Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-11-07

E utNOtc ldiE Ec ipIlltl bA tHE space to-day to full report of the Bar Association meeting on Friday. on the occasion of the formal leave-taking of Judge w. F. Fitzgerald as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of ArIzo- na. No apology Is needed for the sub stitution Of this verbatim report for the general items of local news, as it is an expression of the sentiment. not only of those who have given voice to theIr con vIctioDs, but of the whole community. There is a feeling that a great wrong has been done; that the spotless ermIne of the highest department has been tramp!ed into the unsavory depths If partisan manipulation, and the admin istration of justice IS to be made a vehl- cle to bear to market the spCils of polit- Ical ascendancy. The precedent has been set, We regret to SAY, by Republi- cans, but in no instance has the custom been carried to such an extreme limit as in the present case. The court over which Judge Fitzgerald has presided with such honor. dignity, ability aud lm- partiality, has been conducted ID an ab- s5lutely faultless manner. There is not a suspicion of political tsint or personal corruption to be found in all its opera ton. The only cause for the removal of the upright jurist Is that in the free ex- ercise of hIs sacred privilege as sn Amer icBn citizen be casts his ballot according to his perception of right. Because of his exercise of this constitutional privil- ege it Is deemed improper to permit him to apply his profound knowledge of the law and delIcate sense of justice Tn sphere SO far above the pool of politics that their contact IS certain pollution. It conveys the idea that there IS Demo- cratic law and justice, and Republican law and justice, with wide gulf of uncertainty between. The RbsurditY of the position IS apparent to everyone, and the action of the President there fore resolves itself into a mere usurpa- ton of authority without the sanction of law, justice or common sense.
 But aside from the inconsistency ot the act and its personal injustice to the victim, the people of the Territory Rnd particularly those of this judicial dIs- trict, must bear heavy burden of op- precision and expense. The loom Of jus tice has been stopped suddenly with the delicate fabric half woven. The mas ter hand that guided the busy shuttle with its fragile wool of fact, through the intricate and rigid warp of law, has been palsied by political interference while the garment was yet incomplete. The very mahy important cases yet be- fore the court, awaiting decision or still unfinished, must be tired over again, with all the incident delays and a double expense. 4 sense of right and fairness would have prompted a pre- vious notice of suspension that the la- bors of the court might have been brought up to the date ID a completed form.
 The action of the bar, with senti- ment unanimous in its expressions, must be particularly gratifying to the retir- ing Judge. He steps down full of honors, with the respect and esteem of every member of the bar and the confidence of the whole community. Our people appreciate the rare virtues that distin- guish the man and the Judge, and they do themselves great credit in paying their respects to those virtues.