THE BENCH AND BAR GEORGIA: MEMOIRS ATO SKETCHES. HIT CONTAINING A COURT ROLL FROM 1790 TO 1857, ETC. BY STEPHEN F. MILLER. VOLTJM^ I. PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 1858 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S58, by J. B. 1IPPINCOTT 4 t. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern Piatrict of Pennsylvania. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. CHAPTEB I. GEOKOE D. ANDEBSON--Born in South Carolina--Removal of Parents to Georgia--Labors as a Mechanic in the Manufacture of Cotton-Gins-- Studies Law--Admitted to the Bar--Partnership with J. M. Calhoun, Esq., at Decatur--Elected Colonel of the Regiment--Appointed Brigade-In spector--Appointed by President Van Buren Commissioner to investigate alleged Frauds on the Indians in Alabama--Representative in the Legis lature from De Kalb--Removes to Marietta--Senator from Cobb County -^Elected Solicitor-General of the Coweta Circuit--Elected Judge of the Cherokee Circuit--Sudden Death at Spring Place in 1843--Proceedings of the Bar--His Character, &o............................................................ 17 CHAPTER II. ROBERT Ar/ausrrs BEAM--Native of Maryland--Removal of Parents to Georgia in 1808--Completes Education at Raleigh, North Carolina-- Studies Law in Augusta under Judges Reid and Montgomery--Admission to the Bar--Locates in Marion--Partnership with Col. T. G. Holt--Ap pointed Solicitor-General by Gov. Troup--Duel with Thomas D. Mitchell --Elected to the Legislature in 1825 and 1826--Supports the Administra tion of Gov. Troup--Appointed Alde-de-Camp to Maj. Gen. Wimberly-- Counsel for Judge Fort in 1827--Marriage in 1828--Partnership with S. F. Miller--Elected again to the Legislature in 1830--His course in that body--Resolutions on the Tariff, and in favor of President Jackson-- Appointed Aide-de-Camp to Gov. Gilmer--Removes to Macon in 1882-- Partnership with Col. Seymour--Delegate to the Anti-Tariff Convention-- Elected Brigadier-General--Serves on the Committee at the State-Rights Meeting in November, 1833--Edits the Georgia Messenger--Defeated for Congress by Gen. Glascock--Character as an Advocate and Debater--Re nounces Skepticism and joins the Church--Health declines--Lingering Illness--His Death in 1836--Funeral Honors--Testimonials of the Bar, Literary Societies, &c.................................................................... 21 CHAPTER III. JOHK MACPHBKSON BEEMEN, LL.D.--Huguenot Ancestry--Born in New Jersey in 1781--Removal of Parents to Georgia--Graduates at Princeton at the age of fifteen years--Classmate of Judge Gaston--Reads Law with 3 CONTENTS. the Hon. Joseph Clay--Admitted to the Bar in 1799--Elected SolicitorGeneral in 1809--Judge of the Eastern Circuit in 1810--Declares the Alle viating Law unconstitutional--Commands a Volunteer Regiment of Cavalry in the War of 1812--Conduct touching the Sentence of Hopkins vindicated by the Legislature in 1818--Twelve years Judge of the Superior Court-- Elected a State Senator from Chatham County in 1822 and 3823--Proposes Digest of the Laws of England in force in>Georgia--Elected to the Senate of the United States in 1824--Takes his Seat March 4, 1825--Delivers his Discourse en Eloquence at Athens in 1828--In January, 1829, submits Georgia Protest against the Tariff--Resigns his Seat in Senate--Appointed Attorney-General of the United States, March, 1829--Address before the Societies of Princeton College in 1830--Degree of Doctor of Laws con ferred by that Institution--Resigns Office in the Cabinet in 1831--Corre spondence with President Jackson--Returns to Georgia--Serves in the Free-Trade Convention at Philadelphia in 1831--Author of the Address to the People of the United States--Reception at Milledgeville in November, 1831--Practises Law in the Supreme Court at Washington--Appears at the Anti-Tariff Convention in Milledgeville, 1832--Prepares the Report of the Committee of Twenty-One--Appointed by the Governor in 1838 on a Special Commission--Extracts from the Report--Again elected to the United States Senate in 1840--Support of Whig Measures--Report on the Bill to repeal the Bankrupt Law--The Legislature of Georgia censures his course in 1841--Same body expresses its full approbation in 1843 and assures him of the public confidence--Attends the National Whig Conven tion at Baltimore in 1844--Chairman of the Committee to notify Mr. Clay of his Nomination--Speech in Boston on the Tariff in 1844--Resigns his Seat in the Senate in 1845--Is immediately re-elected, and prevailed on to accept--Address to his political friends on the occasion--Declines being a Candidate for the Bench of the Supreme Court of Georgia--Re-elected to the Senate in 1847--Position in 1848 relative to Mr. Clay and General Taylor--Letter to Col. Owen--Opposes the Public Reception of Kossnth in 1851--Other Measures discussed--Death of Mrs. Berrien in February, 1852--Resigns his Seat in the Senate, May, 1852--Appears as Counsel in the Supreme Court of Georgia in the Bank Cases--Issues an Address in Defence of the American Party, September, 1855--Presides at the State Convention of the Party in December, 1855--His Illness at Milledgeville --Return to Savannah--His Death, January 1, 1856--Testimonials of Respect to his Memory--Proceedings of the Bar in the Supreme Court-- Resolutions of Condolence and Respect in the Legislature--A New County named " Berrien"--Tribute from the American Bible Society--His Cha racter......................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER IV. BDWABD J, BLACK--Born in South Carolina--Goes to School in Augusts-- Studies Law, and admitted to the Bar in 1827--Practises with Judge Reid--Writes Humorous Articles for the Press--Sharpness in Debate-- Marriage with Miss Kirkman, of Barnwell District--Elected to the Legis lature in 1829 and 1830--Proposes to remove State University from Athens to Milledgeville--"Bucket Letters"--Defeated for AttorneyGeneral in 1831--Elected to Congress by the Whigs in 1838--Supports Mr. Van Buren for President in 1840--Remains six years in Congress, CONTENTS. from 1889 to 1845--Reputation in Debate--Bold and independent as a Politician--Social Qualities--Fine Perception of the Ludicrous--Objects to all Parade and Mannerism in Society--Uniform Patron of Merit--Mind depressed by Symptoms of Consumption--Taste for Music--Power of Mimicry--Fond of Anecdotes--Kindness to the Poor--Last Illness-- Resignation to his Fate--Death in 1849............................................. 110 CHAPTER V. DtntCAH G. CAMPBELL--Native of North Carolina--Graduates at Chapel Hill University in 1806--Removes to Georgia--Takes charge of a Female Aca demy in'Wilkes County--Reads Law with Judge Griffin and succeeds to his Practice--Elected Solicitor-General in 1816--Representative in the Legislature three years--Partnership with Garnett Andrews--In 1824 appointed by President Monroe a Commissioner to negotiate Treaty with Creek Indians--Failure of Treaty at Broken Arrow, December, 1824-- Conclusion of Treaty at the Indian Springs, February, 1825--Corre spondence with Gov. Troup and the Secretary of War--Indian Disturb ances--Death of Mclntosh--Mission of Gen. Gaines--Conduct of the Agent for Indian Affairs--Investigation by Georgia Commissioners--Con troversy between Gov. Troup and the President--Abstract of the Correspondence--Good Faith of the Treaty established--Successful Issue--Acts aa Trustee of the University--Advocate of Female Education--Prospects ' for Governor--His Death in 1828--Domestic Matters--Sketch of his Son, Mr. Justice Campbell, of the Supreme Court of the United States............ 115 "* CHAPTER VI. AUOUSTIS S. CLAYTOH--Born in Virginia--Parents remove to Georgia-- Augustin becomes a Student in the Richmond Academy--Receives a Book from Gen. Washington as the Reward of Merit--Graduates at Franklin College in 1804--Reads Law with Judge Carnes--la licensed to practise, and locates in Franklin County--Marriage with Miss Julia Carnes--Re moves to Athens--Compiles the Laws of Georgia from 1800 to 1810-- Elected Judge of the Superior Court in 1819 and in 1822--Defeated by the Clark Party in 1825--Writes the Mysterious Picture--Literary Ad dress at Athens in 1828--Again elected Judge in 1828--Case of the Mis sionaries--Troubles in the Gold-Region--Beaten for Re-election in 1831-- Immediately elected to Congress--Opposition to the Tariff--Letter to the Globe--Moves for a Committee to investigate United States Bank--Speech on the Subject--List of British Stockholders--Approves the Removal of the Deposits--Letter reviewing the action of former Secretaries of the Treasury--Report on the Public Lands--Serves in the Anti-Tariff State Convention in 1832--Chairman of the Committee of Thirteen at the great State-Rights Meeting in 1833--Reports the Platform--Re-elected to Con gress--Voluntarily retires in 1835--Devotes himself to Factory Operations --Literary Employments--Trustee and warm supporter of the University > of Georgia--Is attacked with Paralysis in 1838--Partial Restoration-- * Investigates the Evidences of Christianity--Unites with the Church--TesYtimony in favor of Religion--His Death in 1839--Extracts from the o Funeral Discourse of Rev. Whiteford Smith--Tributes of the Press and of Literary Societies--Character for Wit, Benevolence, and the Domestic Affections--Letter of Chancellor Kent.............................................. 139 O CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER VII. PAUL COALSOK--Birth in 1799--Goes to the School of Dr. Church, at Eatonton--Enters Franklin College--Graduates in 1824--Reads Law with Judge Clayton--Admitted to the Bar--Marries' Miss Blackshear in 1825 :--Removes to Thomas County--Influential Family Connection--Obtains a good Practice--His Social' Qualities--Extent of the Southern Circuit-- Members of the Florida Bar--JohnTaylor--The Sulky-Race--Professional Zeal--Hospitality of Mr. Coalson--His Death in 1830--Proceedings of Bar 193 CHAPTER VIII. WALTER T. COLQUITT--Born in Virginia--Parents remove to Hancock County, Georgia--Walter sent to School at Mount Zion--Progress in Learning--Activity in Sports--Goes to Princeton, New Jersey, and wears a Hat of Rabbit-Skins--Beturns .home, owing to Illness of his Father-- Reads Law with Col. Rockwell--Admitted to the Bar in 1820--First locates at Sparta and then in Walton County--Elected Brigadier-General --Runs for Congress and is nearly elected in 1826--Elected by the Legis lature first Judge of the Chattahoochee Circuit in 1826--Reference to his Decision by Gov. Forsyth--Re-elected Judge in 1829--Senator from Muscogee County in 1834 and 1837--Elected a Representative to Congress in 1838 by the Whig Party--Refuses to support Gen. Harrison for President --Is re-elected to Congress in 1840 and 1842--At the session of 1842 elected by the Legislature a Senator in Congress--Supports the Mexican War--Exertions in the Presidential Canvass--Influence over Public Assemblies--Style of Oratory original--Success before Juries--Southern Rights in 1860 and 1851--Delegate to the Nashville Convention--Resolu tions of that Body--Efforts to establish the Compromise Line--Honest and fearless in his aims--Religious Character--The Pulpit and Social Freedom contrasted--Motives often misconceived--General Benevolence-- Family Relations--Inroads of Disease--Starts for Montvale Springs-- Dies at Macon in 1855--Public Grief--Proceedings of the Bar of the Supreme Court............................................................................. 202 CHAPTER IX. WILLIAM H. CBAWFORD--Born in Virginia in 1772--Parents came to South Carolina in 1779, and thence to Georgia in 1783--After diligent prepara tion, William teaches School--Studies the Classics under Dr. Waddel-- Becomes his Assistant--Unites with Mr. Tail in the Richmond Academy --Comes to the Bar in 1799--Settles in Lexington--Marries Miss Gardine --Compiles the Georgia Statutes--Duel with Van Alien--Represents Oglethorpe in the Legislature--Conduct of Judge Tait vindicated--Duel with Gea. Clark--Commission to ascertain 35th degree of North Latitude-- Offers Resolutions in 1806 requesting President Jefferson to serve a third term, which are unanimously adopted by the Georgia Legislature-- Elected to the United States Senate in 1807--Appointed Minister to France--Interview with the Emperor Napoleon--Letters to Mr. Clay, at Ghent--Appointed Secretary of War in 1815--Appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 1816--Administration of the Finances until March 8, 1825-^Is a Candidate for President in 1824--Attack of ParalysisMr. Adams elected President--Letter of Mr. Jefferson--Return to Georgia --Public Dinner at Milledgeville in November, 1825--Appointed Judge of CONTENTS. / ' .,, " . MOT the Northern Circuit in 1827--Elected to the same Office by the Legisla ture in 1827, 1828, and 1831--His tenacious Memory--Chairman of the "Conyeation of Judges--Social Correspondence with Henry Clay--Letter to C. J. Ingersoll on United States Bank--Death on the Circuit in 1834-- His Character--Votes of Electoral College in Georgia from 1788 to 1856.. 218 ' CHAPTER X. WILIIAM CROCKER--North Carolina his native State--Comes to Georgia in Early Manhood--Marriage with Miss Long--Teaches School--Studies Law under Judge Early--Licensed to practise by Judge Games in 1810--Engages in Merchandise--Unsuccessful--Resumes his School--Settles in Twiggs County--Obtains large Business--Members of the Bar from 1811 to 1826--Several times elected to the Legislature--Appointed JudgeAdTOcate--Exploits of Sword in the hands of Sergeant M.--Visit of Gen. La Fayette to Milledgeville--La Fayette Volunteers, from Twiggs-- Rivals at the Bar in Marion--Judge Fort and others--Character of R. A. Evans--Major Croeker acquires a large Property--Retires from the Bar --Names of Children--His Death in 1835--Reputation and Personal Appearance................................................................................. 247 / "" . ' CHAPTER XL IVilLlAMJp, I>AwgGeneral--Orders for Frontier Service............................... 414 Barnard, Timothy--Transmission of Despatches..................................... 448 Biackshear, Lt. Col.--Disorders in Militia............ ................................ 413 Calhoun, Secretary of War--Claims for Military Service.......................... 467 Carter, Army-Contractor--Escort for Supplies....................................... 428 Early, Governor--Tendering Command of the Army............................... 415 Fannin, Quartermaster--Deposit of Rations.......................................... 452 Fauche, Adjutant-General--Prospect of War, 1797 ................................ 403 Floyd, Brigadier-General--Defence of the Islands................................... 460 Freeman, Secretary of Executive Department--Army Intelligence............. 408 Groce, Captain--Organizing First-Class Militia..................................... 430 Hawkins, Colonel--Message to Indian Chiefs......................................... 444 Hopkins, Major--Disposing of Command after Peace.............................. 463 Irwin, Governor--Indian Troubles on the Oconee................................... 414 10 CONTENTS. PAGE Jackson, Governor--Indian Trespasses and Remedy................................ 405. Lamar, Secretary of Executive Department--Receiving Gen. La Fayette...... 480 Lane, Captain--Ordnance Stores to be supplied.......... ........................... 450 Hassias, Captain--News of Victory at New Orleans................................. 458 McDonald, Forage-Master--Loss of Public Stores at Ferry...................... 434 Mclntpsh, Major-General--Ordering Detachment to Mobile ..................... 440 Mitchell, .Governor--Examination of the Frontier................................... 412 Monroe, Secretary of War--Announcing Peace with Great Britain............ 463 Navey, Forage-Master--Supplies for the Army...................................... 434 Newnan, Adjutant-General--Regiments for Gen. Jackson ........................ 422 Fatten, Major--Organizing Militia in Twiggs........................................ 433 Pinckney, Major-General--Muster of Troops in U. S. Service .................. 461 Porter, Secretary of Executive Department--Ammunition for the Army...... 454 Rabnn, Governor--Court-Martial in Laurens......................................... 467 Rutherford, Colonel--Regimental Reviews in 1799.................................. 405 Thomas, Captain--Swords and Pistols for Cavalry.................................. 438 Tooke, Lt. Colonel--Indian Attack on Hartford...................................... 420 Wimberly, Lt. Colonel--Arming the Forts in Twiggs............................... 412 Winchester, Brigadier-General--Reinforcements for New Orleans.............. 439 PRIVATE 1ETTEB.S. Blackshear, James H.--Student at Franklin College ............................... 468 Blount, Richard A.--Oeonee Navigation............................................... 481 Chandler, Daniel--Soliciting Influence in Legislature.............................. 483 Crawford, Joel--Public Officers at Washington....................................... 467 ^Crawford, Peter--Depraved Party Movements....................................... 482 Elliott, John--Presidential Campaign in 1824........................................ 472 Floyd, John--Public Rejoicing at News of Peace ................................... . 463 Franklin, Bedney--Introducing Dr. Abner Franklin ............................... 426 Hammond, Samuel--Militia Claims in Congress..................................... 411 Hardin, Mark--Army Gossip, European Affairs, &c................................ 424 Harris, Charles--Candidate for City Court of Savannah........................... 480 Jones, James--Western Territory in 1800............................................. 409 Jones, Seaborn--Lawsuit of Ridley vs. Blackshear.................................. 476 King, -Henry--Relief before Legislature............ ..................................... 480 Mclnto.sh, John Houstonn--British Outrages on the Coast........................ 465 Parke,Ezekiel--Introducing Dr. William W. Strain................................ 421 Perry, James--Introducing Member of the Legislature........................... 481 Sawyer, John--British plundering Private Property............................... 455 Strong, Christopher B.--Troup Victory in 1825..................................... 480 Tattnall, Edward F.--Introducing Col. Daniell....................................... 469 Waddel, Moses (Rev.)--Affairs of Franklin College................................. 475 Wilde, Richard H.--Cabinet Officers and Prospects in 1825...................... 479 PREFACE. THIS work in its present arrangement differs from the plan first intended. When the author made up his mind to pub lish sketches of'the Bench and Bar of Georgia, he persuaded himself that his inquiries would draw forth many things-- enough to constitute a volume--which he would have only to place Under suitable heads, with such remarks of his own ,l>e necessary to preserve the connection. It was more as a compilation of facts than a treatise on The idea was to separate the incidents into a class, with distinct chapters, leaving the matter which was purely biographical to appear under the names introduced. The author aimed to devolve the composition chiefly on others who were adequate,---to place them as laborers in the field, whilst he would follow and gather up the sheaves with humble acknowledgment. But those whom he invited to the harvest had many excuses. Some were silent; others feigned inability to write; some had no leisure from other engage ments ; a portion had forgotten all the good things they ever knew, but were kind enough to refer to certain other gentle men, who would gladly relieve their overburdened memories for the accommodation of the author. A few sat down at dnce and gave him a crumb to stop his importunity. And here the author takes occasion to thank his correspondents, to whom he is indebted for his best materials. References in the margin will guide the reader to the sources of his information. The author begs to say that his search has been liberally rewarded, as the work itself will show. Old family chests 11 12 PREFACE. and drawers have been opened to Mm, with the privilege to examine and select papers. The aid from this quarter has been most gratifying. Many letters and documents, too valu able to perish, have been thus given to the public. They will be found in their proper connection in the work. To claim for them the privacy in which many of the letters were written only adds to their interest. Of course, names have been with held in certain passages where the freedom would give pain to the living. A picture drawn in confidence is more to be relied upon for its truth, its fidelity to nature, than the coloring of the artist who paints for the public eye. A leading feature in this work is the frankness and simplicity, of its statements, both by contributors and the individual who writes himself the author. On no occasion, however, has any unkindness been intended, either to the dead or the living, in the course of these memoirs,--as there may be candor without malice. It may seem out of place for the author to qualify his sketches of individual character, after the labor he has be stowed on them. Knowing that many persons who were personally acquainted with the gentlemen of whom he has written will be apt to accuse the author of exaggeration on the one hand and perhaps injustice on the other, as his remarks may happen in each case, he here takes occasion to disclose a secret in book-making by way of explanation. Most writers, in all periods of the world, in all countries,--from the huge metropolis to the veriest hamlet,--have been influenced by a common ambition to appear well on paper, as that is the only arena on which they are to figure with any hope of suc cess. To give their labors a sort of attraction, they are com pelled to invest everything they touch with more than ordinary importance,--to give warmth and force, so as to render signifi cant that which seems devoid of interest because it is familiar in every-day life. The author, however, insists that he has not exceeded, if indeed he has fulfilled, the usual license in this respect. Of the thirty-two characters noticed biographically in his work, he has seen twenty-three of them, heard PREFACE. IS them converse or make speeches, or in some other mode had an ppportunity of judging each individual on his own merits. With several of them he was personally intimate, as the facts in the memoirs will show. At the time, no very striking idea or occurrence was presented worthy of historical note. But on review, after the grave has improved the vision and the heart of survivors, generosity supplants even a fault-finding disposition. The author has made these remarks, not that he prides himself on their boldness or originality, but from a much better motive.' While he charges this habit of writers without fear of successful contradiction in the mind of any experienced reader of history, he asserts, in behalf of the statesmen, jurists, and advocates whom he has chronicled, a perfect claim to the distinction and credit severally awarded to them. In the mean '"tja^e, the author has too humble an opinion of himself to 'appear in any other light than as a mere pioneer in the soli tudes of forensic biography in Q-eorgia. He has pointed to the buried treasures, the correspondence, the briefs, the career of .many who acted well their part and whose memoirs would be a gain to the public. In this connection the author may be permitted to cypress his gratification that he has accom plished enough, under singular disadvantages, to stimulate others better qualified to rescue from decay the materials of which the legal profession furnishes an ample store to interest the whole community. In the variety of matter incorporated in these volumes the author has thought proper to admit several letters written in the confidence of friendship, some of them entirely too kind for publication by himself. While this may be so, he is even willing to bear the reproach for the sake of other days and other associations now pleasant to recall. A number of origi nal letters -will be found, however, wholly free from this objec tion, addressed to other persons, all germain to the subject. And here let the fact be proclaimed that general history is made up of transactions not less sudden and casual than those of individuals which constitute their chapter in the world. 14 PREFACE. This current of life, more or less feeble in the experience of every man, gathers up particles from a thousand rills, and, after cleansing the gold from the rubbish, leaves the deposit fqr distribution among his fellows,--the dividend often being so minute in value as to require a microscope to perceive it. Not so with the characters in this work. Perhaps not one of them lived for history,--not one of them felt convinced that he deserved commemoration. Some of the gentlemen, it is true, ranked among the foremost in the Union for public ser vices and personal merit: nevertheless they had to enjoy their honors with trembling, and to take only an equal chance in the struggles of humanity. They are the more entitled to respect than if they had with premeditation acted a part for the historian. It is a grateful labor to follow the career of a decided, earnest man,--one who accomplished great and* worthy deeds, or who failed only because his power was not equal to his ambition or his modesty. The author has endea vored to do justice to all, and has not omitted to dwell on defects or to discriminate between opposite qualities in the same individual. He has written in a spirit of kindness at all times in the preparation of this work, and for this he takes no credit to himself, just as, if'he had acted.otherwise toward the defenceless, he .would deserve the scorn of his fellow-men, as he would certainly incur his own. The political matter introduced, referring to several noted issues in Georgia, will no doubt prove acceptable, not only to the young men who have grown up since, but even to those who shared in the contests as they arose. The Old and New Treaties are noticed in sufficient detail to give a just under standing of the controversy. The case of the missionaries and other parties who sought to arraign Georgia before the Supreme Court of the United States is touched upon, with a statement of the facts and the legal questions. In regard to Nullification, and the proceedings in Georgia and South Caro lina to carry the doctrine into effect, a very copious outline has been given. These topics form a legitimate portion of the memoirs. The Georgia platform of 1850, and the Eesolu- S; PREFACE. 15 tibtts of (he Nashville Convention, are also included. In addi tion to'these, several measures in Congress have been brought i -View. The recharter of the Bank of the United States, i removal of the public deposits, the tariff, uniform system of bankruptcy, annexation of Texas, &c. are interwoven in tfee biographical sketches. From the papers of the late Gen. Blackshear much inte resting matter has been obtained, throwing light upon the negotiations for the western territory ceded by Georgia to the General Government in 1802, and also in relation to the War of 1812-15. Many of the letters having been written by Governor Early, whose memoir appears, they were considered necessary to show his Qfficial conduct at a critical period. The other documents and correspondence, it is believed, will prove not less acceptable to the public. They all establish the value of old family papers; and their publication, it is hoped, will induce more carefulness generally in preserving such memorials of the past. Many rich treasures have been lost to history for the want of due reflection in this respect. Humble, as they seem in garrets usually allotted to them, these scraps of writing are the best interpreters of the times to which they relate,* and more worthy of confidence than the interested and formal statements made for the public eye to serve a party or a cause. For this reason, the privilege granted the author by the family of Gen. Blackshear has led to a memoir which accompanies the papers in the appendix to the first volume, and which will be found of interest to the profes sion for the legislative and judicial matter it contains. In submitting the result of Ms labors to the public, the author" asks permission to say a word or two calling for the sympathy of his professional brethren. Many original papers in the handwriting of deceased members of the bar have passed under his inspection for the purposes of biography. They have always impressed him with sadness and delicacy in the work he had undertaken, because, while they furnished evidence of character, they left him to throw around that cha racter such drapery as might render it attractive or disagree- 16 PREFACE. able. It has afforded him satisfaction to exhibit qualities for approval, without the least pleasure in alluding to defects when they existed. In performing his task he has only to regret that his abilities have been less than his patience in thg composition of these memoirs. In the appendix to the second volume a court-roll has been given, containing the names of all the judges of the Superior Courts, and the Attorney and Solicitor Generals in Georgia from 1790 to 1857. Nothing of the kind has ever before been published. It is a record of honors bestowed, and cannot fail to interest readers generally. Also in the same appendix will be found "fragments" from the pen of the author, most of which have appeared in print at various times. They are intended to show certain matters as they transpired. The pieces entitled "Labor Essential to Happiness," and "Letters to a Young Friend," are particularly intended to foster energy of character, and may, it is hoped, have a salutary effect. In addition to what the author has already said about varying the plan of this work from that originally announced, he thinks proper to observe that the Roll of Practising Attor neys in Georgia, which he designed to include, has been omitted for the reason that such information has since become familiar to the public. All the materials furnished the author for the purpose have been worked up in the biographies which appear in the two volumes now submitted to the public. Should the favor with which they are received authorize a third volume, the field is ample enough and abundantly fruitful to render a compliance with such a demand not less a duty than a pleasure. OGLETHOBHB, GBOKQIA, January, 1858. 8. F. M. THE BENCH AID BAE OF GEORGIA. i. GEORGE D. ANDERSON. THBEB is no doubt, had he lived to the usual limit of man's sojourn upon earth, the Hon. GEOKGE DAVID ANDEHSOST would hare occupied a high rank among the distinguished men of ; :,.Hi8 parents were John and Nancy Anderson, who resided in 5 Jtoderflon district, South Carolina, where their son (the third of ('eleven children) was born on the 28th day of May, 1806. His Opportunities for an education were quite limited; yet, by great diligence in the pursuit of knowledge as chance permitted, he became well informed and capable of mastering the intricacies of the law. Removing in early life with his parents to De Kalb county, Georgia, he continued to exercise his habits of manual labor for a number of years. He then turned his attention to legal studies, and read in the office of David Kiddoo and James M. Calhoun, Esqs., then partners in the practice of law at Decatur, until he was admitted to the bar in 1833. In the next four or five years he was connected with Mr. Calhoun in the usual labors and profits of the profession until his removal to Marietta, about the year 1838. At different periods Mr. Anderson served the public in the following situations :-- 1. Receiver of tax-returns and collector of taxes. 2. Captain of a militia-company. 3. ,Colonel of a regiment of militia. 4. Brigade-inspector. 5. Commissioner appointed by President Van Buren, in 1836, to investigate alleged frauds on the Indians, with respect to their lands in Alabama. Voi. I.--2 -- ~\ 17 18 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. 6. Representative five years from De Kalb county in the Legis lature of Georgia. 7. Senator from the county of Cobb. 8. Solicitor-General of the Coweta circuit. 9. Judge of the Superior Court. This is indeed a flattering record, such as can rarely be exhibited in favor of a man who died at the age of thirty-seven years. A gentleman* to whom the author applied politely furnished a copy of the remarks of the press and the proceedings of the bar on the occasion of the death of Judge Anderson, which are adopted as a part of this memoir. The same gentleman adds:-- Judge Anderson was a man of a lively disposition, and possessed a warm and feeling heart. He was quite distinguished for his kindness and attention to the sick and Unfortunate. In point of honesty and fidelity not a blemish was on his character. You may form some idea of the estimation the people had of him, who knew him, from the great respect shown at his death. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. The Federal Union thus referred to Judge ANDERSON'S death:-- Georgia has lost few sons whose untimely end would have produced more regret than him for whom we perform the painful duty of offering this passing notice. We extract the remarks of the Rome Sentinel, and the proceedings of the bar at Spring Place, where his death occurred. But the case is so full of interest that we add the following, taken princi pally from a letter from one of his friends :-- "On the morning of his decease, Judge Anderson arose as usual and opened his door that a servant might light a fire. He was for half an hour left alone, but at that time he was found expiring on the floor. His attentive friend, who describes the scene, was present: 'His pulse had ceased to beat and he was perfectly insensible. It was an awful and sudden visitation of- Providence, cutting him off in the midst of his use fulness and at the post of duty. His ways are ofttimes dark and myste rious, but always right. Judge Anderson seemed to have died without the slightest struggle. His features wore as placid and composed as if he had gently fallen asleep.' From Spring Place the body was transported to Marietta, to receive the last duties of his bereaved wife and little ones, and his numerous friends. 'I never have/ said his friend, 'seen a more deeply solemn scene. The Court, the Bar, the Grand Jury, and the largest procession of citizens I ever witnessed on such an occasion, attended his funeral services.' This well-merited tribute of respect was rendered practicable by the accidental sitting of the Gobb Court at that time. "Thus has fallen one of our purest, most acceptable, and upright citizens. His rise to office was not through detraction and malice, but his claims rested on his merit alone. Few have arrived at such honors with as few blemishes." A communication written by a gentlemanf well known in Georgia appeared in the Home /Sentinel as follows:-- * James M. Calhoun, Esq., a State Senator. f Hon. John H. Lumpkia, a Representative in Congress. GEORGE D. ANDERSON. 19 . It'becomes our melancholy duty as a public journalist to record the death of the Hon. GEORGE D. ANDERSON, Judge of the Superior Courts of the Cherokee circuit. Below will be found the proceedings of a meet ing held by the bar of this circuit at Spring Place, in Murray county, on the day of his death. The public generally throughout this whole country will participate in the sentiments of regret expressed by the bar at this mysterious visitation of Providence. Judge Andefson was a native of Anderson district, South Carolina. Ife removed to this State at an early age, where he commenced life under many disadvantages. Without wealth, without influential family connec tions to aid and assist in bringing him forward into life, he commenced .earning his support by laboring as a mechanic in manufacturing cotton- gins. But, his native intellect being active and strong, he could not long be confined to mechanical employments. He thirsted for knowledge and that enviable distinction which it only can give, aided and assisted by a manly, virtuous life. Without any education, and while compelled to attend to the duties and labors of a mechanical trade, he commenced the study of law. We think we see him now, as then, after being worn out 'by toil and labor during the day, at night seizing his candle and book, where-the flickering light might be seen through his window, the sole sentinel at .that dread hour of all that was once life and animation. By his 'application and industry, continued under such disadvantages, he became 0 lined from his knowledge to xjommenee the practice of that profession. established himself in the practice at Decatur, De Kalb county, ,, .. /**$ Bot only sustained himself as a lawyer, but received from the" community in which he lived repeated testimonials of their confi dence and esteem by being selected as their representative in the State 'Legislature. : la .the councils of his adopted State he was always the eloquent, the fearless, and independent advocate of her rights, her honor, and the best interests of his own constituents. But his march to distinction was onward and upward. He was next elected by the Legislature the {Solicitor-General of the Coweta circuit; and all who have witnessed his able, manly, and eloquent appeals in behalf of the State of Georgia and her violated laws, in criminal prosecutions, have awarded him the praise of an able, honest, and faithful public oflicer. After the expiration of his office as .solicitor-general, shortly after the Cherokee counties were organized by the Legislature and settled by its present enterprising popu lation, the subject of this brief notice made a permanent location in the county of Cobb; and here he was honored with the confidence of the people, and loved for his social, intellectual, and moral worth. Without effort, intrigue, or management, he was to the day of his death an. almost universal favorite, and, in the year 1841, was chosen by his constituency io Cebb to represent them, iff the senatorial branch of the Legislature. He was next elected, at the last session of the Legislature of this State, Judge of the Superior Court of the Cherokee district, and was ably, honestly, and faithfully discharging its responsible duties at the time of his death, with entire satisfaction to the whole country. Judge Anderson was just entering his thirty-seventh year at the time of his death; and he .had, without wealth, without influential family friends, and without the advantages of an early education, established for himself a fame and a reputation that any among us might be proud of. Indeed, it is an example that may be adduced through all time to the 20 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. youth of the country as well worthy their imitation. It also strikingly illustrates the character of our free and happy system of government. The proceedings of the bar were as follows :-- At a meeting of the members of the bar of the Cherokee circuit, con vened in the court-house at Spring Place on Tuesday morning, the 28th of March, 1843, Judge John W. Hooper was called to the chair, and Thomas C. Hackett, Esq., requested to act as secretary. The chairman announced in a brief and feeling manner the sudden and unexpected death of the Hon. GEOKGE D. ANDERSON, Judge of the Superior Courts of the Cherokee circuit, who, by a sudden dispensation of Providence, departed this life at an early hour this morning, at his lodgings in this place. Judge Turner H. Trippe, after a few brief remarks, offered the follow ing preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted by the meeting:-- It has pleased an all-wise and overruling Providence to remove from among us the Judge of the Superior Courts of the Cherokee circuit of this State. The Hon. George D. Anderson is no more ! Without warn ing, the fell Destroyer came and cut him down in the midst of his useful ness and at the post of duty. To those who knew him as we have known him, eulogy of his character is unnecessary and vain. Mild and courteous as a gentleman, able and talented as a lawyer, upright, fearless, and independent as a judge, he bade fair to become--indeed, he had become--an ornament to the profes sion, a credit to the bench, and one of Georgia's best and brightest sons. Society, and especially his circuit, has sustained a heavy loss by his untimely death. To his family the deplorable loss is irretrievable. In all the relations of husband, father, and friend, he was as faultless as mor tality could be. Entertaining these opinions of the worth of the departed Judge Anderson, we, the members of the bar of the Cherokee circuit, as a tribute of respect to his memory and in admiration of his character, give the public expression of our feelings on this mournful occasion. Therefore, Resolved, That we deeply deplore the loss we have sustained by the sudden and untimely death of Judge Anderson. Resolved, That we sincerely sympathize with his afflicted family in their bereavement. Resolved, That as a slight tribute to his memory, and indeed a small token of the grief we feel on this melancholy occasion, we will wear crape on our left arm for thirty days. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to offer to his wife and family our sincere condolence in their deep affliction, and a copy of the proceed ings of this meeting. Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be published in the public gazette of this circuit and the principal newspapers in the State. Milton H. Gathright moved that at the next term of the Superior Court of this county, a motion be made that the proceedings of this meet ing be entered on the minutes of the court. The chair appointed Turner H. Trippe, James A. Hanks, Richard M. Aycock, Andrew J. Hansell, and Milton H. Gathright, Esqs., the com mittee contemplated by the resolution. The meeting then, on motion of Warren Akin, Esq., adjourned. II. ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. THE genius of ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL has been admitted by all who ever heard him speak. He has been aptly called the Prentiss of Georgia. His career at the bar was distinguished by a glowing eloquence which defied all competition. A native grace of manner captivated every eye; his pure diction delighted the scholar; and the melody of his voice charmed every listener. We shall give such particulars of his history as we have been able to gather. He was born in Prince George county, State of Maryland, on the 16th day of November, in the year 1800. His father removed to Georgia in 1808 with his family; and the subject of this memoir, after the usual elementary training in neighborhood schools, was sent to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he completed his education. He subsequently studied law in Augusta under the direction of Judges Montgomery and Reid, was admitted to the bar soon after he was twenty-one years of age, and located in Marion, Twiggs county, where he formed a professional partnership with Col. T. G. Holt. On the promotion of the latter gentleman to the Judgeship of the Superior Court by Gov. Troup, in December, 1824, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Hon. Thomas W. Harris, Maj. Beall succeeded Col. Holt as SolicitorGeneral of the Southern circuit by executive appointment. About this time, owing to some remarks at the dinner-table of a friend, (the late Martin Hardin, Esq., of Decatur county,) a quar rel ensued between Thomas D. Mitchell, Esq., and Maj. Beall, which led to the field of honor on the Carolina side, near Augusta, in March, 1825. Two shots were exchanged by the parties, when, on the mediation of Maj. Pace, who was recognised as authority in such affairs, the combatants retired from the field without further hostilities. Capt. Joseph Morgan was the officiating friend, and' Dr. Ambrose Baber the surgeon, of Maj. Beall. The author, then quite a youth, well remembers the warm rejoicing of Maj. Beall's friends on his return in safety from the duel. While many regretted that he had taken a step of such doubtful propriety, all regarded 21 22 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. him with increased admiration. He was put forth as a candidate for the House of Representatives by the Troup party, but was defeated by a small majority at the regular election. On ascer taining that the Clark party had full dominion in the Legislature, Col. Moses Fort resigned his seat in the House in order to compete for the bench. Maj. Beall was a candidate to fill the vacancy, and was elected over Robert Glenn, Esq., the ablest member of the Clark party in Twiggs county. Thus we find Maj. Beall, at the age of twenty-five years, a prominent member'of the Legislature of Georgia, commanding the attention of the House by strains of eloquence which drew crowded galleries. His modesty and self-respect prevented him from appearing often upon the floor. When a question worthy of his talents arose, and he believed that he could shed light upon it, he exerted himself with that preparation and energy which always secured triumph, if not in the votes of the House, at least in his own rapidly-advancing character. He was courteous in debate, and extremely affable in his bearing at all times. His course during the session proved so acceptable to his con stituents that he was re-elected the next fall by a large majority. His devoted friend, Major-General Ezekiel Wimberly, to whose staff he belonged, was returned to the Senate at the same election, over Gen. L. L. Griffin, who, in the heated party-canvass between .Troup and Clark, had caused their defeat the previous year. Maj. Beall again sustained-himself with increasing reputation in the House of Representatives. At the session of 1827, Maj. Beall appeared at the bar of the House of Representatives as counsel for Judge Fort, on charges preferred by Col. Joseph Blackshear, of Laurens county, for irre gularities in office, and especially for decisions which he had made in the case of A. B. Ridley and wife against the executor of Elijah BJackshear, deceased. After hearing testimony, the select com mittee reported an address to the governor, which, after passing the House of Representatives, failed for the want of a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Pleased with the opening before him in political life, Maj. Beall gave more attention to the voters of his county than he did to the practice of the law. On questions purely legal, his briefs, though more than respectable, did not do justice to his abilities. Labor Was irksome as a habit, and he trusted too much to off-hand inspi ration to cope with such veterans as Shorter, Torrance, Lamar, S. Rockwell, Prince, Strong, and others of the like class, who often KOBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 23 rheasurcd strength with him. Before the jury Maj. Beall was in his proper element. He was well acquainted with the human heart, and could touch every passion with the skill of a master. He was self-possessed and dignified in manner, with a vein of satire that , scorched, and the faculty of condensation which gave order and force to his arguments. As his mind glowed with the intensity of its own action, some of the most brilliant gems dropped from his lips. His temperament was poetic. The dark, flashing eye, the clear, cultivated voice, rolling its rich cadences upon the ear, the excited passion and daring flight, constituted Maj. Beall, at times, one of the happiest forensic orators. His moods were not always equal. Genius is ever erratic,--sometimes in gloomy ahstraction and then elated with its own divinity. The fortunate medium is difficult to attain. The two extremes were signally illustrated in the character of Maj. Beall. His mental and social organization required constant aliment. Hence he was fond of society where he could draw out congenial sentiments and impart his own lofty nature in the contact. The result was that he formed irregular hahits from which he suffered both in fortune and in health. He became addicted to games of hazard, just as Sheridan and Fox applied themselves to keep their ardent sensibilities from languish ing in the intervals between -labor and repose. To show the kindness of heart which Maj. Beall possessed, the author makes free to introduce a letter from him, called forth by an application for advice in a course of legal studies:-- MARION, Sept. 21, 1826. MY DEAR SIR:--I neglected to call at the post-office until yesterday, consequently did not receive your acceptable favor of the 18th inst before that time, to which circumstance I beg you to attribute my delay in answering it. I am gratified to understand that you intend to devote your leisure hours, assiduously, to the study of law.--not more for the benefit it will be to yourself than the credit, I readily hope and believe, you may be to the profession. I heartily wish you prosperity and cheerfully tender you my assistance to facilitate your progress in the undertaking. The acquisition of a " practical knowledge of jurisprudence" in this State is not a very laborious undertaking. It may be acquired by assidu ous application iu twelve months, and some have qualified themselves for the practice in a shorter period. The course of study to be pursued previous to admission, however, is now laid down by our uniform Rules of Court. Accordingly, all appli cants for admission are examined on the principles of the Common and Statute Laws of England in force in this State; tbe general principles of Equity; the Constitution of the United States and the State of Georgia; the Statute Laws of this State and the Rules of Court. To acquire a competent knowledge of the Common Law of England, I 24 BENCH AND BAE OF GEORGIA. recommend you to read the Commentaries of Justice Blackstone. There is DOW a work in press, compiled in conformity with a resolution of our Legislature, embracing all the statutes of England in force in this State. To qualify yourself for an examination on the principles of Equity, the author most used is "Haddock's Chancery." Fearful, however, it may not be found in any library here, I would next prefer " Harrison" on the same title. You will make use of "Prince's Digest" in acquiring a knowledge of the statutes of our own State. This course of study, however, will only qualify you for admission to the bar, without giving you the title of a profound lawyer. As I have told you how you may get the name of a lawyer, I now refer you to the little volume* I loaned you a few days since, which teaches you how you may become one in truth, and a great one. Cordially reciprocating your sentiments of esteem and friendship, I am, &c., ROBT. AUGUSTUS BEALL. Mr. STEPHEN P. MILLER. N.B.--Do not hesitate to call for any book in our office, and believe every thing I have at your service. BEALL. The author asks the privilege of recording his own grateful recollections of this timely response to his timid request. With more presumption than judgment, the author, dropping his humbler though safer employments, cast an anxious look at the bar and solaced himself with hopes which his poor abilities never per mitted him to realize. Still, the retrospect has a mournful plea sure, even to this very letter. Then, Maj. Beall was a rising star of the first magnitude, popular with the masses and peculiarly fas cinating in conversation, winning all hearts and extorting universal praise. It was gratifying to the author, then in his twenty-first year, to receive the friendly notice of such a man. Now, after the lapse of thirty years since the letter was written, it is the lot of the humble youth to whom it was addressed to rescue the memory of his warm-hearted friend from the mold of time and to pass it to a new generation. Previous to his marriage, Maj. Beall was much from home on visits to his parents in Warren county and in attending courts at a distance to which he was called, especially for the defence of per sons accused of high criminal ofiences. This was his forte. His pictures of distress, his withering anathemas of oppression, his per suasive manner and melting eloquence, seldom left the jury at a loss. Their sympathies and reason generally united in acquitting his client. Besides the courts of his own county, he attended some half- * Rathby's Letters to a, Law Student, dedicated to Lord Loughborough. ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 25 dozen, not, however, with that punctuality and relish for business so essential to the building up of a successful practice. In fact, he could never submit long at a time to the drudgery of his profes sion. His clients often called at his office without an interview, and when they even had the good fortune to see him he would put them off until the last hour and then wholly neglect their business or despatch it hastily, perhaps imperfectly. In this way his papers became confused. He had no regular place for any thing,--kept no private dockets showing the condition of his business. Interro gatories, notice to produce papers, the ordering of witnesses, and all that sort of preparation necessary in a cause, was too frequently omitted. In term, when the call of the docket roused his atten tion, he usually had some excuse to offer, which was urged with so much innocence and plausibility that the court indulged him from day to day and often granted him continuances. But, when forced to trial, whether all his testimony was at hand or not, the spirit of the case took full possession of him. From his zeal and readiness a casual observer would be apt to conclude that the dexterous advocate had applied himself with signal industry to office investi gation. At this point of his career, Maj. Beall offered an equal partner ship to the author, which he gladly accepted. This was in No vember, 1828. Maj. Beall was then recently married, and had just returned from Milledgeville, where he had been defeated for the office of brigadier-general in an election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Gen. Thaddeus G. Holt, who at that session had been restored to the bench from which he had been swept by the political tornado of 1825, so fatal to Troup office holders, by legislative action. His successful competitor was Gen. Eli Warren, then a Representative from Laurens county, but now a citizen of Houston. He was of opinion that injustice had been done to his claims by the Legislature; for he had a military taste, was well versed in the discipline, and made an admirable figure on horseback at reviews. Indeed, he was as graceful in the saddle as he was elegant in the drawing-room. A clumsy motion or an undignified attitude was never perceived by the author during his ten years' close intimacy with Maj. Beall. He was a splendid reader. Passages from Shakspeare and other dramatic authors were given with all the conception and spirit of the finest trage dians. He was a great admirer of Cooper; and imitating no one, but following his own genius, he was the equal of Forrest and Macready in strong delineation of character, combining the 26 EEJfCH AND EAR OF GEORGIA. inspired energy of Kean, without the stage auxiliaries of either of them. Well does the author recollect Maj. Beall's reading to a group of friends the celebrated debate between Hayne and Webster, on Foote's resolution in the Senate of the United States, as it came fresh from the reporters in 1830. He belonged to the Carolina school of politics; and as the champion Hayne flashed his trusty sword under the State-Rights banner, Maj. B. dwelt with special unction on passages which amounted, as he thought, to demonstra tion of the doctrine. Then came the majestic roll of Webster's drum. After days of dark weather at sea, a glimpse of the sun was taken and the latitude of the question ascertained. Webster uttered thoughts which electrified the world. Ancient or modern times never furnished the parallel of his speech on that occasion. His dying gaze on the flag of the Union was indeed sublime. The voice, the eye, the excited feelings of Maj. Beall, as he progressed in the reading, and the delight of the listeners, are fresh in the author's memory. The gifted statesmen whose words he repeated in a style of surpassing beauty are now in the grave, and so is the brilliant reader. Let no person start at the association of names, BEALL, HAYNE, WEBSTER ; for in this order they left the world, at the ages of thirty-six, forty-eight, and seventy years, re spectively. In depth of sensibility and exalted passion, constituting the soul of genius, Robert Augustus Beall never, perhaps, had a superior, except in Lord Byron. This opinion may, by some, he termed extravagant; still, the author is candid in its avowal. He had full opportunities of analyzing his character in all the phases of fortune and temperament. A high order of genius, other qualities not being equal, is apt to render the possessor unhappy.- Sheridan and Byron are noted examples: both singularly imprudent in the com mon affairs of life, and both died under a cloud,--one in adversity and the other in self-imposed exile, to escape from the horrors of his own mind. To this class of mortals, more to be pitied than condemned, we assign the subject of this memoir. If we exceed justice to the dead, the. error at least has no sting. But to resume our narrative.--In 1830, Gov. Gilmer appointed Maj. Beall one of his aides-de-camp, with the rank of lieutenantcolonel. He continued to appear with Maj. Gen. Wimberly at regi mental reviews in the division, but in his new capacity as represen tative of the commander-in-chief. In January, 1832, Col. Beall removed with his family to the city of Macon, and opened a law- , EGBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 2T office in connection with Col. Seymour, now of New Orleans. To discuss more prominently the political questions of the day, in which he felt a warm interest, Col. Beall purchased a share in the G-eorgia Messenger,--Mr. S. ROSE then, as now, and for the last thirty years, still retaining his position as publisher. Acting as principal editor, he espoused nullification with earnestness and ability, sounding the alarm and pointing to the authorized redress of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798,--that inexhaust ible fountain of vague construction which has perplexed so many honest inquirers after political truth. In the mean time the mili tary aspirations of Col. Beall were gratified by the Legislature in electing him a'brigadier-general. The extent of his practice at the bar was perhaps equal to his desire; for he delighted mainly in politics, and his ample fortune exempted him from the necessity of labor. A vacancy in Congress having to be filled, the State-Rights party nominated Gen. Beall, and the Union party brought forward Gen. Glascock as his competitor. The vote was then by general ticket and the canvass was warmly conducted, the Union candi date prevailing by a small majority. Gen. Beall received frequent proofs of confidence from the people of Bibb county. Of the Anti-Tariff Convention in 1832, and the great State-Rights meet ing, in 1833, at Milledgeville, (the night of the meteoric shower, 13th November,) he was an influential member and acted on the most important committees. As this was a noted meeting at the time, composed of many of the ablest men in Georgia, the author thinks proper to give some of the particulars. The Hon.- CHRIS TOPHER B. STRONG was appointed chairman, and the Hon. N. 0. SAYRE and A. B. LONGSTREET acted as secretaries. On motion of Judge Clayton, it was Resolved, That a committee of thirteen be appointed by the chairman to propose resolutions expressing the sentiments of the State-Eights party in this State, and report to this meeting at its sitting. The committee consisted of the following gentlemen, in the order named by the chair :--Hon. A. S. Clayton, Hon. William H. Crawford, Dr. William C. Daniell, Col. Seaborn Jones, Hon. Richard W. Habersham, D. P. Hilhouse, Esq., Col. Samuel Rockwell, A. H. Chappell, Esq., Geo. H. Young, Esq., Gen. Roht. A. Beall, Qpl. ---- Newton, Gen. Eli Warren, and Hon. Charles Dougherty. As a source of information to the younger politicians of the State, as well , as to preserve the original Platform itself, the author copies from the official proceedings of the meeting:-- 28 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. The committee retired; and, having returned, reported through their chairman the following preamble and resolutions :-- The relations between the Federal and State Governments have assumed a peculiar and intense interest by reason of the events which terminated the deliberations of the last Congress. The long and angry contests which agitated the whole South, and had produced just complaints against the General Government, were brought to a close with its last session; hut they were succeeded (and doubtless for the special purpose of subserv ing at some future period the very principles they were compelled to abandon) by the enactment of a law equally objectionable and certainly more dangerous to the liberties of the people than their former oppressions, and which, if permitted to endure, will ultimately perpetuate the usurpa tions which it was professed to be renounced. It is not difficult to per ceive that allusion is here made to the Proclamation of the President of the United States, and the Force Bill, which was its legitimate conse quence. The first document instantly revived the doctrines of the Fede ralists of '98, which had been put down by Mr. Jefferson, at the head of the Republicans; and now, parties are forming everywhere, and particu larly in our own State, for the avowed purpose of supporting the principles of the Proclamation and Force Bill, thereby insidiously restoring to the Federal party the power which they lost under the elder Adams. To this end they have changed their name to one which is designed to play upon popular feeling; and, by the force of prejudice alone, they are aiming to re-establish principles which the good sense of the people absolutely rejected in 1801, as tending to the destruction of the Union and rearing upon its ruins a consolidated government. These facts have justly alarmed the friends of liberty in every quarter: and those Eepublicans who still adhere to the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, the great moral instru ments by which Mr. Jefferson effected the overthrow of the Federalists, are rallying to the defence of the Constitution of the United States from North to South by counter-associations, designed to reorganize the old Republican party and to check immediately the growth of the doctrines of the Proclamation, which must inevitably lead to consolidation if not successfully resisted. The object of the present meeting is, First, to con stitute and form one of those associations for the express purpose of coun teracting the designs of the Federal party lately reorganized in this State, who, under false colors, are inculcating the doctrine of John Adams in '98, and those of Daniel Webster at the present time; and, Secondly, for the further object of enforcing a systematic opposition to the Proclamation and Force Bill. These last measures have aimed a deadly blow at State Rights, and seem now to require the united and concentrated energies of the friends and advocates of those rights to be directed to this point of attack, deemed so important by our enemies to be carried, and in which, if success should crown their exertions, all that is dear and valuable to freedom will be wrested from the States. That it may be distinctly understood what are the principles of this association, it will be necessary to show what are the doctrines of the Proclamation, and these are asserted in language which admits of no dispute. 1. It maintains that the States of which this Confederacy is composed never had a separate existence; for from the moment they ceased to be dependent on Great Britain, they formed one nation, and have so con tinued. ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 29 2. That a State in the exercise of its legitimate powers has not the right to decide upon the constitutionality of an act of Congress, and to protect its citizens from the operation of an unconstitutional act, and to maintain within her limits the authority, rights, and liberties appertaining to a sovereign State. 3. That the States have no right to secede from the Union under any circumstances whatever, inasmuch as secession would DESTROY THE UNITY OF THE NATION. 4. That the people of the twenty-four States constitute one people. 5. That the members of Congress "are all representatives of the United States, not representatives of the particular States from which they come, and that they are not accountable to it for any act done in the perform ance of their legislative functions." 6. That "the States have not retained their entire sovereignty." 7. That the allegiance of our citizens is due to the United States " in the first instance," and not to their respective States. These are the doctrines of the Proclamation, and they have, at the special instance of the President, produced the Force Bill for their com plete execution. This meeting doth solemnly protest against them, and as solemnly deny their legitimate deduction from the compact which established the Federal Government, and that the association now formed will resist them in every proper manner. To this end they Resolved, That the present meeting be organized into an association to be denominated " THE STATE-EIGHTS PARTY OF GEORGIA," and recom mend meetings in all the counties for the purpose of constituting similar associations, to be connected with that which will be formed at Milledgeville, as the central association. Resolved, That the doctrines of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, as construed and understood by Mr. Jefferson, and triumphantly acted upon in 1825, 6, and 7, in this State, constitute the creed of the StateEights party of Georgia; and that, as all such unconstitutional laws are null and void, we will, whenever the proper exigency arises, resist them in any manner the sovereign power of the State may order and direct. Resolved, That we consider the Force Bill as a glaring infraction of State rights and a gross outrage upon the liberties of the people, and that its continuance upon the statute-book is such an act of usurpation as ought not to be submitted to by free and independent States, and that we will use our exertions to counteract the principles of the Proclamation and to obtain a repeal of said bill. Resolved, That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be, and they are hereby, earnestly requested to demand an immediate repeal of the act of the last Congress, denominated the Force Bill, as being a pal pable violation of the rights of the States, and the Federal Constitution. Which having been read, a motion was made to postpone further action that they might be printed and taken up at a subsequent meeting; which motion was, by a vote of the meeting, negatived; and, on motion of Judge Clayton, it was Resolved, That the report be taken up and read by paragraphs. .The report having been read, on motion of Judge Clayton, it was unanimously resolved that said preamble and resolutions be adopted and agreed to. - On motion of Judge Dougherl^, Resolved, That the editors of the States-Right papers in this State be 30 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. requested to publish the foregoing preamble and resolutions, accompanied by the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, and that a copy of the same be transmitted to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress. On motion of Mr. Torrance, Resolved, That the chairman of this meeting appoint a committee of thirteen, to be styled The Central Committee of the State-Rights Associa tion of Georgia, to correspond with such associations in support of State Rights as have beeu, or may be, organized in the several counties of Georgia. The chairman appointed the following gentlemen :--Wm. H. Torrance, David B. Mitchell, Joel Crawford, John H. Howard, Randall Jones, Samuel Boykin, L. Q. C. Lamar,-Seatou Grantland, Irby Hudson, Samuel Rockwell, N. C. Sayre, Dr. Wm. Greene, and John Williams, Esqs. On motion of Judge Clayton, Resolved, That as a means of extending among the people an accurate knowledge of oar principles, this meeting will patronize the paper called The Examiner, published by Condy Raguet, in the city of Philadelphia, and recommend to all the associations that may be formed in the several counties to do the same, and that those who may be disposed to subscribe for said paper apply to either of the secretaries of this meeting now or at a future period for that purpose. With the revolution of parties in Georgia since 1833 the author has nothing to do and expresses no opinion. He has introduced this fragment as a part of the history of the times and for no other object. By proclamation of Gov. Gilmer, the Legislature convened on the 18th day of October, 1830, to dispose of the Cherokee lands. Gen. Beall was a representative from the county of Twiggs, with Robert Hodges and Larkin Griffin his colleagues. The business of the session was urgent and complicated. Many questions arose and were discussed with marked ability. To glance at them in detail, and at the speakers who participated, would require more space than could be properly allowed in this work. Among the gentlemen prominent on the floor of the House were John H. Howard, C. J. McDonald, A. Hull, C. Dougherty, Thos. Haynes, Thos. W. Murray, Wiley Williams, Geo. H. Young, Irby Hudson, Wm. Turner, Wm. Schley, C. J. Jenkins, E. J. Black, Geo.W.Towns, and Dennis L. Byan,--presenting an. array of talent which would do credit to any legislative body. Party strife rose high. The old distinctions of Troup and Clark were gradually wearing down in the grave issue as to the power of the Federal Government. The Senate adopted a set of resolutions on this subject, and also laudatory of President Jackson, which were sent to the House for concurrence. Gen. Beall offered a substitute in the following words, after reciting the Protest of the Legislature in 1828 against the Tariff:-- B.OBEKT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 31 Be it therefore resolved, &c., That the State of Georgia, influenced by a sense of forbearance and respect for the opinions of the other States, and by community of attachment to the Union,-so far as the same may be consistent with self-preservation and a determined purpose to preserve the purity of our republican institutions, having, in her sovereign charac ter, protested against the Tariff, and, by inference, against its dependent, measure, "internal improvement," as being an infraction of the sacred bond of our Union, demanded its repeal, and in perpetual testimony thereof deposited that protest and demand in the archives of the Senate of the United States, cannot now, adhering firmly and unalterably as she does to the declaration contained in that instrument, descend, without compromitting her honor and dignity as a sovereign and independent State, to the measures of memorial and remonstrance, which having been patiently resorted to for years were utterly disregarded;--thus compelling her, in justification of her character to the present generation and to pos terity, reluctantly to adopt the measure hereinbefore recited. Resolved nevertheless, by the General Assembly of the Stale of Georgia, acting for and in behalf of the people, thereof, That this State looks with the deepest solicitude to the re-election of General Jackson to the Presi dency of the United States, because, in that event, we will have the certain guarantee that he will fearlessly go, as far as his official powers will war rant, " in arresting the profligate expenditure of the public money, extin guishing the public debt as speedily as possible, and restraining the government to its primitive simplicity in the exercise of all its functions." The House Journal (p. 361) thus continues:-- Mr. Burnes moved the following resolution in lieu of the preamble and resolutions from Senate, and the foregoing preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Beall, of Twiggs:-- Resolved, by the people of Georgia, through their Representatives, That they highly approbate the opinions of President Jackson in behalf of the Union and rights of the States, and his administration generally, and that we earnestly recommend his re-election. On the motion to receive said resolution as a substitute in lieu of the preamble and resolutions from the Senate, and the foregoing preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Beall, of Twiggs, the yeas and nays were required to be recorded, and were,--Yeas, 57; Nays, 65. So the House refused to receive Mr. Burnes's resolution as a substitute. The question was then put on receiving the preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Beall, of Twiggs, as a substitute for the preamble and resolutions from the Senate. On which motion the yeas and nays were required to be recorded, and are,--Yeas, 76; Nays, 45. So the House greed to receive the preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Beall, of ; Twiggs, as a substitute for the preamble and resolutions of Senate, and the said substitute agreed to by the House. Without aiming to revive party creeds or associations to affect v any gentleman, the author merely remarks that Messrs. Black, V. J. S. Calhoun, Dougherty, Haynes, P. S. Holt, Howard, Hudson, I Jenkins, Eyan, Turner, and Young, voted for the substitute of ^,: fien. Beall, and Messrs. Bates, Day, McDonald, Schley, Towns, gV >nd'Wofford, voted against it. f';-' fe'$*.: 32 BENCH AND EAR OF GEOKGIA. It was at this session (1830) that the governor transmitted to the Legislature, on the day previous to adjournment, (the same day on which he received the original,) the copy of a mandate from the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, enjoining the execution of George Tassels, an Indian who had heen convicted in Hall Superior Court of the crime of murder, and citing the State of Georgia to appear under the writ of error. The following is an extract from Gov. Gilmer's communication:-- The object of this mandate is to control the State in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction, which in criminal cases has been vested by the Con stitution exclusively in its Superior Courts. So far as concerns the exercise of the power which belongs to the Executive Department, orders received from the Supreme Court for the purpose of staying or in any manner interfering with the decisions of the courts of this State, in the exercise of their constitutional jurisdiction, will be resisted with whatever force the laws shall have placed at my command. If the judicial power thus attempted to he exercised by the courts of the United States is submitted to or sustained, it nlust eventuate in the utter annihilation of the State Governments, or in other consequences not less fatal to the peace and prosperity of our present highly-favored country. After being read, the message was referred with the accompany ing document to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Haynes, Beall, of Twiggs, Schley, McDonald, and Howard, of Baldwin, on the part of the House, to join such committee as the Senate might appoint. On the same day, (22d December,) Mr. Haynes, from the com mittee, made the following report:-- Whereas, it appears by a communication made by his Excellency the Governor to this General Assembly that the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States has sanctioned a writ of error, and cited the State of Georgia, through her Chief Magistrate, to appear before the Supreme Court of the United States to defend this State against said writ of error, at the instance of one George Tassels, recently convicted in Hall county Superior Court of the crime of murder. And whereas, the right to punish crimes against the peace and good order of this State, in accordance with existing laws, is an original and necessary part of sovereignty which the State of Georgia has never parted with. Be it therefore resolved, &c., That they view with feelings of the deepest regret the interference by the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the administration of the criminal laws of this State, and that such an interference is a flagrant violation of her right. Resolved further, That his Excellency the Governor be, and he an$ every other officer of this State is hereby, requested and enjoined to dis regard any and every mandate and process that has been or shall be served upon him or them, purporting to proceed from the Chief-Justice, or any BOBEET AUGUSTUS BBALL. 33 Associate-Justice, or the Supreme Court of the United States, for the purpose of arresting any of the criminal laws of this State. And be it further resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby, authorized and required with all the force and means placed at his command by the Constitution and laws of this State, to resist and repel any and every invasion from whatever quarter, upon the administra tion of the criminal laws of this State. Resolved, That the State of Georgia will never so far compromit the sovereignty as an independent State as to become a party to the cause sought to be made before the Supreme Court of the United States by the writ in question. Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be, and he is herewith, authorized to communicate to the Sheriff of Hall county, by express, so much of the foregoing resolutions and such orders as are necessary to insure the full execution of the laws in the case of George Tassels, con victed of murder in Hall county. The House Journal (p. 448) states that Mr. Turner offered the following as a substitute to said report, to wit:-- Whereas, the circumstances under which the citation to the State from the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Tassels, an Indian, convicted of murder in the Superior Court of Hall county, are unfavorable to calm deliberation; and whereas, the General Assembly have confidence in the intelligence of the Executive and Judicial Departments of the Government of this State, into whose cognizance the case of Tassels will more immediately come, Resolved, That the action of the General Assembly is deemed unneces sary at the present time in the case of George Tassels aforesaid. On the question to accept this substitute the yeas were 11; nays, 62. Among the former were Messrs. Day, McDonald, Schley, Turner, and C. Wellborn. On the question to agree to the original report the yeas were 73; nays, 10. Among the latter were Messrs. Day, McDonald, Schley, Turner, and G. Wellborn. The next day the Senate concurred in the report, and at the appointed time the prisoner was executed under the sentence which his counsel attempted to reverse by writ of error. The case was not further prosecuted, as no relief could reach the plaintiff, thus avoiding the conflict of jurisdiction between the Federal and State Governments in the last resort, practically. As another scrap of political history deserves preservation, the author makes no apology for a somewhat-extended notice of the Anti-Tariff Convention held at Milledgeville, and especially as Gen. Beall was a delegate from Bibb, and prominent in its delibe rations. The official record of its proceedings is now before the author, and he copies the names of all the delegates, with such other matters as seem most relevant. Vol. I.--3 34 BENCH AND BAK OP GEORGIA. The Convention met in the Representative Chamber at three o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, 12th November, 1832, when the following delegates appeared from their respective counties :-- 1. Appling--Malcolm Morrison. 2. Ba^er--Young Alien. 3. Baldwin--William H. Torrance and Saml. Rockwell. 4. Bibb--Robert A. Beall and Robert Collins. 5. Bullock--Samuel L. Lockhart. 6. Burke--J. Lewis, E. Hughes, and David Taylor, Jr. 7. Camden--H. R. Ward and J. Hull. 8. Cherokee--Z. B. Hargrove and W. W. Williamson. 9. Clark--A. S. Clayton, Thos. Moore, and J. Ligon. 10. Columbia--Isaac Ramsey, W. A. L. Collins, and J. Cartledge. 11. Coweta-- Thos. Watson and Owen H. Jenan. 12. Crawford--Henry Crowell and Hiram Warner. 13. Decatur--Drury Fort and Jehu W. Keith. 14. De Kalb--Lewis J. Dupree, D. Kiddoo, and 0. Clark. 15. Dooly-- Thomas H. Key. ( 16. Early--Josiah S. Patterson. 17. Effingham--Clem. Powers. 18. Elbert--Beverly Alien, I. N. Davjs, and J. M. Tate. 19. Emanuel--John R. Daniel. 20. Glynn--Thomas Butler King. 21. Greene--W. C. Dawson, J. G. Matthews, and W. Greer. 22. Gwinnett--J. Q-. Park, W. Maltbie, Hines Holt, and S. McMullin. 23. Hall-- W. H. Underwood, J. McAfee, R. Sanford, and 'N. G-arrison. 24. Hancock-- Thos. Haynes, Tully Vinson, and James Lewis. 25. Harris--Jacob M. Guerry and BarTcly Martin. 26. Heard--Rene Fitzpatrick. 27. Henry--A. R. Moore, Giibson dlark, J.Johnson and J. Coker. 28. Houston-- Walter L. Campbell, Hugh Lawson, and C. Well born. 29. Irwin-- William Slone. 30. Jackson--David "Witt, J. Park, and J. Cr. Pittman. 31. Jasper--Alfred Cuthbert, D. A. Reese, and M. Phillips. 32. Jefferson--Roger L. Gamble and Philip S. Lemlie. 33. Jones--W. S. C. Reid, J. L. Lewis, and T. G. Barron. 34. Laurens--David Blackshear and Eason Alien. 35. Lee--John Q-. Oliver. 36. Lincoln--Rem Remson and Peter Lamar. EGBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 35 37. Madison-- Thos. Long and W. M. Morion. 38. Marion--Wiley Williams. 39. Mclntosh--Thomas Spalding and James Troup. 40. Meriwether--W. D. Alexander and Hugh W. JEctor. 41. Monroe--John Macpherson Berrien, Thos. N. Beall, Geo. W. Gordon, and Elbridge G. Cabiness. 42. Montgomery--Joseph 'Ryals. 43. Morgan--W. S. Stokes, Van Leonard, and C. Campbell. 44. Muscogee--Alien Lawhon and A. S. Clifton. 45. Newton--Charles Kennon, Richard L. Sims, and Seth P. Storrs. 46. Oglethorpe--George R. Gilmer and John Moore. 47. Pulaski--Burwell W. Bracewell. 48. Putnam--L. W. Hudson, C. P. Gordon, and W. W. Mason. 49. Rabun--Samuel Farris and Henry T. Mosety. 50. Randolph--Benjamin Holland. 51. Richmond--John Forsyth, William Gumming, and John P. King. 52. Scriven--A. S. Jones and P. L. Wade. 53. Talbot--Samuel W. Flournay and N. B. Powell. 54. Taliaferro--Absalom Janes and S. C. Jeffries. 55. Tatnall--Joseph Tillman. 56. Thomas-- William H. Reynolds and A. J. Dozier. 57. Troup--Samuel A. Bailey and Julius C. Alford. 58. Upson--Reuben J. Crews and John Robinson. 59. Walton-- Thos. W. Harris, T. J. Hill, and Orion Stroud. 60. Warren--Henry Lockhart and Thos. Gribson, Jr. 61. Washington--S. Robinson, J. Peabody, and Morgan Brown. From the above roll, it appears that one hundred and' thirty delegates presented credentials from sixty-one counties. The Hon. GEORGE R. GILMER was elected president, and William Y. Hansell, Benjamin T. Mosely, and Mansfield Torrance, Esqs., were appointed secretaries. On motion of Mr. Torrance, Resolved, That a committee of twenty-one be appointed, whose duty it shall be to report resolutions expressive of the sense of this Convention in relation to the Protective System, and the best and most efficient mode of obtaining relief from the evils of that system; and that the said com mittee be further instructed to report what objects ought to engage the attention of this Convention, and what will be the most efficient means of accomplishing the same. After the appointment of a Committee on Rules to govern the 36 BENCH AND BAB OF GEORGIA. Convention, nothing more was done the first afternoon. On the second day, Mr. FORSYTE submitted the following:-- Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the president to examine and report to this body at its next meeting, the authority of the persons assembled as Delegates from the different counties of the State to represent the people of their respective counties; the resolutions, if any, under which the election in each county was held; the notice given of the time of the election; the manner of holding it, the number of votes given at the election, and the number of voters in the county. Resolved, That the individuals who have been elected as a committee of what is known as the Athens meeting, be, and they are hereby, requested to present to this body the correspondence they have held con nected with the object of their appointment. Mr. Torrance offered, in lieu of the first resolution, the following as a substitute:-- Resolved, That a Committee of Elections and Appointments be now appointed to inquire into the right of any member to hold his seat, when ever the same shall be contested, and report the facts to the Convention. After a little skirmishing the resolutions and substitute were laid on the table for the present. The president then announced the appointment of the Committee of Twenty-one, to wit:--Messrs. Blackshear, Berrien, Forsyth, Gumming, Clayton, Cuthbert, Gamble, Reese, Spalding, Tait, Kockwell, Beall, of Bibb, Taylor, of Burke, Bailey, Warner, Dawson, Haynes, Gordon, of Putnam, Clark, of Henry, Janes, and Harris. On the third day, on motion of Mr. Rockwell, Resolved, That the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judges of the Superior Courts, and the Hon. David Johnson and Chancellor Harper, of South Carolina, and editors and reporters of newspapers, be provided with seats within the bar. The Convention then resumed the unfinished business of the previous day and took up the first resolution of Mr. Forsyth, which, being read, Mr. Berrien proposed to amend it by striking out the following:--" The resolutions, if any, under which the election in each county was held; the notice given of the time of the election; the manner of holding it, the numbef of votes given in the county"--and insert in lieu thereof the following words, to wit:--" and that the report of the said committee, when approved by this Convention, shall be attached to the proceedings of this body, to be submitted to the people of Georgia for their approba tion or rejection." Perhaps on no other occasion in Georgia was there such an imposing display of eloquence. Mr. FORSYTH stood forth in the ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 37 majesty of his intellect and the graces of his unrivalled elocution. For three days the Convention and the crowded galleries listened to the debate with rapt attention. All conceded the victory to Mr. FORSYTE in the preliminary discussion. He seemed as a giant, bearing down all obstacles in his way. Mr. BERRIEN took the floor amid plaudits from the gallery. He waved his hand and shook his head gravely, his beaming face upward, to repress the demonstration in his favor. What delight he afforded all present by his polished style and sweet delivery, may be imagined by those who ever had the good fortune to hear this American Cicero. Other speakers participated in the discussion; but the author does not remember all of them, although a spectator. Col. WILLIAM GUMMING, in point of dignity and force, called to mind a proud Roman Senator. Messrs. CLAYTON, TORRANCE, ROCKWELL, CUTHBERT, SPALDING, BEALL, G. W. GORDON, HAYNES, and ALFORD, were among the principal debaters. Gov. GILMER made an argument with his usual zeal and ability on the main estion, at another stage of the Convention. i^ine,an time the president submitted to the Convention ications from the Hon. David Johnson and Chancellor i -pouching political events in South Carolina, which were referred to the Committee of Twenty-one. ,'. On Friday, Gen. BLACKSHEAR, Chairman of the Committee of Twenty-one, made a report, which was read to the Convention by Mr. BERRIEN, the author of the report. It is too long for inser tion here, though its ability would interest the political reader. After a brief preamble, it affirms,-- 1. That the Federal Government is a confederacy formed by the States composing the same, for the specific purposes expressed in the Constitu tion, and for those alone. . 2. That every exercise by the Federal Government, or by any departfflent thereof, of powers not granted by the Constitution, notwithstanding it may be under the forms of law, is, in relation to the constituent States, inere usurpation. -^8.. That a government of limited powers can have no constitutional right to judge in the last resort of its own use or abuse of the powers con ferred upon it, since that would he to substitute for the limitations of the constitutional charter the judgment of the agents who were employed to carry if into effect,--to annihilate those limitations by a power derived from the same instrument which created them. _t 4- That the Federal Government is a government the powers of which are expressly limited by the Constitution which created it, and can there fore have no constitutional right to judge in the last resort of the use or abuse of those powers. 5. That it is essential to a confederated government, the powers of 38 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. which are expressly limited by the constitution which creates it, that there should exist somewhere a power authoritatively to interpret that instrument,--to decide in the last resort on the use or abuse of the authority which it confers upon the common agent of the confederating States: that such a power cannot belong to the agent, since that would be to substitute his judgment for the constitutional limitation; and that, in the absence of a common arbiter expressly designated by the Constitu tion for this purpose, each State as such for itself, and in virtue of its sovereignty, is necessarily remitted to the exercise of that right. 6. That the several States composing this Union were, at the adoption of the Federal Constitution, free, sovereign, and independent States; that they have not divested themselves of this character by the relinquishment of certain powers to the Federal Government,--having associated with their sister states for purposes entirely compatible with the continued existence of their own original freedom, sovereignty, and independence. The seventh resolution declares the several Tariff acts of Con gress, designed for the protection of domestic manufactures, unconstitutional and void. The eighth avers attachment to the Union, and perseverance in the means of redress. The ninth refuses to submit, and asks for consultation and concert with sister States to resist usurped authority; and the tenth recommends the aggrieved States to hold a Southern Convention. The eleventh authorizes the president to appoint five superintendents in each county to take the sense of the people on the proceedings of the Convention, by voting at polls to be kept open from the 15th De cember until the second Monday in February then next. The twelfth requires public notice of the result to be given, and the citizens to elect, by general ticket on the fourth Monday in March, delegates to represent Georgia in the proposed Convention of States. The thirteenth is for the Convention to meet again on the first Monday in July. The fourteenth is the following:-- Resolved, That the President of this Convention do communicate the aforegoing resolutions, from one to ten inclusive, to the Governors of the several Southern States having common interests with us in the removal of the grievances of which we complain; to the Governors of the other States at his discretion, and asking them to give publicity to the same within their respective States, and earnestly inviting them to unite with us in Convention as the sure, perhaps the only, means of preserving the peace of the Union. The three other resolutions provide for the appointment of a Central Committee in Baldwin, to whom all the county superin tendents shall certify the action before them; for t;b.e publication of twenty thousand copies of the proceedings of the Conven tion, &c. In the appendix to the Journal of the Convention, it is stated ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 39 that the following substitute to the Report of the Committee of "Twenty-one" was offered by Mr. FORSYTH, in committee, and rejected:-- Resolved, That it is not necessary to reiterate in a new form the opinions of the people on the subject of the Tariff, or the necessity for the abandonment of the protective system, to preserve the Union and to maintain harmony among the States. Resolved, That a Southern Convention should be called to consult on the best measures to procure a final and speedy abandonment of it by the General Government. Resolved, That the Legislature should provide for the appointment of Delegates to meet a Southern Convention whenever ALL THE STATES south of the Potomac and north of the Mississippi agree to appoint their delegates for that purpose. Before a vote was taken in the Convention on the Report of the Committee of "Twenty-one," and after the rejection of his resolu tion touching the " authority of gentlemen to speak in the name of the people," Mr. FORSYTH laid on the secretary's table a pro test signed by himself and about fifty other delegates, all of whom then retired together from the Convention. The scene was very exciting, but it passed off quietly, and the remaining majority pro ceeded with their business as though nothing material had occurred to weaken their deliberations. After sundry propositions and a few slight amendments, the report was agreed to by a vote of,--Yeas, 64; Nays, 6. Com paring the roll as given with those voting on the adoption of the report, the names of the seceding delegates are pretty well ascer tained ; and on this basis the author has marked them in italics, ' merely for reference as to old party divisions. Two important committees were appointed,--one to address the people of Georgia, consisting of Messrs. Berrien, Clayton, Gordon, of Putnam, Beall, of Bibb, and Torrance; and the other, styled the " Central Committee," consisting of Messrs. W. H. Torrance, S. Rockwell, John H. Howard, Samuel Boykin, and James S. Calhoun, whose duty it should be " to take all necessary steps to giving effect to the measures of this Convention,"--both of which committees soon afterwards published able addresses to the people of Georgia on the matters with which they were respectively charged. The author has dwelt freely on these topics for the principal reason that the young men of the State may understand the condition of parties more than twenty years ago, at a season of great peril to the Union; and also because the Convention referred 40 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. to was anterior to the " Ordinance of Nullification" in a sister State,--all the proceedings in Carolina in opposition to the Tariff having the hearty sanction of Gen. Beall, whose opinions are to be illustrated by facts. Of the ten gentlemen on the two committees who thus appealed to the people of Georgia against the oppressions of the General Government, Maj. Howard is the only survivor! No formal action was ever had at the ballot-box to carry out the objects of the Convention. One incident, or rather legislative expression, though omitted at the proper place, connected with the public life of Gen. Beall, the author begs to introduce here. At the session of 1830, the late Gov. Towns, then a Representative, offered in the House a set of resolutions, the character of which may he inferred from the closing sentence of one of them:--" That disunion, it is firmly believed, will bring in its train discord, misery, and civil war; and finally, that the people of this State deem those as their worst and bitterest enemies who seek to sow the seeds of disunion, and introduce the wretched doctrines of Consolidation and Nullification amongst them." On the motion of Mr. Dougherty they were laid on the table for the present,--Yeas, 86; Nays, 42. Mr. Bailey then moved to lay on the table, for the balance of the session, the resolutions of Gen. Beall, (to be seen elsewhere in this memoir,) and those offered by Mr. Murray, which was refused,--Yeas, 49; Nays, 74. On the question to adopt the preamble and resolutions of Gen. Beall, Mr. Brewster, of Gwinnett, moved to amend by adding, And be it further resolved, That the people of Georgia disapprove of the political opinions of the Hon. George M. Troup, as expressed in his toast at the Jefferson celebration dinner at Washington City, and in his letter replying to an invitation to the Columbia dinner. The amendment was, on motion of Mr. Turner, laid on the table for the remainder of the session,--Yeas, 93 ; Nays, 31. Among those voting against laying the amendment on the table, were Messrs. McDonald, Schley, and Towns. To understand what Mr. Brewster sought to condemn, the toast is here introduced:-- By Gov. Troup, of Georgia. The Government of the United States: With more limited powers than the Republic of San Marino, it rules an empire more extended than the Roman, with the absoluteness of Tiberius, with less wisdom than Augustus, and less justice than Trajan and the Antonines. ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 41 The following is an extract from Gov. Troup's letter of Septem ber 21, 1830, referred to in the amendment:-- Whatever the people of South Carolina in Convention shall resolve for their safety, interest, and happiness, will he right, and none will have the right to question it. You can change your own government at pleasure, and therefore you can throw off the government of the Union whenever the same safety, interest, and happiness require it. The author has thus followed Gen. Beall through his public career; and he concludes by a brief notice of his family, his declining health, and his religious opinions. Gen. Beall inherited the full name of his venerable father, who for many years resided in the county of Warren. Major Robert Augustus Beall, Sr., was universally beloved for his intelligence and virtues. He was a gentleman of easy address, and retained the etiquette of the olden time. He had a large family of chil dren, mostly daughters, whom he educated in the best manner. His liberal hospitality, and the expense of sustaining a fashionable position in society, impaired his fortune and caused him to experi ence reverses in his old age. He bore all, however, with compo sure. At the election for commissioners to distribute the Cherokee lands by lottery, in 1831-2, he was chosen by the Legislature as one of the Board; and, though infirm from age, he discharged his duties to the entire satisfaction of the public. He died some twenty years ago. Dr. Henry Lockhart of Apalachicola, Edward B. Young, of Eufaula, William H. Young and Robert M. Gunby, of Columbus, Robert Billups, of Texas, and John Billups, of Alabama, married his daughters. He had other children, two sons, William and Josias, with whom the author was slightly acquainted. The latter, Josias B. Beall, was killed in Texas at the massacre of Fannin's and Ward's cemmand at Goliad, in 1836. In October, 1828, Gen. Beall intermarried with Caroline, the heiress of Richard Smith, Esq., a wealthy citizen of Twiggs county. The portion of his wife was large, consisting of lands, slaves, and other valuables. Considerably in debt at the time, and having no skill or talent for accumulation, Gen. Beall permitted his affairs to become entangled in spite of the proceeds of his estates. The income reported by his managers was not equal to the lawful inte rest on the capital employed in this form. He took up the idea that, by converting his property into bank-stock, it would be more productive in the shape of dividends, on which he might check at pleasure. He sold his estates, retaining servants for the house hold, but the money was never converted into bank securities. An 42 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. expensive style of living, and constant drains upon his purse, of which he did not see the drift at the time, led to a wreck of his fortune in eight years. His hospitality was that of a prince. No man could dispense the honors of such a life more gracefully, or with happier effect on his guests. The health of Gen. Beall was never robust. His complexion was always bilious, and he had frequent attacks of colic from which he suffered severely. The following letter to the author shows his condition at such times:-- MACON, February 10th, 1832. DEAR MAJOR :--Will you be at Houston Court ? If yea, carry over our papers ; and if not, send them so as to reach there early Monday morning. From the present state of my health, I consider it very doubtful whether I shall be able to attend. I last night took an emetic which threatened for some time serious consequences. It produced, in the first instance, cramp in my stomach, which finally extended to all my limbs. I was finally relieved by the professional skill of Dr. Baber. I made out a set of interrogatories in the case of ------, in which we are counsel for the defendant, to take the testimony of ----, and left them with a friend for Judge Holt to carry down. They were neglected to be given to him and mislaid. Will you make out another set, and forward them to M. Myers, Esq., for execution ? I do not know what questions to ask, but our client requests it, and he is entitled to have his wishes gratified. Ask her if ---- did not give the negro to his wife upon their separation, &c., and any other questions which may occur to you. Ask her what she stated to ---- in Marion, on the subject of----'s title to the negro. Yours truly, KOBT. A. BEAIL. He was compelled to be abstemious in diet; and amidst the dis sipated company into which his late hours threw him. he never drank to intoxication. He was generally cheerful, and always ready to converse with his friends, even after his heaviest losses, without betraying his inward struggles. With the people he was a decided favorite, ever accessible and friendly. His countenance had a firm, yet benignant expression; it was lit up by dark, sparkling eyes, that charmed all who gazed upon them. He was an adept in human nature; and his success in controlling the minds of men by his suavity was an obstacle to his advancement in the law by enabling him to achieve by words easily uttered what others had failed to accomplish by hard labor,--the satisfaction of clients. As before stated, he put off drudgery to the last. When forced, however, to apply himself, he would toil with his pen, or at his books, the whole night, and come into court next morning fresh and courteous, with triumph on his brow. EGBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL. 43 Previous to 1835, Gen. Beall had been a skeptic in religion. During a revival in Macon that year, under the ministry of the Rev. John Howard, his infidelity was crushed and he became a new man, rejoicing in the pardon of his sins. He connected him self with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was frequently called on to pray in public. He engaged with zeal in the services of the sanctuary, and with happy effect on the minds of others. His mortal career was now drawing to a close. In the spring of 1836, his constitution gave way, and, after a lingering illness of several months, he died in peace, July 16, 1836. His death pro duced a deep sensation in the community. Extensive funeral honors were paid him. The bar, and literary societies of which he was a member, manifested peculiar respect for his memory. The press teemed with eulogies; and men of all parties united in con fessing his extraordinary gifts, and the lofty qualities which marked his character;--all mourned his exit as a public loss. Such was ROBERT AUGUSTUS BEALL,--a man of worth and infirmity. III. JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN, LL.D. THE annals of America furnish many distinguished names in the Cabinet and in the field, in the Judiciary and in the halls of legislation. JOHN MACPHERSON BERKIEN has been too recent an actor in public affairs for his character as yet to possess that influ ence over the minds of men which it is destined to exert. While living, he had to encounter an active political rivalry which was not always scrupulous in the means employed to gain its point. He lived to establish a reputation of which any orator, jurist, statesman, or scholar, might justly be proud. It will be the object of the author to gather up a few broken fragments in the his'tory of this remarkable man, and to render that justice to his memory which an admiring public will readily sanction. Of his ancestry much might be said to gratify his descendants. On the revocation of the Edict of Nantz by Louis XIV., in 1685, withdrawing from the Protestants the security afforded them in the exercise of their religion by Henry IV., in 1598, the best blood of France was dispersed in foreign countries. America became the asylum of many of the persecuted religionists, called Hugue nots originally in contempt, but now a term which has a universal significancy, conveying the ideas of fortitude and the loftiest-vir tues. His paternal ancestors descended from the Huguenots who fled from France into Holland when the Edict of Nantz was revoked. John Berrien, his grandfather, was one of the judges of the Supreme Court of New Jersey; and his father, Major John Berrien, at a very early age removed to Georgia. He was with Washington's army at Valley Forge, participated gallantly in the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778, and in several other engage ments. He continued in the service until the close of the war. In the mean time he married, at Philadelphia, Margaret Macpherson, whose brother, John Macpherson, was aidkde-camp to General Montgomery, and fell with him at Quebec. Another brother was General William Macpherson, who gave up his commission in the British army and escaped to the American lines, in which he ren dered efficient service. 44 JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 45 In the house occupied by General Washington as head-quarters whence he issued his farewell address to the army, JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN was born on the 23d day of August, 1781, in the State of New Jersey. His father brought him to Georgia when he was only a few months old. When of a suitable age, he was sent to various schools in New York and New, Jersey. He graduated at Princeton at the age^ofjBfteen. The late Judge X35ston7oF^f5ri;E Carolina, was a classmate. On his return to Georgia, he read law in the office of the Hon. Joseph Clay,"and was admitted to the bar in 1799, before he completed his eighteenth year. Tn~TK057"Ke~wa.S elecfefl Solicitor"Ge"neral, and the next~year Judge of the Eastern circuit. The latter office lie held four terms. While on the bench, the question of the constitutionality of the alleviating law came before him; and, in a convention of all the judges at Augusta, he delivered the opinion declaring the act to be unconstitutional. This was a triumph of law over popular excitement. The people were dis tressed in financial matters, and had elected a majority to the Legislature to grant relief, even to the suspension of debts, or at least of the process enforcing them. The public judgment has long since exploded all such measures as the veriest trifling with difficulties, to say nothing of the principle. While war existed with Great Britain from 1812 to 1815, Judge Berrien was elected to the command of a regiment of volunteer cavalry, which rendezvoused at Darien, watching the British forces on St. Simon's Island and elsewhere in that quarter. No opportunity, however, of conflict with the enemy occurred. He thus united the civil and military character in as perfect a model as the forum and the camp ever presented; for he was Hot the man to hold any office without making it honorable by the dignity and qualifications which he brought to the discharge of its duties. The only time when complaint or dissatisfaction was even whis pered on account of any of his judicial acts was when he gave sentence on the trial of Hopkins for the murder of Mclntosh. It seems that the overseer of Hopkins assisted his escape in a boat, and had no further connection with the offence. On conviction for manslaughter, the principal was sent to the penitentiary without labor, and the overseer was subjected to hard labor for a term of years. The public, not acquainted with the facts, became indig nant at the discrimination,--the rich culprit to lounge at his ease in the State prison, while his poor, innocent friend was doomed to 46 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. the anvil or the workbench in constant toil, in sight of each other. An investigation was demanded by Judge Berrien, and, at the session of the Legislature in 1818, both Houses decided unani mously that there was no just ground for the charge. The fact was, the presiding judge saw that to compel Mr. Hopkins, in his feeble condition, to perform the ordinary labor of a convict would be to take his life by judicial execution when a less punish ment was all that the law authorized. Such an act of humanity, so far from deserving censure, merits approbation. It required moral courage of a high order to confront the possibilities of mis construction, and to vindicate the act when assailed. After closing his judicial career with the highest credit to him self and with the hearty approval of the people of Georgia, Judge Berrien consented to serve his fellow-citizens of Chatham county, in the years J822 and 1823. During the latter session,* as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he introduced the fol lowing :-- Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, That it is expedient that some fit and proper person should be appointed by the Legislature at its present session to compile and digest the statute-laws of England that are now in force in the State of Georgia, and whose duty it shall be within two years to report the same to his Excellency the Governor, who, after the same has been examined of three learned in the kw, to be appointed by him for that purpose, shall approve or disapprove of the same, and for their said services shall be paid by the Governor out of the contingent fund; and when the said work shall be performed and approved, that his Excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby, author ized to subscribe for two thousand copies in convenient bound volumes: Provided, the same does not exceed the price of four dollars per volume, to be disposed of and distributed as the Legislature may direct. This resolution passed both Houses, and was approved by the Governor, who appointed the Hon. Thomas U. P. Charlton, William Davies, and Charles Harris, of Savannah, to examine the work prepared by the Hon. William Schley,--well known to the profes sion as Schley's Digest. His abilities were so conspicuous in the State Senate that Mr. Berrien was elected in 1824 to the Senate of the United States, and took his seat in that body March 4, 1825, at a time when it was an honor indeed to represent a sovereign State in the Councils of the Union. Unfortunately, the Senatorial robes do not confer as much reputation in these latter days, owing to causes easily understood. While something is lost on the score of dignity by * See Senate Journal, p. 178. JOHN MACPHERSON BEERIEN. 47 the contrast, much is perhaps gained to popular rights, among which may be included the right of very moderate men to exercise njgh public trusts. Judge Berrien at once took a commanding position in the Senate. He shared in the debates only on import ant questions, and then, maturely prepared as he never failed to be, his arguments were sustained by a logic and eloquence which gave universal delight. When Judge Berrien entered the Senate of the United States, in 1825, he was in the forty-fourth year of his age,--bordering on that golden period when enthusiasm usually abates and the purer offices of the intellect are brought into full action. He had quite a youthful appearance, and gained from Chief-Justice Marshall the appellation of the " honey-tongued Georgia youth." At the session of the Legislature of Georgia in 1828, a "Pro test" against the Tariff was adopted, which was committed to our Senators, Judge Berrien, and his colleague, Hon. OvH. Prince, to be laid before Congress. In January, 1829, Judge Berrien sub mitted this document in a style so beautiful and impressive that his speech on the occasion was justly termed by the press a model of its kind. The title of American Cicero was accorded to him, and never did he forfeit the proud distinction. On the election of General Jackson to the Presidency, in 1828, that distinguished personage tendered the office of Attorney-Gene ral to Judge Berrien, thus making him one of his constitutional advisers. It was accepted, and in March, 1829, he resigned his seat in the Senate and passed into the Cabinet. No man had brighter prospects or a smoother way, to all appearances. The first annoyance to which he was subjected was a complaint by Gen. Call that the office of Attorney-General brought him in con flict with a large number of important land-claims in Florida, in which he had been previously of counsel adverse to the United States, and that the President was not apprized -of this relation when he made the appointment. Judge Berrien promptly met the charge, and asserted that he distinctly informed Gen. Jackson of his professional connection with these claims, and reserved the right to fulfil his existing engagements with his clients. With this understanding he accepted the office of Attorney-General, and nothing more was heard on the subject. When he removed to Washington City as a member of the Cabinet, his family consisted mostly of daughters, Mrs. Berrien having died a short time previously. This fact is mentioned here as applicable to the cause which led to the dissolution of the 48 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. Cabinet in 1831. No attempt to give the history of this affair will be made further than is necessary to place the conduct of Mr. Berrien in its true light. The sympathies of the President had been invoked by his Secretary of War (Maj. Eaton) in his domestic affairs, because certain members of the Cabinet (all, indeed, except Mr. Van Buren, who was a widower) had omitted those courtesies which society had established respecting forma] visits or calls, either in person or by card, as the case might hap pen,--that Mrs. Eaton was not honored by the presence of those gentlemen or their families at her regular levees, nor were her "calls" returned. The cry of persecution was raised, which touched the sensibilities of Gen. Jackson, who rashly undertook to "regulate" these family matters. The consequence was that his authority in this sphere was not admitted, each gentleman leaving his own family to decide upon their company. Dissensions con tinued to increase. Gen. Jackson was not in the habit of yielding his point; nor were the Attorney-General, Secretary of the Trea sury, and Secretary of the Navy, (Berrien, Ingham, and Branch,) disposed to surrender their domestic government to his dictation. They at once resigned. Much was said on the subject at the time. The "United States Telegraph, edited by Gen. Duff Green, was the official organ of the administration; but adhering to Mr. Calhoun in his quarrel with the President, simultaneously with the rupture of the Cabinet, it was superseded by the Grlobe, with P. P. Blair as editor, who denied the retiring members of the Cabinet the privi lege of vindicating their course through its columns. Mr. Berrien, as also Messrs. Ingham and Branch, severally published addresses to the people of the United States, setting forth the whole matter in quite a spirited array. Niles' Register, and all the leading papers of the day, copied the appeals, and the counter-state ments of all the high functionaries concerned. Mr. Berrien never wrote with more animation and eloquence than in this controversy. The following correspondence between Mr. Berrien and the President is submitted:-- WASHINGTON, June 15, 1831. SIR :--I herewith tender to you my resignation of the office of AttorneyG-eneral of the United States. Two considerations restrained me from taking this step at the moment when your communication to the Secretary of the Treasury, announcing your determination to reorganize your Cabi net, first met my eye. There was nothing in the retirement of the Secre taries of State or of War, or in the distinct and personal considerations which they had assigned for this measure, which made it obligatory upon, or even proper for, me to adopt a similar course. Such a step, with any reference to that occurrence, could only become so on my part as an act JOHN MACPHEKSOJf BERKIBN. . 49 of conformity to your will- You had felt this, and had announced your wishes to the Secretaries of the Treasury and Navy respectively. I had a right to expect a similar communication of them, and conformed to the wishes and opinions of my fellow-citizens of Georgia when I determined to await it. An additional consideration was presented by the fact that I had been charged, at the moment of my departure from this place, with the performance of certain public duties which were yet unfinished, and my report concerning which you did not expect to receive until my return. I was gratified to learn from yourself that you had taken the same view of the subject, having postponed the communication of your wishes to me until my arrival at this place, without expecting in the mean time any communication from me. It is due to myself further to state that, from' the moment when I saw the communication referred to, I have considered my official relation to you as terminated, or as subsisting only until my return to the city should enable me to conform to your wishes by the final surrender of my office, which it is the purpose of this note to make. I retire, then, sir, with cheerfulness from the station to which 'your confidence had called me, because I have the consciousness of having endeavored to discharge its duties with fidelity to myself and to the coun try. Uninfluenced by those considerations which have been avowed by that portion of my colleagues who have voluntarily separated themselves from you, totally ignorant of any want of harmony in your Cabinet, which either has or ought to have impeded the operations of your administra tion, I performed this act simply in obedience to your will. I have not the slightest disposition to discuss the question of its propriety. It is true that, in a government like ours, power is but a trust to be used for the benefit of those who have delegated it, and that circumstances might exist in which the necessity of self-vindication would justify such an inquiry. The first consideration belongs to those to whom we are both and equally accountable. From the influence of the second you have relieved me by your explicit declaration that no complaint affecting either my official or individual conduct has at any time reached you. You have assured me that the confidence which induced you originally to confer the appointment upon me remains unshaken and undiminished, and have been pleased to express the regret which you feel at the separation which circumstances have, in your view of the subject, rendered unavoidable. You have kindly added the assurance of your continued good wishes for my welfare. You will not, therefore, refuse me the gratification of expressing my earnest hope that, under the influence of better counsels, your own and the interests of our common country may receive all the benefits which you may have anticipated from the change of your confi dential advisers. A very few days will enable me to put my office in a condition for the reception of my successor, and I will advise you of the fact as soon as its arrangement is completed. I am respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, JN. MACPHERSON BEKRIEN. To THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON, June 15, 1831. SIR :--I have received your letter resigning the office of AttorneyGeneral. In the conversation which I held with you the day before yesterday VOL. I.--4 J J f 50 BEKCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. upon this subject, it was my desire to present to you the considerations upon which I acted in accepting the resignation of the other members of the Cabinet, and to assure you, in regard to yourself as well as to them, that they imply no dissatisfaction with the manner in which the duties of the respective departments have been performed. It affords me great pleasure to find that you have not misconceived the character of those considerations, and that you do justice to the personal feelings with which they are connected. I will only add that the determination to change my Cabinet was dic tated by an imperious sense of public duty, and a thorough, though pain ful, conviction that the stewardship of power with which I am clothed called for it as a measure of justice to those who had been alike invited to maintain near me the relation of confidential advisers. Perceiving that the harmony in feeling, so necessary to an efficient administration, had failed in a considerable degree to mark the course of this, and having assented on this account to the voluntary retirement of the Secretaries of State and War, no alternative was left me but to give this assent a lati tude coextensive with the embarrassments which it recognised, and the duty which I owed to each member of the Cabinet. In accepting your resignation as Attorney-General, I take pleasure in expressing my approbation of the zeal and efficiency with which its duties have been performed, and in assuring you that you carry with you my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ANDREW JACKSON. JOHN M. BERRIEN, Esq. P.S.--You will please continue to discharge the duties of the office of Attorney-General until you make all those arrangements which you may deem necessary, which, when completed, and I am notified thereof by you, a successor will be appointed. A. J. WASHINGTON, June 22, 1831. SIR :--In conformity to the suggestion contained in your note of the 15th inst., I have to notify you that the arrangements necessary to put. the office of the Attorney-General in a condition for the reception of my successor are now complete. The misinterpretations which are contained in the newspapers on the subject of my retirement from office make it proper that this correspond ence should be submitted to the public, as an act of justice both to you and to myself. I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, JN. MACPHERSON BERRIEN. To THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON, June 22, 1831. SIR :--Your note of this day is received, advising me " In conformity to the suggestions contained in my (your) note of the 15th inst., I (you) have to inform you (me) that the arrangements necessary to put the office of the Attorney-General in a condition for the reception of my successor are now complete." For reasons assigned in your note, you further observe, "make it proper that this correspondence should be submitted to the public, as an JOHN MACPHERS05T BERRIEN. 51 act of justice both to you and myself."---I am sure I can have no objec tion to your submitting them as you propose, as you believe this to be necessary. .,,,,. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, ANDREW JACKSON. JOHN M. BERBIEN, Esq. Here the author will go back a few years to notice two literary discourses delivered by Mr. Berrien,--one at Athens, in 1828, and the other at Princeton, in 1830. On the first occasion, he and Judge Clayton were the orators, each representing one of the rival societies of Franklin College. Both selected Eloquence as the theme,--one contending that it could be'acquired by art, and ought to be methodical and persuasive; the other that oratory was a natural gift, and moved the passions of men by storm, without any particular rules. These two were highly-finished productions, and still rank among the classics of the day. The discourse at Princeton was delivered while Mr. Berrien was Attorney-General, in the zenith of his fame, with a cloudless future before him. He was said to be so much a favorite of President Jackson that the mantle of Chief-Justice Marshall would probably be cast on his shoulders if the opportunity occurred. The author well remembers the warm compliments and predictions of honor that flowed upon Mr. Berrien from all quarters. And he will further add, that it was in the Princeton address he learned for the first time, from a man so gifted and successful, so com manding in genius and reputation, as Mr. Berrien, that glory was a delusion. The passage to which he refers the author committed to memory at the time, and he will venture to repeat it for its sound philosophy. Addressing himself to the graduating class, Mr. Ber rien said:-- My young brothers ! The world on which you are entering in all the ardor of hope, in all the purity of uncorrupted feeling, is arrayed in charms which it borrows from fancy, and which will vanish at your approach. The pleasure with which it allures the unwary is brief and evanescent as the dream of the morning. Its floats gaily on the advan cing tide, but vanishes with the flood. You will be too surely called to exert the courage which can encounter danger with calmness, and the fortitude which endures and triumphs over calamity; but, on this side the grave, the beautiful vision which now dazzles your inexperienced eye will forever elude your grasp. Human life is but a step in the infinite series of existence,--a point at which a man pauses to look around him before he launches on eternity's ocean. In 1830, a volume of " Sketches of Public Characters" appeared from the New York press, in which (p. 58) Mr. Berrien is thus introduced:-- 52 BENCH AND BAR 01 GEORGIA. The present Attorney-General, John Macpherson Berrien, is from (Georgia, but I understand that he is a native of Philadelphia. He is a most eloquent speaker. In the Senate lie was a model for chaste, free, beautiful elocution. He seemed to be the only man that Webster softened his voice to, when he turned from his seat to address him. There is not the slightest dash in his manner: it is as grave as it is pleasant. His views are clear, and he meets the subject manfully. In his arguments tbere is no demagogical praises of his constituents, no tirade of abuse against his opponents or of the section of country from whence they came. He is said to have been a good judge on the bench and an excellent lawyer at the bar, and surely he was a host for his party in the Senate. He is now an Attorney-General, and a Cabinet councillor as well as counsel for the Cabinet. The public of all parties have great confidence in him, and he stands fair for higher promotion. It is so seldom that we hear in Congress a classical style of speaking that a man who has any regard for the advancement of taste admires such a speaker. He is said to be a lover of literature, and it is to be hoped that in his high office he will advise the President to recommend its protection and encouragement. The President and heads of departments can do much for literature and science if they feel disposed to do it. A few months after his return from Washington City, on leaving the Cabinet, Mr. Berrien was an invited guest at a public dinner given at Milledgeville, in November, 1831, as a testimony of respect to Grov. Gilmer, who had failed in his re-election to the Executive. Among the sentiments offered was the following:-- John Macpherson Berrien:--We hail with pleasure his return to Georgia. His services in Congress, in tbe Cabinet of the United States, and in the Free Trade Convention, are viewed with grateful feelings by his fellow-citizens of this State. In responding, he entertained the large company in a speech nearly half an hour, in his best style, both as to composition and delivery. He did ample justice to the policy of President Jackson, saying that of foreign powers he demanded nothing more than justice, and would accept nothing less. He eulogized the Presi dent as the friend of Georgia, firm in his course for the removal of the Indians; - but when the Chief-Magistrate of the Republic sought to prescribe rules and to select associates for the families of his Cabinet, he scorned the dictation. The author never heard Mr. Berrien speak until that dinner. There was a magic in the tones of his voice which, never before captivated his ear. He heard him on several occasions afterwards with equal delight,-- once in the Circuit Court of the United States, before Judges Johnson and Cuyler, in 1833, in a large ejectment cause.* * Winn . Patterson, 9 Peters's Reports, 663. JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 53 The fame of Mr. Berrien as a profound jurist and brilliant advocate (two characters rarely united) secured him about as much professional employment as he desired, at home, as well as in the adjoining States, and in the Supreme Court at Washington. He was very laborious, and never appeared in a cause without full preparation. He has been known to pass the whole night in searching up authorities and arranging for the trial of the next day. In criminal cases he seldom failed of an acquittal, however complicated the facts. His arguments were conclusive. He stood by unanimous consent at the head of his profession in Georgia, if not in the entire South. Finding it necessary to move on the subject, the Legislature of Georgia, in 1838, passed the following resolution:-- Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby, requested to appoint forthwith three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to take the whole subject of State Finance in hand, arrange, digest, and report, at the earliest possible day of the next session of the Legisla ture, a system of finance for the State, which, calling into action all her resources, shall afford ample .and sufficient means to sustain, as in the present age they should be sustained, the great interests of Public Educa tion and Internal Improvement. Gov. Gilmer accordingly appointed Judge Berrien, Hon. W. W. Holt, and Hon. A. H. Chappell, to execute the resolution. The report of -sixty-four printed pages, made at the next session, is very elaborate and comprehensive. It is a document evincing great sagacity in the details, from which a few passages are selected. The introductory part is known to be from the pen of Mr. Berrien: it bears the evidence. He of course assisted in other portions. In unfolding the duty and resources of the State, the report says:-- A State possessing an extent of territory which stretches from the seaboard to the mountains, wide-spreading on every side; whose easy and gentle ascent is free from those irregularities of surface which elsewhere obstruct the progress of interior communications; watered by noble rivers which are never sealed by the frosts of winter, and whose estuaries form safe and commodious harbors; possessing, too, a variety of soil and climate which admirably fit ib for the production of all that is useful to man;--such a State, the cherished abode of a free, enlightened, and enterprising people, is called to the consideration of the high duties which, in the providence of God, are devolved upon her. She is called to this consideration, moreover, at an epoch in the world's history which has no parallel in the annals of time; when science, direct ing all its energies to purposes of practical utility, has advanced with unexampled rapidity in all those arts which minister to the substantial enjoyment of man; when the other nations of the world, and the other 54 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. States of this Confederacy, are eagerly pressing forward to grasp the bril liant prize which is presented to their view; when, amid the universal and cheering cry of "Onwards 3 Onwards!" among nations urging on the cause of internal improvement, to the laggard in the race, momentarily excited by the prospect, but too inert to engage in the struggle, is denied the full enjoyment even of that which has hitherto sufficed to satisfy his desires,--thus illustrating the emphatic denunciation of Holy Writ:-- " From him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him." And why should Georgia hesitate to nerve herself for the struggle ? Why should she linger in the race ? The voice which issued from the legislative halls, at the close of its last sittings, has been cheered by the responsive acclamations of her people. Rising in the strength of their intellect and in the fervor of their patriotism, contemplating with grate ful enthusiasm the multiplied resources which the bounty of Providence has bestowed upon them, and animated by the still more growing pros pects which a near futurity opens to their view, they, too, have joined in the universal acclaim of the nations, and bid you "(rod-speed" in the discharge of your high duties. Why, then, should Georgia hesitate to nerve herself for the struggle ? Why should she linge^f in the race ? It is not because her chosen Repre sentatives are careless of the high interests which a free and confiding people have intrusted to their patriotism, to their wisdom, to their ceaseless vigilance. Is it because the prize is valueless? To sustain, as in the present age they ought to be sustained, the great interests of Public Education and Internal Improvement, is the object of your labors. Of Public Education ! The improvement of the mind; the cultivation of science and the arts; the diffusion of knowledge; the universal instruction of a whole people. Of Internal Improvement! Improving our navigable rivers; connect ing them by canals; traversing the State with railroads; uniting them to the termini of similar communications in the adjacent States of Tennessee and Alabama; furnishing means for the cheap and rapid transportation of our produce to market; carrying home to every man's door the supplies of the great Southwest, and those of foreign nations from our Atlantic border; bringing the mountains and the seaboard in such close proximity that the waves of the ocean may, almost without a figure, be said to wash their base; and, finally, scaling those mountain-heights, and along the line of similar improvements in other States, establishing our communica tions with the great river of the West; thus making friends of those who were strangers to each other, and brethren of those who had looked upon each other with distrust. No ! with such objects in view, it cannot be that the prize is deemed valueless. It is, indeed, of inestimable value. Is it attainable ? Does Georgia possess the means to accomplish so great an enterprise ? Are her resources adequate to the expenditure which it will necessarily involve ? This is, in truth, the only inquiry. The duty of answering it, according to the best information they can command, has devolved upon the undersigned. Fully sensible of the magnitude of the subject, and of their inability to meet the expectations of your honorable body, they, nevertheless, invite your attention to this interesting inquiry. Our attention is first to be directed to an examination of the actual JOHN MACPHBESON BEKRIES* .55 resources of the State. These may be said to consist, or rather (in part) to have consisted,-- 1. Of the Public Lands. 2. Of Taxes. 3. Of the Funds of the State in the Central Bank. Thus far the language of the report is copied, as showing the earnest and hopeful visions of Judge Berrien twenty years ago, which he lived to see realized in a considerable measure. Further items in the report will be condensed. The quantity of land in Georgia was shown by two methods,-- from surveys of record, and from the tax-digests in the Comptrol ler's office. The comparatively small difference between the two shows the accuracy with which tax-returns are made by the receivers in the several counties:-- Reported by Surveyor-General........... acres 35,515,526 Reported by Comptroller .........taxed " 35,866,336 Excess of taxation...............350,810 But it appears from another return of the Surveyor-General that the State has granted more than either of these amounts of land; consequently the income from grants has entirely ceased. The tax system is next examined, and sundry objections to it urged. Estimating the land at $3 per acre, and slaves at $400 each, the value of $200,000,000 of property is connected with agriculture in Georgia, which paid a tax of only $53,450 ; while the capital employed in commerce at the same time was but $18,304,148, upon which was assessed $28,600. The classification of certain lands is noticed as onerous. The same tax paid on all slaves under sixty years,--mechanics worth from $2000 to $3000 paying no more than a common field-hand, and no more than the merchant paid on each $100 of his stock in trade. This inequality is condemned in the report. After the Central Bank was esta blished, and its profits supposed to be sufficient to support the State Government, the general tax was relinquished in 1835. For 1834 the tax-account stood thus:-- Amount of tax returned as due.......................$56,024 36 Amount of tax paid into the Treasury............... 39,192 18 Lost in commissions, insolvents, and defaulters $16,832 18 The statistics of the Central Bank are given at considerable length in the report, showing that when the bank was first organ ized, January 29,1829, it had specie and cash funds to the amount of $513,101 77; and on the 2d of November, 1829, out of 56 BENCH AND BAB OF GEORGIA. $355,597 90 due the State in bonds and notes at the time the bank went into operation, the sum of $117,340 92 had been con verted into accommodation-paper running in the bank,--making in all a fund for discounting equal to $630,340 69. For the ten years from 1829 to 1838 inclusive, a table is submitted in the report, exhibiting the discounts and profits for each year, all summed up as follows:-- The aforegoing statement shows that for the ten years which it em braces, the sum total of the discounts of the hank was $11,975,985 73, and that the sum total of the profits for that time was $565,134 21. To determine the rate of profit which these results show to have heen made on the capital employed by the bank, it must be borne in mind that the discounts are based on capital only, and represent nothing but capital; and that consequently, whatever amount of discounted paper appears at any time to have been held by the bank, it is certain that an equal amount of capital had come to the hands of the bank and was used in those discounts. Then, inasmuch as all the discounts for ten years amounted to $11,9.75,985 73, which makes an average for each year of $1,197,598 57, it follows that the average amount of the State's moneyed capital which the bank each year employed in discounts was also the sum of $1,197,598 57. And the average profit thereon for each year was $56,513 42, which is equal to an interest of 4 7-10ths per cent, per annum. Whether this be a good or a bad business for the State, in a mere finan cial view of the matter, depends on the question whether the State might not, with as much ease and as little peril, have realized a better profit in some other known mode of employing the public money. And here the aforesaid results of her investments in the stocks of certain of our jointstock banking companies are at hand, and furnish a decisive answer. For it has already been shown that on her capital of $1,005,000 vested in those banks she has realized, in the ten years just above mentioned, a clear profit of $745,860 92, which gives an average for each year of $74,586 09, and is equal to an interest of 7 4-10ths per cent, per annum on the whole capital thus invested. If the capital employed by the Central Bank during these same ten years had yielded an equal rate of profit, to wit, an interest of 7 4-10 ths per cent, instead of an interest of 4 7--lOths per cent., then the sum total of its profits for that time would have been $886,222 50, instead of $565,134 21, whereby the State would have heen gainer to the-amount of $321,088 29; which sum must consequently be set down as so much loss in ten years, chargeable to the policy of having discarded the old and well-tried system of investing in ordinary hank-stocks for the new and questionable experiment of the Central Bank. The report discusses the policy of loans for other than commer cial purposes, the bearing of certain fiscal measures, the credit system, exchanges, the abuse of accommodation-paper, and the various channels through which the public prosperity is affected by the circulation of money on proper equivalents. The views set forth in the report are worthy to rank high in the best system of JOHN MACPHBKSON BERBIE5T. 57 political economy. The analysis of the financial resources and obligations of Georgia is a masterly labor. The want of space alone forbids more copious extracts. Those introduced will show the character of the whole,--deep, sifting, and logical. Perhaps no commission of the kind ever acquitted itself with more credit. - The subject of Education--the aid of the State in time past, and what ought to be done to secure intelligence among the masses-- is pressed with a truly bold and discriminating statesmanship. The estimates of every kind on which to base a judicious system of taxation to support internal improvement, to establish public schools, and to work out a proud destiny for Georgia through her legislation, are furnished in the report. In many strong passages the pen of Col. Chappell is distinctly recognised. The same may be said in reference to Judge Holt, who prepared many tables and calculations, with the necessary comments, all showing the vigor and grasp of his mind. The report is indeed a valuable document, which the author presumes is out of print, except a few copies accidentally preserved. Merely for reference, a further extract is given :-- The ordinary expenses of the Government for the last year, and the average of those expenses since the year 1828, as these appear in the report of the Treasurer, have been taken as the data from whence to cal culate their probable annual amount in future. They have been'considered as embraced under the following heads:-- Civil Establishment, Printing, Contingent Fund, Military Disbursements, Redemption of Public Debt, Penitentiary, and Presidents' and Speakers' warrants. These expenses for the year 1838 were as follows :-- For Civil Establishment.................................$38,928 61 Printing............................................... 19,82485 Contingent Fund .................................... 15,867 16 Military Disbursements.........................*.... 4,895 30 Redemption of Public Debt........................ 3,372 81 Penitentiary........................................... 15,00000 Presidents' and Speakers' Warrants.............. 88,90680 Ordinary expenses-for 1838.... .......$186,795 53 The average of the same expenses since 1828 is as follows :-- For Civil Establishment.................................$38,869 47 Printing............................................... 14,35579 Contingent Fund...................../............... 18,058 31 Military Disbursements............................. 3,077 63 Redemption of Public Debt........................ 787 55 Penitentiary.......................................... 7,386 00 Presidents' and Speakers' Warrants.............. 67,751 58 Average for ten years..................$148,286 33 58 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. On the basis furnished by these two exhibits, and assuming that the Legislature will make such reductions as are in its power, we have con sidered that the ordinary annual expenses of the Government may be esti mated at $150,000. In about sixteen years from the date of the Commissioners' report, the expenses of the Government were thus estimated by John B. Trippe, Esq., State Treasurer, in his report to the Legis lature of October 20, 1855:-- Estimated Expenses for 1856. Payment of Legislature and officers.............$150,000 00 Civil Establishment................................ 52,000 00 Contingent Fund ................................... 15,000 00 Deaf andDumb..................................... 8,00000 Academy for Blind................................ 2,50000 Provisions for Penitentiary ....................... 2,50000 Military Fund....................................... 1,000 00 Military Storekeeper......................... ...... 450 00 Military Institute................................... 2,000 00 Lunatic Asylum.................................... 20,000 00 Penitentiary Inspector............................. 50000 Chaplain Penitentiary ............................. 150 00 Printing Fund.............................-'......... 18,000 00 Interest on Public Debt........................... 160,00000 Reduction Public Debt............................ 30,000 00 Miscellaneous Appropriations .................... 10,000 00 Total expenses for 1856.........#472,100 00 The expenses for 1857 are estimated by the Treasurer at $284,100 00, there being no session of the Legislature to provide for this year, and the Printing Fund being about $10,000 less on that account. Since 1838, several items have been added to the ordinary expenses of the Government, among which may be men tioned provision for the Deaf and Dumb, Lunatic Asylum, the Blind, Military Institute, &c. The estimated expenses for 1856 and 185T amount to $756,200 00, in which the following objects are included, not to be found on the list in 1838:-- ESTIMATES. 1856. 1857. Deaf andDumb............. $8,00000...... $8,00000 Academy for Blind......... 2,50000...... 2,50000 Military Institute........... 2,000 00...... 2,000 00 Lunatic Asylum............. 20,00000...... 20,00000 Interest on Public Debt.... 160,00000...... 160,00000 Reduction Public Debt..... 30,000 00...... 16,000 00 New charges on Treasury $222,500 00 $208,500 00 JOHN MACPHEESON BERKIBN. 59 Deduct these two sums, $431,000 from $756,200, and there will remain $325,200 as the expenses of the Government for two years, equal to $162,600 per annum, very little more than the commis sioners stated in 1839 to be necessary. This excess of $12,600 may be accounted for by the Supreme Court and several judicial circuits which have been formed since, increasing the ordinary expenses of the Government. It is at least a remarkable coinci dence that the average is so nearly the same. ' The estimated receipts into the Treasury for 1856 are thus stated by Mr. Trippe:-- General Tax for 1856 ...........................$400,000 00 Special Tax on Bank Stock.................... 23,000 00 " " Railroads....................... 6,50000 " " Agencies of Foreign Banks 300 00 Miscellaneous Resources........................ , 1,50000 Total estimate for 1856.........$431,300 00 These tables have been drawn into the memoir of Judge Berrien merely to bear out the calculations of the Financial Committee of which he was chairman in 1839. And here the author takes occasion to go back a few years in the narrative, so as to notice the part which Judge Berrien acted in the Anti-Tariff Convention at Milledgeville, in November, 1832. A list of the delegates and a sketch of the proceedings of that body are given elsewhere in this volume.* It may be truly said that it was a collection of talented men,--such as Forsyth, Gilmer, W. Gumming, J. P. King, Torrance, S. Rockwell, Clayton, Dawson, T. Haynes, T. Spalding, W. H. Underwood, H. Warner, H. Holt, S.W. Flournoy, J.C. Alford, A.Cuthbert, R.L. Gamble, J.G.Park, D. A. Reese, T. W. Harris, R. A. Beall, Wiley Williams, and the "Old Constitution," Gen. David Blackshear, and others more or less known to the public. Mr. Berrien appeared as a delegate from Monroe county. His was the second name on the Committee of Twenty-one, General Blackshear being the chairman. On the second day, Mr. Forsyth offered a preliminary resolution on which sprung up unexpectedly a long and brilliant discussion. Mr. Berrien came prepared to examine the Tariff, and the power of the Federal Government to discriminate for protection, and on that question he was a match for any man. But Mr. Forsyth led off in another direction, * Memoir of R. A. BeaU. 60 BENCH AND BAR OF GEOEGIA. requiring the delegates to show their authority, in rigid form, to speak in the name of the people, and, if they refused, he would not participate in their deliberations. On the fourth day a vote -was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Berrien, which was in effect the rejection of Mr. Forsyth's resolution,--Yeas, 63; Nays, 56. When the result was announced by the presiding officer, Mr. Forsyth arose and made a few remarks explanatory of his course; then placed on the clerk's table a paper signed by himself and about fifty other delegates who retired with him from the hall, protesting against the action of the majority. To give the particu lars of this scene and of the debates of the Convention would be only to repeat what may be seen under another head. The remaining delegates proceeded with their business as though nothing had happened. But the star of the Convention, on which all eyes turned with rapture, had disappeared in Mr. Forsyth. The greater part of those who heard him on that occasion, inclu ding delegates and the large throng of spectators, declared that they had never listened to genuine eloquence before. He soared above all competition. Fresh from the Senate of the United States, he wore his laurels, gathered in that arena by contests with Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, with the air of a victor. He was, indeed, perfection as an orator. In skirmishing, he was-admitted to have no rival in the Union, if in the world. Afterwards, his ability was tested and his fame greatly increased by his leadership in the defence of President Jackson when he was assailed in the Senate for the removal of the public deposits from the United States Bank in 1833. Yet the void in the Convention soon closed up, and the measures for which it assembled were discussed freely, the speakers often differing in their views, though in the main harmonious. At the request of the chairman, the Report of the Committee of Twenty-one was prepared by Mr. Berrien, who read it to the Con vention. The author was in the gallery at the time, and well remembers the delight it afforded to all present, as much by the manner of the reading as the merits of the paper itself. For the purposes of history, and as containing the constitu tional argument, several of the resolutions are here inserted from the report:-- 7. That the act laying duties on imports, passed in July, 1832, as well as the several acts of which that act is emendatory, in so far as it tran scends the purposes of revenue, and is intended to operate, and does JOHN MACPHEKSON BEKKIEN. 61 operate, substantively for the protection of manufactures, is an exercise of powers not granted by the Constitution, but a plain and palpable viola tion of the true intent, meaning, and spirit thereof; that the said acts cannot be justified under the power of regulating commerce with foreign nations, since to REGULATE is not to DESTROY; and the principle of a substantive protection to domestic manufactures assumes, and in some instances exerts, the power of imposing a duty which effectually prohibits the importation of foreign fabrics of like kind with those which are thus protected, and to this extent destroys foreign commerce instead of regu lating it. That they cannot be supported under the power to levy and collect duties, since this power was given solely for the purpose of en abling the Government to raise a revenue which should be adequate to its wants; and the amount of revenue which is raised by these protective duties very far exceeds the legitimate wants of the Government; and that the attempt to vindicate the exercise of a power to impose a burden on the labor and industry of one portion of the people of the United States for the benefit of another portion of the same people, under the power to pro vide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States, is even more alarming than the direct'results of the system itself, because that is to ascribe to Congress the power to do whatever in their judgment may conduce to the common defence and general welfare, and thus to invest the National Legislature with unlimited (because merely discretion ary) power over the rights and liberties of the people of Georgia. 8. That the people of Georgia are sincerely attached to the Federal Constitution, and to the Union of the States which it creates and guaran tees ; that they consider it as a precious inheritance received from their fathers which it is the duty of patriotism to maintain and defend, and esti mate it above all price, save that of liberty; that they are ready to peril their fortunes and their lives in its defence, and would deeply deplore its dissolution, as an event alike inauspicious to themselves and to the cause of civil liberty throughout the world. That, actuated by these feelings, and even amid the difficulties which beset them, not despairing of the Repub lic, they will still persevere in the use of every proper and efficient means for the peaceful adjustment of this unhappy controversy which may be within their power as one of the sovereign members of this Confederacy, or which may result from consultation and conference with their sister States having a common interest with them in this matter. That, taking the payment of the national debt as the period after which the present tariff of duties, so far as it transcends the purposes of revenue and is designed for the protection of domestic manufactures, can find no plausible pretext in our constitutional charter, they are willing to wait until Congress shall have full time deliberately to determine whether they will reduce and equalize the duties on foreign imports, so as to bring the income of the Government within the limits of revenue, and to collect the contributions of our citizens on the principles of just taxation. That, having regard to the interests of those whose capital has been invested in manufactures during the progress of that course of legislation of which they complain, they are willing that the reduction and equalization of duties which they ask should be prospective and gradual, and, fearfully admonished as they have been by experience of the fallacy of their past hopes for relief from the evils under which they suffer, they will still look to the justice and patriotism of their brethren of the manufacturing States. 9. That the people of Georgia cannot submit to the permanent protec- 62 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. tion of domestic manufactures by duties imposed for that purpose on the importation of foreign manufactures, and especially on such as are among the necessaries of life; that they cannot submit to the adoption of the principle on which such duties are imposed, as a permanent principle of Federal policy, but will feel bound to resist the same by the exercise of all their rights as one of the sovereign members of this Confederacy, and by consultation and concert with their sister States having like interest with themselves, and disposed to unite with them in resistance to this principle. 10. That it be respectfully recommended to the several Southern States having a common interest with us in the removal of the grievances under which we labor from the protective system, to assemble in Conven tion by delegates from the respective States, corresponding to the number of their Senators and Representatives in Congress, to confer together on the subject of their grievances, and to recommend to the people of their respective States such measures as may best conduce to the removal of the same; and that the time and place of such meeting be determined by correspondence between the delegates elected to said Convention. This report was adopted by a vote of 64 yeas, 6 nays. The latter were Messrs. Clifton, Flouraoy, Guerry, Holt, Lewis, of Burke, and Peabody. On motion of Mr. Berrien, it was Resolved, That a committee be appointed, to consist of five persons, whose duty it shall be to prepare an address to the people of Georgia, illustrating the objects and proceedings of this Convention, which shall be attached to the journal of the said proceedings. Whereupon the presi dent appointed Messrs. Berrien, Clayton, Gordon, of Putnam, Beall, of Bibb, and Torrance, that committee. The address came forth under the signatures of the Committee, dated November 21,1832, from which an extract is given, pointing out the inequality of the protective system:-- By the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1832, a principle of taxation is affirmed which imposes burdens on articles of necessary consumption, while those of luxury, and those materials used in manufacturing, such as dye-stuffs, &c., are, with a few unimportant exceptions, declared to be free of duty. The effect of this unwarrantable discrimination is to exempt UNPROTECTED articles entirely from taxation, and to throw all the burden upon the PROTECTED articles, such as iron, salt, sugar, woollen and cotton fabrics, &c. These ave articles of necessary consumption at the South, the duties upon which in many instances amount to an entire prohibition. The spirit which characterized the majority in Congress in the adoption of this odious act cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than in the rejection by the majority in the Senate of all propositions tending to the reduction of the duties to the wants of the Government, or limiting those imposed to a certain definite amount. A distinguished Senator from the South, during the discussion of the act of 1832 in the Senate, submitted to that body four distinct propositions. The first was an amendment to Mr. Clay's resolution, by which amendment it was proposed "to bring down the duties gradually to the revenue standard, adjusting them on the protected JOHN MACPHERSON BERBIEU. 63 and unprotected articles, on principles of perfect equality." This propo sition, fair and honorable in its terms, in every respect reasonable in its operation, was treated by the majority "as a scheme to destroy the manu facturers, and as pledging Congress to an ultimate abandonment of the protecting system, which it was declared had become the settled policy of the country." Immediate reduction was termed "sudden destruction to the manufacturers;" gradual reduction was called "slow poison." The proposition was rejected. To the clause in the bill imposing a duty of 16 cents a yard upon flannels, the same distinguished Senator proposed to add a proviso "that the duty should in no case exceed FIFTY PER CENT." The duty of 16 cents a yard on coarse flannels used by the poor would be equal to 160 per cent., while on the finest of that article it would amount to only 32 per cent. Yet this proviso was rejected. The reason alleged for this rejection was thaijiO per cent, would not be an adequate protection to the domestic manufacturer of flannels. Another proposition was made:--" to strike out the minimums on cottons." This also was rejected; and this "fraudulent device" was retained in the acts by which an article costing 5 cents is to be deemed to have cost 30 cents, and to pay a duty as having actually cost 30 cents. This was done, too, in the face of a distinct admis sion of the friends of the manufacturers of coarse cottons that they did not at present require protection. But the majority, in the plenitude of their power, thought it would be wise to "keep the fences up by which foreign competition would be excluded." The fourth and last proposition made by the Southern Senator was that a clause should be added to the end of the act, declaring "THAT THE DUTIES IMPOSED BY IT SHOULD IN NO CASE EXCEED ONE HUNDRED PER CENT.;" yet this proposition shared, the same fate of all the previous ones : IT WAS REJECTED. Yes, a majority in the Senate, secure of their power, calculating on the deceptive features of the act, and relying upon a want of unanimity among the Southern people, for the final triumph of the protective system, rejected a proviso which would have limited the maximum of duties to 100 per cent. People of Georgia ! the rejection of these propositions speaks a language not to be mistaken, the direct tendency of which is to enslave you,--to render you tributary to the North. Thia conduct of the majority evinces but too clearly a determination to maintain the protective principle invio late, regardless of the cost and reckless of the consequences. It will be seen from the spirit of the Convention that the very scale of reduction established by the compromise in a few months afterwards was suggested by the Committee, if not in express terms, at least in principle. The South Carolina Ordi nance of Nullification was passed on the 24th day of November, 1832, among the signers of -which was Chancellor Harper, who, with his Union colleague, Hon. David Johnson, but a few days before occupied a seat by special invitation in the Convention at Milledgeville. These scraps of the day are collected here as part of an exciting movement in which were enlisted the great minds of the age. The Legislature of Georgia, in 1840, elected Judge Berrien a 64 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. Senator in Congress for a term of six years from 4th March, 1841, at which time he took his seat, to advise on the nominations by President Harrison of his Cabinet and other officers of the Govern ment. He took an active part in the leading measures of the extra session of Congress of that year, supporting the policy of the Whigs with that high order of abilities which had been so long accorded to him by the public voice. It is not intended here to follow up his votes, or even to refer to all the discussions in which he participated. He was uniformly heard with pleasure, and his opinions commanded the respect of all parties. After the passage of the bankrupt law, there was a very strong feeling of dissatisfaction evinced by the public, and a bill was introduced for its repeal. On the 26th of January, 1842, Mr. Berrien made a speech of great power, maintaining the constitutionality and expediency of the law. He analyzed the relations of debtor and creditor, and the bankrupt systems of other countries, showing them to be necessary to the interests of commerce, as well as just to individuals. In com paring the bankrupt feature with State insolvent regulations, he thus expressed himself:-- Look now at the condition of the bankrupt and insolvent, when the respective processes against them are closed, and say which is likely to" prove the better and more upright citizen. The bankrupt has surrendered his all: he is poor,--nay, destitute, penniless; but he is free. Ay, there is the charm. He is really, truly free. It is not merely the poor privi lege of locomotion which is accorded to him. His hands are unshackled. The energies of his mind are unfettered. He is free to exert them for the benefit of those whom nature and affection have endeared to him. His recovered freedom is his stimulus. The lesson of experience, which adversity has taught him, is his safeguard. The almost utter impractica bility of receiving a second time the boon which has been once accorded to him is his voice of warning. Thus stimulated, thus guarded, thus warned, he enters upon his new career. If in this world of trial, which we have divested of its original beauty and loveliness, any man may be delivered from temptation, or enabled to resist it, by merely human means, this man is secure. The path of duty, of uprightness, of honesty, which it is the best interest of all to pursue, is that from which he is without any conceivable motive to wander. And the insolvent^ Mr. President,--what is his condition ? He too has surrendered his all,--at least, all which he dare openly claim: and for what ? To purchase exemption from imprisonment, or the privilege of departing beyond prison-bounds. He breathes the free air of heaven, but not as a free man. He is still the "doomed slave" of his creditor. The fruits of' his labor belong to that creditor, and can only be withheld from him by fraud. The necessities of a helpless family appeal to him. The eagle eye of his creditor is upon him. He looks upon that creditor as his enemy. If he be merciless, he is indeed his enemy,--the enemy of those who are dearer to him than life, whom he is bound to protect even at the sacrifice of life itself. What then? As an enemy, he fences himself JOHN MACPHERSOX BERRIEN. 65 against that creditor. He resorts to fraudulent conveyances, to secret trusts, to a regular system of habitual deception, and his children, into whose young minds it would have been, under more propitious circum stances, bis grateful task to have instilled the lessons of virtue, are trained up under the blighting influence of that system of concealment to which they are indebted for the comforts and conveniences of life. Such is the actual condition of multitudes, under the operation of the State insolvent law. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to whom were referred the Senate and House hills to repeal the bankrupt law, and nume rous petitions, and sundry legislative resolutions, and other papers, relating to the subject Mr. Berrien made a report to the Senate, February 3, 1843, embodying the opinions and statements of Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the District Courts of the United States, and other officers of those courts, touching the practical operation of the bankrupt law, its benefits and evils. The report* consists of about thirty pages, from which the following is an extract:-- The bankrupt law has now presented its worst aspect. It has passed the fiery ordeal of public opinion, exhibiting all its faults in the emptiness of the inventions which have been returned to the scrutinizing gaze of the public. Hitherto its operation has been chiefly at the expense of the creditor, if indeed the securities which he held were not already valueless at the date of the act. Let us not forget that this is owing to our own long-continued neglect to fulfil our constitutional duty by the establish ment of a uniform system of bankruptcy. If suffered to remain on the statute-book, a new era will commence. The mass of insolvencies which had been accumulating for years, affording, under the operation of the bankrupt law, little or no return of assets for distribution, has now been disposed of, either by the direct operations of the law or by compromises which it has induced. Hereafter it will afford to the creditor the means of preventing the recurrence of this state of things, will enable him to stay the downward progress of his failing debtor before the desperate plunges to which a man in such circumstances is too strongly tempted shall have involved him in hopeless ruin, and will insure to the creditor a fund for distribution far greater than can be obtained under the opera tion of State insolvent laws. The fact will be manifested by considering the different results which are produced by the bankrupt Jaw in England, and by the insolvent systems of the different States which have prevailed among us. With these facts in view, the committee believe it to be their duty to recommend to the Senate the adoption of a bankrupt law, adapted to the , commercial exigencies of the community, and calculated to form a part of the permanent jurisprudence of the country. The salutary influence of such a law will be manifested,-- 1st. By the prevention of undue credit, since, under its operation, the debtor may be forced into bankruptcy, by which he must surrender * See Senate Doc. No. 121, 27th Congress. 3d Session. VOL. I.--5 66 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. all that he possesses, and even then be dependent on the assent of a majority of his creditors for the allowance of his discharge, with the pre monition that such discharge will ever after preclude him from receiving similar relief, unless, in the event of his insolvency, his estate is able to pay seventy-five per cent. 2d. By preventing partial assignments, by which a few preferred creditors, often selected from among those who mainly contributed to enable the failing debtor to hold out a false credit to the community, are allowed to appropriate his estate exclusively to themselves. 3d. By substituting one uniform rule--the great and equitable rule that equality is equity--to the conflict bankrupt and insolvent laws of the several States, and thus insuring a fair and equal dividend of the estate of a failing debtor among all his creditors. 4th. By arming the creditor with a power to force a failing debtor to go into liquidation before his assets are wasted by the desperate specula tions to which men in such circumstances are generally tempted. The report shows the number and classification of petitioners to Congress relative to the bankrupt law. At the session in 1842 the number is thus stated:-- Asking for a repeal of the bankrupt act........... 2,133 Against repeal.. ........................................ 42,169 Asking for a modification............................. 1,206 For a modification or repeal.......................... 4,343 For a postponement.................................... 447 Resolutions passed the Legislatures of the States of Connecti cut, Maine, and Mississippi, for a repeal. During the session in 1843 the account stood thus:-- For immediate repeal..., ................................ 3,107 Opposed to the repeal.............. ..................... 6,495 The States of Vermont and Ohio passed resolutions in favor of the repeal. It is only an act of justice to both the distinguished orators to remark here that, immediately after Mr. Berrien had finished his speech in support of the bankrupt law, Mr. Clay advanced to him in the Senate and shook him cordially by the hand, thanking him for his eloquent and touching appeal in behalf of a large class of unfortunate yet worthy fellow-citizens, who had fallen by the casualties of trade. It was a noble tribute from a noble source, and should endear the memories of Clay and Berrien to all who revere public benefactors. For his course on the bankrupt bill, and for his support of the nomination of Mr. Everett as Minister to England, of a national bank, the Land Distribution bill, and other Whig measures of the extra session of Congress in 1841, Mr. Berrien incurred the dis approbation of the Legislature of Georgia, which body, at the JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIES'. 67 session of 1841, passed resolutions of censure. The majority happened to be Democrats, who took that occasion to embarrass him and to pror ^n Catholic ought to tolerate men of the Roman Catholic persuasion. I prove this by a plain argument, (let him answer it that can:) that no Roman Catholic does or can give security for his allegiance or peaceable behavior. I prove it thus:--It is a Roman Catholic maxim, established not by private men, but by public council, that " no faith is to be kept with heretics." That has been openly avowed by the Council of Constance, but it has never been openly disclaimed. Whether private persons avow or disavow it, it is a fixed maxim of the Church of Rome. But, as long as it is so, nothing can be more plain than that the members of that Church can give no reasonable security to any Government for their alle giance and peaceable behavior. Therefore they ought not to be tolerated by any Government, Protestant, Mohammedan, or Pagan. You say, " Nay, but they take the oath of allegiance." True,--five hundred oaths: but the maxim "no faith is to be kept with heretics" sweeps them all away as a spider's web. So that still no Governments that are not Roman Catholic can have any security of their allegiance. Again: those who acknowledge the spiritual power of the Pope can give no security of their allegiance to any Government: but all Roman Catholics acknow ledge this; therefore they can give no security for their allegiance. The power of granting pardons for all sins past, present, and to come, is and has been for many centuries one branch of his spiritual power. But those who acknowledge him to have their spiritual power can give no security for their allegiance, since they believe the Pope can pardon rebellion, high-treason, and all other sins whatso ever. The power of dispensing with any promise, oath, or vow, is another branch .of the spiritual power of the Pope : all who acknowledge his spiritual power must acknowledge this. But whoever acknowledges the dispensing power of the Pope can give no security for his allegiance to any Government. Oaths and promises are none; they are as light as air:.a dispensation makes them null and void. Nay, not only the Pope, but even a priest, has power to pardon sins! This is an essential doctrine of the Church of Rome. But they that acknowledge this cannot possibly give any security for their allegiance to any Government. Oaths are no security at all, for the priest can pardon both perjury and high-treason. Setting their religion aside, it is plain that upon principles of reason no Government ought to tolerate men who cannot give any security to that Government for their allegiance and peaceable behavior. But this no Romanist can do, not only while he holds that " no faith is to be kept with heretics," but so long as he acknowledges either priestly absolution or the spiritual power of the Pope. If any one pleases to answer this, and set his name, I shall probably reply. But the productions of anonymous writers I do not promise to take any notice of. I am, sir, your humble servant, CITY ROAD, January 12, 1780. JOHN WESLEY. If The whole force of' the second provision is spent in the prohibition to Congress. It forbids Congress to " make any kw respecting an establish ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It does not forbid individuals to make such establishments. On the contrary, we have many of them. It relates to the legislation of Congress, not to the vote of the citizen; and the foreign zeal which would distort these pro visions of the Constitution so as to divest the citizen of the uncontrolled VOL. I.--7 98 BENCH AND EAR OP GBOEGIA. exercise of his elective franchise is, as it seems to me, alike alien from the Constitution and the plainest dictates of reason. The twelfth article of the Philadelphia Platform has been the subject of much commentary. I state, without discussing them, my own opinions on the subject of which it treats. I recognise the impracticability, from whatever cause, of reconciling the conflicting opinions which exist on the subject of slavery, and the danger of agitating that question in the National Legislature. I am content that the American party shall in good faith hold themselves bound to- abide by and maintain the existing laws on the subject, and . with their declaration that Congress has no power to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists, or to refuse the admission of any State because its Constitution does or does Dot recognise slavery as a part of its social system. I hold that the Territories of the United States are the property, not of Congress, but of the whole people of the United States, until such Territories become States. I do not believe that Congress has the power to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, apart from the contract with Maryland, or considerations of public faith ; but, as Congress has no Constitutional power to violate a solemn contract or to commit a breach of national faith, I think they are equally precluded by these con siderations. These are my opinions on the questions presented to me. I desire to add a brief remark on another subject. The several parties in this State have all planted themselves on the fourth resolution of the Georgia Convention of 1850, and the interpretation given to it by some persons is that, upon the happening of either of the contingencies specified in it, Georgia is to prepare for an immediate " dis ruption of the Union." I do not so understand it. I think it could not have been so understood by its framers. I am sure that this is not the fair import of its terms, and still more confident that such is not the feeling of the people of Georgia. In the specified contingencies, Georgia pledges herself to resist, " even, as a last resort," to the disruption of the Union. The term last is a relative term. It necessarily implies some preceding action,--some honest, wellmeant patriotic efforts to secure your rights, without the necessity of having recourse to this last fearful resort, the disruption of the Union. I implore my countrymen to give to this subject their earnest, anxious consideration,--not to be diverted from it by the declamation of political aspirants, the agitations of the canvass, or the excitement of the hustings, but calmly, quietly, in the retirement of their own homes, to consider what it is to which this controversy is tending, and, humbly supplicating that Almighty Being, under whose protecting providence our fathers laid the foundation of this great Kepublic, to imbue us with the same con ciliatory spirit by which they were animated, to seek under his benefi cent guidance the solution of the problem which shall reconcile Southern rights with the perpetuity of the Union. Respectfully, your fellow-citizen, JNO. MACPHEESON BEEEIEN. In December, 1855, the American party held a Convention at Milledgeville, of which Judge BBRMEN was unanimously chosen President. His remarks on taking the chair were brief, admitting that a sense of duty and a desire to aid in the good work for which JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 99 the Convention had assembled alone induced him, in infirm health, to take part in its deliberations, or to accept the chair which had been so kindly tendered him. This was his last public appearance. On his return to Savannah his illness continued to increase, to the great alarm of his family. The best medical skill which the city afforded (equal to any in the South) was invoked to relieve the sufferer. His disease (inflammation of the kidneys) yielded to no treatment; and, on the morning of January 1,1856, Judge Berrien breathed hia last, at the age of seventy-five years. His dying hours were those of peace with God and with all mankind. The intelligence of the death of Judge BERRIEN spread gloom in every quarter. The citizens of Savannah mourned as if each had lost a friend. Testimonials of respect were adopted by the City Councils, the City Bar, the Bar of the Supreme Court, and by the Georgia Historical Society,--of which he was President. The press, also, without regard to^ party distinctions, did justice to his exalted character and faithful public services. The domestic relations of Judge Berrien have not been hitherto mentioned in this memoir. On the 1st of December, 1803, he intermarried with Miss Eliza Anciaux, daughter of Major Nicholas Anciaux, an officer in the American army of the Revolution, who after the termination of the war had settled in Georgia. Nine children were the fruit of this marriage, of whom five survived him. In 1828, Mrs. Berrien died. He lived a widower five years, until July, 1833, when he married Miss Eliza* C. Hunter, daughter of Col. James Hunter, of Savannah. Six children were the issue of this second marriage, all of whom lived to mourn the loss of the best of fathers. The second Mrs. Berrien died in February, 1852. The fame of Judge Berrien has been handsomely acknowledged by the Legislature,--a majority of whose members in each branch was opposed to him politically. The fact is no less honorable to the living than it is to the memory of the dead. In the Fortieth Annual Report of the American Bible Society, in the city of New York, presented May 8, 1856, the following reference is made to Judge Berrien:-- Hon. John Macphersou Berrien was elected a Vice-President of this Society in 1844, and always manifested strong attachment to the Bible and great interest in its circulation. At different times, and while occu pying very high posts in the government of his country, he was often heard eloquently advocating the claims of the Bible, in behalf of which he was ever ready to raise his voice. By the death of Judge Berrien 100 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. the Society has been deprived of the services and support of a warm and devoted friend. It only remains to notice the personal qualities of the departed statesman as they appeared in his character. To what has al ready been said of him as a jurist profound in constitutional lore may be added that, in 1826, he opposed the recommendation of President Adams to send a minis'ter to the Congress of Nations at Panama,--Mr. Berrien contending that the power to appoint judges, ambassadors, &c. did not give the President power to create the office, as would be the case in the proposed mission. Such was the various knowledge he brought to bear on the subject from the law of nations and from the peculiar structure of our government, that his argument has been incorporated in a work* intended to expound the Federal Constitution. While referring to the greatest men in the Senate of the United States, whose opinions had most weight, the author was, several years ago, informed by a very gifted ex-Senatorf from Alabama that, on questions involving constitutional principles, Judge Berrien was decidedly the ablest debater in the Senate. One incident in the life of Judge Berrien deserves observation, though it pertained neither to law nor politics. In October, 1844, a Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States was held at Philadelphia, to which the Rev. FRANCIS L. HAWKS had been returned for consecration as Bishop-elect of the diocese of Mississippi. He had formerly been rector of St. Thomas's Church, Broadway, New York, and, in building up a large female seminary at Flushing, under the auspices of the Church, had entered into contracts which left him largely in arrear,--the school not succeeding to his calculations. The mas ter-builder to whom he was indebted preferred charges against him before the Convention, alleging bad faith, &c. Dr. Hawks gave a plain history of the case, and threw himself upon the judgment of the Convention. Mr. Berrien was a lay delegate to that body from the Church in Georgia, and took up the charges, article by article, and showed that nothing had been done by the bishop-elect that could impeach his integrity in a court of law, and that in the forum of conscience there was no stain of fraud or unfair ness resting upon him. It was truly a scene which admitted pathos in the orator. The bishops, the clergy, the lay members, and the 1 * See Elliott's Bebates, TO!, iv. p. 501. j- Hon. A. P. Bagby, U.S. Minister to Russia under the administration of Presi-JS dent Polk. JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 101 throng of spectators who listened to the soul-touching eloquence of the Georgia delegate, were dissolved in tears. He had a fit audience to respond to his noble impulses and Christian appeals. The gentleman whose conduct he was vindicating had been a dis tinguished member* of the North Carolina bar, and a pupil of the great Judge Gaston. He was a man of extraordinary abilities, eloquence, and learning, which were as manifest in the pulpit for the good of souls as they had been in the temporal courts for the interest of his clients. Under the circumstances, however, the Convention postponed his consecration as bishop, and referred the matter back to the diocese of Mississippi. Dr. Hawks soon after ward received a very advantageous offer in New Orleans, which he accepted, officiating for several years as rector of St. Paul's Church, Canal Street, and as President of the University of Loui siana. He has since returned to the city of New York, with a prestige which cannot he shaken, and is now at the head of the American clergy for sustained eloquence and accurate learning. Such is the character of the divine to whose support Mr. Berrien came at a period of sorest trial. Dr. Hawks has had the degree of Doctor of Laws conferred upon him, apd Mr. Berrien was also honored with the same degree at Princeton, in 1830. As an act of justice to Dr. Hawks, as well as to the author him self, it is deemed proper to quote from the Monitor of October 30, 1844, (a paper then edited by the author,) so much of an article as refers to Dr. Hawks and the action of the Convention on the charges against him : Oct. 14. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this House, the integrity of the llev. Dr. Hawks has been sufficiently proved by his reply to the charges brought against him in the memorials presented to this House. The first [above] resolution acquits the Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D.D., Bishop-elect of Mississippi, of the charge preferred against him by some creditor in New York, of a want of good faith in his pecuniary transac tions in building expensive edifices at Flushing for a high seminary of learning. Dr. Hawks became involved in hopeless bankruptcy through his exertions to establish the school, which proved a failure. It is said that never since the days of Sheridan was such an overwhelming effect produced on an audience as that of Dr. Hawks's speech before the Con vention. His vindication was touching and triumphant. We rejoice at it. He is a native of Newbern, North Carolina. Of the religious character of Judge Berrien nothing more need be said than that he was for many years, and at the time of his death, a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and * Author of Ha-wks's Reports. 102 BENCH AND BAK OF GBOKGIA. was the intimate friend of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Elliott, who was his spiritual adviser whenever pastoral functions were necessary in Savannah. His faith was calm, but fixed: there was nothing spasmodic in his religious enjoyments, nor did he ever fail to manifest by his example his reverence for the sanctuary. He trained up his children piously, and instructed them in the rudi ments of the service, its forms and principles, as taught by the Church. When death approached, he met the summons like a philosopher and a Christian, full of courage and hope, leaning on the merits of that gracious Redeemer whose mission to earth and atonement for sin he had long testified before men. There is one view remaining, and candor must prevail over par tiality. As to the social habits, the exterior of kindness, and the uniform decorum of his life, no objection can be alleged. These , were such as a gentleman of his sensibility and pride of character would never cease to cultivate. To this extent, Judge Berrien was faultless. But in the field of ambition, where preferment wap to be won, he demanded the service of his friends, and would admit no competition from that quarter. He was frank, even peremptory, in the assertion of his claims, and the least faltering was succeeded by coldness. From the time he first obtained office as Solicitor-General, in 1809, to his acceptance of the AttorneyGeneralship of the United States, twenty years afterward, his career had been one of triumph. Judge of the Superior Courts for a number of terms, State Senator, then Senator of the United States, and then a member of the Cabinet,--in all of which places he sustained himself with e"clat,--he was fully persuaded of his influence, and of the overshadowing foundation on which it rested, --his own merits. Tet he was not vain in the usual sense of the term. There was nothing in his manner that refused recognition 1 to an equal. A rigid use of his opportunities for advancement s| was rarely omitted, and never, perhaps, on a single occasion, were 1 they relaxed in behalf of a friend. There is sometimes a gene- ,1 rous sympathy for his fellow which draws a man back, that J another may go forward on his own worth to the post of honor. Such a principle, however, is too abstract to be introduced among the verities of life, and no one ought to be bound by it. Whoever || adheres to such & fallacy will seldom figure in public employments. If The moral to be conveyed by this allusion may be entangled here about,--hard to find; but the author is unable to assist the reader ;| in the search. It is in substance that Judge Berrien insisted upon ,1 JOBS' MACPHERSON BERBIEIT. 103 his rights when he might have acted otherwise. This is the most that can be said against him. In his deportment generally he was affable, yet somewhat re served. He seems to have moulded his address after the Chester field model,--elegant at all times, and never descending to a free and careless mood,--at least in mixed society, in which, only, it was the privilege of the author to see him. Judge Berrien was not a man of the people. He had none of the heartiness of Mr. Clay. He was too highly refined by his studies, and by the discipline of his genius to the ideal of perfec tion,--as men ought to be, not as they are,--to feel a very earnest concern in the rough-and-tumble relations and contests of men, from -which he stood as much aloof as possible, to seek happiness in a purer region,--his own thoughts. Not that he was destitute of sympathy or benevolence: his whole life negatived such an idea. But it was only when distress was made dramatic by in tensity, or by the train of sufferings associated with it,--loss of reputation, the griefs of old age, the tears of childhood, the agony of bereavement, or the perils of life,--that the fountains of his heart became unsealed, and the sacred tide rushed in subduing torrents, giving to his voice on such occasions more than human potency in the court-room, or in whatever forum he appeared. Judge Berrien was the most finished orator of his day, so far as the rules of art contributed to form an orator. His organs of speech were perfect. Every word and every syllable had its proper stress and intonation. There was no slurring or haste in his delivery. Smooth, grave, and musical, his voice satisfied the ear. Occasionally, it was like the church-organ in the depth and richness of its tones; then, with softest beauty, it would glide into the soul and take captive its emotions. Yet in all this opu lence of effect there was evidently a preparation of the severest kind. It is said that the great tragedian Cooper gave lessons to Mr. Berrien in early life. If so, there was no impropriety. The orators of Great Britain in the days of Garrick and Kemble were glad to have private interviews with these autocrats of the stage for improvement in elocution. And Napoleon the Great was in structed by Talma, the French tragedian, in the graces of attitude becoming the imperial dignity. But the task is done,--however imperfectly: this memoir must be closed. Georgia has furnished many distinguished sons, who have a proud national fame; but in letters, in eloquence, in states manship, in the high perfections of individual life, the name of 104 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. Berrien will ever shine among the brightest on her escutcheon. He was, indeed, a man whose equal, in many respects, the world has not produced since the days of Cicero. America has had her HENRY, one of nature's thunderbolts, her CLAY, of grand and surpassing gifts, to electrify the public by their soul-stirring elo quence ; but neither of them had the polish of the Roman school, with its rich stores of learning and classic beauties gathered from every epoch and every clime. It was reserved for JOHN MAC- PHERSON BERRIEN to stand alone as an example in the nineteenth century. SCPB.EMK COUET OP GEORGIA, SAVANNAH, January 14, 1856. At the opening of the court, Hon. WILLIAM LAW addressed the court as follows:-- May it please your Honors:-- The melancholy duty has been assigned to me by my brethren of the bar of announcing to this court the death of the Hon. John Maophersou Berrien, late the most distinguished member of that bar and its brightest ornament, and of presenting to the court the proceedings and resolutions of the bar of this city upon the occurrence of that lamented event, expres sive of their appreciation of the character and high respect for the memory of their departed friend and brother, and also their sense of the great loss the profession has sustained By his death. Honored for more than forty years with the friendship of the deceased, commencing with my call to the bar over which he then presided with an , honor to himself so distinguished and a benefit to the public so universally acknowledged, that even at that early period of his life he commanded, as a judge, the fulness of public confidence, and laid the foundation of that enviable fame which survives his descent to the grave. A friendship, sirs, thus early commenced, ripened into intimacy in the progress of life, was in no way and at no time more sensibly felt or gratefully appreciated than in the uniform and almost paternal kindness which he extended to my early professional efforts and struggles. Few knew him better than I did.; none honored and esteemed him more. I cannot re frain on this occasion from an expression of my sincere gratification at the testimonial furnished by my brethren of the bar of their admiration for the character and distinguished merits of the deceased and of the high respect they entertain for his memory, nor from saying how much I appr^ciate their kindness in making me the honored instrument of bringing their proceedings to the notice of this court. But it is not limited to private friendship to sympathize with these pro ceedings. The death of such a man is a public calamity. His talents and usefulness had not been confined to his own State. The fame of his wisdom and rare eloquence, issuing from the Senatorial hall of the nation, had spread over the country, and placed him, in the estimation of his countrymen, among the great statesmen and legislators of the age. His death adds another name to that melancholy list of gigantic intellects and devoted patriots upon whom the icy hand of death has been laid in the past few years, and calls afresh for the homage of a nation's respect and sorrow. JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 105 It is true that Judge Berrien was spared by a beneficent Providence to an advanced period of life far beyond that allotted to most men; but he still retained, in a remarkable degree, the energy of physical strength and the vigor of undiminished intellect, combined with a spirited enjoyment of social intercourse. Nor yet had the fervor of his patriotism abated; for he still felt a lively interest in his country's welfare upon all important political questions, and was to the last ready to lend the counsel of his experienced wisdom to what he conceived to be his country's good. Full of the learning of the law, he was still the eloquent advocate and the pro found lawyer, and both the bench and the bar listened with pleasure and advantage to his instructive argument. But your Honors, who have so often heard him, and who knew him so well, I am sure, will appreciate the testimonials of his exalted worth and distinguished character furnished by the proceedings of the bar, which I have the honor now to present:-- At a meeting of the bar, in the court-room in the city of Savannah, on the 2d day of January inst., the Hon. William B. Fleming was appointed chairman, and Julian Hartridge, Esq., Solicitor-General of the Eastern Circuit, secretary. The Hon. William Law, the Hon. Charles S. Henry, the Hon. Edward J. Harden, the Hon. John E. Ward, and E. H. Bacon, Esq., were appointed a committee to pre pare resolutions expressive of the feelings of the meeting on the melancholy occa sion of the recent death of the Hon. John Macpherson Berrien, a member of the bar. Whereupon William Law, in behalf of the committee, presented the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted by the meeting:-- The members of the bar, desirous of giving public expression to their feelings and of the sense they entertain of the loss which the bar has sustained by the death of its oldest and most distinguished member, who for more than half a century has illustrated the virtues of the profession, adorned it by the exhibition of rare and eminent talents, and left an example of spotless purity and integrity of life, and also to manifest the affectionate esteem in which they hold the memory of their venerated departed brother, as a citizen eminent for his patriotism and public ser vices, as a statesman distinguished for talents and integrity, and as a man endeared to their affections as well by his private as public virtues, by the social qualities of the heart as well as by the vigor of his intellect, do adopt the following reso lutions :-- 1. Resolved. That the members of the bar here assembled have heard with deep regret of the death of the Hon. John M. Berrien, and that we sincerely condole with the members of his family on the occasion of the loss which they, in common with the community, have sustained. 2. Resolved, As a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, the bar will, in a body, attend his funeral. 3. Resolved, As a further testimony of such respect, that his Honor, the Judge of the Superior Court of this county, be requested to have the staves of the court draped in mourning, and that the bar wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days. 4. Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be laid before the Supreme Court of Georgia at its nest meeting in this place, with a request that that body enter these proceedings on their minutes and adjourn for one day, as a token of respect for the memory of the deceased, and that the same proceedings be laid before the Superior Court of this county at its nest session, with a similar request of entry on its minutes and of adjournment for one week. 5. Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the chairman of the meet ing to carry the foregoing resolutions into effect, and also to select some suitable person to pronounce, at some proper time and place, a eulogy on the life and cha racter of the deceased before the bar of Georgia. 6. Resolved, That these proceedings be published in the several papers of this city, and that a copy of the same be furnished by the secretary to the family of the deceased. The chair appointed as a committee, under the fifth resolution, Hon. William Law, 106 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. Hon. C. S. Henry, Hon. John E. Ward, Hon. Edward J. Harden, and E. H. Bacon, Esq In accordance with these resolutions, I now move your Honors that this court adjourn for one day. Judge LUMPKIN, in behalf of the court, responded as follows :-- This court receives the proceedings of the bar in regard to the late Hon. John Macpherson Berrien with profound emotion. We cordially unite with the bar and the people of the whole State in the expression of deep regret for his death, in admiration of his talents, his patriotism and private virtues. This is not the occasion, nor is it fit for me, to consider and discuss 3t length the character and merits of the deceased. The performance of that duty, with which the bar of this place has appropriately charged itself, must be deferred to another opportunity, and has been or will be committed to abler hands. And this is right. This community, who knew his manner of life from his youth up, saw him face to face for fifty years and more in the able and faithful performance of his various duties; and it is for them to appreciate fully all his worth, and to dwell with melancholy affection upon his liranscendent excellencies. But the whole State has sustained an irreparable loss. "Who in Georgia had attained to his full stature 7 As a lawyer and a citizen, who will dispute with him the premiership ? What completeness and harmony of organiza tion of the mental, moral, and physical nature ! He aimed at noble ends, and pursued them by none other than honorable means. Whatever he attempted he did well. Nothing half done ever came from his hands; for, uncommon as were his great abilities, his industry was still more extraordinary. Who can estimate the impulse and advance which he gave to the cause of legal learning in this city and circuit and throughout the land ? Eeference has been made to his service in the Councils of the nation. Permit me to say, upon competent authority, that his Constitutional argu ments in the Senate of the United States were exhaustive of the subjects which he discussed, and that, on such occasions, no member was deferred to more in that body. His logic was the clearness of the perfect day, approaching the certainty of mathematical demonstration. Judge Berrien was a striking example of the love of the law,--supposed by many not to be altogether lovely; and his attachment, instead of waning, seemed to wax warmer and warmer under the pressure of superadded years. Hence his brilliant and triumphant success. He had many coteinporaries at the Supreme Court bar of the Union,--Johnson, of Maryland, Badger, of North Carolina, Crittenden, of Kentucky, and such like; but yet we may say that, while thinking of these gifted men, we feel new and increased pride in the consummate lawyer whom we have lost. Had he been placed on the bench of that court, for the headship of which he was so pre-eminently qualified, his judicial fame would have been measured by that of Mansfield, and Eldon, and Stowell, of England, and Marshall, and Kent, and Story, in this country. But our father and friend has gone. He has taken his place higher in the same firmament whence beam the milder glories of the beloved and lamented Charlton. His race is run. His course is finished. For him earth has no longer any future. He is beyond change,--beyond chance. His home is heaven. Is it not well with him. ? He died happy, in the bosom of his family, JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIES. 107 full of years and full of honors. His bright sun has set. Far above us he dwells, in a world where there is no night! The last time I saw Judge Berrien was under my own roof,--the sun shine of the festive circle, and seeming " to breathe a second spring." But we shall see him no more in the flesh. How difficult to realize this sad truth! Seek him at the domestic hearth, the office, the court-room, the Cabinet-council, the Senate-Chamber, the sanctuary, and the solemn response from each is, " He is not here : he is risen." We shall never again witness the illumination of that countenance, which, when lighted in the glow of his mind, was almost supernatural. We shall no more listen to the silvery eloquence of those lips, " upon which the bees of Hybla might have rested." But we forbear. The theme is exhaustless. That a deep feeling of sorrow should be entertained, when one thus virtuous and accomplished is stricken down by death, is natural; and that an expression of these feelings and a just tribute of regard for the deceased should be preserved on the records of this court, of which he was so distinguished an orna ment, is most meet and proper. We therefore order the resolutions to be entered of record, and that the court do adjourn for the day. Resolutions of the Georgia Legislature concerning the death of the Hon. John Macpherson Berrien. Whereas, In the death of the Hon. John Macpherson Berrien, Georgia has sustained a loss of no ordinary magnitude,--the loss of one of her most gifted sons,--one eminent alike for all the graces that adorn private worth and the excellencies that exalt public station, and of whose dis tinguished services during half a century every Georgian may justly feel proud,--it is meet that we should make some record of the deep sense we entertain of this touching bereavement: Be it therefore Resolved, That we have heard with the deepest regret of the death of the Hon. John Macpherson Berrien, whose talents while living reflected honor on his State and country, and the memory of whose services, now dead, will he traced in one of the brightest pages of their history. Resolved, That while the pre-eminent public services of the deceased-- his career at the bar, on the bench, in the Cabinet and the Senate--have given a lustre to his name too well earned and wide-spread to be confined within the limits of this State, Georgia mourns the loss of her illustrious sou with a sadness which is peculiarly her own. Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested to forward a copy of these proceedings to the family of the deceased. WILLIAM H. STILES, Speaker of the House of Representatives. DAVID J. BAILEY, President of the Senate. Approved Feb. 18,1856. HERSCHEL V. JOHNSON, Governor. As an enduring memorial,--one that will exist while Georgia retains her organization as a sovereign State,--the Legislature, by Act of February 25, 1856, created a new county from portions of Lowndes, Irwin, and Coffee, and gave it the name of "BERRIEN," 108 BENCH ASD BAU OF GEORGIA. in honor of the great man to whose memory the poor contribution in this volume has been made by the author, with profound respecb. NOTE TO THE MEMOIR OS JUDGE EERRIEN. Not only the citizens of Savannah, but the public at large, no doubt, feel an interest in the matter touched upon by the Savannah Journal, as follows:-- WHO SUNK THE WRECKS IN SAVANNAH MYER? In the course of the debate in the Senate on the 13th February, 1856, a warm discussion arose touching the historical truth of the fact recited in the original Appropriation Bill for Savannah River, members of the Finance Committee contending that the wrecks were placed in the river, not by the American forces for the "common defence," but by the British to prevent the French from coming up the river,--a point upon which Senator Butler, of South Carolina, spoke as follows:-- MB. PEESIDENT:--I have had my attention drawn to this subject more than once. I recollect that on one occasion Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, on this floor certainly gave me to understand, and I think gave the Senate to understand, a very different statement of things from that which has been to-day presented to the Senate. He stated -what I always understood to be the historical fact in relation to the obstructions in the Savannah River. My State, I confess, is deeply interested in their removal; but that fact -would not change my opinion with regard to the Constitutional power of Congress to appropriate money to clean out rivers. I recollect distinctly the ground on which this appropriation has been heretofore placed, or at least the ground on which I was reconciled perhaps to make some appropriation. In 1778, Robert Howe, the American general, a North Carolinian or a Virginian, was in possession of Savannah. Campbell was the commander of the British forces who attacked Howe and drove him from Savannah, under a capitulation, I think, on Christmas day in 1778. I have always understood that the British garrison kept possession of Savannah from that period until the time when it was threatened by D'Estaing, and then ships were sunk at the mouth of the Savannah River by the British garrison, to prevent the French fleet from coming up. It was a war-measure adopted by the British and American Governments when they were alternately in possession of Savannah; and I think, when the true facts are ascertained, it will be found that both the officer representing the Ameri can Government and the officer representing the British Government sunk ships at the mouth of that river for the same purpose,--to protect the city of Savannah. However that point may be, I can see a great difference between an appropriation for removing these hulks and the incidental obstructions occasioned by them, and one for regulating commerce by cutting ditches and canals or opening rivers. I recollect that on former occasions the bill making appropriations to remove these hulks underwent discussion, and the ground was distinctly taken that when the Government of the United States used the property of a State or individual for general purposes, for the common defence, it was bound, under the obligations of honor and good faith, to make compensation for the nse of the property. At the period of the Revolution the Savannah River was, as it is now, a great highway of commerce. If our own Government, as one of the means of defending the city of Savannah, sunk ships there, and thus appropriated that highway for its own purposes, as one of the means of carrying on war with Great Britain, I could vote for appropriations to remove them, on the ground that when property has been taken for the public nse we have made appropriations for it. When, as in the Revolution, private property was used for public purposes,--as the occupation of a house as a place of defence,--compensation has been allowed. The principle has been recognised iu a general act; and so, also, when American property was destroyed or injured while in the occupation of the enemy, and destroyed by Wash- JOHN MACPHERSON BERRIEN. 109 ingtou's camion, as in the same case in Germantown, compensation had been made on the broad ground that, when flagrante Mlo during a state of actual war, property had been used for public purposes, and was destroyed in consequence of such use, the Government was bound to allow compensation. la regard to the ships sunk in the Savannah River, I have always understood that they were placed there both by the British and American Governments, as a means of defending Savannah when they were alternately in possession of that city. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR. Our thanks are due the Hon. Alfred Iverson for the Report of the Secretary of War, 1855-56, with accompanying documents. The follow ing extracts will prove interesting to our readers :-- REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS IN THE SAVANNAH RIVER, AT A PLACE CALLED THE WRECKS.--Since September 30, 1844, the pile-work closing the upper end of Fig Island channel has been completed, and an embankment of moderate extent placed along the foot of the piles as a protection against the washing of a rapid ebb-current. This work now serves to turn the volume of water which formerly passed through the Fig Island channel to the Front River. The increased volume and velocity thus given to the water flowing down the latter channel tends to give permanence to the greater depth which has been obtained by dredging over the Wreck bank and along the southern edges of Garden bank. The greater part of the funds expended in the prosecution of this work of improvement, during the past year, has been supplied by the city of Savannah, as the appropriation of $40,000, approved August 30, 1852, had been previously expended, with the exception of a small balance, in working the dredging-machiues. The total number of cubic yards dredged from the shoals in the channel of Front River, since the commencement of this work of improvement, is 102,500 cubic yards, giving a channel full ten feet deep at mean low-water, or sixteen and a half feet at mean high-water. To make this channel permanent, however, it is essential that the deflecting works proposed by the commission at the upper end of Hutchinson's Island, and at the lower end of Fig Island, should be constructed at an early day. But as the appropriation of $161,000 for the Savannah River, approved March 3, 1854, is specific, it can, in its present form, be applied only to the removal of the obstructions placed in the river during the Revolutionary War for the common defence, and the accumulations of sand and mud immediately over and around these obstructions or wrecks. In order that these flats and shoals, which have been caused by these sunken wrecks at other points of the Front River, may be removed, and in a permanent manner, I would most earnestly advise the Department to urge upon Congress such a modi fication of the phraseology of the act of 3d of March last as will make the amount applicable to the completion of the plan reported by the Commissioners and approved by the War Department in 1853. The 6th of August last, the work of dredging was resumed on the Wreck bank, and has been prosecuted with as much regularity since as the weather would permit. The dredge-boat, tug-boat, and scows employed at this work were char tered from the former contractor to execute work by the cubic yard for the period of six months; but experience has now demonstrated that the chartered machinery is too weak to dredge on the wrecks to the same advantage as a machine of greater power. It is therefore advised that steps be taken to procure a dredge or elevatingmachine of greater power, to be employed on the wrecks after the expiration of the charter now existing, provided the restrictive character of the act of appropriation be removed by further legislative action. SVRVEY OF THE BivEK OcKMULQEE, GA.--The survey is completed. The map i? finished, but is still in the hands of the draughtsman, whose work has been much hindered by sickness. As soon as the map is received the report will be prepared ar.d forwarded. IV. EDWARD J. BLACK. THIS gentleman is entitled to a high place in public estimation, as his brief history will prove. He had qualities which made him felt and appreciated wherever he was known. His record is without blemish, and may be summed up on good authority. In reply to a letter from the author, a gentleman* of Augusta courteously furnished some interesting passages :-- Mr. Black was a schoolmate of mine, and received almost his entire education at the Richmond Academy in this place. He never was much of a student; hut his ambition, which was great, would doubtless have led him to steady application had it not been for his frail health. When about twenty-one years of age, he was attacked with hemorrhage of the lungs, to which he was ever after occasionally subject. As his mother had died of consumption, he expected the same fate as the issue of his disease; and this tended much to weaken his energy and cast a gloom over his future prospects. The principal lawyers in the circuit where Mr. Black practised were Messrs. Flournoy, Keid, (his uncle,) Crawford, Jenkins, Cummings, Wil liam and John Schley. His taste was for letters rather than science. From his want of re gular study, he was not profound, but on occasions was very brilliant. He was fond of poetry, and wrote verses of very decided poetic merit. He excelled in the humorous ; and some of his early eifusions, published in the Constitutionalist over the signature of " Quip, Crank & Co.," are quite creditable productions, and were well received here. In his speeches he often indulged in witty sarcasm, and was quite a formidable antagonist. If his opponent gave any opening for ridicule, he generally seized upon it and showed him up without much mercy. The same gentleman procured from a sister of Mr. Black a statement which answers the questions propounded by the author. It is here given without abridgment, though perhaps it was intended rather as suggestive than otherwise:-- 1. EDWARD J. BLACK was born in Beaufort district, South Carolina, in the year 1806. His father's name was William Black, a native also of the same district, and a gentleman of fortune, but lost a portion of it by an unfortunate security-debt, and in consequence, for economy's sake, moved his family and planting-interest to Barnwell district, where Ed ward J. Black remained until about eight years old. Being a boy of * Dr. Ignatius P. Garvin. 110 EDWARD J. BLACK. Ill unusual talents, the late Gov. Reid, his mother's brother, took him home with him to Augusta, placed him at the Rev. Mr. Brantley's school, directed his studies, and, no doubt, daily strengthened his natural taste for litera ture. He never went to college, and laughed at the idea of a nominal college education, but read and searched out every thing for himself, feeling that more depended on his own research than the august reputa tion of college professors. It may be said he was educated in Augusta; for, though not a very strict attendant at school, it was there his appre hension of letters, men and measures, strong intellect, great power of thinking quickly, perceiving the right and wrong of any question, were developed. I have often heard him say he was indebted to his fond mother for his early ideas of oratory, botany, habits of reading, &c. He esteemed her the unparalleled of her sex in natural talent, education, accomplishments, and personal appearance. She was indeed a noble woman ; and her piety sustained her in her many trials of life, which was only extended to thirty-two years. 2. He read law under Judge Reid, was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years, (in 1827,) and practised a short time in Augusta in company with Judge Reid. A few years after, he married Miss Kirkland, a lady of fine sense, beauty, and wealth, of Barnwell, and then settled in Scriven county, lived on his plantation, devoting himself to his family, studies, planting, politics, and the practice of law. He was a very domestic man, and, although so fitted for society and the world, he never loved its glare and bustle, and always shrank from the multitude. A tea or dinner party, where each one was to measure his words, study attitude, or -dress as a narrow-minded tailor might dictate, was his aversion. But place him in his own drawing-room, or anywhere else where he dared be natural or sensible, and then you would see what he was. No one, on those occasions, failed to be charmed by his good-humor, wit, and gaiety. 3. He obtained a great deal of practice, and was a hard student at times,--not always: his health would not admit of constant study; but he could see through a case, seize the best points of it, and know how to manage it, while other men would be wondering what was best to be done. 4. His style was any thing the occasion called for,--diffuse or compact, as the case required. His language was easy and eloquent, always to the point. On the spur of the moment he made as good a speech as if he had had a week to consider. His anecdotes and stories were always told in his peculiarly original and laughable manner. When well, his spirits were light and buoyant, full of hope. He was entertaining to the young and the old, to the ignorant and the learned. He avoided all display or manner that would make an ignorant man feel his own inferiority; and to the honest poor he was ever a warm friend. On the other hand, he could be grave, and sombre, and thoughtful, with a heart always open to the distress of others and never neglecting the unfortunate. 5. He died in 1849, at the residence of Mr. Gr. Robinson, (Mrs. Black's grandfather,) in Barnwell district, whither he had gone for a change of scene. He lived but three weeks after his arrival there; and, notwith standing the tender care of his family, his sufferings were intense,--and he endured them icell, though at times so desponding the mental darkness was scarcely endurable. But when reaction would come he would be as bright and patient as ever. His love and tenderness for his family was absorbing. He would follow them with loving eyes; and the thought of 112 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. leaving them so soon to contend alone with the trials of life filled his heart with regret. But from the first he knew he must die. He there fore arranged his temporal matters, and committed his soul and body to his heavenly Father, feeling that Ije had made his peace with God and man, patiently awaited his final hour, which was passed without one struggle; and so easily did he pass from time into eternity that his family, who surrounded him, knew not the moment of the spirit's flight. With regard to his intellect, disposition, and manner, I could say much; but the public know as much about that as I do. His intellect was clear. He perceived quickly and understood thoroughly. He had a genius for every thing,--music as well as politics,--and, with his power of mimicry, would have made as good an actor as orator. His disposition was kind. He never took advantage of the weak; but he never spared an enemy of power. At home, in his family, he was all love and good-humor, taking every thing just as it happened. But in the court-house, in the House of Representatives, or elsewhere in public, he always maintained his opinions with spirit, and, if requisite, a little touch of sarcasm was at his command. He was independent in his feelings and actions, and, once right, he defied the world. Policy was not liis ruling principle. His manner was easy, and a natural polish marked his manly bearing. He was not a slave to habits or customs, but, with his native politeness, acted on every occasion as his own good judgment dictated. The public life of Mr. Black commenced in 1829, when he was elected a Representative in the Legislature from Richmond county, and was re-elected in 1830. He at once became prominent as a debater, and was heard with great satisfaction on the floor and in the galleries. His praise as a witty, animated, graceful speaker was sounded in every quarter. The author saw him for the first time at the session of 1830, when Mr. Black signalized himself by a course of bitter opposition to Franklin College. The Journal of the House (p. 108) contains this entry, under date of November 2, 1830 :-- Mr. Black, agreeably to notice, moved for the appointment of a com mittee to prepare and report a bill to remove the site of Franklin College from Athens to Milledgeville, and to appropriate money for the erection of suitable buildings for that purpose, and to appoint fit and proper persons for designating the spot upon which said buildings shall be erected, and for superintending the erection of the same. Ordered, That Messrs. Black, Dougherty, and Howard of Baldwin, be that committee. For what particular reason he agitated this measure, or what good he expected to accomplish by it, the author is not prepared to say. "He remembers to have heard Mr. Black, while discussing some question in the House, make very light of the scholarship of the university, stating that he had received "Bucket letters" from the students, with such poor spelling as to render it a sufficient cause for him to turn off his overseer bad he perpetrated such inaccuracy % EDWARD J. BLACK. 113 in a note relative to his plantation. He was quite merry and se vere on the subject, causing much laughter,--mostly, however, at his own expense in appearing to think that the students had ex pended all their ahility and intelligence in framing those letters, when in truth their only object was to annoy him for some indig nity he had offered them as a class, and to disguise their style so as to prevent detection. Possibly he supposed that, by having the college under the immediate inspection of the Legislature, a higher tone in letters and in morals might be infused by social contact with the members of that body. Mr. Black was then only twenty-four years old, and may have indulged this theory,--which further ex perience, no doubt, led him to abandon. From a hasty examina tion of the journal, no evidence is seen that the bill was ever re ported by the committee proposing to discontinue the college at Athens and rear it up again at the seat of government. Mr. Speaker Hull, who was always vigilant and fair, so arranged the committee as to represent both localities. Judge Dougherty was of Athens, and Major Howard of Milledgeville, whilst Mr. Black was between, fighting as earnestly as a certain Spanish cavalier who drove his lance into a machine described by Cervantes, which threw rider and horse both prostrate without material damage to the machine. It is probable that when the committee met for con sultation the majority voted down the project, and thus left the originator powerless, as he could not introduce his bill except through a committee. With all due respect for Mr. Black and his motives, it is a matter of gratulation that he failed to disturb the college, which continues to hold up its head on the beautiful elevation at Athens, whilst some of its jolly inmates still write " bucket letters" to such persons as they believe will profit by that kind of correspondence. Mr. Black was a candidate for Attorney-General in 1831, and was defeated by one vote. The ballot stood--C. J. Jenkins, 108 ; E. J. Black, 105; scattering, 2. It is not necessary to follow up the interval from 1830, showing what courts Mr. Black attended, in what important cases he ap peared as counsel, or what articles he wrote for the newspapers, or what speeches he made in support of the Whig party, until his election to Congress in 1838. It suffices to say that, in 1840, he, with two of his colleagues (Messrs. Colquitt and Cooper) of the House of Representatives, divided from the remaining delegation from Georgia by refusing to support Gen. Harrison for the Presi- VOL. I.--8 114 BENCH AND BAR OF GEOHGIA. dency. His course was ratified by his constituents, as the follow ing document will show :-- GEORGIA.--By Charles J. McDonald, Governor of said State. To the Honorable EDWARD J. BLACK, Esq., greeting:-- Whereas, by the second section of the first article of the Constitution of the United States, it is ordained and established that the House of Kepresentatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States : and whereas, by the returns made agreeably to law, of the election held on the first Monday in October last for eight members to represent this State in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States for two years from and after the third day of March next, you, the said Edward J. Black, were duly elected one of the said Representatives : These are therefore to commission you, the said Edward J. Black, to take session in the House of Representatives of the United States for two years from and after the third day of March next as aforesaid, and to use and exercise all and every the privileges and powers which of right you may or can do by virtue of the said Constitu tion, in behalf of this State. Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, at the Capitol in Milledgeville, this twelfth day of November, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the sixty- seventh. By the Governor : J. W. A. SANFORD, CHARLES J. McDo>\7ALD. Secretary of State. Such a testimonial, granted three times in succession, is no small honor to any maa; for Mr. Black was six years a member of Con gress,--from 1839 to 1845. He made several speeches there, which gave him a high reputation in debate and for elegant scholarship. His diction partook of the purity of Wilde, with a good deal of his elevation of sentiment, and of the causticity of Randolph when im paling an adversary. The comparison is not intended as perfect, but merely to denote qualities more or less developed. Mr. Black was unquestionably a man of genius, and as such deserves to have credit with posterity. His nature was impulsive, his organization acute. He felt a pas sion for excellence, and took proper models in history for his guide. He lived to see much of the world,--much that wealth and posi tion could alone command. His imagination was too prolific and his taste too severely disciplined to be content with the attainable. He. looked for the sublime in the intellect and the affections which is not permitted toman. What generous heart does not sympathize with the longings of his soul, and who that has experience cannot bear witness to the illusion ? Such pictures of glory had blessed the visions of his boyhood, and in his mature life he grasped the crown < only to find it a shadow, the mockery of happiness. i DDSCAN G. CAMPBELL. 115 Like other men of genius who have a vulture within, goading them to action and devouring the current of life, Mr. Black had a con stitutional malady which preyed upon his spirits. He was often sad, perhaps murmured, unwisely demanding why he was so smitten. But it is said of him, in the beautiful tribute to be found in the early part of this memoir, that he looked up in the dying hour and saw that all was right: his gloom vanished, and the darkness of this world gave way to the light of another, where the children of the Most High are exempt from suffering. The author was acquainted with Mr. Black. They spent an evening together, more than twenty years ago, at the hospitable mansion of a well-known citizen.* He was all that has been claimed for him in the vivacity of his wit and the art of making others happy by his conversation. He was then in the zenith of his manhood, apparently free from disease, and bade fair to survive the humble invalid who now dictates this grateful offering to his memory. Mr. Black died in the forty-third year of his age, mourned by his relatives and lamented by his country. V. DUNCAN G. CAMPBELL. THIS gentleman was born on the 17th day of February, 1787, in the State of North Carolina, and graduated at Chapel Hill University in 1806. The next year he came to Georgia, and read law in the office of Judge Griffin, of Wilkes county, having, at the same time, charge of a female academy. Compelled by ill health to resign his practice, Judge Griffin transferred it to Mr. Camp bell, who in due time became prominent and successful at the bar. Mr. Campbell was elected Solicitor-General of the Western Cir cuit on the 10th of November, 1816. At the expiration of his term of office he was elected a Representative in the Legislature from Wilkes county. His course proving satisfactory to his con stituents, they re-elected him the three succeeding years. During this time he formed a professional connection with Garnett An- * The late General Blackshenr of Laurens county- 116 BENCH AND-BAR OF GEORGIA. drews, Esq., who attended to all the court-business in his ahsence, thereby enabling him to devote his time to the public service. Mr. Campbell has the honor of being the first man in Georgia to intro duce a bill for the education of females. Though he defended the measure with zeal and ability, a majority of the Legislature did not concur with him in opinion, and it was defeated. He was in dustrious in his habits, liberal in his views, and ever watchful of the public interests,--especially for the diffusion of knowledge among the masses as an element of public happiness and prosperity. His character as an intelligent, trustworthy man secured him a com mission from the General Government which has rendered hia name conspicuous before the country. On the 16th of July, 1824, Col. Duncan G. Campbell and Maj. James Meriwether were appointed, by President Monroe, Commis sioners to form a treaty with the Creek Indians for the sale of their lands in Georgia and Alabama. It is unnecessary to notice here the difficulties in the way, the preparation for the treaty, the postponement at the instance of the Agent, the correspondence with the "War Department, and the instructions given to the Com missioners, and by the latter to the employees of the Government, in arranging for the council at Broken Arrow, in Alabama. On the 7th of December, 1824, the Commissioners met the chiefs, and, through an interpreter, delivered an address, offering an equal quantity of land west of the Mississippi in exchange, and to pay money besides. The reply was not conclusive; and a long talk was made to them, full of kindness, and eloquent in its simplicity. The following is a passage :-- Brothers, we plainly see, and we know it to be true, from the talks of the President, the Secretary of War, the Governor of Georgia, the Georgia delegation in Congress, and the Legislature of Georgia, for years past, that one of two things must be done:--you must come under the laws of , the whites, or you must remove. Brothers, these are not hard proposi tions. If you intend to be industrious and go to work in earnest, our*; laws will not be burdensome. But the difference would be so quick and / so great that it might at" first make you restless and uneasy. But, let ~ you go where you will, a change in your condition will be the study of Christians and the work of the Government. Brothers, we now tell you what we, in the name of your father the President, want you to do. We"' want the country you now occupy. It is within the limits of Georgi&si and Alabama. These States insist upon having their lines cleared. The if President will do this by giving you a better country, and will aid you in removing, protect you, where you may go, against whites and all others,' and give you a solemn guarantee in the title and occupancy of the new-';,| country which you may select. We now leave you. to pause, to examine ;| and decide. ! DUXCAN G. CAMPBELL. 117 The following closes the reply of the chiefs:-- Brothers, we have already parted with various tracts of our land, until our limits are quite circumscribed : we have barely a sufficiency left us. The proposal to remove beyond the Mississippi we cannot for a moment listen to. Brothers, we have among us aged and infirm men and women, and helpless children, who cannot bear the fatigues of even a day's jour ney. Shall we, can we, leave them behind us ? The answer is in your own hearts. No ! Again: we feel an affection for the laud in which we were born ; we wish our hones to rest by the side of our fathers. Con sidering, then, our now circumscribed limits, the attachments we have to our native soil, and the assurances which we have that our homes will never be forced from us so long as the Government of the United States shall exist, we mm positively decline the proposal of a removal beyond the Mississippi, or the sale of any more of our territory. Brothers, we feel gratified by the friendly disposition manifested toward us by you, and, as we meet friendly, so we hope to part. On the 16th December, the Commissioners met the Indian coun cil again, and explained several treaties, some before the Revolu tion, showing that "the lands which the nation occupied were not held by title, but reserved to them simply for hunting-grounds." The exchange of lands was then renewed, acre for acre,--that the United States would pay the sum of $500,000 for all the lands in Alabama and Georgia, or would pay $300,000 as the difference in Georgia alone, besides paying the nation for their improvements and all the expenses of removal. To all this, the Little Prince said, "We should listen to no old treaties; that at New York the nation gave up land, and that General Washington gave them the balance and told them it was theirs ; and that they never intended to spare another foot." On the 18th, when the Commissioners asked the council if they still hesitated in their determination of ceding lands on no terms, the Big Warrior's deputy answered " that he would not take a houseful of money for his interest in the land," and that this might be taken for a final answer. Thus the treaty at Broken Arrow failed, as the Commissioners reported, from the insidious means which had been resorted to in exciting the prejudices of the Indians. After adjournment, the Commissioners represented to the Secretary of War that a treaty could be effected with Mclntosh and a proper number of chiefs for the lands in Georgia. Accordingly, on the 18th January, 1825, Mr. Calhoun transmitted another commission, under which the treaty of the Indian Springs was held, on the 12th February, 1825. Transactions attended with more or less difficulty,--menaces on the one hand and defiance on the other,--and a variety of events, --much severe writing, toil, opposition,--all crowned with victory 118 BEKCII AND BAR OF GEORGIA. at last in behalf of Georgia and her gallant defenders, are worthy of note in this memoir, as they were connected with the treaty which Col. Campbell had negotiated. A bare reference to some of them is all that our limits will permit, beginning with the letter of the commissioners to Gov. Troup, announcing the treaty:-- INDIAN SPRINGS, February 13, 1825. SIR :--Your express has this moment reached us, and delivered your communication covering the proceedings of Congress upon the Indian question. We are happy to inform you that the " long agony is over," and that we concluded a treaty yesterday, with what we consider the na tion, for nearly the whole country. We enclose you a copy,--also despatches for the Government. These last are addressed to your care, to secure their certain transmission by to-morrow's mail. The original treaty will be conveyed by our secretary (Dr. Meriwether) to Washington City, by the stage leaving Wilkes on Thursday next. We are still in time for ratification by the present Senate, and beg leave to offer you our sincere congratulations upon the more than successful issue of a negotiation in which you have been an ardent co-worker. With great consideration and respect, DUNOAN Cr. CAMPBELL, JAMES MERIWETHER. 1. Letter from Gov. Troup to the Senators and Representatives in Congress from Georgia, in relation to the conduct of the Agent, the threats to injure Mclntosh and his chiefs, early removal of the Indians, organization of the territory, &c. February 17, 1825. 2. Proclamation of Gov. Troup, that the treaty had been rati fied by the United States Senate, forbidding trespasses on the lands embraced in the treaty, and calling upon all citizens, officers, and magistrates, to observe the provisions of the treaty and to punish all violators thereof. March 21, 1825. 3. Letter from Gen. William Mclntosh to Gov. Troup, alluding to the information given by the Agent to the War Department, that chiefs of the lowest grade had signed the treaty, and that there would be hostilities in consequence. March 29, 1825. 4. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Mclntosh, asking his assent to the survey of the lands before removal, and promising protection. March 29,1825. 5. Letter from Gov. Troup to the Commissioners, stating that the Indians would hold a council for the purpose of taking measures to remove, that an advance-party would explore the country west of the Mississippi, and wanted two thousand dollars to bear expenses. April 4, 1825. 6. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Mclntosh, expressing the opinion that there would be no danger of any hostility in conse quence of the ratification of the treaty, and that the Commissioners DUNCAN G. CAMPBELI,. 119 had been requested to advance the funds necessary for the exploring-party. April 4, 1825. 7. Letter from Col. Campbell to Gov. Troup, accepting the offer of an advance of two thousand dollars to the Indians, to be reim bursed out of the treaty-appropriation. April 7, 1825. 8. Letter from Gen. Mclntosh to Gov. Troup, assenting to the survey of the lands, and suggesting difficulties instigated by the Agent. April 12, 1825. 9. Memorial of Gen, Mclntosh and his chiefs to the Legislature of Georgia, reviewing the history of the tribe, their friendly re lations with the whites, their intended removal West, and asking donations as the wants and distresses of the Indians and the dig nity of the State may justify,--concluding thus :--"Friends and Brothers :--We finally assure you that our attachment toward our old friends and neighbors shall never cease, and that we will carry with us the feelings of true and devoted friendship toward the State of Georgia, to the United States, and the Legislature of Georgia. If we should be so happy as to experience any token of their regard, we will teach our children to remember it with grati tude, and cause it to be handed down to the succeeding generations of our nation, that they may forever know that Georgia was their friend in the hour of distress." April 12, 1825. 10. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Mclntosh, expressing the hope that he would meet the Little Prince and council in good friendship, and a desire that they would all be united in brotherly affection before their removal. April 16, 1825. 11. Letter from Gen. Mclntosh to Gov. Troup, stating that "we do hereby absolutely, freely, and fully give our consent to the State of Georgia to have the boundary belonging to said State surveyed at any time the Legislature of Georgia may think proper, which was ceded at the late treaty at the Indian Springs." Signed in behalf of the nation, and by the consent of the chiefs of the same. April 25, 1825. 12. Letter from Brig.-Gen. Alexander Ware, informing Gor. Troup of the murder of Mclntosh on the morning of the 30th of April, by the Indians hostile to the treaty, who fired from two to four hundred guns at the house of Mclntosh, killing him, burning his houses, carrying off his negroes and other property. The hos tile party in the nation exceeds four thousand warriors, and the friendly party now reduced to only five hundred. " They implore protection ;*they need it; they are constantly coming in,--say the road is covered with others." May 1, 1825. 120 BENCH AND BAB, OF GEORGIA. 18. Letter from Gov. Troup to the President of the United States, relating the death of Mclntosh,--" a chieftain whose virtues would have honored any country." The preparations for this tragedy were long notified to the Government in the conduct of the Agent. Atonement shall be made for the death of Mclntosh and his friend Tustunnuggee, the old chief of Coweta, who perished with him. May 3, 1825. 14. Letter from GOT. Troup to Joseph Marshall, advising quiet until measures are taken to avenge the death of Mclntosh by the whites. May 3, 1825. 15. Letter--from Peggy (wife) and Susannah (daughter) of Gen. Mclntosh--to the Commissioners, informing them of the dreadful butcheries of the hostile Indians, the killing of Col. Samuel Hawkins, distressed situation of the friendly Indians, destitute women and children flying to the white settlements. May 3,1825. 16. Orders of Gov. Troup to Major-Generals Wimbevly, Shorter, and Miller to hold their divisions in readiness to march at a moment's warning, either by detachments or otherwise, as may be commanded by authority of the Legislature or the Executive. May 5, 1825. 17. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Ware, to provide for the comfortable maintenance of the friendly Indians who had taken refuge in the white settlements, the expense to be borne by Georgia in the first instance and reimbursed by the United States. May 5, 1825. 18. Letter from Gov. Troup to the Secretary of War, enclosing a copy of Gen. Ware's letter, and notifying him that measures had been adopted for the protection of the frontiers, and for the safety of the friendly Indians, until the authority of the United States can be effectually interposed for these objects; and that the expenses incurred will be chargeable to the United States. May 5, 1825. 19. Letter from Brig.-Gen. McDonald to Gov. Troup, giving information, on the authority of Mr. Freeman, that the Indians had determined to take the life of the Agent,--both parties being hostile to him,--and advising that military supplies be furnished the Agent, to enable him, with three or four hundred Indians who would stand up to him; to defend themselves. May 6, 1825. 20. Letter from Gov. Troup to the Secretary of War, enclosing copy of letter from Gen. McDonald, and stating that up to date not a word had been heard from the Agent. May 9, f825. 21. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. McDonald, referring to a DUNCAN G. CAMPBELL. 121 letter from the Agent to Mr. Bozeman, published that morning, the contents of which being inconsistent with the representations made by Mr. Freeman, the measures taken for the safety of the Agent will be arrested, there being no prospect of danger to him, from his own admissions. May 10, 1825. 22. Affidavit of Francis Flournoy, who was in Gen. Mclntosh's house at the murder and burning : from two to four hundred Indians surrounded the house about daylight, set a guard round it, fired the buildings, and shot fifty bullets into the general and as many into Tustunnuggee. The females and children were stripped of their clothing, the premises plundered of every thing valuable, carried off all they could, and destroyed the balance. May 16, 1825. 23. Presentments of the Grand Jury of the United States Cir cuit Court for the District of Georgia, recommending a strict investigation of the Indian atrocities and the conduct of persons concerned, and the punishment of the authors, perpetrators, aiders, and abettors of the crimes committed, and that adequate protection and succor be afforded to the fugitive Indians while danger con tinues, and that copies of the presentments be certified to the President of the United States, and to the Governor of Georgia. May Term, 1825. 24. Statement of facts by twenty-four chiefs, friends of Mclntosh, in which it is denied that Mclntosh or his party, or any council of the nation, ever made a law " that, if any Indian chief should sign a treaty of any lands to the whites, that he should certainly suffer death;" so that this pretext for the murder of Mclntosh is false. May 17, 1825. 25. Letter from Gov. Troup to the chiefs, stating,-- I hope that the worst is over. 'Tis true that Melntosh and his friends who have been so cruelly murdered cannot be restored to life; but the Great Spirit, who is also good and merciful, will look down upon your sufferings with pity and compassion. He will wipe the tears from your eyes, and soften the hearts of even your enemies among the whites; so that if your Great Father [the President] should turn his ear from your complaints, or shall fail to punish the white men who, in his name, have disturbed your peace and brought the heaviest afflictions upon you, he will have to answer for it both to his white children and the Great Spirit. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that all will yet be right. In the mean time, continue to do as I have advised you, and until you hear from me. My officers everywhere are ordered to take care of you and make you com fortable. May 21, 1825. 26. Message of Gov. Troup to the Legislature (special session) 122 BENCH AND BAE OF GEORGIA. on the subject of the treaty and the disposition of the lands. Referring to the Indians, he said :-- Having their own pledge that the peace should be kept among them selves, I wished to see no interruption of it by the Georgians; and, honor ably for them, there has been none. I verily believe that, hut for the insidious practices of evil-minded white men, the entire nation would have moved harmoniously across the Mississippi. The massacre of Mclntosh and his friends is to be attributed to them alone. That chieftain, whose whole life has been devoted to Georgia as faithfully as to his own tribe, fell beneath the blows of the assassins when reposing in the bosom of his family upon the soil of Georgia,--the soil which he had defended against a common enemy and against his own blood, whii.h he had relinquished forever to our just demands, and which he had abandoned to our present use only because we asked it. So foul a murder, perpetrated by a foreign force upon our territory and within our jurisdiction, called aloud for ven geance. It was my settled purpose, having first consulted the Government at Washington, to have dealt out the full measure of that vengeance,--so that honor, humanity, justice, being satisfied, whatever stain may have been left upon our soil, none should upon the pages of our history. May 23, 1825. With this message the documents from which the foregoing abstract is made were transmitted to the Legislature, besides other papers relating to the negotiations with the Creeks and the mat ters growing out of them. 27. In the annual message of Gov. Troup, the Indian difficulties, the course of the General Government and of its functionaries from the major-general down, are specially reviewed, and are thus summed up:-- The result of all which is, that, judging the motives and objects of human action by the results, the agents of the United States, whether commissioned for that purpose or not, must have been intent on vindi cating the conduct of the Agent for Indian Affairs and opening the way for the rupture of the treaty ; for that conduct has been -vindicated and approved by them, and all the materials, as it is understood, collected for that rupture, whilst the Indians remain unreconciled either to one another or to the treaty, and a large portion of them more embittered and exas perated against the authors of it than ever. 28. Letter from Major-General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to Gov. Troup, acknowledging the receipt of certain correspondence and the instructions to Captain Harrison. June 13, 1825. 29. Orders of Gov. Troup to Captain James Harrison, com manding Twiggs county cavalry,.to repair to the frontier for the protection of our citizens and others, with their property, against the assaults of the enemy, and to chastise all who shall be mad enough to commit aggression. June 10, 1825. 30. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines, notifying him, before he communicated "with his Government or met the Indiana DTJNCAN G. CAMPBELL. 123 in convention, that the laws of Georgia were already extended over the ceded territory, and that it was the duty of the Governor to execute them there,--the act of the Legislature on the subject appearing in the morning papers. June 14, 1825. 31. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines, apprizing him that the Governor of Alabama would be requested to join in marking the line between that State and Georgia; and, "if that concert and co-operation be refused, we will proceed to run the line without them, as we will also proceed in clue time to make the survey of the lands within our limits, disregarding any obstacles which may be opposed from any quarter." June 13, 1825. 32. Letter from Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, stating that, in his conference with the Indians relative to the treaty and the matters springing from its execution, he is "distinctly authorized to state to the Indians that the President of the United States has sug gested to Gov. Troup the necessity of his abstaining from his entering into and surveying the ceded land until the time pre scribed by the treaty for their removal." June 14, 1825. 33. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines, in which he says:-- On the part of the Government of Georgia, the will of its highest con stituted authority has been declared, upon the most solemn deliberation, that the line shall be run and the survey executed. It is for you, there fore, to bring it to the issue; it is for me only to repeat that, cost what it will, the lino will be run and the survey effected. The Government of Georgia will not retire from the position it occupies to gratify the Agent or the hostile Indians; nor will it do so, I trust, because it knows that, in consequence of disobedience to an unlawful mandate, it may be very soon recorded that " Georgia was." June 15, 1825. 34. Letter from Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, in which he regrets the difference of opinion, and the expression of any feeling or con troversy. To prevent disturbances in the nation, he calls on the Governor for two complete regiments, one of cavalry and one of infantry. June 16, 1825. 35. Letter from Gov. Troup, informing Gen. Gaines that orders had been issued to hold in readiness two regiments for his service, and to furnish as large a proportion of volunteers, infantry, and cavalry as can be conveniently assembled. Captain Harrison's troop of cavalry was placed under his orders. June 16, 1825. 36. Letter from Gov. Troup, apprizing Gen. Gaines of the Commission appointed under an act of the Legislature to investi gate the conduct of the Agent, but not to interfere with any nego tiations between the United States and the Indians, unless invited 124 BENCH AND BAR OB GEORGIA. by the officers of the former, or that the questions before the council shall be of such a nature as to require their presence to do justice to all parties. June 18, 1825. 37. Letter from Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, declining the presence of the Georgia Commissioners at any council with the Indians. June 22, 1825. 38. Letter from Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, stating that a con ference had been held with the Indian council, who promised to be peaceable, though they protest against the treaty and refuse any part of the consideration-money. They would not raise an arm against the United States, nor make any resistance to an army sent to take their whole country, but would sit down quietly and be put to death where the bones of their ancestors were deposited,--" that the world should know the Muscogee nation so loved their country that they were willing to die in it rather than sell it or leave it." July 1, 1825. 39. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines, showing that the obstinate refusal of the Indians to remove was the work of new prejudices:-- I much fear that this ardent love of country is of recent origin. We can scarcely believe that the amor patrise is all upon one side, and that side the hostile one. Will you not be able to discover, in the course of your investigations, that any thing had been said and done by white men to prejudice them against their new home ? It is indeed a pity that these unfortunate men should be the dupes of the most depraved of our own color, and so far the dupes as to be made to act in direct repugnance to their own best interests. It is more to be lamented that the impostors and knaves cannot be dragged from their hiding-places and punished. July 4, 1825. 40. Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, stating that the Indians had agreed to be peaceable with each other, and to restore all property wrongfully taken, and pay all destroyed contrary to law. They still declare the treaty was the offspring of fraud, entered into contrary to the known law and determined will of the nation, and by persons not authorized to act. They still refuse to share any part of the money under the treaty, or to give any other evidence : of acquiescence. In view of the pacification, there will be no necessity for calling into service any part of the militia or volun-: teers of the State. He enclosed a certificate signed by William Edwards and Joseph Marshall, that they were present when the ; express from Gov. Troup delivered the request to Gen. Mclntosh' 'for leave to survey the lands, when the latter replied that he could not grant the request, but that he would call the chiefs together and lay it before them,--which was never done. July 10, 1825. DU5CAN G. CAMPBELL. 125 41. Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines, denouncing the certificate of Marshall, who had repeatedly declared that there was not a dis sentient voice from the survey among the friendly chiefs. GOT. Troup says:-- I very well know from late events which have transpired under the eyes of the Commissioners, that the oath even of a Governor of Georgia may be permitted to pass for nothing, and that any vagabond of the Indian country may he put in requisition to discredit him. But I assure you, sir, if that oath should not weigh one feather with your Government, it will weigh with the people of this State, wbo have never refused credence to the word of their chief-magistrate, and, I believe, will not to the present one, unworthy as he may be. Permit me to say in frankness that I do not like the complexion of things at all as disclosed by the Com missioners on the part of the State, and sincerely hope that you may never have cause to regret the part you have taken in them. July 16, 1825. 42. Letter from Gen. Gaines to Gov. Troup, defending the character of Edwards and Marshall, as men worthy of the highest credit; severe and caustic in its figures, such as, " The enlight ened citizens of the republic, having long since found it to be fruit less to look for angels in the form of men to govern them, know full well how to discriminate between the high office and the man who fills it;" "the adamantine pillars of the Union, against which the angry, vaporing, paper squibs of the little and the great, dema gogues of all countries may be continued to be hurled for hundreds of centuries without endangering the noble edifice." Further he says:-- It is not to be denied that there is in Georgia, as well as every other State, a small class of men who, like the "Holy Alliance," profess to employ themselves in the laudable work of enlightening and governing all other classes of the community, but whose labors consist of the vain and " daring efforts" to prove the light of truth is to be found only with the party to which they themselves respectively belong, and that all others go wrong. If you will take the trouble to read the newspaper essays with which the presses have been teeming for some years past, you will find that many of the essayists have had the hardihood to " refuse credence to the word of their chief-magistrate;" and yet we have no reason to despair of the Republic. July 28, 1825. 43. Letter from Gov. Troup to Gen. Gaines on ascertaining that the letter of 28th ult., published in the Gf-eorc/ia Journal, was in his handwriting, saying, " I have lost no time to direct you to forbear further intercourse with this Government. Having thought proper to make representations of your conduct to the President, I have ordered you to be furnished with a copy of every letter written on your subject, and which will reach you in due time. Any communication proceeding from the officer next in command 126 BENCH AND BAR OF GEOKGIA. in this military department will be received and attended to." August 6, 1825. 44. Gov. Troup to T. P, Andrews, Special Agent, appealing to his sound sense to know what good or what changes will be effected by, further convocations with the Indians while the Agent retains his place, to exercise influence over them as he has always done:-- The documents of incontestable authority prove to you that they will not. No, sir; the way to the accomplishment of the ends of your mission is open. Suspend the Agent, make atonement to the friends of Mclntosh for the blood shed by the guilty instruments of white men, restore the friendly chiefs to their political rank and power, and, my word for it, you will find truth,--and enough of it for every purpose,--peace, reconciliation, and union. June 14, 1825. 45. Gov. Troup to T. P. Andrews, placing in his possession the report of a committee and resolutions of the Legislature, supported by evidence in the case of the Agent for Indian Affairs, whose conduct in connection with the late disturbances in the Creek nation had been a subject of investigation before the Legislature. June 13, 1825. 46. T. P. Andrews to Gov. Troup. Has seen nothing in the evidence to authorize the suspension of the Agent; yet, in courtesy to the Governor, the suspension is ordered. In the mean time, he trusts the evidence which has been collected altogether ex parte will not be laid before the public until the Agent has an opportunity of defending himself, or the General Government an opportunity of examining the evidence adduced by either party. June 18,1825. 47. Gov. Troup to T. P. Andrews. Corrects the mistake that the Agent was denied the opportunity of defending himself. The Commissioners were directed to afford him that privilege ; but the Agent declined availing himself of the cross-examination of wit nesses, or being present at any examination, professing to deny the right of Georgia altogether to interfere in this matter. June 20, 1825. : 48. T. P. Andrews to Gov. Troup. Evinces some knowledge of special pleading, charges, specifications, testimony, confrontation of witnesses, and all that process, applied to the Agent, and denies the existence of all prejudice by the General Government in favor of the Agent, &c. June 23, 1825. 49. Gov. Troup to T. P. Andrews. Is at a loss how to frame specifications to cover the case of the Agent, date, place, crime, and the precise part acted by him in instigating the Indians to murder Mclntosh, oppose the treaty, &c.. The charge has been DUNCAN G. CAMPBELL. 127 sufficiently explicit for all rational purposes, and, if more is required, it is not his duty to furnish it. June 27, 1825. 50. Gov. Troup to T. P. Andrews:-- SIR :--I call your attention to a letter purporting to be yours, and addressed to the Agent in extenuation of your conduct for the act of suspension, and published in a paper here, of this morning, called the Patriot. If this letter be authentic, you will consider all intercourse between yourself and this Government suspended from the moment of the receipt of this. June 28, 1825. 51. T. P. Andrews to Gov. Troup, [treated as unofficial after sus pension,] admitting the letter in the Patriot, and still declaring the innocence of the Agent:-- Being an officer of the General Government, I can go on to discharge my duties fearlessly, according to the dictates of my conscience and to the best of my judgment; and, if I am to be added to the list of the proscribed for interposing the shield of my Government to prevent the destruction of a man doomed to be condemned without a hearing or trial, I wish that suspension not only continued, but made absolute and perma nent. July 4, 1825. 52. Gov. Troup to the Secretary of War, informing him of the cause and the fact of suspension of further intercourse with T. P. Andrews, Special Agent. June 28, 1825. 53. Gov. Troup to the President of the United States, forward ing a report and sundry resolutions adopted by the Legislature, with the evidence relating to the conduct of the Agent for Indian Affairs. June 13, 1825. 54. C. Vandeventer, Chief Clerk of the War Department, (the Secretary being absent,) informs Gov. Troup that the President has decided that, if the land is surveyed before the time fixed by the treaty, the responsibility will be upon the Government of Georgia. June 15, 1825. 55. The Secretary of War, to Gov. Troup, says:-- The Indians, to the number of 1890, including a large majority of their chiefs and head-men of the tribe, have denounced the treaty as tainted alike with intrigue and treachery, and as the act of a very small portion of the tribe against the express determination of a very large majority,--a determination known to the Commissioners. He repeats that the survey of the lands before 1st September, 1826, would be an infraction of the 8th article of the treaty, which the President was bound to execute, and that, for the present, a previous survey will not be permitted. A copy of the instructions to Gen. Gaines is enclosed. July 21, 1825. 56. The Secretary of War, to Gen. Gaines, among other things, said:-- 128 BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA. Yet should he [Gov. Troup] persevere in sending persons to survey the lands embraced within the treaty, you are hereby authorized to employ the military to prevent their entrance on the Indian territory, or, if they should succeed in entering the country, to cause them to be arrested, and turn them over to the judicial authority, to be dealt with as the law directs. July 21, 1825. 57. Gov. Troup to the Secretary of War:-- You make known at the same time the resolution of the President to refer the treaty to Congress, on the allegation that intrigue and treachery have been employed to procure it. This at once puts a stop to the sur vey ; and you will inform the President that, until the will of the Legis lature of Georgia is expressed, no measures will be taken to execute the survey. The Executive of Georgia has no authority, in the civil war with which the State is menaced, to strike the first blow, nor has it the inclination to provoke it. This is left for those who have both the inclination and authority, and who profess to love the Union best. The Legislature will on their first meeting decide what, in this respect, the rights and interests of the State demand. In the mean time, the right to make the survey is asserted, and the reference of the treaty to Congress for revision pro tested against, without any qualification. It is true, sir, that, according to my own opinion, if there be fraud and corruption in the procurement of the treaty, it ought to be set aside by the indignant expression of the nation's will: the taint of such corruption, according to that opinion, would suffice to render void an instrument of any kind purporting to pass a right of any kind. But of what avail is this opinion against your own established maxims and precedents ? You would decry it as the visionary speculation of a wild enthusiastic, because you would refer me to all your Indian treaties. You would present to me, in full relief, the decision of your Supreme Court in the case of Pletcher and Peck, where, a feigned issue being made to settle the principle, the principle was settled that the Legislature of Georgia having, by bribery and corruption, sold the inheritance of the people for a mess of pottage, the grant passed a vested right which could by no possibility be divested; and, therefore, that the Congress had no alternative but to surrender the territory of Alabama and Mississippi, or compromise the claims. They chose the latter, and gave five millions of dollars to the claimants,--of which we paid our full proportion. Whilst, therefore, I present my own opinion on the one hand, you have, on the other, my public and official protestation, in strict accordance and unison with your and all your constituted authorities' decisions, aad which place the treaty upon such high ground that, no matter by what execrable baseness it may have been elevated there, the Congress of the United States cannot reach it. It may be otherwise, but I do sincerely believe that no Indian treaty has ever been negotiated and concluded in better faith than the one which is the subject of this letter. If it be otherwise, having been concluded by your own officers against your instructions, without any? participation of the authorities of Georgia, I sincerely hope that those; officers may, so far as you have power, be brought to trial and punish ment. But yet, according to your own doctrines, this does not impair' the validity of the treaty. The Legislature of Georgia will, therefore, af'J D UNO AN 6. CAMPBELL. 129 its first meeting, be advised to resist any effort which may be made to wrest from the State the territory acquired by that treaty, and no matter by what authority that effort be made. August 15, 1825. 58. Gov. Troup to the President of the United States, commu nicating the report of the Georgia Commissioners in the case of the Agent, and pointing out the sufficiency of the evidence for his removal and the injustice on the part of the agents of the Federal Government toward Georgia, their bias and obstinacy, their readi ness to believe any person and any circumstance in favor of the Agent for Indian Affairs, and their incredulity to proof of the highest grade when against him:-- A gentleman of clear intellect, pure morals, honorable character, and great prudence [Col. Henry G. Lamar] is selected by the Governor to hold a talk with the Indians. He performs that duty, makes hia report, and the report is at once discredited on the naked word of the Indians. General Mclntosh writes three several letters to the Governor, subscribed by his own proper hand, giving his assent to the survey of the country; the friendly chiefs, Marshall included, repeatedly assure the Governor that they, one and all, consent to the survey; a certificate is obtained from this same Marshall and a white man, to prove that General Mclntosh refused his assent; General Gaines immediately comes to the conclusion. that this assent was never given. The admission of free communication with the Indians to every other description of persons, and the denial of it to the Georgia Commissioners, was a further wrong done to Georgia. Indeed, sir, it would appear from the reports of the Commissioners that all or any description of testimony would be willingly received on the one side, and particularly that description which would exculpate the Agent, excuse the hostile Indians, prevent the survey of the lands, or effect the abrogation of the treaty; and, on the other side, every thing was to be discredited, or received, at best, with many grains of allowance, and every act or proceeding of the Commissioners of the United States or of the constituted authorities of the State resolved into corruption and de pravity. July 26, 1825. 59. -Gov. Troup to the President on the course of Gen. Gaines, Ms partisan interference, his dictatorial bearing, his admission of unworthy persons to outweigh the statements of the Government. August 7, 1825. 60. The Secretary of War to Gov. Troup, regretting the pos ture of affairs, and expressing the desire of the President to avoid all differences, so far as bis duty will permit; that he has heard with satisfaction the determination of the Governor not to proceed with the survey until the whole matter can be submitted to Con gress and to the Legislature of Georgia. August 30, 1825. 61. Gov. Troup to the President of the United States:-- In the enclosed gazette you will find another insolent letter, dated the VOL. I.--9 130 BENCE AND BAR OF GEOKGIA. 16th instant, addressed by your agent, Brevet Major-General Gaines, to the Chief-Magistrate of this State. Having beeu betrayed by his passions into the most violent excesses, he is presented before you at this moment as your commissioned officer and authorized agent, with a corps of regu lars at his heels, attempting to dragoon and overawe the constituted authorities of an independent State, and on the eve of a great election, amid the distractions of party, taking side with the one political party against the other, and addressing electioneering papers almost weekly to the Chief-Magistrate through the public prints, couched in language of contumely and insult afld defiance, and for which were I to send him to you in chains I would transgress nothing of the public law. The same moderation and forbearance with which I have endeavored heretofore to deport myself in my intercourse with you, and from which I trust there has in no instance been a departure, but on the highest necessity, have restrained me from resorting to harsh and offensive measures against him. You will see, however, if this officer has been thus acting by your author ity or countenance, you have an awful atonement to, make to your con temporaries and to posterity. But if, contrary to either, he has assumed the responsibility, it is ex pected that your indignant reprobation of his conduct will be marked by the most exemplary punishment which the laws will enable you to inflict. I demand, therefore, as Chief-Magistrate of Georgia, his immediate recall, and his arrest, trial, and punishment under the rules and articles of war. August 31, 1825. 62. The Secretary of War to Gov. Troup, adhering to the course of submitting the conduct of the officers of the United States to Congress, and enclosing a copy of his letter to Gen. Gaines, though " The President has decided that he cannot, consistently with his view of the subject, accede to your demand to have Gen. Gaines arrested." September 19, 1825. 63. The Secretary of War to Gen. Gaines, referring to the decorum which ought to mark his official intercourse with the State authorities; and the letters from Gov. Troup, showing that a contrary course had been pursued:-- He [the President] has therefore seen with regret that, in the letters, published, (which, though not transmitted to the Department, he presumes, are authentic,) purporting to be from you to Gov. Troup, you have per mitted yourself to indulge a tone whose effect will be to destroy that har mony which the President is so much disposed to cherish, and the publi- cation of which is calculated to inflame those differences which moderation and forbearance could not fail to allay. In communicating to you the disapprobation of the President, as well for writing as publishing those letters, and his injunction that, in your official intercourse with Gov. Troup ; in future, you abstain from every thing that may be deemed offensive, ; I am directed to add, as an act of justice to you, that the President sees, '; in the serious charges made against you by Gov. Troup, and the publicity given to them, and which the letters complained of were intended to repel, circumstances which go far in his opinion to palliate your conduct, and DUITOAN G. CAJIPBBLL. 131 without which palliation the President would have found it his duty to have yielded to the demand of Gov. Troup. September 19, 1825. 64. Gov. Troup to the Secretary of War, rectifying the pretext on which the President declined to arrest Gen. Gaines:-- Nothing offensive or exceptionable was ever written to that officer before he had sanctioned by his approbation an offensive letter written by your Special Agent on the 21st of June, and addressed to the Agent for Indian Affairs, in which the authorities of Georgia are wantonly abused for injustice, oppression, and tyranny practised against the Agent, or before he had obtained a false certificate from two base and unworthy men to traduce and vilify the character of the Chief-Magistrate of Georgia, which he ordered to be published of his mere volition, on pretence that false rumors were in circulation,--of what, or about whom, he did not say,--and this, too, done, as was afterwards made manifest, for the pur pose of influencing the general election in this State in behalf of his favorite candidate. That you may entertain no doubt of the correctness of this statement, and the incorrectness of the statement of the Presi dent, you have only to compare the dates of the various letters and of their publication. It will be seen that before