The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-08-21
MIR. PITNEY'S
ADDRESS

ADDRESS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE Two.l
latures, which, as we all know, is a ne
cessary part Of the procedure for its
adoption. BY an oversight of the Secre-
tary of State no proper publication was
made, with the result that no election
was held after the first adoption by two
successive legislatures. 1t has since pass
ed one more legislature, making three in
all, and now publication has been made,
and the people are called upon to ratify
or not these proposed amendments on the
22nd of next month.
These amendments provide for an indie
pendent Court of Errors and Appeals,
composed of FIVE Judges The immedi
ate result of the amendment if adopted,
in the matter Of the whole number of
Judges in the State, will be this We have
now six judges specially appointed to the
Court of Errors and Appeals, the Chan
cellor and nine judges of the Supreme
Court, making sixteen, then we have
three Circuit Judges, required to assist
the Supreme Courts, and fourth, and
probably more, is absolutely necessa-
ry, if no change is made in the Constitu-
ton, 50 that we may count twenty judges
i'll all BY the new system we shall have
five judges of the Court of Errors and APP
peals, instead of the six specially appoint
ed, and nine judges of the Supreme Court,
and the Chancellor, making fifteen judges.
There will then be no necessity for cir
cult judges, they may be dropped, and
the six judges of the Court of Errors and
Appeals specially appointed, WILL of
course, be dropped, SO that there will be
an actual reduction i'll the number of
judges.
Now with regard to salaries. The pre-
sent salaries stand in this WISE leaving
out the Chancellor and the judges of the
Supreme Court
PRESENT SYSTEM.
Six judges specially appointed
81, 500 each, $4,000
-Four Circuit Judges, 81, 500 each, 10000
Total $4,000
PROPOSED AMENDMENT.
Five judges of Court of Errors
and Appeals at $1,000 each, $45, 900
So that no additional expense will be
incurred by the proposed change.
BY such amendment FIVE of the best
lawyers in the State will devote their
whole time, at competent salary, to
considering causes brought before them.
and they will each feel greater respons-
ibility and a disposition to be more care
full than they would if they were mem
bers of court consisting of fifteen judges.
They can hold ten terms a year, begin
ming the first of every month, except, say,
July and August. Their sessions will prob
ably occupy from two to three weeks out
of the month, they can give counsel more
time to argue and present their cases;
they can hear the authorities read in open
court, and they can, i'll many cases, decide
them at once, and they can in most cases,
decide either at the moment, or before or
at the opening of the next term of court.
The time of getting cause through the
Court of Errors and Appeals will be re-
duced to at least one-third of that now
required
The judges of the Supreme Court will
have time to give greater consideration
and deliberation to the causes in the Su.
preme Court, aud will thereby give great.
er satisfaction to litigants and theii
counsel and be less liable to fall into er-
ror, with the result that the number OF
wf1ts of error will be proportionably
diminished
The only change which the proposed
amendments make III the Court of Chan
Gerry is in the appointment of the Vice
Chancellors by the Governor. This will
not affect the ordinary operation of the
Court i'll the least; the distribution oil
business among the Vice Chancellors and
the conduct of that business must of me-
cessity be precisely the same as it is now
Many persons, who have the pros
perity of the State at heart, object to
this change; they say, that the further
you get the appointment of judges away
1 from political influences the better. This
proposition is undoubtedly sound, but !
think, nevertheless, that the committee
of the Bar Association were quite right
in making this change. 1t is necessary
in order to make our Judicial system
symmetrical and homogeneous, and |
think this consideration must have
weight. II is asserted that, as between
the two courts-the court of law and the
court of equity-the property rights of
the citizens are especially brought in
contact with, and guarded, by the court
vi NJ anu tilloj II ~, iiuSI DC IGIl DV
any governor whom the people can or
ought to elect; he must feel the respon-
sibility of appointing man to be Judge
of the court of equity, and l think that
we may safely confide that responsibility
to him.
If these amendments are adopted, |
think we shall have an ideal system.
Certain persons, who / cannot but think
are dealing with things that they dom t
fully understand, are saying good deal
about simplifying the Courts in their
practice. Now this word simplicity" is
taking word. Many people think that
all the laws of the country should be
condensed into one printed volume, and
many people think things even more
foolish than that. The fact is that the
business transactions of modern society,
in all directions, are naturally and
necessarily complex. They are the oppo-
site of simple, and they cannot by any
contrivance be made simple without lay
ing aside all modern improvements of
society and going back to state border
ing on barbarism. The tools of the
Aborigines and Pioneers of this country
were a Ratchet and knife, and with
those they made all their other imple-
ments; built their houses and the like.
Nowadays we have great many more
tools, and we have machines and we
have a different machine to make each
sort of implement. We don't use the
same machine to make cambria needle
that we do to turn out a horseshoe.
Business methods are running into spec
ialties, and the general result is that
matters that come before the Courts for
determination are complex, and the ma
chinery to deal with them must neces-
sarilv be complex.