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Show CANNON'S "EXCESSIVE BAIL." mayor Armstrong Still Klcklnf-r, But Nevertheless the Bond Will Have to he Paid. For some reason or other the question of the $20,000 Cannon bonds did not come into court this morning. The presence pres-ence of Le Grande Young, Esq., Cannon's principal attorney, was taken as conclusive conclu-sive evidence- that the case would be brought up for some disposition, and when Treasurer Jack was seen to enter the court-room with an attorney a suspicion sus-picion at once fastened itself in the minds of those present that the Church moneybags money-bags would forever end the controversy over the bonds. In this, as well as in every other respect, there was disappointment. It is understood that Armstrong, while he has not altogether abandoned his intention of testing the question in the Supreme Court of the United States, has certainly weakened a little, and has been heard to express the opinion that the fight should have been made on the $25,000 bond, as the other two are so much less excessive. Mr. Eidredge is decidedly averse to entering upon any contest, and has inquired, in-quired, it is understood, whether he may be permitted to pay one-half ' of the amount of the bonds and let Mayor Armstrong Arm-strong carry on the ' fight alone. This, however, is thought to be entirely out of the question The matter will in all probability be held over until the $25,000 is paid to the court, when it will be taken hold of in earnest. The attitude of Armstrong is severely censured by many of the honorable Mormon Mor-mon business men, and not by: anyone more unqualifiedly . than General . Eidredge, Eid-redge, who desires to have the obligation discharged in peace. District Attorney Dickson was asked by a Democrat reporter whether there was even a ghost of a chance for Armstrong to evade the payment of his obligation on the bonds. "No," said Mr. Dickson, emphatically; "he has no chance whatever. The talk about exorbitant bonds is all nonsense, and I haven't patience to discuss it." "Is it a matter of general practice," asked the reporter, "to take into consideration, consid-eration, when fixing bail, the character of the offense and the extent of the penalty, pen-alty, and gauge the sureties accordingly ?" "Oh, of course those matters are not ignored by any means ; but the true object in the matter of fixing sureties is to place the bond sufficiently high to secure, beyond a reasonable doubt, the attendance of the party at the time desired de-sired ; but it is provided also, that in fixing fix-ing the bail the same must not be so great as to be out of all possible reach of the individual, and this is the principal consideration of the law, as it is sought to guarantee a means by which parties charged with violations of law may obtain their liberty pending trial ; but in providing this privilege the law does not in any extent contemplate disestablishing or in any wise weakening a court's facilities facili-ties for insuring the attendance of the accused." "You are aware, though, that in the Cannon case the bonds are thought, by the Mormons, at least, to be unprece-dentedly unprece-dentedly high." "The proposition is absurd in the face of Cannon's skipping. His failure to appear ap-pear for trial is direct and positive evidence evi-dence that the bonds were not high enough. If the amount had been too much for him to furnish it would then have been truly exorbitant, and the court would have taken cognizance of the fact. So far as precedents are concerned, I remember re-member in the Sharon-Hill case in San Francisco, several of the witnesses who were indicted for perjury were held in $2,000 sureties each, and were only obscure ob-scure individuals, too. The bonds were placed high because it was feared the parties would be put out of reach, and Cannon's were "regulated by the same conditions. Again, in Illinois, at the elections of .1874, some of the parties guilty of fraud were required to furnish bail in the sum of $40,000, for a similar reason. Mr. Cannon or his friends should hesitate to complain of excessive bonds when it is evident to everybody that his were not sufficiently large to" hold him. At all events they will find that the bonds are solid and will stand every test." |