Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-02-26
Gongrsis Of tba uatteo Stats.
HOUSE OF REPRESENIATIT Is.
Tueflay, February IS.

Tuefday, February IS.
Debate on the bill ,rce,ved fran The SexGte
entitled "Ax IA to repeal certain atls
,elfetfmg THE organiSnti0n IF The carts
of the L. States
(Coxtirue1.
Mr.. Hsmphill fid he would claim the
attention CT the committee a ihort time
upon the important qaeGion now before
them; that his talk would principally be
to arrange; arguments Which, he had alrea.
dy heard or feen.
He would FAY but very little as TO the
: expediency OF patIng the bill en- the ia
BILE, he would not 90 into minute COM
PARTON Of the two judicial iyitems but
;hould content him!elt with fubmilting
few general oblerya,ions. The alledg-
ed inuti!ity of the law paGed the 18th OF
February 1901, reited principally upon
document No, s, which accompanied
the Plehdent's Menage. That dccu-
mens contains lift OF all luits at COM
mon law, fnits in chancery, criminal
proEecusions, and admiralty cauies, which
have been commenced 10 any OF the iede-
raj courts of the United States, from
May 1890, to April 1901 it appears
that within the time Included S276 cau.>s
have been ,nfiirused, anu of that number
1897 art now depending, in the erumera-
rion the fare Of maryland is onitteo, and
probably with the addition OF cauies IL
Tia aa,e, tie aggregate number would be
5000 and I'll cauieS now depending a.
bout 1000. With a lift of 600 caufts
undecided, and an annual increaie Of j, or
500, is i, pohible with no other aaieance
than would be received from he difritt
judges, that fix men could perform Ill this
multiplicity OF buGnsfs Ia its original and
inal fages, to be tra,facted at 70 many
different and d:itlntt places, in country
extending 1000 miles ana that the cauies
could be decided with tina. difpatch which
the public good requires. What every
one would iuppoie to be the natural corie-
quence of iuch a fyfem has been witnel-
fed by the gentlemen OF the bar in the
eaaeyn Part Of Pennsylvania who have
deliberately and anxiouily declared to you
that in their opinion renewal Of the late
iyEem would be TENDED with great pub
lie inconvenience, and that without advert.
ing TO rhe cafua ties Of weather or
inciipoGticr, IFS inevitable consequences
were embarrafsments, uncertainty, and
decay.
sixteen Judges were appointed at an
eApence Of $4,000 dollars, 5000 dollars
OF which will be faved on the 6rtt vac.
cancy in the Supreme Court, and when
we are about calculating the expence we
ihould deduct the favings which the new
'fyaem will certainly make it mutt be
acknowledged that many of the parties
and witneGes will not have 70 far to at
tend court it mutt be acknowledged
thar the cauies would be fooner decided
than under the old lyaem the unfnilh-
ed buGneis will rather increaie than d.
ninth. Omitiing the admiralty caufss
there will be about 1900 undecided cauies
remaining, and Of courie 5000 {uiters,
and ifonly one witneis to caufe, there
will be $500 people in motion, attend
ing courts from the two cau!es whic!
] have mentioned there will neceaarily
be conGderable faving; fome eaira
nigh, be made, and this faving, will in
.Jome meaiuye be equaliied, as no perion
knows how foon he will be party or a
witnels. l, is for the trifing difference
between this iaving and the iaiaries Of
few Judges, that the liberty of the PEG
pie IS to be endangered-and if am not
lnillaken gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Giles when the AIportionmeat
Bill was before the hoafe declared ,kat
the expence Of the civil lit was trifing
thing, mere ipeck on the pages of ex-
pendi,ure, and that it was the expence
>of maintaining armies and fleets that we
ihould guard againit.
The expence of The augmented repre-
Ienta,ion in this houie will be nearly if
r. . 4.