National Republican., 1882-09-09
STAR-ROUTE TRIAL.
THE CASES GIVEN TO THE JURY.
Judge Wyllc's CharEe-His Instructions to the
Jury" Waiting for tho Ycrdict"-The
Jury Come Into Court--No Piece
meal Verdict Wauted-Rumors.
audience in the criminal court

yesterday to witness the closing scenes In the great
stnr-routc trial. At 10 o'clock Judge Wyle took
his seat OH the bench and bcgan his charge to the
jury in the midt Of n silence that was very i'm
prcssivc He said that after very protracted trial
the court aud the jury were about to perform the
important duty that dcvolyed upon them. lie
acknowledged difficulty which he supposed the
jury found in their own experience, of bringing
his mind down to sober, calm, dispasslonote
consideration Of the faCts and the law In the casc
after the great display of ability and eloquencc
OF n dazzling character which the occasion had
brought forth. They must retire, MS 1t were, to
mount by themselves. lie would not presume to
take upon himself to make protest. ,ional lecture
OH tae law. In the few observations he had to
make 1t would be his tnd,a,or 10 travel with
them over the case from one end to the other,
SO far as in his judgment was necessary taking
care not to
TRpspAss UroN THE DOMAIN OF THE JURY,
whom the law had made the exclusive judges OF
the flcts. 1t was their further power to b. tho
ultimate finul afbiter of the law too In the case.
Their power Of rendering q general verdict i'm.
plies ihnt. AT the same time. the traditions of tho
law, the practice of tic courts irt IN the beginning
of jury TRIALS has authorized the court to toasIlt
with the Jury, even In regard to the facts, uild
the Jury may often be aide | III that way. but the
opinion Of tie courl mu not be taken rs oJlisa-
toy upon the jlry. lie assumed that the jury
would listen Gtentivey to the court but feel
themselves perfectly at liberty to render we'd ct
upon the facts, according 4, their own views OF
the subject. They had heard what had iranspired
the trial from the beginning 10 this day. He
thought
THE COURT WAS WHOLLY USCoMMITTED
as to the guilt or innocence Of these defendants.
Tie court had carefully austained nom beginning
to end from utterng any opinion Us TO the guilt
o Innocence of tile defendants. When the ques-
ton Of Walsh's testimony being admitted arose,
the court snid in his Judgment thee was enough
evidence of the conspiracy TO be submitted TO the
jury for their opinion. II was on that ground that
Wa sh admitted, and not the fact that the con.
spracy had been made out. Continuing Judge
Wyle said he did not propose to travel over the
case at large. The facts had been so amply dis
cussed, they were SO numerous, SO complex, that
II would not only lie very labOrious, but, III his
Nicw would be an unnecessary undertaking on
his part. lie reced the fact OF the appropriation
for the year 1850 aud Of the deficiency asked for
by the Second Assistant Postmaster General Tor
the sar-r0ute service. There was an investigation
the amount asked fJr and providing that the POST
master. General would not expedite the rate pay
OH any contract more than 30 per cent. of the
original sum. That was the act of Cong ess, and
1t went as far ms all act Of Congress should 60, and
now the subject OF the expenditure Of poi ton of
this money was for the consideration of this court
aud jury. An Indictment had been found, charg:
ing these defendants with II conspiracy to defraud
the government Of the United Stutcs
JUDGE wYIIE REVIEWED THE INDICTMENT,
dividing it into five parts, and said the only por
ton the ju'y need consider was whether there
was q conspiracy, followed by overt acts. When
the Indictment said That by means of false papers,
false alidavils, &C., the conspiracy was formed
without setting them out-th s. were the means,
and it has never been held that the government
was bound TO prove the exact means. The mu-
tual interest of the conspirators was not in the
contracts, but wa. common lot in regard TO the
body Of the conspiracy. The conspiracy die not
give them common interest in their several con-
tracts, but 1t was common con piracy, and it was
in hat view that the court held that all overt act
done under one Of these contracts was an overt act
us to ALL for they were all the common subject of
conspiracy. An overt act under any contract was
az good as under another. And just here 1t was
III Yht utp ,ft,n
offered. Conspir Itors were joint for some pur.
poses, though several in others. They did not
unite IN their plea Each man I stood upon his
Others acquitted. They could not convict all but
one, though. Yet it was in the jurys power
TO AcQuIT EVERY DEFENDANT, EXCEPT TWO.
If they were to acquit Brady. who had been called
the master key OF the conspiracy, and no other
overt act than his has been proved, then the pros
ccution must fail. In Case they acquitted any Of
the defendants they must see that the overt acts
The defense argued that unless the conspiracy
was made out as to all the contracts there must he
an acquittal That was not So a conspiracy re-
lating 10 ouly one contract would sustain the in
dicment Persons who commit crime, said Judge
less iiicult to establish. Conspiracies are pecu-
liarly the products of darkness; they are seldom
rsduced to writing, and are entered Into in an
If they come 10 mutual understanding for the
purpose of committing crime against the gov
ernment, which was followed by an overt act,
then
THAT WAS A CONSPIRACY.
The rule regarding conspracies as to all crimes
was that the jury should be satisfied beyond a
reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendants
lie did not think that he could make that any
clearer The reasonable doubt ought to be
doubt that arises out of the evidence OF the case
1T ought not to be q conjecture. They had twelve
capacity were different What may seem a reason
but that was a difficulty which could not be
avoided He would say, In the language of the
| rule, better that niuety and nine guilty should
escape than one innocent suffer- Judge Wylie
| then took up, one of the routes to see what the
facts were, and whether the Jury could reconcile
| could the defendants were entitled to the doubt
He then took up the
| yERMILLIoN TO SIOUX FALL ROUTE
which was let to JOHN w. Dorsey. He quoted the
| figures and the time that it had originally been
let for and the subsequent increases and expedi-
| tions that had been made. Soon afterward every
postmaster on the route signed letter to the de.
parment that II was not practicable to perform
| the service in the expedited time, and asking u
restoration of the old schedule of fourteen hours
mended the reduction, also Endorsed the post
TO the attention Of Mr.. Brady Mr.. .Bennetts rec
was called to his attention. Now. this member of
Congress seemed to have lost his, influence
ws to the cmbcT of s Gonsess
law provided that the Postmaster. General
|
| productlvcncss and other circumstances. The
productiveness of this route for the quarter end
enaed dun June 5o $50 was s2i65o. For For the the eS yeSi
ended June 30, 1850, 1t went upt Si20 but on tue
SOth of June, 1851 Il fell back to $40 That was
several respects and particularly that 1t is claimed
that members OF Congress have the right to say
what routes should be be esta6lished and an % officer
luence. The increase of expedition was ordered
ut the. request of member of Congress, and
schedule e he was snubbed. Mr.. Henkie said sud tho the
order Oh the route was made by French and no
Brady, The order was signed by French, sale
the Judge but he WAS ordered to do ii by Mr.
Brady. Judge Wylie said he thought the Post
master General was authorized to
EXERCISE HIS DISCRETION FAIRLY
where the public needs require an increase of ser
vice, An increase had been made here when tn,
revenues ran down. He could not see that IL wa
proper discretion, yet IL might not be criminal
There was 10 evidence that lie could see shown,
that the remarkable result on this route spranI
from negligenGe; manifestly y was purposel!
@ uwtc IN inuii!Gt,y M ~ was uotIe WIN niotVe. IN
taken exercise ofdiseretionary power or done pur
posely. They must consider This route In coanec
was any soundnesS in the theory that If the publ
service mad been promoted the defendants ough
That was doing evil that good may come ana tha
was neither good nor good law
THE PROOF OF THE CONSPIRACY
mny be made out from the consequences that fol
lONeu from lnc conspiracy One OF lne eRrlleS
authorities on that point was in lst Srangees, p
l4l, Rex against Coke. He referred to larcen
cases in this court known as the three card monu
swindle. In that case there was a conspirac
plainly, aud yet the conspiracy must be proved b
the Ects which took place in fulment OF it, Their
was no doubt NIL the de tfendGnts were in concert
II was not true that the conspiracy must be prove
! first. There was one other question. II was as
serted in several of the prayers that If the jury b.
I lieved expedition was ordered on false paper
aHd at the same time there were genuine paper.
II must be taken the order was made on the gen
ulne. That doctrine was not TO be tolerated. Their