USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. I > Part 31
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1816. In the summer of 1819, the Bank of the United States had fallen into extraordinary difficulties. The stockholders were summoned to meet in Philadelphia. The citizens of Charleston, and of the State generally, were deeply interested in that unfortunate institution. They wished to send the Honorable William Drayton, the Recorder of the City of Charleston and Judge of the City Court, as their proxy to that meeting. The sitting of his Court could not well be post- poned. He resigned the office. Mr. King was elected to it and held the Court. On Mr. Drayton's return home, Mr. King resigned the office, and Mr. Drayton was re-elected to it. On the 30th of November, 1829, the Centennial Anniversary of the Saint Andrew's Society of Charleston, he delivered an address for the occasion before that society. He, in that year, first visited the Valley of the French Broad, in North Carolina. To benefit the health of one of his family, he soon after built a retreat for them among the mountains, near Flat Rock, and there they have since usually spent the summer. Our State had then been for some time agitated by the doctrine of Nulli- fication, and the character of the resistance that ought to be made to the law of the United States imposing a protective tariff. From the day that the minimum principle-as for brevity it has been designated-was introduced into the revenue Acts of the Union, he has been opposed to a protective tariff; and in 1816, while in Columbia attending on the Appeal Court, he repeatedly denounced the principle. He had then been long deeply convinced that the true policy of every intelligent people was, to sell whatever they had to sell at the highest and best market, to the best bidder, and to buy at the cheapest and best market, from the lowest seller. But he was also satisfied that the United States, under the Constitution and the contem- poraneous construction of it by the generation who made it, had the legal power to pass such a law-a power which the intelligence of the age and the condition of our country forbid them to exercise. While the right, therefore, as he thought, was with the opposers of a protective tariff, the law was against them; and, while a good citizen ought to do everything legal to have an unrighteous law repealed, he was, until it was
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repealed, bound to obey it. With the conviction, therefore, that a protective tariff is impolitic and unjust he felt con- strained to act with the Union party who opposed the remedy proposed to remove it. The object of the Union party was, to unite the South in determined opposition to that tariff, with the deep conviction that their combined efforts, in strict con- formity with the Constitution, could not fail of success, and were abundantly sufficient to protect their rights; and they delegated committees to wait on the Legislatures of several of the Southern States, in the name of the Union party; and to ask these States to co-operate with them in striving to bring about the combined action of the South. The Honorable Henry Middleton and Mr. King were delegated to the Legis- lature of Tennessee, that were to sit at Nashville, in the summer of 1832. Mr. Middleton, on his way to the mountains, was taken unwell at Greenville, in our State, and sent a mes- sage saying, that he would be unable to go, and requesting Mr. King to go alone. He did go, and executed his commission. The Legislature of that State adopted a special report on it, favoring the views of the Union party. That report was immediately communicated to the Executive of our State. But her course was predetermined. Happily our distinguished statesmen, who then represented us in Congress, at an early meeting of that body, adjusted the cause of our resistance to the Tariff, and the storm that seemed gathering around us passed harmlessly away.
In 1832, Mr. King attended a rail-road meeting at Ashville, in North Carolina. A large number of influential gentlemen of that State, and of Tennessee, were present. They were unanimously in favor of a rail-road to run from the seaboard of the South, down the Valley of the French Broad to the navigable waters of the West; and they resolved to apply to the General Government for the services of an experienced engineer, to survey the course of that river, and to report on its availability for that purpose. It was made the duty of Mr. King, as chairman of the meeting, to submit that resolution to the General Government, and, after some correspondence on the subject, the request was granted. The construction of a
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rail-road, to connect her southern seaboard with the Valley of the Mississippi, had been previously agitated in the Southern, Atlantic, and several of the Western States. On the 4th of July, 1836, a general Rail-road Convention was held at Knoxville, in Tennessee, probably more numerously attended than any other similar convention ever held in the United States. The utmost enthusiasm for the undertaking prevailed. Committees to carry out the views of the meeting were appointed; charters were obtained from all the States through which the contemplated road was designed to pass; subscrip- tions to it, to a very large amount, were made ; and in January, 1837, the stockholders met at Knoxville, elected directors, and organized the company. Mr. King took a deep interest in this great undertaking, attended all the important meetings of the stockholders and directors in South and in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.
In September, 1839, they met at Ashville, and, after receiving sundry reports and electing directors for the ensuing year, they, on the 19th of that month, adjourned to meet in Columbia on the 4th of December next. The dangerous illness of the president, General Hayne, caused the utmost solicitude, and alarmed all the friends of the enterprise. On the 24th of September he died-most deeply and universally lamented. He possessed the noblest qualities. South Carolina never had a truer son, or one more devoted to her well-being and honor. On his death, the Board of Directors elected Mr. King, president, during the adjournment. With great incon- venience to himself, he entered earnestly on the duties of the office, and, at the meeting of the stockholders, laid before them a full report of the then situation of their affairs. That report recommended an application to the Legislature of South Carolina for aid to assist them through their difficulties. The recommendation was adopted. A memorial was pre- sented to the Legislature, and the aid was granted. The contemplated road to the waters of the West was then suspended, and the operations were confined within the State of South Carolina.
The professional business of Mr. King had long pressed
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heavily on him. With the increase of his family and the extension of his personal relations and interests, the claims on his attention to them had greatly increased ; and he began to contemplate the time when advancing years would compel him to lessen, and finally to relinquish, his accustomed labors. He had always intended to pay a last farewell to the land of his birth, and to visit several places in Europe. Early in 1840, he made his arrangements to carry this intention into effect. He revisited the old town of Crail, and there occupied the very room in which he was born, in the house yet owned by his cousin-german-his only relative in the old world, that bears his name. In September, he attended, in Glasgow, the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He extended his tour on the Continent of Europe, and, in the Spring of 1841, he returned home.
He did not immediately retire from the Bar. His old clients often applied to him, and to them he could not refuse his services. In 1842, the Honorable Jacob Axson, Recorder of Charleston and Judge of the City Court, from severe and continued sickness, was unable to perform the duties of the office. Late in that year, Mr. King was elected additional Recorder and Judge, and performed these duties for some time after Judge Axson's death. In March, 1844, he resigned the office. In 1843, he took a part for the defendants in the very important case of the State against the Bank of South Carolina, specially reported by the Attorney General, in obedience to the directions of the Legislature. In the State Convention that sat in Columbia, in 1852, he sat as a Delegate for the Parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael. From the Incorporation of the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees; and from 1837, when the Honorable Charles J. Colcock retired from the Presidency of the Board, he has held that office.
In 1817, Mr. King was elected a Trustee of the College of Charleston. He has since given much time and attention to that institution. He has long acted as Chairman of the Standing Committee. In 1844, in consequence of the very
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severe illness, which terminated in the death of the Rev. William T. Brantly, D. D., President of the Faculty of the College, he, at the request of the trustees, performed, for some months, the duties of the office, until the Honorable William P. Finley was elected to it. And after the death, in December, 1846, of the Honorable Henry Deas, the President of the Board of Trustees, he was elected to, and still holds, that office.
Mr. King has been twice married. He is now a widower. We had the pleasure of knowing both his wives, and we have never known a man that seemed to be happier in his domestic relations. He has, for several years, retired from the active duties of his profession; but his time is as much engaged as ever. His devotion to his studies is unabated. The claims upon him of his friends-of the educational institutions with which he is connected-of his social and family relations-of his material interests-give him enough, and more than enough, of occupation, and often compel him to leave undone what he is anxious to do. He is still deeply attached to his profession. He believes that the firmness, the intelligence, the high character of the Bar are, under Provi- dence, the surest and the best safeguard of a just and well- regulated freedom; and that all the institutions of our country will be perpetuated in health and vigor, so long as the Bar maintain their untainted integrity and honor. These institu- tions, he is assured, are the best and noblest inheritance that a citizen can leave to his posterity.
Mr. King, after his services as Assistant Recorder to Recorder Axson, during his long affliction of paralysis, has generally been known as Judge King, and as such we shall hereafter designate him. His services as Assistant Recorder were gratuitous, so that the afflicted Recorder and his family mnight receive the benefit of his salary. The same benevo- lence occurred in the case of President Brantly, of the Charles- ton College. Judge King acted as president while that great and good man was paralyzed and sinking into the arms of death, and until his successor was appointed. These are in- stances of kind benevolence, which do honor to the heart of the Judge.
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The Conversation Club, which imparts so much knowledge and interest to strangers who are invited to attend its weekly meetings, had its origin with the Judge-who has long been its president-and a few kindred spirits.
The Judge has made many interesting addresses, which are not mentioned in the preceding narrative. Among them may be mentioned his address before the Georgia Historical Society, which received mucli aud deserved praise; and his address on the culture of the olive, before the State Agricul- tural Society, at Columbia, in the year 1846. This address was one of the most interesting which we have had the pleas- ure of hearing, and has, we hope, been preserved for the benefit of many of his hearers.
The Trustees of the Charleston College, in '57, discharged a duty which they owed to Judge King's eminent services in that institution, and to his great literary attainments, by con- ferring on him the degree of L.L. D. The same distinction, at the late commencement of the University of North Caro- lina, at Chapel Hill, was conferred on him, President Bucha- nan, and the Rev. Bishop Otey, of Tennessee. If such a degree is a great honor, it certainly was a still greater one when bestowed, without solicitation, by the great institution of North Carolina, on a great occasion, and in a greatly hon- ored association. No man ever deserved such a distinction more than Judge King. For he is one of the finest scholars, and purest and best of men.
Judge King is blessed with a numerous family of sons and daughters; all of whom are remarkable for their love to him, and for one another, and for lives of usefulness in their respective spheres. He is a remarkable instance of prosperity resulting from diligence, knowledge and sobriety. The poor young man, cast, as it were, a stranger on our shores, by his indomitable energy, his literary attainments, and his profes- sional success, has become one of the wealthiest and most honored citizens of Charleston. His health, strength, and length of days, he attributes truly to his perfectly temperate habits. His wealth gives him the means of the exercise of a most generous and elegant hospitality. His fine mansion, at the corner of George and Meeting streets, is always open to
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the virtuous and good. To the Judges of South Carolina it has ever been as the residence of a brother, to which they have always been welcome. His intimacy with the Judges DeSaussure, Waties, Nott, Cheves, Huger, Johnson, Harper, Evans and O'Neall, has always been to him and them a source of pleasure.
Judge King's consistency as a politician has been, in our constantly changing creeds, remarkable; he has always stood by the Constitution and the Union; and long may he enjoy the great blessings of both.
As a lawyer, he occupied the first rank among the eminent members of the Charleston Bar. His arguments, both in law and equity, were remarkable for their learning and applica- tion. He was always listened to, by the Bench, with the most respectful attention ; for they knew that truth was his object, and that he would lay before them the offerings of learning, research and wisdom.
As a Judge, he met the responsibilities and the vexatious litigation of the City Court with a clear head, a just purpose, and an honest heart. His services, then, "without money and without price," could not be too highly appreciated.
Judge King is one of nature's noblemen : kind in all his relations, just in his intercourse with his fellow-men, and offering up daily to his Saviour the sacrifice of "a broken and contrite heart," he stands now on the verge of time, to be venerated, admired and loved by his family, his friends, and all who may have the privilege to see him.
The following letter, written by Judge King, at the request of his friend, Judge David Johnson, to his son, David Johnson, Jr., advising the course of study which might be profitable to his future profession, is appended, as containing matter which is eminently useful and valuable to young men who are seek- ing to be lawyers:
"Charleston, August 1st, 1836.
DAVID JOHNSON, Jr. Esq. :
My Dear Sir-From the time that I promised my much valued friend, your father, to submit to you my views of the course of study which you might find it advantageous to
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pursue, with a view to your future profession, I have been anxious to redeem that promise; I have repeatedly deter- mined to delay it no longer, and yet one thing has occurred after another to prevent me from fulfilling my determination, until I have been much disappointed and mortified by the procrastination. I have at last taken up my pen, resolved that I shall not postpone it one other day, though I may feel myself compelled to make it briefer, and less satisfactory to myself, than I intended or anticipated.
Your plan of remaining in college and pursuing your gen- eral studies, after you have taken your degree of A. B., is in the highest degree judicious, and is a good augury of your future success. When young men usually graduate, they generally are just beginning to know the full value of the advantages which they have at college, and to profit by them. If they enter immediately on the study of a profession with the preparation merely, which the usual college course gives them, I will not say that they will profit little from it, but, assuredly, their professional studies will be very apt, in a short time, greatly to impair their proficiency in their general stu- dies, when, if they had, for some time longer, given their maturing mind to them, they might have made such progress in them, and fixed them so firmly in their memory, that their command over them would probably last through life. There is scarcely any part of a liberal education which is not valua- ble to one destined to the Bar. But the languages, and moral and intellectual science, claim a decided superiority, and to them ought his attention to be mainly devoted. Under the head of the languages, I include both the ancient and the modern; and in moral and intellectual science, I embrace political, moral and intellectual philosophy, logic, rhetoric, history, poetry, criticism and general literature. On these I shall offer you a few remarks. After all that has been writ- ten and said on the subject, I am deeply persuaded that there is no better exercise for the young mind than the study of the ancient languages. This is not the place to discuss the sub- ject. It has never, to my knowledge, been discussed as it deserves to be. Experience seems most decidedly in its favor- no doubt, some men have become eminent without it-per-
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haps, because they were without it. Decipit examplar vilibus imitabile. How many have risen to distinction by it, who, without it, never would have been known. To a lawyer, a knowledge of Latin, at least, seems indispensable. It contains the vocabulary of his science-and without it the names of his tools-of much of his necessary language, would be little better than jargon-signs without the slightest traceable con- nection with the thing signified. I would, therefore, recom- mend a diligent and continued cultivation of Latin. To pre- tend to point out to you the best authors, or the way in which you may study them, or the language merely as a language, I presume, is wholly unnecessary. The Greek-that nobles t and richest of languages-is not so necessary for a lawyer ; still he ought never to lose so much of it as he brings with him from college. To strive for more, would probably cost him more than the acquisition, if made, would be worth ; and it would, assuredly, require much of his time-more than his other indispensable studies would allow him to give to it. But he may very well retain what he has got. Let him, every Sabbath, make it a point to read a few chapters in the Greek Testament, or Xenophon's Memorabilia, and make sure that he understands thoroughly every word he does read; at the end of twenty years he will probably find that he has lost little or no Greek that he ever knew. He will have little time to give to the modern languages. German is now, per- haps, next to English, or even before it-a key to the greatest number of profound original works. But I am assured that, to understand it thoroughly, requires as much time as to mas- ter the Greek ; and no lawyer can afford to give that time to it. While, therefore, I should think the acquisition of it valuable, I should dissuade a student of law from endeavor- ing to make it. On the contrary, I should recommend to him the study of the French language. With the knowledge which you already have of Latin, you could very easily-I should say, in a very few months-so far master the French as at least to read it with great facility-very many of our legal phrases are borrowed from it. Littleton and the Year Books, and our old reporters, are written in the Norman dialect of
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the language; and, however well they may be translated, an inquiring mind is always anxious to consult the original. Some of the very best writers too, on departments of the law, to which, especially in commercial questions, we have con- stant reference, are in Frenchi. Independently of Domat, of which we have a good translation, there are many important- highly important works-which have never been translated, and of which no lawyer in this country ought to be ignorant. We have only a translation of Pothier's Treatise on Obliga- tions, and that, to my knowledge, is not, in every instance, accurate. He has left many other invaluable productions. D'Aguesseau, Emerigon and Valin, are without rivals in our language. Unless you have a special taste for the learning of languages, I would recommend you to confine your attention, as to the modern languages, to the acquisition of the French. The Spanish possesses much more power, and majesty, and harmony, and is, in every respect, a richer and nobler lan- guage ; but offers little or no advantages to the legal student that would repay him for the time which he would have to give to it. On the whole, if the lawyer is a good Latin and French scholar, he will seldom have reason to regret his want of knowledge of the other languages.
Lord Bolingbroke somewhere says, that metaphysics and history are the two mountains which the student must climb before he can have a commanding view of the mighty ocean of the law. There is much truth in the observation. No man who is not an expert metaphysician, or who has not a mind naturally well adapted for metaphysics, will ever be a distinguished lawyer. It is emphatically a science of dis- tinctions, and he who sees most readily and clearly the differ- ences in things and circumstances, is best fitted for it. The ignorant may talk of splitting hairs, and sneer at distinctions without a difference, but it is because they know no better. This subtlety is not inconsistent with the most vigorous and comprehensive grasp of mind-nay, is most frequently united to it-and is itself one of the strongest evidences of that very vigor and comprehensiveness. You have already, I presume, studied Locke, and after all the labors of the Scottish school
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of metaphysics-and it has done much-we have nothing that I know in the language that can supply his place. Hume, with all his skepticism, well merits a critical perusal. Brown's works on this subject are, perhaps, the fullest in our language-and they are valuable as coming, I may say, last. He has reviewed and freely criticised the labors of his prede- cessors. He is exceedingly arrogant and conceited, and haz- ards opinions which will not bear the test of severe scrutiny. But a careful reading of it, comparing his views of the opin- ions of other philosophers with these opinions themselves, as stated in the original works, will richly reward the student. It may seem strange, but it is no less true than strange, that I do not think we have a complete treatise of practical morality in our language, which I can unhesitatingly recommend to you. Paley, though perhaps the best, is very defective. The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, by Dr. Adam Ferguson, will supply many of his deficiencies, and is, by some, thought a better work. On the philosophy of morals, the very best book, with all its defects in our language, is, in my opinion, the Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith. No book not professional, is more important to be thoroughly understood by the young lawyer ; and he will find very few better models of style, or of an eloquence well suited to the Bar. I would say to you of it, ' Hunc nocturna versate manu versate diurna'-make yourself master of its principles. You will find it a beautiful specimen of logic as well as of philoso- phy. In political science, you will, of course, read his Wealth of Nations : you will find much assistance from the notes of McCulloch; and, if you can find time, I would follow it by Ricardo and Malthus, and say, perhaps, the very best epitome of political economy which we have in our language, is the one compiled by Dr. Cooper : it contains more of the theory, combined with the facts and results, than you will find any where else in the same space. Connected with this subject are two works, which I very strenuously recommend to you- Dugald Stewart's Dissertation on the Progress of Metaphysi- cal and Ethical and Political Philosophy, and McIntosh's Progress of Ethical Philosophy. They are inestimable pro-
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ductions. The former has not received the approbation it richly merits. Few books are better calculated to set the mind a thinking; and that, after all, is the best characteristic of a good book. The latter has received its full share of not undeserved praise. Both are written in an admirable spirit- mild, impartial, fearless, full of information not hackneyed- full of wisdom without ostentation. They are two of the brightest gems in the crown of modern philosophy, and will, I do not hesitate to predict, shine with undiminished lustre when much of the paste of this age will be thrown away and forgotten. Logic and metaphysics are so intimately con- nected, that while you are studying the one you necessarily attend to the other ; so that I consider them as actually blended. It is the substance, and not the mere form of logic, that is of any real benefit. It is well enough to know the names of our tools : it is far more valuable to know how to handle them. The Institutes of Quintilian, and the Rhetoric of Campbell, are books that will well reward you for the time that you may bestow on them; and I would recommend them to you. Karnes on Criticism, and Blair's Lectures, are both good books ; but you will scarcely have time for them. Karnes is a far better thinker than Blair. His book has more originality. Blair has a good taste, so far as the capacity of his mind ex- tends ; but it could not rise to the comprehension of Milton, or the power to estimate his rank as a poet.
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