Newspapers / The Weekly Raleigh Register … / Dec. 8, 1806, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
5! ? -J A "it V f - is I , Voi:iVlU. ;"Y1 y M6NDAYVljEcR-8, tsoe - ,y --,m4; .Sor - DEBATE Oft the JUDICIARY; BILL, Krl:Canieron;s ;Ameftdmentr exuding r the Uists oemg unuer Coui.iuV! Continued 'Jtom our last. Mr. Steele observed, that those ! pemlemeiKSvlio were in tavor of pre. ttrv'mg trk.t principle jn our ; court systemtwerei of course opposed toife ptritJiilefof th&.bill on the ta- bici and tWrv uisposeo io ujbtuss mc subject in a foir and open manner. . Before he prpcteciea to vae r.o , . ... . .1 . i tice of the proposed amendment, he vould make a. remark on some 7,sl nuations Which had been made use of in thehou,ojtreui out of doors, 'tRft:thJJrlcifd5 ;tf the amendment are not s'ttcere in their wish to extend Ui district pnnciple, but that their object is to detcat the blil. i U13, 1IC "s ..aid i ... . wj. tAiiipnfi tuna Tin i nic I . -... i . m : i -s ihouve, rie was-m iavur i"c uw trict principle, and ilSffavor Af iis ex tendon as far as it could be extended conveniently, without imposing too . great a : burthen upon our judges, j snd so as not to uiurc uic sj awem. un wield v. Y . Y" It had alsfi been insinuated, that opposition vwas to be expected from gentlemencoming from the district towns, and from the counties in which they were situated ; and that as they were operated upon, by? local and selfish considerationswhattver observations might come from them were not entitled to any Wright, Jii pinion of the relation whxh exists between a Representative and hU Constituents, he wou'd. state in u few words. There, is, saH he, a par ticuhr and a general relation be tween them. In very thins; of a local nature, and w hich concerns his Constituents alone, a Representative is bound in duty to attend to their ibn'agr-stfTr'asnhcy do not inter fere with the injunctions of the coti tituvion ; but In every measure oi a general natuie, a Representative -oujht not to consider himself as re presenting any particular town or county, but as a Ilepresentive of ihe people ut large With respe-1 to himself, and those in favor of the proposed amendment, be might veriiurna say, that they considered thetnklves,-ba this qucs lion, as . 'Representatives, of the w hole Prnfe. and notTof the ..particular J q)6t alone fromswmchtncy came Hj'you d'.st!ty the liberty ot the cntui und he hoped ill flcojtnu be believed, that they not byt6WereWtheni-,j selves in mat iigmut ovic...o v the constitudpn, und advocates of the rights and liberties of ihe people For, believing he did, tht the rights and' liberties of 4he Pep?le of , Nctharolina are deeply intresied in the;derision of this question, he had determined to support the dis trict prinapWlhch, in hib opi noj, wllr only 'security for a pure aiKUmfiartiai Jrial by jvify. ; ; 1 comes under the head of t hat general relation which exists, between; a Ke pfestntative 'and ! his Constituents, on which every member ought to surht of all local and selfish con- Yiderations. and deliberate and act 1 "' B, a; Remesentauve of the whole, and not of the rrarvow spot froiu which he comes; The administra tion of justice is important, :because i concerns every man moiepefmar nently andc more -deeply. -ihan any other subject; because every right; -.every privilege which we possess, -every: hope which we bave in flit we hoifnBbe guardianship of nU htf tuur Juries are a r,art ot odurt system, ahd anyj tHTn whicfi has a tendency to unri l,rmir.e their purity, has a tenden cy to und rmine our rights and pri vileges. Jury Trial, we may be in'd' is nnlv a single privilege ; but -it is privilege derived fromir an. in rendering justice between mwi iud man :m mva'e suits, but tsa -i security fir the attainment of justice in criminal trials,': It -is iikYhe. fence which protects your crop--im- "that proteciijjn and could come bctor,e tnat nouse, xuairj a Deposition tdchange the mwle of ministerin- iifstice TM subject 4 1 : protected. . The Trial by Jury curto us every ohr right. There ! can lenp . disttnciiCMi' between" thj: securityJiiEid the lights intended to 5e sccd. It U th shield which t. dWisiituJibn has .ven us, and we trlist that no step rill be hastily taken which muv rmt it to hazard. It isrwrj his reason that we cling to uhe brent constitution of our courts. are willing to extend it as far ias j We cn . t we cannot Rire up the principle ; because we believe, in that is our only security for a cor rect administration of justice. Liberty , is a gcneral?vvord? which COmptizts all our rights. This is jjpoessed in the 'highest ries:ree Twhen evry-.man feteis a tranquility frQm the fUj enjoyment of jjM pri vileges, accompaiiied by a . Coniction that they are secured to hmi bv !trnrient Institutions. And as the lriai by :ury n beUer cacuia. ted to give to 5he people that tran l cjut'lity of !nin!t is nnre favorable to the security of our liberties than any of our other instiuuions, h ought to be guarded "with, extreme caution. ; It gives security. to every class of Citizens, but to none is it so valuable, as taihe poor man. The poor man with a large family has nothing to attach him to government but the security which it i (Turds him. 'Uhis sccuritv. Mr. S. said, had boen experienced under the the present j esiubhsmeti: of the judiciary ; Take it away, : nd you tA'j away one oi the choicest blessings which the poor man enjoys, and leave him to be trodden undtr footbv the rich and powerful. The rich can protect themselves buL the poor cannot. He was therefore in favor of retain ing tiit district principle, and oppo sed the bill on the table. In addition to what had been said concerning .the liberty and riirhts of the people, he would make aiioth. r nbservaiion. Phis is a governi:n,. of opinion. The great bulwark-of of this and of every other free cotin '.ry consists in oninion ; the opinion which the peop!e entertain of their safety, their happiness, their secu ity, ar.d ubove all, the opinion which they entertain of the excel lence of their civil institutions, and particularly of those which relate to the administration of : justice under mine that and the destruction i your i liberties is more than halt accom- j nlished destroy th.t ooituon. and try and hi in ; its best interests ii:tj huiard. Means, Mr. S. observed, had been us'-d to u'. settle the opinion of the country wiih respect to tlipresent ad minislra;itf justice ;" it bad been said that justice was delayed- thai it hud not been "-administered with sufficient dispatch. Indeed thelan eruage used in the preamble blithe ill was not wat ranted by fact J It is there- statedf" the delays and tx pences inseierable from the present constitution oi Uie courts of this S'ate do often amount to a denial oi justice, the ruin of ' suitors,; and render a ch-mge in tha adminis'tra. -tionthereol indjprnsibly necessary ' This is the language of the bill, and it is me language neru -oui m ie: country, aiul the people-a re led to believe ?t. Though, he knew'' that ,in the part of the country from which !be came, circumstances did not warrant this representation.. Indeed were the pit.posed , system o take place, it would subject the people t'ri'-anjrtpence they w.-rc little awart QiSut this wirh nim, was of little moment, xompared with -the oDjec- tionable pruciple of the measure. Mr. S. was in favor of the district principle, a ud opped to the county j court plan for ayioi he r . e ason, wh eh he ii cw from the fdi-m of our goyern- mentriwUcrhich he was well ntep sed. He ven iattd it as the Work of the Heroes and htaiesmen pi ton Uev6TiVttcn7 which had pwcured lap pitiess and freedom for; themselves' and transmtttexl ir-enjU unauptur. o to Ws their postenty. "Hetould net. therefbte" see with indihiice thj hand of innovation destroy any part of the.fab'fff whkh the splr 7 had fi tried. If there was a1f)oj: lion of (he.spiritt)f 7'6jn that fidusei he would invoke It to stay the hand of innovation in favour of that limed lie nope d 'It "Would be suyed, anj i that the ood sense 6j4ms house would adopt the ametvdgpefit prop a sed as a substitute for bill. The structure ef oupOqv rnmenN said Mr. S. which 4at;tu"n ll& as great a degree of happiness as any. people ever possesea, is sucn, as renders it indispehslbly necessary that there sjhou'ld be permanence in one of its branches. At present, the Judiciary is that permanent branch It may be called thefanchor or rud der of our governmeiiur Exe cutive has but little patronage, and scarcely any power, except tliat of granting pardons Your I.cgisf3ture is renewed annuallyj so as to be in a tonstant state of fluctuation. If, then, : ' . 1 . T l' you unqermme tne juuiciiry, you unsett!e the .Government, and may produce a state of anarchyjand con fusion : and among the probable con sequences, you may expect to see introduced into this State perma nent Senate, and a much more per manent and strong Executive. This, he said, was an 'interesting' consideration ; for ihQsaStates which have been instanced as ha ing adopt ed this County Superior Court Sys tem, have all permanency in the oiher branches of their Government. In South-Carolina, thi Senate h chosen for four years, the Exvcu tive for two ; dn Pt nnsvlvania, the Executive is chosen lor three, y ears, eligible for nine he Sena'e foi; four years ; in Marylanil the Smate is chosen for fiye y.ad " Mve thj gentlemen who have thus ass.'.ihd 'lie only permanent branch x.f our government, consideredj vvhat will be the consequence if Ihfeir ptan1 suc ceeds ? If thy U&veand contem plate othtr changes iri our govern ment to f orresponjd wiih this inncv tion, it is to be hoped their design will be defeated. Y? Whilst other states, said he, haive b en amendint 'and altering their Constitutions, the people of mis" Stmte hayc adhered ta ttle Constii nt son c f '75, from a ve neration for these great men vrho formed it ; and" he! hoped the same ve neratioh-'would still preserve it from inni vatmn and d . structioti. The constitution of our Court Sys tem, Mr. S. said, was ir.timatv.-ly oo!iiiectd with the Cons'undosr of !ic State. The sums gre t men fanned both. t th's JuJicirry. which has been considered us one of our choicest ble'S'-ifiL's, we are i.bout to throw awy lor a new system. The district pibu i de, upn which the present system :s tvunderl, he observed, had been in use in this State ior half a century. It was adopted long before the Revohrion, and re-enacted afier. that event. The Patriots of 75 were attar bed to i because it had been the favo. iie sys of their Ancestors ; and it was with difficulty they retained it before the revolution aga riM tlVe principle of consolidating all h? courts into one. He considered it, thereforefas one of our ancient and fundamental laws, to which we ought to cling as to the work of our most venerable sages, kwith increasing affection and venera tion. . " If he might be permitted, he would state an historical fact to shew the veneration even of a tyrant for the 1 ws of antiquity. When a great 8c famous city x the East had submit ted to the alPhonquering sword of Alexander the Grt eat, he convened the thief men of the place, and ask ed them, with ostentation, to S3y what favor he should grant them and it -'--should immediately be done. They demanded with one voice " that he would permit them tp enjay m tran quility the laws oftfteir- ancestors." The tyrant was' touched with the piety and moderation of this request, and Added the free exercise oi their religion also. , , This, -said Mr S. is all we ask of this house. Let us enjoy the Judi cTafy estabhsliment of our forefa- vbei -i, which they left us as a legacy, and which we ought to preserve by all mjfeans in ourpowjer. Mr. S. was in favor of the district "jtrinciple for another reason. The court system, as avpreseni establish id, is competent to meet any emer gency thai might anst in thet coun try." onppose.jiny internal cmumu- f i oh should take ui'aceand such an event may arise, cnraoiwiis are v incident to a state freedom. In .4 - tich a slate of1 things, fitppose a xaction to he so predommant m one or two counties, perhans Increased by foreign iritifgne, that juries coult nut be selected' free from their in! fliience. . What security would there be if ju-ies were drawn from such counties alone, as must be the case under the proposed system, - for a pure administration of justice.'? The present system would be competent ?.o meet such an event r because, if arte part of a district was agitated noher would be tranquil ; anl anJ implicated person might expect jus tice administered in mercy ; whe as, under the proposed system?b' would sink in despa!n,jfbelongpig o the weaker pitr.y, or be certainof an acmtit?al if belonging to t he other . He ATou'd now make someedfrn- nents on the bill upon the table; but before he did this, he would take the" liberty of reading a short paragraph from the Governor's message' totti wo houses at the opening of the ss aion, as he considered it in polmf; nd much better expressed than any "hing he cjkj3 say otlie subject. Mr. S. read as follows : V.' Th public mhul has for some time jsen'jCOJi $ iderably aguated by the coutem j)!a ed change ot oar jvidaiiiry system." 1 1 cnstjaei.ce of the'epandrd population oi ur j.tate, cf the intiu.nce ..f commerce; nd thf-gradual increase of wealth, a.-id ot the hivLtble vie ssr.udcs of human affairs, .jt'is talonable to expect that oer junspru- derice requires m. ddicaucn. Jput maicct any alitraooi!, pcrmti me to caution ym against temporary expedients, for the will weaken rathertlVau ttreiigthen the arm4?f jusace. W hatever imperfv-ctions are fcund 10 be iuterwaven in the rxisting sys.em, ii jun us cr burthens me, cauf tbem to be aiuended with a respec ful, :.houjjh steady hand., and direct all your views to permanent measures. Youmij?: consider that'll u are placed a the respem. aj!e si uadiottiiof frammg laws for poste rity, and hot for you Selves a.one' Therre-was so much good sense in fcthis part of the Goveinor's message, wfuch mjust have been iniended to meet ihis Tpjesiion, that he could not heip hoping that it wouid have weight with the house. S. said, he would undertake to shew that the bill before the house was a temporary expedient. In the first pace, in order to make the bill more ucceptah'e, it is limited for three years. The gentleman from Mecklenburg has used this as an ar tumeM in favorof the bill. This is he language of expedience. But 'his limit'atVorf is subject to thi ob jection. .. i-orj must- appoint your Judges, during good behaviour ; you cannot put up and take down these Judges at pleasure like a Roarti qf Accounts ; and m.this view, tne biil isuncpnsututional. Here Mr2 Steele - ad the 13h clause of the constitu . on which provides thitiludges, Sec. .hull hold their offices during good :hnvioiif and added that any law passed tor appoint ng Judges dille rent from the mode pointed out by 'he constitution, must be void. VV he re, asked Mr. S. is your au thority for appointing Judges by any other tenure than such as the consti tution directs ? Yet ; here is a bill which savs that Jcdges, Sec. shall be appointed for three years. Perhaps the gentlemen will say, we can amend 4U Khl "Mitr o t r'l lnw riit t K li--.lta tion. But why hold oat the limita tion to the people, and invite thejn to countenance an experiment which it was known the constitution does hot permit them to make. . But this sy stem is defective in ano ther respect. It is delusive to hold out the idea that six5 Judges can do the business of 120 cours in a year. It is irnpi sslb'.p. You cannot expect that the Judges can perform impossibilities ; and the constitution secures them against having more business laid upo"i them than they can perfo-m, and that their salaries shall be adequate. He trusted the house would not -attempt to run down Ec legislate the present Judges out of office, by laying more bus), ness upon them than they. can per form, and at the .same time,, provi ding for nd increase of coropens' tion. He would not say this was in- tended by the supporters of the bill, 6ut whether intended or not the ef fect would be the same. The Judges will be driven out of office and at j the nesi session, the RenUelifenwiU ' come forward with a proposition to .-n nA'.r., . ' T4.e that cUus in our ; hil! Qt rights, w men say s, Tjnat ine iei5iauye xeci)'tivea'siiprim;iiKvs' ters of government plight to be. foce- These gentlemen haye resignedjthey ' will sy,was their voluntary at Y imd wefirenothihg abaat t it. Is : this legislating with due regard to ! ver seprdie ana ffiswncs-irouiiicu ; other 1" It i legislating hi oppo sition to ii obx(tmi meaning" Sacf spirits Y-":- .YY : -" The bbserratioqs.- which he had . Y made, Mr. S. said, had been founded chiefly on the policy, and expediency of the prbposed measure. He, trusted i t h at thXrse considerations alone would be &u0cito).;ihre the 'reception- , - of trie propose! ; amendment, and tn reject the bill. YBut, fortunately for theqountrand (brtunately for tha members of this house, there are vibjeclions to thiv bill of another Rjnd-objecticn5 which are radicat iHfefat. It is not in the power of hiChohse topass this bill. He did jotYniean to say, there were not humbernoughor physical forc sjdfcte)t 'iot"i;drj."ijbttt he lheant lb sarj thax house Was restrained from 'doing; it by considerations of JTioryl recti tudeand obpgajions of the most scred kind. He Would venture to pronounce the bill uncnstituvional tmd therefore the house could not ; . pass it." : If he could shew this, ha presumed there would be aa cni of the bill. ' - Mr. S. said he he would call tha attention of the house to a fewsec tions of that instrument from whicU they derived all the authority -the possessed ' Gentlemen, said he, hormay suppose thry possess alt power as legislators, are restrained y a sense of right and wrong, and by the constitulion. ; r - The 44th section of the constitu 'ion declares the bill of rights to fortxi T a part pf the constitution ; .aritiib 4th article of that bill is in the words above quoted, separating the diflV rent branches of the Govern men t It would have been proper, he saidy J$fore the Legislature had attempted tochange the principle' upon whichv the present constitution of the courts - established, to have called upQii 'f'f the judges, who represent the peo pie in theYpdjar Department o the Governratit, hy a resolution, to report anydteratio.i which they might deem necessary in their de partment for thedue administration of justice. .This Would have been acting with proper respect towards that body, IjRnd the Judges wou& bays.cQtne forward, and '-given you the information required But this has not been dpneand gentlemen by , legislating in this manner, will ran inc risKpi acting msrespecttuiiy toward the Judges, and without the in formation which that department might have afforded. " If the Judges had been called up on, information Wduld have been re ceived from all parts of the state, as rot tlis necessity fcr an alteration ". of the present system. Mr said '. hfe had in his possession dfifi(itarri3 pers w hich shewed $h situation of the busies. in the at vera superior courts in the western parts of thi$ stite. These papert'hf jread and commented upon ; and froin th smaU'riuinber of suits opdri the &e ' yeral dockets (soma counties' having none, and othefrery fewjsuit) ho concluded there w a no necVssityfcr carrying a superbr court into coun tics, where there was m business, tir next to none, to be done. ' I ' After having niiide this statement wrthe. houie, Mr.- S. said he would un tertake to shew another article of the constitution which is agairist the imnciple of thU-bilL This was he 3th article of the bUl of rights, which is in these words ? Y ; . x. That no free manhall b convictrg ot aay crime but by the onauradus verqicc of a jury of good and lawful men, inbpe$ court, as heretofore used. - 0. If he shewed, that at the tiin this bid of rights was adopted, th trial hy jury was composed upon ih district principle, he would then sljiew.that a criminal could riot b ' convicted by a jury formed iii any --other manner. ' . . : It would be necsssary, " before he .i wr-t mmws-mi aim r ky i i u unit w rm n u n rm - . "v . I ot two wonli in that section, crime anu hktcwqtc- i ne wpra i t l 1 tl ' 1 i li lit- mx-anr anv nrkrtirtn if rvi- ' Vi1 1 1 T -V Vj s Si i I V 5 Ji 9 Y, 1 - ' . - - 'kit'
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 8, 1806, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75