Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-01-21
HgGE RARNARD.

Il viii be remembered that recently the
Bar Association Of this city presented to the
Legislature of the State a memorial reciting
grave charges against the judiciary .ef this
city, and asking that a committee be ap
pointed TO investigate them, The allega-
tons were general in their nature, mention
ing no names, bat reciting concisely the
alleged corrups practices oftbe judges which
have been ppDlic rlmOr for many months.
Judge B2rnard has taken these accusations
20 hip,sQlf, and has asked the Oyer and
Terminer Grand Jury to investigate his
Conduct for all the time be has been on the
Supreme bench, now about IA years. The
Judge has been interviewed and states
that he courted this investigation by the
Grand Jury, furnished them with the
names of forty witnesses who are supposed
20 know something to his discredit, and re-
quested the jury to commence the investi-
CATION to-day This is TO be done, and
those who have been so loud in their de-
uunciations of Judge Barnard viii be al
lowed the opportunity to sabstantiate
their charges against him. In his interview
with a reporter the Judge said that all
these charges originated with the partisan
press oppressed to him politically, whose ed
stors associated him with the late Tammauy
Rirg. The following is the substance Of
his statement:
Tammany is broken up; but here I am.
l have nothing to be afraid OF and have
challenged scrutiny. Others have fed, hut
l hold my court regularly every day, l do
the duty which l swore to do as Judge. !
have tried $4,000 cases and my decisions
have remained unreversed. [ have E6ver
wronged any man of a cent, end yet they
go on viliiyipg me. But Il has got to come
TO a stop somewhere If the pubic viii not
protect me from outrage l must take means
TO stop it. But l will violate no law.
This inquiry must go on. l don't ask for
a goQG. show for myself, but the
graDr jury hold their inquiry in secret, and
1 abide by the result. However, the court
StenOgrapher will be there to take notes,
and that is all l want. The testimony will
be published every evening, and can see
what they have to say. want the public
to know whether they have got such bad
man on the bench. | want all the pent up
malice Of my enemies to do its best. They
talk Of 80 the ring" Why, if l hadn't by nay
injunction stopped the supplies, the ring
would have fought out and beaten them.
But l meant to do my duty and viii
always do it.
We extract the above from the New Y ork
Eraing Mail, because it is more in accord
ance with what we have learned to be the
correct view Of Judge Barnard's character
than any Of the Grant partisan representa-
tions that We have seen. 1t may be that
Judge Barnard has some Of the erratic
streaks Of genuine genius. Our infOrma-
ton is that he disposes Of more cases than
any other Judge Of the Supreme Court in
New York, and that fewer Of his
cases are reversed by the Court q
Appeals than any other Judge in the State.
From what We can 'gather and surmsa''
from our various exchanges, Judge Barnard
is simply little more independent than
any Of his brother Judges. In other words,
that he associates freely with Horace Gree
lev, jim Fisk, Henry Ward Beecher, or any
other man (we mention these simply to
nlustrate) aad thus catches the varying
views Of human nature. Hence is more
competent to determine at q glance tie
right from the wrong, and finally to adiudi-
cate as the eternal principles Of justice may
require. Let him be weighed in the bal
ance, and if found wanting, then be it 50
adiUdged,