The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1884-02-25

is injured, so too is Kentucky. Now, in
the name of Heaven-not in the name OF
the Constitution. but in the name OF that
sweet. broad, rainbOw-robed charlty,
which would make us brighter, better
and more generous men, let us make TINS
appropriation.
Tn stirring scenes and events of the
war and of the time Immediately after
the close of the war, were of such
stunning character rs to blind men to
smaller scenes and events. In fact. the
minds of men were not only preoccu-
pied, but heaped up and running over
and for that reason incapable of contain
ing more questions and ideas. The free
dom of the press was not much thought
of amid this chaos and hurry burly OF
changes and opinions, and it was sup
posed any average jury would oppose
all attempts to gag and muzzle the press.
The giving grand juries the power oil
indieting newspapers for libel, was
direct blow at the freedom Of the press.
| Every one is aware that the grand jury
transacts ell its business in secret, that
| it is singularly like the odious council
of ten" which has made Venice in
| famous; that it hears but one side of any
matter brought before it. and is not
| bound to even hear all of that, and that
| the law protects its secret meetings from
| inquiry and examination. The wrong
done by grand jury is often beyond all
PREPARATION. The grand jurors are al
| lowed to cover themselves with masks,
to wrap their proceedings up in the vel
of secresy and mystery, and are clothed
with responsibility and impunity. A
rogue on the grand jury may have
| half county indicted; n whoremaster
on the grand jury may erect himself into
| detective of similar oflenses; gambler
on the jrand jury may indict hundreds OF
| gamblers. Nobody can pry into what
goes on in the grand jury room. Mys-
terry and secresy are the doorkeepers of
| the room where il meets. Grand jurors,
after all, are no more nor less than hui
man beings-men, subject to all the in
firmities of humanity, and full of dis
likes, likes, partiaHties and prejudices,
| Just as other men are known to be, and
they are impelled by these things when
they come to act in secret conclave.
Grand jurors are often the mere tools
and cats paws of political parties,
olques, factions and ambitious men,
who wish to shield or strike down some
man, or newspaper, and the mystery and
secresy of their doings enables them to
be the best of tools and cats paws in the
world. An artful, oily tongued, plausi-
BILE fellow on grand jury may 'pull the
wool over the eyes, of the other MEM
beers, and make tools and cats paws of
them to crafty his personal spleen. That
is thought to have been the case with
the late grand jury, which indicted the
the LIGHT and run amuck generally, like
the foxes with fire brands tied to their
tails, which Sampson turned loose among
the corn of the Philistines. The late
grand jury was phenomenon. 1t was
a complete fault finding machine, and
ground out charges in the utmost pro
fusion against public officers. None es
capped its censures and charges. Gal
and NORWOOD seemed to have been it,
meat and drink. The public concluded
all this gall and NORWOOD must have ;
motive, which, though unavowed, wal
potent, and it concluded there was upoI
the grand jury, some man who had
private sax to grind and old scores t.
I. be paid of. No doubt, this inference
: was correct. The grand jury fell int
the trap, and was made cats paw OF
: and more is the pity, since it can Blu
! tend to bring the grand jury system int
popular contempt and odium. The lat
grand jury lett nothing undone to brin
the system into contempt among sensl
= BILE people. The indictment of newspa
- pers for libel, was inaugurated by tn
= alien and sedition law, passed unde
g John Adams, and it resulted in n popr
= lar upheaval which banished its author
from public favor and office. If a citiZe
fancies he has been slandered or defame
IS by II newspaper, it is well enough to |,
Of him sue for damages, but it is a blow ,
y the freedom of the press TO empower
~ seoret-irresponsible-one sided bod
re to indict for libel. Nine men found IL
p indictment against the LIGHT, and it
IN not very hard to smuggle nine men upC
n a grand jury, who will act as PARTIAL