The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-02-13

guilty. You arc not to try tho parties,
but aimply to inquire whether there Is
probable cause to hold them to trial.
~ addition to acting upon bills Of
indictment, you arc to exercise @ super
vision over all the officers and all tho
Interests Of tho county. You arc to
keep q vigilant eye on the conduct Of
the public affairs, SO that any mlalad-
ministration may be brought to tho
attention of the court. You should
make al examination of all tho public
Offices, SO us to make report Of their
condition not o nero pcrfunctory or
CASUAL Inspection. but ono that may be
relied upon by tho county, SO that the
people may feel tliat they are properly
protected. The public officers control
interests are in their Keeping. There
is no instance hero Of corrupt conduct
! in Office, but such INSTANCES occur else
where, and we should be on our guard.
Abuses may creep III, and, if not
checked, thcy may grow into serious
proportions.
The grand jury have q general super
vision of all public roads, The public
| buildings, tho Offices of the sheriff, tho
trial justices, the Judge of Probate;
indeed all the pnblic Offices arc proper
subjects Of your investigation. The
reports Of the school commissioner,
tho county treasurer and the county
commissioners will be submitted for
your examination. Tho duties of the
county commissioners are very impor-
tant, and you should examine carefully
into tho manner In which those duties
arc performed. These commissioners
have more power to contribute to the
prosperity of the county, and at the
same time moro power to cause petty
troubles, than any other officers except
perhaps tho trial justices. You will
doubtless find no irregularities here,
but it is nevertheless your duty to
make proper inquiry.
The condition of tho public roads
should receive your attention. Though
tie existence Of railroads has dimill-
ished the extent to which the use of
these highways is necessary, yet
they must be properly kept up. They
are sometimes neglected, but they arc
very Important. These highways are
necessary to furnish communication
betwc cen man and man, witch cannot
be furnished by tho railroads. You
should give tho matter your careful
attention.
Tho grand jury may present any
violation OF the law by private indi-
viduals, that may come to their knowl-
edge-either as a body or as individ-
uals. If you know of amy offences
which, tor any reason, arc not prose-
cutcd, you should bring tho matter
forward III your jury room, and make
prescntmcnt accordingly. There are
certain offences which it may seem
nobody's particular business to prose-
cute, and in which ali individual will
not act unless his particular interest be
involved. In such cases the grand
jury should take proper action. Some
times men Of prominence, or a strong
combination OF individuals, act unlaw-
fully. In such cases it is sncccssary for
the grand grand jury to act.
Ills Honor next instructed the grand
jury as their duties in passing upon
bills Of indictment, and then proceed
cd as folloWs:]
There is another matter, gentlemen,
which it is proper that should bring
to, your attention. 1t has come to be
considered that certain class of Of
fences should not be subject to the
action Of courts of justice. The COM
munity--or IL portion of them--in such
cases, take tic law in their own hands.
This is what we call lynch law. There
is certain class Of offences which, if
it were possible, without judicial in-
quiry, To ascertain the party charged
to be guilty, there are many consider
ations to lead us to exclude from the
category of crimes which should be
tried and punished through the modes
prevailing in courts Of Justice. The Of
fence for which lynch law is usually
invoked is SO hcin0us that ncu's minds
arc int'amed with indignation, just
Indignation, and they urc likely to leap
at the conclusion that the party is real
~ guilty, and they proceed, without
warrant of law. TO take human life.
Gentlemen, this is altogether wrong.
The higher the grade Of the offence,
the stronger the presumption Of inno-
ccncc. There is ample room for the
regular Indictment and trial Of parties
charged with crime, whatever its grade
may be, The courts are fully organ
izctG aid you have judges Of your own
choice. Our people ought to trust to
the regular operations Of the law, in
tho courts, for tho punishment of
crime. The time may have been in
the past when criminals OF the vilest
sort were allowed TO csyapc the pci-
atty due TO their crimes, but such is no
longer tho case. If We once tolerate
lynch law, it is impossible tor us to tell
low far it may go. 1 have thought il
! necessary to make these remarks, be-
| cause it is come to be too common
thing for men to take the law in their
own hands. do not think it ncccs-
sary to warn against this evil in this
community. But it is my duty to say
as much as | have. II there are any
such measures as / havG mentioned,
they are usually directed against a par
ticular class OF crimes. But it is impos-
sibIc to confine such measures to any
limits. They will first extend to ono
class Of cltmcSi thcn to tiliothor, untn
the people might organize and super
scae tho courts, and bring criminals
to punishment without judge or jury.
You will now take tho bills SUBJ
mitted by tho solicitor, and return into
court when you have reached conclu-
sion upon any ono Of them.
The grand jury returned truc bill
III the case Of tho State VS.. John Wal
colt, colored, charged with grand lar
ccny. Tho trial procretlcd at once,
Val a r.