Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1826-02-25

AhCn ior odlCcS--nOt ounces Tor men.
feel no hostility to any of the gentle.
men who fill the office which il is pro-
posed to abolish, and for some OF them
feel The warmest friendship. But |
should feel myself unworthy OF the conf
dence oil my constituents, If the ties OF
personal friendship could draw ME IRON
The path OF my duly.
The first question which ought to re-
ceive attention, is, can the office of CIR
cult judge be dispensed with, without
materially affecting the welfare oil the
state | contend tina, it can; and | be-
lieve my position can be amply support
ed by taking into consideration the cha
latter and sltoation OF this state, as well
IS ~ referring h the experience OF 9TH
ers. Our state contains population of
only about $4,000, the greater portion of
whom are engaged in agriculture, pur-
suit seldom productive Of liu.;alon.-
he ludlcloos manner in which the &C.
neral government has provided torthe SUR
vey and sale vi The public lands, tenders
litigation on the sub ect of land titles,
comparatively nnlrequen!. Commerce,
that fruitful source OF litigation in some
countries, is extremely limited here
We have among us no overSroSn es
tatcs to iatten the hungry advocate. The
great body Of the people possess oom-
peIency, and no more; aud m1ny are in
that fortunate and cnvlable condition
which the poet Of nature ascribes to The
sons Of Lapland:
"fhrice happy race by poverty secur'd
"From legal ttundet, and rapacious power"
Such being our situation, we can have
but liuic use Tor SO many Judges. We
have neither causes for them to decide,
ror money TO pay their salaries.
But have heard it urged tina, if
Judge OF the supreme court presldes al
the circuit, his decisions VIII nevsr be
reversed by The supreme court. There
is, think, but little ground Tor such an
apprehension. 1t ought not to be pre-
sumed that three learned justices OF the
supreme court would give an erroneous
and incorrect opinion merely 10 CRAFTY
their associate. But it is readily admit
ted that it the justices Of the supreme
court were required to preside in
the circuit courts, fewer appeals would
be taken frose their decisions, and fewer
judgments would be reversed by the
higher tribunal This, however, is not
an argument in favor of the circuit sys-
TEN, but strong reason for lis repeal.
The uncertainty OF the law, however
"glorious" ii may be TO the lawyers,
clerks, and sheritfs, furnishes but little
comfort to the honest litlgant. For him
the sooner decision is made, the bet
ter. 1t is natural for people to assign to
high rank, cores ponding degree Of
wisdom aud integrity. That
"a jntge is just-a chancellor juster still,''
Is an opinion which has not lost ground
since the days of Pope, though in many
instances it has proved incorrect. 1t is
not unreasonable, therefore, 10 conclude
that suitors would ieel better satisfied
with the decisions ofJthe circui, courts,
if those courts were held by the justices
oil the supreme court, than under the
present arrangement.
Under the present Judiciary system,
our supreme Judges, as such, are almost
unknown TO the people. 1t is true they
hold two terms of cour' annually, at
little village in the wilderness, far from
the great body of the population. The
people a! large have no opportunity of
seeing them act as judges, oil beholding
the dignity of their department, and wit
Messing the correctness etheIr decisions.
And yet they receive considerable saa-
rles, and very justly too; for they have
relinquished very lucrative practice
and profitable offices for a seat on the
supreme bench. You cannot ask them
TO take less; and yet who will say that
it is worth eight hundred dollars, to hold
two terms of the supreme court?
Again, sir-The experience of other
states is against the present SYSTEM
New York is the most populous, and
probably the most wealthy and mos,
commercial state in the Union: yet the
Judges of the supreme court OF that
state, uniformly presided in her circuit
courts, until few years ago. On the
formation of new constitution, howey-
er, the judiciary was remodelled, the
supreme judges exempted from presid.
ing at the circuits, and circuit Judges ap-
pointed. But mark the result The ex-
pectation OF having the decisions OF the
circuit courts reversed by the higher tri-
bunal, has produced multitude OF ap.
peals, and thus tended to increase lisiga-
ton. The delays of justice have become