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 46
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P. 213. On motion of Mr. Haynes,-
Resolved, That the select committee to whom was referred the charges against the Hon. Moses Fort be exempt from the services of this House pending the investigation of said charges.
P. 283. Mr. Dougherty, from the select committee to which was referred the charges preferred by Joseph Blackshear against Moses Fort, Judge of the Southern circuit in this State, presented a report, which was read.
On motion of Mr. Holt, of Richmond, two hundred and ten copies of said report, and the evidence accompanying, were ordered to be printed for the use of the General Assembly
On motion of Mr. Dougherty,-
Resolved, That the witnesses subpoenaed by the committee to investi- gate the conduct of Judge Fort be discharged from their attendance on said committee.
Mr. Dougherty laid on the table the following :-
The counsel for Judge Fort, whose conduct has been arraigned before this House, having been requested to be heard in his defence :
* The late Dr. Thomas Moore, a high-toned gentleman of the olden time, who in his youth attended the levees of President Washington in Philadelphia.
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DAVID BLACKSHEAR.
Therefore, Resolved, That the counsel for Judge Fort be admitted when the subject shall come before the House for consideration.
P. 326. On motion of Mr. Burnside,-
Resolved, That the messenger of this House be directed to give notice to Moses Fort, Esq., Judge of the Southern circuit, that the House of Representatives will, on to-morrow at ten o'clock, proceed to the considera- tion of the address and resolution relative to his removal from office.
P. 334. The House agreed to take up the report of the select com- mittee to whom was referred the charges preferred by Joseph Blackshear against Moses Fort, the Judge of the Southern Circuit in this State ; when Moses Fort, Esq., judge of said court, appeared at the bar of the House, attended by John A. Heard, Samuel Rockwell, Robert Augustus Beall, and Zachariah B. Hargrove, Esquires, as his counsel, and the said report being read, as follows :-
The select committee to whom was referred the charges preferred by Joseph Blackshear against Moses Fort, the Judge of the Southern circuit in this State, report
That they entered upon the discharge of the duty devolving upon them by said reference under a deep sense of the duty which they owed to the rights of the person whose conduct was impeached, on the one hand, and the rights of the citizens of this State, on the other; that, under thesc feelings, they deemed it their duty to allow of the freest investigation on the one side and the most ample means of defence on the other. The more effectually to obtain these ends, your committee considered that they had the power (and accordingly exercised it) of permitting both the ac- cuser and the accused to appear before them by counsel. Both parties availed themselves of this privilege, and thereby enjoyed the rights, to the fullest extent, of cross- and re-examining all the witnesses who were brought before the committee. The evidence thus taken before the com- mittee has been committed to paper and herewith submitted to the House, with the papers therein referred to. From the evidence thus submitted, your committee feel themselves authorized to say that the first charge submitted-to wit : That the said Moses Fort "has been on the bench as judge so intoxicated, at repeated times and places, as to render him incapable and utterly incapacitated from performing the duties assigned him as judge"-has been substantially supported and proven.
Much evidence has been submitted to your committee in support of the second charge,-to wit : That the said Moses Fort "has repeatedly de- eided causes in courts, (or some of them,) in and over which he presided, from base and unworthy, improper, partial, and corrupt motives." And although the evidence adduced to support this charge proves many acts of the said Moses Fort which might be deemed either illegal or improper, yet, in the opinion of your committee, it is not of that clear and positive nature which they have considered necessary to enable them to pronounce the motives of the said Moses Fort either improper, partial, or corrupt.
In support of the third charge, very little evidence has been submitted to your committee other than an exemplification of the record of one case, (which was an indictment for assault with intent to murder, ) which, in the opinion of your committee, cannot be considered sufficient to war- rant the conclusion that the judge was actuated by corrupt motives in making his decisions in this case.
The fourth charge is in its nature more general,-to wit: That the said Moses Fort, "from general intemperance and intoxication, is unfit
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and incapacitated from performing the duties of judge." Evidence in support of this charge consists of that produced to substantiate the first, connected with proof of the general habits of the said Moses Fort for intemperance.
It will readily be perceived that the truth or falsity of this charge must depend upon the effect which a given degree of intemperance will or may have upon the mind and conduct of any individual; and, though the whole evidence may not show an extravagant or continual use of ardent spirits by the said Moses Fort, yet, in the opinion of your com- mittee, it must have opposed a considerable barrier to the speedy and faithful administration of justice in the circuit over which he presides.
Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the disqualification of the judge, from intemperance, to perform the duties of his office, your committee are of opinion that all must agree that the evidence shows an habitual intemperance on the part of the judge as to prostrate the dignity of his office and materially to interrupt the discharge of his official duties. With these views of the subject and the evidence, your committee feel themselves constrained to offer the following resolution :-
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, two-thirds of each braneh concurring, That the Governor be, and he is hereby, author- ized and required forthwith to remove from office Moses Fort, the present judge of the Southern circuit in this State.
After the counsel for the judge had concluded their argument in his behalf, they retired, accompanied by the judge, after which considerable discussion arose in the House, when, on motion to agree to said report, the yeas and nays were required to be recorded, and arc,-Yeas, 88; Nays, 37.
The Speaker announeed the result, and declared the report and resolu- tion agreed to by a majority of two-thirds, as required by the Constitution, and the clerk was directed forthwith to carry said report and resolution to the Senate.
In Senate, Journal, 290.
The President laid before the Senate the following communication :-
MILLEDGEVILLE, December 21, 1827.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.
SIR :- The resolution of the House of Representatives in relation to my removal from offiee having been conveyed to the Senate, I beg leave to request that I may be heard by counsel in my defence after the report and the evidence shall have been read, at such time as the Senate may. designate. If in accordance with the views of the Senate, I would respect- fully ask an indulgence of reasonable time for preparation and consultation with my counsel until Monday morning.
Very respectfully, MOSES FORT.
On motion of Mr. Sellers,-
Resolved, That Moses Fort, Judge of the Superior Courts of the South- ern eircuit, be permitted to appear by attorney in his defence of the charges preferred against him by Joseph Blackshear, within the bar of the Senate, to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.
P. 293. The President laid before the Senate the following communica- tion from Judge Fort :-
,
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DAVID BLACKSIIEAR.
MILLEDGEVILLE, December 22, 1827.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.
SIR :- Although the liberality of the honorable body over which you preside granted me the right of being heard in my defence by counsel, yet, considering that every moment is precious to the Legislature on the eve of its close, and considering that the evidence is before the Senate, and that the argument of counsel would but serve to occupy the attention of the Senate without producing any other result than that of consuming its time, I have determined to waive the right so freely granted; but asking the body over which you preside, collectively and individually, to consider, in making up the determination, the source whence the accusa- tion proceeds, and the probable motives which have doubtless actuated my accuser in making it. It is also respectfully asked of the honorable body over which you preside, not to fix a precedent that may be hereafter" viewed as depriving a citizen of the inestimable right of trial and defence by concurring in a course having all the effects of an impeachment with- out any of its justice.
There is one other consideration which I desire to submit on the present occasion. It is this :- Notwithstanding much evidence has been collected in relation to the charges, yet not one of them has been sustained; and, when taken in connection with the testimony the limited time allowed me enabled me to present, there exists much variety of opinion on the subject; and as to disqualification, there is no evidence upon which any reliance can be placed. If the administration of public justice has suf- fered through me, where are the complaints of the people against me ? There exist none. On the contrary, whenever any of the witnesses have been required to testify upon this subject, the opinion is uniform that I have presided as well as those who have gone before me.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
MOSES FORT.
The Senate took up so much of the message of the House of Represen- tatives yesterday as relates to the report of the select committee of the House to which was referred the charges preferred by Joseph Blackshear against Moses Fort, the Judge of the Southern circuit in this State :
And on the question of concurring with the House, by a majority of two-thirds, in said report and accompanying resolution, the yeas and nays being required, it was determined in the negative,-Yeas, 39; Nays, 27.
The honorable Senator* from Washington county was unanimously excused from voting on the report and resolution of the House relative . to the removal of Judge Fort from office, in consequence of his relation- ship to one of the parties.
Thus terminated the investigation. The author has no remarks either of praise or censure to indulge. Judge Fort was his towns- man, with whom his personal relations were agreeable, and Colonel Blackshear was his friend, whose hospitality he had enjoyed. The
* Col. William A. Tennille, brother-in-law of the prosecutor, afterward Seere- tary of State,-a brave soldier who lost an arm fighting for his country.
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prosecutor and the accused are both in the grave; and there let all differences repose.
SOCIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
From the long connection of Gen. Blackshear with public affairs, and his admitted wisdom and integrity, it is reasonable to presume that he both received and wrote many letters which, if collected, would prove a valuable acquisition to history. On applying to his family for leave to examine his papers, the author felt assured in his own mind that he would discover many letters from the old statesmen and leaders of Georgia, as well as from those of a later origin, out of which he could select such as were applicable to his biographies ; also that he would find complete sets of Legislative journals from 1795 to 1825, as a record which Gen. Blackshear had carefully preserved for his own reference, and as affording to his posterity the evidence of his public life,-the measures he sup- ported and those he opposed, as well as the business he introduced, his reports from committee, and other machinery of legislation at which he had taken a turn. But the search yielded little, com- paratively. With the exception of the Military Papers, which were in a bundle secured and marked by Gen. Blackshear himself, and the few other letters annexed to this memoir, nothing of any interest was found.
Expressing his disappointment to the sons* of Gen. Blackshear, who assisted the author in the examination, they informed him that, after the death of their father and the neglect of the old family mansion, large quantities of his papers, even bushels of old letters and documents, were scattered in the garret, where they remained when the house was burnt, and all of them destroyed. Out of the wreck they found difficulty in recovering important title-papers. As for the printed journals and other pamphlets, Congressional speeches, Presidents' messages, and the like, they all shared a like fate, from carelessness of the overseer, who had ordered the trash in the yard to be fired too near the house. Had the collection of papers and documents been preserved as General Blackshear left it, the public would have gained much curious and useful information which is now lost forever, and the author would have been spared the occasion of expressing his regret.
From the portion taken care of, not included under the military
* Edward, Everard, and Elijah Blackshear.
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DAVID BLACKSHEAR.
head, the author presents an abstract, referring by number to the letters themselves for perusal at length :-
No. 4. Letter from the Hon. James Jones, a Representative in Congress, relative to the yellow fever in Philadelphia, the removal of the public offices to New Jersey, flight of the physicians; pros- pect of war with France; jealousy of European powers; good advice of President Washington, &c. September 4, 1798.
No. 6. Letter from Gov. Jackson relative to the Indian disturb- ances on the Oconee ; improper conduct of certain white men in giving the Indians liquor ; the steps proper to be taken for its sup- pression ; taking up trespassing Indians as vagabonds ; difficulties to be avoided in obtaining Oconee lands, &c. June 18, 1799.
No. 7. Letter from the Hon. James Jones, at Philadelphia ; slow action of Congress; envoys to France to negotiate for peace ; victory of Massena over the Russians and Austrians in Switzer- land ; commissions to treat for western territory of Georgia, &c. December 12, 1799.
No. 8. Letter from Hon. James Jones : Congress tardy; reduc- tion of the army ; abridging freedom of the press ; case of Jona- than Robbins, who was given up by a South Carolina judge to the British consul and hung in Jamaica ; President Adams interfering with the judiciary; system of bankruptcy ; Gen. Lee's new militia bill; proposed change in the Constitution; American envoys arrived in France ; commission not full to treat for western terri- tory, &c. February 16, 1800.
No. 9. Letter from Hon. James Jones ; conference about western territory ; clause to save Yazoo purchasers; facts to be reported to Congress; Indian title to be extinguished when Indians get ready, and money paid to Georgia; Yazoo deposit to be trans- ferred to the United States Treasury ; prospect of treating with Indians for land in Ocmulgee, Fork and Tallasse country ; full power to commissioners to cede western territory, &c. September 11, 1800.
No. 10. Letter from IIon. Samuel Hammond, Representative in Congress; Georgia militia claims ; unfavorable report of commit- tee ; Secretary of War recommends the claims ; proposed amend- ment to the Constitution, &c. December 23, 1803.
No. 30. Letter from Ezekiel Park, recommending Dr. William W. Strain as hospital surgeon. October 13, 1814.
No. 36. Letter from Bedney Franklin, introducing Dr. Abner Franklin, and presenting a copy of Buonaparte's Campaigns. De- cember 1, 1814.
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No. 115. Letter from IIon. Joel Crawford, a Representative in Congress ; enclosure from the Secretary of War; official evasions : names of captains to be given ; army rations. September 15, 1818.
No. 116. Letter from Gov. Rabun about finding of court-mar- tial ; case of hardship ; application for relief ; wishes to know the facts. June 30, 1819.
No. 117. Letter to James Hamilton Blackshear, at college ; taking care of money ; advice of cousins Jefferson and Blackshear Bryan ; stand to the truth at all hazards; avoid wicked company, and seek the respect of good people. May 14, 1821.
No. 118. Letter to James H. Blackshear ; diligence in study ; laying foundation of character for life ; home anxieties ; returning in vacation ; compliments to Mr. Moore ; desire to hear about col- lege. October 4, 1821.
No. 119. Letter from Col. Edward F. Tattnall, recommending Col. Daniell for general of first brigade; soldier's character ; N. P. Bond for solicitor-general; factions in the State. October 16, 1821.
No. 120. Letter from Col. E. F. Tattnall, introducing Captain Hunter, Cashier of the Branch Bank of the United States in Savannah ; attentions due a stranger. November 8, 1821.
No. 121. Note from Peter Crawford, Esq., Senator from Co- lumbia county, to accompany him to spend the Sabbath at the resi- dence of Col. Moughon. December 9, 1821.
No. 122. Letter to James H. Blackshear; urges him to write ; reciting privately ; importance of solid knowledge, not merely to get ahead of class ; death of two slaves and injury to another. March 22, 1822.
No. 123. Letter to J. H. Blackshear; danger from measles at Athens, but disease everywhere; Providence our only protec- tor ; symptoms of asthma in Mrs. Blackshear; William indis- posed ; teachers' approval gratifying ; cherish harmony with cousins, and all schoolmates who conduct themselves properly ; envy none; avoid quarrels if possible; when right, shrink not. regardless of consequences ; compliments to Dr. Waddel. April 12, 1821.
No. 124. Letter to J. II. Blackshear; patience in study; learn well as you go; conforming to the rules of the college; avoid all riots and the parties who commit them; now is the time to prepare for future greatness; a misstep will injure always ; highest freshet ; river top of mill-door; carried off fences and forty acres cotton
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planted ; sugarcane slow in coming up; brown sugar last year superior ; prospect of fruit, &c. May 5, 1822.
No. 125. Letter from Hon. John Elliott, Senator in Congress ; efforts of Mr. Calhoun's friends to weaken Mr. Crawford in New York ; seduced the Patriot newspaper over; the great body of the Republicans for Mr. Crawford; Connecticut vacillating ; Edwards left out of Congress in Illinois ; support in caucus from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont, cheering; twenty votes counted on ; New York, 28 votes, certain ; calculation as to other States; Mr. Forsyth's exertions; Col. Troup's success ; re-election to the Senate, &c. September 4, 1822.
No. 126. Letter to J. H. Blackshear ; sending money, not to be wasted; reasons for silence not sufficient; better penmanship required ; improve the opportunity to learn and get the benefit of money expended; leave college with credit, &c. February 26, 1824.
No. 127. Letter from Dr. Moses Waddel, President of Franklin College; grateful for kind expressions ; acting the best he can ; praises James ; good standing in college and in town ; will be a good scholar, useful man, an honor to the institution, and a com- fort to his father; request of Senatus Academicus to remain; con- sents, though retirement and repose preferred ; did not solicit the office, &c. November 18, 1824.
No. 128. Letter from Hon. Richard Henry Wilde, introducing George W. Crawford, Esq., a candidate for attorney-general; cha- racter, politics, and talents altogether unexceptionable. November 27, 1824.
No. 129. Letter from Dr. Waddel, securing Mr. Mitchell as a private tutor ; requests a visit to select a teacher, and for other purposes ; singular events of late known only to a few; cannot write on the subject ; James doing well as usual. January 21, 1825.
No. 130. Letter from Col. Seaborn Jones; lawsuit between Ridley and wife vs. Col. Blackshear ; facts stated; defendant advised wrong; must lose the property, $30,000; compromise offered, &c. January 23, 1825.
No. 131. Letter from IIon. Richard Henry Wilde, Representa- tive in Congress, enclosing the vote of the House electing Mr. Adams President. February 9, 1825.
No. 132. Letter from Hon. R. II. Wilde; breakers ahead; policy of the incoming administration ; claims for militia ser- vices ; reputation of Government ; emancipation; right of search;
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Southern States the Ircland of the Union. February 20, 1825.
No. 133. Executive circular from Mirabeau B. Lamar, Go- vernor Troup's secretary, inviting the generals of divisions and brigades to pay their respects to General Lafayette. March 4, 1825.
No. 134. Letter from Henry King, introducing his brother, David R. King, in support of a claim before the Legislature. October 16, 1825.
No. 135. Letter from Hon. C. B. Strong, expressive of his gratification at the victory of Gov. Troup over his opponent; bull by the horns ; Gen. Gaines, &c. October 19, 1825.
No. 136. Letter from Dr. James Perry, introducing a Repre- sentative from Tattnall county. November 2, 1825.
No. 137. Letter from Hon. Charles Harris, offering himself as a candidate for Judge of the Court of Oyer and Terminer of Savan- nah. October 21, 1826.
No. 138. Letter from Col. Richard A. Blount, touching the Oconee navigation ; regrets Gen. Blackshear's leaving the Senate; Peter Crawford out ; the new Board of Internal Improvement, &c. October 20, 1826.
No. 139. Letter from Peter Crawford, Esq .; disgusted with Milledgeville legislating ; harness up again to serve constituents ; white men very uncertain ; prospects of the Troup party ; opposi- tion caucusing by a judge ; regrets to see so many running for Congress on the Troup side ; expects to see a half-dozen vaga- bonds of the Clarkites announced for Congress ; Mr. Monroe, successor of General Blackshear in the Senate ; faithful service ; following an old leader ; state of the crops. July 8, 1828.
140. Letter from Daniel Chandler, Esq., asking influence for his election as Solicitor-General of the Northern circuit. October 10, 1831.
Having glanced at all the correspondence attached to the me- moir, the author pleads guilty to the bad taste of introducing a letter written to himself by Gen. Blackshear, about thirty years ago. That paper is now before him. The youth to whom such kindly expressions were breathed, more to encourage than to flat- ter, is now about to finish the memoir of his revered correspondent in a spirit of justice, if not with ability. The author and James Hamilton Blackshear were devoted friends, both about the same age. As a guest for several days together in the sports of the chase and in convivial pastimes, sampling the excellent wines and
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rich drinks of the general, which no man knew better how to pre- pare for his friends,-in listening to his sage counsel, his racy anecdotes, and curious recollections,-the author can never cease to feel gratitude and a melancholy pleasure in reviving those scenes in his memory and in his heart. A few months ago he visited the old homestead. The dwelling was burnt down; tall cotton-stalks grew in the yard; the large old china-trees, planted by the general sixty years ago, had rotted from age. Nothing was green but a small live-oak, which came from an acorn he brought in his pocket from the coast at the close of the war in 1815,-an emblem of his own enduring character.
But there were the graves ! General Blackshear and his wife slept side by side, and near him was old Peter Calloway, the once heroic youth who served with him in the Revolution. James Hamilton and William Thweatt, his two sons, who died in the meri- dian of life, and Mary Jane, the wife of Edward Jefferson Black- shear, reposed within a few feet. His nephew William L. Bush, well known to the author, was in the enclosure, far away from the home of his childhood. Several members of a French family, (Dessaubleaux,) who had been friends and neighbors, mingled their dust in this home of the dead. A half-dozen little graves told of angelic slumbers there. Dear old spot, hallowed by so many tender memories ! A voice, as if from the tomb, addresses the author :-
SPRINGFIELD, August 30, 1828.
MY DEAR SIR :- I received with pleasure your favor by the last mail. It is next to taking an esteemed friend and relative by the hand.
With respect to your becoming a candidate for solicitor, if merit has any influence I should think your claim a good one. It is unnecessary for me to say that it is not a general rule in these times. I would recom- mend your urging your claim ; and, with such competitors as you men- tioned, I think those who know you cannot hesitate in their choice.
You overrate my influence, as I shall have no more power than another humble individual. I shall, however, take pleasure in promoting your views where I think it will be of service to you. I am not certain that I shall be up, [at Milledgeville,] but intend to if I can, and can there say a word or two to my old friends.
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