The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1881-02-11


heard him, would take that question
to their respective homes and discuss
It with their neighbors, giving the ar
gumenis, legal and moral, which he
had used before the Court, 50 clear
had he made il. The great faculty OF
his mind was its analytical power.
When a difficult question Of law was
! presented 10 him, he never went to
, his books until he hal thought over
the matter fully and thoroughly, and
analysed the propositions involved.
This sometimes required DAYS and
weeks. After this mental process. he
examined the authorities 10 see IL bis
analysis was correct. His memory
was a faculty that he used but little;
consequently il was very poor. lie
could recolleot less law than any man
| have eyes known. In fact ii wns
not a point with him 10 recolleot an.
thori,ies. lie often seemed to forget
that they we're useful or valuable in
the argument Of a great principle.
lie undertook 10 maintain the ground
he assumed by reason and logic. Il
was clear 10 him and he made il clear
to others, without authority or the
opinions Of other men. lie was
walking thought. His mind was al
ways engaged in the investigation Of
some question. Not satisfied with the
general principles or salient points Of
a proposition, he descended into its
utmost minute, and nothing was left
untouched that could shed light or
obstruct recovery.
The manner Of investigating the
law and facts Of case which was
customary in his day rendered to de
velOp the faculties Of bis great mind.
The lawyers Of that day depended less
upon books than is nov customary,
but more upon principle; they had
fewer cases, but gave them more
deep thought; there was less saihori-
", bu, more logic. After he had in
vestigated a case thoroughly and ap
peared at the bar, he was transform.
ed from the slow, timid and shy man
into the strong. powerful and aggres.
sive man. Indeed he was so power.
ful and resistless that he acquired the
sobriquet Of the "Old Lion. In his
great arguments on questions Of law
or matters Of fact, where the evidence
was circumsiantial, he enchanted the
attention Of judge, jury, and audience
for hours at u time by the power and
clearness of his reasoning and the
wonderful effect that he gave to a
principle or an idea. The men of his
day, with whom he came in contact,
were Ben Hardin, Chief-Justice
George Robertson, Squire Turner,
William II. Carpenter, Daniel Breck,
Samuel Mckee, Charles A. Wicklife,
Cyrus Walker, Charles Cunningham,
Judge Richard Buckner, Thomas i.
Marshall and Joshua +. Bell. They
were a galaxy Of great men, who, by
profound thought, close investiga-
ton, and an order Of ability rarely
equaled at the bar OF on the stump,
contributed largely to build up the
grand judicial system Of Kentucky.
They helped to give her unequal
ed fame throughout the Republic
for her orators. her statesmen and her
jurisis. Among these Kincaid took
rank as first in point of legal ability.
This was the opinion Of Chief Justice
Robertson. A few years before his
(Robertson's) death he was asked by
Hon. Geo. w. Dunlap, in the presence
of several legal gentlemen at Frank
fort, who was the greatest lawyer he
had ever met. Judge Robertson gave
the name OF some lawyer in Philadel.
phia, whom he had frequently met in
the Supreme Court Of the United
States, as the one who could produce
most authority in a case. Next TO
him, he said Hon. James Harlan, Of
Kentucky, be thought, could find
more law for his case than any man
he knew. But that John kincaid, Of
Lincoln, was uncomparably the great.
est lawyer he had ever known or read
after; that he had never been able to
tell where his logic ended or his soph.
isiry began, either in his briefs or ar
gumcnts; that under different circum.
stances and with more selfassertion,
be would have left an immortal fame.
lie further said that he was the most
modest, shy, timid and distrustiul
man Of his own ability he had ever
known; that he never sought oppor.
tunities to display his abilities, but
seemed to shun such and hide himself
away in the county Of Lincoln.
Kincaid was not what is ordinarily
understood to be an eloquent speaker.
His style was not ornate. He never
turned aside from an idea to gather
flower. But it must not be under.
stood from this that his speeches were
dry, listless, or not entertaining. On
the contrary, he had the happy faculty,