fenate will deem it their duty to diveft themselves of any feal ings of refentment, of any influence of prejudice, against the defendant, proceeding from an extra-judicial view of his tranf actions: So that the trial may be terminated, as it has begun, in a fair, manly and liberal manner, in relation to the profe cutors, to the defendant, and to this honorable court.

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The profecution is founded on a charge of arbitrary, tyran nical and unconftitutional conduct, in an elevated magiftrate. When the house of reprefentatives received information, that fuch conduct had taken place; that it had excited uneafinefs in the public mind; that it had degraded the character and of fice of an affociate judge; that it had proftrated the peace and dignity of our tribunals; and brought into fufpicion the adminiftration of justice; no man, except, indeed, the immedi ate object of profecution, could hefitate to declare, that it was a duty incumbent upon the houfe to enquire into the facts. Whatever, therefore, have been the infinuations of the defendant relative to the origin of the impeachment, I am sure it is felt by all, who have liftened to the evidence with an impartial ear, that such infinuations are groundlefs. Nothing has ap peared before the fenate, that can implicate any private perfon, or any public character, in any manner, as having maliciously fet on foot this profecution: for, without adverting to its origin, as it lies disclosed in the memorials and complaints of the people, upon the tables of the legislature. I repeat, that every man of candor, who has heard the teftimony, muft pronounce, that the house of reprefentatives would have been unmindful of their high, public truft, if, after an investigation of the facts, they had omitted to put the defendant upon his trial.

The truth of the facts charged has been acknowledged in fubftance by the defendant; and has indeed been incontroverti bly established by the witneffes. Thofe witneffes have ap-peared before you, with a delicacy and circumfpection of deportment, which places them far above fufpicion, or reproach. Even the defendant admits them to be entitled to the fulleft confidence, and incapable of being actuated by prejudice, or malice; infomuch, that first before I rose, a witnefs was called by the defendant, who began to relate what had taken place in the early stage of the bufinefs; but the defendant himself mentioned, that he did not wish to amplify on those points, as the teftimony given for the profecution, might be relied on.

Let me before I proceed immediately to the subject of accufation, remind you, Sir, that on the part of the defendant,

there has been no juft ground of complaint, though fomething like the language of complaint has been uttered. It is true, that applications have been made by him, and rejected by you; but is it not equally true, that they would also have been rejected, if they had been made by any other perfon? The law knows no diftinction of characters. If fuch applications had been made to the court in which he prefides, I am fure he would not have agreed to allow them. There is no hardship in his fuffering, what every other citizen would have to endure, if placed in his fituation. If this house declined to aid him in bringing his witneffes, by advancing him money, the fame would have been done, under any, and all other impeachments; in any and every profecution of a criminal nature,

If, likewife, in the courfe of the trial, the learned gentleman has attempted to introduce improper teftimony, and that has been withflood on the part of the managers. Their conduct is not only juftifiable, but commendable. They are bound to proceed in a manner best calculated to promote justice; and efpecially to preferve inviolate the fundamental rules of evidence, which form a key-ftone in the great arch, that fuftains the administration of juftice. Loofe certificates, not upon oath, presented here, on proof of the hand writing of the figners only, could not with any juftice or fafety to the ftate, the people, or the defendant himself, be admitted. If the figners had been here, and in prefence of the fenate wrote whole volumes of panegyric, the manufcript could not be received nay, an oral panegyric delivered on this floor, could not be received, unless it was delivered upon oath. Let it not, therefore, go abroad, that any thing in this cafe differs from what takes place, upon principles of law and justice, in every case. And I repeat the wish that every prejudice fhould give way; and that no party, or perfonal confideration, fhould have the fmalleft effect on the decifion; but that Alexander Addifon shall stand, or fall, by the test of the conftitution, the law and the evidence.

I fhall now proceed to endeavor to support the present profecution, in three points of view:

Firft. That it is the right, and the duty of an affociate judge, to addrefs a grand jury, as well as a petit jury, upon fubjects judicially before the court.

Second. That by depriving Mr. Lucas of his right, and preventing his performance of this duty, judge Addifon has been

guilty of an illegal, unjuft, and unconftitutional, mifdemeanor in

office.

Third. That for an offence of this defcription, an impeachment is the appropriate remedy.

1. The convention that framed the present conftitution of Pennsylvania, were invested with authority to arrange all the departments of government, to create all the neceffary offices for difcharging the legislative, executive, and judicial duties, and to bestow on every officer that proportion of power, which was thought neceffary for the execution of his particular truft. When we recur to the conftitution, we trace the distributive powers of the departments, and of the officers of the government. In the fenate, for inftance, we find a depositary of legislative authority; but all its members are equal to each other in power; and one member can no more ufurp, or annihilate the rights of another; than can the legislative departments ufurp or annihilate the rights of the executive, or individual departments of the government. So, as to the individual authority, the judges of the fupreme court are each equal in power to the other, and can no more ufurp or annihilate the rights of each other, than they could ufurp or annihilate the rights of the legislative and executive departments.

Let us turn to the 5th article of the constitution.

ARTICLE V.

Section 1. The judicial power of this commonwealth fhall be vested in a fupreme court, in courts of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, in a court of common pleas, orphans' court, regifter's court, and a court of quarter feffions of the peace for each county, in juftices of the peace, and in fuch other courts as the legislature may from time to time, establish.

Section 2. The judges of the fupreme court and of the feveral courts of common pleas fhall hold their offices during good behavior; But for any reasonable cause, which shall not be fufficient ground of impeachment, the governor may remove any. of them, on the addrefs of two-thirds of each branch of the legislature. The judges of the fupreme court and the prefidents of the feveral courts of common pleas fhall, at stated times, receive, for their fervices, an adequate compenfation to be fixed by law, which fhall not be diminished during their continuance in office; but they fhall receive no fees or perquifites of office, nor hold any other office of profit under this com monwealth.

Section 3. The jurifdiction of the fupreme court fhall extend over the ftate, and the judges thereof fhall, by virtue of their offices, be juftices of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery in the feveral counties.

Section 4. Until it shall be otherwife directed by law, the feveral courts of common pleas fhall be established in the following manner: The governor fhall appoint, in each county, not fewer than three, nor more than four judges, who, during their continuance in office, fhall refide in fuch county: The ftate fhall be divided, by law, into chcuits, none of which fhall include more than fix, nor fewer than three counties: A president shall be appointed of the courts in each circuit, who, during his continuance in office, fhall refide therein: The prefident and judges, any two of whom fhall be a quorum, fhalf compofe the refpective courts of common pleas.

Section 5. The judges of the court of common pleas, in each county, fhall, by virtue of their offices, be juftices of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery for the trial of capital and other offenders therein: Any two of the faid judges, the prefident being one, fhall be a quorum; but they shall not hold a court of oyer and terminer or general gaol delivery in any county, when the judges of the fupreme court, or any of them, fhall be fitting in the fame county. The party accused, as well as the commonwealth, may, under fuch regulations as fhall be prescribed by law, remove the indictment and proceeding, or a tranfcript thereof into the fupreme court.

Section 6. The fupreme court and the feveral courts of common pleas fhall, befide the powers heretofore ufually exercised by them, have the powers of a court of chancery fo far as relates to the perpetuating of teftimony, the obtaining of evidence from places not within the state, and the care of the perfons and eftates of thofe, who are non compotes mentis : And the legiflature fhall veft, in the faid courts, fuch other powers to grant relief in equity as fhall be found neceffary; and may, from time to time, enlarge or diminish thofe powers, or veft them in fuch other courts as they fhall judge proper for the due adminiftration of justice.

Section 7. The judges of the court of common pleas of each county, any two of whom fhall be a quorum, fhall compofe the court of quarter feffions of the peace, and orphans' court thereof: And the register of wills, together with the said judges, or any two of them, fhall compofe the register's court of each county.

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Section 8. The judges of the courts of common pleas fhall, within their respective counties, have the like power with the judges of the fupreme court, to iffue writs of certiorari to the juftices of the peace, and to caufe their proceedings to be brought before them, and the like right and justice to be done.

Section 9. The prefident of the courts, in each circuit, within fuch circuit, and the judges of the court of common pleas, within their refpective counties, fhall be justices of the peace fo far as relates to criminal matters.

Section 10. The governor fhall appoint a competent number of juftices of the peace, in fuch convenient diftricts, in each county, as are or fhall be directed by law: They fhall be commiffioned during good behavior; but may be removed on conviction of misdemeanor in office, or of any infamous crime, or on the addrefs of both houfes of the legislature.

Section 11. A regifter's office for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration, and an office for the recording of deeds fhall be kept in each county.

Section 12. The ftile of all procefs fhall be, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; all profecutions fhall be carried on in the name and by the authority of the commonwealth of Pennfylvania, and conclude Against the peace and dignity of the fame.

I lay it down as a general refult to be deduced from this article, that the prefident and affociate judges of the courts of common pleas, in their powers and duties, as judges, are placed on a strict footing of equality, and have equal, co-extensive authority. This equality arifes, indeed, not only from the contitution of the office, but from the very nature of the judicial character. But ftill by the conftitution they are made equal to the tenure of their office, or each holds it during good behavior. Do they meet as a court of common pleas? Any two of the judges, whether two affociates, or an affociate and a president, may constitute a court. Do they meet as a court of quarter feffions? Again, any two conftitute a court. In the cafe of the court of oyer and terminer, any two of the judges, the prefident being one, fhall be a quorum: but even in this cafe, the moment the prefident and his affociates affemble, that moment all diftinction ceases; and their rights and duties are conftitutionally the fame. In fhort, in every inftance while fitting as a court, the power and duty of the prefident and associate judges are placed on the fame conftitutional footing; and in all cafes where they act individually, thefe powers are co-extenfive, diflinguished only by the local range of jurisdiction. They