The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-09-11
II, 1870.

land worth $500, wanted to 60 into bank
rIIntcv. and consulted an attorney. The adj
ice of the attorney was that an absolute
Inod be given to him for this land, to secure
LIZ fee ofSl0O promising, verbally, that after
no discharge was obtained he would re-
annvev. on receipt of the fee, and thus the
land would be saved to the client. But af-
ter the discharge came, the fee was rendered,
bnt the attorney declined to reconvey. The
case went to court. The jury found that the
arrangement was a fraud upon the creditors.
The court held that the parties being in parf
LJcto, no equitable relief could be afforded,
and the attorney, having an absolute deed,
must hold the land. But in announcing
this decision, Judge Ashe did not mean to
be understood as justitying or excusing the
conduct of the attorney; on the contrary he
nuts the seal of his condemnation upon it in
the following emphatic language: 1--WE re-
~ret that We feel constrained to announce
this decision, but we nave to administer the
law as we find it; and while we decide this
ease in behalf of the plaintiff, we cannot re-
frain from expressing our most unqualified
condemnation of the part he has acted in
this dishonorable transaction" To the
careful reader it will appear that nearly ev-
erv word in that paragraph is loaded.
Again: State VS.. McGimsey. The de-
PENDANT was indicted for murder, and the ju-
rv not agreeing, the presiding judge dis
charged them without proper cause icing
stated on the record, &c, and when arraign-
ed a second time the defendant pleaded his
former trial. The court decided that he
was entitled to his discharge, and Judge
Ashe, writing the opinion, concludes as fol-
lows: I'VE think the ancient rule of the
common law has been sufficiently relaxed by
our predecessors, and we are unwilling to
move a step further in the direction of dis
cretlon. We abide the law as we find it es-
tabIished, acting upon the principle OF stare
dectSt%. = X In coming to this conclusion
we are aware that its effect may possibly be
to turn loose a bad man upon society. but 1t
is better III the administration of the law
that there should be an occasional instance
of violence even to the sense of public JUS
tice. than that a principle should be estab-
lished which in times of civil connection,
that may occur in the history of any u
try, would serve as an engine OF oppression
I'm the hands of time-serverS or irresponsible
Judges to crush the liberties of the citi-
zen.
Judge billiard, it must be confessed is not
gliding the fine reputation with which he
went upon the bench by the splendor of his
written opinions. His is the style of the es-
sayist rather than the lawyer. His sentences
are sometimes languid, and his phraseology
occasionally betrays carelessness. But he
will rapidly improve, So fine a lawyer must
ere long write good opinions. When he
shall have brought to his aid more expert
ence and practice, renewed his acquaintance
with old Father Blair, and given some at
tention to the rudiments of legal and philo-
logical dialectics, he will doubtless command
Il style equal to that of any of his associates
or predecessors. SCRIBE.