The Local news. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1861-1862, 1861-11-23
Editors Of the Local Ne,ps:

speech made by distinguished gentleman,
in which reference is made to the legal
opinion " of Mr. Kinzer and myself recently
published in the LOCAL News, in style Pc
cuiar to the speaker. and admirably adapted
to the circumstances under which the speech
was delivered.
would not presume to refer to criticism
so oraculor. were it not for the fact that the
multiplied and important duties recently and
unexpectedly dev,lved upon the gentleman
have caused him to overlook matters of mi
n consideration, toawhich it becomes neces.
Try to refer, the more especially because in
advertence in SO high quarter might Flu
riously affect those who are accustomed to
defer to his authority.
In HE very eloquent and classical harangue
tothe one hundred and forty-one loyal men,
| comprising the half a hundred newly cleo
ted dign'tares, and the score or two of dis
interested aspirants for their patronage bo
now constitute at once the city of Alexandria
and the Ninth Congressional district of Vir.
ginia-he very courteously and professionally
remarks "that every professional reader
would readily acknowledge the legal opiu
ion to be what it purported to he upon it's
iace-t" wit: the result of a very limited
examination Of the law" and proceeds to
say that this statement was well enough, as
it explained why the legal opinion, IN all its
points, directly overruled the decisions of
Chief Justice Marshall on the pery same
points, and explained, too, how it happened
that the authors of the legal opinion cited
for their standing authority treatise which
by It's very title ignores all discussion Of the
Corporation law. which applies to such Cor
porations as the city of Alexandria"
If this were true, it would be remarkable
for more reasons than one. Now the learned
gentleman overlooks the fact, that, as no such
case as this has ever called for the rebuke
of tho courts of this country, Chief Justice
Marshall never had an opportunity of deci-
ding upon all the points discussed in the "le-
gal opinion" which is so unfortunate az TO
be obnoxious to the criticisms of the learned
gentleman. But wherever the decisions of
Chief Justice Marshall are applicable to the
case, they have been deferentially followed
in the illegal OPINION" and nothing but the
circumstances before referred to could have
caused the learned gentleman to err in this
particular
La reference TO the authority cited in the
+" legal opinion" it is evident that the learn
ed gentleman has been zoo much engaged in
his important public duties, both present and
prospective, to read further than the title
page. This would have been evident even if
his citations had not been exclusively con.
fined to that portion of this very valuable
treatise. If he had proceeded SO far in his
researches even IN the preface, he would have
read as follows: 1T is true there are cited
10 the following treatise a great number of
English DECISIONS" (moye than twelve hun
dred,) but they are in general eases of mu-
nicipat corporations and which have been !
referred to for the purpose of illustrating
principles which govern bodies corporate,
whether public or private" And if he could
have spared the time to read further in the
preface, he would have learned that the au-
thors concede their great obligations to Mr..
Wilcox, whose treatise was mined entire-t
ly to municipal corporations. Proceeding to
the introduction, the learned gentleman
would have read mach of the history of mn.
inequalities and the law of public CORPORA
lions, and cnrsory examination of the text
would have shown constant reference to Kvd.
whose work was chiefly confined to munict-
pal corporations, and to Wilcox, whose
'reatise was exclusively devoted to that sub
ect. Further, if the learned gentleman had
the sections referred to in the "le
gal opinion" he would have found that thew
Utmost invariably cited cases of municipal
corporations similar to that of the "Citv
Council Of Alexandria" But, doubtless. the
earned gentleman was too much occupied
With matters of greater importance than the
a'cs forbidding the violation of charters and
he subversion OF Constitutional rights. to