Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-07-11
9ailg Tir9iaiaa.
AN GRAFTON
Delivered Before tie Municipal Authorities Of the
CITY Of Boston on Ghe Fourth Of July, 1850,
BY EDWARD EVERETT.
TcoNCluDED.

tce 10 in the cornerstone Of the social system.
The most serious charges brought against as, on
the occasion alluded to, are. that owing to the
all pervading corruption Of the country. the Judges
of the Supreme Court of the United States. who
once commanded the public respect Mt homo and
abroad. are now appointed for party purposes, and
that some Of their decisions have excited tho dis
gust of NIL hghminded men that the Judges Of
most Of tho State Courts hold their offices by
election some by annual election that the undis.
puted dominion Of tho numerical majority, which
has been established. will not allow the desires
and passions OF the hour to bo checked by firm
administration OF the law ; and that in conte-
queuce the laws In this country hnve become nero
cobwebs to resist either the rich. or the popular
feeling Of the moment in a word, that tho
American Astr@, like the goddess Of old, has fed
to tho sturs. | need not say, fellow citizens, in
your hearing that wherever else this mny be true,
land believe il 10 be true nowhere in the United
States it isnot true In Massachusetts and that
Westminster Hall never hoasted u Court moro
honore1 or more worthy Of honor, than thatwhich
holds its Office by lie tenure and administers i'm
Partial Justice without respect Of persons, to tho
People of Massachusetts.
Such court the people Of Massa achusets have
no wish to change for an elective Judiciary, hold
ing Office by short tenure. In their opinion,
eyinccd in their practice this all-impor,ant branch
ns of the government ought 30 be- removed. A. fnr
possible, beyond the reach Of political influences;
but IL ~ surely tnc ErObeest OI III speak VI
tho tribunals Of the United Suites as being gen
orally tainted with parry, or to represent the law
in the main. as having ceased to be respected and
enforced. Taking comprehensive view Of the
subject, and not drawing sweeping interonccs
from exceptional occurrences, it may be safely
said that the law of the land Is nbly. cbcaply and
impartnlly administered in tho United States, aud
implicitly obeyed On few questions not hnlf a
dozen in number since the organization Of the
government, and thuse partaking of u political
character, the decisions OF tho Court. like the
questions to which they refer. have divided public
opinion. But there is surely no tribunal in
the world, which, ike the Supreme Court Of the
United States, has, since the foundation Of the
government, not only efficiently performed tho
dinary functions of tribunal Of the last resort,
but which its in judgement on the courts md
legislatures VI sovereign States, on acts Of Con
gicss itself mn ! pronouncea tho law 10 cnnleder-
alton co extensive with Europe know of no
such protection, under any other government,
against unconstitutional legislation. it, indeed my
legislation, can be called unconstitutional, where
parliament, alike in theory and practice, is omnip.
otcnt.
With respect to the pariizan character of our
courts, inferred from the manner in which the
judges are appointed the judges of the u States
Courts which nre the tribunals specifically rcfec.
ted on, are appointed in the same manner and
hold their Offices by the same tenure the Eng.
lsh judges of the courts of common law They
are appointed for life, by tho executive power.
doubt from the dominant party of the day, and
this equally in both countries. The presiding
magistrate Of the other branch Of English juris.
prudence. Lord Chancellor,-is displaced
with every change in politics. In scventy.one
years, since tho adoption Of the federal Csnst-
tuition, there have been but four chief Justices Of
the United States, and the fourth Is still on the
bench. In thirty-three years there have been nine
appointments Of q Lord Chancellor, on US many
changes of administration, and seven dAferen. in
diyiduas have filed the Office, of whom five are
living. As member Of the Cabinet, and speak
er of the House Of Lords, he 10 necessarily deep
in all the political controversies Of the day. and
his vast official influence and patronage nre felt
throughout church and state. The Chief Justice
of England is usually member Of the House Of
Lords sometimes member of the Cabinet. As
n necessary consequence, on all questions of po-
litiral nature, tho Court is open to the samo
picon Of pnrtizanship as in tho United Slater,
aud for much stronger reason. inasmuch
Judges can never be members Of the Cabinet or of
Congress. During a considerable part Of his ca
reer, Lord Mansfield was engaged in an embitter-
cd political warfare With the Earl of Chatham, in
the Honse Of Lords. All the resources of the En-
gsh language were exhau,ted by Junius in DESC
lating and unpunished party libels the Chief
Justice of England and when the capital of the
British Empire lay for six days at tho mercy Of
Lord George Gordon's mob, it's fury was concen-
trated against the same venerable magistrate.
The Jurisprudence of this country strikes it's
roots deep into that Of England Her courts,
her magistrates. her whole Judicial system. are
regarded bv the profession in America with res
pect and affection. But if, beginning Mt period
coeval with the settlement Of Americn. we run
down the line of the Chancsllors aud chief justi-
ces, from Lord Bacon and Sir Edward Coke to the
close Of the last century, it WILL in scarce any &C.
neraton, be found free from the record of person.
al, official, and political infrmity. from hch On
unfriendly censrr might have drawn inierences
hostile to the integrity VI the tribunals Of Eng
land, il not to tho soundnees Of her public senti
ment. But he would rave erred. Tho character
of governments and Of nations must be gathered
from large experience. from general results, from
the testimony Of ages. A thousand years, and
a revolution in almost every century, have been
necessary to build up the constitutional fabric Of
England to its present proportions and strength.
Let her not play tho unfriendly censor, il some
por tions of our newly constructed Stale machine
ry are sometimes heard to CRATE and jar With
respect to the great twoedged sword. with which
justice smites the uniaithful public servant, the
present Lord Chancellor llate Chief Jasticel Of
England observes, of the acquittal Of Lord Mel
Vile, in 1906. "that ut showed that impeachment
can no longer be relied upon for the conviction Of
State offences and can only be considered as q
test of party strength; while of the standard Of
professional literature. the same venerable mags-
trae. who unites the vigor Of youth to the exper-
ience and authority Of four-soore years, remarks
with candor not very fattering to the United
States, that down to the end Of the reign Of
George the Third "a. D.. 1s20,) England was
excellsd by contemp poary jnridical authors. not
only in France, Italy and Germany. but erea in
America" will only add, that. Of the very great
number Of fjsdgss Of our Federal and Stale Courts
although frugal saleres, short terms Of Office,
and the elective tenure may sometimes have called
incompetent men to tho bsncb-it is not within
my recollection. that single individual has been
suspected even of pscuniary corruption
Next in importance TO the integrity Of the |