"Permit me to ask you sir," observed Judge Bonham to Judge Livingstone, "if the conditions prevailing in the South are not entirely unlike those that obtain in the North?" "Yes, indeed," replied Judge Livingstone. "It would be difficult to realize that we live under the same Federal government. Society in this country seems to be thoroughly disorganized. I can imagine that some great upheaval of nature has widely separated the South from the North." "I presume," said Judge Bonham, "that you have seen southern character in all of its transformations in your courts?" "Yes sir, and very frequently in its most abhorrent and disgusting forms. There is such a variety of indictable frauds and many of them growing out of the rudimentary education of the negroes, that this fact, in my opinion, is the most cogent argument against their education." "I am very decidedly of that opinion," replied Judge Bonham with emphasis. "I believe if it were not for the criminal class of young negroes there would be very few indictments in the courts; but as the matter stands they are congested to that extent that our jails are always over crowded and so are our dockets." "Do you know, sir," replied Judge Livingstone, "that there is a side to this ever-shifting panorama that challenges my profoundest sympathy? To give you an illustration: A few days ago, in this county of F., I saw in the dock a decayed old negro, who staggered into the bar from sheer exhaustion. He was dying piece-meal from starvation. He was indicted for the larceny of a peck of sweet potatoes. The prosecuting witness was a white man of about forty years of age, and was what is provincially known as a scalawag. I do not exaggerate very grossly when I say that a blacksmith would have hammered a plowshare out of his hard face. The old negro was convicted; he had no substantial defence. I said to him, 'I want you to tell me why you took the potatoes.' The poor old negro leaned heavily with both hands upon his staff, his unshorn white locks giving him the appearance of a 'sheik of the desert,' and raising his harrowed face, that was wet with tears, tremblingly addressed the court as he grasped the railing for support, 'Mars Jedge, I hab neber nied dis scusashun, und I tole de boss man ef he wudn't sen me to de jail I wud wurk hit out ef hit tuck seben yurs. I libs erway ober yander cross de mash. Dar is my ole marser a settin dar. He noes I'm er tellin yu de naked truf, und God in hebben noes I wudn't tell yu nary lie. Dar is foteen moufs in my fambly er cryin fer wittles ebery day de good Lawd sends; und Malindy, dat's my dorter, haint struck a lick o' wurk fur mo dan er hole yur; und dar's my growed-up son, dat's Joe, he got drounded in de crick nigh unto er month ago; und dar's my po wife, dat's Mimy, she tuck sick und died when she heerd dat Joe had drounded hissef, und nobody in de wurrel ter git ary moufful o' wittles epsep me; und I was