Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-08-20
w ORCE srER:
MONDAY. AUGUST go. 1860.
The sunrcme Court.

made to consist of one chief justice with five
associate justices During the administration
of John Adams an act of Congress remodeled
the court so as to create large number of dis
trict judges and make the supreme court sim
ply court of appeal from the subordinate
jurisdictions; but that was a time of grea
political strife, the midnight judges were
vehemently criticised, and soon after Mr.. JEFF
ferson became president, the law was repealed
AT the same time, 1S02,) six circuits were
created, three embracing the northern states
and three the southern In 1897, another
judge was appointed, and another circuit was
formed consisting of the states of Tennessee
Kentucky, and Ohio. In 1887 two more
southern circuits were created, with two more
judges, making the whole number nine. This
last movement came from deliberate purpose
to give slavery entire control of the court. The
slave states had already more than their just
proportion; but now, with less than one hall
of the people and scarcely one fourth OF the
business, they were allowed to have five of the
nine judges.
There is one important fact relating to the
supreme court of the United States, which
has not been kept so steadily before the public
as seems to us desirable. Since the eighth
and ninth circuits were organized in 1887 the
states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Califor'
mia and Oregon have been admitted into the
Union; but no judicial circuits embracing
them have been created, nor have any of them
been attached to either of the circuits already
existing. During that time, it has been the
settled policy of those who controlled
the government to require of men Sc
lected for the supreme court intensely
southern sentiments on the slavery ques-
ton; and this test has been applied with
rigor. The intention has been to have that
tribunal ready for any use slavery might
require. Is it surprising that such court is
capable of making bred Scott decisions 7'
And yet, the men who have so corrupted and
transformed that court, have the effrontery to
pretend that they respect the 'con-
stitution and tine laws" and to claim
that their politics are "nationalp The court
needs nothing so much as to be recognized
and rescued from the influence that is using it
TO destroy free principles. Two or three new
circuits should be organized for the five new
free states above mentioned but this is not
all. Either the northern circuits are much too
large or the southern circuits are much too
small. In a speech delivered in congress, last
May, Mr.. Ashley of Ohio made comparison
between the business of the five southern cir
cults and that of Judge McLean's circuit,
which consists Of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and
Michigan, in which he introduced statistics of
the year 1856, as follows -
In the five southern circuits the whole num-
Der of cases on the docket, Jan. l, 1856, was
1876 T.; the whole number added during the
year 1856, was 1923 the whole number dis
posed of that year, 1721 the number remain
ing undisposed OF, Jan. l, 1857, was 1919.
In Judge McLean's circuit, the number of
cases on the docket, Jan. l, 1856, was 1881 !;
the number of cases added during that year,
2037 the number disposed of, 1882 remain
ing undisposed of, Jan. l, 1857, 1875.
These figures speak for themselves They
show us that Judge Mclean has more bust
ness in his circuit than all the five southern
judges together. He disposed of more cases
than they, and the number of new cases i'll his
circuit was more than twenty-five per cent
greater. No one, we presume, will undertake
to deny that the business should be equally di-
vided and so it would be if the court were
not used by those who have been in power so
long, as a political machine, not for the good
of the country, but for the support of slavery
Mr.. Ashley estimates that a fair division of the
northern circuits, taking the average of the
southern circuits, as the standard, would give
the free states fourteen or fifteen judges in
stead of four, without including the states of
Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and
Oregon. Here is ample reason for remodelng
the court and, when slavery is driven from
control of the federal government, when we
have an executive and a congress controlled by
that spirit which created tho government, one
of the first wholesome measures adopted will
be such reconstruction of the whole arrange
ment as will be just and equal.
The supreme court is, certainly, very sec
tional in its present organization, but it is not
an interchangeable power whose DEGREES become
irreversible laws for the regulation of the gov
eminent. In this matter, as in all others,
under our government, the people are the ulti-
mate authority. 1t does not follow that we
must have the bred Scott decision always be.
cause we have it to-day. The alien and Sc
dition laws were declared constitutional, and
men were prosecuted, fined and imprisoned
under them; but, it is now long time since
that was done,-a long time since it was pos
sible. A time will come, and it is not
now very far off in the future, when
we shall get rid of the bred Scott deci-
sion. The character of the court will
change; its intense pro-slavery sentiments
will disappear. While waiting and working
for that time, it is our duty TO maintain
our principles in the most earnest and emphat-
c manner. Earnest men do not yield their
position, nor cease to affirm their principles,
because there are difficulties to be encounter
ed on the contrary, they maintain them with
still greater earnestness, in order to overcome
difficulty by means Of revolution of public
sentiment.
Political.
Some of the conservative gentlemen in Bos-
ton met last week, to make up purse of
$4,000, 10 be used in one or two Of the doubtful