New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-05-13
TIE DEATH or JUDGE OAKLEY


iii "a ;D sho,xino with what sensations o7 annVu'
mon, v.. received by the Judiciary ana tne naf'
o., a, 10 ,noo,ino Of both to-day, al wthch, no
-. .,,,,.o,,;.,e addresses viii be delivered ana
,;,.Ia -, ,essop given to the feeling OF regret with
- - ,bo had most frequent occasion 70 Know
-. ,xor4b. receive the affection his death
If Judge Oakley has seldom been sur
So" =. hocor and usefulness. He born not
y En-, tbe Connecticut line in Duchess County,
:. ,-s1 lie graduated at Yale College at the age
~ eighteen OF nineteen years, and studied law I"
porgbkeepse in the Office Of the father OF Judge
Rurgles On being admitted to the bar there, he was
soon brought into association contact with the many
able lawyers produced in that region In ms earhe''
efforts he displayed the great reach OF inteec' '"o
elearness force and Judgment which have since gwen
20 much interest aud effect to his forensic and udciA
labOrs. -
In 1873 he WAS elected from Duchess County 10
congress and served during two SESSIONS ~ no 10
capacity, At this period, Daniel Webster anu 20
houn were members of the same body'
took An actiye and prominent part IN the ueoa'' W.
CURING during the eventful discussions dOou 'o "'
which he opposed, and won for himself INC 'u""i'
ton of all who appreciated terse statement coSe
sonipe. and judicous Deductions we nave "'"'u
that the late John Sergeant OF fhliaueP ""' Nio''
.,n;,a,, lawyer. who served in the same Congress
with Judge Oakley, often spoke OF INN as tue aOieS'
debater then to be found in that body.
On leaving Congress, Judge Oakley returned to the
,,,c,ce Of his profession. He succeeded Martin Van
Buren, a. AtoneyGenera of this State IN lol' ana ID
that capscy made arguments in the Supreme Court of
tbe United States which established his just claim to a
Mace in the front rank Of Jurss. The report OF the
&c Il nd OGDEN WOull Alone eStaD-
,h his forensic capacity His argument in that case
was pronounced by Daniel Webster one of the abest
that had been made in the Supreme Court up to that
time
He represented his native county in the Legislature
n This State and in 1927 was again elected one OF i.s
Members of Congress At the close of that session,
bs ction with political life ceased and III 1923
when the Superior Court in this city was organized
h bcame one of its Justices and the associate OF the
late Samuel Jones and Josiah Ogden Holman in
this field of labor he soon gained the esteem "a 'n0
bar and the public And it has for years Oeen
cbeerfuly admitted that as Judge al n"t Prt"S tic
was without an equal. He never iaheu 10 usco'oi
the great and controlling questions involved III h'ie"'
ton To those he at once directed his o" a''ou''0n
and that Of the advocates and jury. irrelevant anu
immateral matters side issues, collateral dputa'ohs
be sedulously kept out of the inVesngauon. Anu
when he came to charge the jury all persons hs'ene"
With prea satisfaction while in the planeSt language
and the most methOdical arrangement ne seIec'eu
from however confused and intricate mass OF tesu-
mopy the real questions at ISSUE and held them up be-
fore the minds of the jury.
Judge Oakley was not the most industrious oil
Judges in examining books Of reports to find cases
whereby to inform his intelligence or guqe his declS-
ions His knowledge of the great principles upon
4 la,na
which the whole system of enlightened jurisprudence
rests was almost ntuitive aud he had thoroughly III
formed himself of the cardinal rules which the great
pioneers Of judicial science had established or the SCI
Element of controversies He had great aDhorrehce
os Innovations. and may have erred in of con-
seryatism But whatever views he expressed were al
wnys sensible and in his estimate of human conduct
and the affairs of life, his ideas almost invariably
characterized by great practical appropriateness
Oraory ornament even the commOnest graces OF dlc-
,ion or STYLE he never even thought Of TO present
what he had to say in the fewes and painest words,
yas both the habit and the ambition of his life.
p,ust not be inferred from what we have SAID that
he was not learned But neither in ms estimation
nor in that of equally great does learning consist
IN mere acquaintance with the names or contents OF
hooks or pecedents lie did not rely on such super
6c;sl attainment but absorbed and digested for the
cultivation Of his commanding intellect the nutritious
and parmapen results of useful investigation. Always
conscious Of his own capacity he was yet remarkable
for the absence of that pride of opinion by which the
acts and reputation of too many eminent Judges have
been disfgured. Though often reluctant to yield his
strong sense TO the force of authority and somewhat
prope to err when what he considered the wisdom OF
the past was assaied yet he ready to acknowledge
and repair mistake the moment 1t was exposed
During the long period that he occupied the bench, no
one could Justly complain that from perverse adher
ence To his own views he occasioned injury to any
sutor He was eager to insure the right, and quite
Indifferent Ms personal qualification and fame beyond
that Of acting well his part. No one could be more I'M
partial. Judge Oakley was an ardent Federalst IN
his political opinions and such was elected to and
acted in Congress during the War. On the new
formation of parties in lSl7I9, he sided with DE Witt
Clinton agar st Tompkins, and so with the Peoples
marty against Crawford and Van Buren, in 1924. BY
This marty. he was returned to Congress- but on the
formation Of the great combination against Adams aud
Clav in 1885,, he Joined it with De Witt Clinton,
Jane. A. Hamilton, and most of those who had for
mery been his intimate political associates Contin'
ung to act with the jackson party he has since been
called Democrat though maintaining, doubtless, the
same general opinions and views which he held when
classed as FedeTalst. Being on the bench, however,
he has taken prominent part in the political strug
giles Of the last thirty years
1t ia quite unnecessary to speak in detail OF the
Judges personal qualities. His reputation in private
public life is without reproach. Those who have
had opportunities to meet him Familiarity will not for
get The simplicity which marked his inner nature
Grave and stern he seemed on the bench, there was
a'uueut OF kindly feeling and Of genial humor ever