The daily gazette., 1883-03-15
pailuAE Gazette
THURSDAY, MARCH 10.
A blow At Trial by Jury.

The acquittal of N. L. Dukes, at Union
town, Pa. yesterday who has been on trial for
the past few days for the murder of A. c.
Mutt, in Decemer last, is one of the most
outrageous verdictB that ever stained the
criminal jurisprudence of this country No
wonder we find now and then some ad-
vanced thinker opposing trial by jury as
pernicious in its practice, however correct it
may be in principle. If such plain case
of dastardly assassination as this appears to
have been cannot receive the obvious justice
which 1t deserves al the hands of jury what
can be expected in the treatment of those
cases where there ID room for honest doubti
Every feature of this case, as 1t has come to
us, seems one of utter blackness in its lack
Of any Justification on the part of Dukes for
his vile deed. In the first place he appeared
TO have coolly and deliberately set about to
stab the character pf Mutt by striking him
through the virtue of his daughter, and the
latter's guilt, if she be guilty of the charges
against her, does hot relieve one whit the
blackness of Dukes crime. The letters
that Dukes wrote to Mutt concern
ing his daughter were sufficient
proyocation, most men would say, for Mutt
to have killed him at sight, and had the
positions of the actors in the tragedy been
reversed-had Mutt been on trial for the
killing of Dukes, it all probability the YER
dict of not guilty would have been received
with approval. But when we reflect that it
was Dukes who dil the killing, and that he
had beforehand outraged every feeling that
father can have, had brought ruin to his
home, and gloated in the destruction he
wrought when we remember that this is
the man who is declared by jury's verdict
to be not guilty, and is thus permitted
10 go scott free, then we say
it Ia time for all thinking men
TO consider whether or not the system that
can produce such horIid miscarriage of
justice is one thata free and civilized people
can safely employ as its principal instru-
menI in the administration of Justice. II
the verdict was procured through political
influence or for political considerations, as
is charged, it should forever brand as the
vilest enemies of their country the men who
are responsible for it, No party can afford
to sanction such base tampering
with the claims of Justice. and
any party that does sanction
1t should be rebuked into utter annihilation
We have had taste of this sort of proce.
dure right here in Wilmington, and we are
peculiarly fitted, therefore, to fully appre-
eiate the danger to be apprehended from
such a fagrant disregard on the part OF
iuries of this sworn duty on the score OF
political bias. The politics said to have
operated in the Dukes case was diametri-
cally opposite to that which influenced the
Neal case,and that is why we are so emphatic
in our denunciation of it. Nowhere in thi:
broad land can the Democratic party
fail to condemn such course by any of its
members, acting as such, and retain the re
spect of the people or the support of any
decent newspaper. 1t never has failed any
where TO condemn promptly and decisively
such pertidy to the principles of our Govern
ment, and We do not believe that the Demo
crats OF Fayette county will suf
fer the twelve men who have 5
graced themselves and attempted t.
cast odium upon their country and thei
party to 60 unpunished so far as the con
tempt and derIsion OF man can punisl
crime which is none the less detestable be
causeit happens to be beyond the pale O
legal cognizance