The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-05-01
THE SUPREME COURT.

A few days ago we charged the Suprem
p Court with having two weights and tw
measures in the adjudication of cases in
volving questions of the tenure of office
We made the specific charge that, while il
the lately reported case of MaglOire VS.. Bar
bin, the Court had dismissed an appeal takeI
by Democrat, because the transcript 0
appeal was incomplete, they had previously
in the case of Collin vs. KnOblOck, refused
to dismiss an appeal taken by Radical
although the transcript Of appeal was
incomplete. The crime with which
we charged the Court was as high
a crime as can be imputed to court
Of justice-the willful perversion of jndg-
ment to base partisan purposes. After a
careful consideration of an attempted justI-
tication Of the Court, which appears in the
Republican of yesterday, we are compelled to
reiterate the charge.
| 1t should seem in a matter of this sort,
that if the very serious accusations brought
by us were unfounded, mere recital Of the
pleadings in the two cases, and of the
us of Misrepresentation and cover us with
confusion. Let it be borne in mind that we
do not call in question the correctness Of the
ruling by which Barbin's appeal was dis
missed for lack of correctness in the tran
script Leaving out Of view the merits of
his case, it was admitted that the Court was
right in dsmissing his appeal for the reason
that the alleged incompleteness Of the
record left the appellate court powerless to
afford relief Assuming as obvious the cor
rectness Of that ruling, we brought it into
contrast with the action of the Court in the
precisely similar case of Collin vs.. Knoblock,
where the court made the precisely opposite
ruling in defiance of the very authorities
successfully invoked against Barbin. 1t
is true that the refusal to dismiss Collins
appeal does not appear in the published
opinion of the Court in that case, for the
very good reason that the Court dared not
tisarshp.
Commenting upon our criticisms, the
Republican favors us with precious extract
from Judge Taliafcrros valuable opinion on
the merits of the case, tending to show that
Collin had the better right to the Office in
dispute.
For the purposes Of this discussion, let it
be granted that the sage Taliafero was
right. Let it be granted that the decision
If the lower court was clearly in violation
If the law. The same was either true or
Untrue Of the decision of the lower court, in
avor of Magloire.
However that may be in both cases, the
ecord vas incomplete. In both cases a
notion to dismiss was made, founded on
he same cause, supported by the same pre-
edents. In one case, the motion was reject
d, in IL other case it was sustained The
curt readily found means to relieve an in
Ired Radical it would afford no relief to
n injured Democrat. q
If our Supreme Judges were animated i
18th the high spirit which, in better days or t
better countries. characterizes the magis- t
acy, or were they even endowed with that i
ecent self-respect which makes honorable b
en- intuitively shrink from an act of base a
'ss, even for the attainment of great ends, n
'ere would be no need of their appearing ii
it'll deprecatory justification of their c.
nduct in the columns of a subsidized news K
per, and still less would there be need of G.
Oh special pleading, such slippery equivo- p
ton, such studied rcticence and evasion, IL
disgrace their defense no less than their it
cisions. it