The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-05-17
A Signal Miscarriage of Justice.

| have been an honest people, and have
cherished All honest pride i'll the cOmpar:.
| tive freedom of their State government
and its administration from any scandals
or cases OF official malfeasaDce OF the
grOsser sort. IL was surprise and NOR
| LITIGATION to the honest people of the
| State when the fact of Stevenson Archer's
| defalcation as State treasurer became
| known. But all the surprise and all the
| Indignation then felt were as nothing
| compared to the honest anger every
where expressed at the announcement
that, thief and defaulter as Stevenson
| Archer coufessedly is. there is no law in
| the State under Which he can be ade-
quately punished, aud that, while the
petty clerk who emhezzles a few hun
bred dollars of his employers money
can be sent to tn penitentiary. The
| trusted public official who robs the State
| of money aud securities to the am nut
| of nearly "A hundred aud tif:y thousand
| dollars Is only guil'f OF An irreguiarifr.
for which. possibly, e may be punished
by fine and imprisonment at common
| law. We say possibly. for after the dis
covery that the wholesale plunder Of the
| State treasury bv the State treasurer Is
| neither "embeZZlement' nor "larccuy"
plain people will begin to doubt whether
| in the eye of the law, it is even malfeas
auce III flee! o! course, We must as
! sumo that the rulings of his honor Judge
| Stew art upon the demurrer in the Archer
case in the Criminal Coart on Tuesday
| are correct until aud unless they are re
| versed bv the decision of a higher tri-
bunal, the Court of Appeals.
It is exactly that state of the law
which is exposed by Judge Stewards
decision that is calculated to Stir the
popular Indignation to its Utmost depths
| Worse even than the discovery that
| Stevenson Archer was deiau!ter and a
thief is the discovery that in the State OF
| MARYLAND there is no law adequate for
| the punishment of such defalcation and
theft. As we have said, a boy may be
sent to the peuitentiarv for robbing his
employers till. TIE State treasurer can
clean OUT the entire treasury, if he will,
and need fear no such late. 10 steal u
pair of shoes is a felony. To steal $3.50,
900 of the States securities is at best a
simple misdemeanor.
| Aud what makes this state of the law
| all the more remarkable is the fact that,
| apparently, it was not the Intention OF
tie law or of the lawmakers to give the
State treasurer liberty to steal without
fear of the penitentiary-a privilege
denied to every other c!tleZn OF the State.
The attorney general, III his argument
in support OF the indies ment befor Judge
Stewart, reviewed the various constitu-
tional and statutory provisions since 1890
by which the safety of the States securi
ties in the hands Of the treasurer have
been guarded. The very act under
ind tah
| was au act to punish the embezzlement
of the States funds by any OF the State
collecting and accounting officers. passed
unanimously by Legislature of which
Stevenson Archer was a member, and re-
ported by a Judiciary COMMITTEES of
which he was also member. In view OF
the deliberate and persistent character %!
| of Archer's successive robberies of the
sinking fund, one is almost tempted to
believe that Archer. lawyer and leglsla-
tor, deliberately calculated and relied
upou the weakness of the law which he
himself had a hand in framing. Such
belief wouldoe further justified by the fact
| that today Archer takes defense in court
| which dmits the fact of his guilt and
simply denies the power of the State to
punish him. 81 stole your money-of
course | did," is the effective language
| of his demurrer, but what are you
gong to do about i.?' To talk about
sympathy for SUCH G pan is an insult to
| the public Intelligence apd the public
| conscience.
! If Stevenson Archer oanaot be sent to
1.-The uenitentiary for his crime there is
nly one thing more n--uruf to IT,, ::ue :
ID of the peoples indignatlyn brim a
yer and over flow. That is thS further g
scovery that, in consequence of the II
enerai neglect OF ev rybody who had a
ny constitutional or statutory duty to +,
,rform in connection vita the protec
on of the States funds, there can he no :,
,covery civIlly g.inst Archer's bonds a'
ZEN. That is question, of course, yet CT
be decided. Meantime what do the V,
ain, honest people of Mary land think W
,out it? Mr.. Archer has been treated V,
18th rare and distinguished oonsidera- -,
on, such as has never been accorded in 9,
lis State to any man who stole small d
sum of money, When he was annoyed IL
the presence Of detectives in his k
yelling, and the writ of hGteds corpus fl
as sued ont to relieve him from this Al
lnoyance, the only effect of the Writ
as to bring not the prisoner before the -
,urt. but the court before the prisonerl
he amiable and complainant judge
rove over to MIR. Arcbor's dwelling and -
aid court there! When the case was
He'd III this city the only difference
as that Mr.. Archer was relieved from
lie necessity of appearing at all. The fl
ain people are beg; Inning TO inquire 7,
neither, If Mr.. Archer werg actually L
,ntenced to a term OF imprisonment, be ri
ouId be required to serve out the term
person. IL
The whole farce OF the administration, q
fsther non administration, of justice
Archer's case is beginning to stir up 5
he sternest inhig nation among plain, q
0nest folk, who don't understand why
stty thieves sould be bounded, arrest Z
and punished, and colossal thief a
etted,, INDUCED protected-and let of!
his ferment of popular indignation is
ethiDg and boiling more and more. {
OF Archer only, but all who have
ade Archer and his crimes possible and ~
IS aud their punishment ditficult-hls I
,litcal associates, confederates and
lls-are under, and justly under the s
an of public suspicion. An investigat-
e committe WHICH does not investigate ;.
.nnot divert or Grrest the storm Of IL
lblic indignation which is destined to h
'eak upon all who have been associated
I'd affiliated with Archer and fail to make -
10 nature and purpose of their associa- W
On elsar and pure. We are speaking to :.
i'd for the plain, honest people of this u
Sun.