Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-08-01
Judicial Districts.

bring about a good result.
Judicial Districts.
A bill re-districting the State into
Judicial districts passed the House at
Harrisburg last Thursday. 1t is bill
reported by Conference Committees
of both Senate and House. The House
having adopted this report it is believ-
ed the Senate will do likewise, although
that body adjourned on Thursday un-
til Monday evening of this week, with
out taking q vote on the report. The
proceedings in the House upon its pas
sage will be seen in another place of
this paper.
AS to our county, we are, in the
bill made separate district. The old
number, 18th, is retained and Butler
county is declared to be that district.
But the county of Lawrence is "attach-
ed," and the district is given two
judges as at present. One of these
judges, however, the bill says "shall
reside at New Castle, Lawrence coun-
ty." In order that it may be fully un-
derstood we give the section of the bill
relative to our county in full, as fol-
lows:
"The Seventeenth district shall be
composed of the county of Butler, to
which the county of Lawrence is here
by attached and shall have two judges
learned in the law, and the additional
law Judge shall reside at New Castle
in Lawrence county"
If this bill passes the Senate and is
approved by the Governor it will be
seen that one of the judges hereafter
elected will have to reside at New Cas-.
tie. This is making sure to Lawrence
county the residence of at least one of
the two judges. They could not say
in the bill that one of them should be
elected from the county of Lawrence,
as that would not be in accordance
with the Constitution. But simple to
require one of them to reside there after
his election does not seem to violate
the Constitution, while it does at the
same time appear to be doing indirect
ly what could not be done directly.
AS the complaint of our neighbor of
Lawrence has been the want of a judge
there, in cases ofsudden need for thesame
and when no Court was in session,
this arrangement may probably supply
that want and answer all purposes.
We express no opinion here as to other
provisions of the bill, such as making
Beaver county separate district, or
the not uniting two adjoining counties,
neither of which had forty thousand OF
a population at the last decennial cen
sus. But 80 far as we of this county
are concerned we believe there is dis
position to accept this bill as the best
that can be obtained under the circum-
stances.
Being made a separate district, the
Office of Associate Judge will, therefore,
be abolished in this county at the ex-
piration of the present terms of those
officers. The same will be the case in
Lawrence county, as that county is
merely attached to this, separate dis
trict
There would, therefore, be two
judges, Learned in the law" to elect in
this district next year. Where the
President Judge of any court shall be
reelected he will continue to be the
President Judge of that court.
Since writing the above the Senate
at its session on Monday evening this
week passed the above Judiciary bill,
by vote of % for to against. 1t
now goes to the Governor for his ap-
proval.
MRS. GLADSTONE, whom Disraeli
once described as "the woman without
a single redeeming vice." devotes her
life to the suffering and the poor, who
are her special charge. She spends
scarcely anything upon herself, wear
ing the shabbiest of clothes, to save
money for charity.
THE Kittaning, (Armstrong Co..
Free Press, in speaking of the sRepub-
lican Senators at Harrisburg, and the
position they assumed on the appor-
tionment bills, says as follows: at
is certainly not the proper thing to do
for the Republicans to pass their ulti-
matum and then fold their arms and do
nothing. The State Convention of the
Republican party did not mean this
when they endorsed the Republican
Senators. 1t did not mean thereby that
they were to do nothing towards pass
ing these bills. What the State Con-
vention meant was to sustain our Sem
ators in endeavoring to obtain a obtain
a fair apportionment. They must
show the people that they are doing
this, and if they fail, then each Sena-
ator must answer for himself to his
constituents"