Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-06
THE CONVENTION.
TwENTY-FOURTM DAY.

SATURDAY, Feb. 8, 187O.-!The Con
vention met at $50 O'Clock A. NJ, Presi-
dent Brown in the chair. Prayer by Rev.
Rob't A. Young, of the McKendree
Church, after which the journal was read
and approved.
/ THE JUDICIARY.
Mr. Jones, of Lincoln, moved to take
up the motion to lay the motion to recon-
slider section Is on the table. The motion
was taken up and the section reconsidered,
after which Mr.. Jones, of Lincoln, moved
to amend by making the term of office of
Circuit Court Clerks four instead of six
years. Carried.
MIR. Kennedy offered the following in
lieu of the section: Fa
| Sec. 10. Judges of the Supreme Court
shall appoint their Clerks, who shall hold
their offices for six years. ChancelloFs
shall appoint their Clerks and Masters,
who shall hold their offices for period of
six years. Clerks of such inferior courts
as may be hereafter established, which
shall be required to he holden in the re-
spective counties of this State, shall be.
elected by the qualified voters thereof, for
the term of four years they shall be re-
moved from office formalfeasance, incom-
potency, or neglect of duty. in such man
ner as may be prescribed by law.
The section in lieu was adopted by a
vote of sc to 80. ~
| A PERSONAL EXPLANATION.
Mr.. Gibson-Mr. President, l rise to
make personal explanation. In the re-
marks had the honor to submit on my
amendment making Judges ineligible to
| fill political offices during the term of Of
| flee, took occasion to state that l knew
of two. Judges who had used their judicial
influence and prestige to advance their
schemes of political ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. l
fear that my remarks may reflect upon
upright Judges not obnoxious to my
statements. The generality of my Ian
guage may do injustice to the just. Iseck
to do justice to ALTO the just as well as
to the unjust.
| will therefore state that one of the
| Judges l referred to is the ex-Judge of the
First Circuit, now member of Congress
from the First District, and engaged inthe
| congenial and amiable work of devising
ways and means whereby defeated party
may secure all the benefits of victory, and
whereby a minority may rule majority.
| As TO this Judge, | speak from infOrma-
ton the most reliable. The other Judge
to whom referred is his dis-honor, the
| ex-Judge of the quOndam Seventeenth Cir
cult, Judge whom his own people peti-
toned the last Legislature in vain TO re-
move But, thanks to the present Legis-
| lature, we have got rid of him at last, got
rid of him Gas the fellow got rid of the lice
on his dog, by drowning the dog,) by
abOlishing his circuit. As to this Judge,
| speak from actual observation.
am prompted to make these cXplana-
tons, also, by the remarks made yester-
day by the gentleman from Knox, (Mr.
Baxtcr,) who broadly asserted that he
| knew of "felOns who were Judges" in
this State; and of other Judges whom
"one-half of their circuit would not be-
lieve on oath" ask that gentleman to
name the judges to whom lac alludes, and
thus do justice TO all.
| THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.
The resolution of Mr.. Brown, of Da-
wilson, 10 abolish the previous question,
and prohibiting any member at the close
of his speech TO move to lay on the table.
The first part of the resolution in re
| gard to the previous question was laid on
the table. The resolution was so modified
as to read ''nO member, at the close of his
| speech, shall be allowed to move to lay on
the table, or move the previous question, "
was adopted.
| UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
The Convention took up the question
1 1. ., -,y.,,4
| judiciary, Mr.. Garner having the floor.
He thought they should do the best they
could under the circumstances. They
knew that this question, as well as that of
the franchise, was surrounded by peculiar
conditions. What assurances had they
that what Ii ey proposed TO do would
be finally carried out? OF course
these offices ought to be vacatcd-thc
people expect it. The question was,
| when should it be done! He was in
favor if it could be done properly to
bring on the election of all Judges by the
first of next May, but he thought it would
be better to put it off till the first of next
November or January. lie thought that
the Fourteenth Amendment ought to
figure in the consideration of this qucs-
ton. He was in favor of waiting till the
latter part of the present year to see
if Congress would not pass a bill TO
remove all legal and political disabilities.
He did not wish to do anything which
would make them enemies in or out of the
State. He held that it was due to those
gallant men who had done so much for
the State not to bring on an election hur-
rlcdly while they were still ineligible
Mr. Brown, of Giles, did not expect to
change single vote in the house. He
knew that he was with the minority, but
he wished to set himself right. 1t was
said by the gentleman from Knox that he
(the speal0cr) wished 10 use too much pO-
likeness in inviting their guests, as he
called the present Judiciary, out of the
house, but they were not yet in posses
sion of their house, and if they did not be
careful they would themselves be invited
or even driven out. The gentleman from
Knox and the gentleman. from Carter
and johnson were not obnoxious to
the Fourteenth Amendment. If the
present Constitution were defeated,
they would have nothing to lose, but
there were a great many thousand of
the tTuest men of the State who were
not thus situated He hoped the lack of
fair amount of personal courage would
not be imputed, but he was afraid OF this
wholesale removal of men from office.
He referred to the argument of the gentle
man from Knox, that the Supreme Court
Judges had not been voted for in every
civil district, but there had been no con-
test made at the proper time, and these
men, as well as others, held their positions
by the best tenure. He was sorry TO hear
that they had felOns on the bench in East
Tennessee, but there was a cOnstitu-
tional provision by which such men
could be removed. Why did not the gen
tleman avail himself of this provision.
He was glad that the gentleman had &C
kn0wlcdged that there were some good
men in the land, but because of a few bad
, Judges, would they wipe them all out ?
| He knew that there were many excellent
F | Judges who were the choice of the bar
and the people. What precedent was
there for this wholesale change? The
/ | amendments made to the Constitution in
| 1884 and in 1853 changed the organization
| of the courts or the tenure of Office, and
| even then the judges held over for two
years. He did not propose tC
use any discrimination, but to act
| | decently and in order, and if there
9 were obnoxious men let them be removed
| ] by the Legislature. He claimed that the
t present Judges were in office legally. II
r this Convention claimed otherwise, and