National Republican., 1881-11-04

witness II Is Infamous. These are degradations,
legal pilories. Now the oifense with which these
parties are charged operates to disqunlify In both
these respects. IL has been decided by this court
In the Porter case In Cranch that conviction Of
conspiracy dtsqudltfcs as a tcitness And by ex-
press enactment conviction Of the ofiense here
charged would disquallfy as juror. / viii read
the section Section S72, II. s. ID. G.
No person shall be competent to net n Juror uu.
less he be citizen ofthe United States resident of
the District over twenty-one and under sixty-hve
never been eorrcted of felony or sdemednor 'roIv-
fnO moral tu'pttudc.
IT WILL NOT DE DISPUTED
that this alleged ofcnse involves moral turpltude
in the highest degree; II embraces conspiracy,
frauds, gross cheats, violation OF official oaih,
50 that both by the common law and by
statute this offense Is made infamous. But there
is another statute in force In this District that
settles this question as TO the character OF this al
legged ofense. refer to section 10i9, X. s. d. C.
Its words ares "The Police Court shall have origi-
nal and exclusive Jurisdiction Of all oenses against
the United states committed IN the District not not
s TO say, ofal simple assaults and batteries and ou
q S e. not punishable by imprisonment
The effect Of his Language Is the same as to say.
"The police courts jurisdiction Is exclusive over
simple assaults aud batteries, aud all other mis-,
demeanors not punishable in the penitentary"
The words, that Is 70 say" are eqniyalent to the
Of yidellcet Is: Latin advotb, signifying 7" to-
viii "ulnt 10 10 say namely The section,
Therefore, therefore, is the same as if I. read "The
deemed Infamous, namely of all simple assaults
and batteries, and all other nlisdemeaRors not pun
exclusive" For the purposes of this District this
Is an express statutory definition of what Is an In
famous oiiensc; and the definition IS that any
The penitenitary, Is iRfdmoits"
THE QUESTION THEN IS.
is this offence charged in this information pun
6hdbte by imprisonment in the penitentiary7 The
offeDse set forth in the information Is that defined
by section $40 OF the Revised Statutes. In the
ease, En- pdnte Kdrstendick 90 y. s., which was a
charge OF conspiracy under this very statute inc
may be in the penentiary. The court say:
Section $40 Of tie Revised Statutes Is reproduc
q 1867 "To amend existing laws relating 10 Internal
revenue, and for other purposes, "a Stat, isL) At
Ing proceedings in criminal case, and for other pur-
poses" was in force, which provided in section T.
of any cIense against S Tie p'th" United sSiS States
shall shall, be sentenced to imprisonment for a
f for the court by which the sentence Is pissed TO
%S Ss d OF any sf Mhpe eqn
court Is held the use oiwhlch prison or penitenary
purposes 1s stat 5oo Tbs provision Is also SUS re,
produced IN section 5tl Of the Revised Statutes save
thewords Estate prison. where they occur in the oris
nal act Asearly as 1884 Congress enacted that when
United States shall be mprsonea in pnrsuSsee
ppsS GE Srhe n m the
criminal shall in all respects be subject to The
courts state or Territory in which such prison
or pentenliary is 9ituaed, and while so confined IN
ofthe officers having charge OF the same under the
i laws OF such State or Territory. q Stat, 7Sa J
Statutes, the word jail however. being substituted
In ne revision for prison" where 1t occurs in the
ndtId We're, when In force before the revision to be
spending revised sections and, under this rule the
same Ys & seSt d must 5 se given to Sec $40 that would
q conspiracy shall he liable 10 a pennity Of
not less than $1,000 and not more than si6,oo1
{sec. 5o). II the sentence OF imprisonment shall be
for longer term than one year the court passing
penitontiary within the district or state where said
sT court X held Gee SS and the criminal 50 lmprs
epline md treatment rs convicis sentenced by The
Situated S nhS az wsh R such 5
me ossr as law. y &. ass &C. @ R#:
SSas Sy eHRlS a and taken by Itself Is
tentiary, at the discretion Of the Court, In ali cases
where the senenceis for alonger term than one year
provide ioS punishment By i%pTisonment % At fr hapd
saass sn ,nsy PsisS
sa6S,dsd Ss5S labor i and when pansh%sn
sentence 70 cor % az paee %%sre
hard labor is imposed as q consequence Of the i'm.
o able o G G Il
cases where the statute makes hard labor part of the
de that senehce Ba, @ Where III the 'Gaat statute &c re-
anires Imprisonment alone the several provisions
SBSSss s9eco,Ino Of i6o court at is dscrctO 70
discipline and treatment of the institution or not as Il
s COURTS sIo eT 5 az SsrRS Of % s
sentences 80 as to meet the eyer:varyng circum
onense is lagrant the penitenary with lis discipline
may ee called into reaulsiti3nj but If slight CORE
ASIDE, THEREFORE, FROM THE RULE
Of the common law, two statutes of this District
have made this charge infamous, and hence tn.
proceeding by Information cannot be permitted
MAY IT So pedss SSnT sSSi II se
sSed Ss Ss sd the for must be
to proceed in this way In any case
except where the statute has authorized
It, When these learned gentlemen have presented
such authorities as they may have for SO extraor
dinary proceeding as this, my associate will b,
ready % answer them. 1 shall not anticipate
Of the questions presented'by this proceeding
Is not the accused alone who are interested. Tn,
rights and interests OF all the people Of this Natioi
are involved In these questions. If you decide
that a district attorney can
WITHOUT EVIDENCE PRESENT
citizen for a grave crime--for that Is what yo,
must do IL you sustain this proceeding--if you de
eide that party may be prosecuted for an ofiens
which has not been defined by any statule--as 20,
must do II you sustain this proceeding--you vii
England was two hundred years ago.
MIR. Bliss-Permit me to suggest that IL has ap
peared already that there remain other objection
which are to be raised by other counsel 10 our pro
ccedings, and IL seems 10 me thati Is the fi
and orderly procedure that m those objections shopl
be raised before we are called upon TO reply i ha
Wilson's argument that there Is some question
about the repeal Of this section that has peen re
ferrcd TO. 1t Is matter of entire indifference
when / go on, but II seems TO me that 1t will b
more orderly and satisfactory 10 the court that al
objections upon the other side shall bo disclose
Mr. Wilson, os viii Disclose pointto the gentle
man. l remarked incldently during the progres
OF my argument that this section (5440) had bee
repealed. will give the gentleman the benefit 9
our position on that point, aud IL they have nc
the authorities viii tell them where they ca
Mr.. Cook-How wise you are.
Mr.. Wilson-1 know you have them, Colone
nyop want me 70 compliment you win do 1t I
Mr.. Cook-Not one green leaf could get fror
you.
find at page 48i Of Richardson's book the act
May II, 1879. which reads as follows:
uniied States OF America be amended 40 AZ 70 read re
iSSws %o so or an mSTs persons n G,onmsPre either
manner or for any purpose, and one or more Of sue
parties do any act to effect the object Of the COZ
sRa &c liable 70 penalty Of not %oTa SSspihaS tSS
slc.Hoo. or TO imprisonment for not more than "
years, or 70 both fine and imprisonment In the dl
croion OF the COURT
The original act read during the progress ,
what have been saying. Now In two cases III
question has been raised as 10 whether or not tn
net OF 1879 repealed section $40, Judge Miller d,
Gliding one and Judge Deadly the other, and in bot
cases II was held that the act of 1879 did repei
section 644O In both cases-for ain going
lTo TELL THIS WHO'LL CASE
am not going TO argue it-in both cases the cou
ruled upon section 49, Revised Statutes, %. q
sustain the proceeding The point was made
dictments were found had been repealed. and n
court said: "Yes, that statute has been repealed
But they say that section 13, Revised Statute
saves this case. Now, let us see
SEC lS The repeal ofany statute shall not have Il