Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-06-19

BILL REPORTED FROM 1UE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE.
Following are tie remarks OF Senators
bayard and Thurman III the Senate on Sen
ator Carpenters bin to niuz2le tue press OF
the United States and outrage tho rights OF
business ilen aud corporafIoHS having
agents at distant points
MIR. Thurman-Mr. Presidout, do not
believe taere IL q country on the face OF this
globe In which substituted service in en-
action for slander or libel is permitted, and
oil countries perhaps this is the one in which
IL ought 10 lie the least thought Of. Take
great journal in one OF our large cities. 1t
has agents perhaps in dozen other cities
Tne iuea that any parson, supposluG him
sell 10 have been injured by any publica-
ton IN that paper, can roam over the United
States and select bis own forum wherever
that journal may have an agent, seems to
me to be without any good sound reason to
support 1t, to say nothing about what it
would make OF the District OF Columbia
/ Take the case of a journal that has agents
| in almost every great city, as some of them
| have; under this bill, wholly Independent
! OF any action oil the agent himself jurisdic-
tion over that newspaper publisherDr m ag
| ezine publisher, or book publisher, mlght
| b3 obtained whoreyer an agent could be
found, thus giving the plaintiff the right to
| select his own forum, instead Of doing what
| in almost every other cIso party is re-
| fendant can be served with process. I DO
no. think, as l said before, that in sny
country on this globe substituted service
for this is practically til ough moi technically
substituted service-is permitted in act iors
for defamation.
| And again
| Mr.. BayArd-Aliow me 10 ask tho Senator
from Wisconsin question. By the law o
1889 is not the citizeuship of parties htigan
required to be in the district where the SUI
Is brought?
Mr.. Carpenter No; simply his residence
| Under the present Constitution they NEAR
the same thing. They did no; then necessa
rily, but they do now.
} Mr.. Bayard-The present law require.
, that one OF the parties SHALL be resident il
the district where the suit s brought. Thi
present bill does not so provide.
} Mr.. Carpeuter-This present bll is in
, tended to confer u jurisdiction just as 1t i
\ conferred in the Constitution. without tina
b Limitation. When speak of the law, how
U ever, do not mean the Federal law, tie
0 cause the Senator could not have so under
. stood me, but he understood mo to say tha
~ | was speak ing of the State courts of Cali
D fornia, and | said that "A gentleman irou
Illinois might follow me TO California an
. sue me there in tho State courts, and tn
Y bill gave the hight To sua III tAe Fedora
v courts, and made 10 other change.
y Mr.. Bayard-Then the question viii com
for the Senate TO consider Uetweon tho Wis
dom of the law ot 1859
Mr.. Carpenter And tae wi,doui q; th
Constitution.
Mr.. Bayard-Between the wisdom Of ii
law of 1889 and the wisdom Of the Senator fro
- Wisconsin Who now proposes to amend it. Th
is The difference between the tive. The law
ll7S9 requires one Of the parties to be res
dent in the district where the suit ia brougf
and the Senator from Wisconsin 10 his anxiet
Ia, ha al
that neither OF the parties may be resident
the different States. That is all.
Mr. Carpenter-That is all the Constitute
requires.
Mr. Bayard-Tne Constitution requires ,ha
but say the Law Of 1899 was built by wise me
1t has been the law of this country until to-da
n The action under il has been Satisfactory by
u uuiring one OF the parties to lie q resident
the district where the suit is brosght. IL "
wise restriction. 1t has been tested by I
4 experience Of time. And what cause Is the
for uprootipg this and other venerable lar
marks of The past do put the wisdom
the Senate Of 1899 against the wisdon OF
Senator Of Wisconsin, oil to-day, and il is
Encouragement 10 him TO say that this law. h'
ck ing stood the test OF time, should not be ligh
" changed. You are now allowing man 10
80 his defendant in district where the defend
does not reside and in district where he hi
. self does not reside.
He follows him until be Gnls both cf III
in strange country, and there, where nei
,Soi ia known, where less opportunity for
4 trial exists than the law OF l7s9 required,
= suit may be commenced, and may be commen
Of in this excessively unequal, highly construc
am avn method Of summoning him. not personally,
of by some man who is called his agent. +
Ind the word "authorized' is not inserted be
and "agent." The agency is OF the most shad
\. character He may be his agent by the me
- conversation. He may be alleged 10 be
agent only, and then proved to be his a
perhaps by the man himself, If the agent
attic prove his authority; aud that is to depri
man of his property to the extent of his Ell
- fortune, or it may be of that which is Of l
value to him, 10 the shape OF his character
Is. The o,.v os pos,on Il lert nl,ab,e hv