Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Historical Reminiscences - The Peregrinating Justice 1882
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 4, 2006, 6:42 pm

Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

THE PEREGRINATING JUSTICE.

   Among the early institutions of the county was the migratory court of his
honor Squire Bonner. In the summer of 1852 Thomas D. Bonner was elected justice
of the peace in Quartz township. He was not the only justice in the Plumas
section of Butte county, as is generally supposed and frequently asserted, for
the records of Butte county show that Edwin Fitch in 1851, J. B. McGee in 1852,
and William Robertson in 1853, qualified as justices of Quartz township, and S.
S. Horton, Samuel Carpenter, D. F. H. Dow, Lewis Stark, and H. M. Gazley for
Mineral township during the same period. Nevertheless, Mr. Bonner seems to have
been the only one who made any effort of consequence to discharge the duties of
his office. Justice, in his hands, was not merely a blind goddess, with balances
and sword, standing by her altar, ready to hear the plaints of the afflicted.
Far from it. She was rather a lynx-eyed detective; or, more properly, a
knight-errant, going from place to place seeking for an opportunity to apply the
balances and use the sword. Realizing that but little business would come to him
at Holmes's Hole, on Rush creek, where he resided, Squire Bonner put his
"justice shop" on wheels, metaphorically speaking, and traveled from camp to
camp in search of controversies upon which to adjudicate and collect the
necessary fees. Upon all such journeys he was accompanied and fortified by a
book, commonly supposed to be a law book of some kind, which served not only as
a badge of authority, but a book of reference and a convenient substitute for
the holy scriptures upon which to swear witnesses. Thus equipped, he made his
appearance one day at Nelson Point, and announced himself as prepared to deal
out justice with a liberal hand to all who felt called upon to indulge in the
commodity. There appeared before his honor one Ransmire, who sued for a writ of
restitution and $500 damages against a certain party who held adverse possession
of a mining claim to which he felt himself entitled. The suit was commenced, and
created much dissatisfaction among the miners, who had been accustomed to adjust
all difficulties, and looked upon the invasion of a migratory justice with an
unfriendly eye. Let it be remarked that it was one of the inflexible rules of
Bonner's court that the fees must be paid. That was what he held court for, he
said, and unless the costs of court were promptly liquidated, there was no joy
in life for the worthy justice. It was customary for him to decide against the
party whom he thought was the best able to pay the costs. Good business
principles would not permit him to do otherwise. Another rule of his court was
to allow no witness to testify until he had exhibited his poll-tax receipt; and
at one time, on Rich bar, middle fork, he made Aaron Winters and several others
weigh out three dollars in dust, and pay it to him for their poll tax, before he
would permit them to go upon the stand to give testimony. But to return to the
case in hand. As the trial progressed, his honor began to feel uneasy about the
costs. The plaintiff had nothing, and so the acute justice had already
determined to decide in his favor, and thus throw the costs upon the defendant,
but he feared he would be unable to collect them. He therefore made an order
that the defendant be required to give bonds for costs of suit, and five hundred
dollars damages, so that a decision in favor of the plaintiff would be sure to
gain this modern Solomon his coveted fees. The defendant was not overanxious to
have the trial proceed, and refused to give the required sureties. Quite an
indignant crowd had assembled to witness the contest, and when the mandate for
bonds was issued they became doubly indignant. A meeting was at once called, and
a committee appointed to wait upon the dignified justice, and request him to
adjourn his court sine die. The members of the committee, J. H. Whitlock, Dr.
Vaughan, J. Bass, Dr. Lewis, and Mr. Walker, walked into the court-room, and the
spokesman thus addressed the court:

   "May it please your honor, I have been instructed by the people of the state
to say to you that we can find no precedent in law where the defendant in a
civil suit can be compelled to give security either for costs or damages in
advance of judgment."

   "Whom do you represent in this case, sir?"

   "I represent the people."

   "The people have nothing to do with this case. My ruling must be complied
with, or the parties will be bound over in contempt of this court."

   "If this court chooses to place itself in contempt of the people," answered
the spokesman, "it must take the consequences. In the name of the people, I now
command you to adjourn this court, and not convene it again."

   It was now supper-time, and the worthy justice adjourned court till ten
o'clock the next morning; but before the hour arrived he was seen ascending the
mountain, his legs dangling on either side of a patient pack-mule. He had a seat
of justice in Onion valley, many feet higher in the air than the river, which he
called his higher court, where he sat to hear appeals from his decisions in his
lower courts. Here he continued the case without the presence of the defendant,
and gave judgment, being unable to either enforce the judgment or collect the
desired costs. At another time, he undertook to hold court at Rocky bar, but was
compelled to hastily adjourn proceedings to his higher court in Onion valley.

   He sent his constable, Tom Schooley, to Rich bar in 1852, to serve a summons
and attachment on a certain miner. When Schooley found the defendant in the
suit, he made known his business and read his papers. The defendant was
surrounded by a number of fellow-miners, who one and all laid down their
implements, and listened to the reading. When this was done, they told the
constable, in the expressive language of the miners, to "git," to climb the hill
without delay. After some hesitation he accepted the advice, but happening to
drop some offensive remark, the sovereigns started after him with sticks and
stones, and it is asserted that the best time ever made up Rich bar hill was
made by Tom Schooley that day. This valiant constable was afterwards hanged at
Victoria for murder. Squire Bonner's official career was brought to an end upon
the organization of Plumas county. He wrote a history of the life of James
Beckwourth (spoken of in the history of Sierra valley), and soon after left for
more congenial scenes.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)


File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/plumas/history/1882/illustra/historic92nms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/

File size: 7.3 Kb