The sun., 1873-05-08
Death of Chief Justice CLnso.

Death OF Chief Justice Chase.
SALMON pOUrLA>D CHhsE. chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of the United States.
died IN this city Yesterday ut the housp
nj his daughter Mrs. lloYr. His death was
not wholly unexpected, FOR he hal been in
iuch feeble health during the past two on
three y.aiS rs to he liable to pass away ~
any tine.
AZ. CHASE was horn in Cornish, New
Hampshire, Jan. II, 1909, and therefore at
his death was the Sixty-sixth year of his
sr.. Iia father died in that state whcn
BiLyoN wa nine years old. In his tw'lfi'
year he was sent to ohio. where his "lu
ritinD was suporincnd"l by hi- uuci'
Pr. .TDrn CHASE, then Bishop %, rhai
diocese. In 1921 SALMON entered The iu;,,nr
cli.ss Of Dartmouth College, IN h pH;iyr
st.ate, ami wn- graduated two yr.u', l','
In The follow ing winter hr taught c''s>i-
al school in Washington. Among h'-
pupils were sons of HENRY CLAy. SsMuII.
T.. SoUTHARp, Secretary Ot the Navy,
WILLIAM WiRr Ati.tney- -Gencnh. and
other distinguished statesmen. Young
CnAsE read law with M. WRIT, and was
admitted to the Washington bar in 1'?l
having then just reached hIs majority. In
the spring of $50 h. returned 10 Ciucin-
natl, whcrc he had been partly educated
under the charge of hi uncle. the Bishop,
and commenced the practice of his pro
tession, making Cincinnati thence onward
his home.
Though q thoroughly rend lawyer Mr.
'u.sB did not possess n rfwiny style ~
0ratory. ana clients did not Immediately
cluster around him. In his leisure hours he
prepared digc't ~ thrcc volumes Of the
statutes uf Ohio from the earliest period,
with their sub-C luout alterations and sub
Titutions, somewhat IN "a" styl" OF the
New York Revised etituic> of our time,
accompanied with references 10 adjudl-
Gated rascs and n historical -kctch of ohio
and the Northwest Territory. Th1 valuable
work met with a largo sale. and gave the
aitherto almost unknown lawyer Il good
dcai Of reputation, aud, what was quite a.
necessary To him, II soon introduced him
90 n rcmuncative practice.
Mr tnNsE early exhibited his ant i-slavc-
ry procNilics in the liue Of Lis profession.
In 1887 he volunteered as counsel for n col
orri woman. clam ii ~ fugitive from
'stN'llf biihl' 'l'' hA Wv 'TAh'N ''''A =" ~
Cincinnati. Ia al rNhau.t,vc argument
he contested the authority of Con-
pess TO confer amy power or inn
pose any duties upon state magistrate
N regard 20 fugitive slaves and maintained
hat the old Fugitive slave law of 1913 wa
unconstitutional. At this time Mr.. JAMES
I. BiRSEY, who was subsequently the
Liberty party candidate for President, was
publishing an abolition newspaper in Gin
'innati. Ills journal was two or three
lines broken mp, and his press and type
thrown into the OHIO river, Mr., BrnSEr
was arrested on charge Of harhOring q
runaway slave. Hr, CHASE appeared a'
his counsel, and made an able speech IT
defence Of the proposition that, H. the slav'
mad been brought into Ohio 10y his master
The negro was therefore free. Th'
principle thus contended tor was, II vii
be rccolccted, enumerated nifty year
before by Lord MANSFIELD III the famou
ease OF SOMCRSEr, the Jdmaicd negro, win
waa carried 10 England by his maetti
5oOn after the BIRNEY case the prInclp
maintained by CHASE was recognized n
Iound law by the highe,t courts in scvtrd
ol the Northern states.
Mr. CHASE often acted ~ counsel IN thi
class Of eases for many years. The mos
celebrated was that OF VAN XANDr, who
IKE BIRSCY, was accused ~ hdrhoriui
and even helping on his way to Canada,
runaway negro. This east went 10 Tia
supreme Court OF the United states wher
il was argued for VAN XAHDr by NJ
Grassland Gov, SEWARD.
To have cOntended for such principle
and TO have defended colorrd men elaine
AZ fugitive slaves seems 10 us nowadays
very light matter. Bltit was not 90 thiri
or forty years ago. The lawyer who too
that side in those troubled times ha2ardt
notonly his reputation but not nfrequen
lyevcn his life. And ~ nothing are SALm'
=. CHASE and WILLIAM H. SEWARD entitl'
10 more honor than for the zeal al
courage they exhibited in appearing f
The poor and needy before the courts
the country when il cost 10 stand by thei
Mr.. CHASE did not take much part
politics til after the election of HART
BON. Though he had supported HARRIS
In lsi0 he was moderate DemOCr
rather than an ultra Wing, and even TIA
early more Of an AhOlitionist than eth,
In lsi1 he joined ina call fOran anti-slaye
convention at Columbus, Ohio, which III
In December a Z lat year The resolutlo
and address 4 '.ie Convention were frC
the pen OF u CHASE; and theme fOrwa
he became identified with the Libcr ~ pi
ty, Of which BIRSEr GERRIT SMITH, 30
G. WHITTIER, and many other men Of ma
were already conspicuous members.
the National Convention OF that organi
tion in ls43, which nominated I3IRNEy
President, and NJ all its subsequent
"A t.s sta Nl,,sl
Mr. CHASE was present and took a pro-
nsnt part, Indeed, during the latter ye
Of that organization he was regarded