Year: 1873

The Connecticut Senate has before it
grand opportunity to do very Wise and
proper thing and teach politicians needed
lesson, in connection with the election of
Judges of the Superior and Supreme Courts of
that State. There being a vacancy in the Su-
preme Court and three vacancies in the SUI
perior, to be filled by appointment by the
Legislature at the present session, the whole
matter was made, as usual, the subject OF cau-
Gus action. The Democrats being IN
majority in the House and the Republicans
having a majority of one in the Sen
ate, it followed quite naturally, and perhaps
necessarily, that caucuses of the two parties
agreed upon candidates, giving the Repub-
licans the Judge of the Supreme and one OF
the Judges of the Superior Court, and the
Democrats taking the other two Judges of the
Superior Court


Ii fell out in the course Of the trading that
took place that while one Judge of the Supe-
rior Court was promoted to the Supreme
Bench, for the other three places candidates
not by any means the best were agreed upon,
the Republican being member of the House
without qualifications for the position, but who
had for years been intriguing for it, and the
Democrats being lawyers of moderate abilities
with little or no experience in practice, and
ardent partsans In short the three candi-
dates were such as would hardly have been
thought of had the appointing power been in
the hands of an Executive who had any regard
for the credit of the Bench or any sense of his
own responsibility, but just such men as the
freaks and fOlles of caucus domination too often
foist upon the State. Connecticut last year
set an example to herself in disregarding the
dictates of caucus in the election of United
States Senator and followed it to some extent
n her late State election, when all the rules
and precedents of caucus and convention
tyranny were overridden by the independent
action of the people, and all probabilities set
at naught in the result So it was quite easy
for the State Senate, which contains larger
proportion than usual of sensible and deter
mined men, to act independently of the eau
Gus and set aside its DEGREES in the choice of
Judges. Instead, therefore, of swallowing the
nominees of the caucus and ratifying the bar
gain of the high contracting parties, the Sem
ate, with but four or five dissenting voices,
after electing the candidate for the Supreme
Court bench, about whom there was no ques-
ton, proceeded deliberately to choose three
Superior Court Judges entirely different from
those agreed upon in caucus.


There was, of course, great Indignation
thereat on the part of the gentlemen
of the House, mostly Democrats, who sup
posed the thing was all settled, and
to whom the caucus seemed sacred
institution and very solemn thing. Last
wear they thought and felt differently. Then
it was somebody else's OK that was gOred, and
they not only viewed it with comDlacency,
but were rather disposed to think the caucus
was tyrant that ought to be dethroned, 1t
makes great difference whose caucus it is
that is cOnspired against The Senate having
upset the programme, so far as its own action
was concerned the House went into an elec-
ton and ratified the caucus nominations, 30
that the two Houses are now at a deadlock.
There is in consequence a flood of dis
cussiOn in the press and among the
politicians, some of the newspapers
maintaining that parties are necessary to the
salvation of the country, that the caucus is
essential to the continuance of parties, and
that everything will go to the dogs if this
kind of boiling is allowed. They say, too, it
would be absurd for twenty-one Senators
to dictate in this manner to the two hundred
and fifty members of the other House, and so
they urge the House to stand by its action
and by the caucus. Other newspapers-to
their credit be it said-urge that it is vastly
more important to have a clean, honest and
able judiciary than to sustain the caucus or
even preserve party, and they call on the
Senate to stand TO its own position, aud not
yield to numbers or threats.


There is so much of trading, bargaining and
intriguing in all matters of Legislative ap-
pointments, and the caucus system has been
such a promoter of mischief in this regard,
that the attitude of the Connecticut Senate
with reference to these judicial appointments
is quite O refreshment. There is really no
reason why the selection of Judges should be
made at all partisan matter. The judicial
Office honestly discharged has no relations
whatever with parties or party politics. There
is only one poor paltrY excuse for making it
political appointment, and that is that it may
be used--as almost everything is nowadays,
from Cabinet Minister down to compost
tor in the Government printing offlce-as
reward for political services. If any
Office should be put beyond the reach
and contamination of the caucus il
is that of Judge. IL may he said that the
caucus nominees are not dishonest, and that,
though they are not familiar with law and
practice they can learn, some Of their pre-
decessOrs with NO better qualifications origi-