Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1859-10-28
THE ELECTION OF JUDGES.

Those not acquainted with our Vermont
system Of electing Judges of the supreme
Court by the legislature. annually, would
be likely TO say that under it a Court could
be neither able, stable, or independent. Yet
we believe that in fact the Vermont
Bench has generally ranked high for its abil-
~. To a fair extent it mas also been stable
that is. the Judges have been reelected from
year to year,-some of them fora long period
As to its independence we are not aware that
there has been more complaint against the
Vermont Judiciary than that Of other States
where a different system prevails. We would
not however recommend the system Of annual
ly electing Judges as certainly the best for
communities. Our State is a peculiar one,
and such a system may work better mere than
it would in some others. We presume it
does. Even here the people complain of
occasionally, in some respects.
One Of the evils of it is that once il a
while, for no obvious good reason, but appa-
rently from the caprice of the hour, a Judge
of an established character for both l gal
ability and moral excellence, is dropped off
from the bench, after years of long and faith
ful service, when enlarged experience has
made him more capable for his public duties
than in his younger days he could have been.
We have an instance of that sort before us
in the case Of Hon. MILo L. BENNETT Of this
place who after a laborious service Of nineteen
years, if we r~ecollect right, finds himself sud
denly dropped off from the list, to the re-
greet Of a large circle of acquaintance and
friends throughout tn State, who can not
but wish that he might have continued to
serve his fellow citizens for years to come on
a bench to which his decisions have given 50
much honor, both in this State il and the 9TH
err States of the Union.
Of the gentleman newly elected as Judge
of the Supreme Court, LOYAL c. KELLOGG,
Esq, of Benson, we are not able to speak
from personal acquaintance. We hear but
one voice, however, concerning him, and that
is one of respect for his character as a man,
and as a lawyer, and of confidence in his
ability and integrity as a judge. We can
not doubt that he will fully meet the public
expectation in all respects.
A BIG 0vES.-Messrs. Blodgett & Sweet
despatched to its destination last week one
of their patent oyens-a monster in size and
capacity. 1t is the largest one yet manufac-
tured, measuring six feet in height by five
feet front. Its CRATES give over fifty square
feet of baking surface, which will allow a
whole barrel of -four in ~loaves, or an OK in
pieces, to be baked in it at once. 1t was
made for the Connecticut States prison at
Hartford, Conn, and it is big enough to
serve for a c%onvict's cell, If it should not be
wanted for an oven. OF the occurrence of
this last contingency, however, there is no
particular prospect. We have no doubt that
the oven will more than sdre us cost, (Which
is about $3.50 we believe) in fact, The, first
yedr-while it will last many years. That
our disinterested opinion, without exag-
g~eration. 1t is not necessary to say that it
a thorough and substantial piece of work
nanship. I.