The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-02-09

unaccountsble procrastination. Luckily the
law provides . remedy for laches OF this sort
II The Board Of Supervisors do not stir them
selves very soon, they will be unpleasantly re-
minded that all power in this matter is not con-
centrated in their hands. The Judges Of tle.
Supreme Court, incommodea and harrassed bv
the miserable accommodation afforded for their
sittings, have, in q late memorial to the,
Board, intima,ed ia peremptory terms, that:
unless some effort is made TO provide
them with proper courts, they will issue . pre-
cept to the Sheriff directing him to erect o suit
able building, she expense Of which, under the
power given by the statute, will be assessed
upon the city. The Judges of the Superior,
Court are still more scurvily treated. They
occupy a room OF gretched proportions, and
go low that a man Of decent height runs the
risk of knocking Ms head through the ceiling.
Besides these inconv ~eniences under the present
scattered arrangement of the courts and pub
lie Offices, q grea. deal of time is los! in pass
ing from place to place, which, to the members.
of the legal profession, is o matter Of serious
Inconvenience. A lawyer requires, as regards
his practice, to be in a measure ubiquitous, and
in the construction Of courts of justice all over
the world this necessity is always consulted
by bringing the various tribunals within the
enceinte Of one large building.
In any new pan that may be adopted by the
Corporation, especial attention should be paid
to this condition. All the courts should have
convenient halls provided for them under the
same roof, as well as the necessary number Of
dependent chambers aud law Offices. The public.
tribunals, too, should all be on the same floor, SC
that a lawyer, or his clerk, having to watch a
number of cases, may pass from one TO another
without loss of time. There is abundant space
for the DEVELOPMENT of such q plan on the site
allocated for the purpose, and it will be q great
mistake if architectural crotchets are allowed
to interfere with SO important a condition of
public convenience. In point of economy there
is also something to be gained by a compliance
with 1t. If q building, such as we are describ-
ing, were erected, the general government would
gladly pay the Corporation a handsome sum
for such accommodation as it requires for the
federal courts. The building in Murray street
now costs it $4,000 a year, which would go
some way If capitalized to diminish the cost Of
the proposed structure.
We trust that no further time will be lost in
deciding upon and carrying out the plan Of the
new building. The necessity for it is daily be-
coming more pressing, and it is a reproach and
o disgrace to the Board of Supervisors that 80
much Indifference should have been already
manifested on the subject. Whenever they can
bring their minds to the exersion Of 8 final reso-
luton we hope that they will not add to the
complaints which their procrastination has al
ready aroused against them by errors of defec-
tive and inconvenient construction. We have
suffered enough from architectural blunders in
our public edifcesj mol to fall into the same
mistakes again.