Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1830-01-12


cs1ion with every other person vf re- appointcdb by
TIE Legislature. they will hold cr their CON-
missions only They viii have no higher consii'
al legal claim to selectinn than every other cit
ircn of Virginia There will be obligation the
cccting body, to psovde for them. There 9TH
er lawyers IN the state equal IN legal abilities
10 any Judges, and we have no doubt, mo
ny young lawyers among us, who in their
own Judgment ut least, very well qualified
to fill the seats of the present Judges. And If
the Legislature shall reccct most Of the present i'll
cumbents, IL will mainly be ascribable to that moral
sympathy, which ever induces the generous to ele-
vate those whom they regard as having been unjust
y degraded So that, in truth, we look to the lcgs
aitve reappoinlment of those Judges, whom we are
about To cashier, with confidence, inspired by the
belief, that they well and feel that have done
them injury, and will repair it. We do rong that the
Legislature may do right Sir, this cannot be NOR
ally or politically correct
Mr.. President, said that this appeared to me not
n reforming, but revolutionary movement. II is
oorse than revolution Where has the most thorough
and radical revolution ever occurred among people
pretending to civzation IN which tho contracts and
liabilities Of the old government were not recc gnizcd
and respected by the new? Even in absolute monar-
chies, where the government itself resides almost
exclusively in the person of the king, and the
luton has resulted from the ecction from the throne
OF an acknowledged pretcnder, the national debts
and engagements OF ihe previous reign cancelled:
Certainly not, sir Tho principles of intcrna, ionol
law, as we'll as of moral propre,y. prohibit it, The
United States at this very time. If am not greatly
mistaken, have claims of that character, in ncgotia-
ton with moro than one foreign Court Who has
forgot en-. that after revolution and when every
| tie which bound the mother country had been
severed, (cNccpt the ties of universal justice and
benevolenCc, which, should alike obtain in every
region anu III every age that the inspired eloquencc
OF the immortal Henry himself, rdniy exercised
In tins very city, 10 persuade the proper tribunal TO
refuse the payment of the British debit And is that
which would be morally wrong between nations, or
between individuals, right between n Government
and one of its cuzens' The only difference
must be- that III regard TO nat,ns, the parties are
Coordinate in dignity and power. a treaty or war
secures the right aIrds the remedy. In the latter
case, one OF the parties is an individual dependent
OH the other for proiecion,-a worm under our heel
whom we have power to grind to dust # such be our
pleasure.
Sir, many Of these Judges have beer, long in osicc.
and may be thought that the duration their ten
ure has already transcribed their most slnruinc
eNpecta ions when they accepted commissions that at
least there will be less of injustice in dschargng these
ancient servants without their six months nav
in advance, as they hive long drawn salaries from
the pubic treasury Ii may, sir, for aught | know
nave been less III mercy than in vengeance that the
Almighty Providence has thus protract ed their exs-
tence Ill cold-hcarted, changeable, and ungrateful
wo Id Or this say nothing. But suppose, sir f.r
iuS' rdiion, that your existing establishment included
Judges recently commissioned appointed within the
last year or two. WE-ther the fart accodo with tho
suppps!ion leave with the IIouse-and suppose that
these Judges i'll accepting Office. had To abandon
lucrative profession If they had not thcy vera not
INT Tor Judges. profession oil which Themselves and
their families were dependent lucrative greatly
than the offices of which they are now ncumb.nts
out exchanged for those offices III consideration the
superior PEI manency and certainty of the annual
avalls. You have srduccd these gentlemen from
practice, and kept them from it exactly lonu enouoh
Tor them to have lost 1t all. Exactly long cnou9b
Tor all hopes OF usetulness-of distnction-nay SIR
support 10 be barred against them in that direction
forever Every observer must have remarked tho
extreme difficulty of any professional gen leman once
IN possession of an extensive practice but who has
.GIn'poIarHy aDandohed IT, ever reganing it. Why
HfShnn eL,n
FOR, but we have all seen 1t, and know thar bo H.
not sci out on his Dcw even with equal chances
WIN nus new and inexperienced competitors. Sir will
this effect of the proposed resolution be j,.st1 is; -
morally dcfeusible' 1t has long been said that rennh
mes are hckle and ungrateul; let it not hereafter be
! added that they AT unjust also.
Sir, the gentleman from Frederick (Afr PowelN
predicts to that those Judges ony will fail of TO-
election by the Legislature who ought TO be turned
OUT and has on repeated occasions not more frank
ly but more distinctly. been minated to US that il
was neceSsdryt to get rid of one two particular dis
abled or obnoxious Judges, to whom reference sniff
GENTLY inteigible has been made by some eeneroy
provision not personal to these individuals Weare
81 gwen 10 dehcacy, that we must decaptate ALL
sacrnce The innocent and worthy together with the
oHenoihg one, To keep him in CONFERENCE.-The If To
dispiace all, and then reappoint all but one wond moi
as ehectually wound his feelings as if he had bcon
dlsbanded alone in the first instance But sir 10 !,
ho' Glue and unjust to punish tile aggregate corps
for the lmbeclity offence of onei Are PRINCIPLES
10 be sacrificed to remedy partial and short lis cd ev
ne teason Is one which cannot be avowed publicly |
ana o. therefore, should not be acted on privately
Inc object avowed by some Of the friends of this
resolution elsewhere at least to sink all the present
Judges that we may have "a clear sea"-to enable
inc new government to get under way without EN-
oh1rossment-the Legislature to be unfettered in or
gani%ing ITS Judiciary: while others aslvance stem
iurther ana hail this as happy opportunity of aba
uhg What they regard nuisance, and selecting an
aDer bench But sir, what is the difficulty which 10
70 eHoaTrass tho legislature by the retention Of the
present Judges IN any new organization of the Courts
"hlcn ~ THESE days OF upturning reform NAV be at
.emPted; defy them 10 prescribe my new plan
yhich VIII not require at least many Judges. "a
.nosc now ~ commission. Every projet which we
nave spoken OF, viii require more. Let them give
to your intermediate courts both couitablo ond s
!uIisGlc lon--and assign two judges to hold con
JOINTLY these courts "f sssize; examine sir. INV
I,"ci pun you nave heard spoken of, Qet it have
been ever 20 wild) and SEQ if any dininuon of ,bo
Tan'"er OF y"nT judges Is 70 10 TIE probable
at suppose SIR that in the felicity of modern inven-
tlon some eXpedlc5t should be- discovered bv ,vbich
justice, both at Law and i'm Chancerv c,,,IJ L. -