, 1872-12-13


voked in his favor the Sixth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, which ex-
pressly provides that In all criminal proseou-
tionB the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial by impartial jury
OF the State and district wherein the crime shall
have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be in
formed Of the nature and cause Of the accusa-
ton, to be confronted with the witnesses against
witnesses in his favor, and to havo the assist
ance Of counsel for his defence" Also, the
Ninth Article of the Bill of Rights Of tho Con-
stituton Of the State OF Illinois, which is almost
identical with the provision Of the Constitution
State read county. But the application was
fused, and the prisoner ordered to immediate
trial.
The trial proceeded, and the defence offered to
show that the murderer was at the time Of the
homicide, mad with liquor. md that Ill of his
brutal passions aroused by the demon which
possessed him; but this evidence was excluded
He WAS convicted, and sentenced to be hung ut
O very early day.
His counsel conscientiously believed that the
prisoner ought to have had change Of venue;
that he had been convicted improperly, and con-
trary to the law Of the land; and, procuring 3
the Supreme Court-the Court Of
last resort-for their opinion. Every
step in the case was watched by the
guardians Of the law, the newspapers. with most.
commendab1e vigilance; and when it vast
learned that supersedeas had been applied for,
tho announcement was received with q roar of
obloquy. Such thing was unparalleled and
ought not to be allowed. It was now high time
for the people to rise in their wrath and put
stop to such proceeding. Frequent meetings
of the Vigilance Committee were held, and
money raised to investigate the causes Of crime
and finally it was decided that whskey vas the
root of al evil; that al Of the
9sl murders "hleh e. haa a.n.,3e aecarrea IN our
under the influence Of liquor; and thnt We had
altogether too many saloons, which were kept
open night and day, and they ought to be abol-
ished. This may seem strange, as We have only
about two thousand five hundred saloons, nnd
they bring in q good income to the city; but go
this Committee decided And forthwith q great
commotion ensued. The Chairman of the COM
mittce-the man who raised the COMMITTEE
posed to murder, but believed in the divine right
Of free and unobstructod traffic in Mhiskoy,
1ager-beer, etc. and if that couldn't be allowed,
in this Land of tho froe, and home Of tho
! brave" he would resign. And resign he did, and
| retired to private life in disgust.
The newspapers kept on the even tenor Of
their way, however, and denounced tho Courts
| and the law. One newspaper-edited by the
thought that all was now lost; that the 81, 400
| which had been raised would buy off the sent
ence: and that the Judges OF the Supreme Court
were 80 venal and corrupt that Rafferty,, the
prisoner in question, would be granted new
trial, and would escape scot-freo. The language
used was plnin and unmlstakable, and was TO The
effect that the entire Bench could be purchased
for 81 400; and that such Court was not en-
! titled to the confidence Of the pnblic. This
y; was ., the , ezact import @ and 81 Pqrport q Port
wish; but it was just exactly that, no more and
no leee. The Judges Of tho Supreme Court
heard the roar without, but calmly took up the
caso submitted to them, and decided that the
1 RI 1ta1 hnH a1 0f 4F1an
mitted several errors, and granted the super
| sedeas, set aside the verdict, ordered q change
of ve1uo, and decided that, on the trial of Il
murderer, it vas proper to show that the
all, but merely to show his condition. The
Court then turned their attention to the editors
i who had so grossly insnlted them, and, to main
tain the dignity Of the tribunal over which they
presided, cited them to appear and answer for
| The editors could offer no justification what
ever for what they had done, but took the
| position boldly that, as tho Court was public
institution and the Judges public officers, they
had right to criticize their action as they saw
| fit. But the Court took different view, fined
these leaders Of public opinion 3100 and $500 re-
| spectively, and ordered the same paid into tho
Public Treasury. Which they did, and departed
"without delay" Returning to their homes.
they retired to their sanctum sanctorun,, and
poured out their very souls in an agony Of con-
tempt. The epizootic was nothing to it. Chief
Justice Lawrence WAS hoary-headcd old will
ain, q tyrant, despot, and ecallawag,
a creature unfit to appear in decent society, and
| ho ought to be impeachod and deposed. His as
| socntos, who had joined in the opinion delivered
by him, we're all Of the same ilk j; but those who
dissented from him we're the peers OF Mansfield
and Marshall, and ought to be cherished like
s'hunks" of gold. They called upon all tho
world and the rest Of mankind to come to the
rescue. They commenced tho publication Of q
weekly edition Of contempt literature, filled to
oYerfowing with sobs md tears Their breth-
ron heard their cries, and like the followers Of
petor the Heruit. Resolved to ragcue the tomb in
which: the Freedom Of the Press had been laid
from the hands Of the aacrilegious infi-