Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1850-01-21

govern all the State officers. from the Treasurer
down to the State Attorney in his own county
When on the bench, at home, they are Judges
gn ali cases OF life and death, W hen a slave is 10
be tried, aud all offences under the grade of fell
ony They constitute an Examining Court when
any free person Is brought before them accused
'ol any crllne amounting to felony at common
law, and may remand him for trial to the District
Court, Or discharge him as they think proper
They are also Judges III all other civil causes a.
rising within The county, whatever may be the
amount, bolh at common law and equity and
without appeal when the sum is not over ten
dollars
AS police officers they open roads, build bride-
es, erect prisons and court houses and lew the
expenses thereof upon the county and last of
all recommend to the Executive. whom they are
willing to admit into their own body.
At one and the same time, they NAV be the
Judges OF the county court, military officers of
any rank whatever, State Legislators and men,
bcrs of Congress. They, in short, unite in their
own persons all sorts Of powers, Legislative ex-
ecuive, Judicial, military and if all these can
be safely lodged III the same hands, and at the
same time, then it must follow. and undeniably
too, that all the doctrines on which our political
system is Founled, are erroneous and tallacious
May | not ask, Sir, what are the fundamental
doctrines OF our Government Is not the follow
ing one of them 'All power Is vested in and
consequently derived from the people. Magis
trates arc their trustees and servants, ard at all
times amenatle to them" When did the justices
of the peace derive their power from the people ;
and how, or IN what sense ;s' they responsible
or amenable to them! Why then hold this doc
trine to be true, and deny it in practice | must
always recur to fundamental principles, for one
gool reason, because cannot reason without
them. If mistake not, it is written in the sixth
article of our Bill of Rights, that no persons in
this commonwealth, Fought to be taxed, Or de-
puved oil their property for public uses, without
their own consent that OF their Representative
elected by thaln.' This is deemed essential to
the liberty and happiness Of onr community
Now, ask, do not the magistrates composing
the comfy courts lax US; and deprive US OF cur
property for public uses without our consent or
that Of our Representatives a! When did we au-
shorlze them by any act of ours, not according
to the doctrine Just now quoted, than we have iu
this Convention to tax the citizens of Ohio 1t is,
IN my humble opinion, real grievance of
which we complain, resulting to us from this
system, as was the complaint of this Common
wealth when colony, against the rights usurp-
Ell BY the English government 70 tax us without
our OWN consent, or that OF our Representatives.
Does not another OF our political nayiins teach
THAT no man, or set oil men, are entitled TO
exclusive, or separate emolunIents or privileges
from the community, but in consideration OF
public services, which not being descendi lie,
neither ought the Offices of magistrate Legislator
or Judge, to be heredHwy" Does mott the coln-
~ court system virtually reruate this maxim
Docs not this system confer etcj0Sive privilcg 5:
without and anterior to public services Aud
docs it not tend to make the magis.racy hereditc-
~ III certain families
But again, does not the third article Of the Con-
s'iiution, the existing Constitution of this Gem
monWeah, declare that the LeGie}ative Exect-
tive, and Judiciary Departments Of Government,
shall be seperate and distinct 50 that neither ex-
erciss the powers properly belonging to the 9TH
er nor shall ever any person exercise the powers
ot more than one of them" / his is clear and
express. But marx hat Except that
the justices of the county courts shall be eligible
to either House OF AssembIy.n This arbitrary
exception shows, that it is not compatible with
the doctrine of the trainers OF the old Constitution
They saw it was Incompatible with the truth
which they had proponnded, and declared it an
exception. Why was the exception ma}e1 Ira
dition informs us, that most OF the Influential
men, in what is now called ola Vir9iaia at the
time OF the Revelation, We're magistrates The
bench and il prescribed from the Legislative
Hall, it would have endangered the great cause
Of liberty and the rights OF man and as Virginia
wished to rally all her forces and concentrate all
her energies she was willing to make an excep-
hon in favor of the magistrates CT that day. But
Attached to such a declaration, it is as ncougrr-
Gus, as if 10 series of laws prohibiting murder,
1t were added, "but killing man is net murder"
But time has consecrated the exception, ard the
error equally with the principle; and mauy are
as tenacious now OF the exception as they are
yes, more than they Of tt3 principle tronl
which it is an exception. However well it may
have operated at that time, during the struggle
for independence, it has not operated so we'll
since.
The Constitution gave the magistrates no re-
ward whatever for their services But in making
them eligible to the General Assembly it put il
in their power to provide for themselves, Which
they have since done. # is known, presume,
to every member Of this committee, that general
Iva quorum, and often ma jority OF the House Of
Delegates, is composed of magistrates, sheritis |
and their deputies. Tradition informs US, that
such Legislative body found iteasy to seize the
sheriifalty and to attach it to their own office or
TO secure it by way OF an indirect compensation
for their services, so indirect as not TO disGualify
them from being eligible to the office of Leoisla-
tors. In this way they dispense iuslce for moth
ing? In this way they compensate themselves
Thus, too the shertisare spousible to the peo-
pie and this has been grievance at least from |
the days of Patrick Henry, who gives them the
following admirable character i'll one ofhis speech
es in the Convention which ratified the Federal |
Constitutions "Our State sheffls." says he |
s'those unfeeling blood-suekers, have under the
watchtul eye of the Legislature, committed the
most horrid and barbarous rapages upon our peo-
pie. L has required the constant vieilance of
the Legislature, to keep them from totally ruin
ing the people, A repeated succession Of laws
has been made to repress their Ubiquitous specy.-
lations and cruel extortons, and as often has
their netarious ingenuity devised methods of
evading these laws" Such was the character of
the sherifs in those days, i'll the opinion of Vir-
ginia's most distinguished men. It must often
be SO, when public tunctionaries are not respon-
sble to the people.
But we love cheap magistracy, and the jus
tees serve for nothing! 1t is true they only d.