The state republican. (Jefferson City, Mo.) 1871-1896, 1892-12-29
JUDGE EDWARDS RETIRES
FROM THE BENCH.

ClrCulb COurJ. AIGeT Tue business as
signed for the day had been trans
acted, he remarked that if no one
had any other business to transact,
he would finally adjourn the court,
Mr.. w. S.,Pope arose ami addressing
the court, said:
"Your Honor, you are now retir.
ing from the bench, full Of years and
Of honors. The pleasant duty of
presenting to you o testimonial, and
memorial from this bar, and the ofic-
ers of this court, has been assigned
me.
You have lived an eventful life and
in eventful times. Born when the
territory embraced within the limits
of this grand state, was unexplored I;
your recollection extends back be.
You'd the time when it became q men,
Der of the American Union. You
came here to live in your earliest
manhood, and in Missouri all the
days of your manhood have been
spent. For more than fifty-seven
years you have been a member Of
the bar and bench, and have stood
as a beacon light of honor and in
tegrity.
When you came here this state was
little less than a wilderness. Its
population was composed of a few
settlements of struggling pioneers,
scattered along Il great rivers. You
have cen II prairies upturned, our
forests felled, II mines opened and
developed, u great system Of rail-
ways built. Where the smoke Of
the wigwam then arose, you have
seen great cities arise, and where
their citizcns now surge along, amid
the hum OF their busy ndustries,
then only the warWhoop of the In
dian and the weird songs of savage
dances we're to be heard. You have
seer the wilderness transformed into
fertile fields, luxuriant meadows.
blooming gardens, happy homes, and
busy, civilized lite.
You have lived TO sec Missouri in
all her grandeur, power and wealth.
You have seen and known this state
in its adversely as well as its pros
perity. You have lived here through
four long years of civil war, when
neighbor was arrayed against neigh
hor, kindred against kindred. You
have seen those of her citizens who
were hound to you by the strongest
ties, incident to birth and education,
murdered, imprisoned and banishcd,
their homes burnt and pillared their
property destroyed and scattered to
the four winds Of the earth. You
gave O son as a sacrifice to that un.
happy struggle.
j.. At the close Of that eventful revo
luton you saw your beloved state in
its disolation and its humiliation, a
land Of Borrowing sires, weeping
mothers, walling widows and unpro-
tected orphans, those of you that had
been allowed to remain, d%isfranchis.
ed, those that were banished, denied
the privilege of returning to the
lands, upon which once stood their
happy homes, and you have lived to
see her since become the grand com.
monwcalth she is.
Amid all these shifting scenes and
fortunes, you have been q man and
a citizen in the highest and truest
sense of those words. And. now. at
the ripe age of eighty-two years, still
vigorous in body and mind, of your
own volition, you retire from the on.
erous duties of professional and pub.
lie life. You go to your elegant
home, erected by you own industry,
to spend the balance of Your life in
quietude, surrounded by a family
OF which you may well feel proud,
and possessed of a sufficient COM
potency, due to your energy and
economy, without parsimpny, to
make you comfortable in oil of your
remaining years.
You retire to private life with the
esteem of all your fellow oitize ms.
II in his ardor or zeal for his client,
any member Of the profession, has
criticised your judgment and rulings,
lie now sincerely regrets, and we al
know you as freely forgive. We al
remember that greater lawyers ant
j%urists than any Of US, have some,
times been known to differ as I,
what the aw was.
now nresant non with thia taat;