Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-04-10
From the Brooklyn Union
The Us. Court For The Eastern Dis
trict.

There Is movement in Congress-not, 50
far, very strongly supported. TO abolish the [
;. District Court over which Judge Benedict
pesides. We believe that its strongest SUP
porter, certainly its only OPEN supporter, il
the New York I,1juHe, aided by Mr.. j. 7.
illiams, Of this city, the legal adviser Of
that journal. The grounds on which the
movement Is placed by the Trijnne are three
fold. First. The alleged expense and use
lessness Of the Court. Second. The alleged
failure TO deal with frauds on the revenue.
Third. The necessity Of another Judge in
New York.
We declare these grounds-saye the last
which is impertinent-wholly untenable.
l The Court is not an expense to the Gov
ernment. 1t is source of profit The
amount paid into the Treasury last year was
$40, 600 the total expenses were $40, 600,
about $4,000 only Of which belonged pro-
perly to the Court.
1t does not fail to prosecute revenue
cases. On the contrary. it is the only Court
in the country in which Collector and De
putty Collector have been brought to indict-
mcnt on charges of conniyance with fraud on
the revenue. and the only one in which
leader Of 4 whisky ring SO powerful and
wealthy as that Of Deyln has been sent to
prison. 1t has now under due process Of
law, subject only to the inevitable DELAYS of
all Courts, half dozen very important eases
of Indictment for offences againstthe revenue,
and $50 less important
3 As to the Judge in New York 1t is not i'm
possible that he needs anassOciate If so. let
him have one, though we hope Mr. Greeley
will not be intrusted with the selection The
man he meant to have appointed Judge in
this district was VIM. L. Robinson, who is a
fool if not worse, and who made very un-
fortunate assessor. Among the cases Of in
dictment now before the Court is that Of
- Col" Enright, confidential clerk Of Mr.
Robinson during large part of his well-re-
membered term.
We do not care to 90 very deeply into the
motive of this movement, which, with full
knowledge of the case, we pronounce sim
ply scandalous but we point our readers to
two facts that carry conviction with them.
The first is that Mr.. Greeley's opposition to
the Court dates from the failure to get aI-
pointed as Judge Mr.. Robinson already refe =
red to- That means simply that Mr.. Greeley,
failing to secure the Judgeship for a man
utterly unfit by training, habit of mind, at
tainment, or reputation, for its important
functions, allows his jealousy to be directed
against the Court.
Second is that the bill which he advocates
provides that the criminal prosecutions pend
ing in the Eastern District shall be trans
ferred to the Southern District. Now, by
the Constitution, as applied in many prece-
dent cases, no person accused of crime shall
be tried save by "jury of the State and dis
trict wherein the crime shall have been CON-
mitted, rhich district shall hare been preriors-
~ ascerta,ned By ldD."
Now there are over $50 indictments pend
ing in this Court for crimes alleged to have
been committed in the Eastern District. They
cannot be tried in any other. To transfer
them is to abandon them. One Of these cases
is that of T. c. Callicot; The counsel o.
Callicot is headed byJ. T. Williams. J. I