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To his Excellency Governor Jack fort)
SIR,
A WR ITER in the lad Repub
lican Trumpet, has undertaken to defend
the conduft, of yArfelf and Judge Mitch
» ell, in the case of Thomas Jones againß
you, but as his reasoning is not altogether
fatisfaftory, I fliall take the liberty of fur
ther invefligating the fubjeft, and leave
the community to decide on the propriety
of your plea, and the correftnel’s of the
Judge’s opinion. If this writer he any
other than yourfelf, I cannot avoid believ
ing that you furnilhed him with his argu
ments, becaufc he observes, that your plea
was filed at a time when it was your full in
tention to retire from the government, and return
to Chatham. Now it is from the conduft
of men only, that we can judge of their
intentions, and as you did not retire from
the government, your full intention to do so,
could not pofiibly be known , to any human
being but yourfelf—this will therefore fuf
ficiently excuse my considering you and
this writer, as not very different, and as
the piece is presented to the public as the
production of the Editor of the paper, I
leave you to draw the inference which ne
ce/farily results from this circumstance.
I might here also alk what was meant by
returning to Chatham, when by your plea,
and the opinion of the judge, you were al
ready individually residing there.
It would be lingular indeed if a Judge
on the Bench, aided by a party in court
bred to the law, could not adduce l'ome
plausible arguments to paliate illegal trans- ’
aftions—but those of vour defender, are
more miserable and flimfy, if possible than
the grounds of your plea ; he fays I might
as well fay “ that a Judge ffiould lose his
residence for holding courts in another
county, or the members of the Legiflatnre
theirs for attending a feflion in another
county,” as to deny the correCtnefs of the
opinion which pronounced the Governor
not a resident of Jefferfon. This dunce
muff surely suppose his readers as destitute
of understanding as himfelf to publilh
such nonsense. Do we not know that
members of the legiilature chosen in every
county in the Rate, are absolutely required
to be ref dents in the county for which they
are elefted, and not in that in which the
legiilature fits? And the Judges are by
law required to ride their refpeftive cir
cuits, and no sentence of law, or confiitu
tion eflabli flies their residence in any par
ticular county. But suppose a civil suit
were Inffituted against any judge of the
court in the county in which he with his
family had resided for two or three years,
suppose the process left at his notorious
place of abode, when he was absent on the
circuit ; could he afterwards appear in
court and fay his residence in the county
was merely as a Judge, that though he and
his family had indeed continued there sev
eral years, yet he chose to confider his re
sidence temporary and political, and there
fore he was not liable to a civil action
there r Would not such a plea be deemed
abiurd in a Judge—how much more so is
it in a higher officer ? —Let us then fee
your plea as Rated in the Louisville paper.
THOMAS JO NTS, )
v s. f
JAMES JACKSON.)
ANO the defendant James Jackson came into
court by Henry C. Caldwell his attorney, and ob
jected to the juril’dl&ion of the Interior Court of fef
ferfbn county, to have or t ike further cognizance of
the I‘aiJ .:Oion on the following grounds:
I'irft—That the f.iid James Jacklbn’s usual and
conltitutional residence is in (he county of Chatham,
the only county in the llate ot Georgia, wherein a
uvii l'uii could be inltituted against the laid James,
to which he is bounJ to anl'wer by law.
Second—That the residence of the said James
f jckfon, in the county of Jefferfon is not permanent,
but merely temporary and political as Governor of
the state of Georgia, and therefore is not known in
any oilier rapacity in laid county than that of the
chief magiftrateof said state.
Third—The laid James Jacklon for many years
rafthas paid his t axes in the county ol Chatham, it
heing impoftibte lor one man to be a citizen of two
counties at one and the fame time—Therefore an
acknowledgment ot usual residence in tire county of
jctterl'on would b- disfranchizing the said James as
a citizen of Chatham county, and as the said James
has not paid histaxes in Jefterfon, although he has
had a political residence therein, the laid fames
would be disfranchized as a citizen of Icfferlbn
county.
And fourthly. It rnver was the lettcror spirit of
eitner the conft Uu tion or law of the state of Georgia
tut anyone citizen ibereot fliould be bound to an
ir uV*** 1 , 0 ' acknowledge to any civil process out
•I the county wherein their usual residence was, and
whc.c they p„d then taxes ax .citizen or citizen* of
lard county.
As well fir as I recolleft, in a well
known aft in the Rate of Georgia, penned
I believe by yourfelf, you lav that the will
of the people is expretl'ed in the confiitu
tion, and so far as that “ will or constitu
tion exprdsly warrants,the legiilature may
ro, but no farther :” While then you ac
knowledge the legiilature cannot exceed
the txprefs letter of the conßitutioii, you
will not advocate a greater extent of pow
er in the courts of jnflice. As a free citi
zen therefore of this Rate, interefled in fee
ing the conßitution and laws of my coun
try observed, I call on you, your defender
and Judge Mitchell, to point out the clause
in theconßitution, or any sentence of law,
that warranted the diffinftion you took,
between your political and temporary, and
your aftual and personal residence in Jef
ferfon county, or that warranted the Judge
to decide againß a positive faft. You who
pretend to be a great Rickler for conßitu
tion in cases in which you are not intereli
ed, ought not to countenance a disregard
thereof in cases in which you are perion
ally concerned. You and your family
have resided in Je/Ferfon county feverai
years, you have certainly been known
there in various other capacities, besides in
your official Ration.—And I affirm,that in
Jefferfon only could you be legally requi
red to anlwer to any civil suit—is you and
the judge affirm the contrary, I require
you to produce the law to support your
opinion, as neither of you will I tru st openly
contend for authority what that
warrants. But bare assertions or abusive
epithets will not be considered as authority
—nor fliall I condescend to reply to mere
fcurrillity.
The conßitution of our country con
taining the expref will of the people , in ef
tablilhing the judiciary power, in part of
the firß feftion of the 3d article, fays, the
“ Inferior Court fliall have cognizance of
all other civil cases, which /hall be, tried in
the county, in which the defendant resides."
The judiciary aft for carrying into effeft
this part of the conflitution in the Bth
clause directs, that “ process in all luits of
a civil nature fliall be served on the defen
dant or defendants, at leaß 20 days before
the return thereof, by delivering a copy of
such petition and process to the defendant
or defendants, or leaving such copy at his,
her or their, moR notorious place or places of
residence .” I alk now where is, or for fev
erai years paR has been, your moR notorious
place of residence ? It has certainly been in
Jefferfon —this is not denied by yourfelf;
I alk then, how, without a violation of law,
a'civil suit could be brought againff you
any where else ? could process be delivered
to you (in the words of the aft) in Chat
ham, no, because you were not there to
receive it, could it be there left at your,
notorious place of residence , no, because you
relided in Jefferfon. Eut you f.y your re
sidence in Jefferfon is temporary —do you
call two or three years temporary, if lb a
mans residence may be always of that na
ture, it may be his “ full intention” tore
move—but will this intention, confined
to his own bosom, secure him againß the
legal demands of his fellow-citizens ? But
you fay your residence was political, where
is the law warranting this diftinftion, and
which makes the residence of your family
political also, because unless their residence
is political, all your reasoning sails.—ls the
law or conflitution requires the Governor
to refide’at Louisville, neither of them
compel any man to accept the office, and
the condition on which it mult be accep
ted is known to every candidate for the
appointment, therefore no hardjhip can
pofiibly be complained of in the case.
You accepted the government voluntarily
—you voluntarily changed your place of
residence, you were officially, individual
ly and perfonally,refiding in Jefferfon—and
yet you fay you do not reside there—that
is you do not reside, where you live. Your
defender in thelafi Trumpet fays, the legif
laturemay next week “oblige the governor
to remove to Hancock or Wilkes”—Does
he mean they may remove the feat of go
vernment to either of those places, because
without that I apprehend they could not
direst the governor there—but suppose.
they did, and agreeably to their direftions
he removed there with his family and re
mained for two or three years, could he
then swear, he did not reside there ? becaule
without this, there would be no fimiiarity
between the case supposed, and the one
considering. We all know where tile go
vernor lives, where is his notorious place
of abode; we now wifli to know whether
we are to believe our own senses—or whe
ther a judicial decision can defiroy a posi
tive truth? The juffices of the Inferior
Court well knew that your exceptions
were mere evasions, and your diffinftions
not warranted by the law of the land, they
therefore like upright and impartial raen
decided againß you—Judge Mitchell or
dered the proceedings up before him, re
versed the decision of the Inferior Court,
and decreed, that the “ exceptions to the
jurifdiftion ought to have been fußained”
and ordered the proceedings had in the
Inferior Court to be dil'miffed : and there
fore the plaintiff muR go to Chatham to
lae yon—'and I hope; the Judge will now
.tell him how he is to find you there. Had
this suit been originally brought in Chat
nam, I have no doubt, but Judge Mitchell
would have laid, “ the defendant is a refl
uent ot Jefferlon county, and so notori
oufiy a resident there, that the plaintiff
cannot pretend ignorance thereof, and
therefore he must be nonfuited”—and he
wouffi have decided rightly.
Suppose you had purchafcd a hogshead
otfpirits,a pipe of wine or any family sup
plies in Louisville on a credit, these would
not have been official tranfadions, if you
did not chose to pay the money, must the
creditor leave the county where you re
side, whore the debt was contracted and
the articles confumetl,and go to Chatham
to recover his money ? If he did go there,
would not the court'fend him back to
Jefferfon your “ notorious place of reii
dence” to seek his redress r
Before I conclude, I beg leave to fubnfit
one ortwofurther oblervationsto the con
lideration of the Judge and yourfelf. If you
were a neceffarv witness in any caul’e de
pending iifChatham county, the party -re
quiring your teltimony might surely ob
tain a commission to take your deposition
in Jefferfon, % to be read in evidence in
Chatham, for this reason only, that you
resided out of the county where your tes
timony was required—and no such com
mission could itfue to take your testimony
in any cause in Jefferfon county, because
that being Jyour place of rdidence, your
personal attendance might be had. If a
civil suit were commenced against you in
Chatham, which required a personal ser
vice on the defendant—the llieriff of that
county could certainly not find you indi
vidually there to execute it; and he could
not execute process out of his own coun
ty, or if he d'-d it would not be legal. And
the flieriff of Jefferfon, (except in case of
joint obligors,) could not execute process
from, or make return to, the courts of
Chatham county. If then the fheriffof
Chatham could not serve process on you,
because you were not in his county, and
the lheriffof Jefferfon could not make re
turn to Chatham, it necessarily follows,
that no such process could compel you to
answer to a suit in that county. This
therefore evidently (hows that the pro
ceeding of Judge Mitchell was glaringly
erroneous, and palpably absurd—and no
doubt many perlons from the circumstan
ces will think, that your piea in the case
of Thomas Jones against you was a pitiful
evasion, and the decision of the Superior
Court a fliameful violation of law, calcu
lated to favour the executive to the mate
rial injury of a private citizen.*
B.
£s* The following inimitable Pot trait of that
great and good man w/tofe lojs our country
/lill deplores , is drawn by a celebrated Eu
ropean, who knew our fainted Countryman
only by his sublime virtues and glorious
deeds, [Baft. Cent.
FROM THE BRITISH MERCURY.
By Mallet Du Pan.
In the fame month (December 1709)
and nearly of the fame age, died three rnenj
very unlike in talents, character, public
qualities and reputation ; but who in their
dissimilar career, have excited the admira
tion or.engaged the attention of Europe.
Two of them were vidims of the French
Revolution ; and the third would also have
fallen a facrafice to it, had not his pro
found wisdom, the energy of the rational
part of his countrymen, and local causes,
lupported him against the intrigues, libels,
and machinations of the Republic of Paris.
“ These words will immediately present
to the reader’s mind the name of Grama/
MWhington. On the 15th December the
United States of America loft this great and
virtuous Citizen, who died in the 68th
year of his age at his house in I vginia, in
consequence of a hidden disorder which
carried him off in twenty-four hours.
“ What rank will hiftory assign to this
charader among the coteinporaries whose
names have borne the greafeft luftre ? It
may be made a question whether VFafhing
ton as a General and Statesman equalled in
genilis, Prince Eugene, Frederick 1 or Chat
ham? But how is it poffiblc with propri
ety to compare rffen who are placed in flt
uations no wife analagous ?
“ Were we allowed to ventnre an opin
ion on this fubjed we would observe, that
if if ~afling ten was inferior to some other il
lustrious men in extent and boldness of
mind, he fnrpafled them by the union of
qualities and talents the most rarclv found
together, and by a charader almost fault
lefs.
* O : this opinion I believe was your council Mr.
Caldwell lam told after the T udg e decided, heob
ler\ed that he had done his duty as a lawyer, and
had lutceeded—but that he had fuccecded wrong
tu**) Judge had decided wrong, aad that
power had prevailed againit ri;r-» this I only men
tion as information, it was told me by a gentleman
ot refpedtabihty from Louisville, who I fjppofe
would make affidavit thereof if necessary—however
it true 1 presume Mr. Caldwell will not deny it—l
never affirt a fact that I am not able to'prove,
and therefore mention this at prel'ent as mere in
tor maticn.
t V iflurgton, De Steaguer, and MarmocteJ.
“ Conftiution, foul, and intellect were
in him inconstant harmony, and per fed |_v
adapted to his public career. It might be
said, that providence had created himfor
the part he has l'uftained, for the people he
governed, and for the circumstances in
which his country flood. At Athens, his
lot would have been that of Arijlides or
Pliocion ; in a Republic well constituted
and long eftablilhed, his lervices would
nut have been called forth ; in a corrupt
republic he would have chosen private
flat ion as the post of honour.
“ in his military and political life, wis
dom was the prominent feature of his eba
rafter. It is given to few men to possess
that admirable moral temperature which
marked all the adions of Wajhinglon. His
courage and his talents for war would have
been infufficient, and perhaps hurtful,
without the patience, coolness, and equali-
ty of spirits which he displayed in bad, as W
well as (good fortune.
“ At the head of thp Republic, he pre
served the lacne uprightnei's and the fame
spirit of conduft bv which he had been
guided in battle. He was indebted to the
excellence of his judgment, as well as to
the afcendency of his public and private
virtues, for the permanence of the reputa
tion he enjoyed. His speeches, letters, ac
tions, were always marked with the fame
reason, and that strong good sense which
is the i.igheft gife of nature to a public
man, and his highest merit; that good sense
which alone refills the agitations of the
foul, and corrects the wanderings of the
Understanding.
o
“Tlie habitual moderation of Wajhivg
ton, his firmnefs which was ever calm and
well-timed, his prudence, which neither
difficulty nor pallion, neither hope nor
fear could fliake, his superiority to all arti
fice and intrigue, and his artless politics,
dictated by a just ellimation of times, men,
ai>d things, have never degenerated for a
moment. Placed at-the head of an infant
Republic, he acquired all the dignity usu
ally bellowed on high officers by the force
of custom and of age ; and he prelerved it
as if he had ruled Arneiica for a century :
his administration was better supported by
refpett and confidence than by laws or ar
mies.
“ He has not been charged with a vice
or a weakness. No one has raised a doubt
of his integrity or his disinterestedness.
Free from ambition, he never would have
fought superior rank, or have been anxi
ous to make a figure : he was led to them
by his fervices,the general esteem he attrac
ted, and by circumstances. In him supe
riority was pardoned ; the jealousy of his
equals vanilhed before the admirable fim
piicity of his manners, the purity of his
morals, and the reftitudeof his conduit—
Tn short neither a vain love of glorv, nor
the desire of diftinftion, nor any personal
view, ever gave a bias to his patriotism,
which was the principle of all his thoughts,
and the spring of all his actions.
“ If the title; so much abused, of a great
man , ought to be reserved for one whose
success never injured justice or honor, and
in whom great virtues united with great
talents, who lhall refufe it to JVdJhington f
“If any thing'can add to his glorv and
desert, it is the insolent temerity of some
buffoons of liberty, who, in our days,
boast to have made him their model, atut
who doubt not they have surpassed him.
“ Yes, to the disgrace of the age, and of
France in particular, we have seen
cratic school-boys, Revolutionary abor*
tions, and Heftors of Conftitutiou, com
pounded of follies, inconliftencies, and the
moll contemptible weaknesses, fitting
themselves up for the rivals of Wajhingtm.
Even at this moment do we fee a lwagger
er, known by fume fortunate battles, anu
by invasions effefted in four-and-twenty
hours, purchased at the price of all that
modesty, integrity, humanity, and even
policy require to be refpefted/caufing him
felf to be proclaimed by newspaper-writers
and tub orators a Hero , such as never was
before, and never will be again O ! miferas
he minim: mentes ! And do these Republican
ftrutters really think that a wry neck is
lufficient to dub them Alexanders ?
_ “ General Wajhingtm has carried with 1
him to the tomb the general esteem of Eu
rope. His conduft had compelled even
his enemies to refpeft hirr. It was reserved
for the French Republicans alone to differ
from the rest of the world, and insult, as
basely as grossly, the President of the Uni
ted States. It is true, that he had very
wifely forefeen, and so early as the year
1789, the horrible career of a Revolution,
which let out with overthrowing all pub
lic order, which forming crimeinto theory
made patriotism to consist in assassination ;
and liberty in the impunity ot every out
rage agaiaft the freedom of'the citizens.
“ The national gratitude o i America has
honoured the memory* or Jf'cjhitigton by
public teftirnonies of grief, and by lolem
nizmg the funeral of her iiiuftrious chief in
the most diftinguilhed manner.