Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-12-23
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
THE JUDICIARY SYSTEM.
roR THE NATIONAL IsrELLIoEscHS

FOE THE NATIONAL INTELLI0ENckk.
However expedient 1t may be to dissolve the Wing
party there has been period when conservative
one was more needed than at present. The growing
wealth and Importance Of wideextended empire and
the many new and interesting questions Of foreign
domestic policy which daily arise, must fill the mind Of
patriot with intense anxiety lest error forever blast
the glorious prospects the future opens to this nation
dangerous spirit Of innovation prevails among
our countrymen EDMUND BURKE the most sagacious Of
British statesmen said " 1t cannot be too often
peated line upon lire, precept upon precept until
comes into the currency Of proverb to nopate not to
REFORM In no Government is the Observance Of this
maxim SO important in Republics in none is II SO
apt to be neglected.
Innovation is the great vice Of republics because their
councils are often swsyed by inexperenee and dema
gogsm. Dissatisfaction with the present and longing
after some future and often merely imaginary good cha
racterise in all countries and under all circum-
stances tits therefore, persuade them that change
will better their condition. and hence demagogues are
always devsng plans by which they propose to remedy
the evils of society They the lessons OF expe-
rience 1t matters how plainly soever history may
show the aacy Of their theories it, by persuading the
people adopt them they secure their own
These asprans after popular favor apparently animated
by patriotism but really by the love Of power aa pass
endeavor to surpass each other in zeal for popular rights
They constantly remind the people that they are the
source Of all power and that all checks upon them are
ignominous They discover many serious defects in the
Government and urge the necessity Of reform They
draw invdious distinctions between the different classes
Of society," thus arryng those against each other whose
interest it is to be united and harmonious They evade
the laws Of morality and justice by senseess defamation
about manest destny" or when it better suits their
purposes they have scrupulous regard for the higher
lap" They pirate loudly Of "progress;; but the only
progress they propose to throw aside that which is old
and established for that which is and untried SEEM
ing think that the people only retain their power
by employing it to pull down the institutions established
by the wisdom Of their ancestors
Perhaps these would be profted by rejecting upon
the ensuing words from the usrious author above quot
ed. He says:
The science Of Government being practical in ITSELF
and intended for practical purposes matter which re-
quires experience, and experience than man
can gain in his whole fe however sagacous and observ
ing he may be- it is with infinite caution that any man
ought to venture upon pulling down ed6ce which has
in any tolerable degree the common purposes
Of society," building it up again without models and
patterns Of approved utility before his eyes"
Statesmen Of this rash innovating school nu
merous and influential in Republic One Of the most
dangerous innovations they proposed is to shorten
the term for which the Federal judges shall hold their
Offices and to render them elective by the people Never
has uncalled for change been proposed Has not
the Judiciary Department, now constituted, fully an
swered the end Of its establishment? Is there now has
there ever been in the world tribunal august
more learned assduous and impartial in the dis
charge Of duty than the Supreme Court Of the United
States? Will not its reported decisions compare favora
bly, with those Of the highest British Courts Are the
opinions Of Marshall less learned than those Of Mans
field or the logic Of the former less convincing than that
Of the latter?
Butt say the advocates Of Innovation these judges ap
pointed for life do not sufficiently feel their dependence
upon the people. dependent Judge What an absur-
dity! How dependence aid them in the nterpreta-
ton Of law by the application Of the immutable princ
pies Of right Not to feel any dependence whatever is
their highest qualification for the discharge Of their du
ties The views Of the founders Of Government
very forcibly expressed in No. LXXvL Of the Federal
ist in the following terms:
"Nothng can contribute so much to the frmness and
Independence of the Judiciary peymansney in Office
This quality may therefore be justly regarded in
dispenssbe ingredient in its constitution and in great
the citadel Of the public Justice and the pub
Lie security"
Permanently In Office, liberal salaries and the power
Of impeachment by the House Of Representatives will al
ways secure on the bench the highest legal talents and
tanments and the faithful discharge of duty since then
by integrity the pure and exalted renown of just
judge be obtained and since the neglect of duties
can lead only to ruin and disgrace.
How will the system which it is proposed to exchange
for present the independence Of the Judi
cary may be in those States where the judges elect
ed by the people for short terms frequently have the ter
rors Of popular indignation held over them with the
avowed purpose Of influencing their decisions So subtle,
and yet powerful is the influence Of popular favor that
very few Judges under such circumstances, will excaim,
with the noble Independence Of Lord Mansfield, 81 will
not do that which my conscience tells me is wrong
this occasion to gain the huzzas Of thousands the daily
praise Of all the papers which from the press for
ego hoe amino sempr tu ut invidiam viute partam,
inpidiam putarem."
Nothing much evnces the wisdom Of the founders Of
the Government the method they devised Of appointing
the Judiciary The people ought not to directly choose
the Judges because they have not sufficient knowledge Of
men, and Of the qualifications requisite for the judicial
Office and therefore their appointment wisely given
to the Executive and the Senate chosen from among
the people on account Of their political wisdom and
experience
The decisions Of tribunal the members Of which
frequently changed will be vacating and unsettled, and
thus beget that uncertainty and disrust ruinous
commerce. Moreover judges elected by the people
necessarily the representatives Of party. They are
less under the influence Of passion and prejudice
and thus poison the very fountains Of justice
Were the Judges of the Supreme Court elected by the
people for short periods oil the moral influence Of that
tribunal would be gone forever What confidence
coud the States have in Judges elevated TO Office under