Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1853-06-07
County Court System.

the County Court SySteni Dull nnulng InaI II De
comes necessary so ofen to call you to order for
lnisstalements, (not intentional of course,) 1 al
most despair of bringing you up to the scratch
Your last article contains at least two miSstate
meuts, IN important particulars, which would have
required an article of ordinary length to set you
right. This perhaps results-is it so?-from an
unfortunate habit of snatching up an idea at
glnnce, tearing it to tatters, tossing it the wind
and then finding by your own modification that it
was a man of straw of your own erection. My
friend, l would advise thee to mend thy ways in
This particular.
But seriously; should suppose that you, alaw-
yct-a class of men proverbial fol guessing and
some say, for saucineSs, but l don't believe it
would have been ashamed 10 moot such point as
this. Now let me state case or two of al
most daily occurrence. meet lawyer in tie
Strest-butit matters not where. say, Mr.. Green
bag, have case in which should be glad 10
hear your opinion. | state my case, Green-bag
scratches his head, looks grave, Ia little confused
perhaps,) and says, well, Idon't know quite
likeiy,) 'let see, think it is 50 and so; or no.
second thought, l think it is so and So | shall
have to consult my books Enters his Office
Looks at his books. Thinks it's as he first stated
'Ahl here tits, just as stated 1t first thought
i. was sO--how could have forgotten it?' What
peri APPS he never knew. Proceeds-.tAll right
Advises me to bring suit. Suit is brought--trial
y-verdict-judgment. Wakesnakes! The
lawyer is floored-my case is lost-and pray, who
Is the 'gueSser' now?
But what's remarkable in this connection is,
that the defeated lawyer is just as indignant, and
amazed at the ignorance and stupidity oftle court
OF jury. Gas the case may be,) if his discontinue
took place IN one of the higher courts, as lift had
actually taken place in what you are most gra-
ciously pleased TO term "a guessing COURT Quere
won't you allow poor, ignorant County Court
toguess little too, especially when sthe doctors
disagree.
But this same guessing lawyer--and who of
them don't guess little sometimes, even where
simple folks would suppose they ought 10 know?
carries his case up to some higher tribunal. The
decision ofthe court is reversed. Quere:---If the
case was brought in the first instance, in the Cir
cult Court, who did guess in this case, the court
above, or the court below?
But again, we will suppose case to have been
brought in of the District Courts of the United
States-the Gaines, Bridge case for instance.
ouere:-wto did guess in these cases, the Supreme
Court, tile courts below2 or who did guess in
the Bridgecase. Judges fancy and Daniels, on the
one side, or Judge P Lane. &C., on the o,her7 Do
tell me who? If you wish to sgo to Congress-
trow you will say, Judge NrLane. But fancy
there was little guessing there at all events.
And so on to infnity.
The conclusion OF the whole matter is. that in
weighing probabilities, there must always from the
busy nature of the case, be more or less uncer-
tainty as to the conclusions TO which different
minds will arrive on the same subject. Under
such circumStances-note thiS-a County Court,
inclined we may say in many cases, to look more to
the equity than to the LdD side of the question,
may be regarded, specially in such cases. o minor
Importance, as ordinarily come under is jurisdic-
ton, as quite scfe depository Of the public in
tsrests, as guessing Judge of legal acquire
tnents-and we have seen that there are such-but
prone from his professional studies and habits 10
look more 10 the Lato than to the equity side of a
question.
Now, my dear friend, do mt, beseech you, do MT
fall into Mysteries at the mere mention of lav and
equity in this connection. If you do, shall cer-
lainiy have to hand you over to the women.
know you think that the law is tthe perfection OF
reason" Generally it is; and sometimes it is not;
and sometimes it is difficult of application even in
The hands of wiser men than you or IL should
not say than yOu, for from the manner in which
you pronounce upon the decisions of Courts, one
might suppose you were the Lord Chief Justice
Hale himself, risen from the dead.
We know that the law itself, as general thing.
is equity; and l hazard tie assertion, that it is
sometimes equity partially at least 10 disregard it,
Would it be equity 10 inflict the penalty of the
law on one man in this community for passing one
dollar bank bills, when every man in these parts
is in the habit of treating the law itself as dead
letter! But lest should excite your holy horror,
will HOW draw TO close. One word: you must
not try to put enmity between me and my friends,
the lawyers. This was one of the mistakes OF
your last. My heart is knit to them Us the heart
of David to the soul of Jonathan-and you know
that was some-that is to say, love them in their
ptaee. And now, if you will be good boy, Pll
give you sugar plum the next time l meet you at
Parker's Saloon and "pepper' you no moreno
more.
JONAS PEPPER.
n. b. You will not understand Inc as recon-
nending departure from the law, when lis re-
sponses are clear and ineligible, and its require
hie"IS h"t '0ASeu' vi uhteaSouaole III themselves
J.P.
-pWe have not time owing to the pressure of
other matters to bestow upon Jonas more than a
passing notice. and indeed were we to look to his
argument rather than to his play. weshould find
nothing TO which 10 respond. As he does not
name our Supposed nris-statementS, we can neither
correct them or show his error. but may be allow
ed to presume that in this instance Jonas is like
the County Court, guessing. and shall leave him
TO his habits.
As TO the daily habits of our friend Jonas of con-
sulting lawyers, we may answer his question in
two ways. frst that he forgot to give his lawyer
fee. (Which all admit brighteus up the lawyers
faculties very much) or secondly that his case ;s