Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-01-19
GOVERNOR BREWERS
INAUGURAL ADDRESS

established that it has acquired the force
of law, the traditions of this occasion re-
qRire the Governor~elect at this time to
deliver an inaugural Address, and en-
body therein the general policies he
stands for, and which he hopes to have
crgstalized into law by the aid of the
Legislative department of the state.
Party Harmony.
before entering upon the discussion OF
the problem of government, and before
submitting for your consideration sug-
gestions for their solution, a moment
may be given for plea to harmony and
good viii, without transgressing the car
mons of good faith, and with the hope
that ahe speaker will escape the charge
Of attempting to play the role OF teacher
or mentor.
It is easy to forecast that the Gov
erRor whose term of office begins today,
by reason of the unique conditions which
brought about his unanimous selection
as Che standard bearer of his party, Will
have trouble all his own during the en-
suaug four years. On the other hand, It
seems clear also, that he occupies such
relations TO the several factions within
his party that an imperative duty Is
thereby imposed upon him to make an
honest and courageous effort to restore
party harmony, especially while we are
xA engaged in the transaction OF the
business of the whole people However
tlankless this task may be, and however
Liable to minsconstruction and criticism,
oIa& of sense of duty I have decided
nevertheless to essay the role of peace
maker.
Standing at the very summit of my
ambition and moved by a fixed purpose
to use every legitimate effort to advance
and conserve the moral and material
welfare of the State, and to give every
moment of my time and thought for the
next four years to the interest of the
people, IT is surely not amiss for me to
claim the cooperation, sympathy and
support of every department OF the
Skate government, so long as my official
eo1duct gives evidence of a desire to
accomplish something for the prosperity
and glory OF the Commonwealth.
In order that we may serve the people
best, we must first have peace and har-
nroRy; the passions and animosities en-
geHdered and infamed by the white heat
OF political combat must be forgotten.
II there are those who must indulge in
erininations and recriminations, let it
be postponed until election years, when
they can at least offer as an excuse for
using such questionable methods the
degenerate practices of later day politi-
cad warfare.
Believing this, and being inspired by
no metiye other than the good of my
Stnse. / earnestly summon my co-labor-
ers to put aside all thought of faction,
or se1ism, and let us enter upon our
duties with fixed purpose to welcome
the counsel and aid of all who may have
anything to offer which promises to ben
eait the people whose interest we have
been chosen to represent.
Reformation of Criminal Law and Pro-
cedure.
Tire common law of England is the
law of Mississippi except where changed
by statute, and therefore the courts of
Nsgr State are bound to archaic princi-
pies, wise enough when made, but often
entirely untitled to modern conditions.
The safeguards thrown around per
sons charged with violations of the erin
iaal law, by judicial construction, were
designed to soften the rigor of the law
at time when what would now be re-
garded as trivial misdemeanors were then
denounced as felonies and punishable
Big death.
The judges of that period were more
humane than the laws they were called
upon to enforce; so it was that the
Courts began to build barriers around
miserable and helpless victims of bar
barous code of laws for the purpose of
rendering it more difficult to shed hui
MAJ bloed.
afiscarriages of Justice are improperly
attributed to the ineffciency of the
courts and the parties charged with the
duty of law enforcement. Experience
and an intimate acquaintance with the
Judges who have presided over the courts
of his State for the past twenty years
justify the assertion that the fault does
not lie in any degree at the doors of
judiciary; and only TO limited ex-
tent are the other officers of the law re-
sPoBsible for the lack of efficiency of
the machinery of the law.
The courts must be unshackled and
the paralayzing influence of the out
grown rule of practice and procedure
mus& be brushed away by general over
hauling of our statute. The enforce
meHt of the law lies close to nay heart,
and I am convinced that nothing is of
greater Importance to the people and
their happiness and prosperity. We are
no better and no worse than the other
states of the Union, but it seems that
QUIZ faults are magniied and advertised,
whde other communities e3cape such I'M
desirable publicity. In order to free the
corrts and provide them with a modern
code of procedure and practice, by the
aid of which much can be accomplished,
the Governor should have the authority
To employ q commission to recast and
nodernize the practice in the criminal
courts. Other States have laws far in
advance of ours, and such a commission
should examine the laws OF all the
States and the working thereof, and then
submit for your consideration the results
of their labors; and, if necessary, could
offer bill looking to an improvement
Of our laws. The cost of the commission
would be small compared to the value
Of the service, and the work could be
done within months time.
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