The Portland daily press., 1886-08-03
JUDGE HARRINGTON.
His Famous Decision in the Case of
Fugitive Slave.
Arnarican MisSinnaru

American Missionary.
Who was Judge Harrington? Possibly
some of our old abolition readers may be
able to answer this question. To the present
generation the name is certainly not famil-
jar.
On the third of July last in Chippenhook
Cemetery, Clarendon, VT, by an appropria-
tion of $400 made by the Vermont General
Assembly in 1884, monument was dedicat
ed in the presence of $4,000 people, on which
were the words, "Judge Theophilus Har
rington, 1762-1S13, Erected by the State, 1886
But why did the State single out a man SC
long dead and thus honor him? 1t was be-
cause a man had lived and died., whose life
largely had entered into present history with
moulding power, but of whom the world
knew little. Judge Harrington was Yer
mont farmer whose good sense and sturdy
character led his townsmen to send him to
the General Assembly as their representa-
tive from 1795-1S03 Notwithstanding the
fact that he had never studied law he was
elected Presiding Judge of Rutland County
Court in 1900. In 1903, he was elected Judge
of the Supreme Court, which position he
held until 1918. After this election, he was
by courtesy admitted member of the bar of
the County Court of which he had already
been Judge. He thus became nominally a
member of the legal profession, though he
was always farmer and never lawyer by
education, profession or practice.
Some of the decisions rendered by this re-
markable man, though ignorant of the law.
have become the authority for decisions in
similar cases in all courts of Justice, and
some of them have been the precursors of
mighty revolutions in public sentiment. A
man stole horse in Canada and took il
through Vermont into Massachusetts and
sold it. He was indicted for stealing the
horse in Vermont and his case came before
the Supreme Court. 1t was objected that he
stole the horse in Canada, and merely took
it through Vermont and could be punished
criminally only in Canada where l.. stole it,
or in Massachusetts where he sold it. The
other judges were in doubt, but Judge Har-
rington said that in his opinion the man stole
the horse when he took it, and stole i every
step of the way he took with it, unit he sold
it, and was stealing it all the way through
Vermont. The judges concurred at once
remains good law and is recogniz / every
where.
But the decision that makes Judge Har-
ringtOn worthy of monumental remembrance
NOT ONLY DIV v eTllOQl, DuJ Dy I'LL buC ClNlllLcu
world, is decision that he gave in reference
to fugitive slave brought into his court for
a warrant to be returned to his owner. Con-
gress had passed law empowering the own
er of a slave that had escaped into another
State to bring him before any magistrate,
and upon proof to the satisfaction of the
magistrate that the person seized "doth un-
der the laws of the State or Territory from
which he or she fled owe service or labor to
the person claiming him or her." it was the
duty of the magistrate to direct the fugi-
tive's return. Under this law slave was
brought before Judge Harrington. The At
torney representing the person who claimed tC
be owner undertook to prove to him that the
slave owed service to the master. To dC
this he would prove that the master owned
the slave. The Attorney was armed with
affidavits of title to the slave. He seemed to
doubt whether Judge Harrington understood
the procedure and put in proof an affidavit
of the bill of sale of the man. Judge Har.
rington asked if that was all. Then he put
in an affidavit of a bill of sale OF the mother
to the man who sold the slave. Judge Har-
rington said, SIS that all?' The Attorney
said he had gone back to the ownership Of
the mother. Judge Harrington said, 'But
you don't go back to the original proprietor.
The Attorney, surprised at this, asked wnal
would answer beyond these bills of sale, and
the Judge replied, "a bill of sale from God
Almighty The Attorney could not pro-
duce that, the certificate was refused and the
slave went free.