Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-11-25

| lAeht OF facts IN any given case, aud that de-
Partment is jury, which department yOu
| compose.
know it is often said tha. jury OF twslve
men pIomiscuously chosen are not competent
! 70 define their sphere. Bat my experience
| teaches me that they are.
Remember that you throw all society oct OF
confusion and disorIier IL Won una ertske 70 5eal
with any other office than that OF finding the
| facts.
The main fact for Won to nnd-couuArtins all
| the facts given % you tH evidenee-is hss Il
| been proved to your satisfaction, beyOud a rel-
sonable doubt, thst the defendants or aqy two
| Of them or either OF them on trial aud some one
else, wbe ther on trial or not il charged IN the
| indictment % be guilty, has been guilty % a
violation OF law, ss that law STALL be explained
| % you In this charge. Remember that the pun
;shment is left 20 another department OF or or
| saniZstion. The lag restricts that part Of the
organization 20 a punishment com mensurste
| Win the offence, and does not permit cruel OF
| unusual visitatiOns, either in corporal impOsi.
! uOns, or excessive fines. OF this ven are not 10
| CONSIDER; yOu are not to determine whether =
| petton Is 10 De elevated or lowered, bat what
taots 90 you find to exist in the case before YOU
| The peace Of soCiety demands that mtsfeu.eau
oTs shall be punished a. well as crimes. The
pre- veDti3n o. nisdemeNnors VIII protect aRainsf
higher grades Of offence.
| The charge iB this Is that oF conspiracy Sv the
defendants 20 do what the H. forbids. IL l. a
charge tbedefendsntss ~ gether cOncOct 3
Ateheme or schemes, to procure and did procure
-ome one u 90 iD the night time TO the Office u
ne United ) ates District Attorney in this city
| 10 break open the safe and TO take tberefrom
papers or books. and that those papers aud
| looks should DC taken "a the house of Colambus
Alexander TO be received by him from the sap
| posed alleged burglar, aud that this done
by defendants % dCfaSne the character OF Alex
| Ander, 70 charge him with having procured a
burglary, and thereby subject him to criminal
prosecution.
[ Whether these defendants, or any two OF
| them, did these things is the issue you are 20
| try, snd you are 70 appeal alone 20 the facts.
CONsPIRACIEs.
NOD have before you a citizen of pond stand.
| ing, ThC-the government sayS-has been con
| spired against by otter citizens OF good stand
ing. You have serious business In your hands
tSat OF aScertaining from the evidence il * Is
probable, beyond reasonable dOab bt, that the
charge Il true as TO AL these defendants OF a. TO
any TWO OF them on trial, or any one OF them on
trlal, and one or more charged in the indict-
meHt.
The law says that it requires two or more
persons 10 be found IN combination to cOnsti-
tate conspiracy. So fan rs the present case
goes the charge, in law, amounts 20 A high mis-
dsmeanOr. Bear In mini that you are TO and
If the facts prove beyond a reasonable doubt,
| that peIsOns charged have banded themselves
The law foIbds.
forum the reputa ion of another falsely Is
| an offence against society. That which would
| be libel II doae by one person would be con-
| sptrscy If done by two or more persons. The
| fact Is not controverted that the safe Of the
| district attorneys Office opened on the
| night OF the sd OF April, lSl4, by some one or
more person or persons. To have charged Co
] luDbus AleXander-if the charge had been
made by single persOn-was instrumental in
! procuring the deed would have been libelous il
thsd been untrue. For two or more persons
| 10 combine and confederate 70 lake the charge
would be conspiracy to defame If the charge
was untrue. Libel or SANDER f. susceptible Of
| direct proof. Conspiracy has often If not al
ways TO be proved by series Of facts often tAe
| p&Tucipators or guilty ones acting in various
places In distant scenes, one here and one
tberei switching on and switching OF; con-
meeting here and there devious and winding
] aid twisting in the ways Of human Ingenuity
taxing the capacity Of the honest mind 70 dis
cover the hidden resting places, and often CALI
| lEg into requisitiOn the ard OF the more expe-
rIenced In the ways OF Wickedness and wrong to
detect the route which ;he perpetrators have
taken. There has Ived but one solitary man
who was born, lived and died without sin aud
corruption. This, the laws under which yOa
i've, recognize as the condition CE human affSrs
fierce those laws require that a jury aud a
Judge shall uy ali matters that come before
"a, N by human nature and human character
rs they exist.
Government must punish the aagrsnt viola
sioIs Of lis rules, although the same persons who
inhlct the TGl les are nothing but msbehsEiOTs
themselves. Human nature is not sunk so l09
hat It may not aspire 70 something OF a nobler
.dsa than a combination among men TO DO that
which will ruin and debsse society by the ruin
Of tie individuals OF that society.
These defendants are entitled, and each one
is entitled 70 have the law and the whole la y in
their case applicable to all and to each one
given in charge TO this jury. SO Is the govern.
nent thus entitled. Although they are charged
one performing one part, and another perform
ing another part in the drama, you must find
from the evidence that the combination existed,
and you must md IL from evisence outside and
Independent OF the declarations or either one Of
the persons charged before you can take the
declarations OF either 60 operate against the
other. The declaration or confession Of either
one is the best evidence against himself. 1t
does not become evidence against any one else
until the facts and circumstances of the case
have shown TO the jury that cOmbin alton has
been formed between the cOnfessing party and
the other or others implicated By the confession.
Let us endeavor to make this proposition so
plain that you cannot fail TO understand t fully.
Because one of the persons accused has said
that another was concerned ia tue matter, this
IS no evidence Of the fact unless the testimony
has fIst established iR yOar mind beyons a res-
Sonsble doubt that apart from that confession
there is proof enough 60 show that those impIi-
Gated in the confession did join together for the
purpose Of perpeCrating the wrong.
When yOu are thus satisfied beyond reason
able doubt, II you should bs 80 satisfied, then
each becomes responsible for the acts Of the
other to accomplish the common purpose, aud
foT The declarations Of each other going 10 es-
tGblish the main fact Of guilty or not guilty.
Thust the acts of Harrington, A. B. Williams,
NettleshiP, Hayes and ZTruth here in Wash
4ngtoB, and the declaration OF each as against
himSeli-that Is, II any two Of them, or more
than two, msGe such declarations as sstisfes
you beyond a reasonable doubt that they we're
coufederated together, and the acts Of Whitley
and CunZ and Hayes aud Nettlesbip In New
York taken ia connection with the acts Of the
PARTIES named here in Washington, shall sat
isfy your mind beyond reasonable doabt that
AL or any two Of them, or more than two, were
guilty-aDd you must ascertain how many, II
any, and WHO Of them il was-Of combining 10
falsely implicRte Columbus Alexander in plot
20 rob the safe ia question, then you viii be su-
thorized TO take the declarations and acts
against each enc who you thus find 10 be con-
nected-not, however, taking the declarations
or mention or the names of either one by the
other as evidence of the combination till you
have sscertained that confederation by their
acts ara all the circumstances attending the
affair arising out OF the evidence.
You see your mind viii have TO travel from
Wsshington-the main scene Of the end charged
TO have been sought TO be sccomplished-to New
York, psusing in Baltimore and Philadelphia,
and JeTtey City, and from New York and Jer-
sey City to Toronto and Quebec, In Canada.
In this connection, gentlemen, 1t is regular
and proper TO charge that IL you believe beyond
"A reason able doubt that either one or more of
the defendants merely knew that the thing.
charged in the Indictment were to be done, and
did not lend any assistance to accomplish the
same; or IL you fnd from the evidence that there
is a reasonable doubt on your mind whether
either of the defendants did any act TO aid In
the preparation Of the offense charaed-thstof
procuring or attempting to procure something
70 be done, with the view OF bringing a charge
against Alex ander, which would be q def ana
L.. - - 49, n