The record-union., 1899-04-10

justice Field, In a Sketcn prepareu ny
himself for the Congressional Directory.
gave this brief outline of the duties OF
his office of Alcalde: Under the Mex-
ican law the Alcalde was an officer OF
limited jurisdiction, but in the anoma-
lous condition of affairs he was called
upon to administer justice, punish
crime and enforce police regulations
until relieved by officers under the
new Constitution. He was. elected a
member of the first Legislature of the
State. He was influential in securing
| legislation favorable to the miners, and
aided in the passage of laws regulating
the civil and criminal procedure OF the
State.
At the close of the session he returned
to Marysville, and devoted six years to
the practice of his profession He was
elected a Judge of the Supreme Court
of California in 1857, for the term OF
six years In 1859 he became CnieI
| Justice, succeeding Chief Jastice DAVID
| S. Terry. In 1868 President Lincoln
appointed him Associate Justice OF the
Supreme Court of the United states
and he held that position until MS re-
| tirement on December /, 1891.
| During the latter years OF ms service
on the bench he was in very '1eeple
| health His term was the longest III
the history of the tribunal. The great
Chief Justice John Marshall wore the
ermine for a period extending over
tbirtv-four wears. 1t was the ambition
of the late Justice Field to pass thls
| record and he succeeded in doing so
by a few months. His friends. rearing
that the strain of hard work would
Ix-ic< h
! retire from his arduous duties Bat,
with indefatigable perseverance, ne
elung to his task until the latter part
of 1897. when he had the satisfaction
of having fulfilled the ambition. of his
| life.
During that term of more than a. third
of a century he was concerned in some
of the most important cases ever passed
upon by the Supreme Court Among
the prominent decisions was the famous
test oath case. in which he gave tne
casting vote and wrote the opinion OF
the court annulling the validity of the
ssironclad' oath. His dissenting opin-
ions in the confscation cases, the legal
tender cases and in the New Orleans
slaughter-house cases, attracted the
widest attention.
During the long service on the bench
he also was before the public eye IN
other ways than as Judge OF the Su-
preme Court of the United States. he
was a member of the Hayes-Tllden
electoral commission in 1851, and
voted with the Democrats. In 1851 ne
received sixty five votes for the Presl-
dency nomination at the CInclnnatl
Democratic convention on the first bal
lot In 1873 he was appointed by the
Governor of the State of California one
of the commission to examine the code
of laws of that State In 1866 Williams
College conferred upon him the degree
of IL. D., and in 1869 the Regents of
the University of California made him
a Professor of Laws in that institution.
In 1889 one of the most sensational
events of the remarkably active and
vigorous career, largely passed in a
new country in process of development
| from a pioneer State to a highly civil
Iized community. brought his personality
vividly before the public. Sarah Althea
Hill -7esrys had brought a famous suit
against ex-senator Sharon, a California
multi-millionaire. Justice Field was on
the bench. The outcome of the case
was unfavorable to the plaintiff, and en-
gendered in her feelings of hatred to the
jurist This eliminated in her attempt
to chastise the aged jurist in the din
ing hall or depot eating house at Lath-
rop, Cal, a railway junction. Judge
Terry, who had been her attorney in the
lsuit against Sharon. and who afterward
married her, interfered, and when it
seemed that he was attempting to do
violence to Justice Fields person, David
Nagle, a United States Marshal, drew
revolver and shot and killed Judge
Terry. Nagle was acquitted. There
was, however for many years an in
tense bitterness between the friends of
the two factions, and for this reason
Justice Fields family discouraged his
discussion of California topics or the
perusal of California newspapers.
Justice Fields retirement from the
Supreme Court bench occurred on De-
eember /, 1897, and Attorney General
McKenna of California shortly after
ward was named to succeed him. He
rendered his resignation in April, 1897,
to take effect December 1st.
The President in his letter of ac-
ceptance of the resignation, said: up
on your retirement both the bench and
the court and country will sustain
great loss, but the high character and
ability of your work will live and long
be remembered not only by your col
leagues, but by your grateful fellow
countrymen.''
The dead Justicei made the formal an
| nouncement of his resignation to his
colleagues on the bench in a long letter
sketehing his own and the courts his
tory during his extended service In
one part he said:
1T is a pleasant thing in my mem
ory that my appointment came from
President Lincoln, of whose appointees
am the last surviving. Up to that
time there had been no representative
here of the Pacific Coast. A new en-
pire had arisen in the West, whose laws
We're those of another country: the land
titles from Spanish and Mexican grants,
both of which We're often overlaid by
the claims of the first settlers To bring
order out of this confusion, Congress
passed an Act providing. for another
seat on this bench, with the intention
that it should be filed by someone fa-
miliar with these conflicting titles and
with the mining laws of the coast, and
as it so happened that I had framed
/ the principal of those laws, and was,
moreover. Chief Justice of California,
it was the wish of the Senators and
Representatives of that State, as we'll
as these from Oregon, that 1 should sue
ceed to the new position. At their re-
quest Mr.. Lincoln sent my name to
| the Senate, and the nomination was
unanimously. confirmed"
During his incumbency, he said he