The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-02-10
COURT OF GENERAL SESSIONS
Convened Yesterday Morning Judges
Charge to Grand Jury The Work
Done Yesterday.

/
Newberry County convened yesterday
morning, Judge James Aldrich presid-
ing
Solicitor II. S. Sease and Stenographer
Motte were promptly on hand and ready
for duty. There was a good deal of
delay in organizing, however, owing to
the fact that three of the grand jurors
! were absent, one on account of sickness.
A venire was ordered, and the places of
the absent jurors filled.
The solicitor handed out number Of
indictments.
In accordance with custom at the
first term of court for the year, the
grand jurors were charged both as to
their general and specific duties. Judge
Aldrich in his charge was clear and
concise. He said:
CHARGE TO THE GRAND JURY.
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury: This
being the first term of court for the
current year, it is customary and proper
that the Judge should give you some in
structions as to your general duties.
l shall not undertake to do on this oc-
casion as is frequently done-to recite
the origin or the history of the grand
jury. Suffice it to say, that in all times,
from the beginning of the English sys-
tenn OF Jurisprudence the grand jury
has played a very important part. No
one, under our law, can be put under
trial unless you gentlemen present him.
Therefore, it is very high privilege
the duty which is imposed upon you to
say which of your fellow citizens shall
be tried for crime and which shall not.
That, perhaps, is the highest and
most important duty that you have to
dispose of. But it is by no means the
only one. In addition to passing upon
these questions of which shall be tried
and which shall not, you represent the
entire county. You come from all parts
OF it and Ju are presumed to represent
the intelligence and virtue, and to guard
the welfare Of your county. Therefore,
you have supervision over everything
in the county. Wherever one dollar of
the peoples money is invested or ex-
pended your jurisdiction extends. No
money can be collected from the tax
payer except in pursuance of law. Your
treasurer and all the county officers
could not collect a dollar from the citi-
zens unless a law was passed imposing
that tax. Therefore your power ex-
tends to the collection of the public
revenue and to its expenditure. Wher-
ever it goes you have right to inves-
tigate, because no money can be ex-
pended from the public treasury except
in pursuance of law, and under our sys-
TEN of law the grand jury is made the
tribunal to which these matters are first
can ried.
Judge Aldrich, continuing, said that
there is presumption of law, and a
just one, that every officer is doing his
duty. The grand jury in their investi-
cation should act upon that presump-
tlon-that all the officers are properly
discharging their duties. Your iuris-
dlction extends to al your county
officers, sheriff, clerk of court, and the
others. 1t reaches over your roads,
bridges, ferries, POOR houses, and all
public buildings. All these come with
in your supervision, including the pub
lie schools and money expended for
their management. Not to run these
1t is not your business to exercise your
wisdom or your views as to how these
should be conducted, but to see if these
various institutions are being conduct
ed, according to the law as the Legis-
lature has made it. What is the law and
are they complying with it,
In the discharge Of your duties fire.
quently it happens generally that some
citizen goes before a magistrate and
makes an affidavit and presents a case
that is brought up here, and you pass upon
it, whether or not it shall be tried. But
outside and beyond that you have an
original power to investigate any mat
ter in your county that you may be ad-
vised is contrary to law and you have
the right to present any one without
reference to a magistrate or any one
else, because your presentment will
put person on trial. In doing that
you should remember that there are
none above the control of the law AID
there is no one so humble in life as to
be beneath the control of the law. All
of that is devolved upon you.
Judge Aldrich called the attention of
the jury to the fact they had iaken
oath to keep secret such matters as
might officially come before them. He
laid stress upon this point saying that
failure to do so might prevent the ac-
! complishment of the very end for which
they were organized.
He said that although eighteen men
were required by law to make a grand
jury it was necessary only that twelve
should agree in order to reach verdict.
In this respect the grand jury is not
like the petit jury, where a verdict
must be unanimous. 1t was not in ac.