Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-05-20
STAUNTON, VA, THURSDAY, MAY 20. 1897

OF duty; his promptness in decision
and firmness in action; his ready wit
and fund of humor; Joined to an ardent
love Of truth, and to great purity Of
purpose;-these were the elements Of
his power, and of his overwhelming
fame.
The intellectual and moral habitudel
of Mr.. Tucker early inclined him to
Jurisprudence, and fitted him to dis
entangle its intricacies and to master
it's profoundest principles. Having
qualified himself by close study and
careful preparation for his chosen pro
fession, he entered upon its practice in
this town, as the jnnior partner of one
Who'll claim the liberty of here say
ling-was in no sense his inferior, save
in the reputation he achieved. In legal
furniture, in mental acumen, in intel
lectual grasp, in all the essentials of a
thorough jurist, have never been able
to persuade myself. that the senior
partner in that firm OF "Conrad &
Tucker had his superior In this Court,
or in any other in which his singular
Indifference to fame would allow him
to appear. This persuasion, if merely
mine, would of course amount to moth
ing: but in it I am fully sustained by
the mature judgment of Mr.. Tucker
himself, repeatedly expressed to me in
grateful memory of a relation which
he always counted as a privilege and
an honor.
It was soon after this partnership was
formed that my acquaintance with
Mr.. Tucker began. And one OF my
most distinct recollections of that early
period, is of the prophecies, that were
already heard on every hand, of the
brilliant career awaiting him, ,-proph-
ecies that have been more than fulfill
ed in the extraordinary eminence to
which he subsequently attained.
De Toqueville, having carefully
studied our American institutions, OBJ
|serves, that under them, great ''au-
thority is entrusted to members of the
legal profession," and that ''ttleNinfl
ence which they exercise in the gov
ernment is the most powerful existing
security against the excuses of De-
mocracy''-t legal pursuits having
a tendency to render them hostile to
the revolutionary spirit and the unre-
fiecting passions OF the multitude"
And he emphasizes the fact, that ''in
all free governments, members of the
legal profession are found at the head
of all parties" The justness of this
observation of the distinguished for
eigner is strikingly exemplified in the
case of Mr.. Tucker. For after the prac-
tice of the Law, more or less constantly,
for a quarter of a century, during which
time he displayed an ability and reach
ed distinction that placed him easily
among the first lawyers of the land,
and established his capacity for any
legal service, he was unexpectedly
summoned to another and wholly diff
ferent theatre of action. Without any
solicitation on his part, he was chosen
to represent his district in the Federal
Congress. But though wholly inexpe-
rienced in the requirements Of legisla-
ton, he at once, by general consent,
took his place among the acknowledg,
ed leaders of that body. He was not
a zoolStScS07a-all his inclinations and
habits and modes of thought, render
ed him averse to schemes and policies,
| and disqualified him for the doubtful
| work in which the mere politician
must engage. Neither was he special
ly versed in parliamentary law. But
he was born statesman. The great
economic aud constitutional questions
which came up for discussion, and the
principles involved in which, were to
be clearly defined and settled, we're ali
in the line of his lifelong and pro-
foundest studies; and upon work SO
entirely congenial he entered with
ardor and delight. His lucid and an
alytical mind, his judicial tempera-
ment, his affluance of learning, his
power of logic, and the charms of his
eloquence, soon placed him in the
front rank of the able and brilliant
men, who then, in greater numbers
than at present, had their seats in the
halls of Congress. Many of his speeches
delivered in the lower House, are not
only magazines of facts diligently
gathered, and skilfully marshalled,
and forcibly used; but they are mas
terly discussions Of the great princi-
Piles which underlie civil government.
the recognition and conservation of
which are essential to the success and
permanence Of our free institutions.
Few men have been called upon SO
frequently as he for addresses on i'm
portant ecclesiastical and
religious, as well as political and pre-
fessional. And these addresses, to-
gether with his speeches in Congress
and in courts of law may be studied
with profit by men of all professions
the lawyer, the statesman, the theolo-
gian, the historical inquirer; for among
them will be found some of the finest
examples of incisive statement, Of
searching analysis, of resistless logic,
of forensic eloquence, of luminous con
stitutional argument, and even of the
illogical disquisition, which our mod
ern literature affords. One of the most
distinguished judges of the Supreme
Court once told me that the appear
ance of Mr.. Tucker before that court
was always hailed by the entire Bench
as one of their richest intellectual
feasts, and then he added with friend
ly enthusiasm, but with deliberate
emphasis: His proper place is on
that Bench and not at it's Bar, nor on