The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-05

an eminent aegfee, ana nUW even mufe than 10
was then, ID is matter OF cBngfatulstion that he
has another requisite not only for Justice OF the
Supreme court but tUr one upon whom ia TO be
devolved question Of such great political mo-
ment az this Presidential issus-ths possession
Of soubd constitutional opinions. An old man,
sound lawyer, an upright judge. and pure pa.
trot, the Presidential question toold not be cub
lnitted to safer hands than those Of Judge Cliff
lord.
STEPHEN j. FIELD.
Judge Field IL Que of four brothers, each of
whom ia distinguished In hs own chosen field
David Dudley as leader at the bar, Cyrus w.
as the proiect OF The Atlantic Cable aud Henry
Nj. as q clergyman and author. He Was born In
Connecticut III 1916 and was graduated at Will
liams Cole &c in 1897. subsequently he read law
in this City with David Dudley Field, and alter he
osme to the bar be was his brothers law partner
| un,il 1913. when he visited Europe. Returning
the "Argonautas Of 49," and in January, 1885,
he elected the III. at Aloade Of Marysvle.
In the same year La was elected to the State Leg
islature. ami exerted q powerful Influence in that
body III moulding the judiciary ct the state. la
1857 he elected Judge OF The tupreme
UVuft Ut Cali mia, in HhDh he was accorded the
position Of chief Justice. and ia 1868 President
Lie CON appointed him 10 tho position he now
huds. Judge field Is man Of large reeding
and extensive information. Whel boy he
spent three years hb Athens and Smyrna.
agd learned to speak modern Gretk Like y naive.
Ia California he soon aequi el all those special
legal accomplishments 80 necessary to lawyer
on The Pacific elOpe, aud lie ia probably better
acquAinLed with the mixed system Of IRw-8pan
ish, Mexican aud Ameriosn-whieh prevails there
than any man in this country. As chief Justice
OF hls state he did much to sustain the dignity 0
the bench, aud No decisions Of any State curt
havs been more universally respected than bis
No Que better uudeist those gis sAt land caRes
which have furnished 10 mucn nlhtter for litiga-
tUn, both in the local nnrts anu the kuptenle
Court Of the United bthtes, anl 80 much were
his ability and character respected by men of oil
parties that. when the Pacific slope was accorded
d judge on the supreme Bench. the whole Cali
turnls delegation Al Congress- unitt d to ssk his
appointment. At the tins of his els vation 10 his
present position Judge Field was fUrty-slX years
vi age, aud be has alieady proved himself the
peer OF auy member OF the court. He delivered
the Upiuiun OF the court IN the test-Vath
cases, and come Of his dissenting opinions nota-
bly in il1e leEsltsnder and The eUnfseRion cases,
have attracted mu6h attention. The law OF real
property In California was placed upon q solid
basis while Judge Fisld was Un the bench Of that
STATE, end principally by decisions Ia which he
delivered the opinions Of The court One Of his
late decisions In the supreme Court touching
theve old questions led to rather remarkable con-
sequences. In January, 1866, he WAS made the
recipit mt uf an ''infernsl machine" on the inside
lid OF whioa was pasted the following words, CUT
From o newspaper: October 81, lc64. Judge
Field this morning decided the Puebla case III
tsvur of the city" The Puebls case was one in
FWFlHE th6 fiT' Ua ol tlhes W pibpeEty gwen w
the city of San Francisco, and which Was decided
by Judge Field Ia 1864 thereby dtsposss ssssiug .
large number OF spectators and adventurers who
had occupied tbs land as "squatters."
WILLIAM STRONG
I Judge Strong is, like Thaddsus Stevens, one of
The few Yankees traBeplanted to Pennss lvapia
soil who were able to lake new root. He was
burn iu Son,ers, Conn, in Bo8. and reosivod his
elementary education Mt Plaiutsld Academy. He
was graduated from Yale College in 1928. and
subsequently he taught school both in his nstive
state and in New Jersey. While engaged in
teaching be studied law, and In 1882 he was ad-
mitled to the bar In Pennsylvania. With true
Yankee courage he eeiected the Datohest OF The
Dutch counties in the state Hs the scsne Of his
legal triumphs, and began the practice Of b. g
pr, fesslon 10 Heading, Berks county. He has
betn all his life lawyer either at the bar or on
he bench, his political service being two
teams ia Copgrtss-onlv this and moth
ing mere. The books tell US that
Judge htrong, after retiring from Congress. re-
sumed bis pro- ession, and continued in the prao
,ice until 1867, wht no was elected judge of
tho SUPP tine Court OF Pennsy lvania. Il he ouly
objection to this statement OF facts ID The ftet
itself that the Pennsylvania lawyer who happens
to be elected TO Congress never suspends his
practice, and however the interests Of the ooun.
try mHy suffer by his absence from the Capitol.
he ls always at home during "court week."
] he old county of Befks was county to de-
mand just such devo ion IRON Mr.. Strong, and
he accorded it gladly while his opinions
in the state Reports bear ample Testimony to the
dep h Of his learning and the extent OF bis ex-
perience. No opinions eyince more ability or
ripper judgment than tho opinions of Judge
Strong scsttered through the PENNSYLVANIA Ho-
ports between 1867 and 1868. 10 the latter yeat
Judge Strong resigned his position on the Su-
preme bench of the State, aud two years later,
III 1870 President Grant appointed him an aeso-
ciate justice of the supreme Court OF the United
Dt,G,u in tuIt al INrLt and hiu
head s generally regarded as the most intellec-
ttal Of any OF thoso which hold the brains of the
court. Judge Stroug Is never heard OF either in
politics or socie y, and. this Presidential question
" it'll him, as with Judge Clifford will be only an
issue of fact to be decided according TO the set-
tied rules OF law aud OF evidence
SAMUEL r. MILLER.
Justice Miller Is one Of the justices Of the Su-
preme Court HON people are apt TO forget as
being o. the bench at all Ho s for all that u
good lawyer, and something more than q fair
specimen OF the Western Judge By birth he Is
y ksntuckian, ard was once q doctor, but he
practiced medicine only few years bt foro turn
ing his attention to the law. In years he is n
few months older than Judge Field and he began
his career in Iowa about tho sumo time that
Field drove down hts stakes in Caiifor-
mia. Mr. Miller, however, was not IL pol
itlciar, though holding tho strongest pos.
| sibe political sentiments, an1 Until Ap-
pointed TO the s5upreme Bench in 1863 by Presi-
don't Lincoln he uniformly declined office, and
was not even tempted by offers of Office. This s
very much TO his credit, when it ID remembered
that rs early l84S he was in favor Of emancipa-
ton, and removed from Kentucky to Iowa on ac-
count Of the course he had taken upon tbi4 ques-
ton. In Iowa he was always a leader ia The Re-
publican party, and an active politician, though
not in politics. He is man Of ready opinions
but politician who kept out Of politics was not
likely to become partisan the bench, and
Judge Miller, though strong Republican, 10 free
from any such imputation.
JOSEPH P. BRADLEY
was born in Ber1e, Albany county, N. Y, March
H. 1878. At the age Of sixteen he 'aught school,
graduated at Rutgers College, New Jersey, in
1886; taught an Academy at Milestone; stu tied
law, and came to the bar Of that State in 1889,
and practiced the profession at Newark from the
time Of his admission until his appointment as
Associate Justice Of the Sup, eme Court OF the
United States, March 2l 1870. He never took