Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-11-15

In his address to the grand jury at Chicago
Thursday, Judge Williams touched upon
the killing of Gen. Grosvenor, and refers to
letters published purporting to come from
Gov. Palmer in relation to the indictment of
Lieut.. Gen. Sheridan, Mayor Mason and
others. lie said that they should find no
bill against any party except on information
of two of their members who have personal
knowledge of the facts. Neither the pros
ecuting attorney nor the court has a right to
instruct them as to whom they should indict.
1t would be dangerous to private rights, sad
the Judge, and an invasion of your preroga-
tiyes, if even the court should advise
you as to whom you should in1ict, and, il
this court may not do it, far less may any
person whe does not sustain to you any
official relation Should one not Of your
body seek to influence you by writing to any
one of your number you viii inform the
court, that the offender may be dealt with
for contempt Neither viii you permit your
selves to be affected ~ any communications
printed or to be printed, nor any editorials
writtel or to be written for any paper pub
lished here or eli ewherc. More rticularly
ought To warn you against being influenced
by letters published in the papers, and
purporung to have been written by
the chief executive of this State 10 the
attorney general and district attorney
Of this circuit. advising the Indictment of
certain persons named therein, purporting
/ to be letters Of the governor, and which have
/ been extensively circulated. Your respect
/ for our Lonored chief magistrate personally,
and his Oihc: Il position, might lead you to
attach TO them great weight, but they should
/ not exert any influence on you whatever
/ lie district attorney informs me that he
/ knew nothing of the letter said to be ad-
dressed 10 him until he saw 1t published III
the city papers If it was written by
the governor, it was only a private letter to
the district attorney, and should have been
n his hands before it was given to the papers.
1t would be inconsistent with the high repu-
tation of our chief magistrate for integrity
aud legal learning 10 suppose that those let
tiers should be published in order 10 inau-
ence our action as a grand jury. The posi-
bIlity that such would be their effect would
be enough TO deter him from giving them to
the public You ought not TO assume that
/ the respected chief magistrate Of this State
would do an act highly iudecorous and i'm
proper in any individual, above all in one
whose duties are Judicial.
Much Of this is evidently what Artema:
Ward used u call g." s4rkusm.' 1t is an IN
direct way Of saying that Gov. Palmer hai
bDbC nA4SAb vas A4i-ltly -k'AC O. ~
judge u Villains would have shed more light
on the case if he had himself given the grine
Jury the law respecting military rule il
times Of peace, great fires not ezcePted) in
stead Of INDUCING in a fling at the Governor
And il this judge correctly instructed thu
jury as 70 their duties. the grand jury sys
TEN OF Illinois must BE an admirable cOntri-
vance 10 let criminals escape from justice
If a grand jury 10 that Sta-e can only fine
bills against criminals when =. two members
of the jury have iers1nal knowledge Of the
facts. -" crime in that State must have great
immunity. 1t occurs To US. also, that it tn,
Governor Of the State las no business t,
suggest that crime OF any sort should b.
punished, nobody but criminals would b,
likely to be benefited BY such prohibition
on tie executive functions.
1t Is obvious tha5, while Judge Wiliami
ostentatiously said to the jury that the c5ul
even had no business t. advise them a. t.
whom they should faI guilty. he could nj
have more plainly told them not to bring in ar
F.. indictment for tic murder OF Mr.. Gro>yeuor
Perhaps the jury viii, instead, follow Il,
. hint 81 the court and indie, GOV. Palmer loi
interfering with their functions.
we have given more space to this lu-.tet
than We should If we diI not see in il q lno-r
mi-caievous tendcucy-it might BE given a
much har7her characterizltiou-to use sol
diers AMI ball cartridges ami the bayonet on
very slight provocation, and then to Justify it