The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-09-13

lie corporate bodies. II you find honesty
mud economy In public expenditures you
should con, 1t.
III you should. however, discover, in
Whatever form or under Whatever cover
or color. the public moneys have been
corruptly expended, II is your duty to
indict those responsible for sucn
corrupt practices. Even the necd-
less creation of e~fficers OF public EN-.
pioyments. II done with corrupt inten-
ton OF squanderfng the public funds, Is
an indict"b Bile offehse. You have the
right to inquire iutostne conduct of pub
lie official bodies aud public officers. to
ascertain IL sinecures exist, created for
The corrupt purpose of disposiug Of pub
lie funds.
1 do not eDumerate to You the differ
ent powers OF Investigation conferred
upon you. Isay TO you that those powers
are ample for my Investigation you
choose to make. do not enumerate the
various devices by which the public
treasury may be depleted, but the Court
does say that whenever you find such
devices with such re suits 1t Is your duty
At once to indict. So. too, II you should
mud The appropriations once fixed by law
are exceeded in the OK Expenditures of the
pubic moneys i'll your duty to present
those whose votes or other official acts
have caused the excessive expenditures
without regard to the iutent with which
the expenditures are made. Our statutes
IN this respect render the intentions
entirely imulaterial. am not informed
OF aay particular cases of Official oorrup-
ticn or excessive expenditures of public
moneys. l notice that the matter Is
much discussed by the public press. and
l have noticed some anxiety on the
part of the public In the matter.
Il speak now of the principles of law
regulating the conduct of your official
functions to save the necessity of refer
ring to the matter again during the
term.
COUNTY INSTITUTIONS.
"Once each term I feel il to be your
duty to inquire into The management OF
our county iails, almshouses, county hos
pitfalls. asyfums aud prisons. IL you find
wilful aud corrupt misconduct on the
part OF those having the same In charge.
you should indict. II you find mere
abuses and acknowledgements you should
present them to the end hat a correction
may be hal. Ii you. find that they are
well managed aud maintained, with
proper discipline, 1t then becomes your
duty TO commend.
"1n the performance of o u duty you
are only to present an Indictment upon
evidence sufficient to establish a con-
tlusion OF guilt In your honest judg-
ment, but you ara not to hear the de-
tense when this conclusion of guilt is
reached by you. The question OF inuo-
cence Is then q question for the Court and
a traverse jury. You are to shield no one
from prosecution; you are NOT to protect
any one from the results of a violation of
public law; yet you are not to allow shs
grand inquest 10 become an engine of
persecution or of oppression of the private
citizen.
"You will at all times have the aid of
the Prosecutor at hand, aud the Court
will always be ready aud willing to aid
you in the solution of any question Of
doubt or difficulty.
The Court has entire confidence that
your duties will be SO performed an to
satisfy your oaths of Office aud be accent
table to the administration of puplic
Justice"