The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1867-01-23
Supreme Court.
Rad;oal .osr.na xo.a and aonn.o<s,aa,

OuRxeunS NO0LSs
Radical newspapers and congressman
continue their war upon the supreme
court. 1t is proposed to reduce the NUM-
Der or Judges to require the assent of
two-thirds Of the justices in order to make
decision and to great extent divest it
Of the character of an appellate tribunal.
There is no doubt that congress may
make very important changes in the or
ganization of the court, and may restrict
its appellate jurisdiction to an extent
which will greatly diminish its authority
and influence, but it is not probable that
the people will sustain the project for prac.
tically legislating out of existence the ju-
dicial department Of the government. The
constitution provides that the supreme
court shall have original jurisdiction Gin
all cases affecting ambassadors, other pub
lie ministers and consuls, and those in
which state shall be a party" and that
it shall have appellate jurisdiction in other
cases to which the federal judicial power
extends, with such exceptions and under
such regulations as tho congress shall
make" AS the court is very seldom call
ed upon to act in casee where ambassa-
doris, other public ministers or consuls'
are parties, it will be seen that to circum-
scribe its jurisdiction in the manner pro-
posed, will leave it very little to do. 1t
should DO considered, however, that rs the
object of the contemplated change is to
prevent the southern states from claiming
protection against radical legislation from
the court, they can easily introduce them
selves as parties to suits which will test
the validity Of such legislation.
The important part which the authors
of the constitution intended the court to
bear in the conduct of the government is
evident from the fact that the judicial is
made one of the three great departments
in our federal system. 1t is given author
ity to pass upon the validity Of all legisla-
ton capable of assuming the character ola
suit at law or equity, and its history has
abundantly justified the wisdom Of the
statesmen who invested il with such ex-
tended powers. The chief justice who
has been most bitterly assailed by politi-
cal partisans is now most frequently quo
ted as authority by those who assailcd
him. The decisions of Judge fancy in
the Dorr and Booth cases are daily referr-
ed to by radical politicians, and this fact
will very we'll illustrate how decisions
which were supposed to be partisan in
their character may serve as protection
to those they were thought to injuriously
affect.
As slavery is Row abolished, and the
court 10 assailed for decisions upon ques-
tons which have no connection with that
institution, but are assertions upon the
powers of the government as to matters
entirelv outside Of IL the revolutionary
proclivities of the radicals are plainly APP
parent in the assault. They would des-
troy the judicial department because it has
presumed to question legislative usurpa-
ton. They would do this when the ma
jority of the justices are members of their
own party and were appointed by Mr..
Lins0ln. Under such state Of facts, with
what deccncy can it be pretended that if
the court is partisan it is opposed to the
party assailing it ?-Chica0o Times.