Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1858-09-22


whatever he might have thought he was
not man to set himself up against what
seemed to be useful reform. lie had seen
defects which some of these remedies seemed
to supply, and he applied them in the very
spirit IN which the profession and the legis-
lature had called them into being. SO sue
ceSstully was this DONE that with all his at
tachmeut to the common law, 1t has not been
uufrequeut to hear from those most devoted
To the equity system, the admission that lie
would have made better chancellor than he
was a Judge 1t is pertinent to remark here
that he had no overdue tondness for the civil
law. His miI.d was too liberal--f0r the
mind Of scholar is always liberal in its
appreciation OF learDing-not to admire the
beauty, wisdom and simplicity of many parts
Of that system, aud its adaptation to the
state of society in which it has grown up;
but it must be admitted that he ever aud
anon cast suspicious glance on the efforts of
j Judge Story ana the writer's of that school,
to in;use its principles into our cherished
common law. He could not have denied
tha; many Of the braachcs of our laws have
been enriched III this mode, but he was alive
t. the danger Of pushing such improvements
TOO far. | need refer the reader ouiy to the
opinion delivered in Lyle vs.. Richards. 9 5.
i L 800, and In Logan VS. Mason. 6 W. &
I s. 9 in Proof Of the existence of these views
! in the mind Of ,heir author.
! In summing up the personal character Of
Judge Gibson, l 10 not uean to represent
/ hinl as fau!tless, for then he had been more
/ thau human Doubtless he had his defects;
whatever they may have been, | do not pro-
/ pose to discuss them To Go sn would be to
initiate the Conduct of some visitor to = gal
( lary of art, who should employ himself in
( tracing rough images in the dust of the floor.
and ROT in cOutemp plating the beautiful con-
ceptiCus OF genius on al sides, around and
above bim. | speak rather of what Judge
Gibson was, thar Of what he was not. His
case has been removed to that great appel late
Court, which, while it admin listers perfect
Justice is governed also by perfect mercy
jurisdiction having vested there. ou the
soundest principles Of Jurisprudence DO ale
CATION should be permitted against him here
He Ger aiiy had small faults. which to small
eyes were large onoach 10 Shut out percop-
tIon of his great qualities. lie Gespised the
! aaiSe ouG the c4nsin, and necessarily lost the
respect of those valuable uieIMbcrs of the
State outside aud Iuslde Of tue bar, who do
the least important things first, aud the more
important last Frank, generous aud con-
ling he spoke OF the bench AID elsewhere
Of persous snd OF things with that in pulse
v hich uCne bat an honest heart can kaOw
and in doing 50. be occasionally lost IN dig
Iity a. much = he gained IN the pleasure oi
giving EXPRESSION 10 his real sentiments IL
, hls owc way. If, as a presiding officer, ht
, mad preserved orGer more rigiiiy his Court
would have been u mere solemn place, ana
: Il he had attended more CIR city to wha
was Iasslng before him, the business
, would have been more efficiently des.
gatched But enough of what he vas not
5 The qualities which he possessed were stri
: king ard peculiar That -1Aich most in.
r pressed those wuo knew hw best, was the ex
I c,eding kiaduess Of his heat. The knowl
= edge Of ia:s was key 10 Lis character. An,
e newspaper editor or legislative orator wh'
. had abused hiui, night Aaye approached hi;i
Z / with tGe pcOtounGest conHdeOce, uot only tina
/ he had forgiven, but actually forgotten, an
n calums.v toSever gross. la that respect. q
Il least no man could have reduced to practic
. more directly. the morality OF the New Tes
10 lament. lie cherished an;il a. hieS, IN
IL tormeu no prejudices. In every relation
: public and private he dis play ed that charit
:. ot the heart which MAKES man gentleman
Il despite of early associations aud even of ba
e mauuels. La the liveliest saiiies of his "
~ and humor-the last acts which benevo
j. te,ice cxerts it's restraining iUfuenc-he nev
= er allowed himself TO trench Oh the sensibil
- tics OF others When ne sad anything fror
IT the beach approaching severity. as he some
Ie times did when worn down by q dull and te
ii diJus argument, 10 time vas ,st ia trying
,e by a remark OF different kIni 10 wear ava
,e Its effect both on the speaker aud the aud
% euce He was sOund critic IN the best sen:
?, Of .he term, and when harsh observ aie
.i vas made Of one whom he knew, be was geI
n orally able to relieve It's effect by pointing ol
" some excellence which hal escaped the after
IF ton of others To the young. and espcciall
i, To tGose VINO were endeavorlng to become th
; architects of their OWE fortunes, he was kinC
j. afabie, and iuduigent. But the picture re
n ouires higher cUioring. There was som
# thiDg in has magnauimty. In his forglvin
N temper, in his kindly charity, in his caIacI'
le to appreciate excellence of any kind, III an
IS form, which despite his apparent unconcer
l. of manner and siuggishness of body, elcte
IN and compelled affection. There was trr
N fire ofthe heart which giowed increasingly an
le cast even the spleudor of his intellect INTO t.
k shade. No man ever more cordially despise
Of cold, calculating, spider like lawyer, wea'
y ing day by day his miserable tolls, giving U
lie nothing. retaining his grasp on every vlcti
ia of chance and folly, and employing his pos
70 ers only for the production of misery and Ct
es practice of oppression. No man ever spok
re into being with so little effort, ardent an
c permanent friendship He sat on the 81
se prcme Bench with sixty different Judge
J. none of whom owed their position to his inti'
ID euce, aud almost all of whom, on their acce
ID sion, were comparative strangers to him, al
in ret il may be denbted whether the pure