Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1850-08-05

making laws siong enough and wise enough 10
control Judges and compel them to perform
! their duty, even when they were elected during
good behavior. hope no brother Democrat will
deny this doctriae or have confidence in those
who do deny it. 1t lays the foundation OF the
Democratic iaithas have learned ii. Could
believethat any 9ne, either Judge, Governor or
General could betoo great, or too strong to be
controlled and kept in perfect subjection by the
laws OF free ard enlightened people, ] would
cease to be democrat and seek some other Go
vernment Wherethe weak could be protected a.
gainst the strong In our Courts of Justice es-
pecially, want 10 see the poorest most obscure.
and most poweress hold up his head. and claim
his just rights W Iii confidence, though the most
popular Presi1lsf that ever occupied the white
House, should ID his adversary. This is what
call liberty and equal rights-the liberty that
our fathers fought and bled for. Democrats and
ty YOU love. Never consent to have Judge
put over you, even for an hour, who could by
possibility be operated on in the decision of your
cause by anything but the law and the evidence.
Elect your Judge for five or ten years and
make him re-eligible at the end of his term
suppose him within Two months of the end of
his first term, holding his Court in this County.
and poor unknown man, OR poor destitute
widow, or one of your own orphan children mas
controversy with one of the large and power
full families Of this County, pending in his Court.
The case is called and tried Just before the rec
lection of the Judge the widows all, or the
orphans all, is at staIe-justce is on their side;
but they have no yote-the big family, have an
hundred votes of Their own, and each one Of the
hundred has at least i've or six friends. The
Judge has lost his practice at the bar, while he
has been sitting on the bench, his salary is his
whole dependence, for himself and his family.
Now what chance do you suppose the widow, or
the orphan, or the obscure man would have be-
fore such Court. The Judge mi ght do his du-
ty, and decide the cause right at the risk of his
living. But will you, Freemen, Guardians Of
| the poor and weak and humble of your land
will you compel these helpless ones to risk their
cause, their all, before such trihunal-whe,e
the strongest temptation is held out to GO wrong
and where injustice will surely be done, unless
the officer is endowed with almost superhuman
virtue? You who feel strong aud safe your
selves, is it generous for you to drive the weak
and helpless before such a Court 2 l feel sure
you will not. trust in your magnanimity to
defend the poor and the needy; whose Cry is
heard before the God of Heaven, and will not be
unheard by you'll trust confidently in you,
freemen, to condemn this nefarious plot, against
their rights and its authors
The wheel of fortune is always turning you
may become poor your wives now happy III
your strong arm OF protection, may become des-
titute widows your children now sporting hap
PLY around you may become helpless orphans !;
leave them when you 90 hence one pure and
incorruptible sanctuary of defence and protec-
ton. Let not your Courts of justice have to
count what it will cost to give them justice and
preserve to them the fruits of a fathers hard
earnings or even life itself. Give them an in
| dependent Judge, who while he is responsible
Il mn the awS-WhIp il he npOlpctS
his duty or acts corrupty, will be hurled from
his high office by the strong arm OF the law, at-
| ter fair trial, such as every citizen is entitled
to, even the humblest, shall while performing
his duty and Judging righteously, have nothing
to alarm or tempt him away-no popular man,
no man of extensive connexions, to trown down
the humble and destitute, in the halls Of justice.
A Judge is not permitted 10 sit in a cause, where
he has the smallest pecuniary interest every
cided by such Judge. Why? Because he
would decide corruptly? No. The Judge might
have integrity and fairness enough TO decide
right get he might not, and therefore he is not
permitted to sit, because freemen will run no
risk with their rights. So in the case of Judge
looking out for election. He would not GER
tainly sacrifice the weak to the strong. He
might, or he might not, but because he might he
should not be tolerated for freemen will not suffer
the poor and humble to run risk of their rights
But MIR. Hugh w. Shelley, in an Address to
the people of this District, has labored hard to
prove that the Judge would never be tempted to
serve the powerful at the expense OF the humble
He says, 'such a Judge at the end of his term,
if he dared come forward again for e-eection
would be spnrned with Indignant scorn by the
people," | have confidence enough in the reo-
pie TO believe that such (as Mr.. Shefey predic,s)
would be the fate of such a Judge if the people
only had the means of finding out his corup-
ton but have also confidence enough in Mr.,
Shefey's intelligence to believe, that he knew,
| (when he penned the above quotation from his
Address, that in the nature of things the peo-
pie could not have the means of finding it out
Will that gentleman please tell us, how they
would 60 about ascertaining in every, OR in any
decided cause whether the Judge had acted cor
ruptly or not. In our judicial district, there are
probably 5000 votes, would he have record
made out Tor each voter or would he require
by Constitutional provision that all the voters in
each judicial district should attend in person
the sittings of the Courts TO see and hear for
themselves ! Ii the former, the expense to suit
ors would be very great if the latter, the Court
had better be dispensed with and let the people
decide the cause at once MIR. Shelley would
insist on neither of these absurdiies, | suppose,
and the plain English of his argument is this
that the 5000 voters in the District, must listen
to what some twenty. five or thirty, who had
been present at Court, have to say about the
Judges decision, and make up their verdict Oh
this evidence. If this is his meaning, how easy
would it be for large and influential family to
talk louder, and have more witnesses present,
than their humble adversary. If the Judge de-
cided to please them, their forces would drown
all complaint, especially if as would probably
be the case, he happened TO be one Of The blood
II he decided AGAINST them even in favor oil
justice, the district would be filled with camor
against his corruption, especially if (as might
occasionally happen) one Of The btood might want
his slippers! Having no means of going TO the
fountain of information, the record, and forming
an opinion for themselves; il they believed
nothing, they might suffer corrupt Judge to re-
main in office il they believed either party,
they might be deceived, and do injustice. Is il
not plain then that the only safe course is to
have matters legally investigated, where sworn
evidence can be heard on both sides-where the
accused n hp tod with his and