Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-05-12
ours. We give below few interesting
items in Judge Aliens charge as taken
from the American.
THE CHARGE.

the habit of writing out the charge TO
the grand jury, but would verbally
direct them as to the high crimes and
misdemeanors that ought to be put
down. He first went through the stat.
utes giving in charge the usual crimes
larceny, obstructing railroad trains, etc.
In regard to the indictment of guard
ians, administrators and executors for
failing to make report. They onght
to be practical about the matter.
Guardians and administrators were
appointed in some cases merely to bring
suits. In such cases the guardian
should not be indicted for failure to
make reports. Some guardians had
settled in full but no record kept of it.
Such one should not be indicted.
What he wanted to impress upon them
was that they should simply investigate
all cases in person before they returned
indictments.
The duties of grand juries In examin,
ing the books of county officers was a
most important one, which ought not
to be passed over lightly. They should
not simply ask the officer if his books
were all right and then take his word
for it if he replied in the affirmative.
Go to the offices and inspect them
every day if they wanted to. Ifgrand
juries had done their whole duty in the
past there would not have been so much
plundering of the public treasury
which had disgraced the county and
the State and made the name of Ten
essee by-word and reproach every
where it was spoken.
The last Legislature passed some
laws to which it was necessary to call
their attention. Among these was the
act forbidding the sale of pistol cart
ridges in the State. The grand jury
should see that this law was not viola
ted. Cartridges for rifles and guns and
army pistols were not included under
this act, and they would find pistol
cartridges sold labeled as rifle cartridges
They should see that the law was not
violated in that way.
Another act passed by the Legisla-
ture. made it q misdemeanor for owners
of billiard, bagatelle or pool tables to
allow minors to play thereon without
the written consent of their parents.
There may be some difficulty in the
way of the execution Of the law by
failing to tell wheather the person was
a minor or not. The grand jury
should summon the young man him
self, and they could tell generally
whether he was a minor or not. If
there was any doubt whether he was
minor or not, they should not indict.
There was no use of loading down the
docket with indictments that could not
stand. The discretion of the grand
jury should always guide them as to
whether to bring in an indictment OF
not.
The act to prevent the sale of liquor
to minors and also the act to prevent
the sale of liquor to husbands who arc
habitual drunkards, were next given
in charge. There might be some
doubt as to who are habitual and who
are not, but on that point their com
mon sense would have to decide.
; The vice of gambling next occupied
t the attention of the court, and he del
sledge hammer blows on this point
t growing quite eloquent as heprogressed
The keeping of gambling-hou il
, which were played faro" "keno,
l "twenty-seven," and other games
g which they could ascertain by reference
s to the act itself, Or the keeping of {
, gaming table on which these game!
were played, or acting as dealers ii
such games, was now felony, the Law
0 taking effect the next day TUESDAY }
or forty days after the passage of tn,
act by the Legislature. The law doe
! not give the grand jury inquisitoria
powers, but | shall instruct you tina
i you have got inquisitorial power unde
u the law. When a man becomes
o gambler he shakes hands with a goo
r reputation and a good name. The vii
. tue Of woman and the honor of ma
becomes to him a myth, or asa tai
|" that is told. lie becomesa social lepel
If an outcast; and as the leper wander
is abroad, his scales and sores making hir
# the horror of all mankind, so this mod
ern leper, this Pariah, goes out fror
society and from all the ennObling in
II fuences of life. l only speak of ther
'e as class. Gambling is the parer
If vice, and all others spring from il
4 The regular gambler has no right
-, which this court is bound to respec
" and am determined to break it up {
y I'll fill every Jail and penitentiary s
t. full of them that their legs and arm
,r will stick out of the windows. Com
"a what will, I'll break it up. In order
get at the root of the matter we mu
get after the parties who rent propet
IN for such purposes. The real estat
y agents, when summoned before ii
ye grand jury, squirmed, and it was impo
Il. isible to ascertain whether they wei
u aware the property would be used fC
" such purposes or not. But in son
NJ cases it becomes notorious that propert