The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1873-05-22


many reforms md
reaasd 81 ths
|sion ard rt,t -iens = Iae ies
hr years, nothing calls more iaadly fof
Ilarsipg thai OR present Judiciary III
police iaw the school las the militia IN.
tie enabling act and an lis. dan,ning eol-
lection, knaua - ihe laws 81 1S7oand 1874.
are small evils eomraned with 40 in.5ecils
and corrupt bench Can it be that the pre-
sent Legislature, q majority 81 which know
ana profess to represent tie wishes Of the
people, viii adjourn without removing the
lTeeter part of the district Judges Of this
State from efices they degrade, BY dishon-
esfy. incompetencr and faYoritism.
Appointed through favor and Tor the
execution OF partisan ends. without re-
gard 70. competency or character, It is no
wonder that most Of the present judges Of
the State aTe ignorant and corrupt, and that
the judicial ermine, once in Texas, pure as
falling snew, has become the cover and
cloak Of every mean and dishonest thing.
Take as on instance 5. B. Ncwc0nb, APP
pointed in 1871, Judge Of the Fwenty-fifth
unluckily for his district, an inscrutable
Providence decrced that Z. j. Davis should
be Governor OF the State of Texas. and
that he should choose James Z. Newc0mb
TO he his Secretary Of State, and that the
said Secretary Of State should have
In the SHOWS Of Canada, cousin
S. b. Newcomb. who had carpet bag, no
need Of an immigration bureau 10 bring
him to Texas. A position as chief clerk IN
the Land Office, at two thousand a year
answered every purpose. But. seeing the
greatness Of James p, S. B., alter 3 little
became ambitious lie swclled until the
Land Office would no longer hold him. and
having by some hook OF. crook obtained q
blue bag and Paschafs Digest, imagined
he would make nice Judge, not to speak
of the $500 year, not 10 be had every
day in Canada. viii do S. B. the jnssirc
however, to remark here, that he never
made any use of the Digest, except put i
in the blue bag, aud occasionally, when court
was in session, and an unusually knotty case
before the court, TO hang the bag around
his neck. Being thus armed with his car
pet bag, his blue bag his Paschal and his
cousinship to James P, he applied to z. j..
Davis for the judgeship of the Twenty-ffth
Judicial District, and as it was a good way
of, so that he could not well trouble the
aIfectionate James p by attempting to
borrow money from him, when he should
be once installed in said district, and as
neither James p or a. J. Fountain, the
distinguished Senator as he styles him
self, from the Thirtieth Senatorial District,
which includes the Twenty fifth Judicial
could at that time take the Office them
selves, S. B. was duly appointed and
confirmed. At the time Of his appoint
ment and confirmation, and even now it is
doubtful whether S. 3. IS a citizen Of the
United States, or of this State. No matter
for that, was he NOT COUSIN to James p. z
and so he was appointed; and severe
they traced hack nm sure at least twenty
nve out OF the IAiTty-fve jadges IA the State
would be found to have gotten into their
offices-not that they are all cousins of
James p Thank Heaven, it is not quite so
bad as that but that they have obtained
their appointments through trickery, IA
voritism and corruption. And so the court
houses in the Twenty-tifth Judicial District,
and all over the State, with few excep-
tions, have become places where justice, or
rather injustice is distributed through fear,
favor or for money, and the courts solemn
farces. VIII the Legislature permit this
state of things to continued Many of its
members are lawyers, and know that this
condition of things is true, and themselves
have felt the degradation and bopelessness
Of practioing before Judicial Shyster who
makes up his judgments before he takes his
seat on the bench or hears an argument.
Should the Legislature adjourn before rem
edying this matter, or before at least pro-
yiding method by which, in reasonable
time, we may obtain faithful, honest and
competent men as judges, it will disappoint
the people of every sectiod OF the State, and
viii fall far short Of what is expected of It.
SAN ELIzAtl0,