Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1877 — ELEOTIVE JURORS. [ARTICLE]

ELEOTIVE JURORS.

Wkat would bo tho objections to slotting juror* lbr tbo several Oonrto of oor «toto, for a urn of yoara, and paying them stipulated salaries? Under the workings of the present system men are not u»(roqupnUf oonsoripted at times jrhw it Forks great hardship to ffcefcr pirif ate business and compelled to dsypte tflefr time and thoaghts to the iprvioe of what is often no more thao the mere private interearn of other wdiridual*; and for jlhis sarrijse oply retire » miserable pittapee jrfe/ab i» insufficient to fnpjport their familiee while they lye tflas engaged, pot to mention ftof wwwpmmo for foe iomee that are entailed upon their h»«i»ess. Take for an illustration of thie the sass of a farmer who is drawn to terra oaths regular panel of the pireuit court for six months. Court is in regular session twice during this period, and each terra may sit aOßtinuously for three weeks. They pnay commence in April or May irhen the juror should be plowing, ' sowing oats, or planting corn; they /nay onmmeaoe in July or August, frhsa eereale and hay should be harvested, bis hay out and staoked,

fit his pom-bald cultivated; in September or October when potatoes /oust be dug, fruit gathered and ptmidiftDd 00m bnaked and cribbed, ft is not impossible that the previous year btougbt calamity to the victim. Sickness may have incapacitated himself for labor or compelled his attention upon bis family to the neglect of his Helds; drought pnay have withered bis young crop, wst may havs blasted it, frost may have out it off before maturity, or firs may have consumed it in the garner; he may be a poor man that is opening out a new farm to cultivation, with payments yet to make' pn the home -of his wife and little ones, with a store barely sufficient to filed them until the succeeding harvest lime, and no resources pther than his pateb of ground, his plow, Ms team and his own stalwart adfe*. Any of these aontin genples, all of them, and even many Others that suggest themselves but era not mentioned might conspire under the system in operation to make service in the jury-box a burden more intolerable to bear than the punishment which ii inDieted by the same statute-book ippoip the erlmlnals whose casee he is compelled to decide. Is there any way to relieve our jury system of its injustice to the juror who is to secure justice to Individuals and to the public ? The Valparaiso Vidrtte, whose editor has had honorable experienoe on the bench and is familiar with the science of jurisprudence, has ppade valuable suggestions respecting gourt practice in its various branches during past years. Will ffeh YMf please favor the public With ft* Views upon the subject of j£lsctiye Jprors? fas y if iqn would also cheerfully give space to the discussion of the sgbjept by others,

JJndef jbe )j£o4‘P£ of American Jnventiye Progress $0 Scientific American of U»j pill pqhljsb a long »b 4 wtprpsl'mg wtiele, from pbioh Ibe following statements are taken; TO stow with what rapidity iuventpn make Improvements on inventlons embodyiiif original principles, it may be noted that in the early days ; machine 116 pateuts for improvements tbereH» year; and out of the Issued in the year 1857, ootton-gine and f improvements on the apdlj® for novel devices lojptovments P^ to^onryl > 1350,as ej rek% stated hSHTto the^pr^eht^the ™« L “•» quarter to the' total number of patents issued in this jPPpfy dp to the time of writing.

Gold dosed in New York on the 17th st IQ*|. About 1,000 Northern hostile* surrendered to Geoersl Crook's commend at Spotted Tail Agenoy, Nebraska, on . last Saturday, together with their ponies, arms, ammunition, provisions, etc., eto. Among other shiefs who curreo. dered were "One Who Touches tbs Clouds" and “Roman Nose." ■ Died, at bis horns at LaCoy, Kansas, March 29th, Mr). It. B. James, father of Horace E- James of the Rensselaer Union, Major James was for many yean a resident of Rensselaer, and was among our flfkt friends when we took up our residence in that place some thirteen years ago. We have many pleasant recollections of him, and sympathise deeply with his fam tly in their loss. Although somewhat ecoentrtu in bis habits, he was one of those open-hearted, kind men with whom the world had dealt roughly in the struggle for life, yet who bore bis burdens bravely. He was a Arm friend, and a cordial despiser of deceit in any shape. Few men with whom WS have been associated in life that we more cordially liked than Mai. James, May he have found that pest which he so often talked to us about and so much desired. —Jacob Keisßß Editor Winamac Republican.