The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1883-07-04
ONE or THE VERY FIRST LIZ
ING LAWYERs.

Prom the EHAAAucipAA4 hccohu-
just Before the Supreme Court ad-
jonrned Chief Justice Ware said of an
argument made IN the case of the States
of New York and New Hampshire
against the State of1ouisiana b." That
is the finest legal argument / ever
heard. And Associate Justice Miller,
who took his seat on the Supreme bench
in 1862, and, therefore, antcdates all
the others, said CT concur in that
epinion" ,tfA
The man who made the argument
was John A Campbell, of New Orleans
He was member of the Supreme
Court Of the United States when the
most famous of its present members
were unknown. He held his place I'M
I'll the war broke out, and then he left
the Union and the bench with his State.
He reappeared after the war as member
of the Supreme Court bar with a re-
markable practice, even for that bar OF
large practices and great fees, aud has
stood in the front rank ever since.
lie is a very old man. His form is
thin and bent, his skin is in the parch-
ment state, and his hair is as white as
the driven snew; bat a great mind
looks out through bis keen bright eye,
and q great soul controls his fragile
body. He is a lawyer TO the core-in
some respects one of the wisest, broad
est, deepest, and most learned in the
United States He has neither the
presence. voice, nor tongue of the ora
tor, but when he speaks in his, deliber-
ate, measured tones, never wasting a
word, the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed States listens as it listens TO almest
no other man. Mr.. Campbell is abb
sorbed in his work. He has no eyer or
ears for anything or anybody not i'm
mediately concerned in the case in
hand. - 't
lie lives very quietly in New Orleans
surrounded by one OF the finest law
Libraries In all languages in the world.
He is a profound civil lawyer. with
Justiiian at his tongues end, and at the
same time acommon lawyer, competent
10 battle with the best of that class.
His memory is as wonderful as George
Bancroft's. He apparently remembers
every scrap of law he ever saw or heard,
aud he has his resources so classified
and calalogued that he can bring them
forth at will This is what makes his
H. r. oil
worthy of the praise great lawyers give
them. FloweTy tropes and magnilo-
queni metaphors would be out of place
with such learning.
Mr. Campbell is "wen to do, and
practices only because he loves the
work. lie practices only in the SUI
prene Court. He takes none but great
cases lie takes only three or four in
a year, at fee of from So. 900 to $685.
600 apiece. Now and then he gives an
opiuion OF some great question TO some
| less learned lawyer, or to some inquiring
Judge who feels his deficiency and
seeks this powerful "friend of the
court But all minor cases. that is,
/ cases involving minor questions,
whether tic amount of the fees involv'
cd be great or small, are promptly de-
clined. --.tr ...-I.a lin ..a..
Once retained in a case Mr.. Campbell
becomes a rccluse. When he emerges
from his books he has absorbed that
case with all its bearings, either of his
own side or the other. You may be
quite sure thai when be has said his say
he has said all there is to say on either
side, and that the Court will generally
agree with his II were on the other
side, no matter how great might be
or how great my case might be, would
do well to submit the case without ar
gument. Judge Campbell would state
both sides as well as though he were
still on the bench, and the Judge would
agree with him anyway ....a.s ....