OCR Text |
Show What Iooh it .11 run ? By reference to our minutes of Court proceedings, it will be seen that Attorney General Snow withilrew yesterday, yes-terday, his motion for an order for a Grand Jury after the Court had said that if pressed it would grant one, the law being plain ami imperative. For a year and a half this district has been without a Grand Jury; and for three years it has been without a legal le-gal one. The law has been on the statute book all that time; it has been plain and imperative, binding the clerk of the Court to issue a venire, and it has been the duly of the prosecuting prose-cuting attorney to sec that such venire ven-ire did issue, or know the reason why. Men have been committed for crime, whether innocent or guilty who is prepared to say ? as they have never been indie teil nor tried. They have cither escaped, been released on ioIkus rtirpiix, me out on bail, or still linger in prison, suflcring a terrible wrong if they should bo proved not guilty. For a year and a half the request re-quest of the prosecuting nttorncyj in the language of tho late clerk 0 the district Court, has been treated "with silent contempt;" and now when the Court expresses himself willing to make anprdcr for a venire, however unpleasant to him it might be lo take such action where he is only temporarily presiding, the prosecuting attorney actually withdraws with-draws his motion ! Viewing all the circumstanoes, there is little wonder that we ask "What does it mean?" It might have been unpleasant nay, painful to the Court to make the oilcr under the circumstances; nndit might have been painful to the Attorney Attor-ney General to press the motion, viewing the confessed embarrassment 01 the Court, but the imperative mandate man-date of the law, the claims of right and justice.thc prisoners held in bonds demanding trial and conviction or acquittal, with the interests of public safety and protection, are higher claims than personal feelings; and these pressed upon both the Court and the Attorney (leneral. We cannot understand why Judge Snowwithdrew that motion. We can understand why some men around him nt the bar should have desired its withdrawal; and presume we may see some of their names to documents again next winter urging Congress for special legislation for Utah, and declaring that numerous crimes arc being committed com-mitted and no Grand Jury can be obtained ob-tained to present indictments. Were Judge Snow's reputation for honor, honesty and an upright course not so firmly established, the matter might have been easier understood; but as it is we Gin only imagine that he lias permitted himself to be influenced and persuaded to" do ns he did, by others interested in some way in keeping keep-ing judicial matters here in an eternal eter-nal and infernal muddle, which is a disgrace alike to the bench, the bar , and to civilization. |