The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1891-1893, 1892-02-21

proceedings of the Supreme Court Of
the State from 1904 to 1918 inclusive
and was the first reporter of the same
body under its present organization
beginning with 1919. He was the
first who held the office of the clerk
OF the Supreme Conrt, the position
which is now SO ably filed by Hon.
Taos. S Kenan.
Judge Murphey was State Sen
ator from Orange county for six years
after 1912, and in the political arena.
as a Statesman aud bold, fearless
energetic maker, he achieved his
greatest fame. He had an intense
desire to better the internal improve
ments of the State. He cherished
plan for making North Carolina one
ofsthe foremost States in ,,the union.
by establishing after the Roman
method system of turnpike or mao
adamized roads, all concentrating at
two or three important points for
trade, believing that they would be-
come populous cities. Some of these
trade -centers were to be on the
coast, and Judge Murphey urged
the enlarging and deepening the
inlets from the ocean, and opening
the coast rivers for navigation.
Finally he favored a powerful sys-
ten of education by the State, ''first,
primary schools academ
les for instruction in higher branches
third, by fostering the University
and greatly enlarging its accommo-
dations and course of instruction
fourth, by an asylum for the deaf and
dumb" His boldness in proposing
and his energy in maintaining this
scheme for public improvement,
show the determined nature of the
kman. His ideas of internal improve
ment were highly praised in an arti-
Gle in the North American Review
in 1922, then edited by Edward
Everett.
At Judge Murphey's instigation, a
Scotch engineer, Hamilton Fulton,
employed at q salary of $4,000 yearly,
four times that of the Governor,
. made surveys and plots on land and
sea. "The main features of the plan
of Mr.. Murphey," says Hon. William
, A. Graham, who studied law under
him, in an article in the University
Magazine for 1901 ''and to which
he obtained the appreciation of Mr.
Fulton, after the Improvements o.
inlets, at Nag's Head Gf practicable)
Ocracoke, Beaufort, Swa9sborough
and Wilmington, consisted in open
. ing for batteau navigation the rivers
!. Roanoke, Tar. Neuse, Cape Fear,
Yadkin, Catawba, Broad and sun
, day tributaries, and by canals t.
:, ioin the Roanoke and Tar or Pam
lico, and Neuse so as to ship pro
= ductions from the country watereo
> by each of them from Beaufort; anc
Is to unite by similar means the Cape
l. Fear with the Lumber river, and a
7, more northerly point with tht
d Yadkin, and the Yadkin with tht
Catawba. so as to bring to thu
d mouth of the Cape Fear the com
Ne merce of our whole watershed trend
D. ing from the Blue Ridge, excep
d that of Broad river (Which was tt
!, be opened into South Carolina
,e and thus making commercial mart
,e of Fayetteville and Wilmington
. Places and sections more remot
> from these waters were to be sup
- - piled by roads,"
l. OF course the unforeseen useful
= ness of railroads would have even
tually rendered useless the create
: part of the work recommended b
" Judge Murphey, yet we cannot bu
'i' admire the patriotic desire on nj
rt part to increase our States impo1
&c tance commercially. The maps an
IN reports which were obtained as
he result Of the $4,000 actually sper
ief in the preliminary work of this va'
;s l4l;.n .uara fnllu worth thu