Page:The Supreme Court in United States History vol 1.djvu/46

20 of the Twenty-Fifth Section of the Judiciary Act may be assigned the chief part of the influence which the Court has had upon the law and the development of the United States, it must be noted as one of the most significant features in the Courtis history that the exercise of its powers under this Section has been the chief cause of attack upon the Court itself and upon its decisions.

That the Court should have succeeded in maintain- ing itself in the confidence and respect of the people in the face of such constant assault is a remarkable tribute to its ability, integrity, independence, and impartiality, and a sign of popular belief in its pos- session of those qualities. For as an eminent State Judge has well said : "Judicial decisions upon the rights, powers, and attributes of the General and State Govern- ment, wherever the Constitution is silent, will often form a topic of much feeling and interest to the people, and of great moment to the Union. So much so, that it has occurred to my mind, as a peculiar and unanswerable reason, arising out of our system of government, why the American Judiciaries both State and Federal, even more than any other judicial tribunals on earth, should be so constituted as to stand independent of temporary excitement and unswayed by pride, popular opinion or party spirit.** ^ Fully conscious of this necessity, the Court has time and time again set its face firmly against the appeal of popular passions and prejudices, and the temporary cries of the momentary majority. "The Judiciary of the United States — independent of party, independent of power, and independent of popularity" was a toast given at a dinner in Washington in 1801 ; these words have expressed the aim, and substantially the achievement,

1 Richardson, J., in City Council y. WeHon (1824), 1 Harper (So. Car.) 840. j