USA > Indiana > Early Indiana trials: and sketches. Reminiscences > Part 14
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JUDGE PERKINS went upon the bench when he was quite a young man, and but little known beyond his Richmond locality, as a lawyer. I had seen him a few times, but had no special acquaintance with him. He was, however, well and intimately known to Gov. Whitcomb, from whom he received his first appointment. The Judge brought to the bench a sound discriminating mind, untiring energy, industry and strict integrity. His character as a judge was molded very much by those of Judges Blackford and Dewey, with whom he was first associated. His close application and great research into authorities, soon placed him high on the bench, where he has continued to labor sinee he took his seat, with an ardor and laudable ambition, that has proved almost too much for his feeble constitution. Many of his
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opinions will be found in our reports. It is not my purpose to approve or disapprove of the decisions of the Supreme Court; they are reported, and speak for themselves. It is proper, however, that I should remark that the immense docket, with the change of the practice act, break- ing down all the old land marks between common law and equity, and repudiating the forms of pleading with which the Courts were familiar, have made the labor and difficulties of the judges of the Supreme Court a hundred-fold greater at this day than they were under the old, settled practice, when the Court conld look to precedents for their decisions.
JUDGE SMITH was considered a good lawyer when he was appointed to the bench. He was possessed by nature, of a strong, clear and vigorous intellect, well improved by reading. The Judge maintained a high reputation on the bench. Many of his decisions compare favorably, both in manner and legal accuracy, with those of his con- temporaries. He delivered the opinion of the Court in the great case of the State of Indiana, against the Vincennes University in error. The decision was afterward reversed by the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, but Chief Justice Taney, and the minority of the Court, concurred fully with the opin- ion of the Supreme Court of Indiana, pronounced by Judge Smith. The Judge has returned to his practice, and is discharging the duties of attorney for the new Bank of the State.
JUDGE DAVISSON brought to the bench a long and ripe experience at the bar, with a good mind and great industry. The Judge is in the meridian of life, and is rising rapidly in publie estimation as a jurist. His opinions, as reported, are well expressed, and show much research into anthorities.
JUDGE HOVEY was one of the youngest men that has been placed upon the bench. lle was a good lawyer, and although not long enough upon the bench to establish his character fully as a judge, his opin- ions, as reported, show that he possessed judicial powers of no ordin- ary character. Judge Hovey was a member of onr late Constitutional Convention, and is now District Attorney of the United States.
JUDGE STUART came to the bench from a heavy practice, and brought with him much experience. His mind is of a high order. He is a close thinker, stands well as a judge, and has given many important decisions, reported in our volumes of Reports, but I think he labors too muh in the bark of his cases, sometimes stopping short of the merits.
JUDGE ROACHE was quite a young man when he came to the bench. He brought with him a good character as a lawyer. But he was not
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long enough on the bench to develop his judicial character. His opinions, however, read well, showing that he possessed the qualifiea- tions to make a first-rate judge.
JUDGE GOOKINS came to the beneh directly from a large practice, and brought with him an enviable character for legal learning. His mind was of a high order, elear, strong and eoneentrative. Many of his opinions will be found in our reports. He is yet in the prime of life, and must rise still higher in public estimation.
UNITED STATES COURT.
JUDGE BENJAMIN PARKE, first Judge of the District Court of the United States, was a fair, but not a great lawyer. His honest mind seemed to look through the technicalities of the ease, and seize the merits almost without an effort. His kind and courteous manner and the respect with which he treated the bar, made him loved and res- peeted by all. After his deeease, Judge Holman was appointed to fill the vaeaney. He made a first-rate judge ; patient, courteous and kind in the discharge of his official duties.
JUDGE ELISHA M. HUNTINGTON, then comparatively a young man, Commissioner of the General Land Office, was nominated by Presi- dent Tyler, to fill the vacaney, on the decease of Judge Holman, and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. I was a member of the body at that time. Judge Huntington has discharged the duties of the office to the entire satisfaction of the bar. His mind is of a high order, his judgment good, and his courtesy to the bar such as to make him highly esteemed by all. Long may he live, say the bar of Indi- ana, one and all, so far as I have ever heard.
I need not say to the reader that these are only intended for " ehar- coal sketches," and not for finished portraits of these distinguished men.
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[SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 19, 1857. JOHN TYLER.
How shall I sketeh John Tyler ? How shall I condense his brief history ? Mr. Tyler is a part of the history of the country. His biography is written on the minds of the people. He stands out in bold relief on the promontory of his time, a warning to all ambitious aspirants, while, at the same time, he furnishes a strong illustration of the patriotism of all parties, which induced them to sustain an Executive, in whom no party had confidence, and who was repudiated by all parties. He stands alone, since the Revolution, a solitary monument of his own perfidy and disgrace. To the credit of the statesmen and politicians of the United States, he has no compeer in high places. John Tyler was not entirely unknown in Virginia, he had been Governor and a United States Senator, when by some strange fatality he was elected at the Harrisburgh Convention for Vice- President, and put upon the Whig National ticket with Gen. Harrison. I was at Washington at the time, but was never able to learn why he was thought of, unless it was because he had left Gen. Jackson, and it was supposed that he would give strength to the cause in Virginia.
If such were the inducements of his nomination, a greater mistake was never made. Ilis State was one of the few that went largely against the ticket, and he proved recreant to the party that took him up and elected him the moment a good opportunity offered. It is not my purpose to review the memorable contest of 1840 for President, which resulted in the election of Gen. Harrison over Mr. Van Buren. That is a part of the recorded history of the country. It was one of the warmest political struggles, resulting in the most signal party triumph that was ever achieved in the United States. I was in the midst of the contest, riding and speaking day and night, to the assembled thonsands. The dying thunders of the campaign, and the shouts of victory, had scarcely ceased, when we met at the City of Washington, on the 4th of March, 1841, to inaugurate Gen. Harrison as President, and Mr. Tyler as Vice-president, of the United States. The bour arrived. The Senators were all in their seats when Gen. Harrison entered the chamber, and took his seat in front of the Secretary's desk, followed by the representatives of foreign nations, Jndges of the Supreme Court, members of the Ilouse and crowds of citizens. Gen. Harrisou appeared more infirm than when I had last seen him at North Bend. The General was a small, slim, spare man, some five feet ten inches high, long, bony, narrow face, dark hair, falling carelessly over his forehead, dark eyes, and dressed in a plain eloth surtout coat.
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Ilis manner was graceful and easy as he bowed, and took his seat. Mr. Tyler was taller than the General, slim and spare, narrow forehead, long, hooked, high-bridged nose, projecting chin, wide muouth, long neck and small, narrow head. His countenance indicated to me, the moment I first saw him, the character of the man, about a medium Virginia politician, since the days of the giants have passed away from that ancient commonwealth. The inauguration took place from the cast front of the capitol. The assemblage was immense, much larger than those on the occasions of Gen. Jackson's and Mr. Van Buren's inaugurations ; both of which I had witnessed. Gen. Harrison read his address in a loud, clear voice. As he came to that part which spoke of the policy to be observed in our foreign relations, he turned and bowed to the foreign ministers, which they courteously returned. The scene was very imposing. The address closed; Chief Justice Taney administered the oath. The crowd dispersed. We returned to the Senate Chamber ; Mr. Tyler took his seat, having been sworn into office previously ; the Senate adjourned. Next day at twelve o'clock we met in executive session, received and unanimously confirmed the nominations of the Cabinet; Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Treasury, John Bell, Secre- tary of War, George E. Badger, Secretary of the Navy, Francis Granger, Postmaster General, and John J. Crittenden, Attorney General. Never was a Cabinet more highly approved by the Whigs. Indeed our opponents conceded their ability, and the whole country acknowledged that the Whig party and its principles would be faithfully represented in the executive branch of the Government, while the same party had a large majority in the House of Representatives and Senate, as the election of Speaker and committees showed. The Whigs elected the chairmen of all their committees in the Senate. I was elected chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, by a decided vote over Robert J. Walker, the late chairman. There was little other business done at the executive session. We adjourned, with the understanding that there would be a called session during vacation. I called on the President elect ; met Mr. Tyler there; all things looked right. I took leave of both and returned home, bringing with me to our Whig friends the gratifying news of the harmonious and able cabinet that was installed into office, and of the decided working majority of the party in both Houses of the next Congress. Soon after my return I received the proclamation of the President calling a session of Congress to convene on the 21st of May. The proclamation bore date March 17th. How uncertain are all human prospects ! how frail this earthly tenement ! I left. Gen. Harrison well, in fine health, with a green old
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age upon him, on the 10th of the month; before its close, he was stricken by a fatal disease, and on the 4th of April, just one month after he was inaugurated, he was gathered to his fathers. His body was borne in solemn procession over the mountains, to his last earthly resting-place, at North Bend, on the Ohio river, five miles above the mouth of the Miami, where the passenger on the steamer as he looks to the Indiana shore, may see the white tomb, on the high ground of a beautiful grove, surrounded by a plain white fence. There sleeps the body of Gen. Harrison ; the beloved of the West ; the true patriot and brave man .- Peace to his ashes !
The extra session came, and with it political treason in high places. It has been asked a thousand times, and will continue to be while history records the deed, why was it that John Tyler turned against the party that elected him? Why did he reward confidence with treachery ? Why forsake the standard that had waved over his head when he marched, by the side of the hero of Tippecanoe, to triumph and victory ? Had Gen. Harrison lived to serve his time, would Mr. Tyler have deserted him as he did Gen. Jackson ? Was it principle growing out of the bank question that caused him to turn round upon the party that elected him ? These and other questions have been asked, again and again, in my presence. The facts have never been controverted, but the cause that produced them has been subject to many opinions. I have had but one upon the subject. Had Gen. Harrison lived Mr. Tyler would never have forsaken him, The motive would have been wanting. He had left Gen. Jackson and the Dem- oeratie party, and had nothing to expect from that party. He had no temptation to break his faith with the Whig party until Gen. Harrison died, and he had succeeded to the Presidential chair, nor do I believe he had the most remote idea of cutting loose from the party that elected him, and of setting up for himself, until the meeting of the extra session. He and his Cabinet were united and harmonious up to that time, and, as I have already said, a truer set of Whigs the party did not hold, than this Cabinet. Was it the bank question that caused him to leave his party ? I answer, no; that was one of the pretexts only ; the celebrated letter of Mr. Botts was another. " What then was the cause ?" I will be asked. I answer, the cause was that Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, was not selected for Speaker in place of John White, of Kentucky, by the Whig caucus. Henry Clay was unjustly suspected of producing this result. Mr Wise had been up to that event, from the very first, one of the most violent of all the Whig politicians of the United States. It was he who gave the celebrated toast, that went the rounds of the Whig press, " The union
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of the Whigs, for the sake of the Union." He had been, during the contest, with other chivalrous spirits of the South, who had taken conservative grounds, in the front of the great political battle that had just terminated in the most triumphant and overwhelming victory in the annals of our country. It is natural that he should have looked to the Speaker's chair, as due to his efforts in the Whig eause, and for which he was admitted to be eminently qualified. John White, of Kentucky, was elected over him by the Whigs. I was there at the time, and without any preference individually, as between Mr. Wise and Mr. White, I regretted the choice on party grounds. Mr Wise was perhaps the only Whig in the House who had Tyler proclivities. It is proper that I should introduce Mr. Wise here more directly to the reader. He was a spare, slim man, under the common hight, large head, brown hair, hanging on his shoulders, parted on the sides, falling carelessly over his high forehead, remarkably large mouth, dark, piercing cyes ; he dressed plainly, generally wore a black frock coat. Mr. Wise possessed talents of a high order, with debating powers among the very first in the House. He was an ardent, impulsive, and some- times vehement speaker, very characteristic of the Virginia and Southern school. He was the man to mold John Tyler, a Virginian. The private and political friend of Mr. Tyler, he had with him left the Jackson standard, and gone over to the opposition. Possessing a mind in every respect superior to Mr. Tyler, with a full knowledge of his weak points, goaded on by disappointed ambition, suspicious of Mr. Clay, and with the probable political prospects before him, he thought to establish a Tyler dynasty upon the ruins of the Whig party, and such additions from the Democratic party as might be allured from their allegiance by the " loaves and fishes " of the "rising sun."
Mr. Tyler, in my opinion, was but an instrument in the hands of Mr. Wise, the superior Virginian. Mr. Wise had, in the instrument before him, one string upon which he could play, sure of harmonious sounds, the vanity of John Tyler. Ile was aware that Mr. Tyler. during the campaign, while seated on the popularity of General IIarri- son, deluded himself with the idea of his own importance, like the prairie fly, safely nestled in the shaggy mane of the bounding buffalo, pursued by a flying band of Camanches, which imagines itself the object of the pursuit, and feels able to leave the noble animal and take care of itself at any moment. Mr. Tyler was vanity itself. Mr. Wise had only to play upon that string, to hold up the perpetuation of the Tyler dynasty in the succession of Mr. Tyler to the Presidential chair. This could not succeed while Henry Clay stood first-the acknowl- edged leader of the Whig party. Mr. Tyler must cut loose from Mr.
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Clay and set up for himself. Congress was in session. The measures of the Whig party were well known to both Mr. Tyler and Mr. Wise. That they would be proposed by the leaders of the Whig party was as well known before as after their introduction .- Among them was the question of a National Bank. Here was the first pretext, no doubt anxiously looked for by the leaders of the Tyler movement. I do not mean to confine that deep-laid scheme to Henry A. Wise alone; far from it. There were Cushing, Wise, Upshur, Gilmer, Irwin Spencer, Proffitt, and others known to the country as " the Corporal's Guard," who played upon the same instrument, flattered Tyler's vanity, inflated his self-importance, and ministered to his delusion,
Before any bank bill had passed either House, I happened at the White House one evening. There were few in the audience-room. Mr. Tyler was promenading arm in arm with two Democratic Western Sena- tors, Mr. Tappan and Mr. Allen. I sat quietly on a side sofa, noticing their movements. The conversation appeared earnest, with such nods and gestures as satisfied me as to what we had to look for. I left, and on the way to my boarding-house, on C. street, I called at Mr. Clay's room. He was alone. The moment I was seated he asked me if there was any news .- " Yes, Mr. Clay, I stopped to tell you that Mr. Tyler will go over to the Democratic party." " How do you know ? Did he say so, or did anybody tell you so?" "Neither." I then told him what I had seen. "Strong symptoms, Mr. Smith, but it can not be possible that after all we have done for him he will desert ns." "You will see." So he did see. The first bank bill was passed and received the veto of Mr. Tyler. Many of the leaders of our party attributed it to his Constitutional scruples. I did not. Mr. Webster and Mr. Ewing gave our party strong assurances that Mr. Tyler would approve of a bill modified in some particulars. It was thought best on party grounds, to yield to his whims without departing from prin- ciples. Another bill was carefully drawn, and submitted to him in advance, so as to insure his signature. He kept it several days, modi- fied, corrected and interlined it with his own hand, and handed it back to the committee of the party as entirely satisfactory to him, and faith- fully promised to approve it.
I met Mr. Berrien next morning and asked him if he thought the President would approve the bill, if we passed it. " I think so, but let us pass it as it came from his hands, and he can not veto it." "This is all gammon on his part ; he never will approve of it, or of any other bill of the kind that will hold him in public opinion longer identified with Henry Clay." And the result proved that I was correct. While the bill was pending, Mr. Botts wrote his foolish letter to " head Cap-
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tain Tyler or die," which was seized upon with avidity, by Mr. Tyler and his friends, as another pretext for his veto. Some pretended to believe that the letter had something to do with his course. I do not believe one word of it. His course was settled the day after Mr. Wise was rejected by the Whigs, and John White selected for Speaker. Bank bill, or no bank bill, Botts letter, or no Botts letter, he was lost to the Whig party. The bill he had interlined with his own hand, and passed without changing a letter, after the reflections of the Sab- bath day, shared the same fate with the other. A veto followed. The eyes of the whole Whig party were opened. Mr. Tyler and his guard were seen fortifying themselves, by the Executive offices and patronage, in their little cirele around their Chief, to become as they vainly imagined, the nucleus of the great Tyler party that was to be. All was joy in the Democratie ranks. Not at the defection of Mr. Tyler alone, but at the anticipated effects of the treason on the Whig party. On the other hand, the Whigs were deeply affected. They saw all their hopes blasted, the labors of the campaign lost, the Exec- utive department, and its co-operation, torn from them by the perfidy of the man they had elected. There were but two courses to be pur- sned. The one was to stand still, and let Mr. Tyler and his allies govern the great Whig party and control its action, while the respon- sibility of the administration would rest upon them in the national mind. And the other was to cut loose from the Executive, and repu- diate all responsibility for his acts. The latter course met the approval of the whole party, except a very few, who had tasted, or were looking for, the crumbs that fall from the Executive table, small and great. The Whig manifesto followed. I was honored by being associated with John Mc Phersou Berrien, and Nathaniel P. Talmadge, of the Senate, as the Committee of the Whigs of that body. Horace Everett, of Vermont, Sampson Mason, of Ohio, John P. Kennedy, of Mary- land, John C. Clark, of New York, and Kenneth Rayner, of North Carolina, acted as the Committee of the House. The Joint Committee reported the manifesto to a mass meeting of the Whigs of both Houses. Many speeches were made by distinguished Whigs, a sketch even of which I have not space to record, among which were two of uncommon power, the one from Millard Fillmore, and the other from Thomas F. Marshall. The vote was taken,-the manifesto adopted without a dissenting sound, that I heard.
Two days after the second veto all the Cabinet resigned, except Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, who retained his position, for reasons satisfactory to himself at the time, no doubt, but which were far from being so to the Whig party, and which even Mr. Webster had to abandon
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at a subsequent period, and give place to Mr. Calhoun, not how- ever, until after he had made his Faneuil Hall Speech, which, for his sake, I always regretted. The most of the Tylerites soon made their appearance in the executive nominations to our body for high office, and were all promptly rejected, neither party having any confidence in Mr. Tyler or his nominees. Mr. Wise was nominated for Minister to France, I voted against him with much reluctance. Had he been nominated to any other Court, even by President Tyler, I should have voted for him. Our relations at that time with France were of an inflammable character, aud I thought Mr. Wise was not the man for that Court. During the extra session it was given out that Governor Bagby, of Alabama, would on a certain day show up the Whig party in its true light. At an early hour the galleries and side sofas of the Senate were filled. Judge Upsur, Gilmer, Cushing, Wise, Irwin, Proffit, Robert aud John Tyler, Jr., in front and around the Governor as he rose from the seat next to Col. Benton. Gov. Bagby, was of the large size of men, fine features, bald head, strong, musical voice, and withal, one of the severest tongues in the Senate, exceedingly sarcastic and bitter, and yet pleasant in his social intercourse. As we all expected the Governor commenced upon the Whig party. 1 was sitting at the time directly before him, looking him in the face. He said all and more than all that I had ever heard from any other source, against the party to which I belonged, to the infinite delight, visible and unre- strained, of all the Tylerites present. He had worked himself up to a fine strain of impassioned eloquence, when looking in my face, at the highest pitch of his strong voice, " Why don't you Whigs keep your promises to the American people. I pause for an answer." I said, " Because your President won't let us." He leaned back against the railing, paused a moment, and then in the most contemptuous manner exclaimed, "Our President ! our President ! Do you think we would go to the most corrupt party that was ever formed in the United States and then take the meanest renegade that ever left that party for our President ?" From that moment the Whig party was lost sight of and Mr. Tyler became the text for the balance of the discourse. The seats of the Tylerites were vacated in a few minutes, aud their occupants were seen leaving the chamber, any thing but smiles resting upon their countenances. The session was about to close, when I called into the Viee President's room near midnight to get a nomination of a land officer for a vacant office. I found Mr. Tyler seated at the table and Mr. Webster sitting beside him. The other Cabinet officers had resigned. I was received formally, but coolly. Mr. Tyler looked uncomfortable, and Mr. Webster appeared ill at ease in his position. I staid but a
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