The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-07-16

City-Yesterday and Address Was
Delivered by Judge Parker of New
York.
The ninth annual meeting of the
North Carolina Bar Association is now
in session in the court house at Hen
dersonville and there is a large and
distinguished gathering in attendance.
When the first meeting was called to
order at 9 o'clock Wednesday night
by Judge T. b. Womack of Raleigh,
the large hall was well filled, quite a
number of ladies being in attendance.
The guest of honor, Judge Alton 3.
Parker Of New York had a seat in the
lar and Senator Overman and other
distinguished gentlemen were also
there.
A cordial address Of welcome was
delivered by Mayor Michael Schenck
of the local bar and this was responded
to in a happy vein by Mr..
E. R. Preston of Charlotte.
The chairman hen appointed Judge
E. w. Timberlake Of Wake, and Col.
KOpe Elias of Swain to escort the
president, George Rountree, Esq, Of
this city to the chair.1n officially taking
the chair the president delivered his
annual address, choosing for his sub
ject "The Weakness of Our Admins
tratiOn Of the Law"
The following brief summary if his
address is taken from yesterdays
Charlotte Observer:
"Mr. Rountree said that the con-
ViCtiOn that our system of government
is weak and the lack of confidence in
the workings of our courts is not con
fined to LEVIED fellows of the bases
sort The feeling is shared by the
sanest citizenship and ablest journals
OF the land. Some of the reasons he
assigns for the growth of our courts
in disrepute are the laws delay, the
increasing tedium Of selecting juries
such as in the Shea case, the Thaw
case, and in the present Haywood case,
and the interminable technicalities
brought into play to defeat justice,
and the growing respect for techni-
calities in the trial and appellate
courts at the expense of the facls,
eff public policy demands mat
there should be an end of litigation
said Mr.. ROuntree, this doctrine of in
jury presumed from error shown
should be d~iscredited.' He cOntended
hat the judge should regard general
rights more and more and technical
ties less. He said that the 'perniciOus
theory stated above really dominates
cur own supreme court
when he had finished speaking of
the defects of our jury trial, showing
that it was far better adapted to a
more primitive society than ours, he
touched upon the remedies commonly
suggested and advocated as his own
remedy that the judges powers should
be extended and the functions Of the
jury be guarded mor narrowly. I
submit, therefore, to your ~cOnsidera-
ton that a decided change is neces-
sary in the administration of law and
hat the only feasible way in which
such changes can be made, and made
effective without a revolution of our
methods of procedure by which we
would lose the inestimable benefits
of the historical trial by jury, is to
restore to the judicial office it's ancient
powers and prerogatives.''
After the presidents address, notices
concerning other meetings and various
invitations to the association were
local bar who is secretary Of the as
ISOLATION.
The feature of yesterdays session
was the annual address before the as
ISOLATION which delivered by Hon. A.
3. Parker of New York. Judge Parker
who is a jurist of note was given close
attention and his address was en-
Enthusiastically ~applauded. His subject
was The Common Law Jurisdistion
of the United States Courts n it
was a learned and profound discussion
Of this subject.