Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-01-24


i mere mas Deen, OF course, q correspond
I ing increase Of litigation, ana as a con
( sequence the Supreme Court Justices
/ have imposed upon them labOrs and re-
I spons1bli1tles not only everlasting, but
/ Inconsistent with that deliberation, re-
! search and study which ought to wait
| on their judgments. Article III of the
I Constitution should be so amended as 70
authorize i've Justices of the Supreme
Court.
There is grave complaint, also, con
corning the unequal division Of judicial
labor between our District judges. In
four or FIVE Of the eighteen Districts the
Judges are Overburdened with work,
while IN some Of the other Dis
tTicts the labOrs of the Judges
are light 1t is probable that we
have enOUgh District Judges to discharge
all the duties devOlving on them with
ease If these duties were equally dis-
tributed. A general and equita bic rel
districting Of the State, so as to fairly,
appcrtion its judicial labor, would be the
best method Of remedying the evil COM
pIained OF. If this cannot be accom-
plished, something should be done to re-
heVe the Judges in those districts where,
with courts almost constantly IN session,
and business dispatched with the utmost
expedition, it Is impossible to keep the
dOckets clear.
REVISION or LAWS
There has been no authorized revision
of the statutes since 1868. The work of
that year was not only a revision, bat
also a partial cOdificatiOn. An author
lied revision, at an early day, is impera-
lively required, and the time Is fast ap-
preaching when the whole body of the
law should assume a statutory form. This
subject Is now attracting much attention
throughout the country, and many of
the most enlightened lawyers and jur-
lists are favorable to cCdifcatiOn. In this
comparatively new State, we have thirty
one volumes of Supreme Court Reports,
with enough material IN decided cases TO \
make two more volumes. 1t now re-
quires, yearly, two volumes Of over 500
pages each, to keep up with the decided
cases, although very little space is given
to briefs, and most OF them are entirely
omitted. in our sister STstes Lhe aCcum-
uIaLOu OF hepOrJs Keeps pace villa our
own, so that IN State and Federal Re-
ports about one hundred new volumes
are ad led, each year, to the legal itera-
ture OF the country. a very large part
Of each volume 90 lists Of the
arguments of the Judges as to
what the law is upon particular subjects,
and the opinions are made up largely Of
the arguments Of other judges or of
great lawyers, which are scattered
through thousands Of volumes of Re
ports and textbooks, and which are
often quite conflicting. 1t results that
the difficulty Of ascertalning the law on
any particular subject is increased rather
than diminished by the multiplication |
of reports and treause5. 1t would seem /
that, with the immense wealth of legal |
learning now afforded by our great law /
libraries, a code of laws sufficient to de- |
fine the rights and obligations of every /
III
business, might be framed, which should /
be embraced within the compass Of two /
or three convenient volumes. This /
would relieve the Appellate Courts from
the greater part Of their drudgery, and /
would also very much tighten the labor /
of the inferior courts. When the work |
of revision is again commenced, 1t would /
be a good policy to further extend the |
system Of cOdihcatiOn as far as practl- /
cable.
FEES.
One of the most tedious and onerOus |
duties devOlving upon Clerks of the Dis /
trict Courts and Justices of the Peace is /
the taxation of costs, embracing in some /
cases a hundred items or more, Of a few /
cents each. Sometimes the taxation Of /
costs involves more labor than all other t
services in the case, and the system is so [
complicated and intricate that 1t rarely /
occurs that any two officers, however /
honest and capable, tax the costs at the /
same amount, ever approximately. If /
the fees Of an officer were so grouped to- /
gether in the law as to consist of two or /
three items only, there would be a great /
saving of time and labor, and the officer /
and the Gtigant understanding how .
much the law allowed the officer to col /
lect and required the itigant to pay, /
both would be better satisfied.
~hrr1n n 7,rrnyrerrrz7z,r7,
Every Governor Of the State during .
the past ten years has called the atten-
ton Of the Legislature to, and advised /
a repeal or modification of, the act of /
March 2, 1872 which abOlishes capital /
punishment by indirectiOn. In my
Judgment it would be better to abolish /
the death penalty absolutely than to con
tinue In force the present law.
THE PARDONING POWER.
The Constitution vests the pardoning
power in the Governor, "under regula-
tons and restrictions prescribed by law"
Such regulations and restrictions should,
it seems to me. include a tribunal of
some character through winch ali ap-
plicatiOns for pardon should come to the
Governor. The granting or refusal Of a
pardon is so grave responsibility that It
should not be decided without the most
thorough and patient investigation and
consideration. Very often the Chief
Executive cannot, with due regard for
other duties of his position, devote the.
necessary time to this work. And IN any
event, the ends OF justice would be much
more effectively subserved if he could
have the benefit of the advice and cOun-
sci of a responsible tribunal charged
with the duty of investigating the al
legged facts or reasons on which an ap-
plication for pardon is based, and re-
porting to him its findings and con-
illusions.
PURPOSES OF CORPORATIONS.