The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-10-10
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1868.
The End of the Supreme Court Inves-
tigatIOn.

The End OF the supreme COurt lhVes-
tigatIOn.
THIS morning Judge Sharswood rendered his
decision in regard to the rule asked for by the
Commonwealth against Mr.. Snowden, his
Prothonotary. The tone of this decision we
are compelled, with extreme regret, to say Is
not what we had anticipated from jurist o.
Judge Sharswood's noted fairness. 1t partook
far more of partisan haraDgue than judi
cial decision on question of law. So far as
that part of the opinion of his Honor was
concerned which related to the technicalites Of
the motion pending, we have no comment fur
ther to make than to say that it savored rather
of the niceties of special pleading than the
broad range of q court of justice seeking to
vindicate its honor. In such an investigation
as that before the Judge, it must be clear to
every one that the end to be attained coult
only be reached by a most summary process,
and in that process the subtleties of the law
must give way to the plain evidence of COM
mon sense. If any other rule be adopted
virtual strangulation OF all other investigation
must result. 1t has pleased his Honor to adopt
such another rule and the consequence is
that while the Court has satisfied its own con-
science through technical reasoning the public
remain Of the opinion they before entertained
that the whole business of the Prothono-
tary's Office has been conducted
with negligence which amounts
to crime. We are at a loss to see on what
grounds his Honor bases his opinion that the
employment of convicted felon does not indi-
cate even negligence, or how it is that he re-
comedies the seal being placed in the custody
of clerk who has only been employed in the
Office for two days, with due diligence on ths
part Of the Prothonotary. He goes SO far
even as to lend a semi-official countenanoe to
that most atrocious system of afixing the seal
of the Court in blank to judicial documents.
In all this, therefore, we say that We are sur
prised at the decision of his Honor, although
we never expected any other termination of
the suit than the dismissal of the rule.
But if his Honor had contented himself with
uttering legal niceties he would have remained
beyond criticism, so far as his province was
concerned. But he has not SO contented him
self. He has pronounced an extra judicial
decision, which will shock the moral sensi-
munity. He takes the perjured testimony Of
an attempted murderer as though it came from
the lips of credible witness, and adopts the
monstrous theory that these papers were put
upon the person of DeviHe by "his enemies.'
Even the desperate ends of partisan necessity
cannot excuse Judge of the Supreme Court
lending his sanction to so infamous an expsdi-
n,,I lid, TNh
Devine can convince the people that he
(Devine), as runner of the Democratic Com
mittee, did not receive those papers from thai
Committee, and they in turn from the officer
of the Supreme Court
There is, however, one point in the opinion
of the Judge which confirms his own theory as
to the duty of the election officers. He says
from the bench itself that he believes the im.
preston Of the seal affixed to the forged papers
to have been affixed by a counterfeit die.
Therefore there must be in existence some
where in this city an exact eleotrotyps imtta-
tion of the genuine seal Of the Supreme Court.
This imitation is so perfect that neither
the officers of the Court nor the experts ex-
amined could say which was the forgery and
which the original. What, then, is the duty
of an election officer' 1t is clearly to refuse
to receive any paper under the seal of the
Court until he has convinced his conscience
that that seal has not been affixed by the
counterfeit die which the Court, in its despe-
rate extremity to shield its officers, supposes
to,exist. This then, mustmaterially strengthen
the view we have already taken in regard to
the duty of return judges. Taken altogether,
we see in the decision of Judge sharswood
some cause for surprise, great cause for regret,
and great cause for the indignation of both the
honest aud the intelligent citizen.
Eorevar DisnuaI,fiad