Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-02-28

huCe ofD6ing forced from their hOu-
sesson short notice against their will,
and frequently at very great incon-
yenlence to themselves or business,
nor the demoralizing effects to many
OF visiting a city under such circllm-
stances.
And all of this does not include
their proportion of court expenses,
that must be paid in the way of State
and county taxes. f8
Here we have the whole county ex-
cited for weeks, and a large number of
Its citizens put to great annoyance and
expense in the trial of plain and un-
disputed case. when any twelve of one
hundred men within call OF the Court
House could have rendered more
intelligent and equally as just a YER
dict for all parties interested, as did
the jury that was finally found at such
great trouble and expense.
And this fact is as well known to
the attorneys in the case, and to the
judge as-itis to all other persons of
intelligence who were familiar with
the circumstances of the case.
The other case that l propose to
name as a fair sample of injustice
done the farming classes by the pres.
ent construction of the jury system
recently occurred in Montgomery
county.
1t was that of a man who in connec-
ton with two others short time nre-
vious had been convicted of murder
in the first degree, and was at the
time Of this last trial resting under
life sentence to the penitentiary.
This second trial was for another
case OF murder charged to himself
alone.
The prisoner had made full comics
sion of his guilt to number of per-
sons who would so testify before
court, and it was generally known to
be ease OF murder in the first de
gree. ga
| cannot state positively as regards
the number of jurors summoned in
this case, but was informed by an
officer of the county who was in a po-
sition to know, that the number was
between 200 and 800.
L do know from personal observa-
ton that by about o'clock a. M. on
THE 18th OF December, one Of the cold
est and most disagreeable days of
winter, with the thermometer below
zero, the large Criminal Court
room OF the Courthouse was pretty
well filled by farmers mainly, who had
been summoned there as jurors in the
case named.
| also know that some of these far
mers resided so far away from town
that they were compelled to leave
their homes at a very early hour in
order to be in place at the required
time.
Even before the residents of the
city, owing to the severity of the
weather, have ventured beyond the
bounds of their coy homes, or had
partaken of their morning meal, we
find nearly three hundred of our
oountrymcp who had been compelled
to leave their homes almost before the
light of day; expose themselves
through freezing cold, and over ice
covered roads extending distances OF
five ten and fifteen miles, paying tolls
and other expenses, in order that they
may be convenient for attorneys to
select twelve from their number to
render a verdict in the only one way
that it could be legally rendered under
the circumstances. And all of this in
d case so plain, and so utterly free
from complications that it would have
been almost an impOssibility to have
found two, twelve, or any given NUM-
Der of men OF honesN and insGli-
geHGe, WHO understanding the law.
would have differed in opinion as re-
CARDS the rendering Of II verdict.
These TWO cases are named merely
as specimens of hundreds under the
present jury system, and not for the
purpose OF charging any wrong on
The part vi officers, or attorneys con-
nected with either, for so far rs my
knowledge extends they were conduc-
ted in accordance with the usual, Gus
tom, and what is supposed TO he the
law. But dc daaQuRcG aa wrong,
and very great wrong ii system OF law
that forces from their hons at great
inconvenience and expense To Them
selves, under a penalty o; fine and
imprisonment, hundreds and even
thOus nds OF good citizyns where moth
lAg whatevef ln thG intpFesI s.l ;ustlea, |
or right, can ba gained 10y 50 doing. |
1t matters not what their business
arrangement may be, or how much .
their home affairs may suffer because /
Of their absence they mnst obey the !
call az some petty officer, CT be liable |
to fine or imprisonment for non
attendance. Though they may know
and the officer may know, that they
will not be accepted as jhrymen in
the case on which they are summoned
yet they must still sacrifice their inter
est, and ride five, ten, twenty niiles, or
more paying their own expense for
the purpose Of going through with a
little formality connected with the
jury system,
1t may be a very easy matter for the
Judge of a court as he reclines upon
his cushioned throne to order the at
tendance of one hundred, five hundred
or one thousands persons, supposed to
be free and independent citizens(?) t
of free country, and his mand.;as
readily obeyed by offici.,ls WHO !
well know that such orders mean bus
mess and wealth for themselves, but it
is not ever an easy matter for labor
ing men, often hard pressed for the