Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-05-01
Extract from Senator Baniamin's Speech.


proacll with extreme pain, with unfeigr
ed regret. From my earliest childhood
| have been taught to revere the judg
es Of the highest court in the land, a
men selected to render justice between
Ilittigants, not more by reason of thei
eminent legal requirement, than be
cause of a spotless purity of characte
an undimmed lustre of reputation which
removed them far, far beyond even ;
doubt of their integrity The long line
of eminent judicial worthless which
seemed to have eliminated in Marsha
has been continued in one upon whom
the highest eulogiym that can be pro
nounced is to say that lie was eminently
worthy of being the successor of that
iIlustrious judge. l know not, Mr.
President, whether you, as I, have had
the good fortune to see that magistrate
In the administration of justice in his
own circuit, or in the court sitting be.
low US, of which he is the honorable
chief | know not, sir, whether it has
been your good fortune, as it has been
mine, to hear the expressions of afec.
tionatc reverence with which he is spo
ken of by the people amongst whom he
has passed his pure, his simple, and his
spotless life. | know not, sir, whether
you have listened, as / have, with inter
est to the expressions of respect and
admiration that came from the members
of this bar in their familiar intercourse
with each other-spontaneous tributes,
worth thousand Iabored eulogics, to
his aminent sagacity, to his vast legal
learning, to the mild and serene dignity
OF his judicial department.; above all,
sir, above all, to the conscientious, ear
nest, almost painful sense of RESPONSE
bllity with which he holds the scale of
Justice in even and impartial hand be-
tween the litigants whose rights depend
upon his Judgment.
MIR. President, he is very old. The in
of age have bowed his vener-
able form. Earth has no further object
of ambition for him: and when he shall
sink into the grave after long career
Of high Office in our country, | trust that
do not rudely or improperly invade
the sanctity of private life in saying
that he will leave behind him, in the
scanty heritage that shall be left for his
family, the noblest evidence that he
lied as he had lived, a being honorable
20 the earth from which he sprang, and
worthy of the heaven to which he as
,ired.
This man, sir, thus beloved, THUS re-
7ered, thus esteemed, has been compar-
ID upon this floor to the infamous JEFF
reys, by the Senator from Maine, (Mr. |
1amlin. This man has been charged
" the Senator from New York (Mr.
seward with a corrupt coalition with
he Chief Magistrate of the Union. He
harges in fact-not always in direct
but partly by bold assertion
nd partly by insidious suggestions
hat the Supreme Magistrate of the land
nd the judges of our highest court, and
II the parties 10 the bred Scott case,
,ot up mock trial; that they were all
n common collusion to cheat the coun-
ry, whose reputation hitherto has been
eyond reproach; he represents the
'hief Justice as enacting solemn farce
n the face of the American people on
he eastern portico of this capitol; and
e tells that On the day when that great
ca of up-turned faces was here present
d, all looking on the solemn pageant
hat was passing before them, the Chief /
ustice Of the nation was whispering
lto the ear of the President the terms
f this nefarious bargain, and that, too,
t the very moment when the former
vas administering and the latter taking
he oath of office by which the high
laiesty of Heaven was invoved, as wit
ess to the purity of his intentions in
ne administration of the government of /,
is country. 1
Mr.. President, accursed, thrice accur-
ed, is that fell spirit of party which
esecrates the noblest sentiments of the
uman heart; and which, in the accom-
lishment of its unholy purposes, hcsi-
ates at no reckless violence of assault
n, all that is held sacred by the wise
nd good. It was difficult, extremely
for us all to sit here and hear
that was said and observe the manner
d which it was said, and repress the
tterance of the Indignation that boiled
p within US. All this is charged by /
he Senator without the proof of sol
tary fact, without the assertion even of
solitary fact on which to base the foul
barge. Luckily, sir, luckily for Us,
hese eminent men are too highly placed
Il the reverence, the estimation, and the
egard of the American people, to have
heir bright escutcheon injured by such
ttacks as these. Mr.. President, in Of
en- times a viper gnawed a file. Al
hough it may not be possible to make
irect answers to all these inainuations.
ccause no fact is even suggested on