Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-11-04
Our New York Letter.
New YORK, Oct. 90. IS,

Editor Rutland Herald: This great
| city is never without its excitements.
| Thousands of these would be but mo-
mentary, and confined to narrow limits,
but for the rivalry existing between the
newspapers which must supply their
readers with everything in the shape of
news whether good or bad ; and to our
shame be it said, the worse the news the
more popular the vehicle through which it
reaches the people. Every day we read OF
murder, arson, burglary and other crimes
indicating the existence of aphase of civil
day husband murders his wife and
blows his own brains out. Tomorrow a
mother kills her child and then browns
herself Now a bank is robbed of the
wealth Of hundred rich men. Then
comes the story of fire fend, who burns
house after house for the qualification of
an uncomfortable and inexplicable desire
to work mischief. Clip from the last
weeks files of New York papers the va
rious records of crime, o, Philosopher
and explain if you can, on any principle
laid down in your books. or dedueed from
the -ever-present experience Of the past,
or evolved from the workings of your own
busy mind, what has produced this state
of affairs now 40 common as to excite but
| little remark among any class of people
except those. who. like yourself, make
mankind their study. Does the solution
of the question lie in the fact that men
are radically depraved, and that their de-
pravity Is more apparent now than OF
old, only by reason OF the general adj
vance of the world in morality and the
multiplication of news vehicles Or,
in the special case of New York, for ex-
ample, can we account for it on the score
of bad government: There is largely
increasing class of thinking men among
US, liberal in their views on all subjects
religious, political and social-who take
the ground that the prevalence of crime
is attributable, in greater measure than
moralists are willing to admit, to the OPP
Grafton of bad laws or the careless OF
wicked administration and execution OF
good ones. We are soon to test the senti-
ment OF the people on this point. In adj
yocacy of what is called the Judiciary
Article of the new Constitution of New
York. several prominent members of the
bar have recently published an appeal for
a change in our judiciary system, which
sets forth very startling facts, and adj
vances a most cogent argument. The fol-
lowing paragraph embodies the substance
of the article:
"When we say that the public interest
does demand the adoption of the Judici
airy article, we only express conviction
shared by all classes Of intelligent PEG
pie. We have one Of the worst, if not
the worst, judicial system in the world
In the court of last resort, causes are
more than five years in arrears, and th1
evil goes on increasing. The rich
and the poor are alike waiting Justice in
that tribunal, and waiting in vain. 1t,
!, decisions are vacillating and conflicting
because its members are annually chang
ing. The bench is occupied in rapid sue
cession by judges of opposite opinions
and irreconcilable tendencies. The Su.
preme Court presents the spectacle Of
judges all over the State reviewing thei,
own decisions. The want of an unpreju
! diced review has long been felt, and such
keview cannot be effectually secured
!; under the present organization of tina,
court. The entire judiciary system o.
I the State is weak and lettering for wan,
Of broader basis in the county courts
I We have in these courts a vast judicia
force powerless and useless, because they
I have.no common law jurisdiction and there
fore cannot take cognizanoe of the smaller
and everyday disputes, out Of which th,
mass Of litigation springs. For this rea
, son, the Supreme Court il overwhelmei
! and degraded by petty local controversies
Il which ought to be disposed Of in th,