, 1874-11-30

Ihe supreme Court Of this State is 10 over.
loaded with business that it is manifest soma
fclief must be furnished or the DELAYS will le
so great as to amount to a substantial deuiol
Of justice.
At the last term Of that Court, held nj o.
tawa, there were over sic Aundred cases upon
tho docket. It is safe to say that at least oue-
third Of those cases ught never to have been
taken there; and, even for tile cascs properly
there, the records were moro tllan twice as yo-
luminous US they should hayo been. Butas,nal1
fraction of the caaos upon tho docket were ar.
gned orally, while it is perfectly well under.
stood that in any caso Of Importance IN oral
argument is Of the greatest assistance to tho
Court. The Reports of tho decisions are two
or three yeers behind and it seems almost
impossible to bring them up. Tho volumes
arc unnecessarily numerous, and contain n
ynst number of decisions of no concoivah1c
use to the public or to tho profession, Tho
decision Of causes il long dcfelred and nost.
poned so long in some instances tint tie
case itself is nearly or quite forgotten BY
Court, counsel, and itigants Tho appl;ca.
tons for rehearing aro multiplying at al
alarming rate, aud the consideration Of tbeso
petitions involves the consumption Of
great deal of tile time of tile Court, The
tribunal is pcripntetio in its character; it
holds its sessions in three different por-
tlons Of tho Stato; the records are car-
RED about from one portion of the
state to another, for the convenience
Of Judges to whom tho decisions Of particu.
lar cases aro Unsigned. While tile Court il
nolninally composed Of seven Judges, CAUSES
aro really decided by but one or two. Oral
arguments are SO infrcquent that tho whole
Bench rarely become familiar with any ono
case, and when causes aro orally argued the
decision is so long deferred that it las faded
out of the recollection Of the Court, and in
most instances might as well never have been
made. grcat number Of causes are carr;ed
to TINT Court for tho dishonest purposo of
delay merely, md ma the practice now stands.
there is no way Of preventing it. The judg-
ment appealed from draws but & per cent in
terest, aud I'll appeal, which postpoues the
day OF payment from. one to two years.
is money making operation, most
efficient method Of securing an extension,
md is in the naturo Of forced loan at G per
cent interest. We have named but portion
Of tho ev''R which the Bench, tho Bar, and
tho public ara compelled to endure, aud. the i
question ut onco arises, What is tho real
source Of these difficulties; what remedies.
II any, can bo found? III his opon letter !
Judge McAllister attributed very much Of tho |
difficulty to the fact that there were largo
numbers Of men practicing law "whom tho
Almighty mover intended for lawyers" This
IS doubtless true. But there is no WAY of
getting rid Of those FILLING within his icscrip-
ion who ars now engaged in tho practice
Ind no way Of preventing tho future acoos.
zion Of such men to tile ranks Of the pro-
'ession, savo very much greater rig
n in the examination of applicants,
'nd q mitch closer scrutiny as to their oapa-
,llitiea, than is now exercised. Even these
Incompetent men will succeed in passing tho
'oquired examination; md 1t is altogether
'robab!o TINT men quite unified to practice
NV will continue to DO born, despite all tAet
ho Supreme Court or the Goncral Assembly
It tho state OF Illinois might do or cause to
10 done to prevent 1t. In yiow of tho fact
hat, OF tho 1b3 oases reported md decided in
he laat volume Of the Illinois ncports,
'ighty-ntno wore reversed and sixty.threo
'lfirnsea, IL 1t not possible that thoro ara
mne "'r's HctIng aa Jn'1Sos whom thu Al.
nightly nossr lntondaa Tor thai position ?