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50

Mr. Bonney raises a point of order, that the resolution is out of order.

The President so held.

On motion of Mr. Bonney, the report of the Committee on Law Reform be taken up, and voted on by sections.

66

Second division of the report, under head "A," passed, as also "b," "c," "d", division III; "a," "c," "d," "e," under division V; "f," under division V, lost; "g," "h,” “i,” “j," "k," "1," under division V, adopted; "m," under division V, was amended so as "to limit the time of imprisonment to two years," and adopted.

On motion of Mr. Hurd, the Secretary was instructed to print the recommendations of the Committee on Law Reform, for distribution among the members of the Legislature.

The Committee on Law Reform submitted the following special report on the recommendations of Mr. Bonney, which was received and ordered printed in the proceedings of the Association, but discussion on the same was postponed to the next Annual Meeting:

To the Illinois State Bar Association:

The committee would report back, with a recommendation that the same be printed in the proceedings of the Association, the papers which were offered by Mr. Bonney, on the 11th inst., and referred to that committee, the same being:

1. A bill for "An act to establish a Law Reform Commission," which bill is followed by "points" in support of same.

2. A bill for "An act to establish a State Board of Labor and Capital," which bill is also followed by "points" in support of the same.

While commending the spirit in which these measures are proposed, and desiring that the Association be allowed to pass upon the merits of the measures with the benefit of the terse but clear statements of the author appended to each bill, the committee are not prepared to recommend action thereon at this time.

I.

As to the power of said bills. that relating to the proposed Commission on Law Reform, the committee can readily see that such a commission might do a much more effectual work than has thus far been done by the reports which our statutes require to be made by the judges of courts of record; yet it does not seem to the committee that, unless the Association should desire to initiate a movement for a code, the appointment of a commission would be specially satisfactory or desirable. In the first place the field would be a broad one, and the best work could probably be done by division of the labor. For example: We have recently had a Revenue Commission; and the task devolved upon that body was sufficiently formidable. So it might be well at times to take up some general subject, presenting a necessity for inquiries as to facts, figures and matters of fact which cannot otherwise be so readily procured by the State officers or the General Assembly. But again, as matters now are, many associations and individuals voluntarily interest themselves in the study of particular subjects on which - legislation is desirable; and the presentation of materials on which the General Assembly can act, is very full and regular. The election laws in cities of a certain population have thus been changed. Plans for the selection of jurors; the quieting of land titles; the charging against municipalities of losses by riots, etc., and many other measures of great value are thus, from time to time, brought before the General Assembly.

Indeed, our people are active, vigilant and capable in such matters; and the committee think it well to commend them, and to leave these matters in their charge, with the suggestion that the standard of qualifications for Senators and Representatives by whom laws are to be enacted should not be allowed to fall.

The committee would acknowledge that the laws could frequently be improved by amendment, as experience has demonstrated; and yet it is the view of the committee that "amendment" rather than "reform," is the word to use.

As to the same subject, the committee would call attention to the fact that in an early period in our State, there was a Council of Revision, the work done by which gave but a moderate degree of satisfaction. While undoubtedly more would be done by the proposed commission, it is suggested that the active, inquiring, practical and efficient character of our people will lead them to consider the laws carefully, and to suggest all amendments that experience will find to be desirable,

II.

The committee would suggest, in regard to the bill providing for a State Board of Labor and Capital, that this subject is pretty fully covered in the principal report this day submitted by the committee, in which report attention is drawn to legislation in Great Britain, and in the State of New York.

The proposed bill conveys by implication an idea which the committee think ought not to be maintained with reference to the relations between capital and labor. In truth, it seems to the committee there is hardly room for a clear division between capital and labor. They go along side by side; and those who are serving others under contracts to labor, are frequently themselves capitalists. In short, there is not a war between capital and labor; but capital is the handmaid of labor.

The bill would leave it to the commission to control contracts for labor, to regulate prices, etc.

It would be said in regard to the proposition, that it would be fair for both parties. or presumably so, and in this respect would differ from the Statute of Laborers in England. which is now discarded as having been wrong in theory, and consequently bad in practice. But the committee hold to the view that these matters are too complicated to be dealt with by a commission, or come too nearly home to the vital business interests of employers and employes, respectively, to be left to the management of a commission. The price of labor is fixed by various and diverse agencies and causes, among which the employment of machinery, the coming in of laborers from abroad, the disposition to seek office or indoor work rather than the learning of a trade, etc., might be enumerated.

The office of the State should not be too far paternal in matters of this sort, except to protect the young, and give all an even chance.

The amount of wages earned by a man is often of less materiality to him than is the disposition to be prudent, saving and temperate.

Respectfully submitted,

THOMAS DENT,
JAMES A. CONNOLLY,
JAMES M. ROUNTREE,
Committee.

Mr. J. B. Bradwell, Historian, made the following report:

To the President and Members of the Illinois State Bar Association:

Under the Constitution and By-laws of the Association, it is made the duty of the Historian, to provide for preservation, among the archives of the Association, suitable written or printed memorials of the lives and characters of the deceased members of the Bar of the State, and make report thereof to each Annual Meeting of the Association. In pursuance of this duty, enjoined upon him by the organic law, your Historian respectfully reports for the year commencing January 13, 1886.

That during the past year, death has not only removed from earth some of the ablest lawyers of the State, but has invaded our circle and taken from our midst two of the ex-Presidents and several of the most distinguished and valued members of the Association.

JUDGE B. S. EDWARDS, President of this Association for the year 1885, but too ill to preside or take part in the deliberations at the last Annual Meeting, died at his residence, in Springfield, February 4. 1886. He was a kind-hearted, affable gentleman, and although sixty-eight years of age, he was exceedingly well read in the modern literature of the law, and engaged in the active practice of his profession up to the time of his death. The preparation of his annual address, as President of this Association, which was read by another, was the last professional labor of his life.

Judge Edwards' practice at the Illinois Bar, extended over a period of forty-six years. He was one of the purest citizens of the State, and ranked among her ablest and best lawyers. A sketch of Judge Edwards, the proceedings of the Springfield Bar. the resolutions passed by his brethren of the Bar, and memorial address by Judge H. S. Greene, will be found in volume 3, Obituary Memaranda, pages 241 and 242.

JUDGE DAVID DAVIS, the immediate predecessor of Judge Edwards, as President of this Association, one of the best known and most respected members of the Illinois Bar, passed away from earth June 26, 1886, at his home in Bloomington. He had been a resident of this State for more than fifty years, and was a great and good man. He had been State and Federal circuit judge, member of the Constitutional Convention of 1847, judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and United States Senator, and was for a time acting Vice-President of the United States. It was only one year ago last January, that he retired from the Presidency of this Association, which was the last official position he ever held. Judge Davis died immensely wealthy. Little did he think that he would be so soon called, one year ago, when, in his memorial address upon Major John T. Stuart, he said:

"The death roll of 1885 is remarkable for the number of eminent men who have died during the year, and it recalls the old truth that the rich man in his palace is subject to the same inexorable law as the laborer in his cabin. The great men of the earth must die like the rest of the world, and the splendor surrounding their lives and the display attending their deaths only serve to make the termination of their existence seem sadder by contrast."

Prominent members of the Bar, from all portions of the State, gathered at Bloomington, to take part in the last sad rites to the memory of the departed jurist and statesman. An account of the funeral services, the proceedings and resolutions of the Bloomington Bar, are recorded in Obituary Memoranda, volume 3, pages 248 to 253.

HENRY WENDELL THOMSON, who was formerly a brilliant journalist, and at the time of his death a member of the law firm of Felsenthal & Thomson, died April 12, 1886. Mr. Thomson was a lawyer of more than ordinary ability, an honorable, conscientious gentleman. For a brief sketch, see 3, Obituary Memoranda, page 244.

HON. JOHN M. ROUNTREE, for twenty-nine years a prominent member of the Chicago Bar, died April 12, 1886. He was attorney for Cook county for four years. He was a member of the Legislature for two years, and one of the joint committee to revise the statutes of 1874. A sketch of the deceased will be found in 3 Obituary Memoranda, page 244.

HON. DAVID LINEGAR, for many years one of the ablest lawyers and most influential citizens of southern Illinois, died at Cairo. February 2, 1886. Mr. Linegar had held several offices of trust, among them that of postmaster at Cairo, member of the Legislature for four years. For a sketch of deceased, see Obituary Memoranda, page 244.

RICHARD BIDDLE ROBERTS, a prominent attorney of Chicago, died April 19, 1886. He was an astute lawyer, a close student, and one of the most eloquent practitioners at the Bar. His speeches abounded in wit, humor and good sense. He possessed the respect of his brethren of the Bar. How he was regarded by them will be seen by the sketch and proceedings of the Chicago Bar, published in 3 Obituary Memoranda, pages 246 to 248.

HON. O. B. FICKLIN, one of the early pioneers, and one of the best known men in Illinois, died at his residence in Charleston, May 5, 1886. His funeral was the largest gathering of the kind ever assembled in that portion of the State. Mr. Ficklin commenced the practice of law at Mt. Carmel, Illinois, fifty-six years ago last March. He was first elected to the Legislature in 1834, and several times afterward. In 1834-35, he was State's Attorney for the Wabash district. In 1843 he was elected to Congress. In 1844 he was re-elected, and again in 1846. In 1861 he was elected to the State Constitutional Convention. He was an able lawyer, very apt in the trial of a case, never taken by surprise, always anticipating what his adversary would do. He had a kind heart, and was ever ready to help the poor and needy. He loved to talk of the early days of Illinois, and her pioneer lawyers and statesmen. A sketch of Mr. Ficklin will be found on page 252, 3 Obituary Memoranda.

HON. H. K. WHITON died July 14, 1886. He was an active member and constant attendant upon the State Bar Association. Mr. Whiton was one of our purest citizens-our ablest and most conscientious lawyers; one who not only kept his parol agreements, but compelled his clients to do the same. His professional word was as good as his bond. The death of such a man is not only a loss to the Bar, but to the whole community.

HON. JAMES C. ROBINSON, one of the leading lawyers of the State and a prominent member of this Association, died at his residence in Springfield, November 3, 1886. Mr. Robinson served in Congress for several terms, and was regarded as a man of decided ability. The address of J. Mayo Palmer and the proceedings of the Bar, upon the life and services of Mr. Robinson, will be gathered in the Obituary Memoranda.

JOHN A. LOGAN, the great statesman, the true patriot, the brave, heroic general, died at Washington, December 26, 1886. No Illinois lawyer, save Lincoln, ever received such funeral honors. The Bar, the soldiers, the State and the Nation claim him as their

own.

GEORGE CHANDLER, a practitioner of many years standing, and for a long time a member of the law firm of Goundy & Chandler, of Chicago, died November 2, 1886. He was more of a counselor than an advocate. As an office lawyer he had few, if any, superiors. Mr. Chandler was a good citizen, an able and experienced lawyer, and is sincerely mourned by his brethren at the Bar. A brief sketch of Mr. Chandler will be found in Obituary Memoranda. volume 3, page 268.

L. J. J. NISSEN, a member of the Chicago Bar for over thirty years, has died since our last meeting. He served his country in the late war. During his life he held several positions of trust, and at the time of his death was master in chancery of the circuit court of Cook county.

JUDGE WALTER B. SCATES died at his home in Evanston, October 26, 1886. Judge Scates was a grand old man, firm as a rock. He served his country in the forum as a judge, as a legislator, as a private soldier and as an officer in two wars. He performed every duty firmly, ably and with an honest purpose. The proceedings of the Chicago Bar, the memorial and the remarks at the meeting, are entered in 3d Obituary Memoranda, pages 262 to 264.

JUDGE JOHN G. ROGERS. As we close this report, we are shocked to learn that the good, kind hearted, noble John G. Rogers, judge of the circuit court, who had been one of the legal land-marks of Chicago for more than thirty years, has just been removed from earth without a moment's notice,

All of which is respectfully submitted.

CHICAGO, January 10, 1887.

JAMES B. BRADWELL,

Historian.

On motion of Mr. Wheeler, the thanks of the Association were tendered Mr. Bradwell, and a copy requested for publication.

The Secretary submitted the following:

ILLINOIS STATE BAR ASSOCIATION,

OFFICE OF SECRETARY,
JANUARY 12, 1887.

To the President and Members of the State Bar Association:

I respectfully report the moneys received and disbursed on account of the Association since its last Annual Meeting, to be as follows:

January 12, 1887, Amount turned over by last Secretary.

$18 23

Dues and admission fees collected..

357 00

$375 23

For ninth Annual Meeting and expenses of Secretary's office for
printing proceedings and other items, at pages 218 and 219 of
Secretary's record and vouchers...

223 95

Cash on hand..

151 28

$375 23

FRANK H. JONES, Secretary.

The statement was referred to a special committee, who, after examination, reported the accounts correct, and recommended the allowance of $100 to the Secretary, for services during the past year. Report adopted, and recommendation concurred in.

Mr. Bradwell offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That this Association also earnestly and emphatically renews its previous recommendation that the sessions of the Supreme Court of this State be held at the State Capital only; and that a special committee of five members of this Association be appointed to urge upon the General Assembly now in session, the importance of immediate legislation to secure the desired end.

Mr. Hurd offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That the Insolvent Debtor's Act should be so amended as to require of the creditors to file a release of the debtor as a condition of his shares in the estate: Provided, that if the debtor fails to surrender to the assignee all his estate not exempt, or is guilty of fraud, the court may allow a dividend without such release by any creditor.

15. STANDING COMMITTEES.

The President appointed the standing committees. (See pages 9 and 10.)

16. ADJOURNMENT.

On motion, the Association adjourned to meet the second Tuesday of January, 1888.

FRANK H. JONES,
Secretary.

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