The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-18
GOVERNMENT WON'T APPEAR.
NO ATTENTION PAID TO HEARING
BEFORE COMMISSIONER.

The Demand of the Alleged ConSpir-
ntOrs with Capt. Carter for a Pre-
Iiminary Hearing Before the Com
missioner to Whom They surren-
dered, and His Acquiescence
Therein, Thought to Be a Blur.
An Effort to Get the Government
TO Show Its Hand-JuFfsdictIOn of
District Court Cannot Be Divesfea
I'm This Observation-Disclosures Rem
ders Such a Hearing Improper.
Considerable interest and speculation
have been aroused in Savannah by the de-
mand made by counsel for the alleged con-
spiratoIs to defraud the government, in
connection with the work OF river and
harbor improvement of which ex-Capt
Oberlin NJ. Carter had supervision, who
have been arrested in New York, for a
preliminary hearing before United States
commissioner.
When Col. John f. Gaynor, Capt. B. D.
Greene and Messrs. Edward II. and VIII
liam T. Gaynor surrendered themselves to
Commissioner Shields, in New York, and
the amount of their bonds were fixed at
$4,000 for the first two, and $4,000 for the
latter two, Mr.. Abram j. Rose, who ap-
peared as counsel for the defendants, ask
ed the privilege of a preliminary hearing.
The hearing was granted by Conmls on
err Shields and the date fixed for Dec. %.
This demand or request made by counsel
and the acquleseence of the commissioner
have furnished ground for the speculation
that has been INDUCED in here.
When Assistant District Attorney w. r.
Leaken was asked about the matter he
answered that he could furnish no reason
able or feasible explanation, nor gather
from the action of Mr.. Rose and the con-
sent of the commissioner just what it was
intended to accomplish. Certainly" said
Mr. Leaken, lit will not serve to induce
the government to make an appearance
before the commissioner, and present its
evidence and argue its case there"
'"The proceedings" continued the assist
ant district attorney, have passed the
stage where preliminary hearing is eth
er necessary or proper. Had the defend
ants been arrested before indictment, upon
a warrant sworn out by some officer of
the government or other person interested
in their prosecution, il would then have
been within their rights for them to have
demanded a hearing, and the commissioner
would have been required, under the law
to grant it. The case, though, is not in
that condition. The accusations have been
found by the grand jury and presented in
solemn form TO the court. 1t is absurd to
think that after the indictments have been
presented that the district court can be
stripped of it's jurisdiction by the court of
a commissioner or that the government can
be required to appear before the commits
Il can't, for the life of me, understand
what Mr.. Rose is driving at He surely
does not think that the government will
appear before the commissioner and dis
close its case its evidence and the points
of law upon which it will rely at the trial.
to the single end that the defendants, by
means of the information thus gained, may
be in position to make their conten-
lions of fact appear to be good. 1t strikes
me that the whole thing is one big and
not very clever bluff, and the government,
l am assured, will not even take the trou-
bic to call it,"
when the court and its officers here are
ready to try the cases and the defendants
are also ready they will be determined
The fact that a hearing before Commits
sioner Shields or any other commissioner Is
or is moi heard will count for absolutely
nothing. The presentment of the iudict-
ment to the court has taken the case be-
yond this stage and there is no reason of
expedieucy or requirement of law that
would urge the government to make an
appearance al such a hearing"
Mr.. Leaken discredited the report that
bond for Connolly had been fixed in The
sum of 81 900, thinking this amount far too
small While he concurred in the opinion
that. the government was not inclined to
regard Connolly as one of the chief con-
spirators. he nevertheless thought that
i
out of proportion to the enormity of the
offense charged, without any reference to
the question of guilt or innocence, and he
stated that il had not been fixed at an
amount as low as that mentioned in the
Morning News day or two ago. on what
then appeared reliable and well-informed
authority.
Ii is said that Connolly, whose
arrest in Havana was reported
We terday, will be in the city
within the next few days and the amount
of his bond will be determined then, by
agreement between his counsel and the as
sistant district attorney. 1t will not be as
low as 81 COO, but it will be very much less
than that required of the other defendants
who have surrendered themselves and en-
tered into recognizances for their appear
ance before the court.
There is an Indication from the pages
of the indictment that the trial before
Judge Speer viii not cover the vide range
that was traversed in the case Of Capt.
Carter before the courtmartial In al
leging the various overt acts necessary to
support the charge of conspiracy, those
barred by the statute of limitations are
studiously avoided and only those said
to have been committed within the period
of three years fixed by the statute have
been pleaded.
The conspiracy itself is alleged to have
been entered into between the parties in
dicted on Jan. /, 1897 OF course, under
the low it is not necessary to prove that
this was the date of the criminal agree
ment any time subsequent to the bar of
the statute of limitations answering the
purpose just as we'll 1t shows, though,
that the government will not seek to an
tedate the time when the statute be-
comes a bar TO the prosecution of criminal
cases and will relieve the defendants of
the necessity of pleading it. At all events
the conspiracy, the criminal agreement
to defraud the government, Is the gist
of the charge and the overt acts of en-