Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-04-10

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Prayer was offered by Rev. L. W. Ilagar.
! The following juries were empanneled =
FIRST Juy-James H. Dudley of Douglass,
foreman; George Bancroft OF Auburn, iona
than Bush of New Braintree, Zelek Darling
of Milford Lewis W. Dodge of Grafton, Will.
lard Ellis of Northbridge, Lucius j.. Farwell
of Lancaster. Nahum Flagg OF Worcester,
Scion G. Flagg of Boylston, Henry c. Hill
of Gardner, Oliver Kendall OF Fitchburg, VIM.
d. Lee, Jr., of Athol.
Second .j,uy-Cyrus NJ. Stevens of DANA
foreman; William Miller of Philpston. Dan
forth r. Oney OF Southbridge, Munroe Rem
ington of Blackstone, Geo. a. Sampson of
Bolton, Moses Smith OF Rutland, Willard
Southwick of Berlin. Harris Strong of Wor-
cester, John G. Welch of Upton, Sias NJ Viii.
der of Sterling, Abraham ii. Wilson of Hub
bardSton.
upernumerdrieS-Benj. A. Dewitt of Ok
ford, Joseph Wood OF Holden.
After the calling of the docket, and the ar
rangement of the cases in order for trial, Hon.
Henry Chaplin rose and spoke as follows:--
1fau IL please Your Honor 1t becomes my
! sadly pleasant duty, in behalf of the bar Of
! Worcester county, TO present the resolutions
which l hold in my hand. Since the last term
| of the supreme judicial court in this county
the Hon. Lemuel Shaw, chief justice OF the
court, has passed away from the scenes of his
labors, and has entered into his rest. He died
in the fulness of his fame, at ripe old aye,
retaining to the last those wonderful charac-
teristics which had marked his whole life.
1t is not easy to express ones feelings in ref
erence to the late chief Justice Coming 10
the bar, as l did, when he was in the full vigor
OF his accomplished and sturdy manhcod-the
admiration not only of the bar, but Of the
whole community was always impressed
with feeling of reverence for him, winch
have rarely ielt for any other human being. 1t
was difficult to realize that he did not fully I'M
derstand every question put to him, aud every
inquiry and suggestion by him was hailed
either as the harbinger of victory or the death
knell OF hope.
l speak of him simply as | have known
him. Learned, independent, just, and incor-
ruptible, lie filled his great office in a manner
which few may hope TO equal, and none to sur
pass He lived at a period in the history of
the country, when the arts of peace and civil
| cation were cultivated, and which was well cal
culated to deveope his rich and abundant re-
sources The abors of his judicial life, ie-
corded in the volumes OF our reports for thir-
| ty years are one OF the richest legacies which
| any man could bequeath TO those who are TO
come after him.
Great as he was in his public life in private
he none the less won our admiration Blest
with home of peace and happiness, he was
its light and joy, and the burden of his great
responsibilities never led him to forget the
claims and privileges of those near and dear
to him. Beloved and veneraled by his friends,
honored and respected by all, he has gone to
| his grave full OF years and tull of honors and
| he sleeps
Like one
Who wraps The drapery of his couch about him,
And lies down to pleasant dreams
In behalf of the bar OF this county l offer
the following resolutions =
Resolved. That the members of the bar of the
county OF Worcester have received with deep emo-
ton the intelligence Of the death of Hon. Lemucl
Shaw, late chief justice Of the supreme judicial
court, who for thirty years has presided over the
highest tribunal of the commonwealth, and admin
stered justice to her citizens with vgor of intellect
and amplitude oflearning rarely eXcelled and an in
tegrity of purpose, weight OF Character and purity
| OF morals never surpassed.
| Resolved That in the catalogue Of distinguished
jurists and ustTious magistrates who have adorned
the judicial annals of this state, the name of Chief
Justice Shaw will always hold a conspicuous place,
and that his memory will be cherished with graft
tude for judicial services of unexampled magnitude
by which be has developed our jurisprudence into Il
| harmonious system, and eNpounded the consutu-
tona unwrtien statute law OF the state in every de-
| partment.
| Resolved That wherever the English language is
| spoken and the common law OF England prevails,
the name OF this great juris has been known, his
study the science of the law have admired his pecu-
liar mastery OF its principles and the intellectual
and discriminating power which has characterized
their application to Tie practical affairs OF lie.
Resolved, That his genial nature and his patient
spLit of investigatoI-his untiring endurance of
feas ieas rr lasA 81 is+ a. lasIe ms
| ence, and his incorTuptbe integrity of Character
had long ago shown him TO be one OF the most re-
markable men Of the present century; and as time
sha3l deyelope year by year the great principles
which he has elucidaed with such remarkable logic
|
| of the great and good of Massachusetts will
stand higher than that of LEMUEL SHAW.
Judge Chaplin concluded by moving that
the resolutions be entered upon the records
of the court, and that as an evidence of respect
to the memory OF the late chief justice, the
court adjourn.
Hon. Peter C. Bacon seconded the resola.
tiOns. He said he had had the honor to be a
member of this bar from the day the lamented
chief justice took his seat on the bench, and
had been able in some measure to appreciate
the services that venerable and distinguished
magistrate has conferred, not only on the ju
dietary and people OF our own stale, but upon
the country and the world lie subscribed
most heartily to every word in those resolu
tions. He had never been in the presence Of
that great man, but he had departed with a
higher veneration for him. No man could be
IN his presence, no man could know him,
without generating him for his incorruptbe
integrity, his great patience, his industry, his
care in the smallest as well as the greatest
causes His intense desire to see justice ad.
ministered cannot have failed 10 strike the
mind of every observer. And now, as we are
to reap the benefit of his labors for the long
| period during which he has presided over the
| judiciary of this commonwealth, as we are to
| enjoy the benefits of his invaluable life, leav-
| ing, as he did, lucrative profession, in which
he might have accumulated fortune, and
deyoting himself to incessant toll in this great
work, AS we reap the benefits of all this, what
can we do but cherish and venerate his MEM
DRY? His name and fame should be held in
everlasting remembrance for the good he has
accomplished.
Hon. Francis II. Dewey said that no resolu-
tions of respect and no words of eulogium
could add to the honors of the eminent law
giver whose decease we mourn, but he could
not refrain from adding his mite of tribute
of respect at this time. There was one prom
inent feature of his character, which distin-
guished him from other leading jurists and
that was the power which lie had over the
minds of the common people. This was evil
dent in the effect of his decisions upon the
public mind. When those opinions were OPP
posed to public opinion, or to what individuals