The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-10-12
THE SECOND HABEAS CORPUS IN
THE WHITES CASE.
The State Treasurers Warrant Declared
Unconstitutional. But the Prisoner
Remanded Upon the Warrant OF
Tr.ai Justice Carlisle.
Out on Bail

9th Inst. Oh WITH uI uNOe(tS COipUS
! The Siicr.ff. as rcturn IL the wTIt
reqairing hi'u 10 s:i'iw cause Tor tbs;
| detcnt;nu OF I'll" p:i>on"i, ari Iuii",
as in the previous hn6etS corpus
proceedings, the warrant Of the State
| Treasurer. aud in addition the w;.r-
rant of Trial Justice Cariis!e Issued
upon lbe affidavit OF the Solicitor Sept.
2Sth. Mr.. George Johastone repre-
sented the State : Messrs. Y. j. Pope
and o L. Schumpert the prisoner. Mir.
turn BY adding two atiidavits. This
was granted, and /! e prisoner pat III I.
! denial 10 thr .ttijavits. NJ. .Johnstone
! proceeded to read Tie affidavit OF David
! Hipp, dated Oct. 6. 1882, setting forth
! that he went with Il warrant from Trial
Justice Carlisle and Il requisiti0n from
Gov. Hagood to Alab;.ma after Mr.
Whites; That he arrested him and
brought him back 10 New berry, but
left the warrant in Alabama; and that
Mr. Whites while on the way back ;td-
! United to him that he had miSappropri-
ated a portion Of the public funds. He
then read au affidavit Of John Peter
Richardson, State Treasurer. dated the
- day Of October, 1882, charging
Mr.. Whites With breach of trust and
epbezglement.
MIR. Pope opened the argument for
the prisoner, repeating much that he
said on the occasion OF the hG5eas corpus
proceedings the 2Sth ultimo. He read
the article Of the State Constitution pro-
viding that no warrant of arrest shall
be issued except upon affidavit. lie
also read the HabeaS Corpus act giving
any two Trial Justices Jurisdiction of
ha6eQs cG7psys proceedings as fully and
com pletelY as Circuit or Gupreme
Judges, except in capital cases. He
argued that the act under which the
State Treasurer issued his warrant was
unconstitutional, upon the grounds;
! 1st, That if the warrant were a crinli-
mai proceeding it should have been
based upon an affidavit; 2nd, IF civil
proceeding it violates that section of the
Constitution which declares that there
shall be no im prisoument for dcht LIZ
caps in cases Of fraud. If MIR. Whites
has committed any otferse the laws
provide for his trial and punishment;
but there is no authority in the laws or
in the Constitution for furnishing him
before trial. To hold him in jail from
the 18th Of August until now. and not
allow him to come before your Honors
and get bail would be a subversion of
the Constitution and the laws. I ask
you to put your foot down on any
scheme by which q citizen is attempted
to be deprived of bail.
Mr.. Johnstone explained his appear
ance in the case, by stating that the At
torney-General was engaged upon i'm
portant State business in Columbia, and
the Solicitor was engaged in the Court
of Sessions at Union; that be had been
earnestly requested by the Attorney
General 10 represent the State, and
that he felt it bis duty to do so,
though it was al unpleasant duty.
Addressing himself to the question in
hand. he argued that the Court did
not have Jurisdiction Of the proceed
ings; lst, because on a previous
occasion (2S Oct.) this same question,
upon the very same issues. was adjudi-
Gated The members Of that Court di-
vided, and re:nanded tie prisoner to
Jail. True, in rendering their judg-
ment, they added the words, with
leave to apply elsewhere;" but doing
so they exceeded their authority. The
law provides for an appeal IN ha5sas
corpus proceedings, and that is the
course the prisoner should have taken
if he was not satisfied with the former
judgment refusing to discharge him.
End. 1t is a principle Of law that no
Court can sit in appeal or revision of
its own decisops. Trial Justice Packer
cannot sit in this case. While COM
PEELED, under a penalty of $500, to
grant the writ, he can 60 no further
than that. He would be revising the de-
cision of Court cf which he was part
"a Court one and indivisible and, so
far as this case is concerned, be is still
a part of that Court. But if the Court
should imagine it has jurisdiction, your
Honors should weigh well the gravity
OF the ofense charged. It is the Gus
tom to look at the unfortunate prison.
er; but justice should be blind. No
civilization can be preserved that al
lows the embezzlement of public funds.
Any government that fails to stamp out
such crimes on their first presentation
is damned, and rightly damned. AS to
the other cause of detention, viz, the
warrant issued upon the Solicitors afi-
davit, the prisoner is clearly entitled to
bail. the only question being as to the
amount.
Trial Justice Fair spoke up and said:
As to that. the case 10 before Trial JUS
tice Carlisle, who has set day for pre-
liminary examination; and don't
think we ought to take any action in
the matter.
Mr.. Johnstone, proceeding, said, that
being the case, be would not argue it
further, bnt would 60 back 10 the first
cause of the detention. He then ar
gued that the warrant Of the State
Treasurer 1Gs under oath; that when
the Stale Treasurer said, "WhereaS
Uriab 8. Whites, &c, has neglected to
pay over, Sc" it was upon his official
oath rs Slate Treasurer; upon bis own
knowledge, as the Officer whose duty it
was to receive the money, and not upon
information; that the oath and warrant
were OF the same paper. But If the
warrant was not under oath, the aifida-
Wit is here now, and the warrant should
hold, because it is now based on an afti-
da7it as the Constitution requires.
Mr.. Pope, replying. said, as to the
Jurisdiction Of this Court to entertain
the proceedings, that both the Attorney
General and the Solicitor were present
when the judgment remanding the peti-
toner to jail was rendered, and neither
of them objected TO the addition Of the
words with leave to apply elsewhere.
Prisoners call 20 before one Circuit
Judge after another on writ of haJeaS