TO JOHN BRACKENRIDGE.
Philadelphia, January 29, 1800.
Dear Sir,—Your favor of the 13th has been duly received, as had been that containing the resolutions of your legislature on the subject of the former resolutions. I was glad to see the subject taken up, and done with so much temper, firmness and propriety. From the reason of the thing I cannot but hope that the western country will be laid off into a separate judiciary district. From what I recollect of the dispositions on the same subject at the last session, I should expect that the partiality to a general and uniform system would yield to geographical and physical impracticabilities. I was once a great advocate for introducing into chancery vivâ voce testimony, and trial by jury. I am still so as to the latter, but have retired from the former opinion on the information received from both your State and ours, that it worked inconveniently. I introduced it into the Virginia law, but did not return to the bar, so as to see how it answered. But I do not understand how the vivâ voce examination comes to be practiced in the Federal court with you, and not in your own courts; the Federal courts being decided by law to proceed and decide by the laws of the States. * * * * *