The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-06-13
cana ne MOI a lawyer. -

. -
We believe there Is an old saying to the eff
feet that an indiscreet friend Is often more to
be feared than an vowed enemy. We think
the County officers of this County have had
an exemplification Of this adage in the recent
the Greenuille Ne,os. That paper of a recent
date contains the following:
There 10 deep indignation felt at.the action
of the Grand Jury in submitting the report OF
the expert, as a part Of their presentment,
without giving the officers an opportunity TO
answer the charges. The action OF the star
Chamber, or theSpanish Inqqistors, could not
the Grand Jury have never visited the ofil-
GERS complained OF, and they have simply
adopted the report OF ono man, not lawyer
"subject to like passions as weare." as the pre-.
sentiment OF IS Intelligent men. He has essay
ed to construe statutes, and pass In review
the actions and doings OF as careful, upright
and efficient set Of officers as there Is In the
State. 1t Is stated that strong effort was
made by some Of the Grand Jury TO postpone
their. .presentment until the.fall term Of court,
and In the meanwhile to have each officer be-
fore them for explanation. They were advis.
ed that II would require twelve votes to carry
en-. There were fourteen Grand Jurors pres
ent. These Grand Jurors then made the pre-
sentiment. They forgot, or did not know, that
II required twelve to make the presentment.
be allowed Sl25 for his services. The act OF
1882 provides that the Grand Jury may be al
lowed the assistance OF one expert TO be ap-
pointed by the presiding Judge, who shall be
days. The case or Ostendorf vs. Charleston.
IA 8. an, decides that County Commission
ers ar6the only authorized financial agents
OF the county, and any contract made with
any other body, Is not binding on the conn
ty. We state this only that the County Com.
missioners may look out for another expert.
The above quoted paragraph is perhaps
more Objectionable in the eyes Of this people
than anything which has been said, or which
may be said in this matter from beginning to
ending. Take single sentence, for instance:
"Therc is deep indignation felt at the action
Of the grand jury in submitting the report Of
tre expert as q part OF their presentment,
,otttoa giving the officers an opportunity to an
swer."
In the first place. it is not stated by whom
Indignation" is felt. We are not sufficiently
Informed to accept the statement as being
correct, II II refers to, and intends to include.
any Considerable number OF our fellow citi-
zens, and we are quite sure that h9 does not
We are unable to see wherein injustice has
been done to the officers IN not giving them
on opportunity to answer the charges' before
? grand Jury, which he says in another letter
We think it susceptible Of proof that no
grand jury in this County has ever tried any
case, and that II has never heard the defence
OF any one. In this case. 1t was urged In the
grand jury room by some Of the minority n OF OF
come before their body, and we here state II
as a fact which can be easily controverted. II
untrue, that when the matter Of allowing
that one or more Of the members or the sub.
committee insisted upon. the officers being
sent for, but those members OF the grand jury
who, at the eginning, were loudest IN their
behalf Of those officers whose wishes they
were presumed to represent. toned down, and
said that perhaps they had better not do So;
that 1t would take too long time. On the
majority that 1t was leisure time OF the year
and that 1t might be better to give a week or
more to the work. 1t seems, therefore, that
when 1t became possible to have the officers
appear before the grand jury, that the demand
We will make another statement which II
untrue, can be easily disproved. The grand
jury adopted the report Of the expert on Tues
TO present the presentment 10 the court next
morning. Individual members OF the grand
Jury then left thatafternoon for their homes
only fourteen remaining. Those who left, 1t
Is supposed were in favor Of the report. On
report moved a reconsideration. Only thir-
teen voted, but at no time were majority In
In favor OF postponement OF the report
which had been adopted the evening before.
The grand jury knew-and never forgot-that
II was necessary for twelve Of their number
TO make observation-disclosures poted for the
presentment. If they did not so do they can
now put in their denial.
Every ciliZen OF the State knows that 1t Is
not the custom OF grand juries 10 call defend
ants before them, and in our opinion nothing
can be more damaging than the claim that
officers should have special privileges and
special chances for explanation. They should
explain just as any .ther citizen explains:
pondent the right to defend his friends in the
GreenvtHe Ne,1s, but we think anything like
the expression Of "indlgnatien," and any
thing like contempt for the grand jury who
have discharged duty which required cour-
age and the conviction OF right to enable
ranted. 1t was no doubt painful to the ex-
pert and to the members of the grand jury to
submit their report, and unless they were un-
der the impression that they were perform
ing an incumbent duty and discharging g
agree with US In the belief that they would
have greatly preferred to have made a report
which would have been agreeable to the off,
GERS and pleasant to the people.
We trust that the Abbeville correspondent
OF the GreenpiHe Net0s does not seek to prove
that the combined influence Of the officers
in the Abbeville Court House, for whom he
may speaks, together with the aid OF their
friends, issuffiolent to bulldoze grand juries
and to beat down fair and lawful effort TO
ascertain the actual condition OF the public
offices.
II 1t should be within the power Of any Co
terry to make this investigation odious, then
truly may not the Democratic party In Abbe-
Vile county wake up to the fact that they In
reality belong to those officers whom they
have placed in power? d,