USA > Georgia > Fulton County > Atlanta > History of Atlanta, Georgia : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 31
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Just as the war opened the first judge appointed under Confederate author- ity was Lochrane. On the bench he developed great administrative ability. He was prompt, quick and able, his judgments were gracefully delivered, and his courtesy to the bar was uniform and liberal. He was never impatient, and without much effort always maintained the highest discipline of decorum. As an instance of Judge Lochrane's independence on the bench we might add that he held the scales of justice during the shock of civil war, and maintained the dignity of his position at a time when the state of the country rendered the administration of civil law a work of great difficulty and danger. Ile was from principle warmly with the South in the struggle, but he would not allow the law to be trampled under foot. He enforced the writ of habeas corpus in Georgia after the writ was suspended by the Confederate Congress. He de- clared conscription to be unconstitutional, holding that it was bad policy to make a man a slave before he was sent off to fight for liberty. He held that the declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States, made under oath, before the war. did not bind as a declaration to become a citizen of the Confederate States, but had to be proven as an intention, if such existed, by acts or declaration subsequent to the existence of the Confederate govern- ment. He held that the ordinance of the secession convention, conferring cit-
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izenship of the State on every person residing in Georgia, who did not file a disclaimer of the citizenship conferred within sixty days after the passage of the ordinance was inoperative, as the State after the passage of the ordinance and before the expiration of the sixty days, had herself entered into a new form of government, uniting with the Confederate States. He held that a minor, held a prisoner by the United States for exchange of prisoners, was without the jurisdiction of a State court to hear his case on a writ of habeas corpus. He held that under the Confederate constitution the State of Georgia had the right to a writ of possession against the Confederate States for the recovery of State arms loaned to the Confederate States; and learning his decision would be resisted, he telegraphed to Governor Brown for means to enforce his order. In reply Governor Brown telegraphed him that he would send a thousand men, if necessary, to carry his judgment into effect. In a certain case where persons were relieved from military service by putting in a substitute, under a law existing at the time, and a subsequent law extended the time for conscripts, under which last law such person fell upon their plea that they were discharged by the first contract, Judge Lochrane held that they were liable, as the public exigency demanded more men in the field. " Na- tions," said he, "die fighting, never by contract."
These instances may serve to show that Judge Lochrane, as a judge, was firm and inflexible in his opinions, and that he upheld justice without regard to the popularity of his decisions. Pending the session of the Legislature that was to pass upon the question of Judge Lochrane's re-election to the bench, a case was brought before him of exceeding delicacy. A member of the Legis- lature from the county of Pickens, Mr. Alred, was voted out of his seat on ac- count of treason. He was arrested and confined in a military prison, when he appealed for his discharge on writ of habeas corpus. Judge Lochrane heard the case, and although his own election came before the same Legislature in a few days, he in effect reversed the decision by holding he was not guilty of trea- son and discharging him from custody. He also discharged from military prison the men who remained in Atlanta under the occupancy of General Sherman, upon the ground that they had not committed treason by remain- ing and working for their bread.
After the war Judge Lochrane resigned the bench and resumed the prac- tice of the law. While thus employed, at the request of the mayors of Macon and Atlanta he visited Washington, and took an active part in organizing civil government in Georgia, and in moderating the views of President Johnson to the Southern people. Returning from Washington, Judge Lochrane, at the request of many citizens, made a speech at Ralston's IIall-a speech remark- able for its solemn warnings, prophetic of what soon fell upon the South. The re-publication of that speech at this day would mark its author as a statesman.
At the close of the war Judge Lochrane retired from the criminal practice
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· and with the experience and training of the bench took position among the best civil lawyers. When the capitol was located at Atlanta he moved thither, and in light of results this change was well considered. He at once stepped to the front of a very able bar, but at their request soon assumed the duties of judge of the Atlanta Circuit, which position he held but a short time. Of his ability as a judge of this circuit we need only remark that out of sixteen cases carried to the Supreme Court but one was reversed. On the accession of Hon. John L. Hopkins to the bench Judge Lochrane retired, until called to the posi- tion of chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia by appointment of Gov- ernor Bullock in 1868. In this position, the most trying for so young a man, he acquitted himself with great ability, his decisions ranking with the ablest delivered from that august bench. In the argument of cases before him it was soon discovered that Chief Justice Lochrane brought to the bench a thorough knowledge of the law. His familiarity with the decisions was remarkable, his memory furnishing him with a clear comprehension of all the principles pre- viously announced from the bench. He dissented but seldom, but his views embodied in his few dissenting opinions are clearly and cogently stated.
Judge Lochrane as a lawyer was original in his methods and work. He looked through cases with bold conception of the inner history which lay im- bedded among the facts. He cared nothing for beaten tracks; but as often as necessary took new lines of thought and then diligently sought out among the authorities the law to sustain his propositions. While in common with all other men he encountered failures-it was always after a hard and costly bat- tle. A remarkable fact in his career was his exact adaptability and fitness for every position, however exalted or responsible. Chief Justice Bleckley of the Supreme Court once said of him : " Lochrane's mind is a dual mind, one fancy, one solid, either of which he uses separately at pleasure, or both together, if he chooses to do so."
Judge Lochrane, after a few years of laborious service as chief justice, re- signed his position to return to his private practice, and daily increased his business and reputation, gathering in heavy fees and extending his practice until probably few lawyers South were better known or had wider reputation. For fifteen years prior to his death his time was largely devoted to the duties incident to the position of the general counsel of the Pulman Sleeping Car Com- pany. The successful management of the law business of this immense cor- poration is the most forcible compliment that could be paid to the professional ability of Judge Lochrane.
So much for a brief outline of the professional career of Judge Lochrane. For a few moments let us turn to the other striking characteristics of this many sided brilliant man. Although he never held a political office he was for many years a leading man in the Democratic ranks. His triumphs on the stump were perhaps among his best efforts. He was full of wit and humor, could
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wield anecdote with immense effect and pour forth eloquent vindications of the principles and eulogies on the candidates he advocated. His services were perhaps evoked as often as those of any public man, on occasions festive and serious, and he was always happy in his responses. His facility and readiness of speech was remarkable, and he spoke on sudden occasions with all the ac- curacy of finished preparation.
In his prepared addresses he had no equal in style in respect of graphic word-painting, beauty, pathos and Irish imagery, overflowing with flowers of speech. Nothing in Irish oratory is more simply beautiful than his speech de- livered at the commencement exercises of the University of Georgia in 1879. It was pronounced, by universal consent, one of the finest orations delivered upon such an occasion, and Alexander H. Stephens said of it, that in certain flights it surpassed anything he had ever heard, while General Toombs declared it was full of the genius of eloquence from beginning to end. Toward the close of this memorable address he gave utterance to the following beautiful thoughts :
I do not plead with you to live for wealth or station. The most unhappy men on this con- tinent are those who have sacrificed most to fill conspicuous positions. The heart-burnings and envies of public life are too often the results of ambition. What a sorrowful lesson of the instability of human grandeur and ambition may be found at the feet of the weeping empress at Chiselhurst. Just as the star of the Prince Imperial was rising to the zenith, like a flash from heaven, it falls to the ground ; just as he was gathering around him the hopes of empire the assegai of the savage hurls him to the dust. Born on the steps of a throne, amid the blaz- ing of bonfires and congratulations of kings, he fell in the jungles of an African wilderness, without a friend to close his eyes ; born to rule over thirty millions of people, he was deserted by all and went into the chill of death without the pressure of a friendly hand. Although roy- alty carried flowers to deck his bier, and princes were his pall-bearers, and marshals knelt by his coffin, and cabinet ministers bowed their heads, and his empress mother clung over him in an agony of grief, alas ! the glory of his life had passed, and out of the mass of sorrowing friends his spirit floated away, leaving to earth but a crimson memory. Life's teachings admonish us that the pathway of ambition has many thorns, and the purest happiness oftenest springs from the efforts of those who sow for the harvesting of peace and joy at home.
And this lies at your feet in your own State, although she has suffered by desolation, al- though millions of her property has been swept into ruin, and thousands of her bravest been hurried to their graves-although Georgia has been weakened and bled at every pore, although she has been impoverished and dismantled, although she has been ridden through and trampled over by armies, although she has seen in folded sleep her most gallant sons, and spirit arms reach to her from the mound of battlefields, she still has the softest skies and the most genial climate, and the richest lands and most inviting hopes to give to her children. And this is not the hour to forget her. The Roman who bought the land Hannibal's tent was spread upon when his legions were encamped before the very gates of Rome exhibited the spirit of confi- dence and pride of country which distinguishes a great patriot. Although disaster stared him in the face, and the bravest hearts were trembling at the future destiny of their country and from the Pincian Hill the enemy, like clouds, could be seen piled around. charged with the thunder of death and desolation, and the earth was reeling with the roll and tramp of armies, his heart was untouched with fear of her future. He knew that Rome would survive the tem- pests of the hour, and her future would be rachiant with the splendid triumphs of an august
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prosperity, and confident of that future whose dawn be felt would soon redden in the East, he never dreamed of abandoning her fortunes or deserting her destiny. This was more than pa- triotism. It was the heroism of glory. It was sowing a rich heritage of example on the banks of the Tiber for the emulation of the world.
One of the mistakes men make is their leaning on too sanguine expectations without labor, waiting for the honors to pursue them, scarcely reaching out their hands to gather the fortunes that cluster at their feet. Well did one of the old poets of Salamanca express the thought :
" If man come not to gather The roses where they stand, They fade among the foliage- They cannot seek his hand . "
and if you do not come to the honors of life, they cannot go to you ; if you do not come to gather the roses, they will fade upon their stems and their leaves be scattered to the ground.
The rose of fortune Georgia holds out to you is rich with hope and sentiment, and in its folded leaves are more honors for her sons than there is in the rose of England, the lily of France or the nettle-leaf of Holstein.
Then come together in close and solemn resolve to stand by her destiny, and soon the tide will run rich and riotous through the jewelled arches of hope, flushed with her prosperity ; soon will come into her borders newer and stronger elements of wealth ; manufactories will spring from her bosom, and the hum of industry resound throughout her borders ; the glorious names of her present statesmen will take the places of those who have gone up higher into glory, and will still hold her banner waving to the sky.
Come, spirit of our Empire State-come from your rivers that seek the sea, from the waves that wash your shores and run up to kiss your sands; come from the air that floats over your mountain tops ; come from
" Lakes where the pearls lie hid,
And caves where the gems are sleeping . "
come, spirit of a glorious ancestry, from beyond the cedars and the stars ; come from the his- tory that wraps you in its robes of light, and let me invoke the memories that hang around you like the mantle of Elijah, and will be the ascension robes of your new destiny : touch the chords in these young hearts, these proud representatives of your future fame, that they may rise in the majesty of their love and clasp you with a stronger and holier faith, and raise monuments to your glory higher than the towers of Baalhec. Let them warm to the fires of an intenser. love, and brighten with the light of a more resplendent glory : let them swear around the altar to be still fonder and still prouder that they are Georgiins.
As an adopted son who has felt the sunshine of your skies, who has been honored with your citizenship, and with positions far beyond his merits. I vow to the majesty of your glory here in the temple of your fame, and to your spirit I would breathe out the fondest affection and pour prayers upon your pathway; I would clothe you with light, and bathe you in a rain of summer meteors ; I would crown your head with laurels, and place the palm of victory in your hands ; I would lift every shadow from your heart and make rejoicing go through your valleys like a song.
Land of my adoption, where the loved sleep folded in the embraces of your flowers, would that to-day it were my destiny to increase the flood tide of your glory, as it will be inine to share your fortune ; for when my few more years tremble to their close I would sleep beneath your soil, where the drip of April tears might fall upon my grave, and the sunshine of your shoes would warm Southern flowers to blossom upon my breast.
His reputation as one of the most eloquent men of his day could be placed upon this single speech. Not only were his speeches gems of poetry in prose, but the strongest currents of thought ran silently below, and the beauties every- where peeping forth were but flowers lifted up without effort to the surface. His 26°
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oratorical style was evidently molded after the great Irish orator, Phillips. He had all the fluency, the glow and glory of words, the shining images, the quick turns and heated climaxes that marked that prince of popular speakers. He could warm into poetry of language at a touch and pour out thoughts like music -thoughts that carried with them and scattered broadcast that singular power that is experienced in the trembling of fine muscles and the thrilling of delicate nerves, chilling and yet grandly animating the whole frame. He had, besides the gift of conception, the other requisites of the perfect orator, that of person, manner and voice. He was large of frame, graceful and dignified in bearing, while his voice, strong and flexible, gave him a matchless power of delivery. In social concourse Judge Lochrane was full of brilliancy. To him nothing grew commonplace, the simplest subject was illuminated with an anecdote, or touched into beauty with some sentiment. The hard and harsh realities of life grated singularly upon him. No man was by nature more averse to human misery, but instead of avoiding it he was sure to alleviate it by a liberal charity. At home he was an object of great and tender consideration. There was no more loving and tender husband or father than this generous, kind-hearted man.
Judge Lochrane died in the meridian of life. On June 17, 1887, his spirit winged its flight to the region of eternal life, and the name of this gifted man, of one crowned with all the graces of person, of intellect, of heart and of soul, was transferred from the living to the death roll of Georgia's illustrious sons. For several years prior to his death he had suffered from disease of the heart, but when the summons that called him from the abode of men came suddenly and without warning, he was prepared to meet the great change. When the announcement of his death was made to the city of his chosen home, and to the country he had so worthily served the expressions of grief were universal, sincere and profound. By personal calls, by letter and by wire the sorrowing friends were made to feel that their loss was that of the people everywhere, and : at the lesson of a worthy life had become the seed of admiration and respect as deep as it was universal. The public press all over the land, and in the home of his nativity paid eloquent and extended tribute to his worth. The Atlanta Constitution struck the keynote of the public feeling over his loss when it said :
"Judge Lochrane gave a national reputation to the Georgia bar. As chief justice of the Supreme Court his decisions were marked by profound erudition and commanding mastery of the subjects involved, and in style they were singu- larly lucid and instructive. All yesterday Judge Lochrane's death was the talk of every hour. It was not confined to mansion or justice seat, but it was talked of in busy workshops, in the rooms where the spindle and the looms never cease, for everyone knew of the genial, lovable companionable gentle- man. All had words of kindness for the dead, sorrow for those bereaved ; and the many who had in their trouble and tribulation felt the soft hand of the
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kind judge, went out yesterday to his late home, and stood for a moment silent- ly by his coffin. When you can weep over a man, said an old citizen, you can · put it down that a good man has fallen. Many a man shed tears yesterday when he read of Judge Lochrane's death. And so it is all over; forty years have swung by since the young Irishman landed at New York and looked out on a new world where he had but few acquaintances, and to-night the great man full of honors and wealth lies with eyes closed and hands folded, dead! Forty years of rich and full life, forty years of struggling and loving, and win- ning and losing, of work that furrowed the brow, of pleasure that lightened the heart, of strenuous endeavor, of princely bonhomie, forty years of ' the fever called living,' and at last, rest. Forty years of such joyous and brimming life as it is given few men to live. All that remains of the forty years of con- flict and of pleasure, all worth counting in this night through which the morn- ing breaks, is that he found in them the peace that passeth understanding, and the faith that can make pleasant even the valley and the shadow of death."
Perhaps no man had more thoroughly studied the mind and character of Judge Lochrane than Rev. Dr. J. B. Hawthorne. They had been for years the closest and most loving of friends, and Dr. Hawthorne's admiration and love for his dead friend, coupled with his own superb ability enabled him to do full justice to the character and talents of the departed advocate, jurist and orator. Certain it is we can find no more fitting words to close this sketch than contained in the following extracts from the funeral oration delivered by Dr. Hawthorne as a tribute to his dead friend. He chose for his test : " Thou shall be missed, for thy seat shall be empty," and in speaking over his grave said with trembling lips :
' I feel that I can do more to-day than bury my friend. No one in this vast assemblage of his neighbors and countrymen will take offense if I praise him. Like Cæsar, he was ambitious ; but, unlike Cæsar, his ambition was lawful, noble, unseifish. He rose to places of power, but the man does not live who will say that he ever used his power to wrong and oppress a human being. Like all other mortals. he had his faults, but in the presence of his great virtues they are almost forgotten.
' He was a friend to man, Of soul sincere- In action faithful And in honor clear. '
Nature cast him in the noblest mould. He had a great mind and a greater heart. One could scarcely look upon him and not be reminded of the words of Hamlet : " A combination and a form where every god did seem to set his seal to give the world assurance of a man."
We shall miss him in the noble profession which he adorned with his great gifts ; his rare attainments : his manly bearing, and his unflinching integrity. I was in Montgomery when the the news of Judge Lochrane's de ith was told to one of the greatest of Alabama's jurists. After a moment's retlection he said, with much emphasis : " It is a national calamity."
One of the distinguished judges of our own State, on receiving the udings of his death said: " Lochrane belonged to that class of Irishmen from winch sprang such men as Curran. Grattan and O'Connell, and under the same circumstances which surrounded those great men he would have been the peer of any of them. He gave a national reputation to the Georgia bar. As
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chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State his decisions were marked by profound erudi- tion and a complete mastery of the questions involved." I think that no one competent to judge of the ability of the deceased will say that these eulogies are extravagant.'
He was an honest man. He never descended to any of those dexterities by which judges and juries are sometimes misled. He never won a victory at the expense of truth or right or honor or self-respect.
He had in a pre-eminent degree the gift of oratory. Nature endowed him with an imagin- ation of wonderful fertility. But it was always in complete subjection to his common sense and good taste. His flights were easy and natural and graceful. His pictures were vivid, without the semblance of extravagance.
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He was deeply emotional. There was a magazine of sensibility within him. Without it he could not have been the orator he was. . His whole body sometimes quivered with the agitation of pent up feeling. But he never lost control of himself. No interruption could confuse him. No impertinent question from a would be disturber could check his thunder in mid-volley or break him down in the midst of splendid peroration, or provoke him into saying something to cripple the force of his argument. He was always master of himself and of the occasion.
He had a voice of singular flexibility, sweetness and power. It was responsive to every shade of thought and motion-responsive as the thunder to the lightning, and like the thunder turning from sudden terror into the lingering music, seeming to forget its triumphs amid the stiliness and tears of the scene it disturbed only to purify and bless.
He will be missed most of all in his own dear home. What a man does and is in the circle of his own family is the best test of his character. A man may be an angel before the world. but a tiger in the presence of his wife and children. He may have smiles for his neighbors and only frowns for the members of his household. He that provideth not for his own household has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. The man who is neglectful of his obligations to those who dwell beneath his own roof cannot be trusted anywhere.
Give me the man whose footfall on the threshhold of home is the signal for joy. Give me the man who comes from the cares of business not to complain of his hard lot, but to pour the oil of gladness into the heart of his trusting wife. Give me the man whose children believe they have the best father in the world. Such a man was O. A. Lochrane. More than any man 1 ever knew he possessed those virtues which make home a refuge from trouble, a habitation of peace and pleasure, and a very gate of heaven.
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