The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-06-14


vers in the State. They resided IN
Charleston, where the Courts were held
at that day. AS soon rs the Circuit
Courts were established they attended
the Courts in Camden and enjoyed a
large practice; some of them settled
here. They established that high stan
dard which has always characterized
the Bar OF Camden. They are distin-
guiShed for their Integrity, liherallty,
and SENSE of justice aud right by which
they are governed.
Now, what makes u good judge :
Well, gentlemen, with such Bar as
we have in South Carolina, with men
Of character, men VIII" are so dcteren-
tial and respectful to The Bench, men
who take the pa!us that they do to
famil!arize themselves with the work
before them, it is impossible that a
Judge in South Carolina should not
| possess some merit, at least, TO make a
reputation. 4 Judge deserves very
little credit for being fair, and just and
for making intelligent decisions when
he is sustained by such Bar as We
have in South Carolina.
I have been asked my opinion as tc
the relative ability of the lawyers now
compared with former times, and espe,
cially do I recollect an instance when
I was asked my opinion as to the abil'
ity Of the Bar of Charleston now As
compared with what it was formerly,
in the days of Petigru and Hunt and
those great lights Of the profession wlo
adorned the Bar of the United States,
and might say cf the world, and / en-
pressed the opinion that there was as
much ability and learning and as great
diligence manifested by the Bar Of the
present time as in former days. / said
that the average ability was just as
great, but then they had men Of super
eminent ability who stood out far
above the others. Now there is more
equality. There are at least dozen
men in Charleston and in other parts
of the State of whom it may be said
they would be quite capable of holding
their own in q Court of justice with
any lawyer of olden times that knew,
and it has been my privilege to know
most of the eminent men at the Bar for
the past fifty years in South Carolina.
Gentlemen, / retire tomorrow to the
shades of private life to seek in some
way the necessaries Of life, and I do so
without any regret. What can regret?
The approval of people competent to
Judge of a life which meets their COM
mendation as having been we'll spent,
is most delightful Renaissance to
have at the close of ones life.
There are other things besides money
in the world, other things besides po-
litical prefermelt, as little as some peo-
pie may think Of it. Honor! I get
this idea from a distinguished female
writer of the day; she reminds her
readers that the real test Of life is God,
honor, country, justice and truth!
These are the lhirgs which we are to
foster and uphold. Let us give our
selves to them, as am sure you all
will.
My life has not always been one to
be admired; very far from it. was
not born with silver spoon in my
mouth. l had no advantages when
was child. I was left at a very early
age the only son of my mother, and
she a widow in delicate health and
with very little resources. started at
the bottom. v ,atever success [ may
have attained in life is due 10 kind
and good Providence-the same kind
Providence that has put into your
hearts the idea Of passing these resolu-
tions so complimentary and so kind to
me. In every station Of life [ have
felt the Land Of Providence, and have
seen it distinctly as if it had been my
fathers hand lifting me cut of Glfli'
Guilty.
The fact that Columbia has sent a del
egation here to greet me on this occa'
sion touches me very much. / am al
most as we'll known in our Capital
City, and have almost as many friends
in Columbia as have here. There is
no place in the world that have re-
ceived more evidences Of kindness OF
every description than [ have iu Co,
lumbia. J gratefully appreciate the
action of the Columbia Bar in sending
just the delegation that they have, and
the many kind things that these gen.
tlemen have said about me.
1t has been well said in the course OF
these proceedings that this occasion is
altogether anomalous. 1t never could
have occurred outside Of South Caro-.
lima, in my judgment, and it has never
occurred here before. A peculiar and
mcst gratifying feature is the presence
of so many esteemed and admired
ladies of the community, who have
graced the occasion by their presence
and approval. It needs only this tc
make it perfect.
! thank you most heartily, gentlc-
men, for your kind expressions, and
hope | shall live to show that am not
ungrateful, and that I am still willing
with what strength have to do what
I can for the good Of my people.
At times during the delivery OF
Judge Kershaw's speech there were
few dry eyes, and all listened with
breathless silence and attention.
The visiting lawyers were given q
dinner by the Bar Of Camden at the
Central Hotel before they left on the