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THE ALBANY LAW JOURNAL:

A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE LAW AND THE LAWYERS.

The Albany Law Journal.

ALBANY, JULY 1, 1882.

CURRENT TOPICS.

UITEAU'S last hope of escape through judicial

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action having failed with Mr. Justice Bradley's refusal to grant a writ of habeas corpus, the women and physicians have taken the matter in hand. The latest phase of the nuisance is a determined effort on the part of certain physicians, who apparently are anxious to advertise themselves, and of certain unreasoning and emotional women and clergymen, to induce the President to grant a reprieve, in order to give these physicians an opportunity to testify that they think Guiteau crazy. These gentlemen pronounce the trial a farce," probably because they were not subpoenaed to testify. Of course such an inquiry could be addressed only to Guiteau's present condition. There is no pretense that he is in any respect different now from what he was at the time of the murder and of the trial, except that he seems to act rather more rationally. These physicians apparently have no interest in the only legal inquiry pertinent to the case, namely, whether Guiteau knew he was doing wrong, but are only anxious to investigate the psychological problem of his "sanity." The public and the ministers of justice take no interest in this question. They are satisfied that Guiteau, however insane he may have been, knew that he was doing wrong, and therefore was legally accountable. We should not care if a post mortem examination should disclose disease in Guiteau's brain; that would not change our conviction that he had reason enough to be legally accountable. We earnestly rejoice that the President and the attorney-general have not been warped by these insatiate scientific-curiosity-hunters from the discharge of their duty in the premises—that is, to let Guiteau alone. We are in favor of hanging all such "insane men as Guiteau, and of letting the physicians squabble over the post mortem to their hearts' content. We hope that Guiteau will have been hanged ere these words reach our readers.

There is one other nuisance flourishing in Washington at the present time, and that is Col. "Bob" VOL. 26 No. 1.

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Ingersoll. We have already alluded to his desire to bet in open court that his clients, the star-routers, will be acquitted, but he has now developed a very unpleasant disposition to fight the opposite counsel. Some misunderstandings between counsel led the pugnacious colonel to ask the government counsel not to address him again. But when Mr. Merrick responded that he would not allow Col. Ingersoll to address him, and would prevent his associates from doing so, if possible, the colonel briskly replied that Mr. Merrick couldn't do it, "nor a hundred like him," and "manifested a desire to settle the matter then and there." But the court interfered, as the colonel probably foresaw they would, and prevented any bloodshed. Now the colonel is very irrational. Apparently he wants to do all the talking. He will not let Mr. Merrick address him, but he will address Mr. Merrick just as much as he pleases, and Mr. Merrick can't help himself. We think he is correct in this assertion - nothing short of death will ever prevent the colonel from talking, and from being an abusive, vulgar, and blasphemous brawler. But believing in free speech as the charter of our liberties, as he professes, he is very inconsistent in assuming to monopolize the talking. As for the "settling" of the matter, if it were not that Mr. Merrick is a gentleman, a Christian, and a lawyer of great learning, whom we cannot spare, we should not mind a "settling" between him and the colonel in any manner that would irremediably prick this blatant bag of wind. We should not so much mind an encounter between Col. Bob and Col. Bliss. But oh, that Col. Cash of South Carolina and Col. Ingersoll could together have a fair field! The only possible regret would be that one or the other or more likely both might survive.

We are conscious of having devoted a good deal of space of late to Mr. A. Alpeora Bradley, but the weather is warm, and the courts are dull, and straw for legal bricks is scarce. We therefore feel justified in announcing that A. Alpeora, now of St. Louis, and Aaron A., formerly of Boston, are the same. It seems that some years ago Bradley had a falling out with the Massachusetts courts, and they requested him not to practice any more, and he accordingly desisted. After a time he asked to be "let up," and they thought the easiest way out was

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to order him to be examined. He was examined accordingly, and the examination was published in 27 Law Reporter, 240 (A. D. 1865). The examiners seem to have entered properly into the spirit of the matter, and the result was quite entertaining. We extract some beauties: "Q. Does a writ of entry ever lie in this Commonwealth to recover land? Ans. I can't fix my mind on any writ by that expressive name." Mr. Bradley thought that to hold an indorser, demand might be made "within a reasonable time," or "until just before six years are out," although in the latter case he concluded that the chance of recovery "would be "slight,” because of the "laches;" but "if you should wait ten or fifteen or thirty or forty-five days, there would be no doubt at all that you would recover;" but the question "would depend on the lex loci." "Q. For an assault and injury to the person, would you bring trespass quare clausum, or trespass de bonis? Ans. Trespass de bonis, of course." (Meaning trespass on the bones, probably. We once heard of a man who translated de mortuis, nil nisi bonum, "nothing of a dead man but his bones.") "If you put in trespass quare clausum fugit also, you must elect which to proceed upon." He thought "a deed would convey land without a seal," under "the statute which provides that formality shall not vitiate any thing." "If a man has my child and won't give him up, I may bring personal replevin, but not habeas corpus. latter is brought against officers of the law." ing the legal ages for marriage at 21 and 18, he said marriages under those ages are invalid, and the parties "may separate and marry others provided they do not cohabit together after they become of proper age. Such cohabitation would make it all right. I have been in a case in which it was necessary to look this up." (That was the reason he knew.) "A dowager is only a life-time thing, and is supposed to return to the legitimate heir. A dowager is one-third of the rents and profits of all the estate." "A bill in equity to compel the specific performance of a contract to marry "must be brought "within three years," but "sooner if there has been part performance by their having intercourse together. A court of equity would certainly compel him to marry her. I have known of such a suit as that." A common carrier is not liable for goods burned up in his house without his fault. It is enough if he takes the same care of them that he does of his own." He defined bailment as "common bail bond and bail given in criminal cases." The case being put of a pledge, and a loan of the pledge to the pledgor and his refusal to return it, he was of opinion that would be a swindle. You could use force to take it back." The case being put of the sale of 100 barrels of flour, part of a large cargo, not pointed out, he thought "replevin would lie because the barrels of flour are distinct from each other." "Q. How many witnesses are necessary to prove adultery? Ans. One disinterested witness to prove he saw the parties in actual naked, physical contact. I heard a judge in Connecticut lay down the law stronger than that once." (He certainly could not have laid down the parties any stronger.") So much for A. Alpeora. Peace to his shade! We never knew of his equal except in the person of another colored brother, likewise an attorney, who once flourished in Rensselaer county in this State. A jury having returned an adverse verdict, some one whispered him to demand a poll. So he demanded a poll, and the court said he might poll them. "How do you poll 'em?" he whispered to his adviser. His adviser whispered

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something in reply, and thereupon our colored brother went to an adjoining window, took from it a pole used in opening and closing the windows, returned, and pointing it at every juryman in turn, solemnly asked, "Is dat your verdic?" The court did not spoil the fun. By the way, Mr. Lathrop does not inform us whether A. Alpeora was admitted on his re-examination, but we assume that he was not. He probably got in the first time by "senatorial courtesy."

Commenting on the recent discussion, in the House of Lords, on the validity of marriage with one's deceased wife's sister, the Albany Argus remarks: "Great Britain recognized that marriage was the aim of women. Its system of entail and primogeniture, in other words, its system of keeping landed property in families, and of making the eldest son the heir, affected marriage in this way: That daughter of a family who married an eldest son of another house, married 'rich.' She was certain either to try to help her sisters to other 'rich' marriages, or to have some of them live with her as companions, wheedling or persuading her husband to let them do so. That surrounded the husband with his wife and with some one or more of her unmarried sisters." (By the bye, how can a man be "surrounded" with his wife?" We do know she frequently "gets around him.") "The cares of housekeeping and child-rearing would age and isolate the wife, while the unmarried sisters would keep fresh, look young, hold their health, have time for society, and their vanity as well as their gratitude would lead them to dress and act to please the brother-in-law, who supported them. The result, in a large number of cases, was found to be a conspiracy, between the brother-in-law and some sister-in-law, to put the wife out of the way, so that they could get married. Parliament had to take notice of this evil, by prohibiting marriage with a deceased wife's sister. It stopped that evil, and it was an evil of sufficient magnitude to need a remedy so absolute." This very clearly presents the stale, puerile and fleshly argument of the English ecclesiastics who have for generations opposed their nasty traditions in the way of common sense and common decency. there is any basis for the argument, it would be safer to prohibit marriage with any woman who has a pretty sister, or still better, to restrict marriage to only daughters. It might be well, too, in view of the notorious hostility of the married man to the mother-in-law, to forbid marriage with any except orphan daughters. The statement of the argument is its sufficient refutation. It is no wonder that the clerics just now only escaped defeat by four votes. It is due to them however to say that they put comparatively little stress on the argument above stated, but plant themselves on the scriptures, which they avow denounce such marriages. We have heretofore sufficiently dwelt on this point. Mr. Bishop expresses the opinion of most enlightened statesmen and lawyers, when he says: Especially, under the light of modern days, has it appeared alike unjust and impolitic to forbid marriage with the sister of a deceased wife. * It would be difficult to find a person who would object to such a union, or pretend that the laws permitting it had wrought injury." (Marr. & Div., § 319.) The Argus, we apprehend, is mistaken in assuming that Parliament ever prohibited such marriages. Archbishop Parker's table of prohibited degrees, the

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