Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-18

nifty Of a coordinate branch Of the govern
ment. 1t seems somewhat strange to the
present generation that the first Chief JUS
ttce should have resigned to accept the gov
srnorship Of New York. and to have SUBJ
seQuently declined a reappointment. be-
s 10 use ms own language. he was
defective 1t would not obtain the energy,
weight and dignity which was essential to
its affording due support to the national
government. nor acquire the public conf
dence and respect, which. as the last resort
Of the justice Of the nation. it should pos
sess." The little esteem in which 1t was
held induced Harrison. a nominee of WASH
fngton. to decline a seat upon the bench to
take the chancellorship Of Maryland, and
its removal to this city seemed Of SO little
importance that its first meeting and organ
tence In the National Intelligencer.
Chief Justice fancy.
The death Of Marshall was soon followed
by the elevation Of Roger B. fancy to the
Chief Justiceship. and an almost entire re-
construction Of the bench by Jackson and
Van Buren,. This, which may be called the
states right era, continued until the middle
Of the civil war, when the court was again
partly reconstructed by President Lincoln.
While Chief Justice fancy went upon the
bench staggering under a load Of unpopu-
lartty in the whig states-an unpopularity
which had once caused his rejection by the
Senate for the office Of associate justice,
1t must be conceded that he was a worthy
successor of Marshall. Though feeble in
body, his Intellectual grasp was something
wonderful. He was prompt and decisive in
action, vigorous in expression, spotless in
integrity, and in his manner the extreme Of
courtesy. While his personality dominated
the bench for twenty-five years almost as
completely as had that of Marshall, he was
supported by men Of distinguished ability
and large experience John Mclean of
Ohio. whose dissenting opinion in the great
case of Prigg versus Pennsylvania, read
after the lapse Of fifty years, makes us
wonder the majority of the court could
gia and Catron of Tennessee, who earned
at least the gratitude Of the north for the
resolute adherence to the Union after the
outbreak Of the civil war. Peter v. Daniel
or virginia, the strongest champion of states
rights who ever sat upon the bench. a man
OF great learning, sturdy independence and
strict integrity, who devoted a long judicial
is Of largely to the writ
york. of venerable and leonine aspect
Grier Of Pennsylvania, who had well earned
the compliment paid him by President Grant
upon his retirement that by his patriotic
f1rmness he had upheld the Just powers
or the government and indicated the right
or the nation to maintain its own exist
ence benjamin r. Curtis Of Massachu-
sets, one of the greatest minds that ever
adorned the bench. who would have been
the most eminent Judge Of the court IL he
had not resigned after a service of six years
In 1850 after the removal Of the Senate to
Its new chamber in the north wing of the
Capitol the Supreme Court was transferred
to the room 1t now occupies. This room.
beautiful in itself, and made more beautiful
by the removal Of the galleries which had
encircled its walls. had already become his
toric as the theater Of the greatest forensic
displays of an age when oratory had still
preserved its classic traditions and had lost
nothing of Its potency as a moving power
OF legislative bodies. But the great men Of
that generation were no longer there. Web
ster, Clay, Calhoun, Benton and Wright
were all dead. and a new generation Of Sem
ators had risen up to take their places. The
days OF eloquent appeal, fierce denunciation
and heated strife were past. Henceforth
this chamber was dedicated to the calm de-
liberations Of the bench.
The Present Era.
The third era of the Supreme Court,
which continues to this day. may be said
to have begun in 1862 with the appointment
of Justices Swayne. Miller and Davis and
the subsequent elevation Of Chase to the
chief justiceship. This era, too, has been
productive Of great judges. Time forbIds
that / should do more than mention the
names Of Chase, whose laurels as the great
War Secretary were not dimmed by Ills
service upon the bench; OF Waite, the very
ideal Of an accomplished lawyer and court
ly gentleman; of Miller, whose massive head
did not belle his massive intellect, and
whose fame as a constitutional lawyer is
second only to that Of the great chief JUS
tice; Of Mathews, a patriotic soldier. a SEN
ator of the United States and the most e;o-
Quent orator of the court; Of the chivalrous
Lamar, whose kindly smile and genial LIAM
ner captivated the hearts Of men and
women alike: of Bradley, who concealed
beneath the visage Of an Italian cardinal
the most marvellous versatility Of genius
lawyer equally at home in all branches
of the profession. real estate. mining.
patents, equity, admiralty and the civil
law, q linguist, a mathematician, an as
tronomer and philosopher. and the lament
ed Blatchford. painstaking and tndefatiga-
ble who loved work for its own sake, and
whom the allurements Of an ample fortune
could not seduce from his chosen field Of
labor.
1t is invidious to speak Of the living. yet
I cannot forbear alluding to the venerable
survivor Of that illustrious trio. who for
more than twenty years swayed the opin-
ion Of the court, one who sits with us to-
day, his eye not yet dimmed. nor his nat
ural force abated a reminder Of what the
court has been in the past, a promise of
what it shall continue to be in the future
1t does not become me to eulogize the SUI
preme Court, but 1t may be justly said
that while 1t has had weak mon history
makes no mention Of its having had a cor
rupt one
Ii, as at present constituted It neglects
to fulfil its mission 1t will not be from a
failure of its members to fully appreciate
their responsibility or the lack of an ';arn-
est desire to meet the just expectations Of
the people.
cannot better close than by reiterating
the hope expressed by the House Of Repre-
sentatives in it's reply to President Adams
upon the dedication of this building. that
the spirit which animated the great founder
Of this city may descend to future genera
tons; and that the wisdom, magnanimity
and steadiness which mark the events Of
his public life may be initiated In all sue
ceeding ages"
Two Small Fires.
Saturday afternoon about 4:30 o'clock
some excitement was caused in the pension
office when a volume of black smoke was