Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-12-17
saint Maru's Beacon
The Peresrinatins Justice.
An Early Day Disciple Of Blackstone.

iumo1 SOuusy Woo JUG usht@hViJ
court Of bis Honor, Squire Bonner.
In the summer Of 1852 an sppre-
ciative public elected Thomas Bon
ner justice Of the peace in Quartz
township.
He was not the only early day
justice in the county, for the re
cords Of Butte show that Edwin
Fitch in 1851, j. B. MCGEE in 1852,
and William Robertson in 1853, all
qualified as magistrates in Quartz
township, while s. 8. Horton, Sam
uel Carpenter, d. F. II. Low, Lew.
10 Stark and I'll. n. Galley did the
same in Mineral township during
the corresponding period.
Squire Bonner, however, seems to
have been the only one Of the lot
who made any special effort to dis
charge the duties of his Office.
Justice, as he impersonated her,
was not merely q blind goddess.
standing with balances and sword !.
by her altar, ready to hear the
plants Of the afflicted.
Far from it.
She was rather q lynx-eyed de-
tective; or, more properly speak
ing, q knight-errant. going from
place to place reeking for an oppor-
tunity to apply the balances and
use the sword.
Realizing that but little business
would come to him ut Holmes
Hole. on Rush Greek, where he re-
sided, Squire Bonner put his "jus-
tice shop" on wheels, metaphor
cally speaking, and travelled from
camp to camp in search. of con.ro-
versies upon which to adjudicate
and collect the fees.
Many are the tales that the old
timers love to recount of this wor-
thy justice and his pioneer meth
DDS Of dispensing "gilt-eiged" law
to the guileless miner.
On one occasion, fully equipped.
he made his appearance at Nelson
Point, and announced himself as
prepared to deal out justice with q
liberal hand to all who felt them
selves in need of the commodity.
Before his Honor promptly ap.
peared one Ramshire, who wished
to sue for writ of restitution and
the recovery Of $500 damages, the
defendant being an individual who
held adverse possession of q mining
claim to which the plaintiff felt
himself entitled.
The arrival of the wandering ssJ.
p" at the particular time in ques-
ton served to prevent q personal
encounter between the rival claim
ants. for they were on the point of
settling the question Of ownership
on the field of honor when Bonner
made his appearance on the scene.
The two men then wisely decided
to let the law take its course and
the snit was duly commenced. to
the great dissatisfaction, however,
OF many of the miners, who had
been accustomed to see all Difficult
ties settled among themselves, and
therefore looked upon tn the inva-
sion OF the migratory justice with
rather unfriendly eyes.
Just here it should be stated that
it was one of the infiexible rules of
Bonner's court that the fees mus:
be paid.
That was what he held the court
for, he said, and unless the costs of
court were promptly liquidated there
could be no JOY in life for the wor-
thy justice.
To make it absolutely certain that
he should not work in vain, it was
his custom to decide against the
party whom he judged vas best
able to pay the costs. Taking his
somewhat peculiar view of things,
good business principles would not
permit him to do otherwise.
1t so happened that as the Ram
shire case progressed his Honor be-
gan to feel uneasy about the costs.
lie had understood at the beginning
that the plaintiff mad nothing. and
he early determined, therefore. to
decide in his favor, and throw the
costs upon the defendant. But
something caused him to fear that
even from the latter he would be
unable to collect his cost.
He therefore made an order that
the defendant give bonds for cost
of suit aud $500 damages, thinking