United States oracle and Portsmouth advertiser — Portsmouth, N.H., 1802-03-27 00:00:00, page 6

M&ft jf the judges, have twice a year,
to attend a court in three Rates, and
there is not one of them, who has not
to travel farther, and who in time will
not have more labour to perform, than
any judge of the Rate courts.' When
we call to mind, that the jurifdi&ion
of this court reaches the life of the citi
zen, and that, in civil cases, its judg
ments are final to a large amount;
certainly it will not be said that it
,urht to have been ,composed of less
Jian three judges.. One was surely notl
trough ; . and if it had been doubtful [
thet'n ? ;two were not fuflicient, the
oSarc^ence which would havefre-j
rent!) em an equal divifion|
opinion; jufbr.es the provition whicn,
ures a determination.in all cases.•
t was additionally very material to|
,on the bench of this court, a judge i
each Rate, as the court was in
1 bound to conform to the law
practice of the several states.
ift, Sir, the committee are fa
hut the number of judges which ;
: the circuit court is not too !
te, that the legislature would
extremely culpable, to have
i< . the high powers of this
fc et bands.
ne nc ° &if the compensation:
to thekjudges is extravagant?|
tie more than half the allow-.
ide to thej dges of the supreme 1
It is but ah all proportion of
nary practice of those gentle
the bar, who are fit, and\to|
fre ought to look to fill tire places,
ave given a salary of 2000 dolls,
puifne judges of Pennfylvatua, I,
ze, have more. When you deduct '
expeiices of the office, you will
e but a moderate compensation for
rice ; but a scanty provision for a
aily. When Mr. Chairman, gentle-f
:n coolly confider the amendments
/the late law, I flatter myfelf their
ondor, will at le^ll, adpnit that the
>refent modification was fairly defign
:d to meet and remedy the evils of the
did fyftem. N
The fupreipe court has been render
ed ffationary. Men of age, of learning,
and of experience, are now capable ,of
holding a feat on the bench ; they have,
rime to mature their opinions in causes.
)n which they are called to decide,and|
hey have leisure to devote to their
looks, and to augment their Rore of
nowledge. It was our hope by the
resent eftablithment of the court, to
ender it the future pride and honor,';
;nd fafety of-the nation. It is this tri-!
)unal which must Ramp abroad the ju
dicial character of our country. It is,
here, that ambassadors and foreign'
agents, resort for juftice,and it belongs j
jo this high court to decide finally, not|
only on controverli.es of unlimited val-I
ue between individuals, and on the ;
more important collision of Rate pre-I
enfions, but also upon the validity of
he laws of.the states, and of this gov
rnment. Will it be contended that
tch great trußs ought to be reposed"
feeble or incapable hands ? It has
en asserted that this court will not
ve business to employ it. The af
tion is Supported neither by what is
I,„nor by what is likely to happen,
ring the present session of Congress
;heir last term the court was fully
ployed for two weeks in the daily
ring of causes. But its business
1 increase. There is no longer that
aint upon appeals from the circuit
t, which was imposed by the au
ty rt the judge of the court to.
\ the appeal was to be carried ;
ger will the apprehpnfion of a fe
anavoidable bias in favor of the
fion ofa number of their own body,
ike the confidence ofa suitor, in re
orting to this court, who thinks that
justice has not been done to him in the
court below. The progressive increase
of the wealth and population of the
country,will unavoidably swell the bufi
efs of the court. But there is a more
lain and unfailing source of employ
•, which will arise in the appeals
he courts of the national territo
the Courts of original cogniz
territory, it affords the on
frilate jurifdiaion. If gentlemen
will' look to the Rate property, of a
vaA amount in this city, they mull be
fatisfied that the supreme court will
have enough to do for the money which
is paid ^em.
Let ufynext confider, Sir, the present
Rate of tye circuit courts.
There are fix circuit courts which
fit in twenty-two diftrids, each court
visits at jeaft three diftri<fts, some four.
The courts are now-composed of three
judges, of equal power and dignity ;
Handing on equal ground, their opin
ions will be independent and firm.—
Their number is the best for confulta-'
tion, und they are "exempt from the in
convenience of an equal division of o
pinion. But what lvalue most, and
what was designed to remedy the great
defea of the former system, is the iden
tity which the court maintains. Each
diftrid has now always the fame court.
Each didria will hereafter have a sys
tem of practice and uniformity of de
icifion. The judges of each circuit will
Inow fludy, and learn and retain the
I laws and practice of their refpedive
Idhtriris. It never was intended, noris
lit practicable,that the fame rule of prop
erty or proceedings should prevail from
I New-Hampfhire to Georgia.-—The old
Icourts were enjoined to Obey the laws
lof the refpeflive states: Those laws
ifluduate with the will of the Rate le
gislatures, and no other unifornrity
could ever be e^peßed, but in the'con
ftru&ion -of the con'ftitptioh and the
IRiatutcs of the Unfed States. this
!uniformity is dill preferred by the con
troul of the supreme court over the
courts of the circuits. Under the pre
sent eßablifhment, a rational system of
jurisprudence will arise. The practice
;and local laws of the different diftrids
Imay vary, but in the fame diftrid they
;will be uniform. The practice of each
I diftrid will suggest improvements to
the others, the progressive adoption of
which will in time assimilate the fyfteuls
I of the several diftri&s.
It it unnecessary, Mr. Chairman, for
me to fay any thing in relation to the
Idiftrid courts. Their former jurifdic-,
'tion was not varied by the law of the
last session.
It has been my endeavour, hr, to
give a corred idea of the defers of the
former judicial plan, and of the reme-
Idies for those defers introduced by the
law now designed to be repealed. I
do not pretend' to fay that the present
system is perfect, I contend only that
it is better than the old. If, fir, inßead,
of deßroyihg,gentlemen will undertake
to improve the present plan,T will not
only applaud their motives but will af
,fift in their labour. We ask only that
our system may be tried. Let the sen
tence of experience be pronounced up^
lon it. Let us hear the national voice
after it has been felt. They will then
be better able to judge of its merits.
In practice it has not yet been com
plained of; and as it is designed for
;the benefit of the people, how can their
!friends jußify the a& of taking it from
them before they have marfifefted their
, disposition to part with it !
How, fir, am I to account for the
lexrteme1 exrteme anxiety to get rid of this ef
!tabliCbment ? Does it _pfoceed from
that spirit, which, since the power has
; been given to it, has so unrelentingly
Iperfecuted men in offify who belonged
I to a certain^ ? I^pe there will be
a little patience ; these judges are old
and infirm men ; they will die ; they
§ must die ; wait but a short time, their
places will be vacant ; they will be fil
led by the disciples of the ne<w fcbool,
and gentlemen will not have to answer
for the political murder which is
now meditated.
I shall take the liberty now, fir, of
paying some attention to the objections
which have been exprcßed against the
late establishment. An early exception
which in the course of the debate, has
been abandoned by most gentlemen,
and is now little relied upon by any
one, is the additional expence. The
gentleman from Virginia, Rated the
expence of the present establishment at
137,000 dollars. On this head the
material question is not what is the ex
pence of the whole eftabliihment, but
what will be saved by the repealing law
on the table ? I do not estimate the
saving at more than 28,500 dollars.—
You have nothing but the salaries of
16 judges at 2000 dollars each. From
this amount is to be deduced the sala
ry of a judge of the supreme court,
which is 3,500 dollars. Abolishing
the present system will not vary the in
cidental expences of the circuit court.
You revive a circuit court, whose inci
dental expences will be equal to those
of the court you destroy. The encreaf
ed salaries of the diftrid judges of Ken
tucky and Tennessee must remain. It
is not proposed to abolish their offices,
and the admissions upon the other fide
allow that the salaries cannot be reduc
ed.
If there were no other objection, the
present bill could not pass without a
mendment, because it reduces the salaries
of those judges, whicli is a plain undeni
able infra&ion of the conftituxibu.—
But, fir, it is net a fairway of treating
the fubje& to speak of the aggregate
expence. The great inquiry is, wheth
er tne judges are" necessary, and wheth
er the salaries allowed to them are rea
sonable. Admitting the utility of the
judges, I think no gentleman will con
tend, that the compensation is extrava
gant.
We are told of the expence attend-*
ing the federal judiciary. Can gen
tlemen tell me of a^government under
which justice is more cheaply admin
istered ? add together the salaries of.
all your, judges, and the amount but
little exceeds the emoluments of the
Chancellor of England. Afeertain the
expences of State ju Rice, and the pro
portion of each State of the expence of
federal justice, and you will find thaf
the former is five times greater than the
latter. Do gentlemen expert that a
system expanded over the whole union,
is to cost no more than the eßabhlh
ment of a single State ? Let it be re
membered, sir, that the judiciary is.
an integral and co-ordinate part with*
the highest branches of. the govern
ment.. No government can long exilt
without an efficient judiciary. . It is
the judiciary which applies the law and
enables the execut ve to, carry it into
effe&. Leave your laws to the judi-.,
ciaries of the States to execute,, and
my word for it, in ten years you have -
neither law nor conftitutiph.ri Is your
judiciary so costly that you wjlLnot
support it ? Why then /lay out so
much money upon the other branches
of your government ? I beg that it will
be recollected that if your judiciary
costs you thousands of dollars, younle
giflature costs you hundreds of thous
ands, and your executive millions,.
An objection has been derived from
the paucity of causes in the federal
courts, and the objection h?s been mag
nified by the.allegation, that themum
ber had been annually decreeing. The
fads admitted, 1 draw aver, differ
ent inference from my opponents. In
my opinion they furnilh the Rrongeft
proof of the defers of the former es-.
tablifhment, and of the neceffit,of a
reform. I have no doubt, nay, I
know it to be a fad, that many suitors
were diverted from those tribunals by
the fluduations to which they were
fubje&. Allow me however, to take
some notice of the fads. They are
founded upon the presidential docu-.
ment number eight. Taking therifa^s
as there Rated, they allow upwards of
fifty suits annually for each court :—
when it is considered that .these .causes
must each "have exceeded the value of
500 dollars, and that they were gener
ally litigated cases, I do not conceive
that there is much ground to affirm,
that the courts were without business.
•But, fir, I must be excused for faying,
I pay little refra to this document. It.
has been shewn by others, in several
•points to be erroneous, and from my
own knowledge, I know it to be incor
re&. What right had the President
to call upon the clerks to furnish him
with a lift of the suits which had been
brought; or were depending in their
refpeftive courts ? Had this been di
re&ed by Congress, or was there any
money appropriated to pay the ex
pehfe ? Is there any law which made
it the duty of the clerks to obey the
order of the executive > Are the clerks
responsible for refuting the lifts, or
for making falfe or defective returns ?
Do we know any thing about the au-|
thenticity of the certificates made by
the clerks? And are we npt now aim
ing a mortal blow at one branch of the
government, upon the credit, and at
the instigation of another and a rival de
partment ?,es, fir, I fay, at the insti
gation of the Preftdent forJ confider
this business wholly as a Presidential
measure. This document, and his
message, shew that it originated with
him: I confider it as now prosecuted
by him, and I believe, that that be has
the power to arrest its progress, or to
^ccomplifh its completion. I repeat
that it is bis measure. I .hold.^/m re
sponsible for it ; and I trust in God
that the time will come when he will
BE CALLED UPON TO ANSWER FOR IT
AS HIS ACT. And I TRUST THE TIME
WILL ARRIVE, WHEN HE WILL HEAR US
SPEAKING UPON THE SUBJECT MORE
EFFECTUALLY.
It has been Rated as the reproach.
Sir, of the bill of the last session, that it
. was made by a party at the moment
when they were sensible that their pow
er was expiring and paging into other
hands. It is enough for me, that the full
and legitimate power existed. The
remnant was plenary and efficient.—
And it was our duty to employ it ac
cording to our judgments and ccn
fciences for the good of the country.
We thought the bill a salutary meas
ure, and there was no obligation upon
us to leave it as a work for our succes
sors. Nay, Sir, I have no hesitation in
avowing, that I had no confidence in
the persons who were to follow us
And I was the more anxious while we
had the means- to accomplith a work
which I believed they would not do,
and which I sincerely thought, would
contribute to-the fafety of the nation,
by giving strength and support to the
conftitutioh, t through the storm to
which it was likely to be exposed. The
fears which Lthen felt, have not been
dispelled, but multiplied by what I
have since seen. I know nothing
which is to be allowed to Rand. I ob
serve the institutions of the govern
ment falling around me, and where
the work of deftrudion is to end, God
alone knows. We difeharged our
confeiences in eftablifhing'a judicial
system, which now exists, and it will
be for those whomow hold the power
of the ' government to answer for the
abolition of it, which they at present
meditate. We are told, that our law
was against the sense. of the nation.—•
Let me tell those gentlemen, they are
deceived when they call themjelves the
nation.; They, are only a dominant:
party, ^nd- though the fun offederalifm
should never rife^gam, they trill Shortly
find men better or 'ifrorfe than them
selves thrufting.them out of their pla
ces. I know it is the cant of those in
power, however they have acquired
it, to call themfehes the nation. We
have recently-witnessed an example of
it abroad."...How rapidly did the na
tion change in-fiance? at one time
Briffot called himfelf the nation —-then
Robespierre; afterwards Tallies and .
Barras, and finally Bwmaparte. But
:the dreams of most efethem were soon
diflipated, and, they awoke" in succes
sion to the fcaffold, or in banishment.
Let not these gentlemen flatter them
selves, that HeatenUterreierved for
them a peculiar deftiny;.-What has
happened to others inri this country,
they must be liable to. fr ? 'Let them
not exult too\ highly ^in 'the enjoy
ment of a littl^brief and fleeting au
thority.. lewis oufs.:yeßerday, it is
theirs to-day, but to-morrow it may
belong, toothers.
[Mr. Bayard here Rated, that he
had gone through the remarks he had
to make, connected :with the HrR point
of the debate fthat he observed that
the common - hours of adjournment
had gone by,"and that he ffiould fit
down in order to allow the committee
to rife, if they thought proper ; and
that he should be, leave to be heard
the following 'day upon the second
point. After rfome conversation the
committee rose, reported—-and the
House adjourned.]-
(Mr. Bayard's Speech to be continued)
THE late filenee of the Minifterial
ifts in Congress, in spite of the wit and
keen sarcasms of Dana, reminds on
of the Rory of the parrot. Pat bought
an Owl one day, supposing 'it was a
parrot, and, placing it underhis arm,
marched along. lie soon met a man,
wh? asked hi© what he had under his
am ' Pat told him, a parrot; bur,
fays the man, does he talk ? No, re
plied Pat, he does not talk yet, but
faith he will very soon, for he keeps a
d—l of a thinking.
)USI PUBLISHED,
and for fate at the Port/mouth Bookfore, by,
W.Treadwell & Co.
THE
" Main© Spelling Book,
f^ONtaining a variety of words
accented and divided, with moral &
entertaining Lessons for reading, ufefut
Tables, &c. To which is annexed, a
concise Geographical description of the
United States in general; and the Diftri&
of Maine in pticular. Designed for
Schools, and particularly calculated to be
read in ctoffes-
By THOMAS M. PRENTISS, -
hdruaor of Union. School — P& tland.
Second Edition—revijedforreaed & enlarged.
— + —
The favorable manner with
which the firft impression ofuhis work
was received, the entire sale, and increaf
ir.g demand, have induced the author to
issue a second edition. The utmuft at
tention has been paid to render it eorrea,
'and deserving of extensive fuppoit.