USA > Texas > The bench and bar of Texas > Part 23
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and impending. The treasury of the State was bankrupt ; even trust funds, protected by especial guarantees of the Constitution, had been plundered. The credit of the State was deeply dishonored, and warrants on the treasury were being hawked for sale on the streets of the capital at ruin- ous discounts. All was doubt, suspense and anxiety; and Texas seemed on the verge of a convulsion, the consequence of which no one could foresee, and brave men trembled to contemplate.
" How changed the condition now ! All is bright, hopeful and cheering, Free government is established; the sov- ereign rights of the people vindicated ; public confidence restored; State credit redeemed; official accountability recognized and enforced; the country prosperous and the people contented. While much remains to be done in the solution of the great questions of race, education, mon- opoly and taxation, and many evils entailed by former maladministration, as well as those that were inevitable se- quences of the great social and political revolution through which we have passed, still remain with us ; yet the operations of our governmental system are healthy and steady, and in due time, with the lights which experience and a more inti- mate knowledge of the subjects to be dealt with, will throw upon them at each step of its progress, I have no fears that a solution of them in accordance with correct princi- ples and good government, and in the interest of humanity and progress will be evolved, and that abuses in adminis- tration and errors of legislation will be corrected and re- formed. Abuses which have taken deep root, and errors which have been sanctioned by years of acquiescence, can not be eradicated and cured in a month or a year. A State which has been rocked with the throes of revolution for twelve years, whose society, laws and institutions have been un- settled and in a great measure overturned, can not, in a short period, be adjusted in its new relations, so that its machinery of government will run smoothly, without jarring or attrition. Time is necessary after the health of the body politic is restored, to do this, to fit the parts to each other, and to adapt the whole to the new conditions of society.
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An impatient and unreasoning expectation of immediate and thorough reform in government, upon. a change in ad- ministration, after a long period of misrule and unrest, before a policy can be developed and bear its legitimate fruits, will always meet disappointment. The people of Texas have their government in their own hands, and its excellence will depend upon their wisdom.
" Looking beyond the workings of our own State govern- ment, the present prosperity and splendid future of Texas, into the broader field occupied by the National government, we find abundant evidence in the recent unprecedented up- rising of the American people, that there, too, the great work of reform has commenced, - let us hope, to be pros- ecuted until honest, economical administration, inside of the limitations of the Constitution, under just and equal laws is attained; until the machinery of the Federal gov- ernment is no longer used to stir up strife and conflict in the States, and create necessities, real or fancied, for Fed- eral intervention in affairs of purely local concern, and the moral and intellectual forces in each State are ' let alone ' to contend, without outside interference, for the mastery in directing and controlling its government ; until gunboats and battalions shall no longer, under the Federal flag, menace American cities and the lives and liberties of American citizens ; and free suffrage is not intimidated and overawed on pretexts invented and brought about by Federal agents ; until American citizens are protected in their lives and property against foreign desperadoes, robbers and thieves, and a corrupt Indian ring ceases to fatten on the blood and toil of the frontier ; until the burdens of government shall rest equally, according to wealth and population, upon every section of the Union, and capital and monopoly shall cease to be the ruling power of this government ; until rings and combinations shall no longer be permitted to plunder the treasury and manipulate the policy of the gov- ernment to their advantage, and official accountability and integrity is restored; until the farmer and producer is emancipated from thraldom to the manufacturer and capi- talist, and labor meets its legitimate reward ; until each
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State in the Union is recognized as the equal of any other State, and all share alike in the benefits of a common gov- ernment, while none shall bear more than its just share of the burdens; until the Constitution shall be the supreme law for all the States, South as well as North, for Lou- isiana and Massachusetts alike, and the national flag shall symbolize to the people of both the beneficence as well as the power and greatness of the republic, and shall equally challenge their admiration and affections; and last, and above all, until the people of the States of the South can feel, as it is the most earnest desire of their hearts to feel, that they, too, have an interest in the common government, a pride in its greatness and glory, a joy in its prosperity, a destiny wrapped in its perpetuity, and in it an inheritance for their children, rich and priceless.
" The late popular manifestations point to these as possible, even probable, results in the near future. We think we see in this great revolution in which the people have thrown down and trampled upon their former leaders, the begin- ning of a real union, a new reconstruction, not devised by crafty, heartless and corrupt politicians, in the interest of party and based on revenge and sectional hate; not written in statute or covenant, but welling up from the hearts of the people, North, East, South and West, prompted by love of country, of liberty and of free government, and by a recognition of the perils which surround them, to which they have just been awaked -a reconstruction cemented by a broad and comprehensive patriotism, including all the States with all their people, which, forgetting the past, remembers only that we are now citizens of a common country, bound in a common destiny and menaced with a common danger. Such reconstruction means peace, recu- peration, building up, fresh energy and renewed hopes of a bright future for the South, home-rule for all the States, honest constitutional government for the Union, and pros- perity and common brotherhood for the people. While standing unyielding by the principles of government we be- lieve to be correct, and maintaining inviolate the faith that is in us, we should put our feet upon every narrow and
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sectional feeling, and embrace in our efforts and aspirations the glory and advancement of the whole country."
These sentiments are peculiarly applicable to the political revolution of 1884, and seem to have been uttered with the inspirations of prophecy. The streak of light which he saw stretched along the political horizon in 1874, has spread itself over the national sky, and it is well that he occupies a position in which, as the representative of his people, he can place the seal of their devotion upon the happy sequences of the consummation. As a United States Senator he has been true and faithful to the interests of his party and his people, constant in his efforts to promote the public welfare, and able in the advocacy of the principles whose triumph has burnished the hopes and illuminated the prospects of the American Union.
His mental organization is of a high order and his pro- fessional learning is thorough. His arguments and de- cisions evince, both in exposition and research, the qualities of a profound lawyer and able judge, and are impressive of some of the most important features in Texas jurispru- dence. Among these is his decision in the case of Stroud v. Springfield, 28 Texas, 649, in which he describes the neces- sary qualities and merits of ancient deeds, and the evidence required to establish old landmarks and boundaries of sur- veys. Old deeds and field notes of surveys must be free from suspicion, must come from the proper custody, and must have been acted upon, in order to give them a genuine character and the merit of evidence. These questions are discussed with great ability, and this decision should be studied and learned by every settler and land-owner in the State.
Viewed from whatever standpoint, in every sphere of his life, as governor, judge, senator or citizen, Senator Coke is one of the most eminent of Texans. As a lawyer and statesman he has but few superiors in the country, and as a patriot, none.
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293
JAMES H. BELL.
JAMES H. BELL.
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James Hall Bell was born in the town of Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas, on the 21st of January, 1820. His father, Josiah H. Bell, was a native of Kentucky, and was one of the first of Austin's colonists. He enjoyed the highest confidence and esteem of the famous pioneer, and when Austin went to the City of Mexico in 1822 to obtain a confirmation of his empressario grant from the Mexican government, which had just thrown off the Spanish yoke, he left the affairs of the colony in the hands of Mr. Bell. During his long absence, which was constrained by the conflicting factions at the Mexican capital, the spirits of the colonists became greatly depressed, and in consequence of a general feeling of insecurity, many of them abandoned the country and returned to the States. But the devoted energy and firmness of Mr. Bell, who had also been appointed an alcalde by Governor Trespalacios, maintained the colonial organization until Austin's return, after being a year absent. He died in 1838.
James H. Bell was educated at Bardstown, Kentucky, where for several years he enjoyed excellent advantages, and on returning to Texas began the study of law in the office of William H. Jack, in Brazoria County. In 1843 he went to Cambridge University, Massachusetts, and com- pleted his education in the law department of that institution.
In 1847 he entered upon the practice of his profession in Brazoria County, and in 1852 was elected judge of the District Court. He held this position until his election to the Supreme Bench in 1859, and won the reputation of being an efficient, just and able judge. He held the office
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of associate justice of the Supreme Court until 1864, when, at the expiration of his term, he resumed his practice.
Judge Bell performed an eminent service for his people during the troubles which occurred upon the election of , Governor Coke to succeed E. J. Davis. The latter called upon General Grant for aid, and invoked the presence of Federal troops to maintain himself in the gubernatorial chair. Judge Bell proceeded immediately to Washington, and stated to the authorities the true state of affairs, and in consequence of his reputation, the influence of his per- sonal qualities, and the manifest sincerity and truth of the views he presented, the President declined to interfere.
During the last two or three years he has been engaged chiefly in mining operations in Mexico, and is at present in London for the purpose of promoting these enterprises.
As a lawyer Judge Bell is thorough and varied in his ac- complishments. He is familiar with all the principles of legal science ; and as a judge he was an excellent expositor of legal principles, quick to discover the true course of law and justice, and no less vigorous in pursuing it. These features eminently characterize his reported decisions, and their lucid determination of the questions they involve will always render them important and leading in the jurispru- dence of the State. His personal attributes are no less marked than his professional. He is kind, courteous and social ; and the same personal qualities which crowned with success his voluntary diplomacy at Washington in the in- terest of his people, assert themselves in the merited es- teem of his friends, neighbors, and fellow-citizens.
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295
A. H. WILLIE.
A. H. WILLIE.
Asa Hoxie Willie, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, is a native of Georgia, and was born in Wilkes County on the 11th day of October, 1829. His father, James Willie, was a native of Vermont, and bis mother was a daughter of Asa Hoxie, a Quaker of Barnstable, Massachusetts. After the death of his father, in 1833, his nurture and training de- volved entirely upon his mother, and his education depended upon her exertions and the prudent management of her limited means; but she was a woman of energy and deter- mination and devoted herself to the task with all the fond- ness and fidelity of maternal affection and womanly virtue. Withher his education began and she promoted it with untir- ing zeal and self-sacrificing exertion, not only in directing his intellectual development, but in cultivating the feelings, aspirations and sentiments which determined the qualities of his character. The history of distinguished men in every age of the world teems with tributes of gratitude and ven- eration to the influence and memory of noble mothers - the work accomplished by the hallowed benisons of mater- nal devotion, and Judge Willie owes his success in life to the same inspiring source.
He was educated at the academy at Washington, Georgia, and while the slender means of his mother would not permit her to give him the advantages of a collegiate course, he re- ceived the best education that an excellent high school could afford, and in 1846 removed to Texas and located in the family of his maternal uncle, Dr. Asa Hoxie, who re- sided near Independence, in Washington County. In 1847 he began the study of law in the office of his elder brother, James Willie, at Brenham, and in 1842 was admitted to the bar before he had attained the age of twenty-one years, by
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authority of a special act of the Legislature, and commenced the practice of law in copartnership with his brother.
His thorough training and energy soon asserted them- selves, he rose rapidly in his profession, and in August, 1852, was elected attorney for the Third Judicial District, which at that time comprised the counties of Washington, Burleson, Milam, Bell, MeLennon, Falls, Limestone, Free- stone, Lee, Robertson and Brazos, and at the expiration of his term resumed his general practice.
In 1857 he removed from Brenham to Austin, and per- formed the duties of Attorney-General, whilst his brother, who at that time held that office, was indexing the criminal codes and supervising their publication, a service to which he had been appointed by the Governor prior to his election. In 1858 he removed to Marshall, Texas, and formed a co- partnership with Col. Alexander Pope, his sister's husband, which continued until he was promoted to the bench.
During the political agitation, which culminated in the civil war, his sympathies were strongly enlisted on the side assumed by his native and adopted State, and when hostilities began he promptly volunteered his services, and took a position on the staff of General Gregg, with whom he served until the death of that gallant officer.
In June, 1866, he was elected associate justice of the Supreme Court. The other members of the court, elected at the same time, were George F. More, Richard Coke, George W. Smith and S. P. Donley, all of whom were removed in 1867 by the military authority, which during that year was placed in command of all the departments of the State government. Judge Willie then removed to Galveston, and formed a copartnership with Judge T. F. Crosby, and afterwards with Judge C. L. Cleveland. On the recovery of the control of the State by the people in 1872, he was elected a representative at large for Texas in the Congress of the United States, and at the expiration of his term declined a re-election, and returned to his practice. In November, 1882, he was elected chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas by the largest vote ever given to any candidate in the State.
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A. H. WILLIE.
While wearing the manners of an apparently cold and stern exterior, he is a kind-hearted, sympathetic man, and there are few men in Texas who have more devoted friends. This, together with his known ability, accounts for the hearty support which he has received for the most impor- tant positions, and the high office he now holds. He was married in 1859 to an estimable lady, Miss Bettie Johnson, of Brandon, Mississippi, a step-daughter of William C. Harper, a lawyer of that place, and has a large family of children.
With a strong mental organization, combined with great physical endurance, the former trained to the constant ten- sion of intense study, and the latter cultured by a uniform moral regimen, Judge Willie is capable of great intellectual labor, and never wearies in his search for the proper solution of every question which calls for the exercise of his judg- ment. He loves his profession with the fervor of a devotee, and has vigorously employed a remarkable energy and industry in the attainment of a mastery of the great prin- ciples of law in all their bearing. and application. He. possesses all the qualities and characteristics of an excellent judge, and his decisions are of the highest order of judicial exposition. His arguments show that he invariably mastered the elements of his cases, both as to the law and the facts which compose their merits, before he went into their trial ; and they evince another quality exemplary in the highest degree, and one which never fails in the end to win the confidence and respect of courts and juries and the highest laurels of success. He never urges a point of law which is not well taken and supported by authority and reason, and never asserts a fact that the evidence does not sustain.
These traits which gained him popularity and success at the bar, develope themselves on the bench in a sense of justice, candor and conscience, and a purely judicial treat- ment of a question, which constitute the highest qualities of a judge. As a lawyer he strikes straight and full in front at the crest of opposition, and as a judge, straight at the merits of the case. Untangling the webs of circum-
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stance, be twines the cable of truth from the pure elements of law and fact ; and while the grounds of all his opinions are clearly defined, many of them are models of logical reasoning.
His decisions are numerous, and many of them have largely shaped the present status of Texas jurisprudence. The following cases contain principles of first impression, and are selected on account of the ability of the opinions : -
G. H. & H. Railway Co. v. Allison, 59 Texas, 193- A carrier undertaking to transport goods to a certain destina- tion can not contract for a limitation of his responsibility to a portion of the route, and any deviation in the route or mode of conveyance from those specified in the agreement, made at any point during the transportation, will preclude him from the benefit of any stipulations against liability.
Schneider & Bro. v. Bray, Ib. 668 - Notwithstanding the principle that when property exempted from execution is voluntarily exchanged for a species which is not exempted, the exemption is lost, the beneficent object of the law in regard to homesteads can not thus be defeated, and one homestead may be exchanged for another and the exemption will attach to the newly acquired home.
Franco-Texas Land Co. v. Saigle, Ib. 339 - A charter granting to a corporation the right to transact business be- yond the limits of the State creating it, confers the power of performing only such acts as are usually done through directors and agents, and not the capacity to exercise cor- porate functions. Hence, persons chosen as directors at an election held beyond the limits of the State which gave it existence are not de jure officers of the corporation. Neither are they de facto officers, for that quality can be derived only from a colorable right impaired by informality or irregularity in the appointment, otherwise the bold asser- tions of a mere usurper could not be questioned.
G. H. & S. A. Railway Co. v. Temple - An employe assumes all the risks ordinarily incident to his business, and if he goes into service or continues in it knowing that the nature or instrumentalities of his labor are unsafe and dan-
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gerous, the employer is not liable for any injuries he may receive ; but if the danger from defective machinery is not apparent the master is liable.
Hildebrand v. McMahan, Ib. 450 - The constitution vests in the District Courts exclusive jurisdiction over the en- forcement of all liens created by the act of the parties, but not over those effected by operation of law and the foreclosure of which follows as a matter of right without the intervention of a verdict. Over the latter justices of the peace have concurrent power within the limits of their jurisdiction.
T. & P. Railway Co. v. McAllister, Ib. 349 - A petition to remove a cause from the District Court of a State to the Circuit Court of the United States possesses the character of a plea, and the State court has the power to determine the sufficiency of its merits and refuse it, if found inadequate and a mere pretext for delay or change of jurisdiction.
Erwin v. Blanks, 60 Texas, 583 - The conflicting clauses in the Constitution which fix the same amount as the maxi- mum of the jurisdiction of the County Court and the mini- mum of the jurisdiction of the District Court vest the two courts with concurrent jurisdiction over the common amount unless it be involved in the trial of the right of property levied on by a writ of execution, sequestration or attach- ment; in this case the jurisdiction is specially conferred upon the District Court.
Carter and Rusk v. Conner et al. Ib. 52 .- Marital rela- tions in Texas have been assimulated in many respects to ordinary partnerships, and a suit against the survivor may subject community property to the payment of community debts without making the heirs of the deceased husband, or wife, parties to the action.
Splawn v. Chew, Ib. 532 - When a person insures his life for the benefit of other persons, he has no power to as- sign the policy, or change the beneficiaries, unless he has contracted with the insurer for the reservation of that right; in that case the policy will be interpreted as other authorized contracts, and the law will respect the exercise of the reserved control.
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Ezell v. Dodson, Ib. 331 - A married woman can not by virtue of living separate and apart from her husband and his refusal to join her, bring an action to recover damages for an assault and battery committed upon her during cov- erture. The only instance in which she can maintain an action for community property without the joinder of her husband is when he has abandoned her and left her depend- ent upon that property for support.
Jones v. Jones, Ib. 455 - In Texas the District Courts can decree divorces between bona fide residents for causes aris- ing beyond the limits of the State, and it is not necessary that the acts should be alleged with the certainty of an in- dictment, notice of the charges being sufficient ; and the laws of Texas hold an imputation of unchastity to be a sufficient cruelty to justify a dissolution of the bonds of matrimony, justly considering wounds affecting the mind and character to be more intolerable than those inflicted upon the person.
McCue v. Blair, Ib. 169 - If a person whose mental fac- ulties are suspended by intoxication be induced to swallow spirituous liquors to such excess as to endanger his life, the persons taking advantage of his helpless condition and men- tal darkness and imposing the draught upon him must answer to him in damages for the injury that ensues, and to his family if his death should be the result.
Seligson & Co. v. Brown & Brown, 61 Texas, 180 - An insolvent debtor can not exchange property liable to be subjected to the payment of the claims of his creditors for that which is beyond their reach, and thus in place of cer- tainty substitute a mere chance payment depending upon his own discretion and convenience, for that would destroy all check upon fraudulent conveyances.
McKamey v. Thorp et al., Ib. 648 - When property is purchased with money belonging to the wife, and the con- veyance is not made for her use and benefit, and contains no indication of her ownership, the legal title is lodged in the community of herself and husband, but a resulting trust arises in her favor, and she is the equitable owner of the property. The registration laws which render all un-
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recorded conveyances void as against subsequent purchasers for value without notice, do not apply to resulting trusts, as this equity can not be spread upon the record, and the equity of the wife is not affected by an execution sale under a judgment against the husband, although the purchaser had no notice of the resulting trust.
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