The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-09

laws from ever occurring, OF 10 Ihaho Cnehi ss
rare az possible. To effect this, o fayorite
dea Is To provide Judge for each parish,
vho shall have jurisdiction of all suits, civil,
probate and criminal This Ia expected to en-
sure q speedy trial Of oil cases, because the
Judge will always be present, and his court
always open.
What IL the teaching Of experience In this
natter The constitution OF 1868 Ito go back
no further) provided Judge for each parish,
and gave him probate jurisdiction and linn
tied civil and criminal jurisdiction. Have
probate matters been settled more speedily
during the last eleven years.
The parish court sits In each Of the country
parishes every month. There 10 q very short
| interval, necessarily, between It's terms. IL
may be said to be open oil, or nearly oil, the
time. II 1t has not accomplished the speedy
| trial Of probate and other suits, may not the
cause be found elsewhere than In the provi-
sions OF the organic law2 May 1t not be due
to the mode OF settling SUGGESTIONS, enacted
by statute law And ID not the remedy IN Inc
alteration OF those laws2
Assuming. however, that the main feature
OF this plan Is generally approved. ana the
object to be effected Is the presence OF q Judge
as constantly as can be, 1t is necessary 10
consider the result OF creating Judge Tor
each parish. One-fourth or one-third OF the
Judges may have enough employment 10
warrant such system, but what Will be the
case OF those who are located In small par
tshes. or In those where there is little need Oh
q court always open2 We will take for
granted that there are parishes, such as
Il which
would furnish business to keep judge en-
ployed two-thirds Of the year. VIII Came
ron Vernon and others give him month .
work
The system OF small districts would In the
opinion OF many seem to fit the necessity OF
the situation more completely.
II has been maintained by those who have
surveyed the whole field, that all the country
marshes can be grouped into not less than
thirty nor more than forty districts, and
that the judges can dispose OF all the civil,
criminal and probate business without delay.
IF such be the fact, no one will deny that
such a system is better than that OF Judge
for each parish and In Weighing the reasons
for and against the different systems 1t can
not be lost sight OF, that the plan OF Judge
for every parish would be the most expen-
! sive. .-@m=z 5l= :,
This consideration Is not to be the controil-
ing one in the formation OF Judiciary sys-
tenn. It has long been an adage that cheap
judiciary is the most expensive; anu
although 1t is conceded that all salaries are
to be reduced, it may be assumed that the
Convention does not intend to adopt sys-
tenn that will necessarily have tendency to
exclude all but rich men or dishonest men
from the bench. *.z
i, II the salary is made 80 low that lawyer
, poor in purse cannot serve as Judge, or SO
low that the Judge Is invited to supplement
his salary by accepting gifts or brides, then
!, the judiciary will never again be an object o.
ambition to the bar, or of usefulness TO the
, public. ..
The number OF district judges should not
then. be so large as to necessitate such low
ering OF their salaries as to exclude the great
. mass of the bar from them. 1hirty-five dis
= trIct Judges for the country parishes at three
!. Thousand dollars EACH and five for the city a.
= four thousand dollars each, will give one nun
dred and twenty-five thousand dollars for thu
g cost Of that branch Of the Judiciary.
The present cost Including parish judges
who would be superseded) Is two hundred ant
eight thousand dollars. The saving Is est
mated In an instant.
The country parishes have now two sets o
prosecuting officers, the parish attorneys ant
the district attorneys.
1t has been suggested that the office OF par
I ish attorney alone be retained, with the duties
Q of both offices as now constituted, and TIN
! compensation made payable by each parish
: as it Is now. There will be q total saving o
!, considerably over 100000 to the State treas
v ury by these notifications OF the presen
parish and district systems. 5.-...5.@
' We have already disclaimed all Intention Q
q Offering more than suggestions respecting
!. this subject, and will pursue the question
9 further hereafter, purely with the view G
! presenting the various opinions for consider
0 alton, and without being welded to either c
4 the systems proposed.
) Heretofore the DEMOCRAT has been dis
9 posed to favor a resident judiciary, with
!, court for each parish always open, salarie
), to be graduated according to population
We are not welded to this system, as we ar
not to the one above suggested. The Chain
man of the Judiciary Committeeman no on
y is better qualified to speak upon the subject
Y Is strongly of the opinion that the probat
] and ordinary civil jurisdiction should be keI
Y separate, and he therefore insists on retaiI
y ing the parish courts, requiring the Judge
lc to be lawyers and imposing on them tn
! duties of president Of the police jury, an
le chief Justice OF court organized on the pla
7 of the county courts of common law State
i with an extensive criminal Jurisdiction. Thi
70 q of
"a as at present, but these districts could
"a made larger than they are now, in cons
q quence of the lessening Of the work Of thes
" courts, resulting from the extension of tt
"a jurisdiction of the parish courts.
d,
re THE TAX SUITS.
1T Tho nan, dooo not oorroo+lu ota+. +ha offo,