The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-05-05
The sLM1-whEKL, MESSENGERS: FRIDAY, MA 5. 1895

Emmett Is a In0LISlOCltS anu WCD-
ster is as ambitious as Caesar. He will
not be outdone by any man if it is
within the compass Of his power to
avoid it. Come to Washington. 1t will
be a combat worth witnessing" The
supreme court a stood SO high in
England and the United States hat
the vices Of a few who have occupied
that important place have not been able
TO disgrace it, neither h corruption
Of Francis Bacon, nor the cruelty Of
Sir George Mackenzie, nor the Sabbath
reservation OF Lord CaStlereagh.
Have you ever realized how much
God has honored law in the fact that
all up and down the Bible he makes
the judge a type of himself and en-
ploys the scene of a courtroom to set
forth the grandeurs Of the great judg-
ment day? Book Of Genesis, Shall not
the Judge Of all the earth do right"
judge his people" Book of Psalms,
God is Judge Himself" Book of Acts,
Judge Of quick and dead" Book of
Timothy, The Lore the righteous
Judge" Never will it be understood
how God honors judges and court
rooms until the thunderbolt Of the last
day shall pound the opening OF the
great assiZe-the day of trial, the day
of clearance. the day of doom, the
day OF judgment The law Of the case
IN that occasion will be rea and the
Indictment of ten counts, which are the
Ten Commandments. Justice will plead
the cas against US, but our glorious
advocate will plead in u behalf, for
w have an advocate with the Faith
er-JesuS Christ, the righteous Then
the case will be decided in our clear
ance as the Judge announces There
is now, therefore, nc condemnation to
them who are in Christ Jesus" Under
the crowded gelleries of cloud on that
last day, and under the swaying up
holstery of a burning heavens, and
while the Alps and Himalayas and
Mount Washington are falling fiat on
their faces, we will be able to under
stand the significance of those Scrip
ture passages which speak of God as
Judge and employ the courtroom of
| earth as typical Of the scene when all
nations shall be brought into tribunal.
! To that highest of all tribunals Abra-
ham Lincoln called our friend, but he
! lived long enough to honor the supreme
court more than it had ever honored
him.. For more than "a years he sat in
the presence of this nation and of all
j: nations a model judge. Fearlessness,
integrity, devotion to principle, char
acterized lin. No bride ever touched
his hand. No prOfane word ever scalded
his tongue. No blemish of wrong ever
marred his character. Fully qualified
was he to have his name associated in
the history Of this country with the
greatest of the judiciary.
AS at II o'clock day by day on yonder
hill the gaVel falls in the supreme
court room and it is announced that the
chief justice of the United States and
the associate justices are about to en-
ter, and all counselors at the bar and
all spectators rise to greet them, and
the officer with the words, "Oyez.
oyeZ, oyez!' hat all is now
ready for a hearing and exclaims, "God
save the United States of America" so
l WISH we could in imagination gather
together those who nave occupied that
high judicial place in this and other
lands, and they might enter and after
the falling of some mighty gavel had
demanded attention we could look
upon them-Marshall, the giant Of
American Jurisprudence, and John jay.
of whom Daniel Webster said in com
memoratiOn, When the spotless ermine
OF the judicial robe fell on John JAY. it
touched nothing less spotless thar
itself" and Rutledge and Cushing and
Ellsworth and Joseph Storey, called the
Walter Scott of common law. and Sir
Matthew Hale and Lord Eldon and
Lord Tenterden n Sir James McIn-
tosh n Mansfield and the long line of
lord chancellors and the great Judges
from both sides the sea-and after thew
had taken their places in our quickened
imagination the distinguished cases of
centuries which they decided might
again be called on, after the assembled
nations had calculated, God save the
United States of America" God save
Great Britain" God save the ma
tons"
THE SANCTITY OF LAW.
All, how the law honors and sancti-
hes everything it touches! Natural law.
! civil la w Social low
nav. common law. Moral law. Eccle-
slastical law. International law. Oh,
the dignity, the impressiveness. the
power of law! 1t is the only thing be-
fore which ehovah bows, but he bows
before that, although the law is of his
swing. By the fate Of centuries is
decided. By it all the affairs Of time
and adj the cycles of eternity will be
governed. We cannot soar SO high or
SINK so deep or reach out so far or live
SO long as to escape it. It is the throne
on Whlch the Almighty sits. To in
terpret law, what a profession! What
a responsibility! What an ex~ecration
Wnen the judge be a Lord Jeffreys!
what a benediction if he be a Chancel-
lor Kent!
IN passing, let me say that for this
chief tribunal of our country congress
should soon provide a better place lie,
some of the moneys voted for improve.
ment or rivers which are nothing but
dry creeks and for harbors which will
never have any shipping and for monu-
ments to some people-whom it is not
at all important for us to remember-be
voted for the erection of a building
worthy of u United States supreme
court John Ruskin, in Stones OF
venice, calls attention to the pleasing
TACT that in the year S13 the doge al
venice devoted himself to putting III
Two great buildings-St. Marks. for the
worship of God, and a palace for the
ADMINISTRATION Of justice to. man. In its
appreciation Of what is best LET moi
1899 be behind S13. With such granite
IN our quarries n such architects ca
paole OF drafting sublime structure and
! Sucn magnificent sites on which tc
pulId, let o another year pass before
we near the trowel ring on the corner
stone of a temple to be occupied by the
highest court Of the land.
SERVICES FAITHFULLY PER-
FORMED.
To have done we'll, all that such q