The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1859-03-24

For the Gate City.
Lx-Jnage CiAgsi W. Judge spring
or.
NEssRs. EpIroRs - While ex Judge Clag
cit sat upon the hcnch, he vainly sought y
protect his court from contempt by scold
ing, by fines and by imprisonment; of tn
bench he is happily limited to scolding.
like Clagett. lie is clever old gentleman
Mt bottom, but fdgetty, nervous and excita
BILE, and liable, when he magines his darling
dignity assailed, to 20 off into sort OF d
analogous to Mysteries. His ideas OF law,
am sorry to say, seem generally confused
| shall now endeavor to make plain the fac
that Judge Clsgett, who. in Friday evening"
Journal, contrasts his conduct while on tn,
bench, with that of Judge Springer, hoping
to profit by the comparison, and even thu,
early in the day beginning to manufacture
capital for another race for the Office, did, al
the September term, 1858, so construe the
law of 22nd March, 1858, as to deprive debt.
ors in foreclosure and other chancery cases,
of their just rights under that law.
need not remind you or your readers OF
the condition of affairs when the Legislature
of 1858 met The Legislature Of 1858 fell
bound to provide debtors with some new
rights, and every act passed for this purpose
pointed to delay as the polar star to all re-
lief. will pass over three OF those acts
passed January 10Th and February 25th and
9th, 1858, and proceed to the consideration
of the fourth OF this series of measures Of
relief.
Section 1863 of the Gods reads as follows
Except where otherwise provided, causes
shall be tried at the first term after they are
commenced, unless reasonable cause for a
continuance be shown" BY an act approved
March 22nd 1858, and to expire January Is,
1859, the words esscond term" were substi-
tuted for the words sfrst term, the remain
ing language Of section 1853 being exactly
preserved. This completed the series Of
measures for relief by delay. Proceedings
in chancery are of a more dilatory nature
than in law, and this fact has been deemed
"reasonable cause for a continuance in
chancery cases, ever since the adoption Of
the Code. Hence, although section 1853 of
the Code required causes to be tried at the
FIRST term after they were commenced, chan
Gerry cases always went over, to be answered
thirty, sixty or ninety days after the first term,
SO AS to be ready for trial at the recond term.
The fixing of the rule Cor answering) day
was within the discretion Of the Judge, and
was usually thirty days. Now it 10 perfect
ly apparent that if the law of 22nd March,
1858, had not been passed, defendants in
chancery sued at the September term 1858,
would have been permitted to put in their
answers between that term and the February
term, 1859, so that the trial could take place
at the February term. 1t is also perfectly
apparent that after said law had been passed
to require defendants in chancery sued at the
September term, 1858, to answer between
that term and the February term, 1859, SO
that the trial must take place Mt the Februa-
ry term, was to construe the law as not in.
tended to apply to chancery cases, but only
to law cases, whereas the law made no dis
tinction. Yet Judge Clagett, while admit
ting that he required defendants to answer
ninety days after the September term, 1858,
in chancery cases brought at that term, de-
clares that he ssgavc no construction to this
law whatever" stand corrected Ins teat
of talking about his construction of the Law
| might have said that, so far as chancery ca
SEES were concerned, he acted as il the law haG
never been passed; ignored it's existence
null6ed and made it void! repeat what
said in my first communication, that Judg,
Clagett did so construe the law Of 22nt
March, 1858, as to preclude defendants il
chancery from all benefit under it, and tina
1t was an extraordinary construction, because
LIST. The intention of the law is plain upor
its face.
End. Judge Clagett's rule requiring de.
PENDANTS sued at the September term, 1858
in foreclosure and other chancery cases, &c
answer by the LIST Of December, 1853, wa,
requiring them to answer more than sirt,
days sooner than defendants on notes, book
accounts, and other law cases, and that, too
when the principal difficulty intended to b,
remedied by the law Of 22rd March, 1858
was the fact that men, aotuated and led away
by the wild, speculative spirit Of the times
had accumulated ruinous mortgages all ovel
their real estate, in many cases includin,
their homssteads.
Sd. Judge Clagett's rule, compelling de
PENDANTS sued at the September term, 1858
in foreclosure and other chancery cases, t,
answer by the lst Of December, 1858, which
cut them off from the opportunity Of askin,