r.u•1m8 01•' )'f IRAHE.\U Buo~APARTE L.-\:\C.\ll
499
cslnbli.slicd district & disfranchise ifs judge, until the expiratio-n of the tcnn of his tenure? · It is thus co1wcdcd that when the term has expired, or when the office is unfilled h_y the resignation demise, remonil or ouster of the incmnhe11t, the distrid may be discontinued; but then it will be im- presi::c<l on eYery considerate & conscientious mill(l that, as the burthens of the r<'nrnini11g judges must consequently be augmented, the territorial iden/1'.tie.-; of their districts should be preserved to the utmost practi- cable extent. For it cannot be overlooked, but must be remembered, th~t the incumbent, when he sought or accepted the office, and sub- mitted to his choice, the topical & moral condition of the district, the circumstances a11d vicisitudes actunlly attending and likely to affect it, the kincl and extent of the matters to be adjudicated, the toil and responsibility to be assured, the climate to be met, and the exposure and expense to be incurred. That nil the districts should be equalized in reference to all these qualities is impossible; but the incumbent chose the clii::trict with those incidents that attended and were likely to nttach to it. Moreover it will occur to every one with irresistable force that to justify the nholition of a district, when the office of its judge is vacant there must be some urgent necessity some overwhelming circumstances concerning the public weal and prosperity requiring it: and it fol- lows that, in the absence of such controling cause, the abolition would l_ie a wanton infraction of the public relntive rights of the remaining Judges. Need this be argued to be made manifest? Is it not obvious that the principle of such a course is-vicious and its effects only hurt- ful? The principle would be vicious because the motive of the change could only be prompted by an inadequate cause, or some caprice, or some individual or clique to be sen-eel, or some spleen to be gratified. In regard to the consequences, there is a baneful influence in such legislative action, as fatal to the government, as the famed aqua tofana was slowly insidiously but surely destructive of the human body. What! can one branch of the g'Overnment, on such motive, sport, burthen and tyrannize o,·er its coordinate branch, without disturbing its hnrmony & equilibrium? Can it be clone however recklessly, without guilt and without remorse? Is it a matter of no moment' to degrnde harrass and oppress the weakest branch of• the aovernment, and in the end subvert it? When all capacity and probity are expelled from the t~i- bunals, the judiciary-is in a state more contemptible noxious and dis- honorable to the nation than if it were utterly destroyed: nnd when such a national calamity must come, the people having yielded to it, or_ caused it by their factions, the patriot may be constramecl to per- ceive relief in the expulsion of another omnipotent parliament by an- other Cromwell, guilty or "guiltless of his country's blood." ~ut !o abolish a district, during the unexpired term of an elected a:~mg mcumbcnt, is so clearly unconstitutional, that the very_pro1!0- s1t1on must startle every reflecting mind as being fraugh~ with ''.1 0- lence usurpation and outrage. These terms are not used m asper1t_v, nor to wound any feeling or criminate, but solely becnuse they run alone express truly the character of such a measure. We have ~_enn t)1at the districts are required by the constitution; that the qonst1tu- tion creates the office of district judge, measuring its duration nnd
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