The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-11

I
upon their construction of Governor WALK
ER's. suggestion that in the election OF
Judges, if the Legislature cannot find men
| outside of the circle disqualified by the
fourteenth amendment, they shall take
| men from that disqualified class and trust
to the generosity and justice of Congress
to relieve persons so selected Of their dis
abilities. The extreme organs construe
| this as wholesale recommendation to defy
the fourteenth amendment and elect all
the Judges from amongst the disqualified
a construction unwarranted and manifestly
absurd.
Does any man pretend to accuse Governor
WALKER of assuming that outside the dis
qualified list no one in the State is fit to be
judgeH
In the face of the recommendation that
in case disqualified person is elected Con-
gress shall be asked to remove his disablll-
| ties, can any man assume that the TO
| vernon means that q person so elected shall
enter upon the discharge of his duties be-
fore Congress removes his disabilities OF
that the recommendation to such re-
moval of disabilities at the hands of Con-
gress does not prove that the Governor re-
spects both Congress and the Constitution
in NIL that he proposes on the subject
All else is assumption and cayil-as-
| sumntion without warrant. and cayil with
out cause.
One extreme quite independently declares
that if the Governor has been won over by
men of " mellow proclivities " very inte-
resting proclivities } "who would like to
be judges on Republican principles" then
he els opposed to the thing altogether"
That's brave and fiat. And he goes fur
Their, and declares that it must be distinctly
understood in advance that any candidates
so relying upon .the removal of disabilities
will, "under no circumstances, act with
the Republican party" And the other
extreme will probably say that no person
so elected will be relieved of his disabili-
ties if he has Democratic proclivities. E"
And thus we 20. We shall have gay
time if we are to be drawn first to one and
then the other side by these very consido-
rate and public-spiritcd extremists.
Now, for one, we have to say that to be
catechizng men who are proposed for
judgeships about their political opinions
would be monstrous. Aud the man who
would crafty such catechizcrs and 60 upon
the bench as political judge would de-
serve to be hung.
While on the subject We take occasion to
remark that whatever others matters the
members of the General Assembly may refer
to the caucus, We most ardently hope they
will not dream of referring the question of
who shall be named for judges to any such
arbitrament. The caucus is rarely neces-
sarv, and always an evil. Its introduction
into the politics of the United States was
submitted to with both reluctance and dis
gust by the public, who saw that in employ
ing it they parted with some of their liber-
ties. Its offspring are generally medium
men. The giants are thrust aside, and the
rival divisions unite upon pigmies. An
engine so injurious to the public interests
should certainly be limited in its scope as
much as possible. It's application to judge
ships should never be dreamed of. y judge
should be above suspicion Of party faint
or bias. He should never be the creature
of party caucus. The fruit of such hot
bed Of weeds should never be admitted into
the sacred Temple of Law-of law which
has its " seat in the bosom of God. -