The Portland daily press., 1880-04-28

| the Democratic party, it was spread all over
| the land that Chief-Justice Taney had decided
| that the negro had 'no rights which any white
man was bound to respect" and yet, when you
| come to look at the Dred Scott decision, this
chief-iustice was only making an historical
| statement relating to past time alone, and do
| not believe anybody on our side has ever taken
| the pains to correct it up to this day.
Here are recent instances which you have right
| before you. The Supreme Court at this very
| term decided that the election laws were
| constitutional, and hardly had they so
| decided before gentlemen hustled up
| here in their haste to demo unce it as a
partisan tribunal In my own State, where
| the constitution required the Supreme Court
| to decide upon political matters, where they
could not escape it, where they did their duty,
| and where the Democrat on the supreme bench
| was as cordial in his agreement with the opin-
| ion as the others, and where they put down the
most infamous crime that ever was attempted.
| a crime that could only have been born OF a
| union of Greeubackism and Democracy. they
meet to-day nothing but opprobrium from the
Democratic party and from the people who
were concerned in that crime.
Now, L say to you, gentlemen that il the
circuit court is dragged into the political arena
it is going to meet, no matter how Just it is,
no matter how considerate and righteous it is,
it is going to meet the same unsparing, fierce
and merciless attacks. And for my part, do
not want anything to be done which can have
the effect of setting any portion of our people
against the other. / believe it to be unwise.
Another example: In the Tweed days in
New York people looking on said: These
fellows are not managing these affairs right:
now what shall we do? Why, go to the court
let us injunctions; let.us take the power
of the court, and use injunctions and stop the
raScality of these men," What did it result
in? 1t resulted in having Cardozo, McCunn,
and George Barnard upon the bench. tell
You that you appeal to history in vain
Mr.. Lapham. And it resulted last fall in
disgracing judicial officers in the city of New
York.
Mr. Reed. Yes; it resulted there in disgrac-
ing judicial officers. L say, Mr.. Chairman,
that while our system of government requires
the courts to consider and decide upon points
of constitutional law-that being an essential
element in our Government-the exercise of
which duty tends to draw down upon the judi
ciary the sweeping opprobrium of political fac
tions, we should endeayor to restrict and not
euarge the exposure This would be our
course if we cared for bur courts and for the
high character of our judicial system. APP
peal, therefore, to you upon two grounds: First
if this proposed legislation is fairly executed it
will cause trouble at elections; and if
it be unfairly executed it Injuries the
election laws, and we are all agreed
that the election laws are right and just, and L
say they are founded upon a wise statesman
ship they are founded upon craftsmanship
that will bear examination; they are the repro
duction OF all that is best and all that is eff
fective to that end, and they have met the ap-
proval of the citizens of the various States.
| Under these circumstances our duty upon this
| subject is very plain and clear.
Mr.. Cox. If the gentleman from Maine will
permit me to interrupt him now, / will move
| that the committee rise, as the hour has ar
rived for the House to take recess.
Mr.. Reed With the understanding that
retain the floor will yield for that purpose.
Friday the argument was resumed as follows,
the chairman saying:
The gentleman from Maine Mr.. Reed is on
titled to the floor and has twenty-eight minutes
of his hour remaining.
Mr.. Reed. 1 am aware, Mr.. Chairman, of
the difficulty of stating suggestions such as L
have making in this interrupted way, and also
| of the disadvantage under which labor Of not
| having the benefit of suggestions which come
| from previous discussion. l must accept the
| situation with all its disadvantages, and pre-
| sent the ideas have in the crude way which
circumstances render necessary. But have
few more suggestions to'make with regard to
the practical effect of this amendment with re-
gard to its tendencies as affecting the election
| laws, and ask the attention of members of
| this House, because believe that the sugges-
| tions which L am to make are matters of inn
portance and worthy of their attentive coEsid-
| Grafton. Those suggestions are founded upon
| the practical working of election laws which
| will come out of this amendment.
| 1 called attention last night to the somewhat
crude character of this legislation. purpose
| now to show in particular where it does not
| join on to the election laws which we already
| have. A court is an institution which is to be
| set in motion from outside. 1t does not proceed
| upon its own motion, but upon petition and ac-
| ton of other parties; and accordingly in sec
| ton 2011 of the Revised Statutes distinct
means and methods and modes of procedure
| are presented for the appointment OF supervi-
| Sors and for everything connected with the til
| tie in which that section is to be found. Upon
| petition of two citizens in any city or town
| having upward of two thousand inhabitants,
| and upon the petition of ten citizens in other
| places, the machinery of the court can be set
in operation. And further along, in section
| 2O26 there is provision how the court shall re-
| ceive the information necessary to guide 1t in
| making the appointment of supervisors of cleo
| tion. And there is provision in section 2013
| of the Revised Statutes for session of the
| court for particular purposes.
Now, in this amendment there is no provi-
| sion whatever for setting the court in motion.
| There is no method of procedure provided
| whereby the court can be induced to act and
If it acts at all it has got to act upon its own
| motion; it has got 10 act without any means CT
| information, and to appoint large numbers,
| perhaps, of deputy marshas without any
means provided as to the inception of proceed
ings looking to their appointment, or any pro-
| visions to give the court information as to the
character of the applicants for appointment.
This of itself is complete objection to this bill,
| arising from its very nature. l am aware that
it will be attempted to be said that section 2013
provides that the circuit court shall be in ses-
under this title in which the section is TO be
found. But that business is confined strictly
| to business under that title.
And in that connection L wish to call the at
| tention of the House to the nature and consti-
| tuition OF circuit courts in the United States.
| The courts of the United States, except the
supreme judicial court, which has certain pow
ers conferred upon 1t by the Constitution OF
| the United States, are courts of limited and
statutory jurisdiction They have no common
law powers. There is no extension of their
powers outside of the letter and phraseology of
the statutes. And in title 13, chapters and s,
| will be found the whole, or nearly the whole,
| of the law in regard to the jurisdiction of the
circuit courts. 1t will be found there that Cir
cult courts have regular terms, and special
terms in some of the States, and that there is
considerable difference between the powers of
the circuit court at special ard regular terms in
different States of this Unioi. and it is only in
viting confusion to attemp5 to bring this
amendment within the scope of all of them.
There is nothing in the statute law that makes
the circuit court which is in session for the
purposes of particular title, namely, title 26,
in session for the purposes connected with this
amendment. This amendment is not within
that title, is not put there in terms, and there
is nothing whatever in the amendment to
bring it within the reach and scope and sweep
of that title
This view of the case is confirmed by the Ian
guage of the amendment itself. If section 2013
OF its own vigor attaches itself to this amend
| IhOho why ID 1uiS iiilSudSo uSeu III the din6liu-
mont:
Should there be session of the circuit courts in
the States districts where snch marshals are to
appointed then and in that the district judges
are hereby authorized to convene their courts
Which courts, by the way, district or Cir
cuit?-
for the aforesaid purpose.
If section 20l3 applies, this language would
have no force and be utterly unnecessary. If
| there was sure to be session of the circuit
court, as there must be under section 20l3, it
would be the height of absurdty to provide for
failure which could never occur. Evidently
the Senate did not contemplate any action by
virtue of this amendment under section 2013.
Consequently we are remitted to the uucer-
tainty which l have already pointed ont, and
to the uncertainty which has been commented
upon so ably elsewhere that / should feel it to
! be work of superogation for me to go over
the ground. L put the point in this way:
| there stands in the way of this proposed legis-
lation very many doubts and difficulties con-
nected with its Interpretation. What is the
nature of the work that this amendment pro-
vides shall be done? 1t is not matter that
admits of dallying 1t is matter that must be
| done at once. So executive is it in its func-
tions that unless it is done within the period of
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