USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. I > Part 22
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The leading traits of the character of Chancellor DeSaus- sure, were the sense of duty, and benevolence. The former was most conspicuous to general observation, in the discharge of his official duties. His devotion to them was assiduous, untiring. His object was not to get over the business of a Court, but to get through it, and dispose of it effectually ; and for this purpose, he was the most patient of listeners and investigators. The labor which he bestowed in the prepara- tion of his opinions, his research into every quarter and authority whence light could be derived, were extensive and almost unbounded. Yet, coming so cautiously and labo- riously to his conclusions, he was the least opinionated of human beings. In exercising appellate jurisdiction, when his own decisions were in question, he scrutinized them with the same candor, freedom, and impartiality, as if he stood totally uncommitted on the subject, and I believe no one more sincerely rejoiced in the correction of his errors. Even when retaining his own opinion, it was overruled by others, he cheerfully acquiesced, and ever after, in good faith, followed
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and maintained the authority of the decisions from which he had dissented. Never did he attempt to obtain consideration for himself, and to depreciate the tribunals, of which he formed a constituent part, by insinuating their errors, and his own better judgment. It appears, from a return of the Com- missioners in Equity, made for another purpose, in 1830, that of more than two thousand decrees and opinions, made and delivered in the State, for the preceding twenty years, nearly one-half were pronounced by Chancellor DeSaussure .* Dur-
* Total number of regular Decrees in the Circuit Court of Equity, from January 1809, to January 1829, according to the Commissioners' returns.
Charleston, total, 700 of these Chancellor DeSaussure delivered. .272
55 Richland. 104.
Georgetown,
.139
66
Colleton, 101. .55
Beaufort,. 135. .45
Laurens, ..
120.
.54
Spartanburgh 59. .33 Darlington, .63. 19 Barnwell .. 31. 14
Orangeburg} 42. 16 Edgefield. 111. 42 Abbeville,. 133. 48 Pendleton 44. 12 Greenville. 11. 6 Camden 41. 14 Lancaster. .8. 6
Chester 24. 10
York .. 23. 12 Fairfield 50. 33
Union. 68. . 38
Newberry .89 .. .36
Sumter.
.91.
38
Total. . 2,173
Chancellor DeSaussure delivered. .924
Charleston Court of Appeals, total. .320 Chancellor DeSaussure delivered. 185
Columbia Court of Appeals, total.
395
Chancellor DeSaussure delivered,. 205
The cases reported in 3d and 4th Equity Reports, and in Harper's Equity
Reports, and in 1st and 2d M'Cord's Equity Reports, amount to .. .233 Of these, Chancellor DeSaussure prepared and delivered* 163 *And of these were reversed. .17
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ing the greater portion of this time, there were five Chancel- lors; and when we recollect the care with which his opinions were prepared, we may very well say, that more than one- half the labor of administering the Chancery jurisdiction within the State, was performed by him. For twenty-five years he never failed to attend a circuit at the appointed time. And in later years, when increasing infirmities might well have excused such omissions, they were exceedingly rare. During the same time, he never failed to attend, three days alone excepted, in the Court of Appeals.
In Court, he presided with a dignity from which few would have ventured to derogate, and an urbanity which took from every one all temptation to do so. It must have been, indeed, a rude nature which could have failed in respect to this venerable magistrate. Before him, every one was sure of a patient hearing ; and if uncommon merit appeared-and more especially, in the young advocate-it was sure to be distin- guished by him. He knew and respected the rights of the Bar, so important to the freedom and security of the com- munity, and claimed respect for the justice of the State, as represented by himself.
The same industry, the same conscientious sense of duty, was conspicuous in every office, or business, public, or private, which he undertook. As I have said, he was careless of wealth, and rather impaired than improved his circumstances, while in public office. But he was always careful to be fully informed of the exact state of his affairs, that he might not expose himself to embarrassment, and to avoid all risk of doing injustice to others. He could not have endured to have a pecuniary claim made on him which he was not prepared to satisfy. It was the business of every morning to make a memorandum of all matters of duty, business, or civility which required his attention during the day, and, in conse- quence, none of these were ever neglected. His reading was various and extensive, and it was his habit to note every passage which was curious or instructive in what he read.
He was habitually and devoutly religious, according to the faith of his fathers; though without a shade of the harshness,
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severity, or intolerance, which has been sometimes attributed to that form of Christianity. He was, indeed, one of those who made religion amiable, by showing that it is not incom- patible with every thing that can grace, or adorn, or cheer human life; and even the thoughtless and the gay, who would have heard with impatience the admonitions of a different sort of instructor, could not fail to be impressed by his.
His benevolence appeared in the whole of his demeanor to every one with whom he came in contact. I believe that nothing would have given him more pain, than the thought of having, in any degree, given pain to the feelings of another. But this, from the original bent of his nature, and the effect of confirmed habit, would have been scarcely possible. But he did not merely abstain from giving pain; it was his study to oblige and give pleasure. He raised those with whom he conversed, in their own esteem. I recollect a distinguished gentleman from another State to have said, "how I envy him the presence of mind, which never fails to prompt him how and when to do and say that which is kind and courteous." He was, in the highest sense of the word, polite. And it was no holiday suit, put on for purposes of exhibition in society. His politeness ran through the whole tenor of his deport- ment-in the intimate intercourse of his family-in his address to servants-for it was founded in his nature. No shade of any thing coarse could, at any time, be detected in his conversation or demeanor; he had the true refinement of mind, which does not admit the thought of what is debased or impure. He loved the conversation of the young, who found in him not only an instructive, but a most agreeable associate. In times, when the contests of political party had severed old friendships, and the intercourse of those who differed in opinion was distant or interrupted, no friend of his was chilled or estranged for a moment. He could not bear a good man's enmity. From the universal amenity of his manners, some may have supposed his bearing indis- criminate to all; but it was only his intimate friends who could estimate the strength, sincerity, and constancy of his
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attachments -warm and unimpaired, even to the moment of death-his zeal for their interests, his care to defend or enhance their reputation, and his watchfulness, either to render serious services, or to do that which should be grateful to their feelings.
He was, indeed,
" The kindest man, The best conditioned and unwearied spirit In doing courtesies,"
that it has been my lot to know. We may sum up his char- acter in a word, as that of a man who performed faithfully all the duties of life, who rendered kindness to all with whom he had intercourse, and who did wrong to no one.
On the 26th March, 1839, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, he closed his valuable life, in the house of his eldest son, Henry A. DeSaussure, Esq., in the city of Charleston.
To the people of Columbia, the memory of Chancellor DeSaussure should be especially dear. He came to that city in 1812, as a permanent inhabitant. His hospitable house was open to every stranger, and to every youth who was disposed to be good and great. He made society what it has since been-kind, courteous and hospitable. His exam- ple was the light of morals and piety. Everywhere, but more especially at home, he was remarkable for that kindness which spares all, and for that benevolence which blesses all.
His life was a useful, happy one. His wife, till her death, in 1822, was the sun of his house, and the light which encircled his head with the beams of gladness. His children were and are worthy of him. What more need I say? The man whom we all loved, and whom we remember now, after a lapse of twenty years, with tears of sadness, has passed from earth to brighter and better worlds on high.
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THEODORE GAILLARD.
Chancellor Gaillard was descended from the Huguenots. He was a native of St. Stephens' Parish, was educated in England, and was an eminent lawyer. Many of his argu- ments are to be found in 2d Equity Reports. He was remark- able for "thoughts which breathe and words which burn." He spoke briefly, but always to the point, and made it so clear that "he who runs might read." He was a member of the House of Representatives in '98, '99, 1800 and 1801; and was the Speaker in the two last years. He then retired from the Legislature, but was again returned as a member of the House of Representatives, in 1808, and was again elected Speaker.
By the 4th section of the act of 1808, entitled "an act for the better arrangement of the sitting of the Courts of Equity, for the establishment of Courts of Appeal for the same, and for other purposes therein mentioned, a Court of Appeals, consisting of all the Judges, was established and directed to sit in Charleston the 1st Monday in January and the 2d Monday in March in every year, and at Richland Court House on the first Tuesday next after the ending of the Common Pleas Circuits, in every spring and fall of the year. By the 10th section, two additional Judges were directed to be elected, making the full Bench of Equity Judges five.
Judges DeSaussure and Gaillard were at this time elected. The Bench then consisted of Rutledge, James, Thompson, DeSaussure and Gaillard.
I first had the honor of addressing Judge Gaillard, as a Solicitor in Equity, in February, 1815. His decree in my favor, in a case which I had much at heart, (O'Neall vs. Cothran-Speers and Waters, 4 Equity Reports, 552,) gave me a most exalted opinion of the Judge. His decrees, to be found in 3d and 4th Equity Reports, will speak for them- selves. There are many of his unpublished decrees, which,
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if they could even yet see the light, would, I am persuaded, give him a still higher fame.
In 1817, the Judges in Equity resigned to receive the benefit of the increase of salary, as I have already stated ; the result of that election re-arranged the Judges, thus-Henry W. DeSaussure, Thos. Waties, Theodore Gaillard, Waddy Thomp- son, and Win. D. James. The Court of Equity, when I first came to the Bar, had a more popular appreciation than the Law Court. After 1820, from causes which it is not here necessary to state, it began to decrease, and in December, '24, the abuses, real or imaginary, led to the breaking up of the Appeal Court in Equity, and also of the Law Court of Appeals, then called the Constitutional Court, and the estab- lishment of the separate Court of Appeals. Under that act, Judge Gaillard was transferred to the Law Court. His long absence from the law forum had very much impaired his adaptiveness to its duties. In 1826, he suffered a paralysis; but notwithstanding his distressed condition, he continued to discharge the duties of his station until the spring of '29, when he died upon his circuit. Thus fell another of South Carolina's sons, who was in every way worthy to be counted in her hour of pride as one of her jewels.
We copy an ample sketch of his usefulness from
" An Eulogium on the late Hon. Theodore Gaillard, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and formerly a Chancellor of South Carolina ; delivered, agreeably to appointment, in St. Michael's Church, May 19, 1829, by Wm. Lance, of the Charleston Bar."
" Our lamented fellow-citizen, the subject of this obituary respect, received his nativity in the parish of St. Stephen, in this District. His ancestry, both paternal and maternal, were of Huguenot origin, and of first and ancient respectability in France. Towards the close of the Revolutionary conflict, he embraced the facilities of a patrimonial independence, to pursue in England the studies which conduced to his future destinies. He became a polished scholar. He attained a perfect knowledge of the language so universal in Europe,
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and spoke it with a familiarity, elegance and purity nearly vernacular. Passing from the accomplishments of the classics and the polite literature of the academy, he approached the Common Law in her very oracular temple, the Inns of Court in London. His velocity of genius and superior rate talents soon rose above the difficulties of that arduous study, which, (to use the emphatic words of Edmund Burke) ' is one of the first and noblest of human sciences ; a science which does more to quicken and invigorate the understanding, than all the other kinds of learning put together; but it is not apt, except in persons very happily born, to open and to liberalize the mind exactly in the same proportion.' He was unques- tionably ' so happily born.' He displayed, in a remarkable degree, a combination of force and enlargement of capacity with rapidity and brilliance of conception. His mental vision soon extended from the centre to the circumference of the orb he was to revolve in. No contractedness of thought, no narrowness of scheme, no limited or confined view of the professional instruction he was acquiring, could discover an inlet for their sordid influence, into an intellect at once so elevated and so far sighted. Law he studied, not merely as a livelihood and a medium of money-getting, but as the magical and invincible dispenser under heaven of equal justice and equal rights to his fellow creatures. From her libraries and volumes, his pre-conceived sentiments and saga- cious comprehension readily amassed the knowledge which justified him in foreseeing success and eminence. The power which enabled him soon to master the great elements, could secure an easy passage to the practice of his profession. Before returning to the land of his birth, to engage in the active scenes of the world, he added to his literary and pro- fessional acquirements the improvement of travel in an European tour. He was one of the very few of those who have in our region ascended the seat of justice, who enjoyed such an advantage. Not that the survey of countries, nations and manners foreign to our own, of necessity widens the range of the mental faculties. But if there is already an expanse of intellect, enriched with the lore of learning, a keen
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and observing discernment and an intuitive insight into human nature, much valuable information may be gathered by scanning our species in various climates, under multiform governments and diversified religions. Its influence though not distinctively marked from the other qualities of great talents, yet mingles with them in pervading the spacious field of usefulness to the public. At the period of Mr. Gaillard's arrival in Carolina, her Bar could boast of some of the first and greatest lawyers in the United States. This being matter of history, I need but refer your recollection to the splendid catalogue. It was a constellation whose effulgence cannot be outshone. May congenial luminaries through all times of our liberty, reflect an equal light on the system which sur- rounds them ! To be bright among such as then adorned the profession, is no equivocal stamp of sterling celebrity. To be prominent among brilliant orators, erudite jurists, finished scholars and accomplished gentlemen, is an insurance of posthumous fame, which can never be weakened or endan- gered, while history is disinterested but in transmitting the truth, and men take a concern in what has past, as well as in the present, and in that which is to come. As a practitioner at the Bar, he was unsurpassed in uprightness, in judicious zeal, in ability in the cause of his clients ; many of whom, still spared to our society, I have heard speak of him with raptures of satisfaction. In the conduct of business, the felicity of his genius arrived at its substance, while many were toiling through its forms. He went through it with the energy, alacrity and patience appropriate to the occasion. He employed no indiscriminate machinery. In the most import- ant case, there was no parade, or hurry, none of that grovelling pomp, which is sometimes supplied as a substitute for real capacity, or resorted to as a show of occupation, or a stratagem for employment. In all matters of his professional avocation, there appeared ease and regularity, without the tedious partic- ulars of mere method. He lightened on the strong holds and ' vantage ground' of his cause, while some by slow degrees were wading through intricate and unimportant minutiæ. Though he studiously regarded the technical apparel of the
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law when interwoven with the essential merits of a case, he disdained the wiles and nets which to the ' shadow of wisdom' only are serviceable as instruments. He carried his aim upon its intrinsic worth. If he lost it, the client was always content that justice was done him by his Counsel, though he might murmur at what he conceived its denial by the occupier of its seat. The widow and the orphan always found in him the warm friend and gratuitous advocate. His lively cast of temperament and affability of manners relieved the weari- ness which must sometimes overcome the most industrious of a vocation whose responsibilities are so numerous and weighty. His pleasantry rendered the business, either of the Court or the office, easy to himself and agreeable to others. There was no assumption, or affectation, or simulation about him. To his associates at the Bar, he was unreserved, candid and explicit-neither cold nor repulsive, nor yet too compli- ant. He urged with fearless perseverance the views presented to his own judgment, without passing the boundaries of complaisance. He estimated the dignity of his post too highly to admit an identity of the Counsel with the party he represented. He scorned advantage, though he insisted on right. He considered himself not the instrument, but the protector of a litigant.
" An intellect so active, well-stored and vigorous, so com- manding and comprehensive, was not permitted to continue in one department. His political talents were of the highest order. They particularly attracted the admiration of the State at the signal revolution of 1800, which brought the Repub- licans into power. It was a crisis more than any other since the overthrow of a foreign monarchy, pregnant with the fate of substantial liberty and popular rights. To borrow the words of one of the greatest of modern orators on a different occasion, ' It was a time for a man to act in. We had powerful enemies ; but we had faithful and determined friends and a glorious cause. We had a great battle to fight, but we had the means of fighting. We did fight that day, and conquered.' That conflict, my friends, was not the every day struggle of
17
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mere competitors for office. It was not a contest waged chiefly for the selection of men, not the common rivalship for personal popularity disconnected from the comparative quali- fications and claims of the candidates, too often ' a conclusion,' (to employ an expression of Dr. Johnson) ' in which nothing is concluded.' The most virtuous patriots and consummate statesmen were arrayed in the contending ranks. It was a mighty warfare for principles involving the very 'breath of life' of the national constitution. It was a crusade against measures, a policy and a conduct which, (however righteous the motives of their projectors) the people of the United States felt unsuited to their genius, and a violence to the safe-guards of the Republic. The victory then achieved, (if I may be allowed the expression) 'saved alive the soul' of the govern- ment. 'I speak with the freedom of history, and I hope without offence.'
" It was at this triumph that the constituents of his native parish a second time selected our deceased friend their repre- sentative in the Legislature. His election as Speaker of the House, proclaimed the voice of Carolina for Mr. Jefferson ; and he was appointed an elector of that illustrious ornament of the age, whose name and fame are as imperishable as the spark of liberty is inextinguishable in the bosom of Ameri- cans. The presiding officer of a legislative body at a season of such political effervescence, must necessarily possess great talents to preserve dignity and order in their deliberations. No ordinary degree of judgment and tact is then requisite to enforce and regulate the employment of the time dedicated to the public business. It may safely be asserted that in so arduous a station, no one could have excelled him. He was never taken by surprise at the parliamentary questions arising so suddenly in debate, frequently proceeding from warmth, and made the test of relative strength, and too often handled as were the Parthian arrows, as the last expedient of those who are retreating under defeat. He resolved them without hesitation, and with reasons so lucid that all assented to the conclusion, with a conscious impartiality so evident to both sides of the House, that an appeal to themselves seemed
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almost obsolete from disuse. In such scenes and elements he shewed a genius,
-
- ' populares
Vincentem strepitus et natum rebus agendis.'
" As an orator, whether at the forum, in the Senate, or in a popular assembly, his rank was among the most eloquent. He was both persuasive and overwhelming. His style was perspicuous, easy, forcible and glowing, far removed from effeminacy or redundance, or the slightest seemingness of preparation. It was decorated by the suitable ornaments of a most finished education, and exhibited a fine and classical taste, -- acquirements which must always command a superi- ority. It was fervid, without extravagance, florid without inflation, chaste and elegant without conceit or affectation. His language, where the occasion required it, (and an exqui- site judgment could not mistake when it occurred) could rise to the loftiest elevation of eloquence ;- it was always striking and pointed, never below the dignity of the most fastidious or refined understanding. It could flow in a majestic stream, and like the Pactolus roll golden particles in its current. There was in it, too, a peculiar conciseness, energy and terseness seldom united with so much grace. There was no timidity or weakness of expression-no ambiguity or obscu- rity of phrase, no masking of the real purpose of the discourse by vague terms. His ideas seemed as rapidly communicated to his hearers, as they passed over his own creative imagina- tion. They escaped from his lips clothed in the garment exactly fitted to them, illustrating the philosophical remark of Buffon, 'Le style est l'homme meme.' The light, and fire, and vehement enthusiasm of his mind, were transfused to the sentence which was the instantaneous conductor of his thoughts to the intelligence of his audience.
"In argument and debate he was powerful. He had a penetration which could fathom the abysses and trace the most intricate windings of the human heart. No recesses or mazes were undiscoverable by his sagacity. The labyrinth of craft and artifice was as passable to his scrutiny as the
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straight road of plain dealing. He saw his way distinctly himself, and could illuminate it for others by the torch of his genius, and open it by the clue of his acute perception. In truth he was
' a great observer, and looked Quite through the deeds of men.'
He was capable too of rousing and captivating the passions, when eternal justice cried aloud for vengeance on her insult. He could then seize the citadels of the sensibilities and tender susceptibilities of our nature, and gain the trophy of pathetic ardor. This was strikingly exemplified in a very memorable case, the arraigning of the murderer of a relative. On this occasion, so awful and impressive, he poured forth the tremen- dous invective and overpowering philippic of Cicero against Catiline and Verres, and the all-subduing denunciation of Anthony over the dead body of Cæsar. Every feeling of abhorrence at the atrocious enormity of the crime, was excited in the breasts of the crowded audience, whose eyes were suffused in tears for the untimely and violent fate of the assassinated friend of the orator; and the perpetrator of the deed paid the forfeit of his life, exacted by the laws of earth and heaven, and claimed by the anguish of an agonized family, and by an offended country, through the feeling and splendid appeal of the accuser, who vindicated their wrongs and avenged the ghost of his slaughtered kinsman.
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