The Portland daily press., 1886-07-31

good man, sad he, as he passed on ana lelt
me standing alone. Reverent footsteps ap-
proach his grave, for he was admired and loved
at his own home.
There, among the honored dead, in the midst
of the scenes with which so much of his life
was associated, in the long shadows of the
pines. within the sound of the beautiful An
droscoggin river as it dashes over its lowest
falls and widens to approach the sea- he sleeps
in death. Peace, goodwill and grateful re-
membranes follow him, to guard his repose !
But here in the court his influence fingers
and will remain. Year by year, generation
after generation, may not say age after age,
the judicial opinions which he elaborated with
so minute and patient care, into which he
put so mnch of his energy and his life, will
remain among the influences which give color
TO professional thought and feeling, which
direct the course of Judicial decision, determine
the difficult boundaries Of private rights, shape
legislation and affect the administration Of
public affairs. But when the present genera
ton, with its love and respect for him per-
sonally, with its warmth of affection for him
as man, shall have passed away, when his
fame shall have become impersonal resting
ouly on his works which remain, when the
written page shall be the only witness left that
can sneak of him as he was, then is 1t not safe
10 saw. he will be remembered and known as
one of the ablest and best among the judges OF
Maines
At the conclusion of Judge Symonds's re-
marks Chief Justice Peters, in behalf of the
Snnreme court. made the following response: :
Gentlemen of the Bar,-We cheerfully lay
aside our labors for the hour, to join with the
bar in paving tribute of respect to the MEM
ory of our late associate, Judge Barrows. We
oar,fe ~ bn
lutions offered by you, and in the eulogies
pronounced. The faculties, attainments and
nublie services of our late friend have been
fully and ftly portrayed in what has been al
ready spoken. STILL it would be an omission,
if we did not. even at the risk of repetition,
give some expression of our own feelings and
sentiments on this impressive and interesting
occasion.
The deceased was known to most of the
nresent members of the court only
while he was a Judge. I remember
seeing him but once engaged in trying a cause
as an advocate. But it is easy for us to ap-
prehend, from our knowledge of the man, how
excellently he must have performed all the
duties resting upon him IN that capacity. we
can readily appreciate that industry and
promptitude, those indispensable qualities Tor
professional success, personal independence
directness. earnestness and force were among
his marked qualities while he was at the bar.
IT would be unlike him to have wasted his
own time or words or the time OF the court.
Undoubtedly, his career on the bench, hav-
inc been member of this court for twenty
one wears. ensures to his name the greater and
more enduring fame. This field of labor was
probably more fitted to his taste and abilities
than was that of the bar. Before coming to
this bench he had for quite period been
Judge of probate, filling the position with
great satisfaction to the community, his expe-
rience in that department rendering him al
ways influential with his associates in ques-
tions of probate law.
His fitness and excellence were conspicuous
both as nisi priuS judge, and member OF
the court of law. He was model Juoge at
the trial terms All his work there was care
fully, deliberately, patiently, fully done, with
nothing sighted or neglected. Lord Hale SAID
of the duties of judges, that ga jury should
be told where the main question or knot OF the
business les Judge Barrows had the faculty
to compass that end. In the trial OF every
case he fully surveyed the whole field OF fact,
and gave well prepared and careful rulings on
the law. He made his work as perfect as cir
cumstances permitted. If the facts Oh case
were complicated or confused, "the Gordian
knot he would unloose," often with singular
knack and felicity. The consequence was that
his terms were laborious, exhaustive, OF con-
siderable duration, and the results OF them
Just and satisfactory. l think allwould concur
with Judge Barrows in the theory entertained by
him, that case is not fairly tried merely be-
cause no exceptionable rulings are gwen and
the facts are not trespassed upon by the court
He believed that the points of a case should be
illuminated by all the light which the facts
can afford. and that jury should be made to
understand and appreciate them. loo often
it is otherwise.
The amount of nisi pri,ts work which must
have been accomplished by Judge Barrows
may be appreciated when we remember that
there were assigned to him not less than SIX
terms upon an average annually, during Pc
Rod of twenty one years,-and never day
lost by his sickness.
To do that which before us lies in daily life
Is the prime wisdom,
says the poet philosopher.
And how uneventful of historical reco
such an arduous judicial experience necessari-
ly must be, an endless chain sort of employment,
the work of one day so much like that of any
other. The labors and responsibilities of such
public servant are appreciated but by the
few. Even though the world grants him
SOON
gotten "The good that men do is oft inferred
with tEeir bones" calculated Mark Antony
deploringly and half truthfully, over the body
of Caesar; but more inspiring sentiment
should animate the motives of judges and
LAWYERS. There is consolation in the reiec-
ton that the Judicial, or professional zeal and
industry may be, should be- expended for the
public good Faithful work is to be done at
the rear as well as at the front of the battles
of life. Judges are SILENT but can be effective
workers in the fields constantly cultivated for
the welfare of society. Their good works
survive them.
The seeds they sow are sacred seeds,
And bear their righteous fruits for general veal,
When sleeps the husbandman.
Judge Barrows himself expresses a satisfac-
tory appreciation of the sentiment in his re-
marks upon the judicial life of another late
associate, Judge Dickerson, when he said:
"But this much we know full well. When a
man has faithfully sought to do that which is
right, and TO improve the talents God gave
him, for the benefit of his kind, there remain
eth about his memory a fame as well as a fra
GRANGE that no amount of success in the accu-
mutation of the riches, SO eagerly sought by
most men of to- day, can ever give.
Judge Barrows will be best known to his
tory in another department of judicial labor.
Inc opinions OF lnI COutt pIepdlSu py INN
will be his enduring monument, his best
eulogy. Here, too, did he give most unsparing
pains to the work belonging to his hands,
really seeming not to possess the capacity to
neglect anything. His quiet energy and per-
severance, a machinery that worked noiselessly
and without friction OF chafe, conquered all
tasks. He thoroughly Investigated all ques-
tions, both of law and fact, whether pertain
ing to cases in the first instance assigned to
him, or to cases previously examined by other
Judges. His associates felt relief of respon-
sibilty after his examinations knowing that
no fact however blindly embraced in the
record of the case, would escape his discovery,
and that all questions involved had been ex-
haustively considered.
His opinions are models of literary neatness,
clothed in chaste and classical expression, finely
finished, scholarly productions. In what he
spoke as well as in what he wrote there was
good style and taste. His opinions are notable
for their ability those of the greater importance
being replete with legal thought and learning,
and strong and sound in argument. Although
possessed of quick perceptions, his mind
seemed to do its work calmly, with steadmess
and accuracy nothing leaving his hands until
he had mastered and moulded it according to
his own understanding.
Having constructed his Judicial work so
carefully, he was quite tenacious that it should
stand against any objection from his associates.