Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1867-10-23

cipher? With what. satisfaction would
Northern claimant regard an adverse decision
made by a. jury, majority of whom were
colored, when the same case measured by IN.
telligence and submitted to the Judgment or
men of experience and education, would per.
haps have been decided in his favor? Suppose
that he is patcntee whose rights have Deen
infringed, and whose interests-involved to
tho amount of half million of dollars--arnee e.
dependent upon the keen discrimination OF
an intelligent jury called upon to determine
some material difference between machinery
or processes of manufacture is it not pre-
posterous to suppose that.a colored jury, con-
stituted as 1 have described possess the re-
ouisite qualifications to render Just and IN:
,telligent verdict 2 Yet this is but one OF the
many classes of cases, which the Northern as
well as the Southern man will be compelled
to submit to the judgment Of the ignorant qfnai
and unwise jurors created by Order no, o.. o.:
Under the present jury Organization. IN
South Carolina, have no reason to oelleVe
that since .colored persons have been admitted tea
to give, evidence in all our courts any MUS
tice has been done to- the colored people by
white Jurors. On the contrary, l think IT.
will be established BY the concurrent testi-.
mony Of the various prosecuting officers IN q
the State. that in criminal proceedings Jurless
have dealt more mercilully with the coiored
than with white persons tried before them
Again the exclusion OF the intelligent classes
re-. red to, is based solely upon their political
antecedents. But, where is the proprlety ol
making the politics of citizen, especially The
politics which ruled his action years ago. the
standard of his eligibility to perform jury
duty 1t is very rare indeed that case,
civil or criminal, is presented for the decision
of Jury involving any political issue what
ever and am not aware that anywhere elsei
it is attempted to exclude intelligence from
the Jury box, because of any real or supposed
obnoxious political sentiments entertained oy
the parties whose duty it is thus TO serve.
The five fall circuits of the Superior Court
of this State, which is charged with the trial
of all civil cases Involving amounts above
SI0O, and of all criminal charges OF felony
and some misdemeanorS, commence taelr
terms on the first Monday in October. The
letter of General Candy enclosing the order
above referred to, requires that it shall 20 ln'
to effect Immediately; that the jurors who
we're drawn and already summoned at the
spring term of the Court in conformity to
State laws shall not assemble, but that new
Jury lists shall bcprepared inaccorcanee With
tic order. In most of the Districts the term
is limited to one week, and the drawing and nd
summoning CT jurors under the order will
consume much of the time. This is one OF
tie practical difficulties i'll the way OF the en-
ecution OF the order.
In view of all these circumstances, there
fore, beg leave most earnestly to protest
against its execution, and TO ask the. it r'ay
be ordered to be entirely revoked, or at least It
suspended until after the close of the fall
terms of this State Your early attention to
this luatter is respectfully invoked, inasmuch
as | desire to communicate tie result of this
application to,the judges prior to the COM COM
mencement of -their RESPECTIVE terms have
the honor 10 be, your Excelency's ohcdient
servant, JAMES Il. Ohn'
Governor of South Carolina.