The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-10-29

fractions" Our present system, he insisted,
offers small inducement to men of the requi-
site energy and talent; and he characterized
a policy of brief tenure and small pay as
penny-wise and pound-foolsh. Having
thus declared his convictions and described
his ideal, Mr.. Fifeld, in defence of his posi-
ton, proceeded to trace the course of
young man, ambitious for professional hon
ors, through years Of tedious study and the
trying experiences of early practice at the
bar up to the judgeship. After several
years on the bench the legislature is sup
posed to drop him. The habits of thought
and aggressive power of the advocate are
lost his clients are gone and all his pru-
dence has failed to render his salary more
than sustaining for its period. All these
points Mr.. Fifeld dwelt on at length and
then, on the other hand, advanced the sup7
position that the Judge, after attaining that
maturity, and power of quick and certain
decision, rendering him most valuable to
the public, leaves the position for some
richer field of his own accord. Proceeding
to apply his cases, he said; " The result,
then, is that whether the legislature incon-
siderately drops Judge, or the judge re-
signs on account of insufficient compensa-
tion, evil to both parties is the result; evil
which can only be prevented by long tenure
and liberal salaries 1t is not enough to
say" he continued " that men have been
found willing to take the position of Judge
and have honored it always in Vermont.
The question is, is the present system
right?'' He next considered the intent Of
the constitution that each branch of govern
ment shall be independent Of and shall OPP
crate without interference from, the Others
citing the events Of the revolution in Eng
land in 1868 as the result of an opposite prin-
cple, and asked: " How can this fnde-
pendence on the part of the Judiciary be
maintained if the legislative branch may
revolutionize the whole court every other
year," He explained that under the sys-
tenn he advocated no great wrong could ac-
crue to the state by reason of corrupt
judges because they would be promptly i'm
peached, while, on the other hand, as long
as they perform their duties we'll and faith
fully their position is permanent and they
are given complete independence In this
connection he expressed himself confident
that our system had never been fully tested
and that in time of temporary excitement it
would not be strange if judges were dis
placed for unsound reasons and cited the
recent displacements in Western States, of
honest judges and the election of men who
| would and did do as directed In closing,
| after the review of the laws of several
| states touching tenure and compensation of
| judges, Mr.. Fheld described the arduous
| duties of our judges and directed at
| tentiOn to the fact that since the present
compensation was fixed the state has en-
| tirely emerged from debt and that the bur-
| den of taxation now falls largely upon the
| great corporations of the state.
Judge Ross then read a very interesting
| biographical sketch of the late Chief Judge
Pierpoint. Lack of space compes us to de-
fer an abstract of this paper until next
| week.
JUDGE AsAHEL PECK.
| Judge Rowell read very interesting
biography of the late Judge Peck. The
| life of Judge Peck is so well known that we
| shall give only brief abstract of that por-
| ton of the paper Judge Peck was born in
Royalston, Mass, in September, 1908, the
nt fn lNr of tan
mont in 1906, with his fathers family. He
fitted for college at Montpelier Academy,
| and took the sophomore year at the Uni
versity of Vermont, but left for want of
means, and after studying French for
| year in Canada, began the study of law with
| his brother, Nahum Peck, in Hinesburgh,
completed his term with Bailey & Marsh, in
| Burlington and was admitted to Chittenden
| county bar in 1899. He was made circuit
| Judge in 1851 and went ON the supreme bench
| in 1860, where he remained until elected
| governor in 1874. He retired upon the ex-
| pration of his term of Office to his farm in
Jericho, where he died, May Is, 1879. He
| was originally a democrat in politics but
| upon the formation of the republican party
| he identified himself with that. He was
| member of no church, and ever made pub
| lie profession of religion, but was a diligent
| student of the Bible. He once said in his
old age, he had nothing to look forward to,
he da ed not look back. but could only look
| were slow though sure; he had an in
domitable will great capacity for work
and an unusually retentive memory. His
| best time for work was in the night,
and he would sometimes go to his office as
late as eleven o'clock, and, after working till
| tired, would stretch himself on his Office
| table and sleep till morning He was un-
methodical in his habits, and said of him
| self that he never lost paper in his life and
| never could find one. He never kept any
| Df nd mot n
| debt for himself unless pressed for money,
| and when the pressure ceased all efforts at
collection ceased. Though Judge Peck
possessed no high order of eloquence he was
| successful as an advocate because he mas
| tered his cases in their minutest details,
presented them logically, and was thor
| oughly honest. Slow of speech, he was
quick at repartee He astonshed Rufus
| Choate with whom he was once associated
in case by his great learning, and it was
common saying among his brethren that he
| knew more law than any man they ever
| met. As a Judge he stands almost without
peer in some respects in the history of our
courts. He possessed in an eminent degree
| the salt that Coke said Judge should have
the salt of wisdom lest he be insipid, and
the salt of conscience lest he be devilish. His
opinions are models of judicial style, they
go TO the root of things with great direct
ness, and in clear and accurate language
show the logical working of his mind He
nor the study of modern case law, re-
sorting to the earlier English reports and
the classic text books of the law were
his constant companions. His place was
in the supreme court, for he had not
the tact and discretion necessary in a
niSi PriliS judge. He had way of giving
in his charges to jury, special prominence
to the points favoring the side he deemed
right, though his charges We're always clear
and full. A man of undoubted integrity he
was sometimes misled by prejudice and pas
sion. His decisions We're made with great
deliberation and We're rarely overruled. He
did not catch point of case as quickly as
some, but never missed ii upon examinations
and delighted in complicated cases. He
| had no faVorites at the bar, but liked good
lawyer and was kind to young practitioners,
and gave most willing ear TO the case best
prepared, Though dignihed in court he
yet had an under-current of humor and
relished good joke. He was habitually
cautious and never signed paper without
reading it carefully. Though given to bursts
of unseemly passion there was no gall in his
nature. Compassionate, charitable and for
giving, he never harbored resentment and
never deliberately said harsh thing to any
body. He was kind 10 the poor and was
| once seen saving wood at the door of a poor
woman while he was governor. As a rule,
the lawyers practicing before him loved
him and regarded his chastsements as
blessings in disguise. In conversation he
showed great store of general learning
due TO the quality rather than the quantity
of his reading, for he never read anything
by halves.
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