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The New York Court of Appeals.

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by the electors, in eight separate districts, and Earl, and in addition, Samuel A. Foot, the electors of each district choosing four, William B. Wright, Henry R. Selden, John the justices first chosen to be classified K. Porter, Martin Grover, Lewis B. Wood so that one justice in every district should ruff, Charles Mason, John A. Lott. go out of office every two years, but every Of this shining list all but three — Com justice afterward chosen to hold for eight stock, Porter, and Earl — have died. It years; general terms of the supreme court would be a grateful task to make careful re

for appeals to be held in the several dis search and write detailed biographies of all tricts by three or more of the justices. of them; but the limitation of space forbids, The chief radical and the materials for changes wrought by some of them are the new Constitution scant and mainly tra were therefore as fol ditional. lows: (1) The judges were to be chosen by Greene C. Bronson. popular election in stead of gubernatorial Of this judge, Mr. appointment; (2) They W. F. Cogswell were to hold for terms writes : — of eight years, but without limitation by "It is a matter of reason of age; (3) common knowledge that the marked men of the The distinction be court were Judges Bron tween law and equity son and Gardiner. They was abolished; (4) were diametrically the An ultimate court, opposite of each other composed of a com in many respects. Judge paratively small num Bronson was by nature ber and wholly of law an intense conservative. yers, was substituted He had been a member for the Court for the for thirteen years of a Correction of Errors. court of solely appellate The first ChiefCommon-law jurisdic FREEBORN G. JEWETT. Judge of the Court of tion. He was, by the Appeals was Freeborn very proprieties of his G. Jewett, who had been an Associate Jus office, precluded from mingling much with men or affairs. He was thoroughly grounded in the tice of the old Supreme Court; and his as sociates were Greene C. Bronson, who had common law, without much adaptedness for been Chief-Justice of that court, and Addison or acquaintance with equity jurisprudence. He Gardiner and Charles H. Ruggles, who had was a great judge in a comparatively limited sphere. Judge Gardiner, on the contrary, was been Associate Judges of that court. Chief-Justice Jewett was succeeded by a radical, and had his mind liberalized by large Greene C. Bronson, Charles H. Ruggles, acquaintance with men and affairs; for three years he had presided over the higher branch of Addison Gardiner, Alexander S. Johnson, the State Legislature; he had administered, for George F. Comstock, Samuel L. Selden, eight years, as Vice-Chancellor, equity law. It Hiram Denio, Henry E. Davies, Ward Hunt, was no more than natural that these men, both Robert Earl. The remaining Associates were men of great force and positiveness of character, the last named, excepting Gardiner, Ruggles, with dissimilar natures and dissimilar experi