The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-29
NOTES or LEaAn rEENrs.

SNSAShhNI wa ~ hANhohl Nv NJ V wy
the bench. the personnel of the Court OF Claims
was as follows: Chief Justice, William A.
Richardson of Massachusetts,. Judges, Charles
@. Mott Of New York, Lawrence Weldon of ILL
nois, John Davis of the District of Columbia,
and stanton J. Poelle of Indiana. Judge Mott
has been promoted to be Chief Justice, and the
vacancy thus created has been filled by the app
polntment OF Charles b. Howry of Mississippi.
an Assistant Attorney-Gencral Of the United
States, TO be one of the Judges OF tho court
Both the now Chief Justice and the new Judge
were soldiers In the civil war, tho former In the
Union amy, the latter In tho Confederate SER
vice, Tho compensation OF the Judges of tho
Court OF Claims 10 shamefully small, being
only $4,000 q year. Mr.. Howry's salary rs As
sistnnt Atto~rncy-Gencra has been $500 n year
more than this; and the Clerk OF the Supreme
Court is better paid, receiving $4,000 per an
num-,
The business of the Federal courts in Now
Jersey has Always been sufficient to make the
Office of United States District Judge there n
post OF considerable Importance. In selecting
Judge And rev Kirk patrick OF Essex county to
succeed tho late Edward 7. Green on the bench
of the District Court, President Cleveland has
chosen n lawyer OF recognized ability who
enjoys an excellent reputation us q State Judge.
His grandfather. Of tho same name, was n JUS
tlce OF the Supreme Court of New Jersey for
many years in tho early part of the present
century. Judge Kirkpatrick, who Is about nfty-
three years old, is n graduate OF Union College,
Schenectady, was admitted to the bar In 1906,
and has been a Judge in Essex county twelve
years. Ho is a Democrat, and was appointed TO
tho bench by the late Gov. Leon Albeit.
A fortunate United States District Attorney
is the Hon. Marcus A. Smith of Arizona. who
was allowed to promote and secure his election
to Congress from that Territory without let or
hindrance from the Department OF Justice at
Washington. The Attorney.General was very
strict throughout the recent cam aign in re-
quiring District Attorneys and their assistants
to abstain from political activity and in COM
Polling them TO retire from Office II they wero
unwilling to comply with his directions in this
respect But Arizona Ia 30 remote. ana District
Attorney Smith was electioneer!ng in his own
behalf in so remote Il part thereof, that he never
heard OF the order OF the Department of Justice
until election was over and he had been chosen
Delegate to the Fifty-hfth Congress. Then he
resigned like q gentleman. And when he goes
to Washington to take his seat in the House OF
Representatives, the men who now run the De-
partment Of Justice will run it no more. There
fore Smith smiles placidly.
An objection has been filed with the Clerk of
the State Board OF Canvassers ct Albany against
canrRssing the vote for Presidential electors in
this State. on the ground that the official ballots
ought not TO have borne the names OF the candi-
dates for President and Nice-President for
whom the electors were expected to vote in the
Electoral College. The form of the ballot in
this respect is denounced as unconstitutional.
We do not recall any provision of the Constitu-
tion with which 1t is in conflict. The PROPOSE
ton that 1t is equivalent to the ~exaction of a
pledge from the electors to vote for particular
persons seems unsound rs matter of law; and so
far as morals are concerned, the electors named
on each ticket are pied ged, as soon as they consent
to run at all. to support the nominees OF their
party for President and Vice-President. The
names are placed on the ballot merely to enable
the citizen to distinguish more readily the batch
o: electors for which he desires to vote.
A telegram from Chicago announces q de-
cision in that city by Judge Windes to the effect
that q discharged employee of a corporation
has no civil remedy against It, because he is
prevented. by reason of the fact that his name
appears upon its black list. from obtaining en-
ployinent in tho service Of another corporation.
The Judge is reported to have said that he be-
lieved it was not illegal for two companies TO
agree not to hire men discharged by one another.
We shall look with interest for II fuller report
OF this case and It's fate in the court Of last
resort.
Both branches of the Alabama Legislature
have refused to pass u bill providing for the ad-
mission OF women to the practice OF the law in
that State. Hero is an interesting subject for
the contemplation OF the NJ vocntes OF uniform
lily in legislation throughout the country. The
truth seems to be that there are many matters
as TO which the people In one part OF the Union
do not want and will not have the laws which
prevail in other parts. We are more liberal
than Alabama, here in New York, in respect to
women lawyers: but, on the other hand, in re-
spoct to women as voters and women as jurors,
we are more conservative than Wyoming.
A novel case in the law of habeas corpus has
recently been decided by the Supreme judicial
Court OF Massachusetts, The writ vas applied
for by n prisoner In the Pittsticld House OF Cor
~rection. He had been convicted of the crime of
adultery and sentenced TO Imprisonment at
hard labor for two years and six months. The
sentence was erroneous IN that it did not 20
further ana direct that the Imprisonment
should be soil tary. For this reason the petit
toner claimed that he WAS entitled to be dis
charged: but the full bench OF the Supreme
Court, before which the application was heard,
denied the motion, saying that the Judgment
was correct rs far Us II went and there was
nothing to prevent an amendment OF the sem
tence which would add the further penalty
which the prisoner said should have been i'm
posed upon him. In other words. the court re-
fused to let II convict out OF jail because his
was inadvertently made lighter
than It should have been.
On Friday Judge Martin ]. Keogh OF New
Rochelle granted a stay Of proceedings in the
case Of Arthur Mayhem. a colored man who
was sentenced TO be executed this week at the
State prison ut sing Sing for tho murder OF
Powell, II well-known resident OF Hemp
stead, l.. l.. who was Killed in a street of that
village on the night OF March 7. 1896. MAYHEM
was tried ana convicted in April at a term OF
the Supreme Court. held at Long Island City
by Mr.. Justice keogh. and the conviction was
affirmed by the Court OF Appeals
on Oct. IL. Tho principal witness against
the prisoner was another colored man named
John Waynes, who confessed that he ACCOM-
panied the defendant, mt the time the crime |
was committed, and who subsequently !
guilty himself TO a charge OF man
slaughtcrin tho first degree, upon which plea he
Is now imprisoned at Sing Sing Wnvuaa VA.