USA > Georgia > Chatham County > Savannah > History of Savannah, Ga.; from its settlement to the close of the eighteenth century > Part 10
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The new court-house and new jail question which appears every quarter of a century agitated the city as well as the bar in the closing years of the last century.
A grand jury in 1790 recommended a new jail. Judge Osborne in charging a grand jury in 1790, remarked that the City Council ought to make an appropriation for repairing the court-house " which at small ex- pense could be made a beautiful ornament of the city as well as a build- ing of public utility."
A judge of the Superior Court from 1792 to the organization of the Supreme Court of the State in 1845, was an official of much more power and importance than now, for there was no appeal from his final judg- ment. Counterfeiting and mutilating coins were common offenses, though punishable by death, and convicted persons were to be executed with- out the benefit of clergy.
Some odd and interesting things are found in the records of the courts about this time. In 1785 the chief justice of the Superior Court was George Walton, who " intending to pass the summer in the country near Savannah, appointed Thursday of every week to hold chambers at the clerk's office in Town at the hour of It in the forenoon." On the Fourth of July of that year his honor observed "that there was a general diffusion of an extraordinary gladness on account of the day." In those days the power of the chief justice in this State, with respect to bail, was considered to be like that of the King's Bench in England. Chief Jus- tice Walton ordered peremptorily on one occasion that the gentlemen of the bar should not bring any proceedings before him without the fees, except in cases already begun.
Chief Justice Nathanael Pendleton in addressing his first grand jury in March, 1789, said that he " assumed the office of chief judicial magis- trate of the State with diffidence and apprehension proportioned to the great importance and difficulty of the position." One of the most remark-
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able incidents connected with the history of Savannah's Bench and Bar, was the imprisonment of the whole panel of one grand jury by the court, followed almost immediately by the arrest and imprisonment of the judge himself. This extraordinary proceeding occurred in 1804. Jabez Bowen, jr., a Northern lawyer, probably from Rhode Island, had been elected to the bench of the Superior Court of Chatham county by the Legislature. On April 23, 1804, he convened his court for the regular term. When the jurors were sworn and had taken their seats his honor, who was an impolitic justice, delivered a charge which consisted mainly of a bitter and malignant attack on slavery. His strictures on the social customs of the people, the Legislature and the authorities of the State were rabid. His expressions would have caused amazement in any court room. Directed as they were at length, and with so much pro- nounced feeling, at a Georgia jury, they incensed the grand inquisitorial body beyond measure. No reply was made at that time, but when the jurors retired to their room they discussed nothing else. They resolved that they would show their resentment by ignoring the court. Accord- ingly not one of the twenty-two jurors appeared the next morning when the court was opened. Judge Bowen then fined each one ten dollars for contempt. Scarcely had this order been recorded when the jury marched into court, and through the foreman delivered a presentment setting forth that they " having taken into consideration the political strictures deliv- ered to us yesterday as a charge by his Honor Judge Bowen, do, upon our oaths, present that it is injudicial, insulting to our government, and repugnant to the general interests of our country, and by disseminating principles that may tend to involve the community in the horrors of do- mestic insurrection." The members of the body further declared that without violence to their consciences and a total disregard of the dearest ties of society and its welfare, they would not proceed to business. They recommended that the judge's charge should not be published, but that a copy of it and of their presentment should be forwarded by the clerk of the court to the governor, and be laid before the next session of the Legislature.
This bearding of the judge on his bench was signed by Wm. Smith, foreman, William Blogg, Richard Turner, Wm. Lewden, John Cline, Isaac Minis, Saul Simons, John Y. White, Joseph Machin, Sampson Neyle,
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Timothy Barnard, jr., Banack Gibbons, Jas. Mackintosh, S. Shad, James Atger. John Gibbons, William Brown, James Belcher, Joseph Rice, John Pettibone, David Gugil, Henry Putnam. The court-room was thronged with auditors who illy concealed their excitement. It was not imagined that Judge Bowen would be soothed by the vigorous arraignment and deserved rebuke which he received. Nor was he, but on the contrary his indignation was aroused, and he issued an order committing his jurors, one and all to jail. He accepted the presentment as a gross insult and resented it to the extent of his power. He further ordered that his charge should be published in the Georgia Republican, giving as the reason that it was the opinion of the judge that the dissemination of the principles contained in his address " could alone secure the happiness and eventually the very existence of his country."
The lawyers and the people were in sympathy with the grand jurors and did not allow them to remain in jail long. On the following day, April 25, an application was made to the judges of the Inferior Court for a writ of habeas corpus for the purpose of releasing the imprisoned citizens. Messrs. Mitchell, Noel, Miller and Berrien appeared as council for the prisoners.
Judge Bowen's order was held to be vague, informal and illegal by Justices Edward Telfair, Edward Harden and John G. Williamson. In discharging the jurors the judges complimented them in this language : " The patriotism, firmness and dignity with which you have conducted yourselves with the patience and fortitude you have displayed will hand your names down to posterity with applause."
In the meantime Justice of the Peace John Pooler had issued a war- rant for Judge Bowen charging him with an attempt to excite a domes- tic insurrection in the State. Under the warrant the judge was arrested and sent to jail. The grand jurors had been confined for twenty-four hours. His Honor did not get out for two weeks. On Thursday June 8, his father, Hon. Jabez Bowen, of Rhode Island, secured the release of the judge upon giving an $8,000 bond that Jabez Bowen, jr., should keep the peace and in all respects conduct himself as a good and faithful citi- zen of the State for five years. Judge Bowen never again presided over a Georgia court, but left the State soon after his release.
On the first day of the succeeding term Judge George Jones, who
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had been elected by the General Assembly to fill the vacancy caused by Judge Bowen's departure, remarked in his charge to the grand jury that the practice of delivering written addresses to grand juries had perhaps grown into greater use in this than in any other State. He suggested that the practice could be traced to have its origin in the war of Inde- pendence and even to have contributed to it though in what way he does not explain.
In 1805 the first clash of authority occurred between the Superior Court and the city. One Walter Roe had been arrested by City Mar- shal Charles Cope for violating the quarantine law. Roe applied to the Superior Court for a writ of habeas corpus and secured his release from custody. Upon the order of Mayor John Y. Noel, Roe was re-arrested by the city marshal and was required to give bond. Thereupon Judge Jones of the Superior Court ruled the mayor and the marshall for con- tempt of court and after giving them an opportunity to show cause why they should not be punished, he fined the mayor $50 and the marshal $10 and held that the Superior Court had jurisdiction over the city of Savannah, a judgment which the later mayors have questioned.
It is interesting to note that a grand jury in 1808 presented " the too frequent and irreligious custom of duelling as we view it with horror. We recommend some penalty that may effectually restrain it."
Actions for debt comprised a large part of the business of the Supe- rior Court in this decade.
Even so early as this another war with England was foreseen, and more than one reference was made to the impending war cloud by Judge T. U. P. Charlton.
In no section of the country was greater energy displayed either in support of the laws or of the authority of the magistracy. Justice for years moved on with a firm and steady pace uninterrupted by any of those commotions which theorists had predicted would be found to be inseparably connected with Republican institutions. The course of events as they were blended with judicial proceedings proved also, beyond the reach of refutation, the exalted moral character of the citizens of this judicial district. Judge Charlton observed in this connection in the year 1810: "For nearly eight years back the public sensibility has not been shocked by the pageant of an execution, and for six years of that time
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punishment by branding and whipping has been inflicted only upon three persons and one of these was not a native of this country." Amidst so large a population such a diminution of crime was spoken of as unpar- aleled.
The last century was just rounding off when there came to the Sa- vannah bar a youth who was destined to become the brightest star of his profession, the noblest ornament of the bench. For more than half a century from 1799 to 1856 John McPherson Berrien was an active mem- ber of the legal profession, the virtues of which he illustrated, adorning it by the exhibition of rare and eminent talents. Dying, he left an exam- ple of spotless purity and integrity of life. His memory is still sweet, and it is not rare to hear his name mentioned with pride by the older members of the present bar. He was born in New Jersey, in 1781. but his parents soon came to Georgia. Young Berrien read law in the office of the Hon. Joseph Clay, and was admitted to the bar in 1799 before he completed his eighteenth year. Ten years later he was elected solicitor- general and in 1810 became judge of the Eastern Circuit. The latter office he held four terms. While on the bench, the question of the con- stitutionality of the alleviating law came before him, and in a convention of all the judges at Augusta, he delivered the opinion declaring the act to be unconstitutional. This was a triumph of law over popular excite- ment. Distressed in financial matters the people had elected a majority to the Legislature to grant relief, even to the suspension of debts, or at least of the process of enforcing then.
During the war with Great Britain Judge Berrien commanded a reg- iment of volunteer cavalry, but he had no opportunity of engaging in a conflict. The only time when a judicial act of his caused dissatisfaction was when he passed sentence on Hopkins, found guilty of the murder of one McIntosh. After the crime Hopkins was aided in making his escape by his overseer, who had no further connection with the offence. Both were convicted of manslaughter. Judge Berrien sentenced Hopkins to the penitentiary without labor and the overseer was subjected to hard la- bor for a term of years. This aroused the indignation of the public who considered the judgment discrimination-the wealthy criminal under- going simple confinement and his poor innocent friend toiling at the work- bench. Judge Berrien demanded an investigation, and the Legislature
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of 1818 unanimously vindicated him. The judge had been actuated by motives of humanity. Hopkins was in feeble health, and labor would have been taking his life by judicial execution when a less punishment was all that the law authorized. In 1822 and 1823 Judge Berrien served Chatham county in the State Senate, and in 1824 he was elected to the United States Senate. In that body he took a commanding position. Only on important questions did he take part in the debates and then maturely prepared, as he never failed to be, his arguments were sustained by a logic and an eloquence which gave universal delight. Chief Justice Marshall called him the " honey. tongued Georgia youth." He also won the title " American Cicero."
It is said that he was the only man to whom Daniel Webster softened his voice when he turned from his seat to address him. President Jack- son invited Judge Berrien to a seat in his first cabinet, and Judge Ber- rien became the attorney-general of the United States. Judge Berrien's daughters with the other cabinet ladies cut Mrs. Eaton, wife of the secre- tary of war, and from that arose the unpleasantness in the Cabinet which resulted in the withdrawal of Judge Berrien, Secretary of the Treasury Ingham, and Secretary of the Navy Branch. In accepting the attorney- general's resignation, the president wrote: " I take pleasure in express- ing my approbation of the zeal and efficiency with which its (the office's) duties have been performed, and in assuring you that you carry with you my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness."
To Judge Berrien the bar is indebted for that compilation of the statute laws of England then in force in Georgia known as Schley's digest, for it was prepared under a resolution introduced by him when he was chair- man of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee.
The old criminal code was violative of the principle that life and the right to enjoy it with dignity were sacred things. That code attached very little value to human life or dignity, and in many instances men could be deprived of their lives when imprisonment and labor might have fulfilled all the purposes of punishment. In almost every case there was a disproportion between the crime and the punishment. Judge Thomas U. P. Charlton, who preceded and succeeded Judge Berrien, took a stand against the penal laws and put himself on record so in his first charge to a grand jury.
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The principal law firms in Savannah for some years, prior to and sub- sequent to 1840, were those of Berrien & Law, MacAllister & Cohen, Charlton & Ward, and Miller & Kollock. Francis S. Bartow's name was added to the firm Berrien & Law about that time. This firm reaches far back and touches the present. In the earlier years of the century the firm of Davies & Berrien was formed. Then it became Berrien & Law, then Law & Bartow, then Law, Bartow & Lovell, then Law, Lovell & Falligant, the next Law & Falligant, and now as sole survivor of a firm which began three-quarters of a century ago is Captain Robert Falligant, the wit and poet of the bar of to-day, the fourth member of the firm to fill the Superior Court bench.
Half a century ago there was no greater character, in a certain sense, at the Savannah bar than John Millen. He bore plainly the stamp of originality. He had ability without eloquence. Brevity, directness and force marked his manner. In 1837, or thereabouts, he pledged his per- sonal character and obtained the respite of a convicted client, a slave named Adam, found guilty of having, with the assistance of another slave, Bella, murdered the latter's master, Warren. Bella was hung. On the gallows she made a confession and exonerated Adam, who was afterwards pardoned.
Levi S. DeLyon was directly descended from the colony of Israelites who located in Savannah soon after it was laid out. His personal mag- netism, his fidelity to his clients, his fluency of speech, and his ability soon drew to him a lucrative practice. By his professional labors he made a comfortable fortune He eschewed politics, except in the line of his profession, and was for several years judge of the city court of Sa- vannah.
One of the most promising of the young attorneys admitted to the bar in the decade between 1830 and 1840, was Nicholas Marlow. He was a pupil in Dr. White's school in Savannah for a year or two. His early opportunities had been limited, but he had a good mind and he was a diligent student. During his brief career at the bar he won an enviable reputation by his conduct of a case involving certain rights of slaves. John Dugger, jr., had by will directed that certain slaves of his should be sent out of the State to some place where they could be free. The Court of Ordinary refused to probate the will on the ground that its
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provisions were contrary to the laws of the State touching the manumis- sion of slaves. Mr. Henry Rose, of Savannah, became interested in the case and employed young Marlow to secure the slaves their rights. It had been the general opinion of the bar that such a will was void, but Judge R. M. Charlton, then the youngest judge in the State, at the instance of perhaps the youngest attorney at the bar, decided against that gen- eral opinion, and in favor of the liberty of the slaves. Subsequently the Georgia judges in convention rendered the same judgment in a similar case, and the Supreme Court of the State afterwards affirmed the ruling in many cases. Through the case the young judge and young Marlow both made a name. Marlow's success was assured, but death cut short his career about three years later, at which time he was the partner of Hon. Joseph W. Jackson.
Thelawyers of fifty years ago were Jeremiah Cuyler, Counselor Leake, William B. Bulloch, Mordecai Sheftall, sr., John M. Berrien, George W. Owens, Richard W. Habersham, James M. Wayne, Joseph S. Pelot, Levi S. De Lyon, Joseph W. Jackson, Wm. Law, M. H. MacAllister, Chas. S. Henry, Mordecai Myers, Geo. Glenn, John C. Nicoll, John M. Clark, Robert W. Pooler, William W. Gordon. Richard R. Cuyler, Robert M. Charlton, John Miller, Wm. H. Bulloch, Alexander J. Drysdale, Wm. H. Miller, J. De La Motta, jr., William H. Stiles, George J. Kallock, Ed. J. Harden, John E. Ward. William B. Bulloch was a bank officer, Mor- decai Myers was an officer of the city government, J. De La Motta was an editor of the Savannah Republican, William H. Bulloch of the Georgian, and Robert W. Pooler was clerk of the Superior Court; Messrs. Owens, Habersham, Jackson and Stiles represented Georgia in Congress; John E. Ward was speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives and was minister to China. Three old lawyers at that time who were not natives of Georgia were Wm. B. Fleming, Solomon Cohen, and Mulford Marsh. Both the Charltons, father and son, were men of extensive legal knowl- edge, possessed of remarkable powers of memory, and were ripe scholars. Their names are linked with the history of the Savannah bar throughout the first half of the century. The elder Charlton, T. U. P., was twice judge of the Superior Court, and for one term was solicitor-general. His son, Robert, was judge of the same court from 1835 to 1837. Judge Wayne was for years judge of the United States District Court. Judge
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Edward J. Harden, of the city court, was a practicing lawyer for almost forty years. He came to the bar in 1834 and died in 1873. His name always suggests the ready recognition of a generous and kindly sym- pathy, of which he seemed by common consent, to be the center and ex- ponent. As a judge he was upright and just; as a counselor he was wise, prudent and safe ; as an advocate he was earnest, zealous, faithful and stern in integrity. He was distinguished in his profession by his labori- ous industry, by his great legal acquirements, and by his devotion to his duties and to the interests of his clients. During the existence of the Confederacy he was on the bench of the Confederate States Court here in Savannah.
Though rarely seen in the court-house now, there are members of the bar yet who connect the first half of the century with the present. Gen- eral Henry R. Jackson, General Alexander R. Lawton, and Captain John M. Guerard were attorneys before the fifties. Another who lives, though retired from practice, is Judge Richard Clarke, and still another is John E. Ward, who was solicitor-general in 1836, mayor of Savannah many years ago, ex-minister to China, and now is practicing his profession in New York. But all honor to Savannah's post bellum bar. Four years of army life made a great scar in the professional careers of every one. Those who had made a start before the war broke out were rusty, and had to begin again when they returned. The rivalry between intellects which followed was keen. The briefless young attorney and the expe- rienced heads started off with enthusiasm. New men kept coming in. Cases were many, and the battles of the bar were fought with admirable skill. General Henry R. Jackson took a leading position, delighting by his poetic thought, classic diction and eloquence. He had been a Supe- rior Court judge eleven years before the war opened, and had been United States attorney, representing the government in the most notable case ever tried in the Federal courts here, that of the captain of the bark Wanderer, and others who were interested in bringing to Georgia from the African coast a cargo of slaves. After the war General Jackson was engaged in many of the most famous civil cases in this judicial district, and some of the cases he fought through the Supreme Court of the United States. General A. R. Lawton was for several years a partner of General Jackson's, and was associated with him in some large cases.
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Then for several years General Lawton was general counsel for the Cen- tral Railroad and Banking Company, a position upon which devolves a voluminous business.
During the last years of its existence the law firm of Hartridge & Chisholm stood at the head of the bar of the State. Judge Walter S. Chisholm and Hon. Julian Hartridge were strong lawyers. Judge Chis- holm had the training acquired from eleven years on the bench, and Mr. Hartridge had served as solicitor general and had considerable experi- ence obtained as a member of various public bodies. Mr. Hartridge died a member of Congress. Ex-judge Chisholm is the general counsel of the Plant Railroad and Steamship System and of the Southern Express Com- pany. His greatest case in the Georgia courts was the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad suit which he won, and for which he received the largest fee ever paid a Savannah lawyer, $80,000. For five years he has resided in New York although he has an office here, his associate in it being Robert G. Erwin, esq.
Captain Guerard retired from practice a few months ago. He has read widely and his familiarity with the old English law has many a time surprised court and opposing counsel.
Thomas M. Norwood, esq, ex-Congressman and ex-United States Senator, is one of the leading lawyers of Georgia. His strength has been his logical mind and dreaded sarcasm, equipped on one hand for the court and on the other for effect before a jury. For years he drew a handsome salary as the counsel for a large corporation with western in- terests.
Not to be forgotten is the late S. Yates Levy who was a litterateur as well as counselor, and whose talent won admiration in which field so ever he worked.
Georgia probably has no abler legal firm than Denmark, Adams & Adams. B. A. Denmark and S. B. Adams had an enviable reputation before ex-Judge A. P. Adams resigned from the Superior Court bench to enter the firm. Judge Adams was conceded to be the finest jurist on the Superior Court bench in the State, and his decisions were keen and logical analyses of the law. For his ability the Supreme Court enter- tained the highest esteem and so expressed itself. The bar sincerely re. gretted his retirement, for the members admired him. He has rare logi-
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cal powers, is a hard student and has great powers as a pleader. Judge Adams' associates at the bar regard him as the coming lawyer of the State, for he is yet a young man.
· S. B. Adams, esq., his brother, is the attorney for the city of Savan- nah and is an able lawyer.
B. A. Denmark has an exceptionally practical business mind, and he is the attorney of several large corporations.
Judge William D. Harden of the City Court is still reckoned among the younger members of the bar. His attainments are varied, the ex- pression " well rounded " being very applicable to him. Aside from the law, his fund of general information is so wide that he might be taken for a specialist in any one of half a dozen pursuits.
Fleming G. du Bignon, president of the last State Senate, rose rapidly. While most men are laying the foundation he reared the walls. Scarcely more than six years ago, if that long, he came back to Savannah after a residence of some years in Milledgeville. Elected Solicitor-General of this judicial district, he proceeded to administer his office with a fearless- ness and ability which quickly gained him the good will of all save the criminal classes, and they respected him. He is a magnetic, eloquent speaker, particularly strong in graphic dramatic descriptive style of ora- tory such as is often wonderfully effective in criminal trials. Mr. du Big- non rarely lost a case when he was the State's counsel, and he has no superior to-day in Georgia as a criminal lawyer. His greatest cases have been: The Pfluger, Dawson, and Smith-Cassidy murder trials in the Superior Court, and the moonshine case in the United States Court.
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