Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-03-22
supreme Court.

n.rthHlS u
whatever may be the opinions Of the peo-
,non questions which come before this
peuS.I ali good citizens must yield to its
rluu: and should inculoats for it feeling
ae-,o,ni respect aud veneration. Sena-
fpon;amiu in bis recent speech in the Sen
@s has uttered, in the following eloquent
ave-, sentiments with reference to that
e.nsI which will be cordially endorsed BY
Wv conservative aud loyal citizens Of this
COUNTY,
-, in nv argument, which | approach
pp;,b extreme pain, with unfeigned regret
r.am nv earliest childhood, l have been
,.ncbt to revere the judges of the highest
s,nr, in the land. as men selected to render
;n..;ce between litigants, no more by reason
r. their eminent legal requirements. than
bacan.e of a spotless purity Of character, an
sodimmcd lustre of reputation which re-
mo,sd them far, far beyond even a doubt OF
chair integrity. The long line of eminent
;ndicial sorthiness which seemed to have
eliminated in a Marshall, has been continued
n the person Of one upon whom the highest
onloyium that can he %pronunced 10 to say that
he was emineutly worthy of being the success
90, of that iIlus,rious judge. know not, MIR.
President, whether you, Is l, have had the
GOOD fortune to see that m .gistrate in the ad'
gninistration of ustice III his own circuit, or In
the court sitting below us, Of which he Is the
bonored chief. | know not, sir, whether 1t
has been your good fortune as it has been
mine, 10 hear the expressions OF all .ctiopate
reverence with which he is spoken Of by the
neople amongst whom be has passed his pure,
bis simple, and his spotless lite. l know
not. whether you have listened, as l have,
with interest to the expressions OF respect
and admiration that come from the members
Of his bar iu their familiar Intercourse with
each Other spontaneous tributes. worth a
thousand labored eulogies, to his eminent ga
pacity, to his vast legal learning, to the mild
and serene dignity Of his judicial department;
abose all, sir, above all, to thu consc'entlous,
earnest, almost painful sense OF responsi6ll-
~ with which he holds the scale OF justice
in even An impartial hand between the lltl-
pants whose rights depend upon his judg-
ment.
Mr.. President. he is old. very old. The in
frnities of age have bowed his venerable
form. Earth has no further object OF ambl-
ton for him; and when be shall sink into
hi. grave after d long career Of high ofhs in
our country, | trust that do not rudely or
improperly invade the sanctity OF private lie
10 saving that he will leave behind him. IN
the scapty heritage that shall be left for his
family, the noble-t evidence that he died, as
he had lived. a being honorable u the earth
from which he sprang, and worthy OF the
heaven to which he aspired.
This man, Sir, thus beloved, thus revered
thus esteemed, has been compared upon this
floor TO the Infamous J,freys, BY the Senator
from Maine, Mr.. Hamiin This man has
been charged 10y the Senator from New YORK,
Mr. Seward, with a corrupt coalition with
the Chief Magistrate Ut the Union. lie
charges in ac,-no always in direct lat
guage, but partly by bold assertion aud part
" by insidious suegestions-that the su-
preme Magistrate Of the laud and the judges
of our highest court and the parties to the
bred Scott case, got up a mock trial; that they
we're all 10 common collision to cheat the
country. He represents the venerable Chief
Magistrate Of our country, whose reputation
hitherto has been beyond reproach; he repre-
seuts the venerable Chief Justice a. enactiug
a solemn farce in the face OF the American
people on the eastern porticO Of this Capitol;
and he tells Us that on the day when that
great sea of upturned faces was here present
ed, all locking on the solemn pageant thai was
passing tefJre them. the Chief Justice VI the
nation was whispering into the ear OF the
President the terms of this nefarious bargain.
and that, 700, at the very moment when the
former, was administering and the latter
taking the oath of Office by which the high
majesty OF Heaven was invoked, as witness
to the purity of his intentions in the admins.
tra,ion of the G. ,verDm EFT OF his country.
Mr.. President, ~accursed, thrice accursed,
is that fell spirit of party which desecrates
the noblest sentiments of the human heart;
and which, in the accom-, lishmsnt of it's un-
holy PURPOSES, be.itates at no reckless VIC
lence of assault on all that ia held sacred by
the wise and god. Ii was difficult, extreme
ly difficult, for US an all to sit here and hear
what was said, and observe the manner IN
which it was said, and repress the u%tterance
of the Indignation that boiled up within Us.
All this is charged by the Senator without
the proof Of a solitary fact, without the as
sertion even Of u fact on which to base the
foul charge. Luckily, sir, luckily for US.
these eminent men are too highly placed In
the reverence. the estimation, and the re-
gard of the American people. to have their
bright escutcbeon itjored by such attacks
as these. Mr.. President, in olden times a
viper enawed a file. Although it may not be
impossible to make direct answers to all these
nsinuatious, because no fact is even sug-
gested on which they rest, there are certain
facts 20 iusinuated, 10 relation to which l
have the authentic evidence upon my desk
in proof of their fsls,ty.