USA > Georgia > The bench and bar of Georgia: memoirs and sketches. With an appendix, containing a court roll from 1790-1857, etc., volume I > Part 26
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The committee to whom was referred the duty of reporting to the court a suitable preamble and resolutions in commemoration of the life
* From P. H. Colquitt to the author, dated March 28, 1857.
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WALTER T. COLQUITT.
and character of the Honorable WALTER T. COLQUITT, whom death has not long since removed from our midst, respectfully report :-
That our much-beloved and sincerely-lamented brother, the Honorable WALTER T. COLQUITT, was one of the peculiar men of the age. He was strongly and distinctly marked in character, and eminently qualified to leave his impress on the theatre of life. His indomitable will and great moral courage placed him on high ground in all great emergencies.
But, alas ! "Death enters, and there is no defence." Neither genius, nor talent, nor moral worth, nor beauty, can escape the inevitable doom. " Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return." Death is said to love a shining mark. A mighty man has fallen ! After a severe and protracted conflict, which he bore with Christian fortitude and meekness, he yielded up his life to Him who gave, and whose sovereign right it was to take it away.
The event, though not unexpected, was nevertheless painful. Who that knew him did not love him? Who that loved does not lament his departure ? His seat here is become vacant ; his voice is hushed, and that forever,-called away in the noon of his manhood, in the midst of his usefulness. What a chasm is made,-not only in the court, but also in the family circle and in the public councils !
Of his social qualities how shall we speak ? Of a warm and generous disposition, his heart leaped at once into every enterprise of benevolence, his charity embraced all conditions of want and wretchedness.
Of his intellectual endowments we do not exaggerate when we say that he possessed a strong, vigorous, discriminating mind,-an intellect which had lightning speed and power. In the court-room or in the Senate- Chamber he was alike the fearless and able advocate, the firm and un- yielding patriot. Always the same great original, he was, as occasion required, peculiar, striking, overwhelming. His eloquence sometimes resembled "the music," sometimes " the thunder, of the spheres."
As a jury advocate, in the defence of life and liberty he had few equals and no superior. More than all, he was a Christian,-a sinner saved by grace. And if he ever wandered from the straight and narrow path, (aud who has not ?) none repented more sincerely, none made restitution sooner, than he. Religion bore his fainting spirits up when all earthly props gave way. This sustained, this never failed him.
"Our life's a dream, a morning flower, Cut down and wither'd in an hour."
But this amaranthine flower blooms the brighter as the hand of death approaches, and sheds a sweet perfume around the cold precincts of the "noisome tomb."-" The chamber where the good man meets his fate is privileged beyond the common walks of life, quite on the verge of heaven." He died, " being full of the Holy Ghost," and left the world in triumph.
"There is a life above, And all that life is love."
This mournful Providence speaks to us, his surviving brethren, in a language not to be misunderstood :- " Be ye also ready." Let not the lesson be lost ; but, giving lieed, let us love and adore, knowing that our heavenly Father does all things for the best.
1. Resolved, That, while we sincerely sympathize with the bercared, we
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will cherish in our hearts the memory and the virtues of our deceased brother.
2. Resolved, That, as a perpetual record of our love and admiration of him, we respectfully ask of this honorable court the privilege of having this preamble and these resolutions spread on the minutes of this court.
'3. Resolved, That a copy of the same be made out and signed by the clerk of this court, and be by him forwarded to the family of the deceased. Also, a copy for publication, to the papers in Columbus and Macon.
REMARKS OF THE HON. JUDGE LUMPKIN.
MR. CHAIRMAN, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE AND BAR :- The court cordially responds to the very feeling and eloquent tribute which you have paid to the memory of our deceased brother and friend.
No man that has lived within this State for the last thirty years has left or will leave a stronger impress upon the public mind than WALTER T. COLQUITT. Who has touched the community at so many points? Who has exhibited the same versatility of talents ? Who is a more striking type and exponent of the practical working of republican institutions ? Emerging from comparative poverty and obscurity, he stepped at once from the bar to the bench, and, by the energy of his mind and character, filled in rapid succession a seat both in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States.
As a popular orator and advocate, especially in criminal cases, the deceased was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries ; and, whatever may have been the extravagance, if you please, of his style and manner, it rarely failed of success and to elicit the enthusiastic applause of his auditory ; and this is the highest compliment that can be paid to a public speaker, albeit he may violate every rule of rhetoric taught in the schools. His imitators on the hustings, at the bar, and even in the pulpit, are legion.
But I will not dwell at this time on the peculiarities of the deceased. No man had more friends, or friends more devotedly attached to him. And this was natural as well as right; for a more unselfish man, in all. the private relations of life and intercourse with society, never lived. We love them who love us, is the law that binds man to man, as well as man to his Maker. It was but a short time before his death that I was con- versing with a female member of his family,-a lovely woman that pre- ceded him to the grave; and she related how, in a recent travel with her father-in-law, when he could scarcely sit up, he seemed to forget himself entirely and think only of her comfort. Is it strange that such a man should be endeared to his friends ?
You have spoken, Mr. Chairman, of the moral courage of the deceased. But an equal tower of strength was his physical firmness. He never feared the face of man. We have many among us who are brave from pride, or principle, or education. Ilis was innate. It was the courage of Nelson and Ney and Zachary Taylor,-that was wholly unconscious of the presence of danger. I speak what I know. Such a man could not fail to be a magnanimous foe.
But our friend and brother so instinct with life has passed away in the meridian of his manhood. That pulse that beat so active has ceased to throb ; that brain that teemed with ten thousand plans and purposes will think no morc.
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If ever man was endowed with antediluvian constitution-born to live a thousand years-Judge Colquitt was. But he was as prodigal of his health as he was of his purse. He knew no rest. No sooner did the bugle sound for political or professional warfare than every nerve was strained to the utmost tension for the fight. He rushed into battle with every power of soul, mind, and body, and would take no repose until the conflict was ended.
We saw him at this place-after one of the most exhausting efforts ever made, and when his mortal malady, which had fixed its iron grasp upon him several years previously, was preying upon him-borne to the stage- coach by his friends,-hurry away to a neighboring State to renew the struggles upon another theatre. We cannot but reproach one so munifi- cently endowed by nature, and whose life was so important to his family and his country, for thus throwing it away as a useless thing.
Let us take warning by his example and be not overworked. We press toward the mark for the prize, and perish on Pisgah in view of Canaan and its clusters. He seemed to live but to die. We trust he died but to live for evermore.
But I am done. Should my life be spared and I can steal the time from the severe exactions of my official duties, I will endeavor to erect a more abiding monument and one more worthy of the deceased. With me it will be a labor of love. We were college-mates in a distant State, at a period of life when friendships the most pure and lasting are formed. When I reached Princeton I found my young countryman in difficulty, and was able, fortunately, to assist him. I found myself in a greater trouble afterward, when he repaid the obligation with usury.
I can readily forgive and forget an injury,-a favor, never. The memory of WALTER T. COLQUITT will be pleasant to me until my own heart, like his, shall cease to beat.
IX. WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD.
THE proudest name that Georgia has ever presented to the world, one beyond all competition in renown, strength, and influ- ence, is that of WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD, of whom much has been published. Something additional will be given in this sketch toward showing his true character.
He was born in Amherst county, Virginia, February 24, 1772, of Scottish ancestry. His father removed from the Old Dominion in 1779, and settled in Edgefield district, South Carolina, whence he came to Columbia county in 1783, and died a few years after- ward. William H. Crawford was then of an age to assist his mother by school-teaching, a business which he followed several years. Desiring a knowledge of the classics, he became a student in the academy of Dr. Moses Waddel, who soon offered him the post of assistant. Remaining two years with Dr. Waddel, he then joined Mr. Charles Tait (whose name will figure conspicuously in this memoir) in the management of the Richmond Academy, of which Mr. Crawford became rector.
Here the author quotes the language of a gentleman* whose recollections have been given to the public :-
William H. Crawford came to the bar in 1799. It was soon obvious that his talents and energy would make him the leading lawyer of the up- country. The land-speculators applied to him to be associated with them in their land-suits. IIis frankness and high integrity prompted an indig- nant refusal. The lawyer-speculators determined to get rid of him by shooting him or disgracing him. Van Allen, then lately from New York, was the instrument chosen to effect their object. He was a cousin of Martin Van Buren, the great political magician, and, like him, regarded means only for their ends. Van Allen, upon some frivolous pretence, challenged Mr. Crawford. He had to fight or fly. He chose the first. Van Allen was killed.
Mr. Crawford settled in Lexington in 1799, and opened a law-office. He soon stood at the head of his profession. He represented Oglethorpe county four years in the Legisla- ture. The author has seen the House Journal for the extra
* Gov. Gilmer, in his Address before the Society of Alumni, at Athens, 1851, p. 20. 218
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session, June, 1806, and thinks proper to extract from its pro- ceedings :-
P. 7. On motion of Mr. Crawford,-
Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare and report a bill to be entitled an act to organize the counties of Baldwin and Wilkinson.
Ordered, That Messrs. Crawford, Walker, and Howell be that committee.
OLIVER H. PRINCE.
P. 6. Mr. Bates presented a petition from Oliver H. Prince, praying to be admitted to plead and practise in the several courts of law and equity in this State, if upon examination he should be found duly qualified.
Which was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Poythress, Welscher and Drane.
P. 13. Resolved, That Oliver Hillhouse Prince be admitted to plead and practise as an attorney in the several courts of this State : Provided, the said Oliver HI. Prince shall first submit to an examination, and be found on such examination duly qualified.
P. 21. The Senate concurred in said resolution.
DEATH OF GOVERNOR JACKSON.
P. 22. On motion of Mr. Welscher,-
Resolved, That this Legislature view with deep concern and regret the loss sustained by the State in the death of that truly great and virtuous patriot, Gen. James Jackson, their late Senator in Congress, whose emi- nent services will be ever held in grateful remembrance by the people of Georgia ; and that, as a public testimony of their sorrow on the occasion, and of their high respect for his memory, the Legislature will wear crape on the left arm for the space of thirty days.
P. 28. Ordered, That the clerk inform the Senate that the House is now ready to receive them in the Representative-Chamber for the purpose of electing a major-general for the first division of the militia in this State, and a Senator to the Congress of the United States, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the Hon. Maj. Gen. James Jackson.
Whereupon the president and members of the Senate attended, and, being seated in the Representative-Chamber, both branches proceeded by joint ballot to fill the said vacancies ; and, on the ballots being received and examined, it appeared that Brigadier-General David B. Mitchell was duly elected major-general ; and that his Excellency, John Milledge, was duly elected Senator.
CHARGES AGAINST JUDGE TAIT.
P. 8. Mr. Simons presented a memorial from General John Clark, con- taining certain charges against the Honorable Charles Tait, Judge of the Superior Courts in the Western district of this State, which was read and referred to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Simms, Simons, F'. Walker, Hall, Harris, Welscher, and Thomas.
P. 11. On motion of Mr. F. Walker,-
Resolred, That the committee to whom was referred the memorial of Gen. John Clark, relative to the conduct of the Honorable Charles Tait,
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be, and they are hereby, authorized to send for such persons and papers as they may deem necessary to facilitate their deliberations on that im- portant subject.
P. 14. Mr. Simms, from the committee to whom was referred the me- morial of Gen. John Clark, reported as follows :-
The committee to whom was referred the memorial of Gen. John Clark report, that they have made some progress in their inquiries into the official conduct of the Honorable Charles Tait; that they view the subject as one of great importance to the community as well as the party accusing and accused; that, to establish the charges contained in the memorial, it is stated to the committee that it will be necessary to subpoena twenty witnesses who reside in different parts of this State, and some of them in the extreme parts thereof; and to have the benefit of their testimony will require considerable time, and perhaps protract this session to a length not contemplated by the Legislature. They therefore beg leave to suggest the propriety of postponing the further consideration of this important business until the next session of the Legislature.
Whereupon Mr. F. Walker moved the following resolution :-
Resolved, That the further inquiry into the conduct of the Honorable Charles Tait be postponed accordingly.
On the question put, it was negatived,-Yeas, 26; Nays, 26. The speaker ( Abraham Jackson) gave the casting vote. Mr. Crawford voted in the negative.
P. 25. On motion of Mr. F. Walker,-
Resolved, That the Speaker of this House be, and he is hereby, required to issue subpoenas for William Melton, Daniel Jett, Young Gresham, Frederick Colham, and Josiah Glass, of Greene county ; Felix H. Gilbert, Gilbert Hay, Wylie Pope, and Benjamin Taliaferro, of Wilkes county ; Edward Bryan, John Stokes, George McKigney, David Glenn, Mrs. James Martin, Sampson Culpepper, and John Howard, of Washington county ; Buckner Harris, of Jackson county ; Samuel Stewart and John Stewart, of Oglethorpe county ; Leroy Pope, of Elbert county ; Oliver Skinner, of Hancock county ; Elijah Payne, of Tatnall county ; and John M. Dooly, of Lincoln county; together with such other witnesses as General Jobn Clark, the prosecutor, may deem necessary for the prosecution of the inquiry into the official conduct of the Hon. Charles Tait; as also sub- ponas for such witnesses as the judge may deem necessary for his excul- pation ; and that said subpoenas be made returnable on the first Monday in November next.
From the House Journal, November, 1806, p. 21 .- Mr. Simons pre- sented a letter directed to the Speaker (Benjamin Whitaker) from Major- General John Clark, requesting to be admitted to interrogate the wit- nesses before the committee appointed to investigate the official conduct of the Hon. Charles Tait ; which being read, and debate had thereon, Mr. Morell moved that Gen. John Clark have leave to withdraw his letter addressed to the Speaker; and, on the question put thereon, it was resolved in the affirmative,-Yeas, 57; Nays, 3,-Mr. Crawford voting in the affirmative.
P. 23. On motion of Mr. Welscher,-
Resolved, That the committee on the memorial of Gen. Clark be authorized to cause subpoenas to be served on such witnesses as may be
THE
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required by the memorialist, and that an express or expresses be employed and immediately sent off for that purpose, and that the expense attending the same be paid out of the contingent fund.
P. 61. The House took up the report of the select committee to whom was referred the memorial of Gen. John Clark ; and the same, being read, is as follows :-
The committee appointed on the memorial of General John Clark, to inquire into the official conduct of the Honorable Charles Tait, Judge of the Superior Court of the Western circuit of this State, report, that they have, in the prosecution of the inquiry, examined twenty-eight witnesses. whose names were furnished them by Gen. Clark to substantiate the several charges contained in his memorial.
Your committee, in discharging the duty assigned them, have, from the peculiarity of their situation and from a desire that a full and fair investigation might be had, given a latitude in the admission of testimony not warranted by the rules of evidence or sound reason. From a thorough consideration of the testimony so received, it appears to your committee that a warrant for negro-stealing was issued in the town of Salisbury, in the State of North Carolina, bearing date the seventh day of November, 1805, against one Robert Clary, which warrant was placed in the hands of one Josiah Glass, to whom it was in the body thereof specially directed. and which warrant was presented by the said Glass to Judge Tait, in the town of Sparta, on the 24th of February last, with a request that he would back the same, which the judge without hesitation did. That the said warrant was afterward presented by Glass to Edward Bryan, Esq., a justice of the peace of the county of Washington, who also backed the same. That Robert Clary was taken upon the said warrant and carried to Greene Superior Court by Glass, to which court he was himself recog- nised to appear, to answer to an indictment for an assault. That on the first day of the said court, Glass by letter requested the judge to attend and take the examination of a man then in his custody, who would make confessions highly interesting to the State and the United States. That on the night of the same day, the judge, accompanied by Oliver Skinner, Esq., attended to take the examination, which was, however, not com- pleted that night ; but the judge, accompanied by the said Oliver Skinner, completed the same the next evening, and gave Glass a certified copy thereof to take to North Carolina, whither Glass was going to take Clary as a witness against the notorious Collins. That, from the whole of the evidence taken, it doth not appear to your committee that Judge Tait had any connection with either Glass or Clary, or knew what confession Clary would make. That the conduct of the judge through the whole trans- action appears to be fair and upright, and to have been done from a sense of duty.
Your committee are decidedly of opinion that no improper or corrupt motives can with justice or truth be imputed to the judge on that occasion, and that, if the reputation of the memorialist has been injured by the confession, such injury cannot with propriety or truth be attributed to the judge. Your committee, therefore, forbearing further comment, beg leave to recommend the adoption of the following resolutions :-
1. Resolved, That the several charges exhibited against the Honorable Charles Tait, in the memorial of General John Clark, are unfounded in fact and unsupported by evidence.
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2. Resolved, That the official conduct of the Honorable Charles Tait entitles him to the confidence of this House and of his fellow-citizens.
After debate had thereon, the question was taken on the first resolution and decided in the affirmative,-Yeas, 53; Nays, 3,-Mr. Crawford voting in the affirmative.
The question was then taken on the second resolution and decided in the affirmative,-Yeas, 52; Nays, 4,-Mr. Crawford voting in the affirma- tive.
GEORGE R. CLAYTON.
Extract from the message of Gov. John Milledge, dated Louisville, Sep- tember 23, 1806. House Journal, p. 7.
I gave the appointment of Treasurer to my Secretary, George Rootes Clayton, Esq. His long course of public duty which he discharged while in the Executive Office, under a slender salary, with talents and great integrity, seemed to me to claim from the Government, as a reward due to his public merit, a higher appointment than the one he held .* Indeed, I should be wanting in justice to my own feelings and to the several officers whose duties have been performed immediately under my own eye, were I to retire from the Government without expressing my fullest approbation of their public conduct.
BOUNDARY COMMISSIONERS, ETC.
November Session, 1806. House Journal, p. 83 .- On motion of Mr. Crawford,-
Ordered, That the Clerk inform the Senate that this House is now ready to receive them in the Representative-Chamber, for the purpose of electing three commissioners to ascertain the 35th degree of north latitude and to run and mark the dividing-line between this State and the State of North Carolina, three commissioners for the sale of the fractional surveys, one commissioner of the land-lottery in the room of Edwin Mounger, Esq., resigned, and an adjutant-general.
Whereupon the president and members of the Senate attended, and, being seated in the Representative-Chamber, both branches proceeded by joint-ballot to the said elections; and, on the ballots being received and examined, it appeared that Thomas P. Carnes, Thomas Flournoy, and William Barnett, Esqs. were duly elected to ascertain the 35th degree of north latitude and to run and mark the dividing-line between this State and the State of North Carolina; Reddick Simms, Obadiah Echols, and Francis Flournoy, Esqs., Commissioners for the sale of the fractional surveys ; James Bozeman, Esq., Commissioner of the land-lottery; and Daniel Newnan, Esq., Adjutant-General.
THIRD TERM FOR PRESIDENT JEFFERSON.
December 6, 1806. House Journal, p. 87. On motion of Mr. Craw- ford,-
Unanimously Resolved, That this Legislature, composed of the imme- diate Representatives of the people, by them elected to declare their will, viewing the blessings and distinguished political benefits derived in a State and national capacity from the impartial, wise, and judicious administration
* Mr. Clayton afterward held the office of State Treasurer for about twenty years,-exact and faithful to the last.
0
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of THOMAS JEFFERSON, President of the United States, embrace this opportunity of expressing their full and entire confidence and approbation of his official conduct. At the present momentous crisis, when the civil- ized nations of the Old World, to whom we are bound by the ties of interest or political friendship, are convulsed, and either engaged in the prose- cution of destructive wars or forming coalitions which threaten the destruction of nations and dynasties, it is of the utmost importance that our political bark should be directed by the hand of a master in whose integrity, discretion, and wisdom the people of these United States can with safety rely. We therefore, in the name of the people of Georgia, request that THOMAS JEFFERSON will devote four years more of his life to the service of his country, in order more permanently to establish those principles of political liberty which are the boast and glory of Republican America.
Resolved, unanimously, That his Excellency the Governor do, without delay, transmit a copy of these resolutions to our members in Congress, by them to be presented to our fellow-citizen Thomas Jefferson.
The resolutions were immediately communicated to the Senate, and there unanimously concurred in.
It is believed that these fragments of legislative history will prove interesting to the public, especially as the trial of Judge Tait is said to have provoked the enmity of Gen. John Clark on Mr. Crawford, thereby causing that inexorable party strife which for twenty years existed between those gentlemen and their respective adherents. Mr. Crawford's votes stand recorded for the acquittal of Judge Tait ; and that is the only reason, afforded by the record, of Gen. Clark's persevering vindictiveness.
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