submitted by the department will, it is believed, if adopted,
obviate the difficulties alluded to, promote harmony, and increase the
efficiency of the navy.

There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court--two by
the decease of Justices Daniel and McLean and one by the resignation of
Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne making nominations to fill these
vacancies for reasons which I will now state. Two of the outgoing judges
resided within the States now overrun by revolt, so that if successors
were appointed in the same localities they could not now serve upon their
circuits; and many of the most competent men there probably would not take
the personal hazard of accepting to serve, even here, upon the Supreme
bench. I have been unwilling to throw all the appointments north-ward,
thus disabling myself from doing justice to the South on the return of
peace; although I may remark that to transfer to the North one which has
heretofore been in the South would not, with reference to territory and
population, be unjust.

During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge McLean his circuit
grew into an empire-altogether too large for any one judge to give the
courts therein more than a nominal attendance--rising in population from
1,470,018 in 1830 to 6,151,405 in 1860.

Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present judicial
system. If uniformity was at all intended, the system requires that all
the States shall be accommodated with circuit courts, attended by Supreme
judges, while, in fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Florida,
Texas, California, and Oregon have never had any such courts. Nor can this
well be remedied without a change in the system, because the adding of
judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation of all parts
of the country with circuit courts, would create a court altogether too
numerous for a judicial body of any sort. And the evil, if it be one, will
increase as new States come into the Union. Circuit courts are useful or
they are not useful. If useful, no State should be denied them; if
not useful, no State should have them. Let them be provided for all or
abolished as to all.

Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, would be
an improvement upon our present system. Let the Supreme Court be of
convenient number in every event; then, first, let the whole country be
divided into circuits of convenient size, the Supreme judges to