Evening star., 1898-08-18
WIT IN LAW REPORTS.
Judge Bfckley Punctures His Deci-
siOns With Jingle and Sentiment.

From the Baltimore Sun.
At the meeting of the Georgia Bar Asso-
citation at Atlanta last week one of the
most entertaining features was paper by
Mr.. A. II. Russell of Augusta on the ''Wit
and Wisdom Of Judge Bleckley in the
, Georgia Reports" Mr.. Russelrs paper con-
sisted of extracts from the decisions of
Judge Bleckley, in which judicial learning
and humorous and philosophical remarks
are combined in a. fashion somewhat un-
usual on the bench
In one case, that of the Central railroad
vs. Roberts, he followed the example of
MIR. Wegg and dropped into poetry, deliv-
ering his dictum as follows:
The groom and bride each comes within
The circle of each others kim
| But kin and kin are still no more
Related than they were before
In the case of Warren vs. Pristeu he in
| dulged in the philosophic reflection that sit
| is always probable that something improb-
| able will happen and in Hawks VS.. Hawks
| was not above the pun that there are so
many Hawks in the facts of this case that
| the air is a little darkened."
In LukenS and Ford he administered a.
| rebuke that is needed in other states:
In the ornithology of litigation this case
| is a tomtit furnished with a garb of feath-
ers ample enough for turkey. Measured
| by the verdict, its tiny body has only the
| bulk of $25, but it struts with display of
record expanded into eighty-three pages Of
manuscript 1t seems to US that a more
contracted plumage might serve for a small
bird, but perhaps We are mistaken. In
every forensic season We have a consider
| able block of such cases, to be stripped
| and dlssected for the cabinets of jurispru-
dence. We endeavor to pick our over
] fedged poultry with judicial assiduity and
I patience"
Men who think that husbands have some
| rights which wives are bound to respect
will applaud the following observation from
| Braswell VS.. Suber:
In taking wife a man does not put
himself under an overseer. He is not a
| subordinate in his own family but the head
OF it. A subjugated husband is a.
less pleasing and energetic member of So
| ciety than one who keeps his true place,
| yet knows how to temper authority with
| affection"
There is in the following extract from his
| opinion in Mcknight VS.. Anderson an
amusing exposition of the legal rights of
| the wife, well as her domestic privileges
| in the matter of self-support:
| Inc legaI' unity of husband and wife
| mas, in Georgia, for the most PURPOSES
| been dissolved and legal duality estab,
| lished. A wife is wife, not a husband. as
| she was formerly. Legislative Chemistry
| mas anaiyzed the conjugal unit, and it is no
| longer treated as an element but as a com
pound husband can make a Gift 70 his
wife, although she lives in the house with
| him, and attends to her house duties az
easiiy as ne can make present to his
nelghbors wife. This puts her on an euuaI
| ity with other ladies and looks like nro-
| gress. Under the new order of things when
| he induces her to enter into the business of
heeping Doaroers and promises to let her
nave all the proceeds, he is allowed to keen
| his promise If she keeps the boarders II
| would seem that the law ought to tolerate
| rim IN being faithful to his word i'm sucb q
matter, even though he has pledged it only
to his wife, and We think it does"