Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-09-10

InOMAS IElGf, county Attorney.
FRED w. LEE, Stenographer.
Augusta, Tuesday, Sept 9.
The grand jury for the September
term of the Kennebec county superior
court began its deliberations, Tuesday
morning. Court convened at 10 o'clock
and after the jurors were sworn, His
Honor Justice Hall charged them. ex-
planning their duties in an able manner.
Touching on the enforcement of the
prohibitory law, Justice Hall spoke as
follows:
"A large majority of the indictments
presented at this term of court by for
mer grand Juries have been for the
violation of the statute prohibiting the
sale of intoxicating liquors. 1t IS
probable that your investigations will
include many such cases. The efficiency
of officers and the zeal Of prosecution
in some localities may cause it to ap-
pear to you that the law is not uni
formly and impartially enforced. This
should not in the least influence your
action in any case supported by con-
vincing evidence.
"The permitting of crime or misde-
meanor in one place should not pre-
vent their suppression in another; but
it will be your duty in such cases to
inquire why all the offenders are not
proceeded against, if, in your opinion,
any exceptions are made. l believe it
| to be the desire and intention of the
county attorney to see the law i'm
partially enforced.
THAT the sale and use of intoXicat-
| ing liquors are the cause of much
crime is matter of common knowl-
edge. In your inquiries you will doubt
| less find cases where offences, especial
| ly assaults, have been made by persons
while more or less intoxicated.
1T is a common saying that drunk
enness is no excuse for crime. In the
| sense of a justification for the act this
a person it is immaterial whether the
offender was drunk or sober; it is the
demonstration toward the party as
saulted that constitutes the mischief
| which is punished as a breach of the
peace.
AT the conclusion of Judge Halls
| charge the jury retired to it's room ana
| selected Charles III. Wyman of Vassal-
| boro. as foreman. Shortly afterwards
the deliberations began and number
of witnesses were heard during the
| day.
| A. Fl. Bailey of Winthrop, was chosen
| foreman of the traverse jury. The
| cases assigned for trial having been
settled out of court. the traverse jury
was excused until $50 o'clock, Wednes-
/ day morning.
| Deputy Sheriff Joshua F. Bean Of
| Augusta, is in charge of the grand
| Jury, and Deputy Sheriff George b.
| Church of Hallowell. and Henry T.
Morse of Augusta, are in charge of the
traverse jury.
The grand jury will have large
amount of work to attend to and the
| time for it to rise is problematical.
There are number of bound over
prisoners, including James Granger OF
Augusta. James L. Ingham, formerly
of Winthrop. and Maynard Shea OF
Gardiner. All three of these cases VIII
be watched with considerable interest.
| Granger is charged with causing the
death of Albert Heselton by STAB
bing at Granger's residence in this city,
last April. and was bound over TO the
grand jury on the charge OF man.
slaughter.
Ingham is charged with forging the
name of Phillip S. Ladd of Winthrop
to bank books and drawing money
from the Augusta Savings Bank. Ing
ham was arrested at Boston a few
weeks ago and taken to Augusta to
await the grand jury's action This
case is most peculiar one. Ladd
sued the bank to recover the money
alleged to have been paid to lngham
and the case was argued before Jus
tice William Penn Whitehouse OF the
supreme judicial court and was sent to
the law court on report. That trl-