The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-09-13
REPORT OF THE GRAND JUDY.
The sBbioined rannrt was suhnitted tn

4 49, ~ 1900 N1sA4N~ oSA@As
The subjoined report was submitted to-
day and the Grand Jury discharged:
| To the Honorable Henry L.. Duffel. Judge of
the Twenty-second Judicial District Court
| In and for the parish of Ascension.
! The Grand Jury duly empanelled and sworn
on the first day of this term having completed
their labors, beg leave to submit their final re-
port to this honorable court, viz:
| We have examined carefully the criminal
| docket of this parish and found true bills for
| murder IN ten cases, for manslaughter In two
cases, for rape in one and for breaking and
| entering in night time and grand larceny In
| one case. Five bills for murder, one for man.
| slaughter, one for rape and one for arson were
ignored.
Under the special charge submitted to us
by your honor, we have examined into the habit
of carrying concealed weapons and found that
the homlcides lately committed in this parish
ly due to this habit and to gambling on the pub
lie highway or In front OF store galleries. In
order to put a stop to this we have thought
proper to call upon the Justices of the Peace
and request them to use more diligence in the
discharge of their duty and to properly inyes-
tigate these matters in. their respective wards
SO that the mgg guilty parties may be brought to
istrates' courts is very loose and that in great
many instances some of them are criminally
negligent in keeping the record of cases which
are apt to make mistakes which do not bring
| the accused under that section of the law under
which he should 90 prosecuted and punished,
by reason of the charge laid against him being
for a less offense than the one which he has
really communication instance, wehave found
| a charge of assault with dangerous weapon
it was ascertained that the charge should have
been Shooting with intent to murder" Un-
der the first, the accused could only be punished
by fine and imprisonment whilst under the sec
ond the punishment IS from one to twenty-one
years in the State penitentiary. We believe
that this practice comes from too much eager
ness on the part of said magistrates to COM
promise cases in order to get their fees from
either the accused Or the prosecuting witness
no matter what the charge is. We also find
that their books are very loosely kept. some
deal Of care to properly instruct them as to
their duties so that they should not be able
hereafter to plead Ignorance.
COURTHOUSE AND JAIL.
The court room. lately repaired and painted,
IS much more convenient and clean than it was
Clerk and Recorders Office well kept, the Clerk
and his efficient deputies kind and courteous
IN the disehsrge OF their duty. The jail is kept
care Of. The cells are crowded, owing to the
large number of uiinal cases on the docket;
many prisoners being under sentence already
passed upon them by the court for minor Of
lenses, some awaiting transportation to the
State pen1tentiary.
sHERIFF's OFFICE.
We find the Sheriff's Office and Tax Collec-
tors department in good condition at present
but some delinquency has come to our notice
which we hereby report to your Honor, and we
direct the District Attorney to take such steps
as will be necessary to bring the guilty party
to a proper account of the State funds entrusted
to his hands, as we deem it absolutely necessary
to the administration of justice that officers
should be honest. We do not charge the Sher-
iff, Mr.. P. A. Jones, nor his now efficient dep
respect, but we understand that under the
former adm Illustration of deputy DE. Jones.
in the Tax Collectors department, the sum of
$3.50 Y Of State taxes end LICENSES have not
due and chargeahle solely to said deputy, the
Sheriff having 10 knowledge Of said delinquen-
81 M be assy tfSa ehE re Of M ee ,ba
proper steps have been taken by him to fully |
cover the delinquency.
PARISH TREASURER.
We find the books of the Treasurer kept in |
san and the ba ba
hereto annexed, being S5877 81.
SCHOOL TREASURY.
We submit the statement of the School Treas
urer showing a balance of S270 10 on hand,
which upon examination is found correct.
PUBLIC ROADS AND LEvEks.
We find the public roads generally in good
condition, except In certain places where neE
fevees have been built, where the roads around
short curves are not Of the width required by
iaw-thns endanger1ng public travelling. In
der the management of our efficient and ener-
getic Police jury the levees have been placed
IN q thorough state of repair and raised twelve
inches above the highest water mark. We now
recommend the different levee oyerseers, as
well as to the land owners generally, to see
that they be properly guarded against the root
ing Of hogs and the depredations of cattle; as
we consider these bulwarks of absolute ne
cessity to the protection of our property
against overflow and general ruin.
Telephone poles in some places are leaning
over the road and haTe become dangerous to
travellers.
In conclusion. we beg to thank your honor
and the officers of the court for courtesy shown