The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-10-29
RUFTIANISM IN COURT.

| On Saturday VIC published q pfniH, UnvHT=
nished and unprejudiced statement In regard
TO o. secret proceeding before Judge Smith.
| which resulted in the release Of several pris-
oners, detained for O. murderous assault on u
certificate as TO the condition OF tho wounded
man, which, to say the least Of 1t, was equiv
Ocal Judge Smith has taken our account of
| the affair greatly to heart, and as We under
| stand, has made various md divers assevera-
| tiOns In regard thereto Of q most bloodthirsty
nature. We wish to say to him. in Us few
words as possible, that what We have said
and al we have said has been carefully CON
sidered and fully indorsod by the individuals
| responsible for whatever occurs in the DEM
OUHAT.
| This announcement is made because Of II
brutal and cowardly assault made on Mr..
| Stansbury, q reporter Of tho DEMOCRAT yes
| terday, by certain strikers Of Judge Smith,
md, as we believe, nt his instigation. The
assault we speak Of was led by one Arm
strong Smiths chief clerk, and under crcum-
stances which stamp that individual as o
bully of tho first degree. As for Judge Smith,
| we have only to add that he has proved him
| self utterly unworthy Of the position he occu-
| pog. We have exposed him before. Our rule
| has been, and shall continue to be- to mako
known the inside workings Of his court when
VIC can get ut them, however he may be dis
| pleased thoreat.
IF Judge Smith insists upon an itenized
statement OF the complaints we have to make
of his course we have no objection to giving
| 1t. In the first place, he refused admittance
| to his court to the reporter Of the DEMOCRAT.
| He evidently had a job on his hands which he
did not wish the public to know Of. He, &C
| cordingly took precautions to exclude our
reporter. employed to tell the world Of what
happened under his special dispensations.
He hid from our purveyor of news many
| important facts-first, the knowledge OF the
application for bond second, the proceedings
| and nature Of the proof; third, the character
! of the surgeons certifcate; fourth, the names
| of the bondsmen. All of these facts the public
was entitled to. Had everything been straight,
the presumption is that they would have been
made known. There Is but one reasonable
theory for their suppression. and that is that
| oil WAS wrong-and very wrong.
It Is shown that tho surgeons certificate as
to Doyles condition was not such q one rs to
Justify the release of his assaiiants. 1t was,
simply that he was not In Inn mediate danger.
All Of the surgeons concur In the assertion
that the certificate is "evasive," and that 1t
did not justify a release under the law The
Chief Of Police subseribes to this opinion.
These arc the circumstances under which
Judge Smith holds secret session OF his
court, and this is the proof upon which he
has released prisoners charged with desper-
ate crime, after an investigation from which
the reporters OF the press were excluded.
The reporters are forbidden all knowledge Of
the ordinary court proceedings, they are not
allowed to hear the testimony, they are not
permitted to gee the names of bondsmen aud
all this knowledge could have been CLEANED at
a night session Of the Recorders Court held