The San Francisco call., 1897-03-14

wealth, and that as such it has the power
to inquire into the conduct of the officers
OF the State and TO impeach them II NAL
feasance or wrongdoing is shown; 1t may
inquire into the election of its members to
determine their right to a seat IN that
body, and into variety of matters with
view to enacting proper and necessary
legislation. Such Investigations. the
any way deemed desirable, whenever it Is
thought proper to institute such an In
vestisation by any mode which they may
choose to adopt. there is a material issue
presented, and each witness may sub]ect
himself to punishment for perjury or con-
tempt, as in the case at bar.
THAT decision was under the former
constitution of the State, but the present
constitution reads as follows: ANY per-
son may be compelled to testify in any
lawful investigation or judicial proceed
Ing against any person who may De
charged with having committed the Of
| tense OF bribery or corrupt solicitation or
| with having been Influenced in his vote or
action as member of the Legislature by
| reward or promise of future reward and
shall not be permitted to withhold his
testimony upon the ground that 1t may
crlminate himself or subject himself to
! public infamy; but such testimony shall
| not afterward be used against him IN any
| judicial proceeding except for perjury in
giving such testimony
"This unquestionably confers upon the
| Senate the power to make an investigation
concerning the bribery charges, and the de-
cision in the Mccarthy case is clear upon
the proposition that the Senate may adopt
| any mode 1t may deem proper in making
such an investigation, and without regard
to the mode the Senate may adopt mate
rial issue is presented, touching which
witnesses may be examined and become
liable to punishment for perjury or con-
| tempt. Therefore it would appear that a
material issue did exist, and that in the
| examination of the petitioners had before
| the committee and before the Senate the
| questions propounded to the witnesses
were material to the subject matter of the
| investigation.
| 'Such being the case the conclusion Is
necessarily that the Senate has acted
within the scope of its jurisdiction, and,
therefore, had authority to punish the
petitioners for contempt. And the court,
after careful examina ton, has reached
this conclusion. It is. therefore, ordered
that the petitioners be and they are here
by remanded to the custody OF the Sheriff
of the county of Sacramento and that the
| writ be dismissed"
| After the two prisoners were taken be-
low by the Sheriff, their attorneys used all
their powers of friendly and professional
persuasion upon Johnson to induce him
not to put his prisoners under lock and
key.
| The Sheriff, however, declared that he
had no alternative. and unless the court
ordered differently. he would have to lock
the two men up. While Attorneys Houghes
and McEnerney were arguing with the
| Sheriff Andy Clunie returned upstairs and
tried to persuade Judge Hughes to modify
his order so that the odium of having
been cast into Jail would not attach to his
two clients. But here, also. the attorney
for the taxing journal found that the law
had no respect for persons who knowingly.
willfully and contumaciously violated its
precepts.
| Undismayed, Clunie returned to the
attack again by approaching Sheriff John
son and intimating that Judge Hughes
had granted stay OF the order of i'm
prisonment, pending word from the
| Supreme Court at San Francisco. This
| being most unusual departure from all
| precedent in such cases, Johnson called
personally on Judge Hughes and asked
him if he had made or contemplated
making such modification of the original
order delivered in open court. The Judge
replied that while personally he would
| like to see Lawrence and Levings escape
the shame and humiliation of being placed
behind the bars, he did not see how hs
could prevent it, as the custody Of the
prisoners had been now transferred to hi,
questioner.
johnson trudged downstairs again and
indignant over the trick that had been at
tempted on him, marched the prisone n
into the Jail and placed them in charge ot
his chief iailer.
'That this was the bitterest pill that Ions
Green Lawrence had ever been made te
swallow was clearly evident" said Sheriff
Johnson in relating the incident. HE
felt the. humiliation as keenly as if b,
were to be imprisoned for forty years.
added the Sheriff.
On the pretense that they wished tG
consult with his attorneys Lawrence an6
Levings were allowed to 60 into the room
next the Sheriff's Office, used by prisoner.
and their counsel for conferences, where
they were Joined by McEnerney and Clu
ME. Meanwhile the dinner hour OF the
Jail approached and both prisoners were
invited to the table set inside the Jail
Levings acce pied the invitation, but Law
rence's appetite apparently revolted al
the idea of eating prison fare with his fel.
low prisoa aers.
He asked to be taken out to lunch, but
Sheriff Johnson declined to accom- modate
him, but gave him the privilege of having
his dinner brought him from the outside
Lawrence, being in momentary expecta-
ton of release through the efforts being
made by his attorneys in San Francisco,
concluded to wait until he was again 6
free man.
ALI other means for freedom having
failed, telegram was sent to Attorney
General Fitzgerald at San Francisco ask
ing him to consent to q stay of the orde,
of the court, but this resulted as fruitIessly
as the other attempts to keep the two
men out OF jail.
1t was not until about / 80 p NJ that the
telegraphic writ of habeas corpus and the
order permitting the prisoners to be re-
leased on bail, pending the hearing OF the
new writ, was received from the Supreme
Court. The bail bonds, with Charles p