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 The Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

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bench because of any decision he has made; the roads. When these mortgages fell due, and with that single exception no judge has the country was in the throes of a financial had other than practically a life tenure, if he panic, and the luckless farmers found the so desired it. shadow of foreclosure brooding over their The court has been happily free from homes. Easily persuaded that they were partisan bias, and, what is more remarkable, the victims of fraud, they sought for pre from any general imputation that their de texts to escape the liability. There were not wanting lawyers of repute to advise them

cisions had been prompted by party predi lection. Only in the fugitive slave law cases that they had a valid defense. They organ ized a league for mu — already referred to tual defense, and were — has there been a resolved to have de division of the court cisions of the courts on what might seem that should annul to be political lines. these incumbrances. Hence, there is nodisJudges were threat position in the State, ened with their dis even among the most pleasure. The league conservative elements was strong, and had of the bar or people, many sympathizers to set aside the elect in the State; and the ive system. And the mortgages were court has never yield mostly in the hands ed to those gusts of of Eastern capitalists. popular opinion that A test case came oftentimes sweep, tor to the Supreme Court nado-like, over new in 1860, the court be communities, espe low having held the cially in times of securities invalid. financial distress. The court in Clark v. "The judges are not Farrington ( 11 Wis. wont to look out ol Reports, 306), revers the window to see R. D. MARSHALL. ing the decision, held how the wind blew." that the notes and The farm-mortgage cases were, among many, striking instances mortgages were valid, such as the company of the judicial steadfastness of the court. had power to take, and such as in law might The facts in those cases may be briefly told : be made. Says Judge Paine in the Opinion In the early era of railway building in the (p. 320) : " If the farm mortgagors, influ State, cash was scarce, and the farmers along enced, perhaps, by public spirit combined the route could not raise ready money to pay with the hopes of private gain, have mort their stock subscriptions. Roseate pictures gaged their farms for stock, the facts that of the fortunes that would come to them those hopes have failed, and that financial were painted by the promoters. They were ruin has fallen upon the enterprises, and that induced by thousands to give their notes for the execution of their contracts may prove stock, securing them by plump mortgages hard and calamitous to many of them, fur nish no reason in law why they should not on their farms, such securities to be negoti ated by the companies to raise funds to build be executed if they were in law such con