Worcester daily spy., 1859-07-04
0Nprtester 1ailp Spp.
TIE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.


copy the principal portion =
A court of justice, as much as or more than |
any other institution of man, marks and dis |
tinguishes the progress and development OF
the race. In any community, where justice is
fairly, lmpartially, and promptly administered,
one Of the great objects of government and OF
civil society is secured and the people are rea-
sonably safe under their forms OF admnistra-
tion, whatever they may be. Justice, from its
very nature, enters largely into the relations
between man and man. 1t comes home to the
individual, and therefore directly concerns ev-
cry man. If but few men, comparatively
speaking, know any thing personally of the
blessings of law suits, all men desire to feel
and to know that if their rights of person or
property are violated, they can appeal with
safety and certainty to the tribunals Of Jusuce
for redrees. Human justice, i'll It's actual adj
minisration, is nothing more than the law fair
ly and justly applied in all cases of difference
between man and man. 1t is the law carried
out, and having its perfect work, where,
through ignorance, prejudice, passion, or sell
fishness, the parties themselves cannot COM
pose their differences, and the government
steps in and furnishes the means of doing what
they cannot or will not do. 1t is obvious at
first blush, that the kind of office here requir-
ed is one of pure reason. 1t is one calling for
the exercise of sound, just, and impartial
judgment. 1t calls also for a knowledge of the
law as justice is nothing more than the law
applied 10 particular cases. Here is no de-
mand for any sort or kind of politics, but on
ly for pure reason, just mind and know
ledge of the law-that is to say, for learned
and impartial court, and an honest and intel
ligent jury. With such instrumentalities at
hand, justice is always reasonably safe and
secure. We need and equally need both of
these tribunals, because the justice of any case
is the law applied fairly and truly to the facts
of cuph inVovpU tbp OppaSCitv of
tanning the facts, SO that the law, as declared
by the court, may be applied to them, and thus
the issue is determined Now, how obvious it
is, that in all this thing, we should keep just
as far as possible from the domain of politics
and passion. The government is bound to fur
nish the best instruments of doing this work.
The spirit and letter of the Constitution re-
quire this. The highest dictates of reason re-
quire it. Yet some restless spirits are always
trying to tamper with the courts, and to make
them subservient in their organization and ten
ure to their narrow partiZan views. The
judicial tenure, as fixed by our Constitution,
is the only safe tenure for the people; and as
this has been departed from, in some of the
States, it has always been with loss and dis
credit to the judicial establishments. And in
the nature Of things, it cannot be otherwise.
You want a judicial mind free as possible from
all adverse influences. You should place the
incumbent above all fear, except the fear of
God. He should be wholly intent on the
duties of his office. He should know no party
as his master or creator He should be as free
and impartial as the lot of humanity admits,
in the discharge of his high functions. 1t is
only necessary to ask, if you would be likely
, to find such men at the hustings, or in the
csl,aucus rooms, or in the din and confusion of
TYP Iiticai strifes. Judges quite near enough
att ,ahe people for the public SAFETY under the con-
ml; tional tenures of office, and this all eXper-
lie u ~ in this country, under our peculiar in
ms II. ions, fully demonstrates.
Jp ',e have just ten Judicial appointments
7lin Il y for the New Superior Court All admit
2 ri0s these appointments, as a whole, have been
KRIS NE with the best judgement and discretion
,orks' the basis of excluding the members of the
bool4 court, in regard to which, there may be
r"lsapierent opinions. But who believes this
nGreat work would have been as well done by
: the caucusses and small politicians.
The Court of Common Pleas by name, in
some form of organization, has been one of
our well known and well established institu-
tions for more than two centuries. We find it
in the records of our earliest colonial history.
In the reign Of William and Mary it was call
ed the "Interior Court of Common Pleas''-a
designation highly significant and descriptive
OF its functions and Jurisdiction In the year
of grace 1859, the thing is exactly reversed,
and we now have the Superior Court Of Com
mon Pleas, under the simple name of "Super-
ior Court"-an unfortunate designation Of the
new tribunal. because the term Superior" as
applied to courts, is generally used to indicate
the highest court in the State; and that is its
natural import. Superior" to what? The
. first idea would be to all the courts in the
State Now, our new court will sustain the
same relative position the Supreme Court, as
the Court of Common Pleas now does and it
is superior" only to justices and Police
Courts. We could have wished, therefore,
that, if the legislature must needs change the
thing, they had left us the name, not only as
more descriptive, but in the better accordance
with all our associations with the courts, in the
present and past generations.
The first "Court of Common Pleas" after
the adoption of the Constitution, was establish
ed in 1882. This was strictly county court,
and the jurisdiction of the judge was confined
to his county. 1t consisted of four judges all
residents of the county, who were to be Sub
stantal discreet and learned persons" This
act continued in force, with some notifications
and enlargement of jurisdiction from time
to time, or other changes until 1S1l-a pc
riod of twenty-nine years-when we had a
court established under political auspices, caled
the Circuit Court of Common Pleas. The
Commonwealth was divided into six circuits,
and the counties of Suffolk, Mddesex, and
Essex, constituted what was called the "Mid-
die Circuit" Maine then being a part of the
OOnllnOnWealUn IN tnlS circuit, we always
had one judge from each county, and the in
cumbents, at the date of the establishment of
the present Court of Common Pleas, (which
expires tomorrow, by operation of the act of
Feb 5, 1881 were Samuel Dana of Groton,
Chief Justice, and William Wetmore of Bos-
ton and Stephen Minot of Haverhill, Justices
saw this court in session at Newburyport in
September, 1920, the last time it was held in
that place. This court, established in trou-
bous political times, and upon a wholly wrong
basis died. after an uneasy life of ten years, by
virtue of the act of Feb. IA, 1921, when the
present court was established to consist of four
''meet person, who should be men of sobrety
of manners and learned in the law" This
court had originally greatly enlarged juris
dction which has been still more enlarged
from time to time, and the number of judges
has been increased from four to seven The
most important enlargement of the powers of
The court was in the act of l849, comforting up
on it the entire criminal jurisdiction Of the
State, except the trial of capital causes The
first term of this court in this county was held
by the late Hon. Solomon Strong of Leomin-
ster, in Newburyport in September, 1921, and
the last term was held by the Hon. Jonathan
Y. Perkins Of this city, in Salem, on the third
Monday of this present month of June, and
was adjourned without day on Tuesday last
after most honored and useful life of thirty
eight years These judges, whose names and
the dates OF whose appointments are given be-
low, have all been, in the language of the law,
"meet persons of sobriety of manners and
learned in the law" They have served the
Commonwealth, in these hph places with