Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-11-12
cORKHILL.

complications sur
rounding the prosecution of the I
Star Route rascals, who robbed the I
United States Treasury of millions
Of dollars. The fact, however, re-
mains that Corkhill discharged the
grand jury from Sept. 18th 10 Oct.
3. Between those dates the statute
of Limitation completed the bar to
the prosecution of the Star Route
thieves. We say There's, for such
they are, and such they viii be
considered in the forum of public
opinion, whatever may be the re-
suit of the present proceedings in
court against them. The informa-
ton filed against them was made
necessary, in the absence of a grand
jury, to find a bill of Indictment
against them. This absence of a
grand jury was caused by their dis
charge by Corkhill. CorkhilI says
that he went to Attorney General
McVeagh and informed him that |
he had no business for the grand |
jury and that if he had the Star
Route case ready, the grand jury |
was at his service, otherwise, he in
tended to adjourn the jury to the
first Monday in October. He says
the Attorney General informed him
that since the Presidents assassina-
ton he had given the Star Route
cases no special attention, and, in
fact, k1le10 nothing Of them and that
he, Corkhill, need not bother HIM
self about them and when his SER
vices, or those of the grand jury,
were needed, he would be notified
by the person having the cases speci-
ally in charge. This interview
with the Attorney General occurred,
according to CorkhilPs statement,
on Sept. 5. 1t will be seen, from
Corkhills own account of his inter-
view with the Attorney General,
that he did not intimate to the lat
ter, in any way, that If a bill OF
indictment was not found by the
grand jury between the time of
their proposed discharge and re-as-
sembling, the statute would bar the
prosecution. He knew the Attor-
new General was not aware of this
fact. that his attention had not been
called to it, and he knew farther
that the Attorney General had not
| given the case any attention on ac-
count of the excitement and confu-
sion caused by the assassination of
the President, for the Attorney so
distinctly informed him. Now did
Corkhill know, that if hedischarged
that grand Jury on the 10Th of Sept.
to Oct, 3, the bar of the statute
must be perfected in the meantime ?
If he did, and he does not pretend
to say in his exculpatory state
ment before the court that he did
not, why did he dischare the grand
Jury without calling the attention
of either the Attorney General or
Col. Cook to the fact before he dis
charged them? That is the question
for him to answer and the one on
which he is profoundly silent
while making his statement. Col
Cook is the Attorney employed by
the government to prosecute the
thieves. He says he had no notice
directly or Indirectly, of the reces:
of the grand jury. He had beer
called to Long Branch by telegraph
to consult with the Attorney Gen
: eral, Post Master General and Mr.
Bliss and when he returned t.
i Washington, he learned the CRANE
Jury had adjourned. He says Their
: was but one thing left now and tina
: was to file an information. How
happened that the grand jury wa
thus discharged and the govern
u ment deprived of the opportun1t,
to indict the thieves before the stat
i ute completed its bar, he said it wa
= not for him to say. But he adde
= significantly that the fact arOuJd la
. in the annals Of the court. IN
orand jury did take recess Of te
: days and it a0aS, therefore, impossS6
y to bring the Star Route case before
. aUittia these ten days! We haV
IL not vet heard what Attorney Gel
. eral McVeagh has to say in regar
to Corkhilps report of their int
10 view, but we take COrkhilPs ow
h account of the matter and we sa.
r unhesitatiugly, that it does not r
m lieve him of the suspicion OF havln
o. been bought by the thieves and
IN having discharged that grand jul
1O to shield them from an indictmen
m He knew as well as he knew II
own name that if the Attornt
General, who informed him that
had. given no attention to the cas-
IT. and was, therefore, ignorant OF
Sc details concerning them, had for
moment suspected that during t
i'll proposed recess the statute wou
to complete its bar, he would ha'
ct, ordered Corkhill to keep his graz
Ia Jury in session until bill OF indie
nut ment could be presented to theI
ty But he conceals this fact from t
Ks Attorney General, and conce'
200 from Col. Cook, who had be
,ur giving Che case his attention, t
ng fact that he meant to discharge t
re- grand jury, and the governme
now finds itself, by the action
this man, Corkhill, one Of its swo
IN. officers, placed in the position
,ot fighting a technical question to
nal tain a footing in court, rather tn
81 fighting the thieves it seeks to bri
bis to Justice on the merits of the ca
nd CorkhiIl has taken his seat in
tod same boat with the thieves.
If him float down the stream of til
re- in their company. And if Preside
be- Arthur expects the country to g
nd him credit for an honest effort
pas give the thieves their just desel
N let him remove Corkhill from