The unjust judge: or, The evils of intemperance on judges, lawyers, and politicians

Front matter

FROM

John Byrne & Co.

LAW BOOKS 1324 Ey« StrMt N. W.

Preface

the hands of lawyers, judges, and politicians ; their action involves the fate of this philanthropic measure; and hence, our characters are judges, members of the bar, and politicians. Even a superficial glance at the springs of society, will teach us that lawyers and politicians not only make and enforce our laws, but manufacture a public sentiment that sustains or repeals those laws at their pleasure; —

'• Unjust decrees they make, and call them ju And we submit to them — because we must."

— and, therefore, the necessity of making allies of that class of men. It would be quite as sensible to throw across a structure, wtih the view of drying up the deep, wide, and rapid current of the mighty river at the point where it mingles its waters with. and becomes lost in the ocean, instead of cutting off the numerous streams and fountains that lent it power and force, as to attempt to stay the progress of intemperance by moral suasion with the masses. THis stream of burning lava that is, as with the besom of destruction, sweeping over the land, must be cut off at its source ; and who can deny that the influence of the bar and the bench has ever been one of its main tributaries?

In the following pages we have drawn upon the bench, the bar, and the political arena, for materip

PREFACE. 7

al out of which to weave our web ; and though some passages may appear pointed and personal, we disclaim any such intention, but insist that they are leveled at the idiosyncrasy of a class, and not at individuals.

A desire to arrest the attention of the legal profession and politicians, and fix it upon the noble enterprise of staying the tide of moral death that is devastating the best interests of society, has dictated the following work. If it shall fall short of the object of our aim, we shall draw consolation from the conscious integrity of our intentions.

The Author.

Mansfield, Ohio, January 1, 1854,

Chapter I

This, above all, to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou cans't not then be false to any man.

Shalcspear.

" What is the condition of your health and spirits," said Leblond, as with a careless air, he entered the room of Judge Jones.

" My spirits are at rather alow ebb," replied the Judge. " Ihavebeenretrospecting; ay, and prospecting too, since we separated last evening. Conscience, the great regulator of human actions, always troublesome on such occasions, has been doing its work. I sought oblivion in balmy sleep, but the god of dreams refused to come to my aid, or to harken to my appeals. And to consummate my misery, I've received, this morning, an item of news from a friend and highly respectable member of the bar, in the Northern part of the State, which distresses me beyond measure." Handing the letter to Leblond, he read as follows :

" My Dear Jones : —

A rumor is afloat here I regret most profoundly. It charges you with having been under the influence of mint julips to such an extent you were incapable of giving the law correctly in charge to the jury, in the case of the State vs. Hamlin, in consequence of which, an innocent man has been convicted of murder.

Much excitement prevails. I will exert my utmost influence to allay it. Its effect upon your re-election is to be dreaded.

I am, dear sir,

Very sincerely yours,

A. P. JEWETTV^

" This Hamlin," continued Judge Jones, " was indicted on a charge of having murdered his brother. The testimony was wholly circumstantial, but tended to show that the brother, who was an inmate of the defendant's family, had been poisoned. Circumstantial testimony, when convincing and irresistible, is at all times more satisfactory than positive. While living witnesses, from interested or malicious motives, may falsify; an unbroken chain of circumstances pointing convincingly to the guilt or innocence of the defendant, may be safely relied upon in the most important criminal, as well as civil, cases ; but always dangerous when ambiguous or disconnected, and has ever been regarded by enlightened jurists, with suspicion and distrust. Bating one or two circumstances of doubtful character, there was no evidence of the defendant's guilt. Of the utter groundlessness of the charge, I entertained not even a doubt, and was two or three times, during the trial, upon the eve of requesting the Prosecutor to nolle prosequi his indictment, but permitted the case to progress until the testimony on both sides closed. While counsel were engaged in the argument of the cause to the jtiry, I was absent, intending after my return to the bench, to charge the jury that the testimony was entirely insufficient upon which to found a verdict of guilt ; and of course, upon my return, I charged the jury; but of that I have only a vague and indistinct recollection. The evidence of guilt, though slight, involved some of the most intricate and interesting questions known to medical jurisprudence, and very liable to be misunderstood by the jury, without a clear, concise, and explicit charge from the court ; yet I am unable to recall a single idea, or even a single sentence, I gave in charge to that jury. All that, however, might have been corrected had '-Richard been himself again, 5 ' before the final adjournment of the court. I could have, upon motion, granted anew trial ; but true to the instincts of insanity, I remained deaf to all intercession."

"Well, Judge, that is rather an unfortunate occurrence, and you have my prayers that it may never again happen. I suppose, during the argument of the case you were out ' liquoring up.' You must learn to touch modestly upon such occasions/"

"Oh! it is more than unfortunate," said -the Judge; "it is criminal, highly criminal! Haul dealt out the fatal drug which so tragically termi-

12 THE UNJL\ST JUDGE.

nated the life of one of the most brilliant young men in that part of the State, I could not have suffered more from conscious guilt; and as for your admonition, it does not go far enough, I ought not to have, under the circumstances; indulged at all. It is the most difficult of all undertakings for a man, already under the influence of liquor, to moderate, or to keep himself within bounds."

Leblond here interrupted the Judge, by remarking, that as to the effect it would have upon his re-election, that was all fudge — a mere chimera of Jewett's brain — but if adroitly managed, could be made to tell powerfully in his favor — would secure his election beyond the possibility of a doubt ! " Why," continued he, " rally around your standard those of all parties whose sympathies are with the hero of mint julip, and they might as well hope to pluck yonder sun from the heavens, as to attempt your defeat, under any circumstances. Their name is legion, and their influence is beyond conception."

" Though defeat," said the Judge, " from a charge so grave would necessarily involve loss of character, and my ultimate ruin, I would consider it as dust in the balance, when compared with the perpetual consciousness I shall carry with me, of having been intrusted with power and position, and that while in the exercise of that power I became recreant to the trust — lost sight of duty, and was guilty of judicial murder — worse than maliciously imbruing my hands in the blood of a fellow-being."

* The fearful pangs of the deepest remorse had seized the Judge, and was drinking up his very blood. The more he contemplated his unfaithfulness, the more criminal it appeared to him, until he knew not how to act, or what disposition to make of himself.

Jones was formed, intellectually and physically, in nature's finest mould. The son of wealthy ancestors, he had been cradled in the lap of luxury and affluence — had received a finished classical and legal education, and had but fairly entered upon the duties of the legal profession when he was called, by the almost unanimous voice of the people, to a seat upon the Supreme bench of his native State, with high hopes and a soul as pure — as spotless as the ermine that enveloped him.

Judge Jones, in company with Leblond and several other distinguished members of the bar and politicians, had, during the previous evening, been discussing law, politics, and matters and things in general, over a basket of sparkling Catawba, little dreaming of the extent of the terrible tempest that was about to pervade his soul — desolate his peace, and drive him to the verge of madness.

At the close of his interview with Leblond, Judge Jones repaired to the Court room and adjourned the Court sine die, amid the wonder and amazement of the bar, under the pretence of important domestic duties which imperiously demanded his attention at home- -ordered his carriage, and was soon on his way to the pleasant village of B. in tTie Southern part of the State, where he expected to meet a woman, u beautiful as the houris," who had " blessed him with her love and made him the father of her children.*' But, with his haggard countenance and perturbed feelings, how was he to meet the amiable partner of his weal and his woe, was a question that had not until now occurred to him. He determined to acquaint her with all the facts and circumstances connected with this most unpleasant affair, and then consoled himself with the reflection that his devoted wife, whom he regarded as the very impersonation of all that was good and lovely, would at least sympathize with him, if she did not pour balm into his wounded heart and administer to his lascerated feelings, and in the extacy of the moment he exclaimed —

"A wife ! Ah, gentle deities ! can he Who has a wife e're feel adversity ? "

But how fitful is hope, though the anchor of the soul, and without which life, from the cradle to the tomb, would be a dreary passage — a dense darkness, without a ray of light to cheer us on our dismal way. The bliss of hope is often short lived as the meteor's flash, which, when extinguished, tends to make the darkness more keenly felt. When hope ceases to illumine our path, despair occupies its place, in degree proportioned to the fervency of the former occupant.

Home gained, the horses were handed over to the servant, and the Judge entered his mansion, upon the threshhold of which he was met by his smiling and faithful wife, and two or three little prattling pledges of their love, with " pa's turn, pa's turn !" In the midst of this friendly greeting, the following lines occurred to him —

Where, for one prize, an hundred blanks there be.' J

That from which he had hoped produced torture more excrutiating than the rack. The Judge was the soul of honor, and he felt himself degraded — unworthy of such unmeasured devotion and affection.

Sink a man in his own estimation and you carry, unerringly, the fearful havoc of certain ruin into his future hopes and prospects, more effectually than if you rob him of the confidence and regard of the entire human family.

The condition of the Judge's feelings were not long unobserved by the affectionate eye of Mrs. Jones, who immediately, in the kindest and most amiable manner possible, set about ascertaining k the cause. He fully unbosomed himself to her, and she supposing, what was the fact, that it was his first flagrant departure from the path of integrity, attempted to sooth his crushed feelings as none but fond and doting wife know :

" My dear, you have your own forgiveness — you have mine. Ask and obtain God's, who giveth freely and upbraideth none, and then console yourself with the thought, that though to err is human, you are not fated to a repetition of this unfortunate and disagreeable affair. Your conduct has been exemplary, and your character unsullied from early childhood to the present. Your most inveterate foes, ever ready to lend their aid to your prejudice^ have not hitherto dared lisp a word derogatory to your moral character ; for this reason, community will be slow to give credence to any rumors that may grow out of this unhappy difficulty, and no man, whose esteem and regard are worth retaining, will attach any importance to your having this once been so foolish as to permit yourself to become intoxicated. If this is your last offence, as I know it will be, it w r ill neither impair your influence nor your standing among your political friends. May I now entertain the hope you will swear upon the altar of our affections that you will never again touch, taste, or handle, the intoxicating cup ? "

" I swear," said the Judge. " Though that may save yourself and these dear little cherubs from penury and want — from wretchedness and woe, — tell me, oh! say how am I to snatch my unfortunate victim from the ignominious scaffold? A doomed man, around whom a tender daughter's affections are convulsively bound — for whom a wife's heart is bleeding at every pore ; an innocent man — from this cruel, this undeserved fate. Will my reformation rescue this injured, this wretched man, from shame, infamy, degradation and death ? It will save those immediately dependent upon me for character and support ; but, alas ! alas ! it is impotent to save him, for whose safety and redemption, [ would separate with every dollar I have on earth — even death would be a welcome messenger, if by the sacrifice Hamlin could be restored to his rights, to safety, to his friends ; and I relieved from this bitter, biting remorse."

" Is frequent drinking a common habit among the members of the bar?" remarked Mrs. Jones. She had, in this inquiry, the two-fold object of ascertaining the extent of the temptation to which her husband (who was constantly mixing with legal gentlemen in different parts of the State,) would be submitted, and to divert his mind gradually from the contemplation of a subject which was so well calculated to destroy his peace.

" There are many exceptions, but I regret the truth compels me to admit that a very large majority of the members of the bar, everywhere, are in the habit of tippling," said the Judge.

" That is most strange and unaccountable," replied Mrs. Jones; "as I have always regarded lawyers as far-seeing and sagacfous men ; men well acquainted with the springs of human action — constantly on the look-out for breakers^ as we sometimes hear them term it — seldom allowing themselves to become entangled in the meshes of trouble of any description."

" Your views of the profession are correct," said the Judge. " The nature of their pursuits make them the kind of men you describe. It is their itinerant and social habits that make them incline to this sin, which is, in its incipient stages at least, if not through its entire course, a social vice. The younger members of the bar, more particularly, are all more or less addicted to it. Some, as age increases, drink less, jyid finally quit entirely ; while others drink more and more, until they go over the dam. The vice has made heavy drafts upon the profession. It has carried off many of its brightest ornaments."

tc 'Tis sad," said Mrs. Jones, " to see men in any condition in life, contracting habits the only tendency of which is to destroy; but to see young men, in the morning of a bright future, prostituting cultivated minds — men who are to be our future legislators, governors, Judges and high public functionaries, is a fearful spectacle ; one over which humanity drops the sympathetic tear."

"It is a most insidious vice," said the Judge. " Its footsteps are not. heard — its advance not anticipated until its victim is in its fatal coil. Lawyers are more exposed % to this vice than other men, for another reason," continued the Judge. " They have more self-reliance than others possess. This grows out of their pursuits. Their business is to manage and control, not only their own affairs, but that of others, and have more confidence in their own powers. Intimate to a young lawyer, or even an old one, that he is nearing the whirlpool; that he had better cast anchor and ascertain his latitude and longitude, and he is insulted, however remote the allusion, or delicately made. He regards it as an impeachment of his skill and ability — his feelings are wounded, and he, probably, alienated forever from a friend."

Judge Jones now arose and walked the room in silence for nearly an hour, while Mrs. Jones would occasionally attempt to break in upon his meditations by interrogatories, but he answered none, and appeared unconscious of her presence. At length he exclaimed, u In less than seventy-two hours from this time, Hamlin expiates upon the scaffold, a crime I am convinced, he did not commit. Torn from the embrace of fond and dependent friends, and launched into eternity, for aught I know, with all his sins upon his head ! Horrible ! Horrible ! ! Who is to deliver me from this excruciating remorse ?"

Mrs. Jones, in the meantime, had become exceedingly alarmed for the fate of her husband. Though she fully appreciated the strength and vigor of his intellect, yet she feared the fierce contention of conflicting emotions might drive his

mind from its balance, and possibly, permanently

2* destroy its equilibrium. Suppressing every appearance of alarm or excitement, she drew upon the fertile resources common to women of cultivated intellects, by modestly suggesting, to the Judge the propriety of seeking executive clemency in behalf of Hamlin.

A gleam of light flashed across his disturbed mind, and he cried out, c - Why did not that thought occur to me ? By heavens, he can yet be saved ! ''' Ordered his carriage, and was soon at the top of his speed, on his errand of mercy, to the seat of government,

CHAPTER II. Perseverance is a Roman virtue

That wins each god-like act, and plucks success r.ven from the spear-proof crest of rugged danger.

Havard.

On leaving Judge Jones, Leblond returned to his office. He had closed the business of a protracted and laborious term of court, in which he had won golden opinions and reaped a rich harvest in the shape of numerous and heavy retainers. After depositing his green bag, and adjusting and arranging in pidgeon-holes numerous notes, bills, papers, and briefs, he threw himself into an armed chair — his feet upon a ta,ble — lighted a cigar, -and amid

-'Thick curling clouds

Of smoke around his reeking temples" — ■

began the following soliloquy : " Well, I have done a fine business this term — have been engaged in every cause of importance tried at bar, and have succeeded, in each, beyond my most sanguine expectations. This will cause the envy of my friends as well as my enemies. Though strange, yet true, that however anxious a friend may be for the success of another, as soon as that success is attained.

he will imagine its possessor is assuming airs and manifesting a feeling of superiority that wounds his pride, and frequently transforms him from a friend, into an inveterate enemy ; but such is the human heart. I must avoid every thing that has the slightest appearance of vanity, and if I can retain my friends, I certainly care but little how much envy tortures my enemies. To succeed, and to triumph over them, is quite a harmless method of punishing them ; one to which the most rigid moralist can take no exceptions.

" If Amelia could but know how fate was smiling upon me, — ye gods ! — I guess she would regard me as more than " a poor and unlettered boy." I would have freely given one half of my fees for the term, if that lovely girl could have been present and witnessed my display and my triumph, (after several years of toil and privation) particularly in that case for breach of marriage promise. But, in the absence of that gratification, 1 must content myself with the consolation afforded from a large verdict, one half of which, in the shape of a thousand doMl lar draft, is in my breeches pocket, and I the happy owner. Had she been there, would she have turned up her pretty little probocis, as usual, and repeated, "he is a poor and unlettered boy, with a strong proclivity to dissipation ? " No, sir-ee ! She would have done no such thing. She loved me; of that I have never entertained a serious doubt. It was her austere and aristocratic father who was incapable of appreciating merit under a homely garb. The truth of this sentiment, from Cowper, ha.- probably never dawned upon his unenlightened mind :

c Xo soil like poverty for growth, divine As leanest land supplies the richest wine."

It has, doubtless, never occurred to the inflated old toad, that our higher faculties are developed and strengthened by exposure to the blasts of adversity j while the enervating effects of wealth and lux ury are often entailed upon our progeny. He can look with as much cool contempt upon the poor and humble, as if he had never himself shivered in the cold, damp shades of extreme poverty. He has forgotten that poverty nerved his arm — lent strength to his purposes, and enabled him to shake it off and acquire immense possessions. He has forgotten that he was once. among the " knights of the last," and as humble a member as could be found in a week's travel. He has, I suppose, obliterated from his memory the fact, that had he paid promptly, the pittance due his over-taxed operatives, he would not have had the means of engaging in speculations which turned him up a fortune. This aping the aristocrat is seen every day, but it always displays a great want of sense, and the thing that does it always excites more sympathy for his weakness than envy for his position.

" When I visit my father, and the home of my boyhood, having heard of my fame and distinction, she may yet encourage my aspirations. If so, the cup of my happiness will be overflowing; if not, I may have occasion to touch the dormant sensibilities of the old 6l knight of the last." He may find that he can't tread upon me with impunity, as he has done in other days.

" Now," continued Leblond, " I mustmal^e some arrangements for the coming campaign. Before I leave, I must deposite with some eight or ten grocery-keepers, in each county in the Congressional District, a sum sufficient to carry the liquor influence. That secured, defeat must necessarily stare my amiable friend, Jedediah Barber, in the face; and I shall regard my election as a fixed fact. — To-morrow evening we will have a bar supper, crack a few bottles, and make merry. I like these banquets ; they bring us Solons of the law together, where the asperities and bitter feeling engendered by acrimonious conflicts, incident to the profession, are smoothed down and varnished over. Some danger to be apprehended from the " flowing bowl," as we generally become a little mellow, but our good sense must shield us. Theologians tell us temptations strengthen virtue ; if so," continued he, " I must confess, I am unable to see the philosophy of c - lead us not into temptation,", unless they mean that temptation only strengthens virtue when successfully resisted."

Leblond was from the very vale of obscurity. — His parents in extreme indigence, were wholly unable to afford him the means of even a common English education. Necessity, therefore, compelled him to leave the parental roof at the tender age of twelve, with ardent aspirations for distinction, guided in the rugged path of life alone by his lofty intellect and intuitive sense of right and wrong. It is seldom that one so young is ambitious of future distinction. But his mother, a woman of more than ordinary intellect, fair education, and considerable reading, had taught him to read almost as soon as he could distinctly articulate words. It was her common practice to devote some three hours, out of every twenty-four, to the instruction of her son. When other duties drew unusually heavy upon her time, which was not unfrequent, she spent a portion of those hours that other mothers generally give to sleep and repose, to the moral and intellectual culture of her boy, pointing him frequently to illustrious characters living, as well as those who had left their impress upon time and gone to their reward, and would stimulate him to emulate their example. During the three years previous to his leaving home, the daily aliment of his soul was ambition.

Somewhat remote from home, he entered into the employ of one of nature's noblemen — an honest cultivator of the soil. This connection, which lasted for about the period of two years, was not without its advantages to young Leblond. Though the pecuniary emolument arising from it was scarcely sufficient to furnish him with the coarsest clothing, he was taught industry and integrity, which lie at the foundation of success in every pursuit in life.

Before leaving home, his mother had taught him to right a legible hand, and therefore required him to write her two letters per week, and embrace the first opportunity that presented, of sending them to her by private conveyance. These she would sometimes receive in packages of seven or eight at once, owing to the want of opportunity to send them at the time of writing. When they arrived, she would invariably answer them at the earliest possible moment. One of those replies was as follows :

" My Dear Sox : — Your package of letters came to hand to-day, and their perusal afforded us much pleasure ; p particularly, the one in which you mention your regular attendance upon Sabbath School and your success in memorizing scripture. The Bible is the will of heaven concerning us, and you cannot become to familiar with it. Your father and I have each earned a little money, since you left, and all that we can spare of it shall be expended in books, of my selecting, which we will send you soon.

Could you know how much we enjoy from the hope that you will constitute a firm prop, upon which we can safely lean in our declining years, you would not spend a moment in idleness, but continue to improve your mind with all the assiduity of one of whom the future will require great and noble deeds. There is a bright future before you. Prepare for it. The world will need your talents, and as soon as you are prepared to perform valuable services, you will not be permitted long to remain in obscurity. Your qualifications will soon be seen and appreciated by a discerning public, and you invited to the performance of important labor. Think of this when you are in the field, and elsewhere at your toil, and let it impel you to incessant and laborious study. You will have the same claims to be President of this republic that any other man can possess — the intellectual and moral qualities. No man, in this country, can have any claims for high and distinguished political positions, other than a peculiar fitness to fill the place and serve the people with ability.

" I have many things to write, but will only add, read — read and think, and think and observe all that is going on around you, without seeming to notice anything; and make it a rule to throw every man, woman, and child, with whom you come in contact, under contribution for knowledge, and you must necessarily become useful and distinguished. Your Mother."

At the expiration of his two years' labor upon the farm, he returned home ; and soon after, entered a small retail store, in the neighborhood of his nativity, without any definite contract for wa~ ges, relying upon the integrity of his employer and his determination to make himself useful; where he remained for the period of four years. During business hours he devoted his undivided attention to the interest of his employer, and consequently, became highly esteemed, not only by the proprietor of the establishment, but the favorite clerk of the village. His habit was, immediately after business hours closed, to retire to his private room, where he had a small but well selected library, and when his health would permit, remained there, pouring over his books until one, and occasionally, two o'clock in the morning. And thus, in the course of the four years, he acquired an accurate knowledge of English Grammar, Geography, Arithmetic, and Algebra, together with considerable knowledge of history.

At the close of his apprenticeship, with improved manners, business habits of the first order, and four hundred dollars in his pocket, he took up his line of march for college ; where, by the most rigid economy, he was enabled to remain for about three years. Leblond acquired, during the period he was in school, about the same usually accomplished by a college routine ; and at the age of twenty-one, found himself in possession of a vigorous and well disciplined intellect, but without means — indeed, in abject poverty. His education now completed to the extent of his means he determined to enterupon the study of the law, and accordingly applied to Sibley, a lawyer alike distinguished for his legal acumen and oratorical powers ; but not less distinguished for his habits of tippling.