Evening journal., 1893-01-18

The Bar Associations OF New Castle, Kent
and Sussex Counties Before the GEN
eral AssembIy-A Strong Plea TO Retire
Them ON Fun Pay-Hon. Thomas +.
Bayard Writes Pressing letter Hons.
n. II. smithers. Charles B. Lore. Will
liam II. Boyce and william c. spruance
Make Speeches.
STAFF Correspondence Evening Journal.
DOVER, Jan 1S--Chief Justice Com
eggs and Associate Judge Houston, of
Kent county, will, in all probability, be
retired from the bench by the present
General Assembly. IL is likely that they
will retire voluntarily, upon full or al.
most full pay. If they should refuse to
retire upon the passage of such pro
vision, the bar associations of the three
counties will make every effort to get
two-thirds of the General Assembly to
request the governor to remove them.
1t is not likely that such extreme meas
ures will have to be resorted to, as the
infrm and honored jurists viii doubtless
be only too glad TO avail themselves of
the opportunity to retire upon provisions
being made by the Legislature.
Former Failures.
For two years the disciples Of Lycur-
gus, Solon, ct. el, have been working
with this end In view At the last ses-
sion bill to retire the judges on full
pay was presented under the same
auspices. It passed the House but was
killed in the Senate Since that time the
lawyers have been unremitting in their
efforts to extricate themselves from the
desperate straits in which the crippled
I .rf L.. II. .
Several weeks ago joint meeting was
held in Wilmington and the following
committee on ways and means was ap-
pointed:
New Castle-Hon. Thomas +. Bayard,
Levi G. Bird Hon. Charles b Lore, vii.
liam O. Spruance, Colonel Benjamin
Nields, John Bggs, Willard Saulsb bury,
Jr
Kent-Hon n. B. Smithers, J. Alexa n
der Fulton, Edward Ridgely, General r.
R Kenney Hon. John A Nicholson.
Sussex Charles f. Richards, +. D.
Hearn William H. Boyce, Hon. A. P.
Robinson.
This committee met at the Hotel
Richardson yesterday, canvassed the
matter from all sides behind closed doors
and appointed Hon Charles B. Lore, Hon
n B Smithers and William H. Boyce
joint committee to address the General
Assembly.
Relief Demanded.
The lawyers repaired to the State
House at o'clock and Joint meeting
was held in the Hall of Representatives
Representative Dasey of Sussex county,
was called upon to preside
Hons. n. Smithers, Charles Lore,
William O. Spruance and William H.
Boyce delivered powerful addresses for
relief They Informed the members
that it was impossible TO try capital
cases in Sussex county and that one case
of the kind was now pending there
, awaiting a rehabilitation of the bench.
They asserted that lawyers were afraid
to trust either criminal or civil cases to
the bench of the Supreme Court as at
present constituted; that the Constitu-
tion made two judges a quorum but that
the presence of only one active and re
sponsible Judge associated with Judge
suffering with mental incapacity super
induced by old age, broke the spirit If
not the letter of this Constitutional re-
quirement.
Credit For Deserving Service.
/ The judges we're extolled for long and
honorable service and nothing of an I'M
klA0 nhiNAt was EdlA NunNEAuAIk LutA.
Every speaker deplored the fact that the
ravages Of time had incapacitated men
who had been such ornaments to the
} bench and served with such honor to
{ themselves and TO the state. One of the
speakers stated that he believed that
. they would retire upon a sum to be fixed
by the General Assembly and quoted the
chief justice as having signifed his will
ingness to do it.
The assertion was made that the sala-
ries Of the jurists had been so small that
they had had no opportunity to lay by
D enough money to support them ia their
retirement, and Mr.. Spruance presented
the frame of a bill leaving the amounts
to be filled in by the General Assembly.
, Letter From Mr.. Bayard..
Hon. Thomas F. Bayard could not be
3 present, but Attorney General John r.
D Nicholson read the following letter from
) him.
i WILMINGTON, Del, the 7th of Janu-
''ary, 1893
"HoN. j. HARVEY WHITEMAN,
Speaker of the House Of Representa-
e ''tives, Dover, Delaware
e 'MY DEAR SIR:-The condition of the
a state judiciary has been for some time a
cause of grave consideration and anxiety.
, | IN tne llgnU OF experience give unnehl-
tatingly my approval Of the life tenure
s established by the constitution and be
Y lieve that the essential independence it
y has secured to our judges has fully vim
q dicated the wisdom of the system. But
q as these dignifed and valuable public
r servants have grown old and gray, and the
h inevitable disabilities consequent upon
& advanced years have exhibited them
selves, it has become painfully evident
h that the omission of the trainers of our
A present constitution to provide for the
i support of the judges in the evening Of
q their life should be promptly remedied
As measure Of logical accompaniment
to a life tenure-demanded alike and
equally for the welfare Of the state and
a as a measure of justice to the aged
= ministers of justice-provison should
be made for their retirement under the
l. pressure of years and the exigencies of
d in health after reasonable term OF
3. service and the attainment of the usual
II limit of human life. Nothing more i'm
| nressive or true in the form of words can