The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1882-04-05
CHARGE TO THE GRAND TRY

Il on Tuesday last, after the Graz
!, Jury for..this term had been emma
elled, Judge Barbin gave them IL
following able. forcible and elooue,
charge. (which we commend to Il
favorable notice of our readers. vi;
Gentlemen of the Grand J,,ry-Beir
4 chosen to form the grand inquest. 70
- have become, in a large sense. II
conserVators of the welfare of vol
> Parish. To your wisdom and fideIit
10 entrusted the grave duty of invest
eat'ng those affairs which most nearl
anect the community in which 20
i've and where your dearest interest
are conferred. As that duty shall b
+ wisely and fearlessly performed, q
otherwise, will, in great measure, de
pend the prosperity and happiness O
yeur society.
Permit me, gentlemen, to briefly re
Ter to the oath by which you hav,
bound your consciences. 1t imposes
upon you the most absolute secrecy
your fellows counsel aud your owl
sou Will sacredly keep. This is ne
IDLE feature of your obligation, for in.
deed without it your inquiries and de.
alterations would fail, and against this
one clause Of your oath the chiefest
assaults Of the lawless are always d.
rected. Disclose to no one anything,
even the least that may come before
you as Grand Jurors even with one
another do not discuss them out of
your room of deliberation. Be sure
that every overture to weaken or break
down this obligation is prompted by a
belief in the frailty of your character,
nay in your moral turpitude; there
fore, resent every improper approach
as an efront to your honor, and
promptly report the occurrence and Of
fender to the Court.
Yourlioath requires that you shall
diligently inquire and true present.
ment make. By this you have assum-
ed the search, the active, aggressive
and earnest search for all those evils
and irregularities which are pernicious
to the moral and material health of 80
ciety. You do not acquit yourselves
by simply sitting and examining mat
tiers brought before you by others, but
you are yourselves to inquire, ferret
out and bring to light all things thet
are proper for your consideration. And
sou are to make true preseDtments,
that is, you shall truly present ali
things as they are brought to your
view, moved thereto solely and un-
swervingly by the requirements of the
law. All matters of crimes and Of
fences You are to present truly upon
the strength of evidence submitted by
the State.
Beyond this you have no right to
act upon sentiment or the supposed |
strength Of the defence the accused |
party may be able to make in the pro-
per tribunal; you cannot pass upon the
issue of guilt or innocence, but simply
upon the prima facies of each case;
md no true presentment can be made
which is not wholly free from bias,
prejudice or fear. Therefore you can
Tot, without q violation of your oath,
the individuality or social
standing, high or low, of any one
charged before you with violation of
aw, nor can you, without mourning
hat dreadful penalty, suffer your
Judgment tosbe swayed by any lean
ng for or against such ;person or his
Under the influence of your power
3 placed the security of property and
f life. Those crimes which are aimed
t the first, such as theft, arsnn, for
cry and the like, l am suro, gentle.
len, are so repugnant to your every
instinct as to relieve me from the no.
essity of dwelling now upon the i'm
ortauce of strict and unrelenting
of the law against them.
Those against the person and the S
fe of the citizen in times past have i
cen regarded with an indifference that s
as worked grievous harm to our fair t
ind. The fray, the dirk and the pis- ?
u have written their characters 80
Oddly upon the face of our history, o
lat they have been viewed from .
broad as black flag, a banner of ter +
n while millions have braved the v
arsh climate and subdued the ungen- n
'Ous soils of the far West, and dotted fl
Or with teeming cities and made her a
'Oad acres the granaries of the world, P
ade her in fact prosperous and =
lightly nation; our population remains =
ARE, vast tracts of fruitful land lie I:
ltouched, the stranger, warned by Il
e signal of the knite and pistol, l;
uns our stores, and misfortune and b,
cay sit breeding on our State. Gen. p'
omen, the head and front of this az
anne is the detestable practice of car Ct
ing weapons so universal among us. d d
Men reared in tbs States where law s.
ID public sentiment have driven the -
life and pistol from the persons T
all save the BLACKBOARD and l
Messed criminal will not cast
cir fortune among q peo- l
Q with whom the deadly weapon
a customary article of daily apparel. K
icy have learned to regard the Sc
,tly armed man as one unfit for the
mpany of gentlemen, and they be.
We that he who carries the concealed .
apon carries also the design of mar IN
in his heart. There are sentiments
Itch constitute the foundations of
aceful and prosperous communities; D,
i that society which does not hold L
,se sentiments will ever be avoided
tho most desirable class of citizens. -
t our people cultivate this doctrine i;
! abolish the revolver, and I am con-
ent that within short period, our
tie would TEEN with toiling, brave
happy population. AN
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, much
be done by you to bring about
) contamination 80 devoutly to be
he'd; and you can take such action in,
will render this unworthy and COW.
ly practice, not only improbable,
exceedingly unpopular, and so n
tect yourselves, your families and II
IT neighbors. Set your face fairly tle,
immovably against the evil. Pre- ~,