The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-04-24

The proceedings OF the United States
Circuit Court, now in session in Charles
ton, have been such as to shock the sense
of justice in all men who have intell;-
gence and honor. The whole transac-
ton has upon it the appearance of a
diabolical political plot to convict the
Democrats charged of election frauds for
the purpose Of affording material for the
bloody shirt campaigners, who have
about exhausted every theme of abuse
against the South. The facts are that a
jury has been drawn consisting partly of
good men but principally of those who
are Republicans of very bad character
at home. Of the good men on the jury
the greater part were those who could
not take the test oath; and thus, while
there was a. semblance of partial fairness
in the drawing, it was known that the
better element of the jury would be re-
jected, and their places filled with the
very worst hangers-on of the Court
House loafers. Such men as N. K. Sui
livan, John Knox, w. A. Evans, Mr..
Milan and Mr.. Goodwin were rejected,
to be replaced by Purvis and men of that
stamp, selected by the United States
Marshal because Of their we'll known
political prejudice and lack of standing
in the community. The manner in
which the test oath was applied is also
far from creditable to Judge Bond, for
he manifestly desired the application of
the oath, but did not wish the responsible
ity of directing it in his discretion. In
order to secure its administration with
out committing himself, he decided to
allow its application under section that
in the opinion of the best lawyers does
not admit it, and which opinion is well
sustained in the law itself. For instance,
Section S20 of United States Revised
Statutes provides that any person who
has been engaged il treason, rebellion,
&C., shall be ineligible to sit upon jury,
and Section S2l provides that the District
Attorney may, in the discretion of the
presiding Judge, apply the test oath.
This section of course clearly negatives
the idea that the District Attorney
can apply the oath of his own accord,
for it would be nonsensical to add Sec
tion giving him the right to apply the
oath if the Judge consents when he
already has the right to do so indepen-
dently of the Judge. The Section S20
never intended to confer any such power,
but to simply give the District Attorney
power to prove by outside testimony that
any person had been engaged in treason,
rebellion &C., and in that way exclude
them from jury. But then Judge Bond
did not care for arguments, nor did he
appear to consider law, for his rulings
have been uniformly in favor of the
prosecution, and he has, without word
of condemnation, seen the unfair and
iniquitous manner in which the juries
have been composed. In addition to
these things the prosecution of the cases
has been bitter and vindictive under the
lead of E. w. NJ. Mackey, who sees in
this an opportunity, by packed juries
and false witnesses, to convict Demo
Gratis, and thus revenge himself upon the
people of this State for his political de-
feats. The prescnt term of court will be
blot upon the judicial history of the
Union as long as the dangerous and
humiliating facts connected with the
trial of these cases is remembered.