The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-02-09

little later ! nope ttlitt your ftOnOT WllIcNCuSc
him from attendance uron the court.
W. {. Bcnct, Esq-1uror j. NJ. Truitt asks
to be excused from serving. Ic is n school
trustee in his township.
The tOurt-Let that fact appear by affidavit
and he will be excused.
The affidavit was then read, and Mr.. Prultt
was eNcu <ed from further attendance.
The grand Jurors were present and occupied
seats on the left of the Bar. His Honor re-
questcd MIR. Iatimer 10 net rs foreman. when
the Clerk wus directed to organize the jurJ,
which Is composed Of the following numcd
citlzcns:
James H. t?' re%a S;iD; i bFo%hiss.
John W. Rowland, c. Fl. Laiimer,
Bcy Brown, J. NJ. Miller,
:. :: Marshall, 4. NJ. Blake,
J. W. MattiSon, ID. X. Williams,
n. l.. Cli~nliScalcs, James Bryan,
]. l.. Hushcy, X. j. NiclilcS.
CHARGE OF KERsIiAw.
Gentlemen Of the Grand Jury
My charge to you to-day viii be necessarily
brief. My physical condition is such us to
prevent an elaborate charge. Although l am
quite hoarse hom cold, l will endcaror t oeivc
you such instruction as will enable you TO
perform your duty, even If instruction were
necessary.
Your duty is two-fold. AS the grand repre-.
sentative body of the people, coming from oil
portions OF the county, you are supposed TO bc
| lnllInatc Win Tie COIlultlOn OF the county
and familiar with the grievances as VOL us
the needs of your citizens. The proper ad-
ministration Of the law is Of the utmost lit
portancc, and especially Is this true Of those
laws which affect the citizen IN hi; everyday
life. There are Il large number Of these laws,
and 1t Is your duty to see that they are faith.
fully executed aud observed. \ grand juror
Is an important olEcer aud in that capacity he
is to confer with his fellows us to tho cUndl-
ton OF the county, compare notes. and II
evil exists, you Will present the fact in you:
general presentmcnt Ut the close II your du-
lies for this term. 1t is emincntly proper for
you to consider all such evils as may effect
the weilbeing Of society. Outside OF this du-
ty you arc vested with the authority, and the
Court enJoinS upon you, the supervision OF
the public offices. The various offices pass un-
der your notice, and are to receive your care
full attention. AS q rule, whatever is every.
body's business Is nobody's business, but /
would call the attention of the grand jury To
the fact that they are constituted for the pur-
pose OF attending 10 those matters which the
private citizen would not feel called upon to
perform. II anything worthy of action comes
10 you notice IT Is our duty to bring II 10
the attention Of the CouCt@
The puolic buildings are to looHHtlafter. The
prisoners your Jail are to receive your ut.
tention;1 and you must see that they are rca-
+lbc visited by you. or by n committee Of your
body. See that the inmates are provided
with the ncccssarics and comforts which nd
vanced humanity demand. In many cases
the humane provisions Of the law are not as
fully carried out rs they should DC, but hope
in this county that the requirements Of the
institution ure wisely and judiciuusly COM
piled with. In some counties II Is feared that
due Importance is not given to this
matter. but hope that you will find
some counties, by a proper managementof
The poor furin, the inmates are rendered al
most sclf-supportins. You will give this mat
ter due attention.
The highways and bridges of your county
are too Important for you to forget. The conf
fort and weil-being of your people will de-
mand your attention 10 this matter.
Your duty ordinarily and primarily, Ia to
pass upon all bills which may be handed to
you by the Solicitor. To declare whether real
sonablc grounds for the charges exist. When
probable cause exists, you will find II true bill,
but if twelrcof your number fail TO agree you
will find NO bill.'. The manne OF your pro-
cedure will he to take one bill at a time, turn
tothe back Of h eindictment where the name
Of the sworn witnesses will be found. Begin
with the first witness, and If his testimony
satisfies you. find a true BILL, But If he docs
not give evidence Of Il probable cause of nc
ton, YOU will examine others. II you ure not
satisfied from the testimony OF the witnesses
that there Is n nronablc cause for action, you
Will find y bill" Examine no more wit
neSses than aic necessary.
Tho first bill before you Is an Indictment for
selling property under lien. The statute
makes this I'M indictable offence. The party
| WlO StliS piOpcilS upDI WHICH tucTC ~ IL
mortgage or lien commits an offence which is
punishable by indictment. Ii property has 4
lien upOn 1t at the time It Is sold, and the vcn-
dor gives no notice of the ex istence OF such
lien, he takes ad advantage of the purchasers ig-
noiance.
Tie second bill to which your attention Is
asked, isan indictment for grand la~rceny-thc
stealing of money or goods to the amount Of
twenty dollars or more. The offence charged
here is the stealing of q twenty dollar pold
PIECE, and q five dollar currency note.
the field. The offence In thisc case doesn't DIFF
Ter from the offence OF grand larceny, except
that 1t Is sic ling from the ticld-no matter
how tritiing an amount.
We have herean indictment for assault with
intent to XIII. 1t Is not necessary for you to
p SIS upon the intent" The petit will pass
upon thut. You are only to pass upon the fact
whether there was IN assault or not.
When You consider the bill charging larceny
Of live stock you are to do so without regard
to the value.
You will be called upon to consider an IN
dictsnent for malicious trespass-injury to
There must be something to indicate a mall
cious disposition-general or particular. II a
MAI lake, on ak and destroys or defaces
whether there be grounds for personal ~ill-fcel-
ing or not.
The next case is one where homicide is
charged. Grand jurors are not to take upon
themselves the Justification of the accused.
IF the party came to his death at the hands 0!
he accused. 1t Is your duty 10 present the
matter to the Court and not smother 1t In tho
the grand jury to find "no bill" 1t is better to
have the matter brought into Court. 1t is
dangerous for the grand Jury to undertake to
20 into the merits OF the case, and throw q
case out OF Court. 1t is very difficult some
times 10 know whether a homicide Is eXcusa-
bic or c%riminablc. 1t is better to give all per-
sons charged. the opportunity Of an acquit-
tai. If innocent.
With the recent laws passed by tho Lcrisla-
turc | am not very familiar, but presume
that you have seen q numoer OF them In the
newspapers. The Court doesn't deem 1t nee
essary TO descant on the new laws. will,
however, take great pleasure in answering
any questions by the jury, and In giving them
such information as | may be able. AS you
are no doubt aware, among the important
new laws are: The duelling law; the cnn-
cealed weapons law; tho license law, which
almost entirely revolutionizes the law in re-
gard to license for the sale Of Intoxicating
spirits. License for the sale of such spirits Is
now restricted TO the incorporated towns-the
effect OF winch is to submit to corporated
ky, This is an important change In n law
which very nearly affects society In general.
Some Wholesome reSulationsas well as some
legislature. That body thought TO remedy
some of the Ills under which we were laboring
by restricting the facility with which intoxl-
eating liquors could be bought.
Another important act By the last session OF
the Legislature WAS the passage OF n law to
punish persons for enticing laborers to violate
their contracts. This law has been the subject
Of criticisms. able and conservative. 1t has
always been punishable to cntice away la-
borcrs from the service Of another.
Since the advent Of the new order Of things
in this State, / am cognizant Of the fact, that
q gentleman was sued in our courts for 500
! damages, because he employed the laborer OF
another. The matter was earnestly contested
and the defendant was made to pay q fnc and
heavy costs. The ,enticIng away Of a mans
laborcrs Is mn unneighborly act. and In viola
ton of civil rights. Whenever a laborcr
agrees to do so, he should give his services.
But this law Is 10 punish a 1nau for cnticing q
laborer to leave our services. by 1t he Is
punishable by Indictment.
There are some amendments to the law to
punish persons for living together in udul-
terry. There is no material change In the law,
and the amendments are merely 10 define the
meaning of the old law.
Another law, of which I had made n memo
! randunl on my notes, Is the one In reference
to tho sale of seed cotton. 1t is nm amend
ment to make the meaning Of the former
clear. Owing to the construction Of the old
law It's meaning vas somewhat doubtful.
The new law on the subject Is merely explana-
tory. The law Is really tho same as 1t has
been.
The hours of the Court Will be from ten
o'clock In the morning until half-past one
o clock, when n recess will be taken until
three o'clock. Upon assembling ut that hour.
the Court will sit until sunset. except when
otherwise ordered from timc TO time. 1t is de-
sirablc that you be In Court ut ten o'clock in
the morning, and ut three o'clock In the after
noon.
THE BUSINESS OF TuE Duh
Mr.. Solicitor-I see a grand juror in the