Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-04-29
honorable service which his State may we'll

honorable service which his State may vel
accept and bo satisfied with.
The other positions he held wero many
He was the mayor of this city, and nj
admirable magistrate he made. His admin
istration Is remembered now by all Law
abiding citizens as one in which the honor
/ peace and order OF their city was vigorousl,
and invlolably maintained. He unde' took z
report the census OF this State and did |
admirably. The superintendent Of th'
census, General Walker, spoke to m" OF thu
exceptionally admirable and prompt re
turus which had been made under Mr.
Wbiteley's direction Sensible, cheerful
accessible. able, the public owed him much
His service was long and faithful and hl
record us public officer Is untouched, un
spotted by charge or even suspicion.
There were other things which 1t seem'
to me our people may well value, for, Will,
| never heard from this man word o.
depreciation OF anything that was worthy
In the larger and stronger communities
that surround us. yet he never failed tC
note and show his love and appreciation
for the valor, the courage, the virtue Of the
men OF his native State, L can remember
him with delight In depicting, In relating
In giving permanent historical place to the
acts of the men who fought In the war oi
the Revolution for our independence. He
has preserved In the records OF the Histori.
cal Society Of this State the names Of
the heroes who were the founders oil
our nation. He knew the histories of the
battles Of the Revolution. He knew the
history of the Delaware regiment that
fought in those battles, and assisted to
rescue from oblivion and regret tho names
OF those homespun warriors, the men who
not for money or for price either gave their
lives or shed their blood for the sake oil
American Independence. His nature WIS
akin to theirs He cherished these traditions.
| He would have them kept alive, and trans
mitted them to his posterity therefore this
| man of Delaware blood, OF Delaware tradi-
tions, was endeared TO the people of this
State. Every hundred in the old county Of
| Sussex, every corner In the county Of Kent,
every place in the county of New Castle
/ contains men who are to-day weeping for
| his loss; who shared with him those ties
/ and sympathles of localities which for n
| wise purpose were implanted In the human
heart.
| There are other phases of this mans.life
that 1 could naturally refer to, but 1t would
be to me Il physical imposslbility. They
are so intertwIned with domestic affection,
with home ties, with u long life OF sym
/ pathy and kind regard, that even meet
/ Ing confined like this to the friends of his
/ profession would scarcely be the place for
me to bring them forth. There is one
| epitaph that could be written, that ought to
l
/ outside the borders of the State that he
| loved so well and served so faithfully. 1t
seems to me that II they mean to describe
/ him as he would have wished to be
| described, over his tomb in New Jersey they
| will engrave the words, Here lies a true
| Delawarean"
The speaker closed with visible emo
ton and Mr.. Gray arose to speak as fol-
lows:
| Mr.. Chairman and brethren of he bar:
II consulted my feelings l should be a
/ silent listener to the words that have been
/ and will be spoken to-day. ! feel that my
| place is beside his bier as beside that Of an
| elder brother. forget in the presence OF
| this to me personal bereavement tbs record
| Of his personal services and the pu'lic posi-
| tlons he has filled. l think only and can
/ give expression only to the heartfelt feel
lngs of bereavement that come to mo now
| as contemplate this taking away OF one
| whom / have known and who have
i loved 80 long. From my early boyhood
/ ON through the track of years to the present
| time my associations with MIR. Whtteley
| have been of the most intimate, of the most
friendly, and Of the most atfectionate char
acter. never had with him difference.
l never had from him aught of unkindness.
| He was one of those, perhaps few, to whom
i we attach the sacred name OF friend; who
| we take with all their faults and hold them
| to our bosoms ms our friends. / can there
| fore give expression but to my own senti-
ments of personal loss. He was yirile
| man. His faults were those that were
natural to the strong, full-blooded man. He
was vlrile in his faults, in his friendships,
| and in his habits. | doubt IL there was any
i man who could count so many personal
| friends in the length and breadth Of the
State. The same regard was held for him
/ by the younger men as was entertained by
/ those who were his contemporaries. He
had no veneering; nothing to conceal.
| Simplex and not duplex was his character
| through and through. / could not refrain
| from saying word out OF the respect due
| to his memory, but can do no more.
Mr.. Spruance supplemented the fore
| going with these remarks:
Although we have all for many months
been painfully conscious that our friend
| was struggling with some terrible disease,
we hoped that the strong man would tri-
umph, and that he might be spared for
MANY years of usefulness 1t Is difficult
now to realize that he has gone forever
| from our midst So long and so entirely
was he identified with the bar of this State
| that he appears to me yet as an essential
| part of It,. With matters of practice he was
probably more familiar than my other man
| In the county-and upon all such subjects
he was recognized authority. He was not
| n case hunter, but he was remarkable for
his strong common sense, and his Judgment
| upon questions OF law was almost uniformly
/ sound and true. His experience had been
| large, long and varied. His sense Of Justice
was clear and strong. He was man Of
marked courage. His heart was full Of
kindness and good will toward his breth-
| ren OF the profession lis well as toward all
the good people among whom his life had
been passed.
| His appointment to the bench was re-
ceived by the bar with great satisfaction.
| We knew and appreciated his many excel
| lent qualiflcations-and we anticipated for
him a long period of usefulness-and for
| ourselves great satisfaction In the transnc-
tion of business before him. From the time
he took his place upon the bench until the
| end he applied himself earnestly and con-
scientiously to the faithful discharge of tlfe
duties of his high office, and the hopes of
his friends were fully realized so far as they
could be in so short a period. He took fair
and just views of the questions argued be-
fore him, and his decisions were clear and
sound. He was patient listener and al
ways kind and considerate of counsel To
the bar his death is the occasion Of deep
personal regret.
There was no vaeillation in his character
He was man of decided opinions and of
great flrmness. Where nerve was required
In the performance of what he believed to
be his duty, he was always equal to the
occasion. noticeable instance of this
occurred while he was mayor of this city,
| when by his clear and distinct statement of
his purpose to enforce obedience to the law
| IL threatened serious disorder was averted.
venture to recall another and later
occasion, while holding no official position,
and armed only with II high sense OF public
duty, and when some others who should
have supported him temporlzed or retired,
he stood up before the board of canvass of
this county, and the angry crowd which
surrounded them, and calmly any clearly
explained their duty under the law, aud
made plain to them that no temporary par
tisan advantage could compensate for the
direful consequences which would follow q
violation OF the law. l thought then and
think now that this was one of the finest
instances of high moral and physical
courage have ever seen.
Nature had been lavish to him, and
among other things she had given him IL
big, generous heart. Even his faults
leaned to virtues side. Few men have
of the people as he, Beyond the circle of
professional and personal friendship, he
was held in warm regard by the whole COM
munity in which he lived. The visible
traces of disease upon his manly face and
form, during the last few months, called
forth constant expressions OF pain and re-
gret, not merely from his friends, but from
all who met him-and his death is to-day
tha subject of general sorrow throughout
our State.
Mr. Lore then rendered the f, flowing
tribute
shall not speak OF the public life and
services of Judge Whiteley. No man had
his course so clearly marked In the popular