Show SOUND JUDGMENT THE proceedings of chief justice C S zane yesterday in discharging from custody william 11 lee and johnp john P ball were of i commissioner mckay by whom they had been examined in relation to their ability to pay fine and costs imposed as part of the judgments for unlawful cohabitation declined to take that action in addition to having served the terns terms of imprisonment to which they were sentenced the prisoners each remained in the penitentiary thirty days in accordance with the requirement of the united states statute in relation to the remission of fines etc having been remanded to custody by the commissioner they were taken before his honor the chief justice on habeas corpus the case of W H lee was the more interesting one because of the vital character of 01 one of the points involved had the court rul ruled ed otherwise than it did and the position been substantiated by the higher tribunals a large portion of the people of utah would gadt have been of the benefits ot of a most whose purpose is the preservation irom from financial ruin by legal acton action of the family of a man who whose se pecuniary affairs are embarrassed the local statute denni in property exemptions shows clearly cache 0 dials face that it was intended to cw the means by which the family obtained subsistence mr lee lees Is larm was shown to be his sole source of income it was clear also that it was impracticable if not impossible for him to live upon it at the time the coul country itry was settled and to have separated by bv judicial decision the land irom from which the sustenance of his bis faifili family was obtained from his place of actual residence in the meaning of the term homestead would have defeated the leading if not the sole object of both the national and local statute the strength of judge zanes position in taking the broad view of the question Is ia increased by the tact that the government wab wa the creditor in the case it is outside the genius of sound government to be oppressive or destructive tive the true spirit which should actuate it being humane and preservative so far as as the unification of the farm and residence under the title of homestead is concerned in cases such as that of W ailee H lee it applies in civil ss as well as criminal cases in john P ball balls s case the way was clear the court could see from the evidence that the applicant tor for discharge was exempt and acted accordingly in I 1 Y lwe we have occasionally taken issue with the chief justice when we deemed him in the wrong it is too common among men to ignore that which is good and fair in the official conduct of those irom froin whom they frequently and strongly disagree this spirit is unjust and honorable people will not indulge lu in it we hope ever to be found as ready to give credit to an opponent as to one who operates in our own line in fact it gives us much more pie pleasure abare ure to take advantage of an opportunity to commend than to offer blame when strictures appear to be called for we are more than gratified to be able to say that no sounder or more consistent decisions could have been given than those of chief justice zane ilithe cases under son consideration they favored the broad and magnanimous aspect of the law |