The Aberdeen examiner. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1866-current, 1883-06-21
The Lesson Of the > tar TO ute
Trial.

The verdict of the juryin the Star
Route case should not occasion sur
prise when it is remembered that
trials for conspiracy" are so rare
that even many we'll informed laws
yers are woefully lacking in informa-
ton as to the requirements in the
way of evidence essential to ver-
dict Of guilty. 1t was undoubtedly
proven, clearly and plainly, that
every man indicted had defrauded
the Government of large sums of
money and had been party to, or
the beneficiary of, wholesale schemes
of perjury and forgery by means Of
which he had ''put money in his
purse" and there was not juryman
who doubted their guilt or who would
have hesitated moment in bringing
in verdict of guilty. if these men
had been dsbursing officers and had
been indicted for embezzlement-or
in other words had handled money
for the Government and had held
back, for their own use, the amounts
they are known to have fraudulently
come into possession of-but con,
spiracy to defraud must be organ.
lied like a conspiracy to burn
house, of two or more parties, who
have entered into lawless combina-
ton to do a certain specified act; and
though you may prove that the act
was done, and that one of the indicted
men enriched himself from the pros
ceeds, he cannot be convicted of con-
spiracy unless you at the same time
show that at least one other man
shared with him in the crime and
the spoils. In the case in question
there were number of robberies
committed, and number of robbers
brought to the bar on the same in,
tlictment as partners in the crimes
and proceeds; and while the jury
were ready to concede that each had
stolen from the Government in some
shape or other, it could not be
brought to see where any two of
them had shared in the same steal,
or, in other words, defrauded the
Government on the same mail route.
For trials of this character the law
should be re-modeled if it can be
oonstitutionally done, putting frauds
Of the hind in question in class by
themselves, and so simplifying the
rules of evidence that positive proof
of lawlessly obtaining money from
the public treasury shall assure guilt
whether the wrong be committed by
one or many
To-day wholesale robbers go scot
free because twelve men of ordinary
intelligence lack the experiences Of
able lawyers in Analysing testimony
and dove-tailing isolated facts. The
chain under the eye of an expert
enced jurist would not perhaps show
q faulty link, but you cannot make
experienced jurists cut of novices by
six months of compulsory study un-
der rival professors, each employed
with view TO destroying or tearing
down every fabric that his opponent
rears, and all appealing to the be-
wildered students to decide between
the beligerents upon points of fact
and law that are as novel as they are
perplexing to the common run OF
men.
Yet the Government was obliged
to prosecute these cases, and must
continue the fight upon the remain
ing indictments. If it does not
prosecute where it knows that fraud
exists it simply invites and encour-
ages fraud. 1t simply says to its
servants steal until you are caught
at it with your pockets full OF pelf,
and then we will turn you out OF the
rich pasture and give some OF the
rest of the patriots chance to strike
o bonanza.
Well, there is one consolation in |