Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1880-02-13
FOrlkcd Flashes!
Trial Justices.
FORK OF EDIsTO, Feb. 10 Isl

represented me in your last weeks
issue. l did not assume to speak for
the Legislature, although that body
Is not iniallible, and should be spok
Ell of or for whenever it commits an
orror, or omts to puss the best laws
Tor the people. l did not say that
Trial Justices were II nuisance ;" al
though / believe in some instances
they are. l did not Mcn repudiute
them universally, although l do 80
now. What I did say and here
relterate, was that we get along better
without them than with them. When
used the personal pronoun eve"
used 1t in reference, more particu-
larly to this locality Ifhowevcr my
knowledge and observation count for
anything, the masses Of the people of
the wh ole f, rk, both white and
colored, do not want any Trial Jus
tices at al, in the Fork ut least. 1t
cannot be inferred from this that the
people ''dcsire to rid the State oflaw
courts, jaiIs, pcnitentiaries &C." un-
less Il vivid imagination such Ia "Thc
Midnight Line" has perhaps, should
constitute Trial Justices al of these.
We have always found that the
farther removed Trial Justices we're
from us the better it was for ii, Such
has been the experience of tn is Town
ship at all events. Within cir
cumterence of five or six miles Of
every Trial Justice there has always
been more or less useless ard harm
ful litigation. Not SO much amongst
the whites as the blacks. The color.
cd people in the County, rs II class arc
uneducatcd, and given to petty jeal
ousies and feuds amongst themselves.
They do not comprehend or npprc-
ciatc the loss nf time md hnnetul IN
tiuences attendant upon courts of law.
lhcy do not understand that no mat
ter who gains or loses the legal point
is loser anyhow. They do not
understand that the law should be Il
"crn'cr resort to settle all cnscs which
cannot possibly bc settled otherwise.
They arc easily tempted. We all
can be tempted if We could MT, why
did our Savior pray lead us not into
temptation" y dispute arises in the
neighborhood about some trivial mat
ter; ordinations and recrimina tions
follow. y Trial Justice being near
at hand tho ag. rievcd arty repairs to
him, lodgoa his complaint, and Il case
is made out. There arc perhaps a
dozen sympathizers on either side in
the shape Of family connections, and
as many more witnesses. a lay is
appointed for trial, perhaps II week
ahead. The constable rides around
several days summons ng iurymcn
and Witnesses. There is great dis
play of trumpets. In the mean time
decentralization runs riot Throughout
the neighborhool. The shovel and
the hoe are laid down. The day ar
rives. The court dons her ern,ine, or
i'll the absence of. the real trga, uses
piaSmatic airs as n sub.ttu The
trial comes off, and IL great deal Of
hard swearing is done. The jury re-
turn their vcrdict-one dollars dam.
ages and costs Of the court, perhaps
twenty or thirty dollars a great
deal of time has been consumed-a
great deal OF farm work lcf, undone.
There has been much ado about moth
ing, and why All because Peter
cursed John, which You know was
very wicked in Peter, and he should
not have done so.
We do not object to J rial Justices
simply because they are Trial Justices.
We OBJECT to them on account ofthe
offices which they perform. Thoy are
allowed too much latitude. We want
no law court with jurisdiction to try
any case IL single whit nearer than
the Court House. Without assuming
TO speak for the Legislature and
thereby offending The Midnight
Line" would sugges, an Inferior
Court to be held monthly, at the