York and New England Railroad Co., 133 New York Reports, 79; 30
Northeastern Reporter, 654; 15 Lawyers' Reports Annotated, 618.]
It is safe to say that its fate was largely the result of the
comments thus made by a distinguished jurist, whose only motive
could be to maintain the integrity and consistency of legal
science.

The general doctrine of the courts, which is commonly expressed
by the rule "_stare decisis_," was never better stated than
by Chief Justice Black of Pennsylvania, in these words:

When a point has been solemnly ruled by the tribunal of the
last resort, after full argument and with the assent of all the
judges, we have the highest evidence which can be procured in
favor of the unwritten law. It is sometimes said that this
adherence to precedent is slavish; that it fetters the mind of
the judge, and compels him to decide without reference to
principle. But let it be remembered that _stare decisis_
is itself a principle of great magnitude and importance....

A palpable mistake, violating justice, reason and law, must be
corrected, no matter by whom it may have been made. There are
cases in our books which bear such marks of haste and
inattention, that they demand reconsideration. There are some
which must be disregarded, because they cannot be reconciled
with others. There are old decisions of which the authority
has become obsolete, by a total alteration in the circumstances
of the country and the progress of opinion. _Tempora
mutantur_. We change with the change of the times, as
necessarily as we move with the motion of the earth. But in