The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-15

ouSlheSS ouTllS HIS iucumOencl9S anC in part to the facility with which ke wrote opinions, especially during his | first term of service. And as well fo, the length of his service and the mag. | nitude of his labors as for his charac- ter as a man and citizen and for the exceeding learning and ability which he brought to and lavtshly expended ir the discharge of judicial duty, is he richly entitled to whatever of com- memoration in enduring form may be here accorded him by those who knew him well. loved him for his genial and | engaging personality and sterling in. tcgrity, and recognized his great ca. pacity and erudition in the law.
 Whether 1t was because he had at- | taiRed the highest distinction at the | bar when I first came to know him, | and himself in consequence became the | embodiment of my conception of a | great lawyer. or whether he fitted into and filled my abstract ideal in that | regard, I know not; but true 1t Is that | from that time he has personified my | idea of the highest order of barristeI | and solicitor in one; and when have | read of the great men of the profession | the mental presentments of their per | sonalities have always had in them much of the physical and intellectual
  ell. To my mind he looked the great lawyer, he had the manner of the great lawyer He had the boise and dignity of the great laweyr. And he came to be my concept of the great lawyer.
 And he looked, too, to be the great
 judge that he was. dignified and ur-
 bane, gentle and considerate, but afi1r-
 native when need was. Without claim ing for him that he was superla- tive in advocacy, his arguments haf an earnestness that was impressive, vehemence and fire that was surprls- ing even to those who knew him well in other capacities. logic that was always close and incisive, overwhelm- ing when proceeding upon sound prem ises. and often most difficult to resist even when faulty. And when to this is added that at the bar he had flowing and consecutive diction, so to say, the capacity of constructing his sentences as perfectly and pertinently in extemporaneous speaking as in writing, and that his vocabulary was full and virile, there was an adversary worthy of the best efforts of forensic power before juries and courts.
 But 1t was as @ judge that his greatest work was done. It was here that his great learning found its full, far-reaching and enduring expression. It was here that his poised iDtellectu- alty and his judicial temperament at- tained it's highest register. It was on this bench that his diction exemplifed a beauty a clearness. a directness and power that has been rarely equalled in jurdical writings. His knowledge of the general principles of jurispru- dence was profound and of that read mess and familiarity that seemed at times to partake of intuition. His ac- quaintance with the adjudged cases of this tribunal was exhaustive and &C., curate, and his memory of the volume and page where the decision of point under review had been recorded years gone, and the names of the parties was altogether remarkable.
 His was a profound native intellec- tuality. Though developed along the lines of the jaw, to which he confined his aspirations and to which he de- voted his life more exclusively than any man have known, yet his reading cov- cred large fields beyond 1t, and his mind was a storehouse' of general informa- tion With such intellectually, pow erful and analytic, with such deep learning in his chosen profession, with an experience at the bar which had been wide and most successful, with a surpassing memory of legal precedents. with a rare capacity for grasping facts and applying the law to them. and with power of judicial expression pre- eminent among the jurists of this State, and not suffering by compari- son with the writings of the very mas ter jurisconsults. there can be no won- der that his judgments and opinions embellish jurisprudence, and no doubt that they will stand as monuments pro- claiminF to generations to come the great lawyer and the great judge.
 TO turn for a moment from the Lawyer and the Judge tC the Man: It needs record here only for those who cone after Us that hls integrity Was
 beyond all suspicion and reproach. His
 ideals and aspirations were of the highest order. To was gentle. he was
 kind. he was m, il. he was timid of
 personal connection with contentious and contests. He was steadfast and
 staunch to his friends. While he was
 never a man to mix with the crowd.
 to those who knew him well and who
 enjoyed his confidence, he was the most
 genial and engaging and companiona ble of men. To me he has left the ever to be cherished memory of his friendship; and it is pleasure, inef- fably saddened by the occasion of it, for me to set down here this made quate testimonial to his character. abilities ard accomplishment.
 The resolutions will be inscribed upon a memorial page of the minutes
 of this court. and with the addresses
 here made will be published in a volume of the reports of decisions. As
 further mark of respect to the memory of the distinguished dead, the
 court will stand adjourned for the day"