The Wilmingtonian., 1886-05-08
ADVERTISING RATES;
SATURDAY MAY s, 1856.
Give us an Elective Judiciary.

Dover Sentinel.
The Judgeship is troubling the political
waters just now. The successor Of Judge
Whiteley-who is it to be? The opponents
to an elective Judiciary for term of years
instead of the appointive system for life or
good behavior, have ways professed to be-
leve that the latter system kept the Judiciary
out Of the political arena. Yet what do we
see now? There is Mr.. Grubb mentioned
for the Judgeship. If you can find any more
partisan Democrat than he you would have
to hunt around very lively. The people of
Kent and Sussex counties are really more
interested in who is appointed Judge than
are citizens of New Castle County for the
simple reason that he will sit in our Courts,
while he does not in theirs eXceptin Orphans
Court business. Petitions are out for each
candidates, but the responsibility is with
the Governor alone. The people have no
say in the matter. This one-man Govern
ment that we have in Delaware, which places
all the power i'll the hands of one man, COM
pletely ignores the masses of the people v no
have to bear the burdens of tax-paying and
salary paying. They are OF to be consult
ed, except when the salaries are to be paid,
then the people will be expected to respond
literally. The Whole thing is farce and
ought to be stopped. The people aught to
say who they want TO sit as their Judge and
settle their disputes. They do not 90 to the
Governor and ask him to engage counsel for
them; why should they be compelled to take
the Judges different from their counsel. A
Constitutional Convention is what the times
demand, and an elective Judiciary for term
of years. Then if you get hold Of Judge
that suits, hold on to him, let his politics
be what they may. If you get Judge that
Is not satisfactory, there is some end to him:
but under the present life-tenure system,
once make mistake aud the public have to
bear it without any possible relief short of
death.
If the Bench and the Bar want to keep
seats upon the former from being sought
after like any other position, let them favor
the people and give the voters chance to
say who they want for Judge. There can
Lot possibly be more polititics in it than
there is in this race. There is no one but
Democrat mentioned. WhyP 1t is because
the Party furnishes the brains or the legal
talents OF the profession? Lst any one of
our readers run over the lawyers Of the diff
ferent counties, the Republicans will not
lose anything by the comparison. Why is
it, if the present is the best and non partisan,
that no Republican is named for the posi-
tionP Or, why is that every possible ap-
pointee that is named is an Administration
man? If the present obsolete one-man pow
er plan is so good in preference to the p ople
choosing their own Judges, why is that no
anti-Bayard man is mentioned as likely to
be appointed? Oh, but Mr.. Lore was talked
Of and he would not have it. or course
not no more than Mr.. Bayard Mr.. Lore
could not leave his friends in the urch, even
though he wanted the position, which he
does not. lie has little out-d DOR camp
meeting coming off soon which he cannot
miss-but at which some other persons
would be very glad for him to forget to be
present We very much mistake the signs
of the times if the Coney Island deal does
not hold in this case with books Of steel,
That deal has never been broken as yet and
We very much doubt whether it ever will be
al long as the present powers obtain. The
people of this State in this Judgeship mat
ter as well as others, are like the public in
the case where Vanderbilt when asked what
he thought the public woud say, he rrplied.
"Tbe public be d-d." So the peorl. in
this State are treated when it comes TO Sc
lecting who shall sit and adjudieate their
cases in Court. They have no voice. The
one-man power rules.