History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 50

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148

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"5-When the parties or their Attorneys are present at the making of any rule of Court, they are obligedl to take notice of such rules without further service, But when either party or Attorney are absent, the party or his Attor- ney in whose favour the Rule is made, shall serve the party absent or his Attorney with a true copy thereof, at least eight days before the expiration of said Rule, or to take no benefit thereby.

"6-When any non-resident of the County takes out a writ against an inhabitant, he shall give bail into the Clerk's office to pay the costs if non-suited, or he discontinues or withdraws his suit without consent of defendant.

" 7-In all actions above the value of ten pounds, the defendant shall give special hail if required. except in ac- tions of slander, quare clausum fregit, assault and battery, unless it be otherwise ordered by the Court.

" 8-All persons being lawfully summoned to serve on juries, and not appearing, shall be fined thirteen shillings, four pence, unless they can give a satisfactory reason that they shall excuse 'em.

"9-Every Attorney at his first appearance in any case shall enter his warrant of Attorney in the ('lerk's Office.

" 10-Every Attorney having undertaken to plead a cause, shall manage the same until it be fully determined (unless discharged by his imployer), or the Attorney shall pay all the costs and damages sustained by his imployer, if the case miscarry thro' his default.

" Dated June 4th, 1813.

" sic subscribetur,

"AMICUS PATRIS."

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

who proposed and urged the first revision of the laws of New Jersey.

A number of persons who were attorneys at about that time in Monmouth County might be mentioned, but it would, of course, be impracti- cable to give anything like a full and correct ac- count of the lawyers who practiced in the courts of the county during the period extending from their first establishment to the time when they were re-established under the State constitution and government.

The honorable course pursued by the attor- neys and counselors of New Jersey (including, of course, the members of the bar of Monmouth County) concerning the operation of the odious Stamp Act, ten years prior to the opening of the Revolution, is given by the eminent New Jersey historian, Whitehead, as follows :

" To the members of the Bar the distinction is to be conceded of having been the first to adopt a systematic opposition to the use of stamps in New Jersey. At that day the lawyers as a body were perhaps equal, if not superior, in talents and character to those who at any subsequent period have upheld the honor of the State and of their profession ; and although many of them, rather than countenance a resort to arms to procure a redress of grievances, eventually abandoned the cause of the colonists, yet at the period under consideration they were deeply interested in the matter at issue, and warmly opposed to the encroachments of power and ministerial influence.

"The unhappy state into which the colonies were thrown by the passage of the Stamp Act had induced several of the leading men of the profession to call a general meeting at Perth Amboy in September, 1765 (the arrival of the stamp papers being then daily looked for), in order to consult upon the adoption of such measures as should indieate their true opinion to the people of the Province, while at the same time they prevented any improper popular com- motions adverse to the authority of the Gov- ernment. The meeting took place, and after a full discussion of the aet and its anticipated effects, those present determined, without dis- senting voice, that they would not, as lawyers, make any use of the stamps for any purpose

or under any circumstances, and this was un- derstood to be likewise the intention of most of the gentlemen of the bar who were absent. This was certainly the wisest course they could have adopted; it prevented any immediate collision with the Government; it called for no violation of official oaths or resignation by the function- aries of the different courts, and although it would inevitably operate much to their pecu- niary detriment, yet they had the satisfaction of knowing that it rendered the stamps entirely useless as a source of revenue to the crown.

"The day after the meeting (September 20, 1765) all the practitioners were desired to attend on the chief justice. On their doing so, that officer alluded to a report, which had become current, of his having solicited and exerted him- self to obtain the situation of stamp distributor for the colony; and stated that the impropriety of the act was a sufficient refutation of the charge ; but in order that there might be no doubt on the subject, he declared upon his honor that he had in no way attempted to obtain the office. He then inquired of them whether, shoukt the stamps arrive and be placed at Burlington by or after the 1st of November, as was expected, they would, as practitioners, agree to purchase them for the necessary pro- ceedings in the law? This they answered in the negative, in conformity with their previous resolution, stating that they would rather have their private interests give way to public opinion ; protesting at the same time against all riotous and indecent behavior, which they would discountenance, by every means in their power preserving order; while by an absolute refusal to make use of stamps, and other quiet methods, they would endeavor to obtain a repeal of the law. They were then asked if it was their opinion, should the act go into operation, that the duties could possibly be paid in gold and silver? This was also answered in the negative, a conviction being expressed that such payment could not be made even for one year. The Chief Justice then inquired, in the third place, if, in their opinion-as the act required the Governor and Chief Justice to superintend the distribution-he should be obliged to act as distributor, should the Governor appoint

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him to that office? In answer to this, they advised him not to accept the appointment ; the Governor not being authorized by the aet to appoint, and if he had that power, he could not enforce acceptance; and moreover they dermed the office incompatible with the official station he already held.

" The communication of these opinions and resolutions drew forth the warmest approbation from the public, but it was to be expected that such an entire cessation of all legal proceedings would not only occasion great confusion in the transaction of business generally, but also excite to the adop- tion of more energetic measures to frustrate the operation of the detested Act, which might leave the people at liberty to pursue their usual voca- tions untrammeled by its provisions. Endeavors were soon made to transact the business of the courts as usual, and censures were cast upon them for refusing to do so. They were well sus- tained. however, in their determination.

" It was stated that, to the lasting honor of the lawyers of New Jersey, it had been and would be said they had set the example as the most de- termined opposers of the oppressive acts of Par- liament. Some of the most learned and judicious had declared that the act was of such a nature, and so curiously fabricated, it would execute itself, and not an American patriot ever fancied that the province could have given such spirited and universal opposition. An expectation of submission had continued almost universal, down to the eve of that fatal day destined for the com- mencement of their slavery ; and every city, town and village upon this vast continent re- sounded with the knell of departing liberty. The merchants could not think of venturing their fortunes in a vessel not protected by a stamped passport ; not a person who held an

of the merchants, the fear- of the public officers, and the ignorance of the common people woukl undoubtedly have introduced the stamped papers had not the professors of the law (through whose hands most of them must have passed) at that instant stood forth and declared they would not receive them. The colonists were urged to con- tinne in their present state till some decisive in- telligence should be received ; not to call upon the courts to open lest the public peace should be broken ; nor contradict their public petitions for relief by attempting it with their own hands before it should be denied by the mother-country. " There were, however, among the members of the Bar those who, either from pecuniary or sinister motives, were in favor of ultra measures, and by some of them it was deemed advisable to hold another meeting for the purpose of con- sultation. This convened at New Brunswick on the 13th of February, 1766. The title of 'Sons of Liberty,' first adopted at this crisis by the freemen of Connecticut, was soon as-umed by the active citizens of New Jersey. The proceedings of individuals and public bodies were subjected to the surveillance of these as- sociated patriots, receiving their censure or approbation, as circumstances might warrant, although in a more limited degree than was subsequently the case; the approaching con- vention of lawyers was consequently not over- looked. On the appointed day several hundreds of the Sons of Liberty from Woodbridge and Piscataway, joined by deputies from the western part of the Province, presented themselves at New Brunswick and handed in to the gentlemen of the bar, who were there assembled, a written and united request that they should immediately proceed to business as usual, without stamps, and use their influence to open the courts of of the gentlemen agreed, in order 'to preserve that happy state of peace and tranquillity which has, by the blessing of God, hitherto been main- tained in this province of New Jersey, to desist from their practice till the Ist day of April next, and if they receive no account from the Parliament before the said Ist day of April, they will, in such case, begin in their practice as usual, or sooner, if earlier accounts are received.'

office under the Crown could think of losing his ! justice. After due deliberation, the majority appointment, and thereby, perhaps, the only mean> of subsisting himself and family, by opposing an act framed under the direction of the King's Ministry ; not a farmer could bear to think of taking a conveyance for lands without a stamp, when his estate for want thereof was delared void ; nor would he offer to try an action at law, without the same prerequisites, lest his recovery should be illegal ; in short, the caution

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

They also appointed two of their number to assure the Sons of Liberty, in the name of the whole, that unless the Stamp Act was suspended or repealed, they would join in opposition to it with their lives and fortunes. The course adopted met with the approval of the assembled patriots, thanks were returned and hopes ex- pressed that such an example might be imitated by every gentlemen of the profession on the continent.

"The subsequent repeal of the Stamp Act put an end to all further proceedings; but the firmness, disinterestedness, prudence and pa- triotism already exhibited by the lawyers of that day deserve to be recorded."

On two occasions, in the years 1769 and 1770, the operation of the Monmouth courts was obstructed, and the attorneys driven from the court-house by a mob ; this being the result of a deep and bitter feeling which had existed for many years (but more especially for a com- paratively short time preceding these occur- rences) against the lawyers, on account of alleged abuses practiced by them in promoting lawsuits and increasing the expense of litigation to the highest possible amounts. As early as during the administration of Governor Lewis Morris loud complaints had been made and legislation demanded to correct the alleged oppressive com- bination ; but little attention was paid to the matter by the Governor. The complaints grew louder and more threatening, especially after the Stamp Aet excitement, which caused the formation of the society or association called the "Sons of Liberty," and in 1769 many memorials were presented to the Legislature, asking for relief, and worded in language so strong as to show a great and even alarming excitement on the subject.1 The agitation spread through all the province, but was espe- cially strong and bitter in the counties of Mid- dlesex, Essex and Monmouth. That the feeling was more intense in the southwestern part of Monmouth than elsewhere seems evident from the following, relative to threats of violence made by people of that section :

In 1769, Bernardus Legrange, an attorney living at New Brunswick, was complained of to the Assembly for having exacted exorbitant fees. For this he was reprimanded by the Council; but this punishment was mitigated by their publishing, subsequently, letters from Chief Justice Smith and Second Justice Read, stating that Legrange's charges were only such as were customarily made. Soon afterwards a singular anonymous letter, evidently written from the upper part of Monmouth County, ad- dressed to the attorney, was thought to be of sufficient importance to be inserted in the minutes of the Assembly. It was as follows:

"To Bernardus Legrange, Esq., attorney-at-law in New Brunswick :

"Friend Legrange :- As I am a lover of peace and concord, there is nothing gives me greater pleasure than beholding the same have a subsistence among mankind. And on the other hand, there is nothing can give me so much pain as to see any of the human species become a Nuisance to the commonality of mankind, whether they become such thro' an act of inadvertance or from a selfish ambition. . . I will let thee know what I heard the other day among a parcel of people, having met accidentally with 'em at the Mill at Englishtown, concerning you and some more of your brethren ; thee especially they seemed to have the greatest grudge against. One of them said he wished that fellow, Legrange, would come to Court this month ; he should not escape out of a back window, as he did before. Another of the company makes answer, 'Damn him! I hear he is to come and act as king's attorney; but that shall not screen the rascal,' says he. 'Aye,' says he, 'the lawyers has done that a-purpose, that we might not disturb the villain ; but, if we catch him, we will Legrange him !' I, hearing the people expressing themselves in this manner, began to examine them what you had done unto them that enraged them so against yon. ' Why,' says one, 'he will bring down our heads and humble us.' They say you egged up their creditors to put their bonds in suit, saying, 'Monmouth people are all likely to fail,' and much more of that nature. And I inquired if they con'd prove their assertions against you. They say, yes, they can, by some of their creditors ; and will, if you carry action. But I could not learn against whom, nor where the person lived. " Yesterday I was in Upper Freehold, among some I company, where I heard them resolve, concerning you, much the same as above; wishing you might come to court, for there were between seven and eight hundred of them ready to receive you. Nay, I have heard some of them declare solemnly they would use you as the informers were used in New

1 " The table of the Assembly groaned beneath the weight of petitions which were daily presented, praying for relief and invoking vengeance on the heads of the attorneys." - Field.

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York and Philadelphia. I know they collected some money to purchase two barrels of Tar, and have agreed with a man to hale it a Monday. And, a> far as I can learn, it is for you. They intend to tar and feather you, and so cart you from the court-house to

the laws to their regular course." This state- ment, however, does not appear to be entirely correct in all particular-, though it is true that the rioters were appeased and dispersed ; but Vankirk's Mill and back again, in imitation of the ' not until after they had cleared the court-house Oisterman in New York. I shou'd have taken the trouble to come to your house and informed you of the plotters against your person ere now, only, as I have considerable property in this County, I know they would utterly ruin me if they knew I divulged to you the least matter.

"Friend Legrange, you can act as you think will best suit you. Only I would advise you, as a friend, to consider seriously the fury of an enraged mob, mad with oppression : and think deliberately with your- self how you expect to escape their hands. O, I be- seech you to ponder well in your own breast the fate of many Kings and Princes when they become obnox- ious or hateful to the people. And the spirit of riot- ing seems to increase in our day. Think of the fate of Major James Ogden and many of the custom- house officers. Nay, we have daily instances of one or another falling a sacrifice to the people when pro- voked. And I can positively affirm if thou hadst dwelt in this County, there would not have been left one stone on another of your house ere now. Raro antecedentem scelestum, desiruit pede ponacenudo.

" I ordered my young man to leave this for you at your house or Duff's for thee."

This letter being brought to the atten- tion of the House of Assembly, that body " Resolred, That the said letter is scandalous and unwarrantable ; and that this House look upon the same as manifestly tending to a breach of the publick peace." On the question of this resolution, the Middlesex member- voted in the negative, those of Monmouth and Somerset were divided, and the vote in the whole House being a tie, the Speaker gave the casting vote in the affirmative, and so secured its passage.

With regard to the riotous proceedings at Monmouth Court-House, to which a slight ref- erence is made in the foregoing letter to Le- grange, Field says: " In July, 1769, a multitude of persons assembled in a riotous manner at Freehold, in the county of Monmouth. and endeavored to prevent the lawyers from entering the court-house and transacting business. But the tumult was at this time quelled, owing, in a great measure, to the spirited exertions of Richard Stockton. He appeased the rioters, punished the ringleaders and restored

and hell possession of it for some little time. The same scenes were re-enacted, and with greater violence, at the January term of 1770, when, on the day for opening the sessions, great numbers of people gathered at Freehold. took possession of the court-house, and were there -- ful in preventing the assembling of the court. A riot of the same kind occurred at about the same time in the county of Essex.

A few days after these occurrences Governor Franklin wrote (January 28th) to Cortlandt Skinner, saying that the recent riotous proceed- ings at Monmouth were of so alarming a nature that he had thought it neee -- ary to call a meet- ing of the Council at Amboy on the 7th of Feb- ruary, and to require the attendance of the sheriff and justices of the county who were present at the riot ; that the affair was such an audacious insult to the government that, let the con-e- quences be what they might, the offenders should be punished in the most exemplary manner.

On the 28th of April following, the Governor wrote the Earl of Hillsborough, saying that the Assembly had been called together on account of the riot- by the "Sons of Liberty" in Mon- mouth and Essex Counties, but that, in the mean time, the rioters had been entirely quelled and humbled. The Governor issued a special commission to try the rioters, and some of the leading ones were tried and punished in E -- ex County, but in Monmouth they escaped puni-h- ment by reason of the sympathy and support of the inhabitants of certain part- of the county. The disturbances, however, had been quelled without bloodshed, and from that time until the opening of the Revolution the business of the courts went on without molestation.

With regard to the intensely bitter feeling against members of the legal profession, which had been the cause of these outbreaks, the real facts were that many of the people in this region had placed themselves heavily in debt by larger purchases of land than their means would war- rant, and when the hard times of 1765-70 came

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

on they were unable to meet the payments then falling due, and many were consequently sold out by the sheriff. Then they wrongly blamed the lawyers as having caused their misfortunes, and thus they worked themselves up to a state of frenzied excitement which brought about the result above narrated.

In mentioning these riotons outbreaks, Field intimates that a large proportion of the chief promoters of them were men who, six or seven years later, abandoned the American canse, and went over to the British ; instancing the ease of Samuel Tucker, of Hunterdon County, who was a leading spirit among the opponents of the attorneys, and who afterwards joined the enemies of his country. But, on the other hand, it appears that in the year 1784, Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, urged in the New Jersey Legislature (of which he was a member) the passage of " An Act for Regulating and Shortening the Proceedings of the Court of Law," of which he remarked : " If it succeeds, it will tear the ruffles off the lawyers' wrists." The bill was opposed by Governor Livingston, and did not become a law ; but the preceding facts seem to show that no one partic- ular class of men stood alone in the unreasoning and unreasonable antagonism which prevailed in New Jersey against members of the legal profession from the time of Queen Anne till long after the close of the Revolutionary War.

The number of counselors and attorneys prac- ticing in the courts of Monmouth County . during the forty years next succeeding the elose of the Revolution was not large. Among them (including several who were not residents of the county, but who were very frequently employed in cases here) were Jonathan Rhea, Joseph Sendder, Caleb and Corlies Lloyd, James H. Imlay, Frederick Frelinghuysen, Henry Hankin- son (all of whom were in practice here several years prior to 1800), Garret D. Wall, Joseph Phillip-, Theodore Frelinghuysen Richard H. Stockton, Joseph W. Scott, Samuel L. Southard, Daniel B Ryall, Henry D. Polhemus and others, almost equally prominent. The Monmouth | jects. courts, and the advocates who practiced in them Mr. Wall was licensed as attorney in 1804, between 1820 and 1845, were referred to by ex- and as counselor in 1807. He commenced the

Governor Parker, in an address delivered October 31, 1873, as follows :

"Fifty years ago there was scarcely a cele- brated lawyer in this State who did not attend our courts. Richard Stockton, Samuel L. Southard, George Wood (whom Daniel Web- ster said he regarded as his most dangerous op- ponent in the Supreme Court of the United States) and others, whose fame became national, for a long time practiced here. When I came to the bar, thirty years ago, among the princi- pal practitioners in this county were Garret D. Wall, distinguished as a jury lawyer; William L. Dayton, who had one of the best legal minds of his day ; Daniel B. Ryall, a faithful and industrious advocate, of excellent common sense ; Judge Vredenburgh, who lately died full of years and honors ; Joseph F. Randolph, who filled with great eredit many positions of trust and James M. Hartshorne, a young lawyer of I much promise. All these are dead. Subse- quently, Jehu Patterson, Edmond M. Throck- morton and Major Peter Vredenburgh com- meneed practice here with bright prospects, but were cut off in the meridian of life. Other members of our brotherhood, still living, with whom I have so long held pleasant intercourse, I will not mention. . "

GARRET D. WALL was born in the township of Middletown, Monmouth County, in 1783. His father was James Wall, who was an officer in the militia during the Revolutionary War, and was in the battle of Monmouth. The first of the family in this county was Walter Wall, who was one of the original settlers at Middle- town. The father of Garret D. Wall died when he was ten years of age, and soon after his father's death he went to reside with his uncle, Dr. Wall, at Woodbridge, N. J. When fifteen years old he went to Trenton, where he entered the law-office of General Jonathan Rhea, who was at this time clerk of the Supreme Court. There he became well grounded in the principles of law and familiar with prac- tice and pleading, and was throughout his life regarded by the bar as authority on those sub-

Daniel B Ryale D

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THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.

business of his profession at Trenton, and at an General Wall was noted for hospitality ; he was kind, gentle and companionable, public-spirited, and county. early day was elected clerk of the Supreme Court. In 1822 he was chosen a member of the i patriotic, and much attached to his native State General Assembly. At that time he belonged to the Democratic party, and he adhered to its principle- throughout his life.

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 50

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co. Number of Pages: 1148

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148