The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-05
FIRST EDITIO N
LEGAL INTELLIGENCE.
CHARGE TO THE GRAND JURY.
Judge Brewster on High Handed
Crime-HOw Assassins Escape
Justice Through Per
verted Sympathy"

COURT OF QUARTER SEsSIoNs-Judge Brew
ster.-This morning the April term of the Court
was opened by his Honor Judge Brewster, who,
having appointed James M Marlin foreman of
the Grand Jury, delivered to them the follow
ing Instructions, which will be found full OF
startling facts as to the state OF crime In our
midst, and replete with wholesome suggestions
as to the remedy that should be applied to the
evil:--
Gentlemen of the Grand Jufy:-From the
calendar before me, ana the report OF The num-
ber Of bail cases, II appears that you Will be
called upon to dispose of over four hundred iu-
dictments in few weeks In view of this
fact, l need hardly TO enjoin upon you to be
active In the discourage OF your responsible
You will probably find that all the indot-
conveniently divided into two casses-one In
which the community are Interested, and
another In which the public hsye no Concern,
II iB to be feared that we deal loo lentently
with those who make crime their profession.
error by rushing into the opp site extreme of
tndiscriminate prosecutlo of the innocent
along with the guilty. / would recommend
you 10 see 10 IT that no criminal goes unpun-
ished by our remissness, and that no inno-
cent person suffers the delay of an hour In
securing his discharge
It is time that the bad ahould be made TO feel
the power OF the law. It has been announced
in the Police Courts OF London that In certain
places In that city the Queens writ will not
to us. There are certain men In Pniladelphia
who cannot be brought to justice. They can
secure ball. and abscond until Opportunity
permits their return. Others take life almost
this city in the year 1868, as compared with
those of 1867 are in the proportion OF 1873 TO OF,
increased nearly nifty per cent, and the total of
murders in one year is four times the oonvic'
This is all due to the perverted sympathy
which exslts the assassin into the pos ition of q
has ssid:"in the legal duel M se.ween @ ~isY mar
derer and Justice, we give the prisoner not only
AYR Of ssng ney
VII soon have to be toasted with civil and re-
It has thus come to pass. gentlemen, that
men are shot dowh or stoned to death upon
our highways. and that the laW seems as pow.
protection Grand juries hesitate to lind true
bills. and petit juries often refuse TO convict
except of Inferior grades frequently coupling
those veIdicts with recommendations to
mercy. And even in an occasional case OF
great atrocity when conviction Is followed by
. sentence to death, the Executive is besieged
for pardon. 1t Is owing 10 these efforts to
thwart justice that 1t has come to pass in Pnila-
delphia that 1t is more dangerous for man to
pick pocket than TO takes o life. The thief is
much more certain of being punished than the
This viii continue until public opinion under
goes change. illinois has recently been COM
PEELED to restore the death penalty TO her STA
tute book. Maine has just refused by large
majority to abolish II. Wisconsin, Michigan,
and Rhode Island are now the only States in
the Union in which capital punishment is not
inflicted; and 1 notice that in the last named
Slate at, en- ion has recently been called TO this
surie ct In an able and learned speech OF Senator
J. Il Edwards. His remarks seem as applicable
to our community to his own immediate
neiehborhood; He says:-
moments, when the passions OF men are stirred
into action by an immediate and pressing oe.
casion, they do not trampie the form OF Justice
under foot, and by authority of force Wre8k
summary vengeance upon the objects OF their
condemnation. Men are already stirred pro-
foupdly with the feeling OF their insecurity,
and 1t will be wise in their agents If they heed
these admonitions. Nor is the feeling conaned
tlon for our judges to decide how small they
must make the penalty In order to have crimi-
MY observation OF our criminal trials has
satisfied me that the same evil exists here
the London Times, as prevailing elsewhere:-
"Crime is pursued by q numerous class OF per.
sens as regular profession aRSst ,oas,an IfSm al,
Is maintained by aIegular succession of pfao-
titioners, like any honest trade, IL has Its
seminaries It's markets, and Its places OF re-
would therefore recommend you to
promptly return all tndictmen against these
offenders as true bills, wherever there appears
to be case of probable cause. And in nomi-
nothing whatever to do with the grade of the
offense; that Is q question exclusively for the
So much for cases In which the public are
interested. The moment you leave these,
elimination. Do not allow Lhe law to become
the weapon OF private malice: That 1t is very
itsSed by our records. The report OF Mr.. Mullen,
snnr eficient Prison Agent, informs us that In
the past year there were over 81 600 arrests.
This M would be in the propO lion OF about one
arrest to every ~ persons The commitments ts
TO prison exceeded IL 000 which would be at the
rate OF one for every AZ Inhabitants Yet OF these
seventeen regiments of men and women sent 10
jail by our magistrates asd5 IN one year & she grand
only convicted $50. 80
You may therefore conclude that only one
person out of every ten whose cases Will come
= before you is really guilty. ., -
The necessity therefore, Is anipeaaIIV9 upon 3i
Won to set your faces agalnst ali petty cases IN
!. which you find there Is no foundation Tor an
accusation save In the malice oi the prosecutor
Were there no other reason for this than the
coet of maintaining this Court, IL would be ouT
duty TO repress this species OF litigation. With
out com putting the expenditures OF the prison Oh
the Police conviction actual
fhis the expense OF keeping the unified prison
ers, and The salaries OF the police force, every
CONVECTION costs us over $1,000
AS matter OF economy, then, un1oundeo
proeecutiOns should receive no couAtenance
but a principle higher far than any considera.
tion of mere dollars and cents requires US 10
amply the law which empowers you, when you
ignore bill charging misdemeanor, TO Inn
y,oae the costs upon the prosecutor.
heartily commend 1t to our favor. and trust
to see numerous Instances OF the exercise ol
I'm IN vonr visits TO the Penitentiary and County
Prison you will ind that the inspectors ar are
and solitary confinement, for positive want OF
cells wherein to accommodate the prisoners. ]
there fore suggest the proprlety or your max ms
fnilsinquiry into this subject, and II you shel
find that any persons occupying puDnc posi-
lions have failed TO obey the law, IL VIII %
your duty 20 make special presentment OF theii
ns rThe petit jury having been formed, the prison
calendar was at once taken mp, his Honor
esrcn aieffn0 in place OF Judge Brew