The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-10-05
HON. SIDNEY BREESE,
A Tribute to the Memory OF the Great Jurist.

On last Tuesday afternoon session OF the SUI
preme Court was held for the purpose of hearing
the resolutions of respect passed by the Chicago
bar, aud other memorials Of the late Mr. Justice
Breese. The exercises began ut > O'Clock, full
bench being present, Judge Craig presiding
About 100 ladies and gentlemen had gain
cred together to hear the exercises, Among the
gentlemen we noticed NJ. W. Fuller \. Moses,
Gen. J. l.. Thompson, c. c. bonney Chicago'
O'Connor and Duncan, La Sale; Judge MOORE
Kankakee; Mcssrs. Blanchard, Gilbert, KlchoI-
son, Bull, Mayo, Widmer, Ottawa; ana Others
Among the ladies were Mrs. {. ID. lrimblc' MIS-
ID. F. Cameron, Mrs. d. liapeman, Mrs, Anthony
Mrs l.. Leland, Mrs, Butler Mrs. CatIin, Mrs
Wallace Misses Eldrcdgc Hull, Bull Eamcs,
Wallace, etc.
The Court having announced the court coH'
vened for the purpose of hearing resolutions and
such remarks rs NAV he deemed necessary rcla-
tive 20 the death of Judge Brccse,' Mr. Henry
j. Sheldon, secretary OF the Chicago Bar Associ-
alton, presented the following resolutions, which
he read:
R.aJ,,d, That we have heard with unfcigned
sorrow of the death Of Hon. Sidney Brcesc late
one of the justices of the Supreme Court. lie
has been taken from us us full Of years, indeed,
and of honors, but in the midst of his usefulness
For sixty years he had occupied conspicuous
position MS Il lawyer, statesman and Jursl, ana
by his eminent services in professional and pup
lie life and the sterling integrity which marked MS
character inspiring universal confidence ana re-
spect. The loss sustained by the death OF sugh
man may Justly be regarded Us irrcparabic. III
every position he attained he was fully equal TO
its responsibilities. As Il practitioner at the bar,
and as public prosecutor, rs representative IN
the state legislature, and member of the senate
of the United States, rs Judge 81 lhe circuit
codrt and Justice and chief justice OF the SUI
preme court, he sustained himself with signal
ability and reputation among men VINO achieved
impcrishable rcnown in the service OF the stale
and nation From the first organization OF the
state in 1918 to the time OF his DEATH he was III
timutely connected with its jurisprudence, either
as legislator or judge. In the last twenty
years of his life he was one of The most learned
and accomplished members of the supreme
bench, performing to the end in his advanced
years, his full share of the severe ana lnccssant
iabors which have borne 50 Opprcssivcly upon
the Court, and always acquitting himself of his
arduous duties with distinguished ability and up
rightncss AS well as uniform courtesy
H,sol,ed That the fidelity and nntiring dcNo.
ton to duty displayed by Judge bfeesc III inc
judicial office, no less than his rare culture and
the remarkable capacity he possessed for grasp
ing the most abstrusc principles of the law, rs
well as complicated questions of fact, reflect the
highest honor upon his character rs Judge, ana
that IN common WIN inc lneIlDcle III lllc
profession throughout the State, we dcplorc the
loss which the Bench and Bar have sustained by
his death. His memory will be held by us all in
afiectonare and grateful remembrance.
ReSol,vd, That the chairman of this meeting be
requested TO communicate Il copy OF these reS0-
lutions to the family of the deceased
Mr. Sheldon was followed by Atty. Gen. Edsall,
who presented to the Court the action of the ST.
Louis Bar in reference to the death Of Judge
Breese, as follows:
Legal learning and judicial ability have no st,tS
and whenever and wherever those great quail
ties are prominently developed, the bar is ever
ready to pay tribute Of respect to their posscSsor.
Therefore, it is fit that we of Missouri should cX-
press our estimate of the judicial character of an
eminent iurst NOW no more of our sister state
The judicial career Of Judge Brcese extended
through period of nearly forty years, and for
quarter of a century he was II justice of the SUI
preme Court of that State.
Throughout his long judicial service, by dill
gent and exhaustive study of hclaw, by his criti
cal and comprehensive knowledge of the funda
mental laws Of the country, both Federal and
State, and by his untirng and patient invcStiga-
ton of every subject submitted to him, his course
excited the admiration and inspired the conf
dence and respect of the body of the people of
Illinois-in fact everywhere, where his Judicial
action came in review.
His was a long life of diligcnt, faithful study,
He did not hang on the outer edge of the law,
but penetrated its profOundest depths. In his
adjudications he laborcd todevelope and dissent
nate the underlying principles of every question
submitted to him, and he was bold and indcpGn
dent in asserting the law, unmoNed by popular
or other Glamour.
These qualities and characteristics enshrincd
his judicial character in honor and upheld him
in all the changing vicissitudcs of long and
evcntful judicial career and life. Under his ad
ministraion the law was faithfully maintained
and exalted.
Full of honors and full of years, n venerable
and vcnerated Judge, he died with his judicial
harness on, leaving his judicial work behind,
luminous example to the world.
Such honor and respect do we pay to the mem
DRY OF Sidney Brccsc.
After presenting the above, Mr. Edsall followed
with Il short address. He said Judge Brecsc's
"professional aud public life began with the or
ganization of our state, sixty years ago; and his
name, either as reporter, counselor, or Judge,
adorns every volume, if not every page, of its
subsequent judicial history. The record there
written constitutes the impcrishable memorial OF
his fame Il monument more enduring than bronze
or marble 1t is the peculiar felicity of the mem
beers of this distinguished tribunal that the results
of their labors are necessarily preserved in such
FORM and Cubservc such purposes, that they must
ever be studied and meditatcd upon by the bar
and their successors upon the bench. The
achievements of the great jurist upon this arena
cannot pass into oblivion He then went on to
relate his own acquaintance with Judge Brecse,
how his venerable presence was missed in the
Court, and referred to the important era during
which the Judge had lived, especially in iudic-
ial point of view and remarked how great was
his influence as a Judge. The student of his jul
dical opinions will be impressed with his great
mental endowments, his comprehensive grasp Of
legal principles, and his vigorous logic-not un-
frequently adorned with the pleasing graces OF
literature. His standard of the professional eth
les of the bar was high. He was quick to rebuke
unworthy conduct but he was also quick to dis
Germ and encourage merit. His memory and
fame are not only cherished by his contenporar-
les at the bar and colleagues in judicial service
hut tloSu sIlccnndinrc .rnnnrntinn IELn