The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1854-06-10
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
FRIDAY. JUNE Q 1854

\ FRIDAY JUNE 0, 1854
The House met al l2 O'clock M
I Prayer by the chaplain of the House
/ The journal of yesterday was read and approved
Inc SPEAKER laid before the House communication
rom the Superintendent OF Public Printing submitting es-
Inmates OF deficiencies in the public printing; which on
motion, referred the Committee of Ways and Means
and ordered TO be printed
| LEGISLATIVE NEW MEXICO
The SPEAKER also laid before the House con,mun,ca
ton from William s. Nesservy, Secretary of the Territory
OF New Mexico transmitting, in compliance with the re-
qurement of the fourth section of the organic law of bat
Territory two copies Of the laws passed by the legislative
assembly of the Territory of New Mexico at its last session.
begun ON the 9th day af December 1853 and closed the
"a day of February 1854 Referred TO the Committee on
/ Territories.
DEATH OF HON. D. ssoDGRAss
| Mr. FAULKNER then rose and said Mr. Speaker at
the request Of some of my colleagues with the
Of all OF them, discharge the melancholy Of
ce OF announcing to this House the death of Hon. JoS
FRYATT SSoD6RAss late representative in Congress from
the eleventh district Of Virginia This painful and
peced event occurred in Parkcrsburg Monday the 9Th
day Of the present month"; it is sad while engaged in the
trial of an important cause in court The deceased left
this city the evening of the 30h of May pay brief
visit to his family and to attend Of the courts of his
district He bade adeu that day. to all human eyes
certainly to mne in better condition of bodily health
than he had at time enjoyed since he first assumed
discharge his duties in this hall. This was subject of
remark and congatulaon both by himself and friends on
that day. And yet in the brief space of week.
shocked by the intelligence that he too had contrib
~
| grave.
This Mr. Speaker, is the fifth occasion, since the com
mencement Of the present session of Congress- that
surviving member Of this body has been called upon
perform that duty which have risen discharge my
departed friend KING ATHERToS, CAMPBELL MUHLENBEnG
and SSoDGRAs have all in the brefperod of few months
passed from the feul of public life, leaving moth
ing behind them but the memory Of their vrtuous deeds
The North and the South the East and the est have
each IN their turn been called upon to contribute victim
to the common destroyer of race and to mngle their
gref at the fall of lofty column that graced this
pie Of representative freedom Sir, have in all this
much to admonsh of the vanity and emptiness of all
human honors and of MI earthly aspirations-much to
bring with impressive force to minds 'what shadows
are and what shadows we pusue-and to chasten
thoughts for higher purer, and permanent Inherit
ancc in regions beyond the grave #
Mr. SSoDGRAss native of the county of Berkeley,
and State of Virginia born within two miles of the place Of
my own birth and present residence. He of
extensive family residing in that portion of Virginia.
family whose ancestors among the early settlers Of
that picturesque and productive valley and of whose
descendants still occupy their ancestral homes engaged in
the quiet and ennobling pursuits of agricultural life He
was born the I'd day Of March, 1904, and thus in
the yrst year of his age at the period of his death
My acquaintance with the deceased commenced at an
early period of my lfeimmedatey after my from
college lie had then finished his Of preparatory
study under the guidance and instruction of General Boyd
emnently successful member of the Virginia bar and
he had commenced the practice of his professionals lawyer
The cheeuness and rvacy of his temper at that period
Of his life before disease had premaurey furrowed his
check and saddened the expression of his face made him
general favorite with all classes of persons whilst the
abos of his profession aided by anxious circle of nu
ental friends gave him commanding position in the
practice Of the courts He pursued his profession in his
native FIVE years when contrary TO the
advice and wishes of his friends he removed Parkers
burg prosperous town in western Virginia. situated
the Ohio river where he continued TO reside TO the period
of his death
In his new location in Western Virginia he rapidly
achieved himself honorable professional fame In
those days and presume is TO great extent now,
the life Of circuit court practitioner in portion of Vir-
gnia when in full business of great endurance
and toll His theatre Of practice necessarily large
few facilities for rapid and comfortable travel existed and
large proportion Of the most important causes involved
the complex and reconde refnements of the law of real
estate rendered douby and reby obscure by the uctua
ting and inconsistent satuaory enac,men of our State
for last seventy years This field Of practice reared
body Of and subtle practitioners in the law Of real
actions that might have done credit to the court of
pleas Of England during the palmest days Of Har
grove Fearne Against this formidable array OF intel
lec and skill Mr. SSoDGRAss determined to enter the CON
test for professional eminence and emolument And il is
no mean praise say that he maintained high and ele
vated position amongst his rivals at the bar-risng daily
in the confidence and esteem Of his eowmen, and rea-
zng by his arduous and unweared labors fortune su
fcient 10 relieve his widow and infant children from all
dependence upon the cold and unfeeng charities OF this
| world
Mr. svopcRAss had no fondness for the noisy and excl
ting scenes Of political life His instinctively
coied from its bitter and senseless animostcs and he
looked with horror upon Its reacherous and deceptive
auicksands Emncnty domestic in all his tastes he found
his greatest solace in the society Of his family circle
and In those holy Of home education and instruction
by which parent best fuls the obligations imposed by
Nature and by God The law his ayoriie field Of
funess and employment With all It's and
fined distinctions he had become familiar In its unimpa
stoned contests IL was his delight to mnge To excellence
in that department he had disciplined all his faculties had
fashioned all his habits of thought and concentrated all
the energies Of his mind There he felt himself at home
and there he found premature grave And yet sir not
whstanding his strong aversion to public l occasions
did in which, from the confidence eposed in the
soundness Of his Judgment and in the nhexiby Of his
principles and in consequence of the strong appeals ad-
IN Of dufV
TO abandon for time his ayorte pursuit and accept of
| service upon higher theatre of action.
The first Of these occasions 10 which aude was the
convention which assembled In Richmond in the fall of
1850 frame constitution Of government Tor the
people Of Virginia The public mind Of that State had
long brooded in suen discomfort the evils incident to
the then existing government and nothing short of rad
cal and fundamental change in It's whole structure could
satisfy the progressive aspirations Of people who felt that
their energies held in subsection by artificial restraints
inconsistent with the true principles Of republican freedom
and equality II well known that great questions
embracing all the organic principles OF popular govern
ment with all the safeguards for the protection
of Notwithstanding sectional transfer OF political
power from the east 10 the weswouid engage the deb-
eraons OF that body and find solution in its action.
Mr. SsoDeRlss member Of that convention. also
had the honor OF scat in that body and win revive
by any review Of its proceedings, those exciting and alb
sorbng topics which at that time arfny aeated the
popular heart Of that Commonwealth its result one
OF the proudost triumphs Of the principles Of popular
which the records Of history attest
luton decided In ts results any Of those which
for the last century have deluged the monarchies Of
Europe with blood, passed of, under the influence
Of the Acknowledged principles OF popular supremacy,
quietly and TRANQUILITY a. the most ordinary coun-
1 "a Mr Sxop was distin ebed as