The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-09-11
t'~'hPIENhEE II.l>,~

jim - llid oil All -l-t
who had ever sat upon the Surraro -I
bench in this State, Judge Batttro No.-
most elegant, because the Sim G'o'e Is.
purest, English. While the win. @
most eminent Jurist may not impre~ .-,
as they did the enthusiastic Osborne
not be denied that as a pains-raL,~ " .-
curaic writer, Judge Battle stands ~@'
u Supreme Court judges with b~.
equals and no superior. II.
Judge Rodman wrote the longest and
haps the most exhaustive opinions ,E..
been written by any of our iudceS
war, and he has written some of the.
and best; though 1t was Il common r
when he was on the bench. thar i nv
possible to tell which way he was 1..,
and that he did not in fact seem f. ~ai
his own mind till he was about fn;~I;H1
the opinion.
But to write we'll requires practice
for Supreme Court judges. ANY man
clear ideas will, by practice and due 49,.
ton to the graces of style, express HIN
with clearness and with more or less
according to the strength of his cow,
and of his intellect.
But practice makes perfect in r..l.
more than in writing. Judge Bvrn,.
the case of the State vs.. Collins, laman-
first, wrote good law but Indifferent f.
His style in hat case bears the imrr-.-
the novice. His sentences We're ne,
structed with such artistic skill ~, IA l
out the full force of his thoughts h..
very greatly improved, and his sub>ear-.
opinions are for the most part anon
very best written in our reports. Hi,..
became singularly pure and his @Ianguara W.
always appropriate and vigorous.
Judge Reade's style may be characre~.
as mcisare. There can be no mistakirrI
meaning. He was no skeptic, and the
of his logic was never impaired bv the ,m.
ence of lurking doubts. Always posjt;ya .
was even at times aggressive Tn the Hon
stead case, for instance: After abe sr~
ments, lasting through many days. when.
eyes of the people of the whole STATE No..
upon him, and when he knew that what +.
was saying was to be reviewed by rha
preme Court of the United States. va, a
the aythrough he impresses you with r.
perfect confidence IN the absolute infH-lH
ty of his reasoning. He approaches a,a-
obstacle as with clenched fists, and lass.
over them, one after another. with 9na-..
triumph, as if he had utterly dcmo>n.j
them. His self confidence must have east,
deep shade upon the thoughts of Chicf .r~
tice Pearson, who wrote the dissenting or;r.
ion. for the latter wrote as if he was under
hack from beginning to end, and never once
to the dignity of the occasion. YET i
IS needless to say, to lawyers at least. tina,
the United States Supreme Court has dcci.
.ed that Reade was wrong and Pearson was
right.
Chief Justice Smith is a magnificent WI
ter OF opinions. He has few equal, amol.
all his illustrious predecessors. lfnot quite
equal to Battle in simplicity and a%ccuracy #
expression, it must be admitted he is SUP,
rior in the breadth and comprehensive Of
his views. If inferior to Pearson in nata
powers of apprehension and analysis, he ,r-
passes him in diligence in examining. con-
pairing and %eXpounding, decided cases, and in
he f%ullness and elaboration with which be
discusses all the points at issue. He does
1othing grudgingly, but works patiently anil
faithfully, and never seems III a hurry to
cave a case before it is finished. He's
something OF a hair-splitter, 1t must be re-
5retted, and occasionally draws very hle
sights, especially in State cases. \ new >-
lcltors bill Of Indictment under a recent act
the Assembly, stand no more chance
when the Chief justice draws a bead emit
han the historic coon did before the shot
gun of old man Crockett. Tn should MT
thus. The chief justice should Iemen-
Der that the spirit of the times is t, Ienore
'%efinements and technicalities III pleading
md require no more of form than j. neee,'
AIRY to present the substance Of the l>sle-
involved.
Judge Ashe is even surprising the czIec-
atlons of his friends. Injured for q bong
lme to the drudgery of professional .ab9,f,
nd not having been known to stray IN the
Ilyslan fields of light literature. 1t was mol
that he would write gracefully anu
luently at the start. 1t was like hltchjnguP.
dray horse for a drive in the park. But
been tugging in heavy harness D..
not shown himself feet, it was only ~
rant of opportunity. He moves over ne
curse like a veritable A~bd-elkoree, NJ
lyle is exceedingly pleasant and graceful.
his language simple and SaZonIc. il
principles and definitions he Is a
nee comprehensive, discriminating AM
For instance, in Green v; sun.
1ey, $50 n. c. rep, p. 1907, speaking "
he homestead, he says:
1t is settled hat the homestead H4AI
quality ANNEXED IN land whereby an estate