USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 32
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Among his numerous contributions to the periodical press, may be mentioned his review of Howitt's Homes of the Poets, An Appeal to the Whigs of the Union for the Sake of the Union, in the "American Review;" his essay on the Civil Law, Cicero, Burr's Life, British Reviewers, etc., in the "Southern Quar-
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terly," and various articles in Hunt's "Merchants' Magazine," and in "DeBow's Review." All these showed industry, learning, and taste of no ordinary stamp. He had one of the largest pri- vate libraries in the State, well selected in the departments of. law, history, literature, science, and philosophy, and no man was more diligent or more happy in the use of books.
In 1848, Judge Porter purchased a Summer residence for his family at Cave Spring, Floyd county, Georgia, which contained the double attraction of health, and of good schools for his chil- dren. While there, his personal friend, RICHARD YEADON, Esq., of Charleston, the distinguished editor of the "Courier," paid him a visit with his family, who were the guests of Judge Porter for several weeks in August and September, 1849. The two friends traveled to the mountains in the Cherokee region, viewing the falls of Little River, DeSoto's Cave, and the cuts and rents of the hills and valleys by the bursting of recent water spouts which swept away houses and crops by sudden inundation. These and other objects, with romantic Indian traditions, were cel- ebrated in verse by Mr. Yeadon, who regularly corresponded with his paper. Judge Porter was complimented in some of these effusions, and invited, poetically, to return to Charleston, and become in bonds of friendship, "exceeding the love of woman," as Jonathan and David stood to each other. In letters to the "Courier," Mr. Yeadon gave glowing descriptions of Cave Spring and its surroundings, including the warmest eulogies on Judge Porter.
In 1850, Judge Porter was prevailed on, by Mr. Yeadon, to try his fortunes once more in his beloved native city of Charleston. And as a preliminary, assuring a present support, the editorship of the " Charleston News" was procured for him, through the in- fluence of Mr. Yeadon. As Judge Porter, throughout his legis- lative course from 1832 to 1847, had always been a consistent ad- vocate of the fair sex, in introducing bills to secure separate estates to married women, and to protect the homestead of the family from seizure and sale for the debts of an improvident head, the following from his pen, as an editorial article in the "News," of November 2, 1850, is deemed relevant:
THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS .- We are altogether in favor of radical reforms in this branch of instruction. We begin by announcing ourselves as decidedly of opinion that women have souls, and possess minds very capable of improvement in the higher branches of knowledge. We honestly believe that they are not formed alone
"To suckle fools and chronicle small beer."
On the contrary, we think that they have intellects entirely equal to the most la- borious tasks of the most masculine scholar; and as they necessarily have the care of children, during that period when their minds are taking impressions of good and evil, we are positively the advocate in everything which can the better form their minds to the duties of these interesting tasks. It will be seen from
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this beginning that we take it for granted that women must have the care of chil- dren; that is, we suppose they will be married women. We should feel that we were insulting women to think anything else. We have no charity for those pro- vokingly prudish females who pretend that it is their duty to live in a state of single-bessedness. It is a great violation of duty to do any such thing. The most miserable thing in nature, and the most to be sympathized with-except an old bachelor, who is most fervently to be despised-is an old maid. If women take our advice, they will get married as soon as possible, to an honest, industrious man; and this leads us to the consideration of the system best adapted for the education of women.
In the first place, we avow ourselves sternly and inflexibly opposed to making it the business of a woman's life to thump on a piano, draw pictures, or stick woolen threads on perforated paper. These things may be very properly learned and practiced, as adjuncts to education ; but they may not be education itself. Nor would we have women become masters in Greek Anthology or Latin hexameters. In looking to a plan of education for her, we would select that most capable of forming her into a WOMAN, in the largest sense of the term. We would look to her destiny as a wife and a mother; as the companion of a man, who might be at times a hero, or a child; of one who, in the several phases of life, may be called on to make her very miscrable, or very happy; as the guardian of a child, sometimes in laughter, sometimes in tears; of one who would delight her in health, and rack her bosom with mental suffering, in disease and death. Her education should fit her for these episodes in existence. She should have cheerfulnes, without frivol- ity, for moments of pleasure; firmness and resignation for those of misery. She should be instructed in self-denial in times of prosperity-in self-reliance in pe- riods of distress. In order, therefore, to accustom her to these varieties of life, we would begin by placing the foundation of her education, in RELIGIOUS PRIN- CIPLE.
From some cause, the connection of Judge Porter with the "News" was dissolved in less than a year. The following lines appeared in the "Courier," which are here introduced as a speci- men of his poetry :
."WHEN PARTING FROM THE FRIENDS WE LOVE."
Air-Mary Blaine.
BY B. F. PORTER.
When parting from the friends we love, How long our hearts retain, O'ershadowing fears, which seem to prove, We ne'er shall meet again. When farewell, when farewell, Is all the lips can say, As parting from the friends we love, We tear our hearts away.
As slow we drag our feet away, What doubts invade the breast ; Hope only sheds a glim'ring ray, T' involve in deeper shade. When farewell, &c.
Long years may roll between us two, Bright skies may o'er us shine ; My faithful heart will still renew, That speaking look of thine. When farewell, &c.
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The happy time will soon be here, And heart to heart restore; I'll kiss away the pious tear, Thine eyes shall shed no more. When farewell, &c.
Then should we part from friends we love, Let hearts no more complain ; The sun will rise o'er clouds to prove, We'll surely meet again. When farewell, when farewell, No more the lips shall say, As parting from the friends we love, We tear our hearts away.
While in Charleston, in 1850-51, Judge Porter opened a law office, and was employed in several important cases. The Hon. J. B. O'Nealle, author of the "Bench and Bar of South Carolina," devotes six pages of his work to a biography of Judge Porter. The following is an extract:
In May, 1850, I came to know Judge Porter. He was one of those concerned in the defense of Davenport, charged with the murder of a lady by the adminis- tration of ergot. * * * He made the second speech for the prisoner, and it seemed to me to be fully equal to what might have been expected, from his great reputation. The evidence was wholly insufficient to convict the prisoner, and after a tedious trial he was acquitted. At the same term, and subsequently, at the January term, 1851, of the Court of Appeals, Judge Porter, with his friend, Mr. Yeadon, argued the case of the State ex relatione, Ravenel, Brothers & Co. James Welsman, James Chapman, Gourdin, Matthiesson & Co., vs. the City Coun- cil-4 Richardson, 286. Here, again, both on the Circuit and in the Court of Appeals, his arguments were everything which could be said, in a case where the law was decidedly against him.
I believe these two cases were the only occasions on which I had the oppor- tunity of hearing and knowing Judge Porter, of whom I then formed a high opinion, both as a lawyer and gentleman. I then hoped he might find it to be to his interest to make Charleston his permanent home; but it seems his friends had promised more than they could effect. The business promised and expected did not come. His means were not sufficient to justify him in remaining in the city of his birth, and he returned to Alabama where he has since been successfully pursuing his profession .- Vol. II. p. 551.
After his return from Charleston, Judge Porter resided for sev- eral years in DeKalb county, where he pursued his profession, edited a paper called the "Will's Valley Post," carried on a farm, was Superintedent of Education, and President of the Will's Valley Railroad Company. It has been said of him that, in the intervals of professional employment, he had studied every branch of the sciences and philosophy, and had become a fair Latin and good French scholar. Taking a fancy to the civil law, he had explored it from its earliest fragments, through Paul, Ulpian, the Institutes, Pandects, Novels and Code, to the Spanish and French law, and in it he found the source of the principles of jurispru- dence. And that he had also prepared a translation of Heinnei- cus' Elements of the Institutes.
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About the year 1845, the Trustees concluded to add a Law Professorship to the University of Alabama, and, having passed the resolution, they elected Judge Porter to the chair, who was to rely for his compensation on the sale of tickets to his lectures. He accepted it, and his name appeared as the Professor in one edition of the Catalogue of the institution; but after some pre- liminaries, it was ascertained that sufficient patronage would not likely be afforded, and Judge Porter abandoned the situation without delivering even the introductory lecture. In suggesting the law chair, it was no doubt his intention to prepare and deliver a course of lectures to be afterwards published in book form, prob- ably to be entitled, "Exposititions of the Common, Statute, and Civil Law," to rank, in public estimation, with the commentaries on the laws of England, by Sir William Blanckstone, and with those on American law, by Chancellor Kent. He was original and bold enough to entertain the conception, and sufficiently self- reliant to give it form and vitality. But difficulties supervening, which he did not anticipate, and which he thought were unjust to himself, he applied his energies in another direction. Such a work as he contemplated from the law chair of the University would, if produced, have exhibited a variety and breadth of learning, in a method more or less exact, and a taste in composi- tion perhaps a little different in the simplicity usual among legal authors, but otherwise an attractive style. This pillar of his fame, however, never reached the cornice, or the entablature.
While in DeKalb county, trying with great industry, and in every form of appeal, to reach the minds of the people, and to rouse them to action in the cause of education and internal im- provement, he offered his services as a candidate for the Senate, and was defeated.
Hitherto nothing has been said of the politics of Judge Porter. He was a Nullifier in 1833, and at the session of that year he offered resolutions pledging the State of Alabama to sustain South Carolina, in case an armed conflict grew out of her resistance of the oppressions of Congress, which were rejected by the majority. This effort placed him among the foremost as a State Rights man. In 1840, he supported Gen. Harrison for the Presidency, and made many speeches in the canvass, as he did for Mr. Clay in 1844. He frequently presided over party conventions, and was a Taylor man in 1848. In 1852, he was not satisfied with the nom- ination of Gen. Scott, and voted for Mr. Pierce. His course since then has not been well defined, nor will an outline be attempted here. He was thoroughly a Southern man during the war, freely contributing his influence and means to support' the Southern cause. He had previously removed to Greenville, Butler county. After the surrender of the Confederate armies, and the Republi-
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can party, under the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, obtained control of the Government of Alabama, Judge Porter allied him- self with that party, and accepted the Judgeship of the 12th Judicial Circuit, a circumstance which most of his friends much regretted. He died soon thereafter, and thus passed away a very remarkable man, whose gifts and energies deserved a better reward in life than he was destined to experience.
His daughter, Miss INA M. PORTER (now Mrs. Henry), inherited the literary taste of her father, and many beautiful articles, in prose and verse, from her pen were published in Northern and Southern papers and magazines before the war. Her contribu- tions since have been frequent in quarters more restricted, but not the less creditable to her genius.
Judge Porter, with a due share of infirmity common to ambi- tious minds, possessed many noble traits of character. His soul was full of benevolence, and he would give his last dollar to re- lieve human distress. As a speaker, he was distinguished for ani- mation, a chaste style, with metaphors when necessary, and his elocution was generally pleasant, and sometimes captivating. His address was at all times dignified, and he never ventured to ap- pear in public except fashionably clad. Cleanliness of person was his rule and his daily practice. Let his few foibles be forgotten, and let his many virtues live in kind remembrance. He was a member of the Baptist Church from 1842 until his death in 1868.
In regard to Judge Porter, his emulation, his generosity, and misfortunes, one is reminded of the beautiful thoughts of the Hon. George S. Hilliard, of Boston, a legal author of distinction, who says:
I confess that increasing years bring with them an increasing respect for those who do not succeed in life, as these words are commonly used. Heaven is said to be a place for those who have not succeeded upon earth; and it is surely true that celestial graces do not best thrive and bloom in the hot places of worldly pros- perity. Ill success sometimes arises from a superabundance of qualities in them- selves good-from a conscience too sensitive, or taste too fastidious, a self-forget- fulness too romantic, a modesty too retiring. I will not go so far as to say with a living poet, that "the world knows nothing of its greatest men ;" but there are forms of greatness, or at least excellence, which die and make no signs; there are martyrs that miss the palm, but not the stake; there are heroes without the laurel, and conquerors without the triumph.
26. JAMES ROBINSON, of Madison, served only this session as a Representative, preferring the quiet pursuit of his profession to the turmoil and strife of politics. He displayed intellect and in- telligence of a fine order, and often shared in debate. On the trying question of placing the Branch Banks in liquidation, his course was bold and decisive, looking to the good of the State as his first duty. He still resides in Huntsville where he has at- tained eminence at the bar. He is a Tennesseean by birth and
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education. In his manners, he is somewhat secluded, resulting no doubt from his indifference to popular favor, and to his exclusive devotion to his profession.
27. ROBERT T. SCOTT, of Jackson, became first known to me in 1835, when he was canvassing against Gov. Chapman, for a seat in Congress. He was beaten, and in 1837, he was elected to the House. It has been stated in a preceding chapter that, in 1839, he was again returned to the House, but was ousted from his seat, because, at the time of his election, he held the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court. He thereafter remained in private life, pur- suing the practice of the law until 1842, when he brought to the aid of the House strong native talents, matured and strengthened by experience. At this session he introduced a bill for the investi- gation of all extra allowances made by Bank Directors since 1835, giving power to the Governor, if he should deem it expedient, on the report of the Commissioners, to institute proceedings for the recovery of such unauthorized applications of the public money.
Mr. Scott was again elected in 1847, and took an active part in the important business of that session. In 1853, he was returned, with the writer, to the House, and discharged with ability and effi- ciency the duties of Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means. This ended his connection with the Legislature.
Under an appointment of the Governor, Mr. Scott was engaged in prosecuting the claims of Alabama for advances made on ac- count of the Indian and Mexican wars, and perhaps other claims, which required much of his time to be passed in Washington City. In this labor he exhibited great diligence and capacity, and was successful in a certain degree, considering the difficulties encoun- tered.
A particular trait in the character of Mr. Scott, as a legislator, was his opposition to high salaries in public officers, and his love of economy in the expenditures of the public money, an instance of which may be given, as occurring at the session of 1842. When some bill was under consideration in the House, he took the floor, aud contended that public officers were too well paid, in support of which proposition he compared the profits of manual labor, in the different occupations, with the per diem of the Judges, show- ing that the sweat of fifty men at the plough would hardly earn as much money as the State paid to one Judge ! In fact, he dem- onstrated, in his own way, that the average of common labor was eleven cents per day to the hand, while that of the Judge, who sat in the house, sheltered from the cold and heat, amusing him- self with his books, was six or seven dollars per day. When he drew the contrast, his voice rose to the highest pitch of indignation, as if it was anti-republican to permit mental labor, pursued in the
F
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shade, to be paid a fraction higher than mere bodily labor in the sun, where no idea of larger capacity than a full corn crib was essential. His mind was well cultivated, and his business qualifi- cations superior. He was not a pleasant speaker, on account of a lisp in his delivery. Of course, he had to be a Democrat to repre- sent Jackson county, where Democracy prevailed almost by unani- mous consent. His social qualities were of a very respectable class, so much so that he appeared to better advantage in the pri- vate circle than in the forum.
28. JOHN S. STORRS, of Shelby, was a Northern man, and set- tled in Montevallo to practice law. He was liberally educated, and a Whig in politics, soon taking a high position in his party, so that in 1841 he was elected to the House, and for several years thereafter the same trust was renewed by his constituents. In 1857, he concluded his legislative service in the Senate. In 1849, while a member of the House, he was a candidate for Secretary of State, and was defeated.
With marked zeal and ability, Mr. Storrs devoted himself to measures calculated to develop the mineral region of Alabama, in the midst of which he resided, and to this end he advocated the establishment of railroads, in aid of which he proposed to apply the two and three per cent. funds. Gloomy as the prospect seemed then, these lines of connection have since been opened, and the people of Shelby and those of other counties are about to realize the benefits of the wise movement. By some persons an objection to Mr. Storrs has been raised, on the ground that he was too sectional in his views and efforts-that he was wedded too entirely to the people of Shelby county, regardless of the general interest. While the fact probably existed of such devotion on his part, it should be borne in mind that he had cast his lot in a com- munity with which he had become identified in feeling and interest, and that it was natural he should promote their welfare to the best of his opportunities. By diligence in his profession, and by using the proper means in other respects, he succeeded in acquiring a very ample estate, and died much regretted by the people with whom he had long resided, and had faithfully served.
Mr. Storrs had a good voice and a ready supply of language, but he was not often a participant in the debates. He occasionally addressed the House, more in explanation than for any other object. He was always deficient in the warmth of social feeling, for which Southern men are noted, and in those agreeable qual- ities which would make him a favorite in legislative circles, though in his private relations he was more communicative, and possessed a fine vein of humor.
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29. DR. ROBERT J. WARE, of Montgomery, had long been a member of the House, but had retired for several years until 1841, when he was again elected, and reelected in 1842. At both sessions he struggled manfully to obtain the aid of the State in behalf of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad. In 1841, he asked for the State's guaranty on the bonds of the company to a certain amount, to enable the stockholders to complete the road, and thus render available the capital already invested. In this he failed; but never despairing, he renewed the subject in 1842 in a new light, making it appear that the two per cent. fund could be applied by the State, under the specific limitations of the act of Congress, in no other way than establishing the very line of improvement, of which the road formed an extensive link. He ultimately succeeded in getting an act passed, loaning to the com- pany $120,000 of that fund, on adequate security to the State.
Dr. Ware was considered one of the most sagacious and solid members of the House. When he had an object in view, he set it boldly before his audience, and gave the whole argument in a nutshell, so that before the attention was in the least fatigued, the' question was laid open in all its parts, as with the dissecting knife. He had large views of everything, and was never cramped or timid in his movements. Perhaps he had no superior in the House in public spirit, and it was the fewest number who excelled him in business intelligence. His manner of speaking was highly agreeable, and his disposition eminently stubborn. One might as well undertake to level the Andes by a zephyr as to drive him from any position. Where his judgment and free will led, there he would go in spite of the world; further, the combined universe could not force him.
From this view, it will be perceived that Dr. Ware had largely the elements of strength and firmness in his character. In 1849, he was elected to the Senate, which closed his public career. He then gave more exclusive attention to the management of his im- mense property. His nature was unsocial, tinged a good deal with hauteur, which made him unpopular with the masses, and shortened the period of his public life. He was a Whig in politics. From his great love of wealth, and his losses by the war, probably his spirit was crushed by the shock, and death came to his relief in 1866. At the time, however, he could not have been under sixty- five years of age, with physical powers made for endurance to four score.
30. THOMAS WILLIAMS, of Pickens, formerly resided in Tus- kaloosa county, and was many years in the Legislature. He was a member of the House in 1837, from Pickens, and subsequently, always filling the place of a working, watchful, economical man in 21
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all the avenues of the public service. He was for proceeding to business in a straightforward, practical way, looking into the condi- tion of public affairs, correcting the errors that had crept in, reform- ing abuses, cutting off useless expenses, and righting up matters generally, just as a prudent man would act for the future safeguard of his interests. The same rule he applied to the body politic, He was a reliable man in all the situations of life, and, in his day, exerted a large influence in the Legislature, and in the counsels of the Democratic party, to which he belonged. From small beginnings he had, by dint of industry and frugality, ac- quired a large property. His practical views he carried into public life. He died in 1855. Two of his sons, Curtis Williams, and Samuel Williams, Esquires, succeeded him in the confidence of the people of Pickens county, whom they have represented in the Legislature.
31. WILLIAM WOODWARD, of Sumter, was from South Carolina, and brother of the Hon. Joseph A. Woodward, a Representative in Congress from that State from 1843 to 1847. He was also the brother of Judge Thomas Woodward and John J. Woodward, for- merly of Talladega.
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