Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1858-04-22

man upon charge like this and of this
character are all the charges brought against
me.
can only make general denial to charg-
eS thus general and here | declare that |
am not in the " constant habit" of making po-
litical speeches during the weeks of my Court.
That of the one hundred weeks of my Courts
in the six years that have been on the Bench,
| have not made to exceed some half dozen
speeches in my Court House during those
weeks and | affirm those were not violent
but temperate-free from personalities, and
confined to measures Of general and national in
terest. If this he deemed an offence worthy of
legislative investigation and action, stand con-
victed on my own confession and will bear as
best | can its punishment. But before pro-
nOuncing on the character ahd gravity Of this
offence, and the punishment proposed in my
case, i beg leave respectfully to suggest, that if
this Committee will turn its enquiries in other
directions than my District, it may appear that
| am not the only offender in this regard 1t
may be that other Judges can be found who
take deep interest in public affairs and who,
as freely as myself express their opinions, both
by speech and through the public press. 1t
may be that the people Of other Districts than
the 18th, require the interpositon Of the Leg
islature, lest in their blindness they elect q
Political Judge. 1t can scarcely be that q dis
tinction so refined will be allowed as to hold,
that a Judge who sometimes addresses his fel-
low-citzens on questions of public interests, is
thereby, and for that reason alone, untitled for
the judicial office while the publication. thro'
the press, Of articles on the same topics, is
held to work no such disqualification.
| would further say, in answer to this i'm
parchment of my " constant habit" that can
not call to mind an occasion, within the last
two years, in which hape made a speech, as
charged, in my Court House at Towanda and
it is about that period since | have done SO
in the Court House at MontrOse.
l. is further charged in the aforesaid memo
rial, that an " rreverence for the Judicial char
acter Of the State must follow among the peo-
pie of district when president judge will,
in his own Court room, denounce the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania as corrupt"
Here accusation and augmentation are sim
gulariIy combined | notice only the latter. |
deny that | have charged corruption upon the
Supreme Judiciary of the State | have dis
-sented broadly from some Of the doctrines and
legal positions taken by that Court and have
spoken Of its Judges as men of human inirm-
tiles and weakness and exposed like other men,
to have their Judgment influenced by the temp
tatons Of preferment and power.
If this be an offence in Pennsylvania, in the
first century Of American liberty, | stand con-
victed again on my own confession, and must
abide the punishment of my offence
The memorialiSts say, " that in conclusion
they cite as an instance of these whole pro-
ceedingS, the case known to the legal prOfcS-
sion in which Naham Newton was stricken
from the roll of the Court Of SuSquehanna
county"
This language is not clear but it is under
stood to mean, that the case referred to is cit
ed as an example Of my tyranny and unftueSs
for the Bench and that the wrong done in
this case grew legitimately out of my constant
habit or general conduct.
| thank my accuserS for this reference to
even one case, and this is the only one, in which
they impugn my official integrity aud conduct
but protest against the generality Of the
charge, and still more against the manner OF
its presentation. Wherein was my tyranny OF
partiality made manifest in that case What
were the facts and circumstances surrounding
it, and which disclose that | was Influenced by
enmity toward Mr. Newton, or any other mo-
tives unworthy of a Judge Bat it is not
against the generality of the charge that
chiefly complain This Committee had by its
order, called upon the complainants to make
their charges in writing Here, charges were
to be preferred not i'll the street, nor in the
public press Two weeks pass after the order
is taken that specific charges be made IN writ
ing when the memoraliStS refer thisCommittee
/ in the most general terms, to the q" case Of Ma
ham Newton, known to the legal profession,
and turning from your door, 90 into the public
press to make known the assumed facts, and
my alleged criminality in that case. 1t is
against this mode of accuSation-this violation
| of Justice, and all the dcccncics Of an inycSti
CATION, that enter my protest and against
such manifest injustice, invoke the protection
of this Committee and Of all honorablS men.
| | will now, by leave of the Committee, state
! the history and facts of the case of Naham
! Newton.
An eie,tment was pending in SuSquehanna
county, Amos Taylor VS.. Jacob Denny and
! others, involving the title to a valuable prop
erty. The land had, some years before, beer
sold by the sheriff, as the property of Taylor
! the plaintiff, and the defendants title rested
on the validity Of the Shcrif's sale. Mr.. Cham
! berlain one of the counsel fer the defendants
! had examined the record before the eiectment
was brought with view to see if the proceed
ings of the Sherif's sale were regular ant
there found among the files, a waiver of nqui
sition, in the handwriting Of F. b. Streeter
signed by said Taylor, whose hand writing he
we'll knew Soon after the bringing of the
eectment by Mr.. Newton, as the attorney o.
Taylor, Mr. Chamberlain made a second exam
ination of the records, when he ford that
the waiver of inqusition was gone. These
facts are all clearly proved by the sworn state
ment of Mr. Chamberlain.
About the time of the commencement of the
eiectment, Mr. Newton had taken the file;
from the Prothonotary's Office having relation