The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-06
STORIES OF Judge Black,

A SCalWdrt henLuckldn WISHING Cne
national capital during the MIlliken
trial, accidentally stumbled into the
supreme court room. He had never
heard Judge Black before, and listened
with the utmost interest almost to
the conclusion. He could not con-
tain himself after the eloquent coun-
sci, with all his terrible power and
invective, had contrasted military tr!-
bunals with the impudent assump-
ton of Lola MonteZ, in importing d
pack of English bulldogs into Munich
to harass and worry and tear every
body who displeased the royal mis-
tress of absolute kings fancy. AS
he told how the people finally arose
and 'drove out king, dogs and strum-
pet" Kentucky rushed breathless from
the court room over to the house and
begged the first of congressman whom
he encountered to hurry over to the
the court room and hear old Jerry
Black give them hell
His appearance before the supreme
court was always subject of interest
and attention by the Judges, and JUS
tice Miller, a political opponent, once
said that ''it is always relief when
Judge Black rises to speak. His argu-
ments were as delightful as a page
from Macauley" The same member
of the court less rellshed an incident
that is worth telling. On one occa-
sion, since the civil rights laws were
passed, white man was indicted for
killing a negro in Kentucky, and the
motion was made to transfer his case
to the federal courts for trial before a
mixed jury. Judge Black was earn
estly pressing the case upon the court
for decision of some mooted point,
when, to avoid judgment upon it, the
court held that it had no jurisdiction,
the law in question not being applica-
BILE to a case in which the victim was
Il negro and the defendant a white
man. Sauntering up the street few
days afterward with a Pennsylvania
friend. Jude Black met Justices Mil
Ter and Strong. Stopping them and
hear, he said: 81 want to introduce
you to these two gentlemen. They
are a remarkable pair. They are two
judges of the supreme court, who, in
order to dodge a constitutional point,
decided that killing a niger did not
affect him."
On one occasion, when attacked on
the Democratic side of the House,
Thad. Stevens highly eulogized Black
AS lawyer and man, but expressly
withheld any endorsement of his
politics, which were as bad, he said,
as possible. In their originality, their
courage and their inflexibility there
were points of resemblance between
Stevens and Black, though in other
respects the widest dissimilarity pre-
vailed. There were no social relations
between them; they scarcely ever
spoke, but up to the time of his death
Stevens cherished the highest respect
for him, and Black has said: "When
Mr.. Stevens died he was unequalled
us Il lawyer, and he said the smarteSt
things that ever were said; but his
mind, so far as a sense of obligation to
God is concerned, was a bowling
wilderness"
One day Black was surrounded by
bevy of his personal friends on the
floor of the house, among the rest
Judge Mercur, then the Bradford
congressman, who turned to him and
said: Judge Black, you have more
friends on this side of the house than
on your own. You ought to be Re
publican. If you would join us we
would appreciate you and give you
due prominence" To which Judge
Black made reply that he knew it all
to be true; the Republicans were
good fellows; he would like to belong
TO them, and there was only one thing
in the way. If" he said. there
were no hereafter would join the
Republican party at once. Nothing
deterS me but the fear of HE'LL