Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-02-17
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esng time in this literary metro o0is icr IL IS su-
aliy the period Of most brilliant exhibition OF ee-
Mus and beauty. The most tale ntei youth OF the
country display their learning ana their eloquencc,
the most beautiful and fascinating whoa cur State
can boast grace the occasion with their presence
and appreciation, and the DaagRi terati of the place
the Divines Professors and the Judges-iurnish
the proper quarltum Of dignity and Importance to
complete the scene. For considerable time this
occasion has been anticipated with more than or
binary interest Both the Law and Literary De-
partments of this University are in very flourish
inc condition and the largest number of legal gen
Henen that ever graduated here before at one time
are holding public Moot Court, to the great edlii-
cation and amusement of the various individuals
whom curiosity or interest has drawn together to
hear them. Judge Green or Judge Caruthers pre-
sides in the Court the uries are selected from the
students and the cases argued by the youthful as
pirants for the honors of the bar, embrace the most
entertaining or the most intricate questions OF le
gal science.
The exercises commenced on Tuesday, the 18th
of February The weather proved very bad, the
rain pouring down almost necessarily. Notwith-
standing these inauspacious appearances, the Tenn
perance Hall (where the Moot Court was heidi
was 80 crowded as to fill up all the seats and leave
many standing The ladies were out in much lar
of the weather is considered, but many had come
from distance TO be present on this special occa-
sion and were not now to be deferred by trifling
obstacles.
The speaker standing in the centre Of the Hall
| beheld the awe inspiring countenance of Judge
Green and the intelligent jury on his front, while
on his right was the eatng spectacle Of congregat-
| ed lovelness-convinced that he was heard, ap-
| preciated and perhaps admired by that portion Of
| his audience, his bosom might indeed swell with
] pride and his voice assume deeper and more
| touching pathos. There was little however to ex
cite the interest and retain the attention of the Ia
dies in the mere discussion Of dry technical prnci-
pies of the law, and if they looked distracted and
weared, and occasionally perhaps nodded it must
be attributed to their deficiency in legal gumpton,
| and not to the want of eloauence in our orators
Some OF the speakers, it is true, managed, by in
! geniously weaving law, poetry and love together,
to secure the undivided attention Of the ladies for
| time but the strange compound of such hetroge-
! neous elements quite COMPOUNDED bis Honor aud
| the Jury At III O'Clock precisely the business of
the day began. The Judge took his seat, the con-
fusion of the crowd was silenced; and the Attor-
ney addressed himself TO the empanneled jury
The first case argued was one In which the
Plaintiff, creditor, sought to set aside what he
considered fraudulent conveyance by debtor of
| his property. At the time of making the convey
| ance, which was to his son-n-law, the def ndant
| was worth $50, 900, while his liabilities amounted
to only $4,000 Sometime afterward unexpect-
ed casmities deprived him Of his fortune, and rem
dered him unable to pay his debts. One of his
creditors endeavOrs to seize the property he has
| given to his children. Mr.. Steele, Of Tennessee,
and Mr. Slemmons, of Ark, were counsel for the
plaintiff Both ofthese gentlemen made able, and
| to lawyer interesting speeches.
| In our opinion their arguments were but sophis-
try, ingeniously disguised and learnedly supported
it is true by copious citation the most eminent
authorities. We thought the learned counsel prov
ed much more clearly their own ingenuity than es.
tabished the Justice of their cause. Mr.. Stemmons
of Ky, made plain, eloquent and convincing ar
gument. He showed clearly that the principle of
| incapacitating man to make valid conveyance
Of portion of his property even whenhe is in debt
| to much less amount than he can aui-
date at the time, would be, if carried to its
utmost extent, highly pernicious to society
| His reference to numerous cases of similar ma
ture adiudged both in England and this country
evinced the study and research he had bestowed
upon the subject. Nearly an hour and a half were
consumed by the arguments Of counsel, and then
| Judge Green proceeded to deliver the charge This
is by far the most instructive part Of the exercises
To hear man like Judge Green, who has devoted
his whole life to the study of law, and profound
| investigation of its principles, whose talents and
| learning have rendered him conspicuous in the
|
tanned and noby filed the highest post of honor
which is bestowed upon hisprofession, expound and
illustrate important case, is certainly treat to
the lawyers. And then he goes to work in so
| mastery and scientific a manner dissects it so
| cleverly illustrates with much propriety and
makes it 30 plain by the Illumination Of his learning
and the lucid cearns5s ofhis exposition, that when
he has finished nothing is left unsatisfactory or
| unexplained SO far as he committed himself in
his instructions to the jury we SHOULD conclude
| that he leaned towards the side Of the defendant
The Jury, however after some controversy, decided
in favor of the plaintiff perverting as we conceive
| the sense and spirit of the law, and establishing a
precedent dangerous in proportion to the influence
| Ii may exert in future Jurisprudence.
| At two O'Clock in the evening the people again
came together to hear the discussion of case like
| " to be somewhat more entertaining than the frs
| 4 boy of twelve years had slain his father,
who in a state of intoxication was making
a brutal attack upon his wife-the boys moth.
er-with an iron poker Mr.. j. c. Dromgoole,
| of Tennesses, supported an indictment against
| the boy for murder in the first degree. He
| did his duty as counsel fer the State with an en-
ergy and strength Of reasoning, and in dilatng upon
the more touching points of the sad transaction
employed pathetic eloquence, which in the estma-
| ton of his audience established his reputation az a
| persuasive speaker and ingenious advocate His
| positions were assailed on the other side by Mr.
Crawford, of Ala, whose fancilnl picture Of the
case told in such pompous and inflated style may
| have pleased some of the audience, but certainly
did less than nothing to enlighten the mind of the
! Jury. Mr.. j. Caruthers was the next speaker in
| behalf of the State. His was a modest and worthy
| effort. Col San'l d. Burks, late Of the Kentucky
| Legislature in an elaborate and powerful Grafton
in which were compressed and graphically arranged
! all the law on the utject and every reason which
ingenuity could suggest in defence of the prisoner
at the bar. The Colonel bids fair TO assume high
stand in his profession. Gifted 10y nature with
more than ordinary share ofpenetraton and sagacty
he deyotes himselfto his profession with al ardor
and energy which cannot fail Of success Some.
what conspicuous in this community for Gs sc-
knowledged talents and political experience at so
early an age, much was expected OF him on the
present occasion. 1t may safely be said that he
sustained his high reputation and ad led laurels
to his brow. Despising the vain pomp of words
and the fallacious glitter of exaggerated ornament,
in the plainest and brieest manner he directed his
attention to the elucidstion Of the subject Here
after it will be his province to assert the dignity OF
right against oppression in wider and nobler
sphere. His lofty eloquence, his enlarged under
standing his versatility and power Of intellect, viii
there be fully appreciated and acknowledged. Mr.
Cicero z. Cunningham Of Tenn closed the argu-
ment for the State 1t the Vocterogs applause OF
the audience is any indication OF oratorial excel
lence this gentleman most emphatiealy succeeded.
What we could hear of his hsrangue was neatly
wOrde1 and arpnlme n alive to a dSJrea Hon Ab