The Port Gibson reveille. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 185?-1857, 1853-12-28
The Late william r. King.

terday morning, says the NdttOndL fHteklt
.gencer Of the 10th inst. Mr.. Gushing, the
Attorney General Of the United States. ad.
dressed the Court as follows:-
Mug 10 please goRr HonorS-I rise tC
submit motion. which seems to be called for
BY the nature of the subject matter. God. in
His inscrutable but supreme will, has reno
we'd from the service Of the country. and from
that path of honor which, through long life
time Of greatness, be had SO nobly trod. the
Vice President Of the United States. When
the voice Of some future panegyrist, on the
banks of the Mississippi. the Bravo. or the
Columbia, shall speak Of he heroes. the legis-
lators. the statesmen, and the magistrates Of
our country as il recounts the names borne
on that glorious roll OF Immortality, It cannot
fail to pause with unalloyed satisfaction at the
name of William II. King. Providence,
from time time. raised up men to lead armies
on 10 victory through the clash Of the battle
/ field, or, by rare gifts Of written or spoken
thought, to WELD at will the herccst impulses
Of nations Such men, if they have a super
lative splendid career, yet have an agitated
one. They create events, and they partake
Of the vicissitudcs Of events. They may. they
often do, have shaded sides Of the mental for
nation, without which the bright ones would
be too dazzlingly brilliant. They come to be
praised or dispraised alternately, according
to the light in which their actions are viewed,
and the fux or the rehux Of the tides Of pop
ular emotion
"If VIM. II. King be not Of these, yet be
has an appropriate, and perhaps a more envi-
able. place in the temple Of fame and in the
hearts Of Americans; for Of him it is with
pIainest truth to be said that. with lofty ele-
ments in his character to merit and receive
the most absolute commentator, there is no.
thing in it open to censure. lie stands to
.he memory, in sharp outline as il we're
against the sky, ike some chiseled column Of
antique art or some consular statue Of the
imperial republic, wrapped in its marble
robes, grandly beautiful in the simple dignity
and unity Of a faultless proportion. Placed
at an early AGE in that august assembly, the
highest, all things considered, in this or any
other land. the Senate Of the United States,
and contnuing there, save with the Interrupt
ton Of tke most eminent di plomatic employ
mens, during a whole generation Of time, re.
peatedly elevated to preside over its delibera-
tions. he bad grown to be, not Of It merely,
but its representative man. its typical person,
its all-eonspicuOus model of an upright.
pure, spotless, high-minded chivalric Ameri-
can Senator. This it is. in my judgment
which constitutes the distinctive trait in his
character and career. and which drew to him
the veneration and the confidence Of his coun-
trymen. We think Of him almost as an his
torical monument Of senatorial integrity, ra-
ther than as a mere mortal man Of the age
Like that gallant soldier who received the ba-
ton Of marshal in the very scene Of his achisye-
ments. and fell, struck By cannon-shot in
the act of grasping the insignia of his COM
mand, so the Vice President did but reach /
the pinnacle Of his greatness to die. Such a
death. 80 timed. though premature for US
whom he has left behind to the tolls and cares
of public duty, was not premature for the
consummate completeness Of his renown.
Knowing how deeply bis loss must be de-
plored by your Honors, il is deemed fitting I
for me to move that this Court, in unison
with what has been done BY the two Houses
OF Congress, DO now adjourn in manifestation /
of its respect for the memory Of the deceased /
Vice President Of the United States
Mr. Chief Justice Taney replied as fol.
lows -
The Court is sensible that every mark Of
respect is due to the memory Of the late Vice
President. Wm. L. King.
= His life was passed in the public service,
and marked throughout.b5 its purity, integri-
ty. and disinterested devotion to the public
good.
Il is true that no part Of il connected him
particularly with the julicial branch Of this
Government but the people Of the United
States had elevated him to the highest Office
but one in their gift and the loss Of a states
man like him, so honored and so worthy Of
the honor bestowed. is felt to be a public ca
amity by this department Of Government, As
we'll as by that to which he more Immediate
" belonged. And, as a token Of their high
respect for him while living. and their sincere
sorrow for his death. the Court viii adjourn
.oday without transacting its ordinary bus
ness.
Whereupon the Court adjourned until
Monday morning, at Ii o'clock.