St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-27

back and let Justice prevail hope the notice
clause which the Shylocks got struck out OF
| our tax law will be put in again as soon as
possible. / hope the people in their wrath at
this decision will not get up and do injury TO
| themselves by amending the law when they
get a chance so that the latter end will be
worse than the first.
There has been long hard work done to get
the present tax law into good working order
and compel the just payment of taxes, but
| this decision of the highest court in the state
| is had old go-it aint honest.
| This is Thanksgiving day. have eaten oys-
| tiers and turkey-drank some cider, and am
| thankful for most everything eXcept-except
| this shoel of a decision as to the value OF
tax receipt. The tax law must be changed
and a tax receipt made the best evidence
| there is of the payment of taX-and per-
soual notice shall be given that the tax is UNI
paid and delinquent amt lawYer-I guess
| | am layman. De LA MOVE.
| The above communication from one of
the most prominent, as well as one OF the
most esteemed of the old settlers of Min
nesota, is so full of the characteristic hard
sense of the honest old writer that we have
| thought it worthy of publication. and here
with present it just as it was written, with
out change in phraseology or punctuation.
| There is an anecdote told of that eminent
jurist, Chief Justice MARSHALL, that on
one occasion he secured the appointment of
territorial judgeship for friend who was
not a professional lawyer. The surprised APP
pointee Immediately rushed to the chief JUS
tice ard implored him to have the appoint
ynI nf
his appeal that he was entirely ignorant OF
legal technicalities and interpretations and
knew nothing of judicial decisions. That
doesn't disQualify you from making good
Judge" was the reply of the great jurist.
''When | came to the bench / was Ignorant
of what was in the law books. But was
honest and had good horse sense. made
it my rule then, and have always followed
it, to decide every case upon my convictions
of what was right in the premises and
looked up the authorities afterwards. And
when l am right l never have any difficulty
in finding law to sustain me-" And so
there is many an old farmer who sits by his
fireside during the long winter evenings
and reflects upon laws which apply to mat
tiers in which he is directly interested more
capable of rendering correct judicial inter-
probation than some of the gown-clad gen.
tlemen who sit Oh the benches with an owl
like expression on their faces and deliver
long winded and hair-splitting definitions
Of law, which often leave the principles in
volved in the case in hand more thoroughly
enveloped in mist of doubt and uncer-
tainty than before they touched it. The
clearest definition of law that was ever
given was by the greatest OF elementary
writer's, who lays down the simple PROPOSE
ton that claw is reason" Whatever COM
mends itself to rational men is good law.
No matter how technically correct judicial
Interpretation may be, or how closely it
follows in the line of precedent if it is con-
trary to reason and repulsive to the moral
sense of justice and equity, it is bad law.