Evening star., 1913-12-07
Provided for by First Con-
gress, Which Sat in New
York City.
EMINENT MEN SELECTED
FOR SUPREME TRIBUNAL
Appointees Named by President
Washington Were Pick of Young
Republics Bar.
BY JAMES CROGGON.

The Old Congress of the confederation.
among its later acts. had provided that
the first Congress under the Constitu-
tion should convene in the city of New
York on the 18th Of March. 1883. On
that day but eight members of the SEN
ate and thirteen of the House of Rep
resentatives appeared, and both houses
adjourned from day to day until the
1st of April. when 4 quorum OF the
House being present. an organization
was effected by the choice of Frederick
Augustus Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania
as Speaker and John Beckley as clerk,
both gentlemen being selected by ballot.
II was not. however. until the sixth day
of April that a quorum of the Senate
was present so that this became the
natal day of Congress.
ON the following morning, April 4.
hile the House was entering into dis
cusson OF duties imports. the Sen
ate preferred to grapple with the question
of organizing the judiciary, and com
lnittee was appointed to bring III bill.
IF which Ellsworth was chairman. with
Paterson. Maslay. Strong, Lee. Bassett.
Few and Wingate as associates. On the
18th OF June Richard Henry Lee. on be-
half of the committee, reported a bill
to establish the judicial court of the
United States. It provoked considerable
discussion and occupied the attention of
the Senate for over two weeks.
Agreement on Judiciary.
after much discussion. chiefly wran-
Cling al bout words, it was determined that
there should be district courts Senator
Lee brought forward motion that the
jurisdiction of the federal courts should
be confined to cases of admiralty and
maritime jurisdiction. Grayson. his col
league. supported him, but was answered
by Ellsworth. and the debate became
warm. As the question was about to be
put William Maclay of Pennsylvania. a
member of the committee. sturdy demo-
crat and a close adhereHt to the Ian
guage and letter of the Constitution,
arose and observed that the effect of the
motion was to exclude the federal juris-
diction from each OF the states. except
in admiralty and maritime cases, and
that the Constitution expressly extended
il to all cases. in law and equity. and
In treaties made or about TO be made,
etc., and that these must be executed by
the federal judiciary.
Inasnuch as the powers of Congress
extended TO the collection of taxes. duties
and imposts: the naturalization of for
eigners, the coinage, Furnishing counter-
feiting of the coin. treason against the
United States, etc, and no force of con-
Structiou could bring any of these cases
within the admiralty maritime juris-
diction, it was clear that all these cases
were most expressly within the province
of the federal jurisdiction. that the
question resolved itself into the simple
one. Shal We follow the Constitution or
not? Senator Lee sought to parry the
effect of this direct reasoning by the sin
gular argument that the state judges
would all be sworn to support the Con
stitution; that they must obey their
oaths. and of course execute the federal
laws To this Senator Maclay replied
that exactly the contrary could be looked
for; that the judges would swear to sup
port the Constitution, that the Consti-
tuition placed the judicial power of the
Union in one Supreme Court and such
inferior courts as might be established
and, of course. the state judges. by yir-
tue of their oaths. would abstain from
every judicial act under the federal laws
and would refer all such business 10 the
federal courts; that If any matter made
cognizable in a federal court should be
agitated in a state court a plea to the
Jurisdiction would Immediately be put in,
ard proceedings would be stayed Sena-
tor Lees motion was then put and re-
jected.