Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-03
GALLERY OF THE BAR.
Portraits of Eminent Jurists Pre-
sented by Attorney Magee.
SHARSWOOD, stowe, MARSHALL.
The Paintings to be Nucleus for Gen
eral Collection.
THE LAWYERS RETURN THEIR THANKS

adorn the chamber in the Court House dedl'
Gated to the use of the Bar Association,
were added yesterday those of three large
portraits of men whom the bar and the
public must always delight to honor. They
are portraits in oil of the late Chief Justice
SharsWood, Judge Edwin II. Stowe and
Thomas NJ. Marshall, Esq. f. M. Magee,
ESQ.,, is the donor. The portraits
of Chief Justice Sharswood and Mr..
Marshall are the work OF Mr.. Jasper Law
man, and that of Judge Stowe bears the
name of Mr.. A. L. Dalbey. They are all
striking likenesses, and the fidelity and
strength of Mr.. Lawman's picture OF MI
Marshall make it a remarkable work. The
portrait of the late Judge Sharswood repre-
sents that eminent jurist, so the older mem
bers of the bar said yesterday, as he ap-
peared some Is or 20 years ago. The pictures
of Messrs. Stowe and Marshall are tastefully
framed in walnut with narrow band of
gilt nearest the canvas, and Judge Shars-
woods intellectual face looks out from a
broad frame of gilt All the portraits are
about life size.
These handsome works of art, temporarily
placed upon easels, confronted the members
of the Bar Association when they assembled
in their chamber at o'clock yesterday
afternoon. They were greatly admired, and
the generous donor-whose modesty, of
course, kept him away from the Court
House-came in for good deal of pleasant
praise before the association set to work to
thank him officially. This happened after
some routine business had been cleared of.
With William B. Negley, ESQ.,, in the chair
the Secretary read the following letter:
LETTER OF PRESENTATION.
William B. Neglsy, Esq, President Of the Alle-
gheny County Bar Association:
DEAR SIR-I have the honor to offer the Bar
Association for its acceptance the portraits in
oil of three distinguished members of the bar
of Pennsylvania.
The portraits are intended as the nucleus of
gallery of portraits of members of the bar
and Judges of Allegheny county, which pro-
pose to add to, and others will doubtless do
likewise, from time to time, as circumstances
permit. Frs
The first of the portraits is that of Chief
Justice Sharswood, the eminent legal writer
and jurist; the second. that of Judge Stowe,
who has for long time adorned the bench and
who in point of service is the oldest Judge in
the county; the third, that of the Hon. Thomas
NJ. Marshall, who is the oldest lawyer in active
practice at this bar and who has long been an
ornament to the profession.
The choice of these three portraits to start a
collection, 1 have no doubt, will meet the ap-
probation of the association and hope the asso-
citation will, by resolution, accept the pictures
which are now at Gillespie & Co.'s, Wood
street. Very truly,
C. c. Dickey, Esq, offered resolution
expressing the thanks of the association to
Mr.. Magee for his gifts. A. NJ. Watson,
ESQ.,, suggested that the names of the
Judges" whose pictures were before them
should be inserted in the resolution. This
was agreed to, and Mr.. Negley then spoke
as follows:
As President of this association feel that I
should say something at this time. The gift
that Mr.. Magee has made us is indeed a grand
and generous one Itwas most happy thought
Of his to hit upon such a scheme as this
to start a gallery of pictures which will adorn
this chamber. His selections for such gallery
are excellent. OF Judge 'Sharswood it can be
said that he reached the highest round of the
ladder. You all knew him, or know of HIM, as
well as l. OF the other two what shall 1 sayf
understood Mr.. Watson to refer moment
ago to all three as judges. Everybody knows
that Mr.. Marshall might have been on the
bench years ago had he but said the word. 1
have known him ever since was admitted to
the bar. in 1876, and he has always been
my warm friend. In 1860 he and were
delegates at the convention which nominated
Andrew g. Curtin for Governor. The Allie
gheny delegation was opposed to Curtin and
refused to vote for him. To win us over the
Eastern members asked us to name the Su-
preme Court Judge for the single vacancy then
existing. A. X. Mcclure and others begged us
to offer Mr.. MarshalI's name, and we asked
him to allow us to do so. He persisted in say
ing no, however, and we named Agnew, who
was afterward elected. So you see how easily
we could have made MIR. Marshall Supreme
Court Judge.
LAWYERS AND POLITICIANS.
again, Mr.. Marshall and helped to nomi-
nate Judge Stowe for his first term. People
said: What do we want with boy?-but the
boy proved to be a good politician and he
reached the bench where he has proved him.
self good judge. You know what sort of
politician Mr.. Marshall is-perhaps all of you
are not old enough to, but such men as Keenan,
and Watson know. He was leader always
He was head of the ring at one time may say
and he stayed in the forefront of politics here
until politics became too corrupt for him and
he got out. He was an astute politician, but
be never was a trickster. l think he has
the right to be called grand
Did man, though he is not so very old either.
He has his peculiarities: who has not? And |
should like to know where in the country you
will find better man than Thomas NJ. Mar
shall. As to this generous gift of Mr.. Magee,
It was prompted by big heart, and the found |
ng of the gallery is happy thought would |
suggest to my fellow members of the bar that |
,hey follow Mr.. Magees example and give us |
he portraits of such celebrated lawyers of our
past as Cornelius Darragh, Loomis and |
,thers."
Mr.. A. M. Watson said that he thought |
he Chairman had about pumped the we'll |
Try, but he would indorSe all that Mr..
Negley had said. He hoped the association |
would appreciate the spirit of Mr.. Magee's |
rift. He thought it would be we'll to pro-
,ure the portraits of such dead lawyers as
Cornelius Darragh, upon whose good and
,reat qualities he enlarged. 1t was well, he
hought, for the young fellows to see that
heir predecessors were not forgotten.
GO AND DO LIKEWISE.
Mr.. Dickey added a word or two as to the
Idvisability of others following Mr.. |
dagee's example. Mr.. Magee, he said, in
ended his gift but as the commencement of
series of donations which he would make
S he obtained sufficient fees to pay for them.
Tould check thesordid spirit, proper enough
n the sale of haberdashery or groceries,
Thich was leavening the bar to-day.
T. NJ. Marshall, Jr., related q touching
pisode in Mr.. Magee's life. and testified to
hat gentleman's good qualities. 7. S.
brown, Esq, offered an amplifcation of
Ir. Dickey's resolution, which was ac-
epted, and then ex-Sheriff Gray told how
Ir. Magee had befriended him on the battle
eld at Fair Oaks. and ever since. A. W,
)uff spoke warmly of Mr.. Magee's gener.
sity as asarepresentativeo the younger mem
ers of the bar. MeSsrs. Woodward, Jen-
ings, Bell and Riddle also made brief
Deeches to like effect, and this inter-
sting incident closed with passage of the
solution of thanks by a standing and