New-York tribune., 1867-03-12

MINI.
From Oar special Oori''pO BOSTON March T. 1861.
,.,.o Thomas Russell, who is appointed Collector
- 0oyt IA known TO everybody hereas one OIL our
Sao~tstp men, He is just the KIND OF COLLECTOR we
,I5 sunnose would turn up IN the closing hours OF q
bnsv CongteSs sndi very mixed cOh'utiol Vi pom.
80; The Judge is q son, believe, of Mr.. Russell OF
pIrmouth who was once State Treasurer He grad
,oted Tor was graduatedl at Cambridge IN 1S4, but
xvas lively and precocOus youth, aud so
probably entered college young. lie was an
active Free SOiler in 1S4S, and during the
coalition ldays, and Gov. Boutwell, made
him q Justice of the Boston Police Court.
Service in this court is not held excuse for non
Interference in politics and so Russell kept following
his natural bent and after the Wings regained their
supremacy in 1855, he, with great crowd OF the
Free-SOers, joined the Know-NOthings, which party
they controlled ever afterward until they saw III 10
abandon and destroy it, When the Superior Court
rose on the ruins of the old Court OF Com
mon Pleas, Gov Banks gave RusSei
place on that bench, and he mas kept IL
ever since Being a good deal of humorlst, the
Judge has lately followed judicial traditions by pre-
ferrinQ to hold himself aloof from politics. ana mas
never made any partisan speeches. except at sanitary
fairs. ant-slavery anniversaries, temperance meet
ngs recruiting rallies flag raisings, Tegmental sup
pers lyceum openings. Cretan gatherings. nautical
school festivals and other patriotic and non-potical
occasions, and as these have not occurred on the
average more than twice week during the last SIX
yeats his opportunities for political action as You
may suppose, have been somewhat limited
However he has managed to keep himself tolerably
well informed as to what is going on IN the world
and has not quite given to the bench what was so
clearly meant for the active pursuit of public
affairs Russell has been acceptable as Judge,
believe though he has the reputation of being SEN
sationa" in the matter of sentences having on one
or two occasions vndicated the virtue OF common
prostitutes by some crushing terms OF imprisonment
on their seducers He is as ubiquitous Gen. Wilson,
and when not holding court in the country may
be found at any and every public meeting or pri-
vate gathering any day, in the city He Is the
most useful man we have upon the platform,
either to deliver an address himself or introduce the
orator or Oratress Of the evening If there be meet
ing at Dr. HOwes office of a few gentlemen to take
measures for operating on the pockets or thesympa
thes of the people in aid Of any patriotic or benevo
lent-mark yOui patriotic and benevolent, not pOht
ca!-object you will find the Judge there. lie does
this work. suppose, out of good nature sentimental
philanthropism, and to keep himself from dropping
out of the procession he would be likely to do,
be confined himself strictly to judicial duties For,
Sooth to saw the Judge is little uncertain In bis
politics The humorous habit, which | have noticed,
of following legal traditions and the (suppOsedl
custom of the Judges of the Supreme Court by pro-
Tossing to keep out of political Conventions as SUCH
has perhaps tended to strengthen natural taste for
ndrectnes not to say crOOkednesS in politics. and 1t
has been not uncommon to hear 1t said
that you don't always exactly know where to find
the Judge. do myself TecOlleot that when McClel-
Ian was in Boston he was disposed to be McClel-
Ian man. Not long ago he was with apparent sin
eerity. proclaming his belief that Cen Swift con-
cerning whom there had been some private scandal,
anfnr anHf flaf ha n hp
frmed as Naval officer! He is n great friend of
Gen. Banks and indeedI may say that, although he
when an election for overseer Of Harvard College is
pendngl a Methodist of the strietest Sect he has
him from seeking for information for
public; opinion among t6S less severe anu
Judge Russell will, of course. resign his place upon
the bench of the Superior Court and II is understood
that Chief-Justice Charles Allen Of the court Is
about to resign, his withdrawal to take effect IN
April The Legislature will, however. probably re-
duoe the number of justices TO eight so the Governor
will not have to make any new ones, but only TO
designate some one of the present members OF the
court TO be ChiefJustice. / suppose that Judge
Lord Of Salem is the fttest person to succeed Judge
Allen, if legal ability is TO be the sole criterion but
Lord Is a very malignant COppeThead, and has been
so all through the war and public opinion would
hardly stand such strain as this. Judge Wilkinson.
also good lawyer. is politician of the class.
though less offensive than Judge Lord. The other
ton, Ames, a son of Fisher Ames, Lincoln T.
Brigham, Julius Rockwell, Henry Yose, and
Judicial officers. cannot judge. Morton inherits
good deal of the judicial talent of his father and
Ames was talked Of for the Supreme Bench when the
last vacancy occurred. Mr. Rockwell is not un-
frequently sneered at for his old-fashiOned
sense, anti-circumocutlOn ways Of deciding cases.
Not long ago he allowed a jury to have a copy of
the General Statutes, for their information 10 the
laws OF the they were trying, and the Supreme
Court at first struck dumb with horror and astODish
ment at this attempt at revolution proceeded
it had fully recovered ITSELF 10 grant new trial
The idea of deciding law suit according TO MaSsa-
chusetts law was not TO be tolerated Tor moment.
Ii Judge Rockwell had sent to Boston for the Mirror
of Justice or BTactOn, or the Year Books OF the
recent volumes of Aliens Reports where these vau-
able authorities all condensed and digested by
Judge Gray TO the intense wOndcIment Of the young
lawyers and the intense amusement of the old ones,
he would have hR il, and new trial would have
been granted. If Berkshire Judge in this
way, assuming that jurors are capable not only of
reading but of interpreting the meaning of what they
read shall expect to attempt 70 inteTdct the
printing of the General Statutes altogether. For
there Is no security that man may not study the
book at home, and possibly copy q few clauses in his
diary for use when he comes TO be boxed mp in his
cage with his eleven hungry cOadjutOrs. When our |
cases come 10 be decided according TO the will OF the
of Justice" may well trembe for the safety of our
system Of jurisprudence.
But am DEPRESSING. INTENDED 10 gay a word of |
Judge Allen, whose retirement ON account of i'll |
health is cause of great regret. In genuine legal |
and intellectual strength thereiwas not probably any
man upon either of courts equal to Judge Allen
ia his vigorous days. 1t great treat to hear
him some twenty-five years ago, when holding the |
Court Common Pleas at Lowell, tear 10 pieces Mr. |
Webster's argument III behalf of Wyman, the Pres- !
dent of the Phenx Bank. " Judge Allen has got tho
case said Webster, when the jury brought IN
dict OF guilty Allen left the bench of that court in
1874 having served only two years, and returned to
the lar and 10 notifies From this time to 1913 he was
oneOf the most distinguished of the liberal Wings.
operating with Mr.. Webster in the antiTexas move
ment, and with s. G.. Phillips, Sumner, G.. f. Adams,
Wilson Palfrcy and the rest, in the measures which
in S4S led to the great rebellion against Winthrop,