Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1868-05-06
I VOL { E,l E L.XIX. .

f.3auhlishea regularly on MONDAYS, w EDNEs-
: :. IS and FRIpAys, at SIX DOLLARS PER AN An
nau-rp II aa1aqses. t5 Ii
5s3niaf TERMS. OF ADyERrr1s1NG: Z {3s
Of eight iipes dollar, the first Insertion
and tsas,sfsh sss ah yearly ysari isd I
and obitnares esc'odns 81 VIA
Oepsamun6ation apersona character, wal be charg-
~ for at advertisement rates. /,
All communications must be accompanied by tho names OF
authors aud rejected De returned
Indge UnierwOod'ss Charge TO the
Eaa atGrandSJury.lElla Ellas aat1a e98
The May term of the u. IS. Circuit Court
CoSuimhssneed in Richmond on Monday. 2 Judge
J.zC Underwood presiding S. @Ss..T; 8 =.ss +
The grand jury Of the last term having been
discharged, a new grand jury was sworn in, a
The calling Of the names, the Judge
announcsd chat the clerk would read the oath
required of grand Jurors, sandiif any oft them
had any conscientious scruples about taxing It
they Foui6 please announeelt.
Yhe clerk then read the 'siron7clad, and
Massrs. William Taylor and lisbon Benedict
refused to- take it. Their names were stricken
William r. Jones, of Norfolk ,5thcn took the
oath as foreman Of the grand jury.
After administering the oath, the crier, pro-
claimed i that she honorable Judge was
about to deliver his charge, and commanded % NJ e
silence ssG9ge b0aE51e1 Yjss.sfg Z i,Qz
g Here,is the chargea8qa sok a:.bso Ia
Gentlemen of. the Grand Jury Very unex-I
pectedly, find it my duty to address a lew
Wordsto you in the absence of the Chief JUS
tice, whoiis soon expected, and who, | trusty
will enlighten US all in relation to our several
duties. 90, l1-l-,-..s,.s. -
The oaths you have taken afford an excellent
summary, of your duties. You are to take
notice ofiallunminal violations of any and eve7
nv act Of the Congress of the United States
Ifyou know individually Of any violation Of the
laws of our national Legislature, you should
present the case to the jury and give your own
testimony 10 the case and have the Witnesses
summoned without waiting for any Of the Off
GERS ioftithe courts i am happy to, learn that
thejury Of the last term, which was discharged
on Saturday, has acted so efficiently as to leave
little for you to do at present. But it IS to be
feared many lcrimes, will ibe brought, to hight
which will require your attention.. The vloi
leuce which has ragged through the years just
past, and the unsettled condition Of the counF
try, make much labor for grand juries. Ofeni-
most daily occurring. q The illicit manufacture
and sale of distilled spirits is still going on ih
this district, not only }defrauding the national
treasury, but spreading death, ;desolation,
crime, insanity, want and domestic misery; FILL
ing our jails, penitentiaries, po0r-hOuses and
unatic asylums with their wretehed victims.
T IF the view is not inviting, it is highly ne.
cessary that you should enter upon this! field
of inquiry, and faithful discharge of your duty
in this regard will be 9 source of comforting re-
Fiction for all time to come.
The tax of two dollars per gallon imposed
by the government upon distilled spirits, sp
far from being a burden, is a positive blessing
to the, nation. If collected, it will diminish
to considerable extent the consumption Of
those Intoxicating beverages, which Idestroy
more lives, property and human happiness
than war, pestilence and famine all combined.
By diminishing this Great evil, you viii be 90
ing the work OF the patriot and rphllant throplst.
IF you could materially check the drinking
habits OF the country, and especially Jof this
most drunken city I have ever seem you would
secure the heartfelt thanks not only of all good
men, butrot tall the mothers. wives, sisters and
daughters in our ,mids g. who. are now made to;
suffer from the folly and intemperance of those
who should protect sustain and: relieve WON an.
from the dreadful evils flowing from the pollu,
ted fountains that abound in our midst, and
poison by their streams of misery so many cir
cles of social and domestic happiness q
There is In this community, very great and
wellfounded complaint of hard times !; but if.
instead ;of drinking to drown our trouble we
would all totally abstain, from Drunkenness
drive distilled Spirits to their legitimate place
in the.arts, in chemistry, IN the medical chest,
and apply ourselves TO, useful and productive
employments we would soon forget our troG.
j bles, of hard times, and have little need OF
grand juries of courts Of Justice God grant
.athe speedy arrival of that; good time coming:
9IGs You wilEalso be probably calledato consider
other, offences besides those against the reves
nue-violations of the postal laws, counterfelt-
ing the currency of the U. S. pcrjurles nd
'asbuses nnderIthe bankrupt laws, the election
!aWs, the iaw knoWn as Fthe civil rights bill;
and every offence which you now know against
Y the Jaws of Congress, or Whichmay in any way
be brought to your knowledge. : -
.galf0iasEV--- gg5yia; J,9. !
WHEN Bruce, the traveller, reported that
be had seen stakes out from living cow BY
soldiers, and eaten raw, and the animal driven
onward, the story threw doubt, IN most minds,
s.son all his statements, and his book was, read
Tor a generation as a book of lively invention
rather than as an account OF facts. Strange to
ssay,, the English now in Abyssinia: fully
6tmi the Old yarn spinner and the correspoAn;-
dent of the london Morning Herald has more
than once seen ADyssinian soldiers perform the
dissection Of living. beef for their owninmedl wnin
ate eating. Indeed, all the marvellous stories g
3sof Bruce seem to have been strictly true, and
g his book will rank higher hereafter as an accn-
rate testmonyfo the condition ot the singul lar
country it describes than ever before. Sc yar
IA = meeting Of blacks was held last week at
Ebenezer Church, in Richmond, which, after aft a
formal organization, drew up petition, which
was presented to Gen. Scho6eld, yesterday, Ie.
questipg him to stop the further naturalization y