The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-04-30
VEAI Lay aAzTEN UGDER THE RECENT
DECISIONS.

rulings Oi the supreme court OF the Oultcd
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 of the right to education in the pub |
JIG schools, which they are taxed largely to
support. An application has just 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
a right to an equal enjoyment of the privi-
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 Z"
| September, 1SSO.-At u late decision of
the Supreme Court Of Ohio, to the effect
that compulsory reading of the Bible in the
public schools must be abandoned, has Just
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
| fourths of the expenses of these schools 2"
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
constltutionally enforced, as the effect was to
impair the civil rights ofthe Roman Catholics.
But this objection was triumphantly refuted
by Judge Strong "It proves" be said in
the course of his opinion, "that under the
| Fourteenth amendment the rights no class
in the community can be invaded, and that
the Fourteenth Amendment, as 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
if the schools interfere with civil rights, SO
much the worse for the schools"
December, 1SS0.-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 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 a word that was said. On the same day
a witness, claiming to be an atheist, W Is
committed for contempt in refusing to be
sworn. Both parties were Immediately
released on habeas corpus by Judge Bond.
January, 1SS1.-Great excitement, which
the Federal marshals, though aided by the
military arm Of the Government, have had
great difficulty in supprcssing, has been felt
in Boston ut 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 statute providing
that no persons having constitutional scru.
pies as. to death punishment should sit on
jures in capital cases. Two respectable
sects, the Shakers and the Quakcrs, hold
such scruples; and the 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
monwcalth 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
right to be summoned on juries, and tha.
State statute excluding them was uncon-
stitutional, the Chief Justice overruled
motion to 1nash the array made by the &C.
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
few hours. The jurors, having been sum-
moned oy the marshal from persons friendly
to the Government and to the due enforce
ment of civil rights, were challenged by the
defendant on inc ground that it was a
strange way Of enforcing civil rights to Sc
lect jurors from one party alone but the
challenge was ovcrruled by the Court. The
evidence occupied only half an hour, con-
sisting simply Of the fact that the defend
ant, as charged in tho indictment, had re-
fused to quash an array Of jurors from
which Shakers had been excluded Judge
Clifford in charging the jury, told them
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