Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-03-27
Tribute to the Supreme Court.

Tribute to the Supreme Court.
Whatever may be the opinions of the peo-
re upon questions which come before this
tribunal all good citizens must yield to its
decision, and should inculcate for it a feel
ing of profound respect and veneration.-
Senator Benjamin in his recent speech in
the Senate, has uttered, in the following ell
oquent extract, sentiments with reference
to that tribunal, which will be cordially en-
dorsed by the conservative and loyal citi-
Gems of this country
Now Mr. President, | como to another
point in my argument, which [ approach
with extreme pain, with unfeigned regret.
Front my earliest childhood, have been
taught to revere the judges Of the highest
court in the land, as men selected to render
justice between litigants, no more by rea-
son of their eminent legal requirements,
than because of spotless purity Of charac-
ter, an undimmed lustre of reputation which
removed them far, far beyond even doubt
of their integrity. The long line Of emf
nent judicial worthiness which seemed to
have eliminated in Marshall, has been
continued i'll the person Of one upon whom
the highest eulogium that can be pronoun-
ccd is to say that he was eminently worthy
Of being the successor of that illustrious
Judge. know not, Mr. President, whcth-
or 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 below us, of which he is the honor
ed chief. know not, sir, whether it has
been your good fortune as it had been niue,
to hear the expressions of afectionate rev.
erence with which he is spoken of by the
people amongst whom he has passed his
pure, bis simple, and his spotlcss life. l
know not. whether you have listened, as |
have, with inie.e to the expr i n Of
respect and admiration that come from the
members of his bar in their familiar inter
course with each other-spontaneou trib-
utes, worth thousand labored culogies, to
HIS eminent sagacity, to his vast legal learn
ing, to the mild and serene dignity of his
judicial department; above all, sir, above
all, to the conscientious, earnest, almost
painful sense of responsibility with which
he holds the scale of justice in even an i'm
partial hand between the itigants whose
rights depend upon his judgement
Mr.. President, he is old. very old The
iufiriAi.ips of age have bowed his venerable
firm Earth has no further object Of am
lition for him and when he shall sink into
his grave after a long career Of high Office
in OR country, trust that do not rudely
OF improperly invade the sanctity ofp'ivate
TX. IN saying that he will leave behind hin,
ia scanty heritage that shall be left for his
family, the noblcst evidence that he died, as
he had lived, being honorable to the Garth
frcm viii Il he sprang, and worthy Of the
lesven to which he aspircd.
This man. sir, thus beloved, thus rorer-
c,i .ius esteemed has been compared upon
this floor to the infamous Jcfreys. bv the
Senator from Maine. Mr. Hamlin This
si.xis has been charged by the Senator from
Ncw York, Mr. Seward with corrupt
coalition with the Chief Magistrate of the
Union He charges in fact always ia
direct language. but partly by bold asser-
tis.: and partly by insidious suggcstions-that
tie e'lprcme Magistrate Of the land. and
TIE iu'res Of our highest court, and the
parties to the bred Scott case, got up
t,,ireiol, to cheat the country He repre-
:. US the venerable Chief Magistrate Of our
e.is1srV, w,ssSe reputation hitherto las been
T. yon9 re,roach; he represents the venera-
!, E.s'ef Justice rs cnaoting solemn farce
Isl tie face e the American people on TIE
caster. por:ico Of this Capitol AID he tells
uS that On the day when that great sea Of
up.arte,i faces was here presented, all looh
lug III the solemn pageant that vas passing
before them, the Cii.ief Justice oe the nation
vas whispering into the car Of the presi- |
cent The terms Of the neflrions bargain. and !
that, too, at the very moment when the for
mcr was administering. and the latter tax
jig the oath Of the cticc by which the high
majesty Of Heaven was invoked. as witness
Il the purity Of his intentions in the al
luiuistration of the Government Of his
country.
Mr.. President accursed, thrice accurscd, |
is that fell spirit Of party which desecrates
the nohlest sentiments of the human heart
and which, IN the accomplishment of its I'M
holy purposes. hestates at no reckless vio-
]elce Of assault on all that is held sacred by |
the wise and coed 1t was difficult, OK
tremely difficult, for US as all to sit here
and hear y hat was said, and observe the
hammer in which it was said. and req
the utterance Of the indignation that boiled
up within US. All this is charged by the
Senator without the 'oof Of a solitary fact,
Without tho assertion even of fact on which !
to base the foul charge. Luckily, sir, lrck-
lily for us, these eminent men are too high
~ placed in the reverence, the estimation.
and the regard of the American people, to
have their bright escutcheon injured By
such attacks as these. Mr. President, in
oldcn times viper gnawed file. Although
it may n 1t be impossible to make direct an
swers to all these insinuations, because no
fact is even suggested on which they rest,
there are certain facts so insinuated, in re-
lation to which have the authentic evil
dence upon my desk in proof Of their falsity.
THE WORLD CARRIED BY A COUP |
De MAIN