The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-11
NOTES OF Legal EVENTS.


this State. The decision. however. Is incon-
elusive. so far as this most I'm portant question
10 concerned. The Court OF Appeals merely
holds that Mr.. Hart Is not entitled as matter
OF right to writ oil mandamus directing the
! State Board OF Capvassers to declare who was
| elected to succeed Mr. Justice Pratt. In the
opinion Chief Judge Parker assumes that Mr..
| Justice Goodrich OF Brooklyn Is actually hold
ing office as Judge Pratt's successor. andintl-
mates that Mr.. Hart can assert his claim only
in suit In the nature Of a writ OF quo rar-
rdnto which cannot be instituted without the
| sanction OF the Attorney General. IT 10 MIR.
| Harris contention that Judge Prahs place
could not DO filled at the election In 1893; and
It would seem that the Court OF Appeals must
| be In doubt upon this point Otherwise. by
| deciding II against him. the court could have
put an end to the controversy on the merits,
instead OF merely holding that the claimant
had mistaken his remedy.
Mr.. Charles J. Bonaparte OF the Baltimore
bar contributes \ thoughtful and suggestive
paper TO the Yale Lac Rerieu on the subject
| OF lynch law and it's remedy. He regards cap-
| tai punishment with. more favor than do most
! law reformers and advocates the death penalty
| for those who have repeatedly committed Of
fences Involving grave danger to others. AS
| q mere deterrent to crime" says Mr.. Bona
| parte. capital punishment whether inflicted
openly or covertly. Ia probably the best pen
Unknown. and It has also the serious. al
| though now generally moderated. advantage
OF affording a legitimate outlet for the lnstlnc-
tive hostility OF the race toward it's natural
enemies In dealing with these questions It
| is a grave error 10 overlook that innate hatred
OF wrongdoinR and OF guilty men to which
| have alluded and which Is an essential element
in every healthy human mind yet this is often
| done" 1hese views are not unlike those OF
| Sir James Ftz James Ste phen on tho Same
subject.
| Exclusive Of appeals dismissed. there were
sixty six decisions handed down by the Court
| Of Appeals at Saratoga on Tuesday. and Of
| these all but seven were afflrmances. This
| lmall proportion OF reversals indicates that the
several Appellate Divisions Of the Supreme
| Court must be doing heir work tolerably we'll
| Judgments OF death were affirmed In four
| cases. Ono OF the most i'm portant decisions
In this batch Is that which condemns as I'M
constitutional the act OF the Legislature.
passed In 1892 authorizing cities and towns
| to raise money by taxation to repay to drafted
men their expenses in hiring substitutes in
| the civil war. The question arose in Orange
| county and was tried before Judge Charles f.
| Brown. who hold that such legislation was
| forbidden BY section 10 OF Article VIII. OF the
| State Con etitutlon. which prohibits any county.
! city. town or village from giving any money
or property to or in aid Of any individual. as
ISOLATION or corporation. or from mourning
any indebtedness. except for county. city.
town or village purposes. The money paid
| by a drafted man to escape personal service
! In the army" said Mr.. Justice Brown. was
| in no sense beneficial to the public. The sole
| object Of tho payment was 20 escape the per-
! Torrance OF a public service. and 1t was an
affair which concerned the drafted man alone.
| Not In tho slightest degree did It promote the
public good" Hence the statute was deemed
to be In conflict with the constitutional prohi-
bition cited.
Mr. Frank Pierropont Graves. tho son OF Mr..
Horace Graves. a well-known Brooklyn law
ysr is, the President OF the University OF. the
State OF Washington at Seattle. He has sent
! US programme OF the exercises OF COM
! mencement week at that institution. which
contains interesting evidence OF the develop
| ment Of legal education in the far West The
I Bar Association Of the county in which the
, university js located offers prize OF 500 for
the best forensic address by a student. and tho
! names OF seven competitors in this oratorical
contest appear upon the circular. One OF
them Is young woman and another Is a ma
tive Of japan. We may add that the speech to
tho graduating class was to be delivered by
COL James Hamilton Lewis OF Congressional
and military fame.
An important question as TO the survivor
ship OF a mother and daughter who persisted
last year by The sinking OF the French steam
err La Bourgozne was decided IN New Or
leans on Thursday by the application Of spe-
,ial lie gal presu U ptions which prevail i'll Louis
lana. In the absence OF any evidence as to
which person actually died first. Neither
under the law OF England no. under the law OF
the American States generally is there any
presumption as to the order in which two or
more persons died who have lost their lives in
he same shipwreck or other disaster. II there
is no proof to the fact, the law deals with
;he property Of the deceased persons as though
all died at the same IN mont. Such 10 the ue
in New York Newell VS.. Nichols. IS \. Y Re-
ports. 7Sl. In Louisiana. however. the Civil
Code provides that If those who persisted to-
gether were under the age OF 10 years. the
eldest shall be presumed to have survived II
both were above the age OF ~ years tho young
est shall be presumed to have survived II
some were under ID years and some above 90
the former shall be presumed to have sur
vived and IL all were between 10 and 80 and
OF tire same sex. the younger must be pre-
sumed to have survived the elder. In the
New Orleans case to which We refer the cour,
applied the last rule and determined that the
daughter outiived the mother.
1t has frequently been observed that the
work OF a Judge is favorable to longevity. A
recent letter to tho London Times indicates
that judicial toll Is conducive to health even
in tropical lands not distinguished for their
salubrious climatic conditions. That portion
OF West Africa which is under the control OF
the Royal Niger Company OF England Is known
as Nigeria. For ten years the Office of Chief
Justice OF this region has been held by Mr. S
Moore. an English barrister. who was 80 years
OF age at tho time OF his appointment. and who
rcllnquishes the post in good health at the age
OF 60: and this Notwithstanding the fact that
Asaba, the judicial Headquarters. is Il town In
tho delta district where the climate is much
more trying to Europeans than in the upland
interior. The new Chief Justice has been q
deputy Judge in the same district for olght
years and has always been well there.
The Supreme Judi fetal Court Of Massac husetts
has lately been called upon to decide a ques.
tlon OF considerable interest to travellers over
| Tina - he ~. al