Tiik Caucasian, learning of this un
gual procedure, sent a reporter to
the Clerk of the Superior Court of
Wake county and requested to see
the presentments. He declined. When
asked under what law or by what au
thority he refused to allow a citizen to
see a part of the court record, which
hould be public to all men, he stated
tbfit he was acting under positive
orders from the Solicitor.
The custom in our courts is, when a
presentment is made, for the Solici
tor to araw an inaictment at once
where witnesses for tbe prosecution
are readily accessible, and where wit
nesses for the defence are also readily
accessible, tne custom 13 to pro
ceed to try the case at the same
term of court. This, we believe, is the
custom, and we know that it is by no
means unusual. In tbe case of these
free-pass presentments, all of the wit
nesses for both the prosecution and
the defence were within one half mile
of the courthouse. In fact, one of
bat.
