Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-11-29

| a GEORGIA JUDGE.-An opinion has lately
been delivered by Judge Benning, of the Su-
preme Court of Georgia, that is a novelty for
its style as much as for its law. After decid-
ing that the Supreme Court Of Georgia is in
no respect bound by the decision of the Su-
preme Court of the United States, he goes on
to attack the Court for its partisan decisions,
and to assail the Judges in the following man
ner -
care the Judges partisanss What are their
anteeedents: The leading Judges on tho
Bench of the Supreme Court before the era
of judge Marshall, were JAY Wilson, and
Ellsworth Each of these had been an ardent
politician, before he went upon the Bench
He had acquired his bend in politics. On the
Bench he uttered the same constitutional doc
trines which he had uttered off
In the era of Judge Marshall, which lasted
through thirty-four years, he was the Chief
of the Court and Judge Story was a good sec
ond. Was Judge Marshall politician: Let
the summary of his life, taken from his BIZ
ography in the National Portrait Gallery, an
swer"
The learned Judge here gave brief ac-
count of Judge Marshalls public career, taken
from that work. and then proceeded =
''It was not only on the Bench that he
taught politics. He entered the fields of his
tory and biography for the same purpose. For
what is his Life of Washington and History of
the Colonies, but labored defence of his par
ty, and an effort to raise its desperate fortunes
by forcing the name of Washington on the
list of patrons? No; it was not the death of
Washington, but the death of the Federal
party, that set the work on foot
Marshall. then was a Dartsan If there eyar
was one While thus partisan, holding all
the opinions of his party, he is, by party
| President, in the last hour of the party, when
its death warrant has already been signed, to
save him from the general doom, and as the
only reward left for party services, Presiden-
| cies being out of the question, offered a Judge
ship. What was the course for any partisan
topursue, in such circumstances That which
he pursued. He took sanctuary for life in the
Supreme Court. But there he was, the same
man that he had been before he got there
The only effect was to make him more bold
in the ayowal of his principles. He no longer
had to answer for them at the ballot box. He
and his Court, with respect to the constitu-
ton, took one road-the other departments of
the government, and the vast majority of the
American people, took another. There they
have been respectively travelling. the greater
part OF the time since. The opinions of nei-
ther have had the least influence upon the
actions of the other
AS to Judge Story, he is understood to have
distinguished himself somewhat as a Repub-
licau partisan, before the war of 1872, in Mas
sachusetts, where Republicans were then
rather scarce. Being young lawyer of some
promise, and about the only lawyer of the
party there, of much note he was selected by
Mr.. Madison for the Bench of the Supreme
Court of the United States. But once on the
Bench, he forsook his party and became the
humble interpreter of Marshall-the Dumont
to Bentham. He made it his business to il.
lustrate and embody the political doctrines of
his chief And tins he did in what he STYLES
his commentaries on the Constitution This
is a work, OF as rank partisan character on
one side, as the Virginia and Kentucky Reso-
lutions, and Mr.. Madisons Report of 1889
and 1893 are OIL the other. Indeed, these
Commentaries, and most, if not all, of Mar
shalrs constitutional decisions, arc only SO
much talk at these resolutions and that re-
port, although the resolutions and report are
seldom mentioned.
And partisan decisions-and all decisions
on constitutional questions must be more or
less partisan-ought not to bind as presidents,
because they are made by the tribunal which,
in the last resort, is supreme. This tribunal
is the people of the States-the authors of the
constitution"