Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-08-19

JUDICIAL CIRCUIT Bill.
Mr.. BARNARD moved lat The House take up, on
its third rcad1 the hill 10 amend The entitled can
act supplementary To the act entitled an act 10 amend
the judicial systenl o. the u. $
The Clok read the bill third time, and Inc question
came up its passage.
Mr.. JONES of Virginia said IL had an amendmen;
which he wished ~ submit the bill! and for that pnr-
pose he moved 10 rccouin l., with instructions 10
anne nd the hi.l as follows:
That hereafter the Eastern and Western districts OF Frnrsy
wanna aad the district Cl i.an, sal constitute the hnd
e districts Maryland, Delaware, and y jersey shall
The district. North Caroiaa and South Carolina
shall cou,ut- the fifth etfcu';
Tie districts Of Cha. nacna Illinois, and Missouri -lal
st3tuie the seventh circuits
The districts Of Kentucfy, li>; aud West tennessee" and Ar
Kansas shall constitute me r's',h circuit a"d .,,,,;
district Louisiana and the district OF Mississippi
shall the nirtl circuit
He said he Guild remark the House that his obec,
was to avoid what appeared 10 him 10 be The greatest
possible injustice 10 Tire State which he had the honor
in part to repre- sent, and o. the jadges OF their
Circuit Courts. The object which IT desirable 10
ace omr sa e believed would be accomplished by his
amt ndment. The advantages OF The judicial system
would be X,endsd to every part o The Union, anc
Tie labor lu!d lac cGaj;a5ly distributed amongst the
Judges the last place, far practicable,
they would consult the convenience o. those whom
those duties would fall He that gentlemen
who had ot turned ;hcr attention 10 this subject would
not be able act Understandings, and to pass upon
the amendment. which he had deemed it his duty this
morning present, without some time for consider
alton. lie had therefore, thought it better that the
whole subject should be reeomm,.ted, whereby OPP
portuntv would DE afforded TO sEose who felt an IN.
te.es in the subject direct their attention to it, and
Judge Of the advantages of the scheme which he now
proposed twould he that it did injustice 10 the
Judge of circuit; and he proposed so To amend,
as in the first place to add the 18th judicial circuit
the Stale Of New Jersey, the place Of the State Of
Virginia. the present bill proposes. Tie present
bill proposes entirely To abolish the 9TH Judicial crcui;
OF Virginia and North Caroina-a circuit, too which,
upon zion, would be found 10 be the third,
point OF bt..ness in tue Union. The business oil
that crcuit, according 10 report Of lcs 30, caused
heavier docket than any other circuit in the United
States save two. II would be found too, that the po
puatIon of that circuit, which this bill proposed To
abolish was little short of 2,000G00 persons. And it
was circuit, too, highly commercial, and skrtng
many hundred miles OF seaboard which gave rise to
many hundred admiralty cases There was no ore cc-
ment which constituted circuit, winch the circuit
which this bill proposes 10 ABOLISH did not possess
degree as great as any other, two If population
were necessary element, that circuit had popuia
ton little short OF two monS-ii business were ne
cessary Ingredient that circuit was the third in the
Unon-if several hundred miles of seaboard, giving
rise TO admiralty cases, were al Ingredient, then tins
circuit had that necessary ingredient and there was
ingredient winch applied TO any other, that did not
apply 10 this in greater degree than any other, save
two as he was prepared show by the petition Of the
Judge whose application this subject has been
brought before the Congress Of TIE United States. it
was proposed then abolish Il fifth judicial circuit
and to create circuit eight hundred miles from the
place where the fifth circuit aow exsts-and the
sequence would be- that TIE Judge now residing in
that fifth GIRO at must DC transferred from that circuit
which it proposed to abolish, 10 that which 1t was
proposed create, NJ The Sacrtce oil all the soca. lies
which bind hi.n end which lave been going through
Efe-and transfer from climate which they knew 10
he saubrous, 20 the presidential atmosphere of New
Orleans and Mobepresentng the alternative OF great
risk or resignation winch he hoped not The Object
lla Copld mn. hglip
motives influenced any gentleman Of tia, body--he
would not suppose II, because IL would te 10 suppose
that gentlemen aiming deadly blow at the nde
pendence OF the judiciary itself. He could not there
fore believe it. But such would be the Consequences
and if those consequences could be avoided by
equalization of the duties among the Judges, which
the law 6evolved upon them, he believed 10 he their
duty so To ccuaize the dates amongst those whose
duties they consulting, and at tie same tune,
lar rs practicable The convenience ct those Judges
uoo1 WHOM the 2w had cas-; those duties.
lie had already presented 10 the House the
oucnces Vhc! rcsui, .rcm the passage Of this
BILL and .hc question naturally presented itself 10 their
copsideration whether those consequences might no,
be ayerted He had shown that the circuit large
in territorial extent; that large in population,
and in It's business e had endcarored, also TO point
out to the House the result 10 the individual whose
business it o perform those duties; and now, #
by any arrangement of the circuit they could accom-
ish the objects desired, without subJecting any por
lion of the country, the judges TO Inconvenience, IT
was desirable that such object should be accom-
plished Ills ndmeu: if adopted, would add New
Jersey 10 the 9Th circuit, instead of Virginia, as the
bill now proposed 10 place it, and TO That amendment
he should suppose there would he objection. That
arrangement would be convenient, and the labor
10 the judges would De less.
lie proposed, in the place, that the Eastern and
Western districts of Pennsylvania and the districts OF
M,chipap should be the cd circuit, instead Of including
New Jersey in that crcnit; which would cause but IL,
tie i. any, additional duties lie proposed that The 9Th
circuit should be South Carolina, North Carolina, and
Yirginia-,kus adding South Carolina to the 9th cir