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Ey:ra3 from fudge Walton* i Chargt to the Grand Jury of Jejferf'm county . I come now to the fecund part of the propofcd fubjeif of this adarcfs, that which is local and particular; ahd,*whiltt I wish to avoid any harlhnefs of cxprelfi. on, or asperity of sentiment, I feel it a duty 1 cannot dlfpenfe with, ot animad verting upon the frequent aggrcffion of the peace in this county. Scarcely a Tin gle court has been held ftnce itseftablilh ment, without a trial for a capital of fence being had. Murder, Rape, and a catalogue ot other crimes, have occurred in a rapid and unceasing fucceflion. How lhall we account for all this ? Arc the peo ple more vicious—more wicked than their neighbors ? It is to be hoped not. Arc then the magistrates badly appointed ? Or do they neglcSl to do their duty ? Or is religion, and are morals at a lower ebb here than clfewhere in the state ? These are enquiries which the magift rates, and men of virtue, and the lovers of order, ihould Terioufly make. A people giving way to a loofencfs of manners, and a de pravity of opinion, will soon arrive at a point of turpitude, when innocence will cease to be protected, and pc on andpro " perfy*put without the pa]cjoi_£t£«y--iftd — iccnrity. in speaking thus strong, it is not my '.mention to make aa impression, or pre judice or bias the minds of the juries cal. 1 d upon to aflill the court in the present Tedious. Far he it from me to pre-con oeive aught agdnft any person now expeft. ing to be brought to trial. An open, fair and impartial investigation is not on ly the beauty of our juridical system, but the undoubted right of the citizen charg ed ; and, so far as the fame lhall depend upon, the court, it lhall he had; and I have confidence in the fame line of con dud in the juries.. Accursed will that ' country be, and precarious the lives of its inhabitants, where a man lhall be profe ftited from any other motives than that of public justice. Every case (hould rest upon it* own merits, and be tried and decided according to the known principles Ot the law, and the cftablilhed rules of pro ceeding, without refpeft of persons. In proceeding thus, the degrees and diftindi onsof crime will be readily seen and elli xruted. For instance, it is a vulgar pre judice, that, in every case where one man kills another, he is guilty of murder.— Not so fays the law, A man may kill a nother in his own defence, which is jufti iiable; and so in a Tuddcn heat of paflion, without previous notice, and upon fufli cient provocation. This mild principle in the law extends to divers other cases, not material now to mention. But mur der may be defined to be, that fell pur pole of the heart, which maliciously aim ed to destroy the Hie of a fellow-being. To guard well these dillindions is our heunden duty ; and never to fuller our minds to be influenced by prejudice, or warped by attachment. Trials conduct ed upon such principles will always meet the fauftion of public opinion, and the approbation of the wife and good, be their result what they may, Liufvilley Sept, 7, 1802. bulge Walton’s Charge to the Grand Ju ry of Burke County. Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, UN APPRISED, as I am, of any par ticular occurrence of crime in your coun ty, lam almost without Tubjed of addreTs *T> you on the present cccafion. ] cannot but recolletft, however, that at the lall term, the solicitor-general was called up. on to give out such a number of indict ments, and for such a variety of offence, tts to have existed in my mind real senti ments of regret. This arose from my Tong acquaintance with the county, and my regard for its inhabitants; from the Sonftderation also, of its being one of the ~ bid counties of the revolution, and whefe tot it had been to fulfer its full proporti on of blood-lhcd and depredation ; and from all which the hope of amelioration was resulting and natural. To be sure, fbmc allowances were to be made for the temporary depreflion of religion and mo. tals amongst a people, who had so lately erected ourselves into a nation, by attach ing an attention too close, and an admi ration too great, towards the demoraliz § ing piinciples which accompanied the more recent revolution of France, of which we had been the innocent model. They were to Ik made also, from the ex treme pains which had been taken, by the haters of order, and regular govern ment, to diiTeminate books of irreligion, and a falle philofophv ; and wiiiift we may justly felicitate ourselves on the rapid de cline of the efleCts of this mifehievous propagation, we should go on to endea vour by better precept, and more etfUftu al example* to root oat their very feeds. I a. The bad condition of ihi reads and bridges is a fubjert of grievous complaint, almoff throughout the (tare; and, at though they are not so much out of re pair in this county as in some others, there is ample room for amendment. For instance, in the Ihort distance, which is perhaps little more than twenty miles, by the mceting-houfe, from Wayne (borough to Loaifville, and over the belt poflible ground for a road, there are at leait one hundred logs fuffered to lie across it ;«and some gullies to remain in an augmenting date'. And, to the (hame of the police of the counties of Jefferfon and Burke, it is unquestionably apparent, that fix hands and an overseer, in two days, might re move the logs, and fill up the gullies 1 But it is not to the police itfelf, out to the execution of it, that the evil is aferib ab!c. In vain is it for the iegiflature to make laws, if they are not carried in to effeft. In vain is it for magittrarcs to be appointed, if they do not their duty. With refpeft to roads and bridges, it is imposed on the inferior court to arrange, appoint and order. If they neglcdt it, do they not virtually dispense with the obli gations do —rrorTpeak county in particular; and will not suppose in any case that it is intentionally done. Things which have been accustomed to be done in a certain way, and at a certain time, if broke in upon by any new order of things, so as not to he performed in that way, and at such time, are negledtcd to be done at all. In this case, it has been the custom of long (landing, and before the cultivation of cotton, to work upon roads at fea ions which now that culture interferes with ; and thence the neglcd. The re medy is plain. For the second or latter working, it is evident, that the suitable time would be, that which intervenes the laying by, and the picking out of cot ton, Be it recommended to the inferior court of this counry to take the fubjeft into their serious attention, and make it the object of their (offering care. It (hall be my endeavour, gentlemen, to give to thebufinefs of your counry all reasonable difjatch, that you may return to your homes; and for which purpnfe, I fir all immediately proceed to call the doc quetSj, *— ~w'ajneJlorough i Scv>t, 13, 1802. The presentments of the Gran.l InqUeji for the body of the county of Burke , at Burke Superior Term } September 13, I 802. iff. We present as a great grievance that many of our citizens are so harraffed with suits in the Federal Courts by Messrs. Miller and Whitney, on account of their patent right for a piece of machinery for cleaning cotton, said to be an original in vention of the said Miller and Whitney, and cannot have the business brought to a final ififue. We therefore recommend to our next legislature to inveftigafe the business, and "TTtfiey find the said Miller and Whitney's pretentions well founded, that they will purchase of them the right for the citi zens of this (late to make and use the said machinery, 2d. We regret the bad condition of the roads and bridges in some parts of the county, and recommend it to the projier department to whom that duty is consign ed, to be more circurafpeft, to poflefs themfclves of the true situation thereof, and order the necessary repairs. We present our thanks to his honor Judge Walton for his exprefiions of regard for this county, in his charge to this bo. dy. for his readiness aud promptitude in ""the business of this feflion, and requeff that he will be pleased to order these pro. fentments, together with his charge, to be printed in one of the Augusta Gazettes. GEORGE SEEGAR, ForPman f William Royals, Isaac Odam, John Sharpe, M‘Qmn Belcher, Harris Tomlin, Samuel Sturgefs, Henry Shaffer, Edmund Bynes, Henry Moore, John Cafwell, Josiah Hatcher, Mordlcai Evans, EUfha Anderson, Richard Evans, Abraham Belcher, Drury Wamble, Francis Ward, Edward Tutte. Carolus Warren, Whereupon it is ordered , That the fore going presentments, together with the charge be pablilhed. Extrafifrom the Minutes , Wm. WYNN, Clerk . Judge Walton’s Charge to the Grand Ju ry of Scriven county. Gentlemen of the Grand Jury , THE ordinary fubjefts of judicial ad dresses to grand juries, in the nature of charges, have been so often dwelt upon and repeated iince the revolution of A lueriea, and particularly in this (late, that they faay be laid to have been, In a gene- . ral view, exhausted ; and it is now only on particular occasions that I think it nc ccllary to deliver any. The present is one such ; presenting a two-fold object: one of a general concern, the other ap plying to the county. That part of our judicial system which required the judges to convene at Louif viile once a year, was repealed the Lift fdfion of the iegiilature ; and the impor tant and difficult cases which had been re- , ferred to that convention, were ordered back to the counties to which they re fpeCtively belonged, there to meet adju dication in common with other cases; and in thecourfe of the present circuit a num ber of those referred questions have ne ceflarily occurred. Discussions have ac cordingly taken place, and dccifions have thereupon been made. The judges riding only in the circuits for which they are appointed, it is important that such de cisions, when made, Ihould be generally i known. I have therefore thought it ad visable to addtefs to some of the grand juries the extent I have already gone ; and through them, to the community. So much I said in the county of JefFerfon, I now repeat it in Scriven, with additi onal adjudication. The firft case that occurred was on a fheriff’s deed ; and the question arising on it was, whether it conveyed, by means of its own force, a complete title i The principal argument for its affirmative was, that the sale did not take place until at ter due publication ; was at market-overt, and for valuable consideration. Onltie ~ other hand, it was urged that the Iheriff could only fell and convey such right as the defendant had ; and on this ground it was adjudged that the title paramount must be (hewn. This principle will also necessarily extend itfelf to questions aris ing under the faies of tax colleftors. And, before I take leave of this part of the fub jefts before me, I will suggest, for the consideration of the legiilature, a scheme for preventing such evils in future. If the integrity of IherifFs, with refpeft to their faies, has not been materially called in question, the voice of clamor has been raised, from St, Mary’s to Tugalo, a gainst that of the tax colleftors; in{oT”” much as to produce an influence of depres sion upon the price of our lands, at home and abroad. Good policy surely demands that a remedy Ihould be applied. This remedy has been suggested upon the cir cuit by Mr. Peter Early. Highly ap. proving of it, I venture, with a just con. fidencc, to propose it; and that is, that one central paper Ihould be fixed upon by law, in which all intended faies for taxes or debt Ihould be advertised. Addition al to which, it might be required to be advertised at two or more public places in the county. To such an arrangement, es pecially as to tax collectors, no solid oh. jeftion can he made. The confideration -1 ' that it would be giving to one printer an unjust preference, and a monopoly of e molument, is nothing in companion with the good it would produce; and which might he obviated by a conrraft on the part of government. Profeffional men, land-holders, purchasers, and men of o ther deferiptions, would give to the pa per thus felefted, an encreafed circulation; and thence an advantageous contrast might no doubt be made. At present, a collec tor in Franklin or Jackson, by fending ad~ vertifements to the paper printed at St. Mary’s, would comply with the law ; and not fix numbers of that paper reach . the middle or w'eftern diftrifts in a year.' The laws surely will not continue to tole rate such mifehievous absurdity. The probability is, that if the plan here sug gested Ihould be adopted, ail future frauds will be detested and prevented ; an objeft well worthy the serious attention of a wife and protesting legiilature. I return to my fubjeft. Another case that occurred was that of a deed under the commissioners of confif catcd estates; and the question was, whe ther such deed Ihould supply the place of an original grant ? This question was pre dicated upon one of two grounds, ill. That the traitor held by allotment and survey under the Britilh commiflioners of the ceded lands before the revolution, or had made settlement and survey under the land afts of 1777 and 1778. The argu ment which grew out of this novel fub jeft was too much at length to be detailed here. Suffice it, that the adjudication was in the affirmative of the question, and relied upon the grounds that inimical holders of property of the defeription just mentioned, were made the objefts of pu nishment under the afts of confifcation ; and no diftinftion was made in the afts, either in the manner of the faies, or mode of conveying such lands, from lands held under grar,:. That they were made morr-. , gageahle by. land w'ere Korfga^ ; I k c to secure the pimKaCe ; and J e ? e / I dared revenible upon forcdolure; and I all fdch cases re-foid and eonveved in f iS No intermediate grant to another thet!’ I fore could he admitted to defeat the !' I right under the con»miffi I On the grounds further, that it Was .* I new course of proceeding, created in an ‘! It by the revolution ; and was unitormlv *B observed and pursued by the IcgiQative K executiv9.and judicial powers of the date’ B through ail the stages of the operation* B of rhefe ads. ‘ J ■ It has also been ruled and adjudged on I the present circuit, that, in cases when, I the statute of limitation is pleaded, the I plaintiff lhall go on before the country to I make out his case, and where it (hall an ■ pear upon the face of the record that the I llatute runs, and no intervening aflumpfit I proven to take it out of the statute, the I ‘ ""court will arrest the case, and cause an I \ entry to be made of its being barred, and I I dismissed. I It having been made a question whe. I ther the action of ejedment survives un- I dcr our statute, the practice was fettled 3 upon argument in the county of Jefferfon, | In the affirmative it was said, that where I it originally lay, it ought to survive. That, by the old, or English, law it would lie against executors; and ought to survive against them here under our lb, tute. Against it> it was contended, that the Englilh law ought not to guide; be, cause the tenure by w'hich lands arc most generally holden there, is different from the tenure of lands held here; and that it would expose the interest of minors by the possible fraud or collufton of executors. Upon this argument, the question was decided upon the principle—who was by law obliged to answer ? A teftafor, who has by will appointed executors, with his confidence, gives to them the possession. The former puts out of view the possible fraud or collufton, while the latter fub jetfs them to thecompulfion of answering, it called upon by original process. It was thence adjudged, that, where the defendant died testate, and leaving execu tors, the case should survive, and that it should be optional to come in without or wait the writ of ftteri facias. The decision was declared, however, not to extend to cases under intestacy; where administrators are without the con fidence of thedeceafed, and are not pos sessed, either by his aft, or by the ope ration of law. In such cases, therefore, where the defendant dies, in any flage, they abate; unleis the heirs of age, or minors, by guardian, voluntarily come in. Another question of a new impreflioa was also fuhmitted in the county of Jef ferfon. The case was. A judgment ex isted, unfatisfied between two parties, and the execution in the hands of the fhc rift. The defendant in execution having abfeonded, a third person issues a writ of attachment against his absent debtor, and serves it upon a fourth person who was supposed to be indebted to the party ab sconding. He proved to he a substantial - garnilhee, and returned that he had so much in his hands. The plaintiff in at tachment proceeded to cftablilb his debt* and issued execution against the garnilhee* Thefheriff received the money ; and the point made was, who was entitled, the plaintiff in the original execution, or the one in attachment ? The two principal grounds relied upon by the latter were, ift. Thar money in the hands of a garnilhee were not leviable upon by fieri facias ; and zdly. That the i parties in attachment were other than those in the judgment. Cn the other hand, it was relied on, that, by our statute, all the property of the defendant was bound by the judgment; and that the money in the hands of the garnilhee was the defendant’s, and bound, and coming into the hands of the (heriff, must go to fatisfy the elder judgment. It was decided upon the grounds, that | the elder judgment hound all the proper -1 ty of the defendant; that the defendant was fuhftantially the fame in both cases ; that a debt, in the hands of a third per son, was property, and if its amount was brought into court in money, it must firft be Applied to fatisfy the elder judg ment. But as the money was brought into court by the agency of the attach ment, the costs of th.at proceeding were / ordered to be paid. The court seemed to incline to the opinion, that the debt or I money might have been made the fubjed of the firft fieri fnaas y under our sta tute, and the case reported in Douglass ; both of which lean to explode the old dodrine, that money is only the sign of property, and not property itfclf; when, in fad, it is paramount to ail other proper-, ty from its certainty.