The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-08-09
AN AMPLE PRECEDENT
The Minority Report of the
Ballot Box Grand jury
and How Judge Dixon
Received 1t.
From The Jersey City Neaos of Tues
day, Nay 81. $780,

1IVW xUe Jersey CELy H6IOS OF tues
day, Nay 81. $780,
After Clerk Gritten read the roll
call. Judge Dixon asked Foreman
Gordon if he had anything to present
to the court.
''We desire to hand up these bills
with this" answered the Foreman, at
the same time handing the clerk
batch of indictments and communi-
cation. These were handed the Court,
who, after reading the coinmunica-
tion, asked the Foreman if he desired
it to be read in court.
I'VE do" was the response, and
then this remarkable document. the
like of which was never read in the
old Court House before, was read by
the clerk
JERSEY CITY, N. j., May 26, 1890.
To the Court of Oyer and Termirer Of the
County of Hudson
The undersigned, members of the Grand Jury
now in session in ana for the County of Hudson.
respectfully show to the Court that at the gen
eral ell ection held in said county on the fifth OF
last November certain fraudulent and illegal
acts were alleged to have been committed by
the officers and clerks of election or SONS OF
them; that a committee Of the Senate Of
the State of New Jersey in vestigated said
election; that such investigation was alleged to
have disclosed the fact that many ballots wers
fraudulently cast and counted at said electloni
that the result of said investigation has caused
great public scandal; that as the result of these
unusual and extensive frauds. His Honor Man
ming M. Knapp charged this Grand Jury at
length upon the opening of the April term. de-
claring it to be their imperative duty to invssti-
gate said frauds; that the statements mada
have been confirmed beyond question by the
evidence before us; and while majority of the
Grand Jury have been unwilling to find indict-
ments covering all the offences proved in these
cases, the undersigned feel that their duty to
the State and themselves is incomplete without
in this way announcing to the Court their deep
regret at this miscarriage of justice, SO fraught
with danger to the integrity and perpetuIty Of
representative government, and respectfully
request that this minority pressntment be nlsd
as part OF the court record.
L J. GORDON, Foreman,
BENJAMIN EDGE,
JOHN RAMSEY,
JOHN J. ScHEFL1Ne, Ja.
The three Judges conferred several
minutes over the minority report, and
then Judge Dixon said, turning to
Foreman Gordon:-"I infer from the
language of this document that some
indictments have been found against
election officers based on fraud.n
'There have. sir; large number"
''The Court" said Judge Dixon,
''of course knows the Grand Jury
only as a body. 1t does not deal with
a minority of it. Under ordinary cir
cumstances the Court would have to
say that as the paper does not bear
the stamp of the Grand Jury as a
body, it ought not to be received by
the Court.
''But the Court recognizes that
facts as public as the air make the cir
cumstances surrounding this investi-
cation extraordinary, and we think
the rule should be so far relaxed as to
receive the communication and allow
it to go On the files of the court as
part of the record. The Grand Jury,
having no other business before it, is
discharged for the term with the
thanks of the Court for your atten-
ton to public business"