The sun., 1885-06-21

THE SUN, SUI
States Supreme Court. and which constitute .
sort Of epoch In our constitutional history.
But he laid tho keystone on the arch OF his
popular reputation when he appeared before
the Electoral Comm ssion as counsel for the
President1eiect. Mr.. Tilden. and denounced the
frnud. then on tho eve OF contamination In
language which has since been treasured
among our household words. and 10 destined to
become hereafter As familiar In the mouths OF
patriotic citizens as the most memorable utter
ancs OF Jefferson or Webster.
Tho memorial sketch prepared by Mr.. Chaun-
cey Black is a model OF propriety and breyity.
the author carefully refrainipR from antici-
rating the biography which We trust will short
ly see the light. and combining himself to such
an outline OF events and incidents As might
further IN intelligent perusal OF the essays and
addresses that All the body OF the book. Yet
even In tho narrow limits thus seli-imposed he
has managed to record great many sgnif-
cant and interesting facts. We learn. for in
stance. that Judge Black came Of Irish stock
on both tho fathers and the mothers side.
though his pnternal ancestors had been settled
In Pennsylvania for several generations. 1t Is
noteworthy that these relatives had all been
Federnlists. and the enrly adhesion Of Jsre.
miah Black to the Democratic party seems
to have been due to his connection
with Mr.. Forward. In whose offlce lie
studied law and whose daughter he mar
riod. It is also worthy OF remark that
Judge Black was self-taught. In the ordinary
sense Of lacking college education. though 1t
seems that at the age Of fifteen he had attained
| q mastery Of Latin much superior to that pos
sessed By most graduates. Before he began to
otu u1v Lave ha hsd Al "a ho
text Of Horace verbatim. had translated It into
English prose. and then turned the whole into
English verso OF his own manufacture. We are
assured that to the day OF his death he could
repeat every line Of tho Roman poet. together
with both OF his own juvcnie versions. though
Mother OF the latter had ever been written down.
1t 10 true, ~ tho author OF the memoir con-
cedes. that iu 1857. whom Judge Black appeared
in Washington - member Of Mr. Buchanan's
Cabinet. his reputation was local rather than
national. though he had held for fifteen yenrs
places OF emnenoe on the Pennsylvania bench.
In 1S42. when only thirty-two years old. he had
been appointed President-JudGe OF the Six
teenth Judicial District: nine years later he
became Chief Justice OF the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court, and in 1854 he was elected to
the same tribunal as associate Justice. During
the earlier portion OF his tenure OF the Cabinet
Office to which no was summoned BY
Mr.. Buchanan, Attorney General Black dis
tinGuished himself chiefly by his manage
mont Of the cases growing out OF the
California land claims. whereby he saved
hundreds Of millions Of dollars to the United
States. and to innocent settlers and purchasers
under grants impeached by professional per-
jurers and forgers But It was. OF course. the
part taken by Judge Black In the closing months
OF the Buchanan Administration that deserves.
and wilt one day compel. the special study OF
historians competent to describe the civil war
A considerable part OF tho short space allotted
to the preliminary memoir is devoted by Mr..
Chauncey Black to concise narrative OF the
course taken by Judge Black In reference to tho
relieving OF Fort Sumter. He is evidently not
satisfied with the accounts given in books pre-
viously published OF the bracing influence ex-
erted by Judge Black upon tho rest Of tho Cabi-
net and upon the President himself.
Tho papers relating to tho electoral con-
spiracy OF 1876 which arc published In this
volume. comprise tho article entitled. The
Great Fraud" tho Letter to Mr.. Stoughton."
twho had vainly attempted to defend In the
North american Rerie,D the action OF the Elec-
toral Commission). and finally the discussion
of the electoral vote Of Louisiana. first pub
lshed In the Union newspaper In the first OF
these articles occurs = memorable passage that
cannot be too often set before the people OF this
country. CDehkluR OI tu0 tuOllV0S Uy WHICH
tho majority OF tho Commission must be pre-
sumed to have been actuated. Judge Black
wrote: They do not measure their conduct by
a safe standard II they think 1t right. under
any circumstances. to cheat a sef-governing
nation by nullifytnx the legal vote OF it's peo.
pie. No matter how little respect they may
have for tho Judgment OF the mass. conceding
that our naturalization laws are too liberal
and negro suffrage wholly unwise it must still
be remembered that this right OF voting lies at
the foundation OF our political structure. We
have no public institutions that are not built
upon that. Our ship OF state has no other
keel. and the perAdy that scnttles the
bottom! exposes cargo. crew. and passengers
to utter destruction. Besides. we have all
agreed with one another that the will OF the
whole people as Q collective body shall be
spoken by the major number OF individuals:
we promised aud swore that we would be gov
| erned by that will. II we violate this solemn
compact we are covenant breakers. and can ex-
poet only to be turned out among the nations
which know not God Moreover. taking the
lowest possible view OF tho subject. and consid-
erIng Presidential election as mere game OF
skill or hazard. he must be regarded as roiti-
cal backlog who snatches and makes of with
the stakes he has lost according to the rulos."
The striking passage just cited might be par.
aleled by many another OF equal cogency and
vigor from the same eloquent arragnment OF
tho part played by tho majority Of the Commits
sion. We Gull by preference our one additional
quotation from tho letter Of rejoinder to Mr.
Stoughton. The ininuity Of tho position taken
by the majority Of Eight to Seven ia here sue
cinctly and unanswerably expounded; The
Electoral Commission ~ constituted with
authority. clearly defined. to determine GER
tain controverted matter OF fact. to wit:
Whether Kellogg and his seven associates hkdf
boen duly appointed electors by the people OF
Louisiana or not. To maintain the afflrma-
two side Of that issue the certificate Of the Re.
turning Board was alone relied upon. The
eight Commissioners. nGninst the solemn pro-
test OF their sovon brethren. accepted that
certificate and held it to be good nay
conclusive proof OF the fact averred.
although 1t was. and they knew 1t to be. not
tain al hut saturafad thron.xh