the
whole number are uble to load and write, and
very many Of them have not inteligenc.
enough to count one hundred. In Georgetown
District there are 4ls whites aud S4l3 colouret
voters registered. One white man might per-
chance be drawn upon each jury, and in al
probability not one of the remaining clever
eoloured men would he able to read aud write
To sum up, there will be in twenty. .thre,
districts of this State minority of colouret
jurors for the trial Of al classes Of cases, civi
and criminal, and only FIVE per cent. Of tbei,
number will be able to read or write. Doe
any country which has established the right o
trial by jury. fail. by its legislation, 10 secur,
proper degree Of intelligence among the ju
rorsa These rules. if applied to the Stat,
Courts. will. presume. be likewise applied I.
tho Federal Court; aud the proportion upor
such Federal jurics will be-in Charleston
eight coloured TO four whites in Columbia
nine coloured to three whites, aud in Green
vile. eight white to four coloured jurors -
These are the three points where the Unitet
States Court sits in South Carolina.