The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-15
m HISTORIC GROUND
,rro STATES GRAND JURY BE-
GAN ITS SESSION.
oel.ETHoRPE AND WESLEY.
uALLowED PLACE WHERE U.
IL" : COURT HOUSE STANDS.

nc sheer Made Eloquent Refer
- n the History of the Spot of
c.ound in His Charge to the Grand
- of the District COurt-The
o,o.,iuGs of the COnstitution-Lib-
OxveIIs only Where There is
.,ect for LaNy-SOmcthing That
Nav Be Taken as a Reference TO
Greene and the Gaynors.
The grand jury of the United States
,,s+rc+ Court began its investigations of
enc crimes and misdemeanors charged
inst persons now in custody or under
"a Yesterday morning. The grand
IS retirement for elaboration was
D.aceded by Judge Emory Speers force
~, and eloquent charge.
rbs grand jury was impaneled and
.-,rr at 10 o'clock. 1t is constituted as
..,ore. J. c. Shaw, foreman; ]. w.
+,,.roirg 7. S. wilkins. C. V. Snedeker,
- n Hughes, ]. C. Hatcher, ST., D. D.
I,ne,sb. w. j. Miscally. Jr., ]. L. Ran
81, II. C. Morgan, W. r. Mallon, J. M.
-.trson. Henry Bennett, H. H. Living
tan John w. Motto. r. D. Cason, B.
y sbearhouse, w. P. OFT, Edward NJ.
uabersbam Lawrence Mcneil.
1,dge Speer began his charge by allud-
;.r n the care and caution with which
.bo grand jurymen of the United States
cor,ts are selected from the grand jury
men of the state courts, the state jurors
themselves being selected from the most
,,,r;ght and intelligent citizens" of each
.ouptv of the district. Continuing, Judge
speer said:
you have, gentlemen, an additional dis
,,nction no doubt partially accidental.
you are the first body chosen to initiate
rrocedure for the Enforcement of the
criminal laws of the United States in the
southern district of Georgia in this the
oOtb century. And by felicitous coinci-
dence. which seems almost providential,
this beautiful structure in which your
deliberations will be conducted has its
Granite foundations on the very spot
where the first court house in the colony
of Georgia was constructed by our foun-
der that noble pAllanturopist and patriot,
lanes Edward Og4ethorpe. 1t is equally
interesting to reflect that the rude org
nal structure which stood where you are
gathered was not always used as a court
house. The ancient maxim runs dies do
minicus non est jur dicus,' which in our
tongue means the Lords day is not a
judicial day and on the Sabbath the court
house of Oglethorpe was at mes the
church Of Wesley. How ennobling the
s,,,,- 81 a -a+
this spot where we unite in the admins
tration of that law, without which neither
liberty nor religion is safe and progress
is impossible, was oft pressed by the
martial foot of Oglethorpe often rang
the musical voice and classical eloquence
Of Wesley
With such antecedeuts, in such an en-
vironment, is it possible for enlightened
men to approach the performance of the
gravest duty of citizenship with any
emotion save that of the highest res
sponsibility to country, to morality, and
10 God? All, gentlemen, well may we say
with the Psalm st, The lines have fallen
to US in pleasant places, ours is a goodly
heritage, We should be increasingly
grateful to the Giver of ell good gifts for
the bounteous mercies and blessings which
he has showered upon this favored land
of ours. We have the largest share of
liberty of any nation on earth We are
absolutely free in so far as freedom is
consistent with the public safety. We
have liberty of conduct and liberty of be-
lief. Here the devotee of no particular
faith may constrain the religious conVic-
tons Of others. We are free to worship
God, each in accordance with the die
tates of his individual reason, of his own
conscience.
We have no titles of nobility save that
each American citizen is equally sove-
reign with the others. Napoleon said
that every soldier of France carried the
baton of a marshal in his knapsack, and
so the highest distinctions of our land
are within the compass of every one,
within the reach of even the most OBJ
scure, possessing the force of mind and
me force of character to compass it.
leel' said, Horace Greeley like taking off
my hat to every lad 1 meet, eval though
oarefooted and in ragged jacket, for I
may be addressing a future President of
the United States.
That this is possible, nay probable,
under our benign institutions all of his
'ory proves. It is familiar to every
scnoolooy. 1t is true of every walk of life.
one Of the greatest advocates and most
profound jurists in the history of our
state the famous William Dougherty, the
impress of whose tremendous mentality
written by the volume in the records
Of this court and all our courts. in joe
uar vein told me in my childhood that
Wnen he was lad he had stumped off a
peck Of toenails dancing barefoot on
puneneon floors I knew intima tely an
oIner llustrious son of Georgia whose OPP
iV''uhitles were so narrow that he and
MS father were taught to read by the
same teacher at the same time. When
W was lad of l6 he gathered together
US entire patrimony-a pair of diminu-
1--WE steers. These he yoked and himself
waxing the long and weary road, drove
mem over the mountains into South Car
onha and sold them 20 pay his board and
senoollng for six months. With this I'M
promising beginning he became state
seua'or' judge of the superior court, for
seVeraI terms governor of Georgia, chief
Justice of the Supreme Court. twice a
es.na'or IN the Congress OF the United
states and. finally, rich in years and in
uouors' sank to rest with all his countrys
Wishes blest"
Judge speer showed that the constitu-
pon mad been framed by the wisest and
80 men OF their time, and that 1t had
100 100 the shocks Of more than a century
STOUT other result than to gain added
,SvHst ana prestige. and afford more
sSounolng evidences of the wisdom and
brulousm of those from whose hearts and
tb a"s II had emanated, in the old days
wat tried mems souls.
wan ou1se speer illustrated by example how
So, tne purposes of the constitution,
me- M IN It's preamble to be ITO form a
srr. perfect union. establish justice. m
CONN.,. pu'hc tranquility, provide for the
fara a'non defense. promote the general wei