Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-03-19

5000.
ousand Acres at 1925 per Acre.
The New Courthouse F'ittingly
Dedicated by the Formal Open
ing Of the first Court Ses-
sion Within it's Walls.
Eloquent Charge of Judge j. Q. Farmer
to the Grand Jury.
The Court was opened at II o'clock
yesterday morning, for the. first time in
the elegant new courthouse, by the
Sheriff, H. B. Corey, with the Hon.
Judge John @. Farmer on the bench.
After the grand jury had been called
and sworn, and Hon. J. D. Allen, of
Leroy, appointed foreman, Judge Farmer
addressed the jury.
II. R. Wells, of Preston, moved, in be-
half of the bar, that the clerk spread
upon the records such part of the Judges
charge ashe should allow, and that such
portions might be published in the county
papers as should express to the citizens
the high estimation in which the Judge
and bar held their munifcence in erecting
so commodious and beautiful building
fer their use.
The petit jury was then called and
sworn, and the consideration of cases
began.
The following is that portion of Judge
Farmers charge selected for publication
in Difference to the wishes of the bar:
GENTLEMEN OF THE GRAND JURY
You have been ,subppnaed from the sew
eral towns of this county to serve as
Grand Jurors at this term Of the Court to
aid in the administration of the criminal
law of this state.
AS good American citizens. either by
birth or adoption, selected by lot from the
and avocations of business life, and be.
longing to the different social, religious
and political societies, you have COM
mon interest and purpose to faithfully
discharge the duti of your temporary
office.
You have convened upon neutral. may
| not say sacred ground, in this new and
beautiful court house, erected by the
people of Mower county as seat Of JUS
tice.
This capacious and magnificent temple,
which we are now about to use and occu-
py for the first time, bespeaks IN terms
stronger than human language, the faith,
dependence and veneration with which
the impartial Goddess of Justice is held
by the people of Mower County.
The prodigality of the people in furnish
ing the means has only been equaled by
the economy of the County Commission
ers in the expenditure of the same.
The mind that conceived and planned,
as well as the dextrous hands that exc
cuted this model of stability, utility, and
beauty, are entitled to great praise. l
structure, or its authors, for vocal Ian
guage is tame compared with the silent
language of the artist. Suffice it to say
that this noble edifice seems to happily
combine all the strength, durability, con
venlence, beauty and grandeur of ancient
and modern architecture. 1t is common
property. Every citizen of Mower coun
ty has an interest in it; and the State
should be proud of people who are so
patriotic and devoted to the government
as to willingly contribute so literally to
one of its departments.
The powers of our State government are
divided into three distinct departments
Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The
Judicial department is the sheet anchor
to the Ship of State, and 50 long as it is
firmly Embedded in the fundamental rock
of honesty, truth and intelligence, the
people may rest assured of their rights and
liberties. It comes closer home to them
than the other departments of power.
They look to it not only to protect their
person and property from the encroach.
ments OF individuals, but from the COM
bination of individuals as we'll as from the
encroachments of the legislative and ex-
ecutive departments of state.
The executive may be partisan and
partial, the Legislature venal and cor
rupt. Yet if the Judicial department
remains firm and steadfast, and admins
teres wisely, impartially annd faithfully,
under the constitution, the individual
rights of the people will remain compar-
atively safe. The jury, both grand and
petit, form an important factor in this
department, capable of adding to or de-
tracing from its gurity and good charac-
ter, and without their favorable and har-
monious action no Court can do full and
complete justice. I firmly believe the
stability, perpetuity and prosperity of
our government, in great measure, de-
pend upon maintaining an enlightened,
honest, industrious, faithful and impair
tial judiciary. In the erection OF this
commodious and beautiful Court House,
the people of Mower county acknowledge
their faith and confidence in the judiciary
of the State, and as we are about to ded-
icate it by actual uses to the noble pur-
poses for which it has been built, may
we entertain and express the hope, in
behalf of the people, that this Bench
! will be ever occupied by an honest, wise
and impartial Judge, and those jury box
es be ever filled with discrete, intelligent
and fair-minded jurymen, and that bar
represented by gentlemen learned in the
law, honest and truthful, faithful to their
clients, respectful to the Court, courteous
to one another, and the Jealous advocates
of right and justice.
And may we further entertain and ex-
press the hope that Justice may be so adj
ministered at this Court, that all people,
whether weak or strong, rich or poor,
high or low, will approach this bar on =
common level, with the fullest confidence
that their rights will be protected and
their wrongs redressed according to the
law and the facts Of their respective
leases. So r. }15
am happy to inform you that crime
appears to be on the decrease in your
county, and the prospect is that your
duties will not be very onerous, compli=
Gated or protracted: But it is important
that you should enter upon the discharge
lof your duties il the right spirit and
frame Of mind, Invested of all feeling Of
prejudice Or ll-Mill, love or partially,