For those that meddle with their tools,
Will cut their fingers, if they're fools;
And if you follow their advice,
In bills, and answers, and replies,
They'll write a love letter in chancery."

But again:

"He that with injury is griev'd
And goes to law to be reliev'd,
Is sillier than a sottish chouse,

Who, when a thief has robb'd his house,
Applies himself to cunning men
To help him to his goods agen;
When all he can expect to gain,

Is but to squander more in vain."

A righteous hit at "detectives." Under these lines,

in Butler's MS., are the following strictures on lawyers:

"More nice and subtle than those wire-drawers,
Of equity and justice, common lawyers:
Who never end, but always prune a suit

To make it bear the greater store of fruit.

As laboring men their hands, criers their lungs,
Porters their backs, lawyers hire out their tongues.
A tongue to mire and gain accustom'd long,
Grows quite insensible to right or wrong.'

The absurd practice of verifying the answer, but not the petition in chancery, is thus commented on:

"And knowing he that first complains,
Th' advantage of the business gains;
For courts of justice understand
The plaintiff to be eldest hand;
Who what he pleases may aver,
The other nothing till he swear."

The scene in which Hudibras states his case to his counsel is most admirable. But first the character of the counsel, who is also a justice, is drawn in the most unfavorable light. He was

"A lawyer fit for such a case,

An old dull sot, who told the clock,
For many years at Bridewell dock."

The puisne judge was formerly called the tellclock, as supposed to be little employed, but listening how the time went, something like our "side justices." He finds the justice in his den,

"With books and money plac'd for show,
Like nest-eggs to make clients lay,
And for his false opinion pay."

The dialogue between the client and his counsel shows a knowledge of human nature and of law rarely paralleled in literature:

"Quoth he, there is one Sidrophel
Whom I have cudgell'd. Very well.
And now he brags he hath beaten me-
Better and better still, quoth he-
And vows to stick me to the wall,
Where'er he meets me- Best of all.
"Tis true the knave have taken 's oath
That I robb'd him- Well done, in troth.
When he 's confess'd he stole my cloak,
And pick'd my fob, and what he took;
Which was the cause that made me bang him,
And take my goods again - Marry hang him.
Now, whether I should beforehand

Swear he robb'd me?-I understand.
Or bring my action of conversion

And trover for my goods?-Ah, whoreson !
Or, if 'tis better to indite,

And bring him to his trial? - Right.
Prevent what he designs to do,

And swear for th' state against him? - True.
Or whether he that is defendant,

In this case, has the better end on't;
Who, putting in a new cross-bill,
May traverse th' action?-Better still.
Then there's a lady too-Aye, marry.
That's easily prov'd accessary;
A widow, who by solemn vows,
Contracted to me for my spouse,
Combin'd with him to break her word,
And has abetted all-Good Lord!
Suborn'd th' aforesaid Sidrophel
To tamper with the dev❜l of hell,
Who put m' into a horrid fear,
Fear of my life-Make that appear.
Made an assault with fiends and men
Upon my body - Good agen.
And kept me in a deadly fright,
And false imprisonment, all night.

Meanwhile they robb'd me, and my horse,
And stole my saddle-Worse and worse.
And made me mout upon the bare ridge,
T' avoid a wretcheder miscarriage."
The lawyer approves his case and would like to
have it his own case.

"But we that practise dare not own;
The law severely contrabands
Our taking business off men's hands;
'Tis common barratry, that bears
Point-blank an action 'gainst our ears,
And crops them till there is not leather,
To stick a pen in left of either;
For which some do the summer-sault,
And o'er the bar, like tumblers, vault:
But you may swear at any rate,
Things not in nature for the state;
For in all courts of justice here
A witness is not said to swear,

But make oath, that is, in plain terms,
To forge whatever he affirms.

I thank you, quoth the Knight, for that,
Because 'tis to my purpose pat-

For Justice, tho' she's painted blind,

Is to the weaker side inclin'd,
Like charity; else right and wrong
Cou'd never hold it out so long,

And, like blind fortune, with a sleight,
Convey men's interest and right,

From Stiles's pocket into Nokes's,

As easily as hocus pocus; ̧

Plays fast and loose, makes men obnoxious;
And clear again, like hiccius doctius."

His lawyer also counsels him to

"Retain all sorts of witnesses,

That ply i' th' Temple, under trees;

Or walk the round, with knights o' th' posts,
About the cross-legg'd knights, their hosts;
Or wait for customers between

The pillar-rows in Lincoln's-Inn;
Where vouchers, forgers, common-bail,
And affidavit-men ne'er fail

T'expose to sale all sorts of oaths,
According to their ears and clothes,

Their only necessary tools,

Besides the Gospel, and their souls;

And when ye 're furnished with all purveys,
I shall be ready at your service."

Of the nature of an oath, Hudibras says:

"Oaths were not purpos'd, more than law,
To keep the good and just in awe,
But to confine the bad and sinful,
Like mortal cattle in a pinfold."

In short, Hudibras bristles all over with accurate knowledge of law and scathing sarcasms on its ministers and administration. His correct use of law phrases is not singular when we learn that he was for some years clerk to a justice, but nothing short of genius can account for his remarkable insight into the human mind and human motives.

POPE.

Pope has immortalized one lawyer, Mr. Fortescue,

to whom his first satire is addressed:

"I come to counsel learned in the law;
You'll give me like a friend, both sage and free,
Advice; and (as you use) without a fee."

Fortescue was the author of the humorous report in Scriblerus, "Straddling versus Stiles," in which this nice point is discussed with professional phraseology and due gravity: "Sir John Swale, of Swalehall, in Swaledale, by the river Swale, knight, made his last will and testament, in which, among other bequests, was this, viz.: 'Out of the kind love and respect that I bear unto my much-honored and good friend, MrMatthew Straddling, gent., I do bequeath unto the said Matthew Straddling, gent., all my black and white horses.' The testator had six black horses, six white horses, and six pied horses. The debate, therefore, was whether or no the said Matthew Straddling should have the said pied horses by virtue of the said bequest." The case is ably debated, though not at

such length as legal cases usually are, when it is suddenly terminated by a motion in arrest of judgment, that the pied horses were mares; and thereupon an inspection was prayed!

Fortescue in 1738 was master of the rolls, but he would never have been remembered by posterity, had it not happened that he worked for a poet for nothing.

Another attorney has been immortalized by another poet, and for another reason. In "Retaliation," by

GOLDSMITH,

Lucrezia, a bag of gold, to be delivered on the joint order of the three. They departed, but one soon returned, asking leave to put his seal on the bag as the other two had done, and while the hostess' attention was momentarily withdrawn, made off with the treasure. Of course, in due time, the other two appear and demand the gold. Ruin stares the hostess in the face. No counselor could be found to advocate her cause, because she had no money to pay fees. At this juncture, when the trial day was approaching, Lorenzo, inspired by love of her daughter, Gianetta, volunteers his services, and on the trial takes the self-evident

"Here Hickey reclines, a most blunt, pleasant creature,

And slander itself must allow him good nature;
He cherish'd his friends, and he relish'd a bumper;

Yet one fault he had, and that one was a thumper.
Perhaps you may ask if the man was a miser:

I answer, No, no, for he always was wiser.
Too courteous, perhaps, or obligingly flat?
His very worst foe can't accuse him of that.
Perhaps he confided in men as they go,
And so was too foolishly honest? Ah, no!
Then what was his failing? come, tell it, and burn ye;
He was could he help it? a special attorney."

In "The Logicians Refuted," he controverts the idea that reason belongs to man alone, and says, among other things:

"Who ever knew an honest brute,

At law his neighbor prosecute,
Bring action for assault and battery."

In "The Citizen of the World," Goldsmith describes a visit to Westminster Hall, made by the Chinese narrator with a friend who has a law-suit there, and who has "been on the eve of an imaginary triumph these ten years." His lawyer tells him that he "has Salkeld and Ventris strong in his favor, and there are no less than fifteen cases in point." Unfortunately, Coke and Hale are against him. The Chinese cannot understand why a case should be decided upon precedents. His friend explains that it is in order to consume time, for "the more time that is taken up in considering any subject, the better it will be understood." The Chinese is astonished at the number of attendants at court. His friend says: "They live by watching each other. For instance, the catch-pole watches the man in debt, the attorney watches the catch-pole, the counselor watches the attorney, the solicitor the counselor, and all find sufficient employment." Just then the attorney informs his friend that his cause is put off till another term, and the Chinese and his friend go to see Bedlam.

JAMES SMITH,

one of the authors of "Rejected Addresses," wrote this epigram, at the expense of lawyers, on the street

in which he lived in London:

"In Craven street, Strand, the attorneys find place,
And ten dark coal-barges are moor'd at its base.
Fly, Honesty, fly! seek some safer retreat;
There's craft in the river, and craft in the street."

But Sir George Rose came to their rescue in the following extemporaneous after-dinner epigram:

"Why should Honesty fly to some safer retreat,
From attorneys and barges?-'od rot 'em!
For the lawyers are just at the top of the street,
And the barges are just at the bottom."

ROGERS.

The poet Rogers, in his poem "Italy," dresses up a law incident very neatly, and entitles it "The Bag of Gold." Three banditti deposited with their hostess,

three, two cannot lawfully claim it. His defense was successful, and fame and marriage with the fair Gianetta followed. The original of this story is said to be found in a case of Attorney-General Noy, with whose client, an innkeeper, three drovers had made a similar deposit.

TAYLOR.

In the works of John Taylor, the Water poet, we find a beggar's prayer for a lawyer:

"May the terms be everlasting to thee, thou man of tongues; and may contentions grow and multiply; may actions beget actions, and cases engender cases as thick as hops; may every day of the year be a Shrove Tuesday; let proclamations forbid fighting to increase actions of battery; that thy cassock may be threepiled, and the welts of thy gown may not grow threadbare!"

THOMAS FULLER,

in his character of "The Good Advocate," says: "He not only hears but examines his client, and pincheth the cause where he fears it is foundered. For many clients in telling their case rather plead than relate it, so that the advocate hears not the true state of it till opened by the adverse party." "If the matter be doubtful, he will only warrant his own diligence. Yet some keep an assurance office in their chamber, and will warrant any cause brought unto them, as knowing that if they fail, they lose nothing but what long since was lost — their credit. He makes not a Trojan siege of a suit, but seeks to bring it to a set battle in a speedy trial. Yet sometimes suits are continued by their difficulty, the potency and stomach of the parties, without any default in the lawyer." "In trivial matters, he persuades his client to sound a retreat and make a composition. When his name is up, his industry is not down, thinking to plead not by his study, but his credit. Commonly, physicians, like beer, are best when they are old; and lawyers, like bread, when they are young and new. But our advocate grows not lazy." "He is more careful to deserve than greedy to take fees." "Yet shall he, besides those two great felicities of common lawyers, that they seldom die either without heirs or making a will, find God's blessing on his provisions and posterity."

These are the sentiments of a wise, just, and sensible man. From his character of "The Good Judge," we extract the following:

"He harkens to the witnesses, though tedious."

"Many country people must be impertinent before they can be pertinent, and cannot give evidence about a hen, but first they must begin with it in the egg.

All which our judge is contented to hearken to. He meets not a testimony half way, but stays till it come at him." "If any shall brow-beat a pregnant witness on purpose to make his proof miscarry, he checketh them, and helps the witness that labors in his delivery. On the other hand, he nips those lawyers, who, under a pretense of kindness to lend a witness some words, give him new matter-yea, clean contrary to what he intended." "His private affections are swallowed up in the common cause as rivers lose their names in the ocean."

JOHNSON.

Sam Johnson had some good ideas about law as about most other subjects. When the goose, Boswell, said to him, that "a gay friend had advised him against being a lawyer, because he would be excelled by plodding blockheads," the great man replied: "Why, sir, in the formulary and statutory part of law, a plodding blockhead may excel; but in the ingenious and rational part of it, a plodding blockhead can never excel." He called the study of the law copious and generous. His opinions on the morality of a lawyer's receiving fees, and acting for a cause which he knows to be bad, are too familiar to our profession to justify quoting them here, and were dictated by the good sense of a true moralist. Johnson was, himself, no mean lawyer, as is shown by his argument furnished to Boswell on Vicious Intromission. His supposition, however, that with the increase of precedents, the less occasion there would be for lawyers, is hardly borne out by experience; on the contrary, the more numerous the precedents, the greater seems the need of a class of expert reasoners to explain and distinguish them.

Johnson says elsewhere: "To hiss a pleader at the bar would, perhaps, be deemed illegal and punishable."

BURKE.

Burke attributed the untractable spirit of the American colonists in a large measure to their general study of law. In his speech on Conciliation with America, he says:

"This study renders men acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defense, full of resources. In other countries, the people, more simple, and of a less mercurial cast, judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual grievance; here they anticipate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the grievance by the badness of the principle. They augur misgovernment at a distance, and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze."

SIDNEY.

While our profession are popularly accused of bad manners, it is gratifying to learn that Sir Philip Sidney, that soul of honor and entire gentleman, held us in the estimation indicated in the following extract from an Apologie for Poetrie:

"And for the Lawyer, though Jus bee the daughter of Justice, and Justice the chiefe of Vertues, yet because hee seeketh to make men good, rather Formidine pænæ, than Virtutis amore, or to say righter, dooth not endeavor to make men good, but that their evill hurt not others; having no care so hee be a good Cittizen, how bad a man he be. Therefore, as our

wickednesse maketh him necessarie, and necessitie maketh him honorable, so is he not in the deepest trueth to stande in rancke with these; who all indeavour to take naughtines away, and plant goodnesse even in the secretest cabinet of our souls. And these foure are all that any way deale in that consideration of mer's manners, which beeing the Supreme knowledge, they that best breed it deserve the best commendation."

The other three of "these foure" are the Poet, the Historian and the Philosopher. Pretty good company for men of bad manners, truly! Sir Philip further on discusses the nice point whether poets are blameworthy for giving names to men they write of, and thus arguing a conceit of an actual truth: "And doth the Lawyer lye then," says he, "when under the names of John a Stile and John a Noakes hee puts his case?" But Poetry, he acknowledges, may be abused, and so may Law: "Dooth not knowledge of Law, whose end is to even and right all things, being abused, grow the crooked fosterer of horrible injuries."

THE NEW SUPREME COURT BILLS.

The following are the texts of the three bills introduced into the State Senate providing for the organization of the Supreme Court under the new judiciary article:

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MURPHY, JANUARY 6. AN ACT relating to the Supreme Court.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The general terms of the supreme court, as organized under existing laws, are abrogated from and after the first day of May next, and thereafter all causes and matters then pending in such general terms, or which, according to law, might be brought before them, shall be cognizable before the general terms organized under this act.

§ 2. For the purpose of organizing general terms of the supreme court pursuant to the seventh section of the amended sixth article of the constitution, the state shall be divided into three judicial departments. The counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond, and Westchester, shall constitute the first department. The counties of Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Delaware, Schoharie, Otsego, Montgomery, Herkimer, Fulton, Hamilton, Saratoga, Washington, Warren, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Lewis, and Oneida, shall constitute the second department. The counties of Jefferson, Oswego, Madison, Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tompkins, Tioga, Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Wayne, Ontario, Steuben, Yates, Livingston, Monroe, Allegany, Orleans, Cattaraugus, Genesee, Wyoming, Niagara, Erie, and Chautauqua, shall constitute the third department.

3. Prior to the first day of May next, there shall be established in each of said departments a branch of the supreme court, which may be called the general term, or the supreme court of the department, to be composed of a presiding justice and two associate justices, and the first designation of such presiding justice and associate justices shall be made by the governor, from the whole bench of justices of the supreme court. Such designation shall be in writing, and shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. The presiding justice shall continue to act as such during his official term as justice of the supreme court. The associate justices shall continue to act as such

for five years from the thirty-first day of December next, after their designation, or until the earlier expiration or close of their official terms.

24. After such first designation of presiding and associate justices the judicial force herein provided for the holding of such general terms shall be maintained and supplied from time to time as may be necessary: and for that purpose other presiding and associate justices shall, from time to time, be designated, and such other and further designations shall be made by the court of appeals, if in session, by order to be entered in its minutes; or, if not in session, by the chief judge thereof. If made by the chief judge, the designation shall be in writing, and shall be filed with the clerk of the court of appeals. In all cases, any person designated as presiding justice shall act as such during his official term; and any person designated as associate justice shall act as such for five years from the thirty-first day of December next after the time of their designation, or until the earlier close of their official terms.

5. The general terms shall have all the powers and jurisdiction which, under existing laws, now belong to general terms of the supreme court; and all laws relating to general terms, as now organized within the judicial districts, and to the hearing of appeals from judgments pronounced and orders made within such districts, if not inconsistent with the constitution or this act, shall apply so far as the same are applicable to judgments pronounced and orders made within the judicial departments and to the general terms instituted by this act.

§ 6. Causes and matters pending in any general term instituted by this act may be entitled in the supreme court in the proper department. Two of the justices designated shall be a quorum, and the concurrence of two shall be necessary to pronounce a decision. If two shall not concur a re-argument may be ordered. In case of such disagreement, when any one of the three justices shall not be qualified to sit, the cause may be directed to be heard in another department. To prevent a failure in the regular sittings of any general term, for want of a quorum, in consequence of the inability of the justices designated to be present, other justices may be designated as provided in the fourth section of this act, to sit for the time being. The associate justices, designated to any department, shall be competent to sit in the general term of any other department in place of any justice in such other department.

§ 7. A general term shall be held by the justices who shall be designated for duty therein, in each of the judicial departments, commencing on the fourth Tuesday of May next. In the first department, such term shall be held at the court house in the city of New York; in the second department, at the capitol in the city of Albany, and the third department, at the court house in the city of Rochester. Causes and matters arising within the several departments and cognizable at general terms, may be noticed for hearing at the terms in this section mentioned, and the clerk of the proper county shall make up a calendar for the term to be held in his county.

§ 8. At the terms specified in the last preceding section, and thereafter from time to time as the public interest may require, the justices holding the same shall appoint other general terms for their respective departments, to be held at convenient times and places; and to the end that such terms may be held in the several judicial districts of the state as required by the constitution, there shall be terms in the first and second districts within the first department; in the third and fourth districts within the second department, and in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth districts within the third department.

29. To prevent the failure of circuit courts, special terms, and courts of oyer and terminer as the same have been heretofore appointed for the years 1870 and 1871, in consequence of the designation to be made of justices for service in the general terms as appointed by this act, it shall be the duty of the governor, on the request of two

justices in any judicial district, to assign justices to hold such circuit courts, special terms and courts of oyer and terminer within such district, provided, however, that the justices in any district may themselves make provision for the holding of such courts. At least one month before the expiration of the year 1871, the justices of the supreme court, resident in each judicial department mentioned in this act, shall appoint the times and places of holding special terms, circuit courts, and courts of oyer and terminer, within their department, for two years, commencing on the first day of January, 1882, and the like appointment shall be made for every two succeeding years thereafter.

§ 10. Pursuant to the twelfth section of the said sixth amended article of the constitution, it shall be the duty of the governor, whenever the public interest shall require, to designate one or more judges of the superior court, or court of common pleas of the city and county of New York, to hold circuits and special terms of the supreme court in that city. Such designation shall be in writing, and shall specify the time and place of holding any such circuit or special term. When a case or bill of excep tions shall be made in any cause tried at such circuit or special term, the same shall be settled before the judge holding the same, and the review shall be had at a general term of the supreme court in the same manner, and with the same effect as if such circuit or special term had been held by a justice of the supreme court.

§ 11. The justices of the supreme court, in addition to their stated salaries, shall receive a per diem allowance of not exceeding five dollars per day for their actual and reasonable expenses when absent from their homes and engaged in holding any general or special term, circuit court, or court of oyer and terminer.

§ 12. This act shall take effect immediately. INTRODUCED BY SENATOR HARDENBERGH, JAN'Y 12. AN ACT organizing general terms, etc., of the Supreme Court under the amended judiciary article.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The justices of the supreme court of the state shall be classed in three sections. The first section shall consist of the justices residing in the first and second judicial districts; the second, of those in the third, fourth, and sixth districts; and the third, of those in the fifth, seventh, and eighth districts.

2. On the third Tuesday of May next, the justices composing the first section shall meet at the city hall, in the city of New York; those of the second section at the capitol, in the city of Albany; and those of the third section at the court house, in the city of Rochester, and shall (1) choose by ballot one of their number as a "presiding justice;" (2) designate three others of their number to hold general terms with the presiding justice, and to be known, while so acting, as "general term justices," and (3) appoint circuit courts, courts of oyer and terminer, and special terms in their respective districts, for the years 1870 and 1871, and assign justices to hold them.

§3. The justices in each section to be so designated as general term justices shall be the three other than the presiding justice then having the shortest time to serve. Until the thirty-first of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, every general term justice (being a justice of the supreme court elected or appointed for a term of eight years or less) shall be entitled to serve as such till the expiration of such term. At the expiration of such term, or if his office shall sooner become vacant by his death, resignation, or any other cause, he shall be succeeded by the justice in the same district then having the shortest time to serve. The terms of the general term justices in office, in each section, on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, shall end, one on the thirty-first of December,eighteen hundred and seventyeight, another on the thirty-first of December, eighteen

hundred and seventy-nine, and the third on the thirtyfirst of December, eighteen hundred and eighty; the date of the expiration of each to be determined by lot, at the general term held on or next after said first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight. After the thirty-first of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, whenever the term of a general term justice shall end, according to the foregoing provisions, or shall sooner become vacant for any cause, he shall be succeeded, as such, by the justice in the same district elected for the term of fourteen years, then having the shortest time to serve, and such successor shall be a general term justice for the term of three years, and no longer. At all times, at least one of the general term justices, in each section, shall be from each judicial district, and not more than two of them, including the presiding justice, from any one district; and all the provisions of law for the designation or selection of justices to hold general terms shall be subject to this requirement. If it shall happen at any time, that two or more justices of the supreme court shall be equally entitled, under the foregoing provisions, to be designated or to succeed to the position of general term justice, they shall determine by lot which of them shall serve in that capacity.

§ 4. All the presiding justices and general term justices in the state shall meet at the capitol in the city of Albany on the second Tuesday of June next, and shall (1) appoint general terms throughout the state for the years eighteen hundred and seventy and eighteen hundred and seventyone, and assign justices to hold them; (2) appoint a reporter of the decisions of the supreme court, and (3) adopt rules. Similar meeetings shall be held for the like purposes, on or before the first day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and in every second year thereafter. At least four general terms shall be appointed, in each section, in each year, and as many more as shall be found necessary from time to time.

§ 5. On or before the fifteenth day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and in every second year thereafter, the justices of the supreme court in each section, not designated to hold general terms, shall appoint circuit courts, courts of oyer and terminer and special terms, in their respective districts, and assign justices to hold them.

§ 6. A vacancy in the office of presiding justice, in any section, occasioned by expiration of term or any other cause, shall be filled by election at a meeting of all the justices of the supreme court in that section, to be called by the secretary of state as soon as practicable after the happening of such vacancy. In case no presiding justice shall be present at the time and place appointed for holding a general term, the general term justices present may appoint one of their number to act as presiding justice until a presiding justice attends.

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR WOOD, JANUARY 14. AN ACT to organize General Terms of the Supreme Court under the amended judiciary article.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. The state is hereby divided into three judicial departments. The first department shall consist of the first and second judicial districts; the second department of the third, fourth and sixth judicial disiricts, and the third department of the fifth, seventh and eighth judicial districts.

§ 2. On the third Tuesday of May next the justices residing in the first department shall meet at the city hall, in the city of New York; those residing in the second department at the capitol, in the city of Albany, and those of the third department, at the court house, in the city of Rochester, and shall:

1. Choose by ballot one of their number as a presiding justice.

2. Designate two others of their number to hold general terms with the presiding justice, and to be known as general term justices; and,

3. Appoint circuit court, courts of oyer and terminer and special sessions, in their respective districts, for the years eighteen hundred and seventy and eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and assign justices to hold them. § 3. Until the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, every general term justice (being a justice of the supreme court, elected or appointed for a term of eight years or less) shall be entitled to serve as such till the expiration of such term; at which time or whenever his office shall sooner become vacant, by his death, resignation or any other cause, the justices of the department in which such vacancy shall occur shall assemble at the place in the said department above indicated, at such time as the presiding justice of said department shall fix, and designate one of their number to fill such vacancy.

§ 4. The term of the general term justices in office in such department on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, shall end, one on the thirtyfirst day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty, and the other on the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and eighty-three. The date of the expiration of each to be determined by lot, at the general term held on or next after said first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight.

§5. After the thirty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, whenever the term of a general term justice shall end according to the foregoing provisions, or shall sooner become vacant for any cause, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner herein before provided, and such successor shall be a general term justice for the term of six years, and no longer.

§ 6. At all times the presiding justice and the general term justices in each department, except the first, shall be designated from different districts, and in the first department the general term justices shall be designated one from each district, and all the provisions of law for the designation of justices to hold general terms shall be subject to the provisions in this section contained.

§7. All the presiding justices and general term justices in the state shall meet at the capitol, in the city of Albany, on the second Tuesday of June next, and shall (1) designate from the justices of the supreme court not presiding as general term justices, three justices to hold terms of the supreme court at the capitol, in the city of Albany, to hear appeals from the special terms in all non-enumerated motions, and all appeals from motions involving questions relating to the practice of the courts, fix the number of terms to be held in each year, and appoint the times of holding the same. The justices so designated shall hold said terms, one for two years, one for four years, and one for six years. The first term shall be held on the first Monday of December next, at when the time each justice shall hold said court shall be determined by lot; (2) appoint general terms throughout the state for the year eighteen hundred and seventy and eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and assign justices to hold them; (3) appoint a reporter of the decisions of the supreme court; and (4) adopt rules as hereinafter provided.

§ 8. Similar meetings shall be held for a like purpose on or before the first day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and every second year thereafter.

§ 9. All appeals from non-enumerated motions decided at special terms of the supreme court shall be heard by the said justices holding said court as provided in section

seven.

10. At least four general terms shall be appointed in each department in each year, and as many more as shall be found necessary from time to time.

§ 11. On or before the fifteenth day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and in every second year thereafter, the justices of the supreme court in each department not designated to hold general terms shall appoint circuit courts, courts of oyer and terminer