National Republican., 1885-08-10

be obtained from any other place thnn
the Smith Il Erge Manufacturing Com
pany' what was to be done You are
tn 90 without them or to buy them there,
aud to make the best terms you can.
Mr.. Smith is not u monopolist. The
constitution of the United States, now
nearly 100 years old, has guaranteed to
every man who makes an invention that is
useful and new the right To enjoy the
benefits OF his supreme power in that
respect, for a limited period of time. A
wiser provision was not incorporated
into That instrument, except those pro.
visions That were necessary for the or.
ganization of this government. In the
eighty years snci the opening OF this
century 1t has been the chief agency
by which the power has been deyeloped
that is now illustrated in these thirty.
eight states. Agriculture relies entirely
in the west upon the machinery that has
come. ont of that provision OF the con.
stituiiou. Manufacturers in the east
would have no abiding place on the con-
tlnent had II not been for that provision
Of the constitution. These monopolists
have renovated this country, civilized it,
carried into every poor mans home lux.
uries and means Of subsistence that
neither kings nor princes could have en-.
joyed hundred years ago.
How those offenses have degenerated.
De Quincy, under the influence of opium
eating, devised an essay on murder
treated as fine art, and among his
characters is young man who comes to
the head of the clan for advice as TO
whether he shall engage in murder. The
head of the clan says, "No; don't com.
init murder. Il you once commit q
murder you will 60 on to arson, bur.
glary, Sabbath breaking, and lying i"
Let us begin the arraignment Of Pay.
master General Smith. At page 377
they say these specifications are not laid
under article 8 Of the rules for the gov
erment Of the navy. If they are not 1
should like to know where they are laid.
Charge one is "Scandalous conduct
tending to the destruction of good
morals" Article says:
lie, is guilty Of profano swearing, falschood.
drunkenness, gambling. fraud. theft. or other
scandaIous conduct tending to the destruction
of good morals.
None ofthese offenses as specified in the
statute are charged against Paymaster
General Smith, but scandalous conduct
tending to the destruction of good
morals. That charge-I do not speak
Of the specifications because they are
different-if laid anywhere is laid under
the language ''or other scandalous con.
duct tending to the destruction. of good
morals" 1t is plain principle Of law
and of reason commencing itself to the
mind of everybody that wherever Grim.
inal section specifies particular acts of
olfenses to be punished in certain way,
and closes with general clause, gath.
ering in of other acts, and you attempt to
indict or arraign a person for one of
those other acts, you must show first
that it belongs to the class of acts enum.
Grated in the statute. 1t cannot be pre-
tended that anything in the charge is
scandalous conduct in its relation to the
acts thai are specified as constituting
scandalous conduct tending to the de-
struction of good morals.
Under the second charge we come to
culpable inefliciency in the performance
OF duty. When that subject was under
discussion, my learned friend, the Attor-
ney General, finally fell down to the
words ''acts that are blameworthy." A
culpable act is blameworthy act, but
there are great many blameworthy acts
that are not culpable. When tho "curfew
tolled the knell Of parting day" the peo.
pie were required to 60 to their homes,
and when they did not 60, it was blame.
worthy in them to stay away. The word
blameworthy is not descriptive Of any
act that is punishable as crime in
court, because if it describes some acts
that are pv.fphable, it also includes other
acts that asA fot punishable; and, there.
fore, to say Nhat an act is blameworthy
does not give you definition which JUS.
titles 81 finding against the person accused.
| am conscious that this subject, if we
consider the extent of the record, has
not been discussed by the counsel for
Paymaster General Smith as it should
have been discussed. We rely more,
Mr.. President, upon the Judgment of the
court over which you preside than upon
any argument we could offer. This is
tribunal of officers. A brother officer is
on trial. If he has been guilty, in the
judgment Of any member of this tribunal,
Of any act which he himself. upon re.
Election; if he had stood in the place
that Gen. Smith has occupied aad at the
time when he so stood there and had the
light which was then present with him
If any member of this court can say of
himself that he would feel self.accused
and worthy Of condemnation and stripes,
then that member of the court
is justified upon his judg.
ment and upon his conscience in
rendering verdict of guilty. But, Mr..
president, il you and your associates
who sit at this board cannot individually,
each man for Himself, Judge, if he had
stood where Gen. Smith stood, and had
the duties to perform which he per.
formed, and had only the light which he
then saw, if he cannot say, ~ alsos hould
have heen worthy OF the stripes" then
he sohuld be acquitted.
l ask, Mr.. President, with great conf.
dence, not that this verdict shall be the
ordinary verdict Of not guilty. Ithinkk-
upon the record, upon this evidence,
upon the statement Of these witness es,
upon the case which the government
itself presents, as it now stands-Gen.
Smith is entitled to judgment, "hon-
orably acquitted"
A GRANT UNIVERSITY.