The Portland daily press., 1893-08-11

PlSneu III GHdG line " uuoJ oui ms i7
twenty years on the bench surprising
amount of business of vast usefulness to
honest litigants and to the state
But a greater field for fame Whlle as
great a field for usefulness also, was open
to him as a member of the law. court.
Here he acquired a high reputation Iof
the erudition and ability displayed In
his written Opinions-many OF winch f'[e
notable and not few of them mastefLul.
Some of them are but little short of clear
and concise treatises on the questions
discussed learnedly illustrated by an eX-
animation of the leading pertinent au-
thorities. His own mind is visibly seen
through the pages of our printed reports,
Even casual reader would not fail to
observe in these pages conclusive evil
dence that care and caution, industry
and perseverance, and d love of work and
OF investigation were among his leading
characteristics He saw things in a
plain light and described them plainly
and effectively. IAN honest tale speeds
best, being plainly told" says the great
poet will venture the assertion that
his written judgments which will bear q
doubtful meaning. There is a clear tone
and accurate expression, running through
them from beginning to end.
Not that he did not also see things in
their finest relations to each other when
for sufficient cause he sought to do SO.
On the contrary he had rare 1nge-
nuity of reasoning out results in cases,
without offence against established legal
principles when it was in the further
ance of Justice that such results be
obtained Quite number of his impor-
tant legal opinions will attest this asser-
veration.
His mind was of a mechanical turn,
and he constructed an opinion with as
Ia o,.fic aS a N
construct a government fertilization. The
grounds for foundation would be care
fully surveyed, simple and solid materials
selected, and then be in orderly fashion
embodied together, with every. point
guarded against weakness or attack. All
his work was in mechanical sense nice
ly consummated.
much as he was to avail themselves OF
the use of authorities and precedents.
But his characteristic care and cautlon
instinctively inspired in him the desire
of knowing what others before him had
thought and said. Study the past II you
would divine the future, says a. legal.
author, Of course, a mere collection of
adjudged cases in support of PROPOSE
tion may not amount to anything, Whlle
the deduction derivable from a philosoph-
ical study of both agreeing and conf1lct-
ing authorities is of the first Importance
for the elucidation Of legal truth. The
report of British commission on this
subject some years ago very correctly
said: 1.-The comparative weight OF au-
thority to be given to conflicting author
tiles, is matter of professional science,
which is not regulated by any determl-
nate rule.n To attain proficiency In the
practice of such professional science re-
quires a peculiar ability, an abundance
of which the legal writings OF Judge VIZ
gin prove that he possessed.
Such, briefly told are my own estlma-
lions of the judicial life and work of our
deceased friend, laborious, useful. dig
nified and honorable life, full of st1sfac-
ton to his admiring friends. The only
compensation which he personally. re-
ceived for these almost lifetime services,
besides such an ordinary livelihood as
the judicial salary affords, was the con
soling reflection while he lived. that
every duty involving upon him had been
fully and conscientiously performed, and
that he should after this life leave an
honorable record behind.
And SO will it be. He will not soon be
forgotten either by the bar or the people
of his state. In a high and conspicuous
niche in the portrait gallery OF the d1s-
tinguished judges and jurists OF Name
will forever stand the figure of William
Writ Virgin, stately figure, grand and
picturesque
I cannot refrain from brief allusion to
the private and social life of one who
was for many years a personal TREND
Judge Virgin was very companlonaple
and genial, possessing rare VII anu
humor, and stores of anecdotes ana mel
dents which he would relate with an in
discribably pleasing effect. He was al
fectionateiy fond of those friends who
were near and dear to him, and ne
grappled them to his soul with, hooks OF
steel" There were no false SIDES TO MIN
He was a sincere man. lie was not per-
haps very communicative With strangers
and especially not so with persons whom
he did not personally fancy, and such per-
sons did not understand him nearly as
well as his intimates did. He was natur-
ally independent in all things with all
men and would not ordinarily trouble
himself much to explain his motives OF
acts to anyone; acting on the theory thaG
his honest conduct would pc MS own
yindication. 1t would not be strange,
therefore, if he were supposed by some
persons to have been peculiar IN some re-
spects He certainly was so in the sense
that some of his characteristics were
more strongly marked in him than the
same might be found to be IN many o6ngr
persons. Every man is exceptional. mo
man in the world is an exact copy u any
other man either in mental or moral en-
dowment. And although the differences
between many men may be SO slight as as
not to be noticeable to the great mass OF
mankind, still they are enough to mark
for each person his own distinct and m
dependent individuality, constituting the
lights and shadows in the picture winch
give expression and character to such In,
dividuality have thought OF our TREND
as not inapproprately comparable, IN
some of his characteristics, to that specl-
men among the precious gems known to
scientists, which sheds no lustre as you
turn it about until you come to a partlc,
ular angle and then it shows deep and
beautiful colors. II you saw into his soul
you would have discovered its deep and
beautiful colors. Taking him all in all,
his was an original and very interesting
personality. 1t is the general effect OF
character, as of a painting, that creates
the inspiration.
His death removes the last but one of
those who were upon this bench when
Icane upon it twenty vars ago, my friend
at my right being the last survivor The
quickly flying cycles have already re-
moved most Of those who were our
seniors or contemporaries in the profess
sion. Most Of the old familiar faces are
gone from us.
Fatal sickness came upon our deceased
brother quite suddenly and without
1 - o+ioa Of itS coming while still in