Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-01-11
TRIBUTE TO TIE MEMORY OF JUDGE sAMums

At meeting Of the Judges, the members G
the Bar and officers Of the Courts held in tn
courtroom Of the Supreme Court Of Appeals
on Thursday January 6, 1859:
On motion of the Hon. GEORGE II. LEE, tn
Hon. WILLIAM DANIEL was appointed Chairman
and JOSEPH ALLEN and NJ. I. STARKE appointed
| Secretaries.
JoHs RANDOLPH TrcKER, Esq, the Attorney
General, after some feeling and appropriate re
marks, offered the following preamble and re
solutions, which were unanimously adapted
viz
The Judge, the members Of the Bar and thC
officers of the Courts are met to pay a meritet
tribute to the public services and private worth
of the Hon. GREEN B. SAMUELS, late Judge
of the Court of Appeals. 1t is proper that, ls
the surviving witnesses of those qualities which
make his death a source of public and of socia
grief, they should furnish their testimony tc
the character Of the distinguished dead Judge
SAMuELs was born in Shenandoah county in
! 1906. His early education was more thorough
than extcnsive-and he was left, by the neces
sites of the period in which he lived rather to
seftraining, than to that of tie schools He
came to the bar in 1927, and was for more than
twenty years in its front rank His careful in.
dustry, his punctual discharge Of all proles.
sional duty, his earnest zeal in his cause, his
sound Judgment and his thorough legal read.
ing, made him an able counsellor and sue
cessful advocate. During twenty years, his
devotion to the law suffered but one interrupt
ton: when he was elected to represent his dis
trict in the list Congress. The tumult Of the
political arena could not charm him from the
more healthful contests of the forum; and he
turned from the former with renewed zeal, to
the sober walks of his professional career. He
was elected with great unanimity to seat in
the reform convention oi 1919. Here he was
destined to remain but short time for by
the unanimous vote Of the legislature he was
raised to the Circuit Court bench, in the place
of the late Judge Daniel Smith, in December
1850.
1t is just to his memory to say, that his
judicial career thus commenced was better
suited to his tastes and to the character of his
mind, than even that Of the lawyer and advo.
cate. At nisi prius his ripe requirements made
him prompt and ready in his decisions, accu.
rate and sound in his judgments, and rapid and
successful in the dispatch Of business. After
the death of the late Judge Baldwin, Judge
SAAUELs was chosen by the people Of his sec.
ton to succeed him on the bench of the Court
Of Appeals. For six years he has. bv the
punctual and diligent discharge Of his duties.
by his impartial justice, by his well digested
learning, by his clear perceptions of the subject
Of judicial enquiry, and by rigid adherence
to the settled rules Of decision, left upon the
judicial history Of the State the impress of his
character, as an enlightened jurist and an up
right judge. In the walks Of private life.
Judge SAMUELs was sincere and constant in his
fricndships-just, punctual and exact in his
dealings-temperate in all things-severc in
the republican simplicity Of his habits-and
dignifed, though courteous and kind in his
manners. No man cxcellcd him in a sincere
reverence for the Constitution of the Union,
and in filial devotion to the interests, rights
and institutions Of his native Commonwealth.
As man. his integrity was unsullied; as
public officer, he was model Of fidelity to
duty; and as citizen, he vas n loyal and
disinterestcd patriot 1t is fit that we should
mourn the loss of such man to society, to the
bench, and to the country. We, therefore,
bowling with humble submission to this sudden
dispenSation of Providence, and in attestation
of our sense Of this bereavement, adopt the
following resolutions:
lst. That in the death Of Hon. GREEN B.
SAsrELs, the bench has lost an able and upright
counsellor, the bar an ornament to the legal
profession and the State n truly republican
patriot.
I'd. That in testimony Of our respect for his
memory, We will wear the usual badge Of
mourning for thirty days.
Sd. That We tender to his afflicted family
our warm sympathy for their loss in him, as
devoted father brother and friend
4th. That copies Of this preamble and resolu-
tions be presented to the Courts of Appeals
now in session, the District Courts of Appeals
in the section Of which he was Judge, and that
n copy be furnished to the family Of the
deceased.
9th. That the papers in this city and else
where in the State, be requested to publish the
proceedings Of this meeting.
The Chairman submitted the following CON-
munication from the Hon. HENRY A. WISE.
Governor of the Commonwealth, which, on
the motion of the Hon. r. II. FIELD, was
ordered to be inserted in the proceedings of
the meeting:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. !
RICHMOND, Jan. 9th. 1859.
The Governor having heard with sincere regret OF the
death Of GREEN D. sANcEI late Judge Of the Supreme
Court Of Appeals OF this Commonwealth and belng anxious
TO pay proper respect 10 the memory OF 50 distinguished
member of coordinate department Of the government