Arkansas true Democrat., 1860-06-23
Sedrcy, Ark, June 1Ith, 1860.
Little Rock, Ark, June 6tb IeI

Little Rock, Ark., June 9th. le6O
 EDITORS TRUE DEMocRAr-I have often heen astonished at the different estimates which man. kind place upon the various professions of life-he erroneous opinions which are generally entertained with regard to the importance of the proper. faith
 tul and efficient discharge of the duties of eacb- and the character, mental habitude and moral dio
 nity of the man best calculated to discharge those duties, and the respect, honor and pay which should be awarded them Take for example the offices of our supreme and circuit judges-which hold of the highest dignity. it is their duty to interpret and apply the law to the rights, duties, life and liberty of man-nnd requires for the effective dis
 charge of the duties of those offices men of high moral and mental culture, and that dignity of character which arises from camness of tempera- ment, honesty of purpose and purity of life, that they may be the worthy oraces Of the majesty of law. Especially should these be the qualities of judge in this State where the wretched and ilogi- cal system of short terms and election by the peo- pie prevail, which makes judges as plenty as black berries and dimnishes the prestige and sancty which once surrounded and waited upon the ermine. In
 the discharge of the duties of these respective of
 fees of supreme and circuit judges-far the most difficult onerous and various rest upon the circuit judge-requiring different, perhaps higher order ofintelect and more varied and general knowledge. For the supreme judge can in the quiet of his library
 examine his ponderous terms, colate his author- ties and at his leisure, with serene mind make up his well considered opinion. Whereas, the circuit court judge has to decide and dispose of business on the spur of the occasion, with scarcely mo- ment for reHection-quick, ready, always upon the alert his mind is strained to it's utmost tension, requiring mind of extraordinary vigor and tenac- ity to sustain itself in it's arduous duties. Observe too, that these duties to be performed under circumstances often demanding the greatest firm ness, promptness and decision-in a crowded court room, surrounded often by an excited people, en. ragged litigants and bawlng quarreing and some etimes fighting attorneys. Surely this is position demanding our best and truest men. let it is not generally so looked upon by the people.
 And there is the noisy candidate for political of fee, whose whereabouts and wanderngs regu- larly noticed by our newspapers, and whose say ngs heralded to the world as the ulterances of the profoundest political truth, and whose elo- quence is "beyond all Grecian-beyond all Roman fame.' "Can such things be and not overcome us with especial wondcr?" But there is the meek, humble and earnest preacher of the gospel-the vindicator of the ways of God to man, who labors and tolls and speaks, not for fame, that great in centive to human acton-not for golden pef, that all expressing and over mastering passion of these our times-uncheered by the plaudits of the world, accompanied by no encouraging God speed you he enters upon the performance of his noble mis- sion-a mission which in it's beginning and end, its extent and in it's consequences is one of the ottest and of the most imposing granduer-a mission which not only runs parallel with time, but over steps the boundaries of time and walks the very shores of eternity. Shame then on the bitter and graspng passions of the times and the subserviency of editors, who are, should be the guardians of public morals and directors of public opinion-that cannot for awhile their fierce political strfe and hot pursuit of maternal gain, to give short space in the columns of public journal, to the sayings and doings ofths 'noble army of martyrs,' who are spending themselves in the sacred cause of religion and humanity, and whose lives like a gently flowing stream murmur ownward to the ocean, spreading freshness and verdure over the waste places of the earth. My mind was led to this train of reflection by hearing on last Sunday the discourse of the Rev. Mr. Hunter of the Meth odist Episcopal Church of this place. The text was the parable of the prodigal son, which for truthfuness of rendering fOrcibleness of illustra tion and seachng individuality of application, could scarcely have been eqUaed. Mir. Hunter has rare powers-not showy--perhaps not eloquent in the dilattant of that term-but for force, directness and point, and the very happy faculty of seizng upon the prominent ideas suggested by the text, and presenting them in bold relief he has few superiors in the American pulpit. Mir. Hunter possesses, 1 conceive, that rarest quality of the clergy of this day and so conspicuous in the ser mons of our earlier divines, common sense. say common sense, because l mean that excellent judgment which selects and applies the modes of reasoning and rules of conduct, which govern us in the real affairs of common life-to the exegesis and solution of the greattruths of the Bible, in their application to mans conduct in this life and in reference to his destiny hereafter. Messrs. Editors, am no Methodist, but simply write to gratify something which demands an utterance my appreciation of man, who with fine abilities, is using those abilities for the good of his fellow man-and my best wishes for his success in build ing up church suited to the wants of his increas- ing congregation. X. z.