Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-11-06
n the New York Ledger
MoSLEM JUSTICE.
BY sYLvANrs conB, lR.

might chide him for "telline storie
out of school, has been sheriff il
our county for years, aud understand
all the crooks and turns OF the Law
and the courts. Not long since me
him just set free from attendance up
on the April term Of the Suprem,
Court, and he was particularly wori
and jadcd. Said he, in course Of con
versation,--
Il tell you, sir, this Trial by Jury
which we hold SO high IN the scale o
human rights, is the veriest humbus
that ever was. For fifteen years
have attended every term of oul
courts-the Supreme Judicial, the Su
perior, and the Law Terms--and Tho
longer l live in this experience III,
more disgusted do become with lii,
average working Of the jury system
In a squad of twelve jurymen there il
no individual responsibility. Eigh,
of them may be honest and intelli
gent; two of them may be stupid and
opinionated; and, in nine cases in ten
at least, you will find two who are
partial and unscrupulons--two mer
who are friends of one of the contest.
ing parties, and who will stick to theil
favorite through thick and thin.
"Only night before last" he Went
on, ~ was ont in charge of jury
from six O'Clock in the evening until
almost daylight on the following
morning. The case was one of con.
tract. The contractor had sued fol
pay for work done. The defendant
produced the written contract in court,
and showed that the prosecutor had
broken said contract in nearly every
stipulation, and also proved that not
half the work agreed upon had been
done; and, furthermore, he clearly
established that, as the contractor had
left him, he was sufferer by the
imperfect work thus imperfect
ly begun. Upon the jury were
found four friends Of the prosecutor
men ignorant, pugnacious, and stub.
born. They insisted that the prosecu-
tor was entitled to full pay, as per
contract, for every days work per-
formed, and for every article of ma
terial furnished. And they sat back
against T. wall and waited for the
other eight to give In. And at three
o'clock in the morning, after having
been under lock and key nine hours,
dt was Saturday morning, and they
mus. go home,) those eight men gave
in!"
And my friend said much more
which | will not repeat. He told me
some things that he had known to
transpire in the jury-room which
would be hardly credited by confid-
ing public. Ono was where a tired
jury decided all important case by the
flip of penny, "Heads for the Plain
tiff-Tails for the Defendant" Head
it was, and the Plaintiff got his case.
My friends remarks and reminis-
cences brought to my mind a few
items OF my experience with Moslem
Justice, and as we had plenty of time
OH our hands, related to him the fol-
lowing, as have it in my Log of a
Three Years Cruise upon the waters
and shores of tho Mediterranean-
lS4S-2-3, and part OF "A:
We went from Jerusalem to Con-
stantinople overland (When l say,
"We," mean Capt. VIM. Nicholson,
Lieut.. Charles G.. Hunter, Midship-
man John Mcleod Murphy, and my
solf, all OF the u. s. ny, and on our
way we stopped at Devil, which is a
small town at the southern base OF
Mount Ariish, in the Pachalic of Kar-
amania. On the evening of our arri-
val ] learned that an old Mollah oman
Of law had come up from Karahissar
to hold court and his court / determ-
ined to attend. This Mollah. whose
name was Ben.Ahmed, had q stated
portion of the Pachalic under his
charge, and in all cases not capital,
and not involving direct State affairs,
his decisions were final. He was
both Judge and jury-Law-giyer, Ex-
FOUNDER and Executor. From his de.
cisions there was no appeal. Should
he prove corrupt, of course there were
higher powers to which he was amen
able--and woe to the officer Of Turk
ish Justice who should be proved
guilty Of official corruption! 7 had
heard of the wisdom of these
old Moslem justices and as
two of the cases which would he
brought forward on the present occa-
sion had been explained to me, l had
a curiosity to see how they would be
disposed of.
1t was noar the middle OF the fore
noon when l gained favorable seat
in an open court of the market-place,
where the judgments were to be rem
dered. Most Of the space was covered
by an awning of cotton cloth, and the
arrangements for order were perfect.
The Mollah was man of full three.
score-and.ten tall and handsome; his
flowing beard white as snow and his
eyes bright as clear stars.
The first case was the disputed pos.
session Of o slave. The plaintiff was
an elderly man, named Mustapha, by
profession jewel-merchant. The
defendant was youthful peasant,
named Galbec. The slave was o Cir.
cassian girl, and quite pretty, and al
present in custody Of the peasant
Galbec, who claimed to be her owner.
"The girl is mine," said tho old
jewel.merchant, earnestly. 81 bought
her ten years ago, whom q mere child
and have reared her and provided fol
her until within q mouth last past
"The girl il mine," said the peasant
a stout well.looking felloW OF NOT
moro than five-and-twenty. ~ bought
her of her own father for my wife
three years ago. Listen not to that
old man. He would deceive you
Let Judgment be rendered for me
who am the girls lawful owner and
true husband"
Ben-Ahmed then appealed to the
girl herself, and asked her to which Of
these two men she belonged.
"Galbec Is my husband" she said
"He has owned mo these three years.
"And what have You done during
these three years ?"
ri have attended to >Galbec's fiocks
and helped him harvest his corn and
grapes"
"What did you do before you lived
with him?"
n lived with my parents in Okop.'
Were .. they peassnts?"
"They were."
There were no witnesses to be call!
ed. The parties were strangers in tho
place, and only their own testimony
was available. Galbec evidently loved
the girl, and 1t was natural that she
should prefer him for her master
Yet the old jcwel-merchant seemed
honest and was parneat in HIS ctaino