The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1894-03-08
aeneraI se..lons Sonrt.

q ron coh. w. !. bowen was appoint
ed foreman. His Honor, judy,
Witherspoon first said to them.
"You should pay special attention
to the oath administered to the fore
= man." It is rs follows: "You. as
0 foreman OF this grand inquest, shall
diligently inquire and true present.
ment make of all such matters and
things rs sh9ll be given to you in
Q charge; the counsel Of the State; of
q your fellows, and your own, you shall
keep secret; YOU shall present no one
from envy, hatred or malice; nor
= leave any one unpresented for fear,
favor, affection, reward or hope of re.
ward; but you shall present all things
truly, as they come to your knowl
J edge, according to the best of your
understanding; So help you God"
J" Ihe same oath your foreman hath
taken on his part, you and each of
you shall truly observe, and keep on
your part; So help you God" When
all were sworn the bills were pre-
sented to the grand jury, when it was
charged generally, in subs lance as
follows:
"Mr. Foreman and gentlemen It
is the duty of the State to guarantee
to every citizen protection of life, lib
erty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This is the constitution. But it
amounts to nothing unless the courts
and the Jurles enforce the law. This
is what we have been brought here
tor. The law knows no distinctions.
All are equal before the law You are
not here as lnformers-thatw would be
oilous, but to enforce the law which
is ample fol the protection of all. I
am stranger to your local affairs.
But you must be impressed with the
great Importance of your duty to the
public. Nothing can come into this
court except through you.
Your first duty will be to pass upon
the bills handed you. 1t is not your
province to say whether the defendant
Is guilty or not. If the fncts proved
to you make q case of probable guilt,
It, Is your duty to put the defendant
on trial. Remember your duty to the
State on one hand, and the defendant
on the other. A man may he prose
cuted from malice. If that is the
case rebuke it by finding "no bill. e"
When you consider these bills, re.
member your obligation of secrecy.
Whoever tells anything that occurs in
YOUR room violates his oath. Secrecy
Is enjoined to give you freedom to
express your views, that the most
t'mid may feel free to say and act as
his honest judgement OH the facts
dictates. | am glad to see in this
county as I noticed in Oconee, so few
cases for stealing, but regret to see so
many cases of assault and battery
Ihls shows disregard of the law
Ir1al Justices have exclusive jurisdic
ton of all cases of simple assault and
battery. These should be excluded
from this court by grand Jury. But
II the assault and battery is of high
and aggravated nature, if some serious
injury has been done or n deadly
weapon has been used, this court has
exclusive jurisdiction, aud you should
| find Il true BILL
You are required to serve as Jurors
during this year. Your jurisdiction
extends to all the affairs of the county.
1t is your duty and privilege to ex
anime all the offices; to sec that the
incumbent is competent and faithful,
and nuke your report. If there is
any drunkenness or neglect among the
officials, you should take cognizance
| ~ ~ nl,n 10, T.
Another important duty is to see if
there are any violations Of law which
have not been prosecuted. If you
receive any anonymous letters, accus-
ing any one of crime, burn them up.
If the facts stated were of conse.
quence the writer should not hesitate
to give the information in person.
Examine bonds of your county officers
and see that they are good and suf1i
cient. Because bond is good when
first made is no reason it will remain
so. See that they arc still good, or
have them made good.
This is one of the incest court
houses in the State. It is convenient
and we'll arranged, and I am proud
to see it."
The grand jury retired.
The petit jury was then called and
thirty-two answered.
The case Of the State vs.. Bouregard
Amber, disturbing religious meet
ing, was referred back to Trial JUS
tice Edcns. The case against Allen
Hunter, larceny from the field, was
referred to w. X. Merck. The case
against West Bowen, selling liquor,
was remanded to P. D. Cureton.
The case against James freeman,
George Kelly and Paul Field, for
gambling was mol prossed--no evi-
dence. The~same order for the same
reason was made in case against
John Allen, Bunk Briggs, Fed Blass-
engame, Watt CAN'T and Dave Hen
bricks. The case against w. g.
| HiOtt was mol pressed.