USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 59
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That the State of Georgia, in the judgment of this Convention, will and ought to resist, even (as a last resort) to a disruption of every tie that binds her to the Union, any action of Congress upon the subject of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia, or in places subject to the jurisdiction of Congress, incompatible with the safety, domestic tranquillity, the rights and honor of the slaveholding States ; or any act suppressing the slave-trade between the slaveholding States; or any re- fusal to admit, as a State, any Territory hereafter applying, because of the exist- ence of slavery therein; or any act prohibiting its introduction into the Territories of Utah and New Mexico; or any act repealing, or materially modifying the laws now in force for the recovery of fugitive slaves.
This report, known as the Platform, was adopted in the Georgia Convention by a vote of 237 to 19.
In the Alabama Legislature, it was favored by the Union men, but opposed by Democrats and Southern Rights men. Its adop- tion or rejection had gotten to be a question of party strength, and as the Union organization was giving way every day, the leaders of the Democrats who opposed it, voted to postpone, until at last they controlled strength to defeat it in the House, after its adop- tion by the Senate.
During the first week of the session, Mr. Liddell, an intense Compromise man, offered a resolution to bring on the election of United States Senator, to fill the place of Mr. Clemens after the 4th of March, 1853-one year in advance of the expiration of his term, but before another regular meeting of the Legislature. The resolution encountered opposition at the threshold, and a side motion, made to test its strength, indicated that it had a majority of the House, and hence the minority resorted to parliamentary tact to defeat it. They carried an adjournment, and the next meeting of the House showed a marked change in a few hours- a change which, at the time, surprised many who had no know- ledge of the manner in which it was brought about, and at this distance of time it is not necessary to relate it. After that, the friends of Mr. Clemens abandoned all idea of electing him again to the Senate.
ELECTIONS.
Sundry elections took place worthy of note. The Hon. George Goldthwaite, without opposition, was placed on the Bench of the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Silas Parsons.
Hon. James B. Clark was elected Chancellor of the Middle Division.
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Eggleston D. Towns, Esq., was elected Chancellor of the North- ern Division, over his competitors, A. Q. Nicks and Matthew J. Turnley, Esqrs., the first ballot being 54, 49 and 25, in the order of their names.
Vincent M. Benham was elected Secretary of State by a vote of 64, against 58 for A. B. Clitherall.
Amand P. Pfister was elected Quartermaster-General.
GEORGE GOLDTHWAITE is a Bostonian by birth, and received his education mainly at West-Point. He came to Montgomery and settled in the practice of the law about the year 1830. By his fine talents and close application to study and business, he soon obtained a large and valuable practice, and a high rank in his profession.
In 1843, he was first elected to the Bench of the Circuit Court, over Abram Martin, Esq., and was reelected in August by the Legislature. By a change in the Constitution, the election was given to the people in 1850, when he was continued on the Bench by popular suffrage, over Francis S. Jackson, Esq. Under his election as Judge of the Supreme Court, in 1851, he remained in that office until the session of 1853, when, for the purpose of affording the Legislature an opportunity to reorganize the Court, the Judges (five in number) resigned, and but three were elected, Judge Goldthwaite being one of the number. After presiding in that tribunal a few years, he retired, and resumed the practice of the law in Montgomery, in which he has since been engaged.
In December, 1870, Judge Goldthwaite was elected by the Legislature to a seat in the United States Senate for a term of six years, commencing on the 4th of March, 1871, which opens a new chapter in his public life, as it is the first time he has occu- pied an official position in any legislative body. Whatever may be the experience of his future, he certainly has an enviable re- cord of the past. While on the Circuit Bench, his administration of the laws, his enforcement of good order, his manner of presid- ing, courteous yet prompt, and the upright manner in which he decided all questions properly raised in cases before hin, estab- lished for him the very highest character as a Judge. His learn- ing was always adequate to every call and every occasion. In the Supreme Court, his opinions were luminous, constituting the stan- dard of judicial maturity in all the elements required for that dignified station. He is a brother-in-law of the Hon. John A. Campbell, late of the Supreme Court of the United States, and a brother of the Hon. Henry Goldthwaite, who held the commis- sion of Judge of the Supreme Court of Alabama at his death in 1847.
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JAMES B. CLARK has filled a considerable space at the bar, and on the Chancery bench. He has some peculiarities of disposition and manner which render a close acquaintance with him necessary to do full justice to his character. The writer is saved, however, from the risk of drawing an imperfect sketch, by incorporating a portion of that from the able pen of A. W. Dillard, Esq., under the head of "Sketches of the Lawyers of West-Alabama," re- cently published in the "Livingston Journal." Mr. Dillard says:
The Hon. James B. Clark was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, June 22, 1796, and passed his youth in Chillicothe, Ohio, receiving but a limited education. He read law in Kentucky, and begun the practice in that State, in March, 1822. In the fall of the same year, he removed to Bibb county, Alabama. In 1825, he returned to Kentucky, and while there he married Miss Mary Erwin, sister of the late Col. John Erwin. In 1827-'9, Chancellor Clark was a member of the Repre- sentative branch of the Legislature, from Bibb county, and ably represented his constituents. In 1831, he removed to Cahawba, where he resided eight years, enjoying quite a lucrative practice. In 1839, he settled in Eutaw. In 1845, upon the resignation of the Hon. Joshua L. Martin, Gov. Fitzpatrick, without any so- licitation, appointed him Chancellor of the Middle Chancery Division of the State. But at the session of the Legislature, by reason of a combination, Chancellor Clark was defeated by Hon. Wylie W. Mason.
In 1851, he was elected Chancellor by the Legislature. At that period, the office of Chancellor was particularly laborious and arduous. Chancellor Clark was under the necessity of traveling over half the State by private conveyance, and over miserable roads-the mere physical labor alone would have deterred many men from accepting so arduous a position. The Chancery system itself, to a great extent, was in a most crude and undigested state. Only a few years before, the Judges of the Circuit Court had exercised the diverse if not contradictory duties of law and equity Judges, and as they were crowded with business in the courts at law, they had but little leisure for the Chancery duties devolved upon them. Many of these Judges, in addition to this want of leisure, had little taste for Chancery practice, so that what followed might have easily been foreseen. There was little uniformity or regularity in the Chancery practice-there was no time afforded for prying narrowly into books for precedents-the business had to be dispatched in a hurry or left untouched.
Chancellor Clark brought to the discharge of his official duties the same love of method-the same laborious habits and punctuality-for which he had been honorably distinguished while at the bar. It is no mere idle compliment to say, that the Chancery practice owes much of its uniformity to the labors of Chancel- lor Clark. During a recent visit of the author of this sketch to Montgomery, he was assured by a gentleman eminent for the extent of his legal abilities, unsul- lied honor, and fine social qualities, that he was indebted to Chancellor Clark for his knowledge of Chancery practice-a deserved compliment, but made more val- uable by the character of the gentleman from whose lips it flowed.
On the bench, Chancellor Clark was patieut, cautious, laborious : courteous to the bar, rigid in exacting of the officers a due performance of their duties, yet ever ready to give them any instruction in his power; and no man ever showed more anxiety to have his decrees squared with justice. He strove to excel-he was fond of digging into the mine of English Chancery, and he did not begrudge the toil and labor requisite to attain excellence. No man commanded more re- spect in the Supreme Court, nor did any man ever fill a judicial office more worthily.
EGGLESTON D. TOWNS was raised and educated in North-Ala- bama, except that his graduation was at the University of Vir- ginia. His father, Major Towns, was a member of the Conven-
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tion that formed the Constitution of 1819, from Madison county ; after which he settled as a planter in Courtland Valley, where, by well-directed efforts, he acquired a large fortune.
Chancellor Towns was young when elected to this high and re- sponsible office, which he held for a year or two only, when he resigned, and removed to Texas. He was a gentleman of ele- vated character and sentiments, giving promise of much future usefulness, but he left the State before time was allowed to de- velop his faculties.
ALVIS Q. NICKS was a Representative from Talladega, and took a pretty active, if not leading part in the deliberations of the House, especially upon political questions. He came from Lincoln county, Tennessee, and had much State pride on account, mainly, of its being the home of Gen. Jackson.
In the contest at the session of 1851 he was for the Compro- mise measures out and out, and every feeling of his heart led him to revere the Union. Mr. Nicks came to Alabama in 1833, when a young man, and settled in the practice of the law, at Talladega. For some cause he attracted the notice of the Indian Chiefs, and became the adviser, and soon attained the position of Attorney for the Creek Nation. The head Chief, Opoth-le-o-ho-lo, and he, were on good terms, and in 1834 I saw a son of that chief, a good looking, intelligent young man, a half-breed, in company with Col. Nicks at Court in Jacksonville, representing his father in some legal procedure.
Gen. Jackson appointed Col. Nicks (he was Colonel of militia) one of the locating agents of Indian reservations of land, and he was thus engaged for sometime. The promotion and influence which he had so readily attained, bringing him large sums of money, was more than his nature could bear, and he yielded to the bowl, and contracted habits which not only disappointed a promising political future, with many early advantages, but, in a great measure, destroyed his prospects of accumulation. He be- came a waif professionally and individually, but adhered to his first principles and attachments in favor of Gen. Jackson and the Union. For a few years previous to 1851, he had been laboring at reformation, in which his progress was respectable, so much so that he was to some extent his former self. He had a comely person, tall and well proportioned, and was the soul of good com- panionship, possessing much kindness of heart.
In 1853, Col. Nicks was a candidate for the State Executive, still revering the principles upon which he was elected to the Legislature. But the issues of 1851 had passed away, and he was badly beaten by Gov. Winston. Not long after his defeat, he re- moved to Texas, and died there several years ago.
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MATTHEW J. TURNLEY came from East-Tennessee, of respect- able parentage and connections, and settled in Cherokee county as a lawyer. In 1840, he was elected Judge of the County Court, an office which he held several years, discharging its duties with marked ability and fidelity. He afterward held the office of United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, under Mr. Buchanan's administration, and when the State seceded he identified his lot with the Southern cause. Judge Turnley has been a citizen of Alabama for near forty years. He now resides in Jacksonville as a practicing lawyer, and, in the range of his practice and acquaintance is regarded as possessing good legal at- tainments, and the qualities of a useful citizen and honest man. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
VINCENT M. BENHAM, elected Secretary of State, was a mem- ber of the House, in 1851, from Lauderdale. A number of com- petitors entered the race for the office at the Capitol, and the con- test was quite stubborn. On the 16th ballot, his vote of 64 elected him over his principal opponent, Mr. Clitherall, who received 58 votes.
Mr. Benham was a Democrat, and accepted the Compromise measures of Congress. In the political classes of this year he was a Union man, and cooperated fully with that organization, and his election was regarded as its success for the time being. He had held the office of Sheriff, in days gone by, and possessed good business qualifications, especially the clerical. His hand-writing was neat and florid, rather too much of the latter for official pur- poses.
He was quiet, rather retiring and timid in his deportment. In 1853, after a severe contest with John H. Caldwell, Esq., and Gen. Higgins, he was again elected Secretary of State, but re- signed before his second term expired, disappointed, no doubt, at the perquisites of the office, which had been erroneously repre- sented as quite large. In the reorganization of the Government in 1865, Mr. Benham was appointed by Gov. Parsons Judge of Probate of his county, and died not long after receiving his com- mission. He was a good citizen, and correct in his business trans- actions.
ALEXANDER B. CLITHERALL, defeated by Mr. Benham for the office of Secretary of State, had long aspired to the place in his feelings and plans, and tested his strength upon this occasion, which a change of four votes would have rendered successful.
I first knew Mr. Clitherall in Tuskaloosa, in 1839-a young. man, a Whig in politics, and a law student. He soon afterward settled in Pickens county as a lawyer, and occupied for many years
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an active, influential position in the county, after connecting him- self with the Democratic party.
In 1842, he was elected Assistant Clerk of the House, and reelected until 1847, when, upon the retirement of Joseph Phe- lan, he was elected principal Clerk, and was retained in that office through the sessions of 1849 and 1851. In 1853, he was defeated by Mr. Malcolm D. Graham, of Coosa county. Mr. Clitherall subsequently held the office of Judge of Probate, and also that of Judge of the Circuit Court under the appointment of Gov. Wins- ton. In 1856, he was a delegate to the National Democratic Con- vention at Cincinnati. In 1857, he was elected to the Senate from Pickens, and in 1859, he was returned to the House.
Upon the organization of the Confederate Government, Judge Clitherall was appointed Register of the Treasury, and became the holder of the first bond of one thousand dollars, issued by that Government under the act of Congress authorizing the first loan in 1861, on a basis equivalent to specie. The fact was mentioned in the newspapers at the time as an evidence of the patriotism and good fortune of the Register in thus securing so precious a memento. Afterward, the bonds of the Government became less of a novelty, and somewhat at a discount, although the patriotism of the holders always deserved a premium.
After holding the office of Register of the Treasury for a year or two, Mr. Clitherall ceased to reside at Richmond, and settled in Montgomery to pursue the law as a profession. When the pressure of the war had nearly cut off the business of the courts, Judge Clitherall was compelled by the necessity of his condition, like a great number of other gentlemen, to seek em- ployment of a subordinate kind; and in this way, he acted as clerk to committees in the Legislature, or in situations of the like grade, to obtain the means of support for his family. In 1865, he was a candidate before the Legislature for the office of Attor- ney-General, but was defeated by Col. John W. A. Sanford, who had a brilliant record in the war. About this time, Mr. Clitherall began to be affected with symptoms of the dropsy, and the dis- ease increasing upon him, terminated his life in 1868.
Judge Clitherall had seen much of public life, and of men and things, and had participated largely in the stirring political events of his day. He possessed a mind and business qualities of more than ordinary grade, well fitting him for the different positions which he filled; but being a wit, punster, and a very social, com- panionable man, he lacked that application to study and to busi- ness so necessary to complete success. This obstacle considered, he made his way through difficulties, and attained positions, which show merit and popularity on his part, much to the credit of his memory.
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In person, Judge Clitherall was of unusual stature, about six feet six inches high, slender and delicately formed. He married Miss Hays, of Mississippi, a lady much below the common height of her sex-forming a remarkable contrast when they appeared together in public. Although nothing is claimed for him on ac- count of family prestige, yet the fact may be mentioned that he was a nephew of George Burgwyn, of Wilmington, and of John F. Burgwyn, of Newbern, both distinguished for their high social positions in North Carolina, connected by family ties with the Pollocks and Devereauxs, who were probably the wealthiest men in the State.
ARMAND P. PFISTER, elected Quarter-Master General, was a German by birth, and a very accomplished teacher of music. When I first knew him, in Tuskaloosa, he was engaged in that vocation. He was a gentleman of very agreeable manners, and was quite popular in the community where he resided.
About the time the Seat of Government was removed from Tuskaloosa, he settled in Montgomery as a book-seller, and after- ward became a partner of Joel White, Esq., under the firm of White, Pfister & Co. For many years he was Grand Secretary of the Grand Council, Chapter and Lodge of Masons in Alabama, and contributed no little, by his discharge of duty and intercourse with the craft, to enlarge the influence and operations of that Order in the State. He died in 1855, and a suitable monument was erected over his grave at Mobile by the Grand Lodge.
ADJOURNMENT.
The elections, which gave rise to a number of sketches, having taken place in the General Assembly, it was deemed proper to reserve a notice of the adjournment until their completion. The session was a long one, extending to the 10th of February, 1852, during which very little practical good was accomplished, related, as parties were, with the elements which composed the House, and the contrariety of views upon leading questions."
In due time, a Joint Committee of Arrangements was ap- pointed, consisting of Messrs. F. A. Saunders, L. James, W. P. Leslie, and Johnson Jones, on the part of the Senate, and C. Mc- Caskill, Nicholas Davis, Jr., Messrs. Moss, Bradford, and Oates, on the part of the House, to prepare for the inauguration of Gov. Collier on his second term. The order of the day required, among other things, "That a band of music be provided and placed in the gallery, and when the Governor is announced at the door, a National air be played."
The ceremonies of installation took place on Wednesday, 17th
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December, 1851, at 12 o'clock M., in the presence of the two Houses, and of a large concourse of citizens and visitors, in the Representative Chamber; and thus a new term in the administra- tion of Gov. Collier commenced, by the spontaneous voice of the people.
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
The election for Representatives in Congress, during the year 1851, has been referred to, with the names of candidates, and the result in each District. According to the plan of this work, the gentlemen elected, not heretofore noticed, will here find a place.
JAMES ABERCROMBIE was a native of Hancock county, Georgia, and the youngest of eight sons. Major Charles Abercrombie, the father, was an officer in the Revolutionary war, and his character was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. The Ab- ercrombie family had great prestige from their wealth and social position, and also from the superior intellect and manly qualities they possessed. The names of the brothers were John, Abner, Edmund, Leonard, Wiley, Anderson, Charles, and James. The former was Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives in 1825. A daughter of Major Abercrombie married the Hon. Bolling Hall, Representative in Congress, of decided ability, and well versed in the science of government.
About the time Alabama was admitted in the Union, Captain James Abercrombie removed to Montgomery county, of which he was elected a Representative in 1822 and 1824. From 1825 to 1833, inclusive, he served nine years in the Senate.
My acquaintance with him began at the session of 1838, when he was a Representative from Russell county. He was reelected in 1839, and at both sessions he took a leading part, and exerted no little influence in Legislation, especially among the Whig mem- bers, to which party he belonged. When Judge Smith, of Madi- son, in 1838, offered his celebrated resolutions in favor of the Sub- Treasury scheme of Mr. Van Buren, Captain Abercrombie rose in his place, and said that he liked the resolutions very well, except the white-washing of Mr. Van Buren, and for that he could not go. He had long been in sympathy and cooperation with the State Rights party, but rather than support Mr. Van Buren, in whom he had no confidence, he separated from such friends as Dixon H. Lewis, Richard B. Walthall, Columbus W. Lee, and others, and allied himself strongly with the Whig party, in which he was at all times a leader.
In 1847, he was elected to the Senate from Russell, and served four years-a man of mark and influence. During the session of 1847, while the election for United States Senator was pending,
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in which Mr. Lewis was a candidate, Captain Abercrombie called upon him, by pre-arrangement, and late at night. They had been estranged politically, and had no intercourse for ten years, after a long period of intimate friendly relations. It is said by some mu- tual friends, selected and allowed to be present, that the interview was quite gratifying to both parties. Captain Abercrombie de- spaired of electing a Whig to the Senate, and determined in his own mind, at the proper time in the course of the election, to lead out for Mr. Lewis on the Whig side, and thus have the gratifica- tion of deciding the contest in favor of his old friend. He did lead off; but owing, as he said, to jealousies on the part of some leading men of his party, in reference to the Congressional suc- cession of Mr. Hilliard, his party did not follow generally, which was to him a source of much mortification.
It has been shown that in 1851, he was a candidate for Con- gress, and elected. In 1853, he was reëlected, and served two full terms in the National councils, after which he retired, and set- tled partly in Florida, where he was engaged in filling a large con- tract with the Government for brick.
I saw Captain Abercombie last in 1859, when he visited Mont- gomery to aid the reelection of Gov. Fitzpatrick to the Senate. He was quite advanced in years, and somewhat feeble, but con- versed with his usual intelligence. A moral change of no ordi- nary character had passed over him, which was exhibited in his manner and action, as well as in conversation, showing that he had made his peace with God and man. Not long after this period he died, leaving an example of integrity and usefulness worthy of all imitation.
Captain Abercombie was a gentleman of much information and large experience in public affairs, well-versed in the Constitution and nature of government, and in the principles of the several political parties as they existed at different times in the country. . The strong point in his character was decision and boldness. He never hesitated after his course was determined upon, but marched forward without dissimulation or disguise, to both which he was a stranger. He did nothing by indirection, but would avow openly upon the floor of the Legislature his purpose in a political move- ment, and would have success upon no other ground. He was a ready, animated speaker, though his delivery was not fluent; still, his directness always made him easily understood. He was honest in all his impulses. His dislikes were strong, and so were his attachments.
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