The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1859-11-16
Froz the North American Review, (octaber.)
LIFE AND CORRESPONDENTS

Fron the North American Review, (ociaber)
LIFE AND CORRESPONDENTS
OF Jamss lr.dsa on. Of the Assoiae Justices IF he
Supreme Court Of The United States. By Griffin
!. M.R,s, Ns1 York. D. App!etoa q Co, 1857.
sais sss, PIP. $40 600.
The people Of North Carolina have shown
themselves slow to commemorate-shall we
Aonc!ade slow to appreciate also s--the mer-
,ss az thu great men whose lives have given
lie brightest lustrs 10 her name. 0f the long
catalogue Of able and distinguished men she
has borne AMI nurtared, to how few has any
memorial been erected In the last volume
.; sparks's American Biography is Memoir
Of Gen. VIM. r. Davie. A little later APP
peared Caruthers's Life Of David Caldwell.
We have also seen an almost worthless sketch
Of the career Of Nathaniel Macon. Be-
sides these, we do not remember to have
seen a memoir of any of the worthless Of North
Carolina, beyond snch measre accounts as
night beit the columns of a newspaper or
magaLne-sasing only the materials for BIZ
egraphies, that are accumulated in Wheeler's
History Yet the men Of that State speak
proudly Of such ancestors as Harneu and
Johnston. and Caswell and Hooper. aud the
= a
CASTOR Of later times; while no one siirs a
finger % rescue their memory from the IN.
certainties Of tradition, or from utter oblivion.
The few works we have named above, all Of
which are comparatively recent, may be
thought TO indicate the awakening of bet.
ter feeling. and are, we trust, the first in a
series Of efforts to do justice to those high
minded and noble men, 10 whom that State
owes so much, and whom il is TO her lis.
credit that she has so long neglected or for.
gotten. The lIfe Of MIR. Justice Iredell, now
before US, is another worthy contribution 10
the same direction.
The life of Mr.. Iredell was by no means
an eveatfu one yet his talents made him a
man Of mark in his own region, and has ac-
tive habits aud excellencies Of character gave
him great influence over those who came
within his sphere. He was bora in England
in 1851. and, coming 10 North Carolina
while vet a mere lad, found in the unsettled
condition Of the country during the times OF
the Revolution, and the gradual progress Of
society which ensued, the best possible con-
,iitions Tor success anu prosperity nc ear
ly devoted himself TO the profession 81 the
law. and while yet young man acquired a
very enyiable reputation for legal skill and
learning. As early as l777, when only
twentr.siy wears old. he was placed on the
bench of the Superior Court Of North Caro-.
lima, a position which, however, he soon re.
signed. Among the leaders 10 the Revolu.
iionary movements in that Colony, few were
more active than he, and lew iab9fed more
efeciuaily. Though the youngest Of then
number, he was the sharer Of all their pans
aud his blended boldness and his clear pc.
lilical foresight, rendered his assistance in.
valuable. lie scems never to have been
what is called pnpIlsr man. He did moi
seen 10 operate directly on the masses Of
his eolntrymcn, ani, We Imagine, had little
familiarity with tile details % political ma
nRayres. Bar lie certainly had great power
over Leading minds. III l-79 lie was ap.
pointed Attorney General Of the State BIZ
noT. Casweil, and held that past for several
wears. Ia the Convention which first mel
10 deliberate on the adoption Of the Federal
Constitution, he was the most cunspicu6u,
amoag the debaiers, and foremost, in beds
which contained maly remarkable men, fel
learning, genius. and eloqGence, and Zoe tn,
esrnestness with which, though IN vain, ht
advocated it, ratification. Yet he devoted
his best efforts TO his profession. In l77s
MAS Published work Of great labor, which
Ne prepared under a commission from the
government of the State, a thorough AMI
complete resisal of the laws Of North Caro-
lima. La 1890 his high legal attainment,
were recognized and rewarded in his ap
pointment, bY President Washington. 70 the
once OF Assistant Justice OF the Supreme
Court Of the United States. This Office he
continued 10 hold till his death, in l1gg, and
discharged is high functions with signal
ability and universal eommendatlon.
These volumes are, on the Mhoie, edited
With great kill. The larger part 81 them i
occupied By the letters Of NJ. lredei and
his correspondents, which ale ri much 10.
tefest. They run through period Of more
thsn dirty years, the most exciting and in.
portant 10 the history Of our nation, and
every where throw light on the mosement ol
public events. while they give " mans
glimpses Of the State Of society, the domesti1
politics. and the characters Of public men "a
North Carolina. Many Of them. too. are
racy. idiomatie. and extremely well written
Most Of the men then prominent 10 that State
are thas presented 10 Us. BY their own Dis.
closure o. themselves, Or By the portraiiuTe
Of their ns,ghbors. To each chapter the ed.
tor has prehKed a condensed summar, q
the important events d the period, and il
foot.notrs. has given AL needful statements
- 70 persons and things referred y n I'll
teIt. With q style rather too ambitious
AMI language Of shich the good taste ma
Be sometimes doubted. be Is always eleai
AMI fofeible. IL is evidently very cauttoBi
ia regard to III, facts. and 10 general hi,
statement. are 70 be relied On for their &C.
taraey. and this IN spite Of evident traces
here aud there, Of local aad personal feel
Jog.
Tie Nnts' u re shove hottee night have usIjs
bss issfsncs Z, ggOs's 5ss'cbs- VI North Csfol.nt.
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