Evening star., 1898-12-06
DIS HISTORY
Meeting Of Columbia Society at the
Shoraham Hotel.
"REMINISCENCES 0F WASHINGTON
Judge Coxs Paper on Efforts to
Procure a Code.
{ II a \ q ES IN STA Z L 7 Z S

The banquet hall Of the Shoreham Hotel
was hardly large enough TO afford seating
accommodation for ali these who wished
last evening to attend the meeting CT the
Columbia Historical Society. number
stood during the exercises, which proved
to be Of unusual ini crest. The president
of the society. Mr. John Il. Kasson, pre-
sided, and announced that there was in
pCepara tiCn for the press the second VOL
u'ne OF the proceed ngs OF tha society, whi.i
would contain much raa,t,r cf vaiuab
historic interest. II Was expected that This
volume would contain about sac pages, and
when it was printed il would be distributed
to the members Of the society.
He then anHoGnced the first paper of
the evening. which was entitled ''Rcninis-
ccnces OF Washington. as Recalled by d
Descendant; of The ing;e Family. The al-
thor, Mrs. Frederick l.. Moore, read the
paper which was bright and entertain
AS account OF the "reminiscences Of May
lnS!e Campbell, and contained much that
IS valuable showing he spirit ana GUS
toms OF the cary DAYS III the history Of
this city. A Sketch was given Of Henry
inEse, who came II this CITY in the yc&r
1870, and bull; q house on New jersey
avenue Near i street south. Ingie place Is
ROW the name of street which passes
through what was once Mr.. ingl2's orchard.
The visit of the British army to this city in
1917 was related as conveyed in the account
which fell from the lips % Mrs. Canntell.
who was at the time mentioned small
girl.
Judge Cox's Faner.
The next paper was by Walter 6. Cox.
associate justice Of the sup, eme Court OF
the District, which gave Il history of the
efforts to procure code of laws for the
District. This proved to be an interesting
as well as valuable resume of this i'm
portant phase Of the history of the District.
Judge Cox referred to his own connec-
ton with the code recently completed by
him. as follows:
In November 1S:sa, the board OF trade
OF Washington extended an invitation to
me to undertake the preparation of CDG"
based upon the existing code of Maryland.
The Bar Association seconded this apDlica-
ton.
Il did not see how such undertaking
possible to me at that time, burticnei
as l was with my judicial duties and the
work of the law school of Columbian nj
versity. but / accepted the invitation with
the qualification that | could not Go more
than collect materials for doing the work
d future time when ! might hc entitled
to retire from tho bench of our court. which
time would arrive in Il year. ! GiA not re
tire in the fail of lSG, / might have
done, but determined to commence the work
of preparing code very gradually i'll the
intervals between ny other eHG&gemeats.
Il proceeded to examine not only the
Maryland code. hut also tbn code of Viz
ginia and the laws Of New York and Ohio.
with d view 10 select from AL Of them wha1
l might think it advisable to incorporate
into our law. In framing d code | have re
tanned all of the existing law which /
deemed wis" TO adhere to. but hava made
many alterations in th" common law. Cs-
peciaIy in the matter of practice which
were suggested hy the exafniration of the
i1NS ion, l,--
''lt * somewhat sinEula. that until | had
finished this work ! had never seen u ca-
amined the several codes heretofore pre-
pared. hut they were furnished to me- and
have been examined by me since | was re-
quested ITO prepare tbs paper. | have been
somewhat surprised to nul that several 81
them have som"V, hat anticipated and con-
tain some of the Very novel provisions that
| had adapted from codes III force in the
states"
Previous Codes.
Judge Cox spoii. somewhat in detail Of
the various District cod,s that had been
prepared, beginning with that of Judge
Cranch in the year isis. Ike said: III ap-
pears, then, that five co5cs, those of JuGse
Cranch, lie con rcss nal committee of / 81.
of Mr.. Return J. Meiss. Of Messrs. Fisher
and others. and Of Ay lncersoll have ben
formally submitted To Congress. but SIM
ply ignored, and that prepared by Nessrs.
zens. This docs not give much encourage
ment for new efforts but there seems to ne
such earnest desire NOW on the part of
he bar and the board Of trade which is a
very influential representative of lup die Stci-
timent in the District, that either at the
coming or the next session of Congress,
IA yorable result may be hoped for"
In referring to tho time when Congress
assumed jurisdiction oN1c the District, and
continued the laws Of Maryland and Nir-
ginia III force in the ..rrt IONS of tn terri
tory east and west of the Potomac river,
he said that the anomalous condition was
presented of two contiguous counties. un-
de-. the same Legislative jurisdiction, being
governed by diffeTen, systems of statutory
law, to be administered by the same court
Instead of Congress correcting this state at
affairs by providing uniform system of
laws, what little legislation took place for
wears afterWard, he said only recognized
and perpetuated the distinction between the
two sections of the District east and west
OF the liver.
In speaking of the report to Congress III
1872 accompanying Il proposed system of
laws as prepared by joint commission Of
the two houses Judge Cox referred to that
portion in which the committee states that
it is satisfied from their inquiries ana from
previous documents that the inhabitants OF
the District cherish affection for The
great body of the law under which they
have lived, and dcof"cate any attempt To
form an entire new system. which is not
mere prejudice, but an inclination founded
in nature and reason.
The Committees View.
II think" Judge Cox added. there was a
good deal of truth in the View taken by the
committee to the sentiments of the peo-
pie of the District and their preference for
the legal system to which they had been
accustomed and their indispositiou to well
come any great novelties" He expressed
the opinion that the vote of the people of
10 taken in IStS a tn he
adoption of the code prepared by MessrS.
Ould and Cross, illustrated their disincIina-
ton to welcome fundamental changes and
novelties in their system of law