The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-04-06

was nothing found Gbellous, unlcfs it were
fome ftrietures on the Judge hinie!f. If that
is all, the Judge replied, we viii take no no.
;ice of it. Irecollett nothing further. The
Judge ffort,y after discharged the grand jury.
JOHN MONTG OMERY-Jfvorx.
MIR. Randolph. The fubietf on which it is
underhood you are capable of giving fone in
formation to the court, rs the conduit OF Judge
Chafe at a circuit court of the United States,
held for the diltritt of Maryland, at Baltimore.
III May, 1908, or about that time.
MIR. Montgomery. The point l pielume. or
| which am called to give teliinony, relates to
a charge to grand jury delivered by Judge
Chate, at circuit court where he Preiided, and
Judge Wincheiter was a1ociated with hin. II
will not, from the nature Of the tubjecf, be ex-
peGted that ihall be able TO detail in the pre-
cife language of the Judge, the whole of the
charge which was delivered in 1908, at the
May term. Though net one of the bar, was
preient at the court, and took a chair among
the gentlemen of the bar. After the grand jury
were impannelled, Judge Chafe addreiitd them.
He appeared TO addrefs them from written pa
per that lay before him. He proceeded in the
! uiua manner to charge the Jury rs 10 the duties
expected TO be performed by them. After he
had thus far proceeded in his charge, he menti-
oned that before the jury retired to their cham
Der, he would make fome obfervations, and
that they would be conGdered flowing from
a with for the happinefs welfare of the com
| munty. He ttated that it was important that
! the people ihouid be fully informed, particu-
larry al filch crifs; that falehood was more
eafily diieminated than truth and that the lat
, ter was reluctantly attended to, when oppoied
| to popular pre- udice. cannot pretend TO itate
the ientiments delivered by the Judge i'll the or
der in which they were delivered. can under
take to fate from my recollection, the iubhance
of thoie he delivered. To the beft Of my recol-
| lection, the Judge itated that the adminiRrati-
on vas weak, relaxed, and inadequate to the
| duties devolved on it, and that its acts pro-
ceeded not from view tt promote the general
| happiness, but from deiire for the continu-
ance OF unfairly acquired power. The Ian
guage, unfairly acquired power, made ftrong
| lmpreiiiGn on my mind at the time, and when
the Judge called the attention of the Jury to the
obiervatioBs he was about to make, | was pre-
! pared to expect fomething extraordinary from
him, as l was at Annapolis, when he pronoun-
ced the valedittory addrefs, which MIR. Mafon
in his teftimony took occaiion to mention.
! The Judge itated the violation of the conftitu-
ton that had taken place by the ACT of Congrefs
repeating the judiciary act of 1900, ard the con-
! Iequcnt removal OF Gxteen Judges; that it had
made a violent attack on the INDEPENDENCE of
the Judiciary. He ALTO found fault with law
; Pafed by the Legislature of Maryland in 1904,
: the effect Of which was the removal of all the
Judges the county court Establishment; he
/ tsted that thole acfs were fevere blew aganft
the independence of the judiciary he ftates
/ that Gnce the year 1875 ne had been an advo-
+; cate for a representative or republican
form of government that it was his with
that freemen ihoud be governed by reprefenta-
tive choten by that c!afs OF citizens who had a
property in, common intereft with, and an at
tachnent 10 the community the language
might have been in the words of our conffitut-
on he found fault with the law pailed by the
, Legislature of Maryland, which he ftyled the u
,iverfal furage law. He Gated, that that alo af-
fe6ted the independence of the judiciary, and to
the beit OF my recollection, he explained his l.
IDEAS in this manner. That every free white
male citizen, in the language of the coNnituti-
on, having the qualification Of age and reiidence,
though he had not a property in, an interef
with, and an attachment to te community, be-
ing luffered to chooie thofc who conaituted the
iisiilaturc, and the judiciary being dependent on
the Legislature for their fupPort and continuance
in Office, few characters of integrity and ability,
who are competent to difcharge the duties of
judges, would be found to accept of appoint
ments held on fuch tenure. He ftated that
theie neafIres were deitru6tive Of the happinefs
and welfare ofthe community that they would
have tendency 20 fink republican govern
ment into what he called a mobocracy, the
WORT of lpoihblc governments. When on the
fuhe6t of the alteration of the fate contribution,
he dated that the trainers of that contribution
were men of ability and patriotifin the names
of fome of whom were honorably enrolled on
the journals of Conerefs, and alto, think he
faid on the journals ofthe convention of Mary
land that he had TO obferve, that the fons of
fome of thoie characters which he regretted,
were the chief Importers of thefe dettruaive
meafures. He fated that where there were e.
quail laws and equal rights, viz. laws equally adj
miuiftered, between the rich and the poor, in
that country there was freedom. But where
the administration of the laws was partial and
uncertain, the people were not free, and he was
apPrehenlive we were fat approaching to that
fate of things. He itated that there was but
one act remaining to be done, mentioning the
aGt paled by the Legislature of Maryland, for the
trial of facts and for aboliihing the general and
appellate court-if that ihould be adopted, the
contribution would not be worthy of further care
or preiervation. at the cloie of the Judges
charge, he, in an mprefIive manner, called on
the jury TO paufe, TO reflect and when they re-
turned to their homes, to u1e their endeavors to
prevent thefe impending evils, and fave their
country. lie flid that the people had been mfr
led by INTERPRETATION, falfehood, art and cum
ming; that by correcting thefe errors, the threat
cned evils might be prevented, or words to that
effect With regard TO part of the anfwer of
judge Chaie which has been publiilled, and