The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-01-25
Tho Case in the supreme Court---Antl
the Case Ia General.


William Ware Peck, ESD, OF New
York. concluded his argument yester-
day in the Supreme Court on behalf of
the state. and adverseto Interpolation
of Mr.. Faulkner to be allowed to prac--
tice in the court without taking the
oath. The argument was TO establish
the point that un attorney is an officer
OF the court and therefore OF the gov
ornment. and ms such TO qualify in our
courts must take the oath OF office pre-
scribed by our statute. And certainly II
ever ANYTHING was established over
whelmingly and incontestably, 1t was
this position. Mr.. Peck brought forth
from the treasures of the library re-
Gently brought from Lewisburg, musty
old tones going back as far us the Eng
lish Jurisprudence of tho twelfth cen
tury; and coming down from that day
70 this produced an array of evidence
that attorneys have always been called
officers and considered and treated in
all respects as officers, that appears to
DO conclusive and irrefutable. Even
the two isolated decisions to the con
trary produced by Mr.. Faulkner he up
set completely, by showing that one
1.-THE New York case) was revised and
reversed withina year by a higher court,
and that in tho other (the Virginia case)
the court was divided and the decision
opposed to every law and precedent OF
centuries before. He Concluded his re-
view of authorities by taking the Vir-
pinia statutes from the earliest days
and coming down to the present day
through Henning, and tho code of ISIS
to tho code of 1850, showed that all
through attorneys are treated as officers
md called "ofHcers;" and the laws OF
Virginia ON this subject being the law
of this State, it therefore follows,
that not only by precedent but
by actual laws, attorneys are officers in
this State, and must qualify as such.
The demonstration of this is regarded
MS conclusive by NIL who heard tho ar
gument, save, perhaps, Mr.. Faulkner
and u few friends, who, like him, arc
Interested in believing tho contrary.
This case is truly what Mr.. Peck
called 1t, ga somewhat remarkable y
case. 1t Is indeed vital one for our
Young State and involves graver con-
sequenecs than any that have yet como
into our courts. The Supreme Court
has, in It's decision, TO face tho profound
est responsibilities. Mr.. Faulkner comes
here Us the representative of the de-
funct southern confederncy. he makes
tho application on behalf of all the rebel
lawyers in the State, and, therefore, in
his person, represents the whole disloy-
al clement against whose rapacity legis-
lators have been ut so much pains to
protect our infaut commonwealth. He
makes the application to the highest
tribunal, and If he succeeds all our
courts, all over the State, are thrown
wide opento men who spent the past
four years in wnging war with especial
bitterness against the people for whose
protection the courts arc established,
and against the State by whose author
ity they exist. They will swarm into
the courts and literally take them by
storm from one end OF the State to
the other, and when this element gets
the domination at the bar-as 1t soon
would; haye 1.-THE loyal element
will seek justice in vain, and will
not long be able TO maintain and
protect itself even by positive law.
There is no step which will so certainly
render attninable the end now sought
by the Richmond rebels,and not sought
by them alone-the reabsorption of this
State into old vfrginia-as decision
that rebel lawyers may have unrestrict-
cd swing in all our courts; in other
words that the only barrier that pro-
tects our people and the purity OF our
courts shall be taken down. whenever
our tribunals OF Justice offer as FREQ and
generous immunities to class stained
with the darkest crime known to socie-
" tho civilized world overland to
members of that class whose crime was
especially inexcusable,--as to the most
loyal and honest of our citizens, then
we shall have little else worth preserv-
ing. ~ t,-..iI lsyy'l
The element which Mr.. Faulkner has
come here to represent is aggressive; II