The Opelousas courier., 1894-10-06

any one Twin human bein coula learn
and keep. Even to the lawyers and
judges-men>that ought to know their
business if they could-can't keep up
with the law. BY the time they learn
the old laws the books are full Of new
ones, and they by the time they learn
the new ones the old ones ara peeled
off and changed around SO till the best
lawyer in the country wouldn't know
them if he met them in the big road.
If | could but only hold all the ribbins
about one day and run the whole en-
tire machinery exactly like it suits me
l would wipe out all the law books ex-
ceptin the Bible and the ~code-spit on
the State, a it were, as i were. and Spite
out and start overland give the
try a rest.
A Man With q Head On.
I can remember way back yonder in
the plain old pioneer days when one
man give out all the law unto the peo-
Pile down in the Panther Creek settle
ment and run the court of justice sim
gle handed and alone by himself. And
the people and the settlement all got
along q blame sight more smoother and
happy and prosperous and peaceful
like then than they do nowadays.
Old man Josiah Milligan was Justice
of the Peace in the Panther Creek set
Element as far back as | can remember,
and he held forth in office for forty odd
years. Judge Milligan, as everybody
in that country was wont to call him.
was a good man-one OF the very best
that the Good Lord even bowed the
breath of life into-bluff and blunt and
plain spoken, but true as steel and hon
est IS the sunshine itself. He never
could put in any big claims to book
learnin, and he didn take ON no fri1lins
n fancy trimmins with the court. but
his head was as level as a squash and
chock full of sense.
Oncst upon a time, when I was moth
in but a yearlin boy. | recollect of hear
in old Judge Milligan givein out the
facts and layin down the law. don't
remember, anything about the case,
but at any rates there was two or three
lawyers on hand that had come from
town, and 1t seems like from their
speechifyin and cross firth at one an
other they wanted to git Judge Milligan
ratified. But the Judge wouldn't rattle
any to speak of. And in givin in his
opinions OF the law his plain blunt
words rung out clean-cut and strong
and clear as a bell.
''The law means j%estice and jestice
means right says the old Judge in
startin off. "This court has been sworn
In under a SCHENECTADY oath to stand
by the constitution and do right. The
court is plum willin to follow your law
books, gentlemen in so far as they work
out %jestice and right to all hands, but
If they work out wrong to any Twin
man there is somethin the matter with
the books and right there we come to
a fork in the road. The court will take
the right hand, and if you want to take
the left hand you bundle up your books
and go. What is right is always right,
and the devil with all his angels
couldn't make it wrong. We don't sor-
ter make out like this court knows it
all, gentlemen. but she does know right
from wrong. and what she does know
she knows durn well. We don't talk
nothin but plain United States down
here in this skirt Of woods. and we
don't know Greek from dog latin. The
law books are full of fine pints and
teckfnalities that are most too tough
for the court to cut through, and the
lawyers may bully around and bull
dooze the witnesses. but over and above
all the fine spun argifcations and trilin
teckinalities the line bctwixt right and
wrong stands out as plain as a new ten
rail fence, staked and ridered, and I'll
be dadburned If the court don't follow
that line if it busts the plan of saliva
ton and brings on another war.