The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1873-09-10

meuiateiv upon, or soon after liis admission,
he was taken into partnership. by Joha
Caldwell, who was then in the full tide of
fame and success as q forensic orator The
Continuation was happy one for both
parties. Mr.. Caldwell, like almost all men
whose eloqnencc gives them command over
jurieS and spectators, appears to have relied
upon tLat gift, somewhat to the neglect Of
his legal studies in general, and to the
serious neglect of the department of plea,i-
Ing. Col. Fairs clear, accurate mind nat
uraily led him 10 that department, and the
deficiency Of his senior forced him 10 make
it his specially. And like the man of the
fable, whom the fairy rewarded for the
klndnesSes he had shown her while she in
habited an unsightly form, he received
noble bounty from this science for his de-
votion to her through all the dry and tedious
details Of technically and apparently arbi-
trary rules. He soon had the satisfaction
alas, how much more rare in the profession
than the world believes of bringing his
cases properly and safely to their trial
He rose rapidly until the times Of Nulli6-
cation, as they are commonly termed.
Then he experienced some difficulty from
his Union opinions, which were opposed to
the prevailing sentiment of this District.
But his teurlcssncSS commanded so much
respect, and his subsequent readiness to
abandon what appeared fruitlcss and
parricidal opposition to the action of his
people, ,evinced such willingness to devote
himself to those people, however wrong he
might consider their theory, that i: was not
long before his error-as it was deemed
was entirely overlooked, and himself re.
stored 10 favor.
lie practiced law without intcrmission,
until the war in Florida, in 1886. Then he
volunteered into the military service, and
in the capacity Of Lieutenant served until
the close of the war. have scarcely ever
heard others speak Of his military career,
and in all my acquaintance with him, l
never heard him mention it q dozen times.
He seems, however, to have conducted
himself with fair credit, in that least in.
tellectual Of occupations. At all events, he
gave satisfaction to the people OF the Dis
trict, for on his return home he was elected
to the Legislature by very tnttering vote,
and he received large accessions to his
business And from this time forward, he
enjoyed the confidence of large majority
Of our people, with less variation and for
II longer period, than probably any man
that ever lived in the District.
Although he Was in the State Legislature
during the greater part of the time until
1876, his career in his profession is mainly
interesting to us. Il may be we'll to men.
tioa few Of the cases in which he distin
guIhed himself. OF these is the case Of
Davis vs. Wright, reported 9 Hills kaw
Rep, p. 560:-in which he was instrument
tai in settling some prime principles in re-
gard to the liability Of executors and ad
ministrators, and the mode Of their account
ing. In the case of Dslrymple vs.. Lotion
e McMullen, Lew Rep, ll2) he procured
valuable principles 10 be laid down in con-
ncction with the offence and the action of
SANDER. In tho case of Caldwell vs.. Viii
son e Speer's Law Rep.) he succeeded in
establishing important rules in reference TO
gifts OF chattels, and the effect Of con.
tinued possession in the donor. He was
associated in the defence, aud obtained q
decree, in Wclch VS.. Kinard Il Speer, Eq +,
25G,) on the subject of a gift of q chattel by
deed, to take effect in futuro. This De
cision was afterwards overruled in Jaggers
vs.. Estes, reported in 2 Strob. Eq., 343;
but one may we'll doubt the propriety Of
the latter judgment. Col. Fair gained the
case Of Brown VS.. Caldwell, Ii SpeeT Eq.,
322), leading case upon the question of
what provisions in the will shall Of them
selves exclude dover.
Col. Fair and Thomas Il. Pope, Esq,
formed copartnership abodt 1898, which
continued until 1888, when the hitter Was
elected Commissioner in. Equity. During
that period, it is impossible 10 say what
part either one Of them performed in their
cases. No doubt, however, each bore his
share OF the labor, each contributed to tEeir
triumphs, each deserves his half Of our ap-
p!auSe.
Col. Fair was engaged in the case of
Kinard vs.. Young, e Rich, Eq. 24I J. very
important case in regard to the rank Of
mortgages among the debts Of deceased
person. lie obtained decree from Chan.
cellor Johnstone, on the circnit-which was,
however, reversed upon this point, by the
Court Of Appeals. I make bold, nevectbc
less, TO say, that the Chancellor's reasoning
has never been answered; and the Court
of Appeals subsequently, really acknowl-
edged and endorsed it by their decision in
the case of Wilson vs.. Mcconnell, reported
in TX Richardson's Equity.
Col. Fair was elected Solicitor of the
Middle Circuit in. 1916, and continued in
that Office until October 1864 period OF
nearly twenty-five years. In.this Office he
was emincntly successful in his prosecu.
tions, eminently punctual and industrious,
eminently just and conscientious. lie car
ricd out perfectly tie design of the office:
he prosecuted every real criminal with skill
and energy, no matter what his wealth,
descent, or social Sank, yet extended all
the libcralty to the accused which the
frailty Of human nature could reasonably
demand. Of the great number of cases
which he managed, 1 may be permitted to
mention three.
The case Of The State vs. Brown, 6
Strob. Law, 5Os,) called forth what was
then a leading decision on the organization
of juries in criminal trials, and what is still
q leading decision on the competency Of an
accomplIce to testify against his fellow
criminal.
The case Of the State vs. Bowen, which
he successfully prosecuted against a master
for not providing his slaves with proper
food and clothing, and that of The State vs..
Boozer and others, by which he enforced
the laws against patrols improperly lis-
turbing slavesat an entertainment, have this
importance, that they show, despite the
SANDERS of our enemies, that we had laws
which jealousy protected our bondmen,
and that in Simeon Fair we had an officer,
who, in the face of all personal opposition,
had the laws carried out in favor Of that
humble class.
Of the many cases which he conducted
in his later years need not spcak-plrtly
because they are so fresh in the minds Of
many persons here, and partly because
| might, ir some instances, touch O wound
which would excite feelings other than those