of the gentleman from Baltimore city (Mr.
Audoun) says that be has consulted with a
majority of the members of this house in re-
ference to this matter, and that they have
pretty much agreed to take the old judiciary
system with the amendments which he has
proposed. Now the substitute offered for the
order he submitted provides very well for
Baltimore county and perhaps for gome other
parts of the State. But we have four coun-
ties at present in our judicial circuit, and it is
almost impossible for the judge to attend to
the business of those four counties. I wish,
if instructions are to be given at all, that the
committee be instructed to report a system of
circuits, making the number larger than
either of the propositions now before the
house; making at least twelve circuits. And
I should hope also that we might get rid of
the one-judge system, which we now have,
and adopt something which will come near to
having three judges upon the bench, a judge
for each county in the circuit; and let that
judge be a judge of the orphans' court.
I think, however, we can get along very
well in considering the report of the commit-
tee, by offering amendments to each section
as it comes up. The question of the consump-
tion of time has been very much urged here,
Every one of us is anxious to get through
with our labors. But gentlemen must recol-
lect that we are now considering the most
important branch of our business here, I
believe the people of the State desire a radi-
cal change in our judiciary system; that that
question as much as anything else induced the
people to call together this convention. And
I think we shall not have performed our duty
unless we give the people of this State as per-
fect a judiciary system as we can make. I do
not think we should take into consideration
the time necessary for that. We can afford
to sit here a week or two longer for the sake
of getting an improved judiciary system, even
if we debate, and take vote after vote, upon
the different amendments offered. I do not
think the time will be wasted.
I hope, therefore, that this order will not
be adopted; or that if it is adopted the amend-
ment I have indicated will be made to the in-
structions. I know that the people of this
circuit, and of other parts of the State, are
very anxious for a radical change in the sys-
tem of judges.
Mr. RIDGELY. Power is proposed to be
given to the legislature to re-arrange the cir-
cuits.
Mr. MILLER. But not to increase the num-
ber of judges in the circuit.
Mr. RIDGELY. Yes, sir.
Mr. MILLER. I think we better provide for
that in the constitution itself, as far as we
can.
Mr. NEGLEY. I am opposed to the substitute
tute, and the proposition for which it is a
substitute, principally upon the ground taken
49 |
by the gentleman from Anne Arundel (Mr.
Miller,) unless you embody in it instructions
to report twelve judicial circuits, instead of
what is now proposed. By that means you
do get rid to a certain extent, if not fully, of
two very serious objections to the present
system. One is the present system of special
judges. The operation of that system is a
perfect nuisance in our portion of the State.
And if Allegany, Washington, Frederick and
Baltimore counties are arranged into separate
judicial circuits we get rid of that nuisance to
that extent. Besides, we get rid on the other
hand, of the inconvenience attending the
issuing of injunctions when the court is ab-
sent in another county.
Mr. STIRLING. I wish to vote intelligently
upon this subject. I have all along been
friendly to the proposition of the gentleman
from Allegany (Mr. Hebb.) But I understand
that the counties of Washington and Freder-
ick do not want to be separate judicial dis-
tricts. If they want it, I am prepared to vote
for it.
Mr. NEGLEY. We want Washington county
to be a separate district.
Mr. STIRLING. Does the gentleman .express
the sense of his delegation ?
Mr. DELLINGER, Not mine.
Mr. MAYHUGH. And not mine.
Mr. NEGLEY. We are suffering from a
want of justice from that cause now. We
want Washington county 'created into a
judicial circuit, and then one judge will do
for us, and we should then avoid the necessi-
ty of having a law judge and an orphans'
court bench. The entire State would be sub-
jected to an increase of only four judges.—
There are great abuses in our county, in
reference to this system of special Judges. As
an illustration: we had a special judge up
there; be got ten dollars a day. One of our
lawyers went to him with three orders to
sign. He could have signed them all in five
minutes. But he said—"1 will sign one to-
day, one to-morrow, and one the day after to-
morrow," And he signed one of those or-
ders a day, and got his ten dollars for signing
each of those orders. I think that very judge
had got more than three thousand dollars
from Washington county alone, for these lit-
tle special cases. If we have the county-
erected into a judicial circuit, then we will
get rid of that nuisance. And then we get
rid of the trouble of getting into the stage
and going off into Allegany county, to get
the judge to issue an injunction, or sign some
equity paper. That trouble will not all be
obviated by the proposition of the gentleman
from Allegany (Mr. Hebb,) but it will be
lessened.
». Mr. EDELEN. I do not understand how the
creation of additional districts/or the crea-
tion of Washington county into a separate ju-
dicial district will obviate the difficulty of
i special judges. |
