Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-07-20
CORRUPTION OF THE COURTS.

A4SAN S0
We published, yesterday, the first of a
proposed series of articles upon the much
mooted topic of the corruption believed to
exist in the Courts of this Territory. The
subject Is one of the deepest interest not
only to every resident of the Territory, but
10 thousands of non-residentS, who have
vast property interests herein, and TO the
commercial world. to whom the prosperl-
" of the Territory and the solvency OF ITS
citizens is q matter of vast import. There
is, of course, an anxious curiosity for the
production of the evidence, which 1t Is
proposed to submit to the people for their
satisfaction upon the point as to whe'neF
such corruption, as rrlmor attributes to
the Courts, does or -ioes not exist As
we said at the outset, such evidence must
of necessity, be entirely circumStantlai'
and made up of facts, which, taken to-
eethar, must lead to the conclusion to
which we have arrived, and which, we be-
Eeve must force itself upon the mind Of
the public as an irresistible sequence. The
charge of Judicial corruption is one not
LIGHTLY 10 be made; 1t should be firm in
its foundation. guarded and cautious in
its manner, and free from exaggeration or
rancor. It's a charge that involves guilt
in many; the bribers and their agents as
well as the bribed and their instruments.
If the facts as represented to us shall De
established. there will be shown TO have
existed in this Territory, from the date of
its organization, system Of dark fraud
and unscrupulous corruption, that has not
only wrought outrage and injustice against
the rights of the honest and conhdlnS
masses of the citizens, but has struck a
terrible if not already fatal blow TO the
prosperity of the Territory as a country
and as body polite. If such an organ
lied system of fraud has existed, it has in
volved in its meshes, and in its crimes, the
Judiciary, the executive officers Of the
Courts, the great and powerful corpora
tions, who have been the chief parties hti-
CANT, their attorneys and their agents. 1t
has been said, and with some show of pro-
prietv too, bv those with whom we have
conversed upon the subject, and from
whom the main facts in our possession
have been derived, that the guilt of this
corruption rests of right upon the Judiciary
alone. and that those who have obtained
"iusrice" at a price, are not so much to
blame. They say that the seemingly blind
goddess has only been shamming her IN
firnitv. that the hoodwink has been cum
ningly lifted. and that she mas kept an eye
keenly upon the scales, to see whether
the plaintiffs or defendants pan con-
tanned the most tempting offering.
They say that when, through the medium
of u corps of Court brokers, the PROPOSE
ton was plainly stated TO parties htiSant
and their attorneys, that, in vulgar par
lance, " the longest pole knocks the per-
simmons :" that when this proposition
came from those who represented the
Court of last resort, and that it was ''duck
or no supper" it behooved these parties
10 each hunt with diligence for that duck,
and provide himself with that longest
pole. In some of the heavy suits which
have been tried in ;he Territorial Courts,
millions of dollars were at stake, and if
few paltry thousands could turn the scale,
small blame, they say, to those who threw
the sprat to catch the whale. This may
be good logic, and if the bid for bribery
was so open, and Judges hung out their
auctioneers' sign so plainly, as has been
represented to Us, we certainly must ad-
NIT that those who felt that truth and
mstice was on their side, but that it could
only be obtained through bribery, then
the act of bribery was measurably excus-
able. When lawyers tell Us that their
clients have ceased to consult them as to
the principles of law bearing upon their
cases in Court, and only seek information
as to the probable price of Judgment in
their favor, things have come to rough
pass. Yet, that such is the case, we are
informed by trustworthy members Of the
legal profession. This fact, of itself, shows
the bent of the public opinion, the extent
and universally of the belief Of which we
have spoken, and is a considerable por-
ton of the volume of smoke that leads
the analytical mind to believe of the ex-
istence of very considerable fire beneath.
This is a fearful state of things, whether
the charges can be sustained or not. The
very existence of the belief is calamity
that is crushing the Territory down to
ruin. and until the incubus IS removed
and public confidence restored in the in
tegrity and incorruptibihty of the Courts,
there can be no hope Of a resurrection.
There has been clamor and outcry enough,
already, from the throats Of the outraged
and disguised people, to have caused the
resignation long ago of men who enter
tanned single sentiment of self-respect.
Further clamor to that end will be in
vain. 1t only remains for the people to
examine carefully into such facts as will
in due time be laid before them, and if
they are convinced that the grave accusa-
tons so universally banded from mouth
to mouth can be sustained, let them make
such forcible and unmistakable demon
strations as will demand from the General
Government thorough renovation of the
Courts of this Territory. There is q long
term of vacation before Us, giving US am,
pie time to proceed carefully and deliber-
ately in our Investigations, and the result
thereof we shall from time to time lay be-
fore our readers for their grave considera-
ton.