far from a third of the whole number taken. Of course, however,
this must depend largely on the competency of the trial judges in
the court where it is claimed that errors have occurred. The
abler and more experienced those who do circuit duty may be, the
oftener will their doings be supported in the court of last
resort.

Short terms of office and consequent lack of practical
acquaintance with the business of a trial judge is the real cause
why so many appeals are taken, and are allowed to be taken in our
American States. As for the federal courts of appeal, there is
another and unavoidable occasion for large dockets. They have
the last word to pronounce on constitutional questions, and there
has probably never been a year since the United States came into
existence when the legitimate powers of the general government
have not been repeatedly infringed upon by State legislation.

In the Supreme Court of the United States, the reporter began its
second century with a plan of stating the number of cases
affirmed or reversed at each term, but dropped it after two
years. The record of these years was as follows:

Affirmed Reversed
October Term, 1890 248 104
October Term, 1891 185 103

A tabulation of the decisions reported in the various States in
their last volumes published prior to June, 1904, shows that on a
general average, in sixty-three out of every hundred appeals the
judgment of the inferior court was affirmed. In Massachusetts