Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-10-01

Such an action would be laughed out o
Court. II Congress, acting outside o
the Constitution, had enacted that al
iuries in the Satrspies should be hal
white and half black, no q could, upOl
their otca theory, deny them the power
outrageous and contemplate as its exer
else would be as an act OF low and vulga
spite. They have precisely the sam,
power to enact that as they had to in
vest the Negro with the right Of SUI
frsge,-that is, not the right possessed b.
them as the Congress Of the United
States, but as the reconstructionary les
islature Of so many States or such
number OF people, who have conquered
and ~subjugated other States and Othel
people.
But Congress has not exercised the
power. Like the acts Of SICKLEs anC
! SHERIDAN in forcing the company o
| negroes on white women in street-cars
I the placing OF negroes OF juries IS an ex
! ertion Of arbitrary and despotic military
| power, sufficient OF itself to make tn,
/ names Of their authors eXecrable.
To try men by 3 jury composed wholly
or in part Of ignorant negroes is to mak'
the administration Of civil and crimins
Justice 8 shameless and disgusting mock
cry. Richly as those who brand a Peo
pie once free and proud with this last in
suit, deserve to be hung higher thar
HANrAN, no decent Conservative woulC
propose to resort, In order to procure thei
just punishment, to the iniquity OF a ne
gro jury.
So far from being q mode Of attaining
justice, is this new devilment Of negro
juries, that every man, even the bitter
est Radical, who knows anything Of the
African race, feels it to be and knows II
to be q ~detestable outrage on law, on pri
| vate rights, on even the d~eceBcies thai
among civilized men atone for the alb
sence Of justice and generosity.
The system Of jury trials in civil cases
was fruitful enough Of mischief and In
Justice. before despotism decided it to be
the right Of the negro to be selected to
Judge between man and man, and tode'
/ eide intricate and complicated questions
concerning law titles, adverse possession,
the custom Of merchants, contracts Of
insurance, shipping, limitation and pre-
s~cription, aud the like, receiving the Law
from the court, without the least com
prehension OF the terms and Language
used, and bound on their Oaths 10 apply
It to the facts Of the case, which so many
Brazilian monkeys could do just Is well
as they. 1t was bad enough to have to
submit such matters to ignorant white
men. To compelthe submission Of them
to negroes is to rob men Of their rights
under colour and p~retense Of law, by q
trial which is q show and a farce,-is a
shameful, abominable, and rsscslly out
rage, to characterize which in fitting
terms, the bitterest epithets are made
quate.
If words fail US here, what are we to
say Of negro juries in criminal cases
where white men are TO be tried for
offences the punishment whereof is de-
~privation Of liberty or lie, or even OF
reputation, good name and henour; and
in trying which the negro juryman is to
be our Judge Of the law as well as the
facts? It is the first example Of a legis-
lation SO damnable, in the whole six
thousand years Of the worlds existence
and we can only regard il with 3 kind
Of stupefed amszsment, and a burning
and bitter, but silent and speeches. in
d~ignation. There is no parallel Of such
legislation. The veriest despot has never
descended so low as to make emanci-
pated slaves the judges Of conquered free,
men. That extremity Of losthesome in
fanny has been reserved for the uniformed
miDioDs Of a Republican Congress
and to eulogize these miuions for such
acts has been reserved for the ORRs and
Others who were once the creme Of de-
mocracy aud fsnatically enamOred Of the
rights Of the States.
It cannot be that the Congress will ut
terry damn itself and become a stencil
in the uOstrils Of all the civilized world,
BIZ directing the employment Of a negro
Jury as a means Of numbering SURRATT.
Surely there Is something that, even for
Il, is BOT possible some depth Of dis
honour into which it will not willingly
descend, however obsequiously it may
heretofore have followed the American
ROBEsPIERRE. Would even a FISHER
become an accomplice Ia such a viii
lainy?
Are negroes to be summoned, under
~SCHoFIELD's orders, to serve IS Jury
men, on the trial Of JEFFERSON DAVIS
for treason2 Are there any honest
hearts among the Northern Radicals,
that would burn with indignation at 30
desoicable and infamous an outrage ?
That UNDERWOOD will lend himself to
this, we do not doubt that the Chief
Justice would do 1t, we are sorry to be-
lieve probable.
An Englishmsn, the subject Of a
Crown, legislsted FOR by an omnipotent
Parliament, cannot be deprived Of bis
right to be tried by a jury Of his PeeTs.
That right Is solemnly guaranteed to
every freeman by the Constitution Of the
United States. A jury Of negroes, or in
part composed Of negroes, is not q jury
OF the peers Of Mr.. DAVIS, or W. OF
JOHN H. SURRATT. Each is entitled to
a trial by q jury Of his own race and
blood. So is every white man who is
put on trial for an offence. The despot-
ism OF VITELLIUs and CARACALLA was
losthsome and despicable enough, and
reeks ~nsuseously enough with the shame
and slime Of dishonour but that Of g re-
public that should use negro juries as in
strumeuts of Judicial murder would be
basar and more desplcable still. The
tongue that speaks praises, and the hand
thst writes fulsome and fswning eulogies
on the despot who empannels negro
juries to try white men, ought to be pal