The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-04

the court of ehancery. Some times It may happen that c question Of law gets Into the Chancery Court, but 1t rarely happens that questions of equity can be decided in the courts of law. Weii, what does this provision here do. Ine General Assembly may confer upon me Circuit Court or the Chancery court the Jurisdiction of both courts. would the gentleman that put that provision in this section have the Chancellor to have a grand jury summoned ana pet'e jury summoned Mir. Walker-Will the gentleman ai- low an interruption!
 Mir. Williams-Yes, sir. Mir. Walker-Suppose county III which 1t was necessary to estannsn ar additional court, there resided either . Circuit J1dge or a Chanceiior and 1t was not desired to 1egSlate niln out of ofiice. what possible harm could there be in comforting upon the court in which he presided the jurisdiction of Chancery Court in Circuit Court or the Jurisdiction of the Circuit JIdss If a Chancellor. Mir. Williams-The gentleman will remember I stated two or three times that a Chancery Court was not to DC abolished, there would be a Chancery Court in any event in every count! where 1t exists now.
 Mir. Ashcraft-will the gentleman permit me to call his cttention 10 the fact that the same section provides that If one of these courts is estah. lished that county may be excluded from the chancery division or rom the circuit.
 Mir Jwilliams-I do not see that.
 Mir. Ashcraft-It is nos provided here that there shall be held in any event A Chancery Court but it says Chan cery Court or court having like 1uris- diction.
 Mir williams-well. MT. President. I have watched to some extennthe his tory of the courts of law which are al lowed equity Jurisdiction and while some gentlemen seem to be in favor cs that system, l have never thought that 1t worked well. You take Circuit Judge with a heavy docket of criminal cases having for one or two weeks en- gagged actively in the hearing of the criminal cases, the trial Of serious cases. and when that enc or two weeks work Is finished have the same man take up the other docket and upon separate business of altogether dif ferent character, different In its impor- tsnee, different in its range, different
  adjudicatiois to be held and he will have to be a very remarkable man if he is a fit judge in beth courts. But what I started particularly to say was with reference to these words. that the law and equity jurisdiction might be combined in a Chancery Court. NOW, the instance which the question or the gentleman from Madison would hit at would be the establishment of sepa- rate Chancery Court in county for the convenience of the people of that county.
 Mir. Walker dissented.
 Mir. Williams-Well, then I mistake him. see he shakes his head. If you establish a separate court of law fur isdiction and give 1t chancery jurisdic- tion. you do all the harm that l thInk would follow if you establish separate Chancery Court because this says The General Assembly may give 10 either court the jurisdiction of both.
 Mir. walker-Is 1t not fact for many years in Alabama the cities in which the largest amount of judicial business has been done have had courts pre- sided over by men exercising both law and equity Jurisdiction and they have done it to the eminent satisfaction of the people and the bar.
 MT. Williams-Yes. sir that may be so and at the same time 1t was to get rid of the weight of business in those courts.
 Mr. Plllans-May ask the gentleman a question? Is it not a fact that the
 Federal judiciary is organized, on the same plan that Is to say tpst one Judge holds all the various courts.
 whether they be at law, in equity. or in admiralty. without any embarrassment to the administration of justice.
 MT. Williams-Yes, sir.
 MT. Pillans-And Is 1t not true in forty-one States of the Union at least. the same system obtains of all func- tions being exercised by one Judge. MT. williams-Yes. sir. and if my friend will permit me to say will say that I believe that in about forty ot those jurisdictions they have made mistakes.
 Mir, Plllsns-Tkat is like the eleven obstinate jurors.
 Mir Williams-I am only one. The
 others may be as obstinate as they please, but, Mir. President, what I am undertaking to do here Is not without good reason and not entirely without force. I go back now to the fact that the General Assembly may give either to the Circuit Court or the Chancery
 Court equity jurisdiction. I Slave all ready said there would be Chancery Court in any event because they call | not be abolished and in the south eastern division court iS held in every
 county twice a year. Now when the Ge leral Assembly sees fit to make the Chancellor take up the business of the Circuit Court and there is no iimita- tion 1t means the jurisdiction of that court, its criminal as well as civil busi- ness, that you propose to write In the face of the Constitution here and you
 would have a Chancellor to order a grand jury or the Legislature would do it, a lot of indictments, have petit jurors assemble to heav the criminal business until done with It, and then go back somewhere and take up the equity docket l say again he would be remarkable man if he could hold both courts successfully and 1t is d lowering of the history, the character and to large extent the dignity of
 the Cnancery Courts of the Sta te.
 The Presdent-The time of the gen tleman from Barbour has expired.
 MT. Hood (Etowah)-The commit tee in framing this article. this section, had in view especially the fact that many delegates of this Convention and a great many of the bar in the State of Alabama favor the abolishment of the Chancery Court. The Committee after having given the matter most thorough inves- tigation were of the opinion it should