The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-07-07

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ings must be written, and conform to the
law and rules Of pleading, the instructions
given to the Jury on the trial of any cause
must be reduced to writing and be passed
upon by the court, and like the Circuit
Court, its judgments are final and can only
be reversed by the Appellate or Supreme
Court for error in the record, either in law
or in fact and within the scope Of its iuris-
diction, there is no degree of knowledge of
the practice and principles of the law re-.
quired in the Circuit Court that is not now
required in the County Court.
How enlarged that jurisdiction is, and to
what extent the rights of property and
personal liberty may hereafter come within
the control Of this court, may be seen from
the following figures:
From January, 1872, to January, 1877,
the whole number of cases brought in the
Circuit Oourtof the character of which the
County Court hasjurisdiction was ga. Of
this number 376 are now within the iuris-
diction of the County Court. In the same
time the whole number of criminal cases
brought in the Circuit Court was ISL. Oh
4 this number, 1874 are now within the juris-
diction of the County Court, thus making q
total number of cases, during the past four
years, which might have been tried in the
County Court, had its jurisdiction been
then as it is now, of $50, or more than one.
half of all the cases brought to the Circuit
Court.
Every suitor in the Circuit Court knows
by experience, that its dockets have beer
so crowded with cases that months, and
frequently years, necessarily elapse, before
the plainest cases in which jury can be
called, are tried; that Chancery bushes.
of great Importance is so frequently
crowded out by trials Of very little i'm
portance that there is an absolute denial
of justice; and this state OF facts exists il
almost every Circuit in the state. The
Judges of these Circuit Courts, be they evel
so prompt and efficient, find their docket!
continually increasing without the reason.
able prospect of its eyer being better
under the present system. In the Su-
preme Court the same state of facts exist
Though 4 few gears since the number o.
Judges was increased from three to seven
, the business has increased to such an ex
tent that the judges have given up any
attempt to go through the whole docket,
and at the next term at Ottawa the Su
preme Court can scarcely hope to do more
than to receive arguments in, and dispose
of those cases which were docketed but
were not even called last September. X
relieve this overwhelming pressure upor
the Supreme Court, an intermediate court
called the Appellate Court, having in many
respects coordinate jurisdiction, has beer
created by the legislature, and, to relieve
the pressure upon the Circuit Court, thu
enlarged jurisdiction was given to the
County Courts.
What we desire to impress upon tn,
voters of the county is, that if they elec
the same class of persons to the Office o
County Judge who have so long and, W
may say in many respects, so well file,
that Office in the past, they will effectuall
nullify the very purpose which this legis
lation was intended to accomplish, FO
, the administration of court of record, Q
necessity, must be controlled by some per
sen who has a knowledge Of the technics
! rules of practice pertaining to such courts
Otherwise the records will be Of no avail
and the cases will be brought in the Circu
Court, az they have heretofore been, an
} its dockets will necessarily be encumbere
by a great mass of cases, which otherwis
could be disposed of in the County Cour
much more satisfactorily to all interested
To realize any benefits from this leg
islatioD, it is apparent, that if the Circui
Judge is required to be good lawyers so
the County Judge, and there is no dout
that proposition to elect to the Office G
Circuit Judge, mechanic, farmer, mel
Q chant, preacher or teacher, without hi
being good lawyer as well, would b
speedily rebuked by the people. The
: why should not the same be true, now, a
e to the Judge of the County Court?
3 seems incredible, that it is necessary to sa
: that judge who is required to pass upO
S so many questions involving the rights G
{ property, personal reputation and liberty
= should be educated in the principles an
e practice of the law, according to which h
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