The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-04-30
WEAT Lay IATFEN UHDsR TIE RECENT
DECISIONS.

May, lSSO.-An interesting phase of the |
Civil-Rights question, based on the, recent
rulings OF the supreme Court of the United
States, has just been presented in chicago. |
The Supreme Court of Illinois, as will be |
remembered, ruled in April last that It was |
in the power of local school boards to make |
obligatory the reading of the Bible in the |
public schools. The effect of this has been
to deprive the Roman Catholic population of
Illinois ofthe right to education in the pub |
JIG schools, which they are taxed largely to
support. An application has juss been
granted, in the United States Circuit Court
In Chicago. to remove this case into that
court. "Every man." said the learned
Judge presiding in the Circuit Court, "has
arightto an equal enjoyment of the privis
leges of education for which he is taxed
and to abridge this right is an invasion of
the Fourteenth Amendment" A similar
ruling has just been made in the United
States Circuit Court in Alabama. A State
law providing that colored children should
have separate schools allotted to them has
been held unconstitutional "What right"
said the Circuit Judge, "has State Legis-
lature to make any discrimination against
| any class or sect 7"
the Supreme Court Of Ohio, to the effect
that compulsory reading of the Bible in the
public schools must be abandoned, has lust
been reversed by the supreme Court of the
United States. ."have not Protestant
Christians" argued Mr.. Justice Strong,
giving the opinion of the Court, "their
rights under the Fourteenth Amendment,
believing, as they do, that the Bible is the
basis of education ; and can they be consti.
tutionally deprived of these rights in State
where their money goes to supply three
tourths of the expenses of these schools ?"
1t had been objected on the argument, that
this position was inconsistent with a late
ruling in Chicago, by the United States
Circuit Court there sitting, to the effect that
reading the Bible in the schools could not be
constitutionally enforced, as the effect was to
impair the civilrights ofthe Roman Catholics
But this objection was triumphantly refuted
by Judge Strong. cit proves" be said in
the course of his opinion, "that under the
Fourteenth amendment the rights of no class
in the community can be invaded, and that
the Fourteenth Amendment, rs it was lately
remarked by distinguished Federal Judge
in Virginia, (Rives, j in fact as we'll as
IN theory, proclaims liberty throughout the
land. 1t might indeed be argued that this
breaks up the schools, since they cannot at
the same time read and not read the Bible.
The objection, however, is irrelevant and
it the schools interfere with civil rights, so
much the worse for the schools"
December, 1S8O.-Two interesting cases
Of contempt have just come up at Columbia,
s. c., before Judge Bond. "A Jew, sum-
moned as juror, was committed by q State
court because he declined to sit on Saturday,
and, on being brought into court on attach.
ment, closed his ears with cotton, informing
the Judge that he did not mean to listen
to q word that was said On the same day
a witness, claiming TO De an arnerst, ~ i5
committed for contempt in refusing to be
sworn. Both parties were Immediately
released on habeas corpus by Judge Bond.
January, 1881.-Great excitement, which
the Federal marshals, though aided by the
military arm of the Government, have had
great difficulty in suppressing, has been felt
in Boston at the trial of Chief Justice GRAY
before Judge Clifford, sitting with Jury
in the United States Circuit Court The
Legislature of Massachusetts, it will be re-
collected, had passed a statute providing
that no persons having constitutional scru.
pies as. to death punishment should sit on
juries in capital cases. Two respectable
sects, the Shakers and the Quakers, hold
such scruples; and tho question of the con.
stitutionality of the statute excluding them
was brought last week before Chief Justice
Gray and Judge Morton in the case of Com
monwealth vs.. Jones, the defendant being
Shaker indicted for murder Notwith-
standing learned argument by the United
States district attorney, intervening on the
part of the United States, to the effect that
the Fourteenth Amendment gave Shakers
a right to be summoned on juries, and tha.
State statute excluding them was uncon.
stitutional, the Chief Justice overruled a
motion to qnash tho array made by the de-
fendant, and ordered the case to be placed
on the trial list for the next day. A war.
rant, however, was instantly issued, as is
well known, for the arrest Of Chief Justice
Gray, and he was subsequently bound over
by Federal commissioner for trial. The
trial took place yesterday, and occupied but
a few hours. The jurors, having been sum-
moned sy the marshal from persons friendly
to the Government and to the duo enforce.
ment of civil rights, were challenged by the
defendant on the ground that it was q
strange way of enforcing civil rights to Sc.
lect jurors from one party alone /; but the
challenge was overruled by the Court. The
evidence occupied only half an hour, con-
sisting simply Of the fact that the defend.
ant, as charged in the indictment, had re-
fused to quash an array of jurors from
which Shakers had been excluded. Judge
Clifford, in charging the jury, told then,
that the question of law raised by the de.
fendant had already been decided by the
Supreme Court Of the United States, in
March, 1880. in Coles case Cole being a