Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-07-16

and swollen streams, the clergyman
who was expected to conduct the SER
vices was unable to reach there, and
my legal friend who was known to
have been an intimate of the deceased,
was called upon to make few re-
marks. He could not under the cir
cumstances refuse and accordingly
arose and said: my friends, / have
been requested to say a few words on
this occasion, and have consented to
do SO, but as this Is out of my line.
I shall be obliged to be very brief
| Our deceased brother was as good a
man as,God ever made. He was kind
| hearted, generous and true. He was
a fine specimen Of an old-fashioned
Kentucky gentleman. He kept roost-
ers and he fit 'en. he kept horses and
smoked 'em, he kept liquors, and he
drunk 'em, for OF such is the king
dom of heaven"
Judge williams was lawyer and
judge of ability, and an honorable and
upright gentleman in every respect.
| His partner. A. H. Hamilton. was a
man of decided talents, and had he adj
hered steadily to the profession, would
| undoubtedly have developed into one
But he left it while comparative young
| to take up arms for his country in the
| great civil war.
He was an heroic officer, and suffer-
ed not only the hardships Of the field,
but of a loathsome captivity, followed
by an escape frauglt with incidents
of the most distressing character.
Fleeing with his three companions
from their pursuers, avoiding the
| highways and settlements, seeking the
woods and thickets to hide themselves
in during the day, and at night wan
dering with bleeding feet through for
est and field, without any compass
save the north star to guide them to
our lines, without any food but such
| as the herbs and the ears of uncooked
green corn afforded. Suffering in
short, a series of hardships so severe
| that all three of his companions sub
sequently died from the effects there
| Of.
At the close of the war he did not
return to his profession, but entered
the field of journalism, and became the
proprietor and editor in chief Of the
| Ottumwa Courier, then and now one
of the leading journals of the state
He was universally regarded as both
forcible and facile writer.
| have been speaking of Major Ham
| ilton as if he We're dead. On the con-
trary, at the age of nearly four score
years, he is very much alive; and in
my Judgment he is the most notable
and justly distinguished old man in
this part of the state. The old maxim
de mortuis nil nisi bonum is not a
restraint upon speaking also well OF
the living, and Major Hamiltons ven.
cradle age. and retirement from pro.
fessional life, / am sure justifles me
in thus speaking of him on this occa-
sion; especially in view of my refer
ence to him as being the only sur
Viyor, with the exception of myself
of the bar here of 1857
The major had his faults, at least
thought SO, and there is not the slight
est doubt in the world that he had the
same opinion of me, and there is as
little doubt that the frequent and
sometimes spirited interchange of our
mutual opinions of this subject, bred
mutual asperities. But l can do him
simple justice all the same. Besides
believe the assuaging hand of time
has long since effaced these asperities
as effectually as was the blasphemous
oath of Uncle Toby, which the record
ing angel bore up to heavens chancery
and upon which, as he set 1t down, he
dropped a tear, which blotted it out
forever.
But before dealing with any more
personalities, let me refer to some
SoIlullioilS WHICH, speaking III ROUND
numbers prevailed in the practice
a half century ago, but do not exist
today. We had no court stenograph-
ers, nor indeed, any other kind. We
could not as now, If we desired for the
purpose of argument to know what a
certain witness had testified to on such
and such a point. request the court
stenographer to transcribe a portion
of his minutes concerning the same.
TN,. L
sired a bill of exceptions for the pur-
pose Of appeal, simply ask the stem
ographer to furnish transcript Of the
evidence. Hence it became necessary
for those uses, that the lawyers en-
gagged in the case should note down as
the witnesses testified the substantial
portions of their evidence. In every
important case, therefore, that was
likely to be appealed, two counsels were
generally engaged for either side, and
while one was engaged in examining a
witness, the other was noting down as
best he could the important parts of
his testimony. And it was upon this
basis, thus obtained that bills Of ex-
ceptions We're made up, when appeals
We're taken, and 1t was claimed that
the verdict was not supported by the
evidence, or that instructions had
been given that We're not applicable,
that We're correct, or that erroneous
rulings had been made, on the omis-
sion or rejection Of evidence. And
here it was that the fuss began. For
the lawyers appealing depended on
the notes they had taken during the
trial to make up the bill of exceptions
FROM and from various apparent
causes, these notes would frequently
disagree with those taken by council
on the other side. One council had
taken down his exact words but the
the substance of the witness state
ment; the other might claim he had
taken down the exact words; but the
substance did not agree and the dis
agreement might constitute a pivotal
point in the case. And thus the
wrangle might continue, and become
more intense as it proceeded, until In
the end, failing to agree. it would be
left to the judge to adjust these diff
ferences as best he could from his
own recollection Of the testimony, and
settle the bill. And in case of his
refusal to do so, bystanders, as they
We're called, who had listened to the
evidence were called in to aid in set
Ting the bill.
What trying and intense labor this
course of procedure involved in i'm
portant and complicated cases. may
be easily appreciated No wonder that