Wilmington journal., 1874-07-24

House.
5. For County officers.
.unuc1AT. MANNERS-AC -ACCOGNT
OF JUDGE RUSSELL'S INSULT
.oOLDCOL. BALDWIN, CLER n
or COLUMBUS SUP Il IL % IL
COURT.
The people have some rights in the
court house that even SO tremendous
man as Judge Russell is bound to re-
spect. They have right to demand
that a Judge shall deport himself upon
the bench in the discharge of the high
and important duties confded to Elm,
in courteous and polite manner
The people who make the judge have
a right, we say, to demand that he
shall be respectful and courteous to
clients, and to spectators, to Jurors, to
counsel and to other officers OF the
court SO long as they observe the rules
of decorum and decency and obey the
law.
Does Judge Russell come up to this
requirement ? What say you mem
hers of the bar Has he been polite
to YOU. or has he been rude and ln-
sulting q? If we are correctly informed
there is complaint from the lawyers IN
every countyin the District that Judge
Russell has been rude, and overbear-
ing and tyrannical in his conduct On
the bench. If this scOnsp5Gint docs not
srist let the la1uyers contadict =
What do the clients and spectators, and
Jurors and officers, and other persons
whom business or curiosity may at
tract to the court say? If we are cor
rectly informed the complaint IS uni
versal that Judge Russel1s manner is
very off nsive aLi obnoxious to them.
Neither age nor high character, nor
long all faithful performance Of
official dug is sufficient to protect a
man from inh',it from Judge Russell
When on the Lnucb. This seems a
strong expression, and it is strong
one. It is one too tL.I ought not 30 lie
made unless it is literally true. Moth
ing could justify the JouRN y. in max
ing the charge unless it did - with tie
proof in it's hands. That proof We
kave.
The case we refer to is that of Co,'.-
mel Baldwin, the venerable AID re-
spected Clerk of the Superior Court
for Columbus county, a gentleman
whose character for intelligence. re-
spectability and integrity, neither
Judge Russell nor any one else will
dare question, either on the bench OF
elsewhere. Colonel Baldwin is sixty
four gears of age and has been Jorfy-
fue gears in the Court House service,
serving under all the old Judges du-
ring that time, and during all those
long years, half century lacking
only five years, never received word
of reproof except from this mighty
Judge Russell. The following are the
facts of the occurrence to which We
allude:
At the Fall term of the Superior
Court for Columbus county, last year,
after the State docket was closed, the
case of Borden VS.. Powell, was taken
up. A large number of witnesses and
persons who had been in attendance
on the Court in cases on the State
docket went to the Clerks desk, which
is in front of the Judge seat and where
it has been since the Court House was
built. These persons came to the
right of the Clerk and were then op-
posite the right of the Judge. The
same thing had occurred in every
Court since the Court House was built,
and before all the Judges, who had
ever presided there, and without COM
plant from any of them, including
Judge Russell.
At this point of time Judge Russell
very rudely and abruptly broke out on
Colonel Baldwin, then Deputy Clerk
and at the desk and ordered him to
remove his desk and keep those pco-
pie from before the Court, and said
Colonel Baldwin had been trying to
insult him for the past twelve months:
that he must stop it or he would have
cause to repent it. Col. Baldwin po-
litely replied to him, "Judge, 1 have
always sought to obey your orders"
whereupon, the Judge still more rude
" ordered him to hush, that he
would hear nothing and proceeded at
considerable length in a gross, rough,
rude and insulting manner to reprove
Col. Baldwin for those people being
before the Court; found great fault
with the construction of the Court
House and said this nuisance had
gone on long enough, &c.
The whole thing was a coarse har-
angue. delivered in a manner showing
it to be his purpose to be rude and Of
fensive. There was not the slightest
cause for any complaint, and one word
in the way of request or notice of his
wish concerning the removal of the
desk would have caused any change
in the situation of affairs which the
in l9sa desired.
'i.I,i this is the man who asks the