Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-15
GzsANGERS' COURTS OF ARIsITRA.
TION,

The Western grdngers have adopted
the sensible plan of settling their dis.
putes by means of arbitrament when.
ever a breach may occur between the
oranges or members thereof. A Jury
Of neighbors and mutual friends, es-
pecially selected for the occasion, COM
poses the court of arbitration. Each
side tells its own story, and there is nc
delay in the decisions. The idea is to
dispense entirely with lawyers and reg
| ular courts.
The above IS running the rounds OF
newspaperdom, and its extensive pub
location may go far toward securing its
realization by suggesting the plan to
farmers in all sections. It's general
adoption would secure substantial JUS
tice, and save taxpayers as well as lit
igants many costs Of court and counsel.
The plan is not new, but very, very
old. Before the present grange
movement began, we took occa-
sion to recall to our readers the
common sense courts" which existed
IN Spain and other countries many cen
turies ago, in what are called by mod
ern courtesy the Dark Ages. The
above extract defines exactly the plan
and mode of procedure of these old
courts The disputes of neighbors
were adjusted by neighborS on theplain
dictates of natural justice, without re-
sort to the refined subtleties Of legal
lore. In all probability, the modern
jury is a relic Of this ancient system of
arbitration. The jury has. in ouropinion,
degenerated with time from its print
tive model. In England, even down to
the times Of Henry VII, jurors were
selected with a view to their knowledge
Of the case and its surroundings. Men
familiar with the customs Of the neigh
borhood, the previous relations of
the Etigants, the reputation OF the
witnessesfor truthfulness,e tc.-inshort,
men who know most about the case,
were deemed most competent to reach
correct conclusions. Our present jury
system reverses all this, on the plea of
seeking an unprecedented panel; and
familiarity with any case actually de-
bars a man from sitting on its merits.
This, too, in an age when the enterpris-
ing newspaper makes every intelligent
citizen familiar with the details of all
important cases, whether civil or c1im-
nal. In other respects also, our system
of jurisprudence fails to manifest an
improvement commensurate with the
progress of commerce, science and the
mechanic arts. The laws delay in
Furnishing criminals fritters away all
the moral effect, and in a negative way
encourages crime and criminals by the
hope Of escape. In civil suits, in the
Of claims between citizens,
the delays of our complicated |
system often work gross injus-
tice to the weaker party. Time and |
money arelost, while courage and en-
terprise are daunted. Many a noble |
spirit is thus prevented or discouraged
from inaugurating enterprises that |
would rebound to the" general veal, |
because If his substance once gets into |
the chancery of the law, he never
knows when it will get out. These vex- |
atious delays, which great corpora
ton can almost always obtain through |
its salaried attorneys, generally the |
best of their section, are one great |
source of the grievances Of Western |
farmers against the railroads. If the |
speedy justice guaranteed in our va
rioUs constitutions, were obtainable |
from the courts. each farmer might |
have his individual wrongs righted
without resort to extensive organiza-
tons which are difficult to start and
more difficult to maintain. The laws
and courts of a free country ought to be
such that each individual could obtain
speedy as well as equal and exact JUS
tee. Among the needed reforms ofthe
times, this is by no means the least.