The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1869-07-24
Trial by Jury.

NV OUNhtLJ4 ~ Cdu-
vass the merits and dement's of
the system of trial by jury; and
conviction is gaining ground that
lt is not only faulty in principle,
but as often perverts and defeats
the ends of justice, as it secures
them. Where twelve men are
shut up in a jury box to to listen
to the evidence for and against
the criminality Of q prisoner for
several hours together, with the
witnesses cr0ss-examined as only
a lawyer knows how to cross-ex
anime; to be followed by the
pleadings of eloquent attorneys,
who exert all their powers to
throw doubt upon opposing testi-
mony and establish that of their
own party, we can scarcely expect
that among the twelve there
should not be one who would dis
sent from the views of the others,
no matter how conclusive the evi-
dence may be. Especially is this
the case where, as often as other
wise, ignorant men are placed in
the jury-box who are incapable of
properly Weighing evidence and
discriminating between the differ
ent points in the testimony. Men
are so constitutionally dissimilar
in their organization, that what
may be evidence to one man is
no evidence at all to another; and
in taking into account the doubts,
mysticisms, and sophistry thrown
around cases by opposing attor-
neys, it seems too much to expect
that twelve men should be unani-
nous in their verdict.
Again, business men who can
i'll afford to leave their own bust
ness to attend to the affairs of
others, and that in the best part
of the day, are often summoned
and required to pronounce upon
causes the most trivial; not only
making the administration of JUS
tice very expensive and burden
some to taxpayers and litigants,
but proving a source of no small
annoyance to the jurors. This is
certain to be the case unless ju-
rors are made up of the worthless
riff-raff which usually hang around
the courts and in whose hands
justice is but a mockery. It is
well known that in very important
eases the manner of empanneling
ajury necessarily excludes men of
intelligence, and only admits the
ignorant; consequently it becomes
almost impossible to convict the
most notorious criminals.
Although the s'right of trial by
jury" has been considered one of.
the safeguards of liberty for time.
out of mind, yet the question is
OF such grave Importance that it
would be we'll to examine it care
fully, even though it should over
turn some time-h0nored notions of
it's justice A full discussion
could not result otherwise than
benefcially, let the effect be what
it might Baton Rouge Courier.
Men wlo are drunkards, profit
gates and swindlers in private life.
will probably carry all their bad
habits with them into Office
Finding that their notorious of
fences against honor and decencv
have passed unrebuked by the
party which nominated and elect
ed them, they may fairly consider
themselves entitled to practice
their vices on still larger scale in
official positions. And they gen
orally do; and, more dlsgraceful
still, the partisans who imposed
them on the country are so far
blinded by prejudice or self-inter-
est as to shelter and defend them
in their iniquities so long as they
oAAe%AA ~ OIL W E1ttkOy GASo.- Nv. l.
Journal Of Commerce.
CONSUMPTION OF SHEEp.-The
city of New York consumed last
year, 1868, fully 100000 sheep,
which was an increase over the
previous year of over 200 .a9 o111
keseson consumed 1854 sheep,
an increase over the year 1867 of
10000, and other larger centres of
population show a similarincrease.
Gen. Grant has been in Boston
celebrating peace with crashing
choruses and artillery .peals. It
is in the fitness of things that he
who inflicted peace on Bobby Lee
should have peace inflicted on
him by Jubilee.-[N. 7. Citizen.
What Jubal E. inflicted on
Grant of fha TVildornacc erroe