would save themselves the trouble and ex-
pense of appealing; and have no doubt that
the time and labor of the court of appeals
would be saved in hundreds of cases by hav-
ing three judges upon the bench instead of
one.
With reference to the orphans' court sys-
tem, which is necessarily connected with this
question now belore the convention, it is a
matter of importance that there should be
upon the bench of the orphans' court some
judge who knows something of the law. It
must of necessity be so, if we adopt the pro-
vision recommended by the committee, to
give the orphans' court jurisdiction over the
administration and distribution of real es-
tate, concurrent with that of the court of
equity.
The expense to the State may be a little
more. I cannot state whether, if we adopt
a system of having a judge for each county,
it might not be so modified that where the
counties are small, and their business would
be less onerous than in the larger counties,
there might besuch a modification of the sala-
ries in those cases as to save some expense to
the State. Let the administration of justice,
however, come home to the people of every
county. Let even man have free and easy
access to the judicial tribunal of the county.
By the one-judge system, the judge living in
one of two or three counties, that is an im-
possibility in the lower sections of the western
shore, and in the lower sections of the eastern
shore. In Allegany county, according to
the gentleman's scheme, they will have a
judge there; in Washington county they
will have a judge there; in Frederick county
they will have ajudge there; but gentlemen
from Calvert, Prince George's, or Anne
Arundel, will have to go entirely out of their
counties before they can reach their judge
for the purpose of transacting important and
pressing business.
Then in reference to the appeals from magistrates,
important matters of litigation are
constantly going on before the justices of the
peace of the several counties; and if those
appeals could be taken at once as they can
be under a provision for having in each
county a judge, and decided at once, a great
deal of expense, a great deal of annoyance,
and a great deal of difficulty would be saved
to the citizens of the several counties in that
particular.
From all these considerations, I trust that
this mere matter of additional expense to the
State will not be taken into consideration.
I wish the convention to consider that we are
now framing and organizing the most im-
portant branch of our State government, in
comparison with which all other depart-
ments in my opinion, sink almost into insig-
nificance. What does the governor of our
State do, or the legislature eves, in compari-
son with the administration of justice, in |
contact with which the people daily and
hourly come? The administration of the executive
branch of our government is now
but a mere nominal affair. Our legislature
is to meet but once in two years, and then sit
only for a short time. Bat the judges are
constantly at their labor, administering the
law, protecting the weak, redressing wrong,
disposing of the estates and property of in-
dividuals. We are daily and hourly brought
in contact with the judicial department of
the government. Why should gentlemen
stop, when we are organizing such a branch
of the government as this, to weigh dollars
and cents, in comparison with the great ob-
ject to be attained, a judiciary which will ad-
minister equal and exact justice to all, placing
upon the bench men of learning, of integ-
rity, of high character, who will hold the
scales of justice evenly between man and
man, free from political bias, free from party
prejudice?
There is no function that a man can per-
form on earth, it seems to me, equal to that of
judge. A community can be cursed with no
greater evil than having over it all unjust, a
partial, or a corrupt judge. If gentlemen
would reflect upon the great importance of
this branch of our government, it seems to
metbait these considerations of expense would
be lightly weighed. I believe the people of
the State would willingly bear the expense
for the purpose of obtaining a judiciary such
as I have indicated.
The gentleman from Baltimore city who
last spoke (Mr. Stirling) said that in the
election of so many judges we were running
the doctrine of election into the ground. 1
was opposed to the elective system altogether;
but there is this about it. Elections will not
be very frequent under this system, if we pro-
vide that the tenure of office shall be during
good behavior or until a specified period of
ape. The independency and uprightness of
judges will be secured I think vastly more by
giving them an independent and long tenure
of office than by the mode in which they
may be selected. Elections will not occur
frequently. It will only be in case of death
or the resignation of one of the judges,
which may not occur for twenty or thirty
years. Taking any one of the counties,
electing a man thirty years of age, or thirty-
five years of age, a man at the bar and in
good practice, a man of integrity, giving
him a sufficient salary, so that his time may
be devoted to the discharge of his official du-
ties, electing him once for this long tenure of
office, during good behavior, and election
will not occur frequently in that county fora
judge; and the election of judges will not be
brought into politics; which is the strongest
argument that the gentleman from Baltimore
city has urged against this section. I hope
that the amendment of my friend from
Prince George's (Mr. Clarke) will prevail. |
