Page:The Supreme Court in United States History vol 1.djvu/113

Rh Finally, President Washington himself wrote, in August, 1791, that he hoped that Congress would give "relief from these disagreeable tours." Besides the laborious duties it entailed, the system was defective for other reasons. "It has happened in more than one instance," wrote Jay to Rufus King, "that questions in the Circuit Court decided by one set of Judges in the affirmative had afterwards in the same Court been decided by others in the negative. As writs of error do not reach every case, this evil has no remedy. The natural tendency of such fluctuations is obvious; nor can they otherwise be avoided than by confining the Judges to their proper place, viz. the Supreme Court." Frequently the Judges, through illness or impassable state of the highways, were unable to attend, and the consequent delays and postponements entailed great cost and hardships to litigants and injustice to persons held for trial for crimes. The National Gazette said: