The Columbus journal., 1880-10-27
For the JOURNAL.
Reorganixattono orthe Supreme
Court.

Ii is charged by many Republican
sheets that the bill now pending be-
fore the House for the reorganiZa-
tion OF the Supreme Court Of the
United States, is part of Demo-
cratic conspiracy TO overbear the
Republican majority of the Court,
with a view TO the annulling OF all
the results of the war. incline to
regard this fear as exaggerated, al
though it is a good deal better to
act upon il than to be over-confident
that things will go well If we put
them out of what we know to be
safe hands. At all events, whether
all the results of reconstruction were
snnulled or not, some of the very
best of them would doubtless be In
great danger at the hands OF re-
constituted Court containing an ov-
erwheIming maj ority of Democratic
Judges. The blush of shame which
mantles our own cheeks as we re-
member how our party added to the
number of judges, in order to bring
the Supreme Court to eat its own
words by reversing a decision set
Ting a great financial question in
accordance with reason and right,
may advise us that, however trust
worthy judges may be in usual jur-
isprudence, they are apt to slip
when it is a question Of political
policy. Both British and American
history affords too many instances
OF this limitation of judicial Impair
tiality, the proof of which is clinch-
ed by the famous by Z, who be-
trayed the credulous innocence of
some of us, to the lasting triumph
of less easily persuaded friends.
AS Republicans, therefore, we
should be very uneasy to have q
Democratic President and Senate in
control of the appointment of
tweiv' ldges of the Supreme Court
of Cd L Tlited States, in addition to
the tl',, or four Democrats already
in il. But the plan OF increasing
the Court TO II judges, divided into
three chambers, is so far from being
a political conspiracy that it has
been floating in lawyers minds for
wears, induced by the utter made
quscy of the present Court TO cope
with the vast food of cases which
come pouring in upon il, and which
have now, believe, put it two years
in arrears. This Identical plan, of
the Is jy92.-, divided into three
sections .N.n- for the Chief JUS
tice and hi- tao assistants, TO make
up the I. Uas mentioned to me as
under ad,isement in the legal
world, quite irrespectively of party,
nearly six years ago. by my friend
your townsman S. s. McAllister,
the staunchness of whose Republi-
canism needs no commendation
from me among Columbians.
The bill indeed, whoever intro
duced IL, has evidently been pre-
pared by the best judicial genius.
1t more than doubles the Court in
numbers, and triplicates il in func-
tions; aud thereby at once augments
its effectiveness threefold. AT the
same time, that unity of the Supreme
Court which the Constitution re-
quires is fully secured by three pro-
visions: first, that the three divis-
ions shall be freshly reconstructed
at the beginning OF every term
secondly, that all cases properly
Federal shall be decided by the full
bench; and thirdly, that all final
Judgments whatever shall be rem
dered, at least ministerislly, in the
same way.
The provision that II judgment
is not concurred In by six-seyenths
of the judges of a division, it shall
be reheard by another, and il the
two chambers do not agree, by the
third, introduces that valuable in
stitution Of the French jurisp-u-
dence known as Courts of Cessation;
while the enactment that in all such
cases, that judgment shall be final,
in which a majority of the whole
Court concur, again emphasizes that
unity of the Court which is so care
fully kept in view throughout, and
without which il might he in danger
OF degenerating into judicial
Yer Ou, !" uOet tuItt UOulCs hOulu
settle into disposition TO pull sun
dry ways.
The provision that, as near as may
be, each division shall, through the
term, consider causes OF the same
class, would greatly contribute to
ease dispatch, by presenting unity
OF m-ssral action.
To-, great responsibility assigned
TO the Chief Justice OF the United
States. with the help of his two as
sistants, in resrranging the divisions
of the Court from term to term, and
in assigning retired cases to the
suitable Chamber of Cessation,
would, while not in the least trench
ing upon the equal suffrage of his
hrathren of the bench. raise still