ished. New York may thus redeem herself from the odium of suffering the Constitution and laws of the Union to be trampled under foot, and from a just responsibility to the other members of the Confederacy. She will thus vindicate herself from the bad example of having broken the compact; and other States will not, so far as her action is concerned, be released from their obligations. But, should she falter in this duty, and in redeeming her own plighted faith to the Constitution, how can she expect to preserve the Union, or, that other States, deeply concerned in the observance of her obligations, will remain with her in the Confederacy? It would be vain to expect it; and her conduct, in the case supposed, will have rendered her powerless in any attempt to coerce the association. Having broken the compact herself, and cast off her constitutional obliga tions, she will have rendered herself morally impotent to exact fidelity from others.

Any one conversant with the history of the times, and with the great issue now agitating the country, and in which the perpetuity of this Union is involved, cannot fail to have seen that the result is in the hands of the people of the Northern States. They must determine it, and the responsibility rests upon them. If they abide by the Constitution-the whole and every part of it-all will be well, If they expect the Union to be saved, and to enjoy the blessings flowing from it, short of this, they will find themselves mistaken when it is too late.

II.

[The following proceedings took place in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York, at the City of New York, on the 25th of October, 1852.]

THE DEATH OF DANIEL WEBSTER.

At the opening of the Court, Mr. J. Prescott Hall, United States District Attorney, addressed the Court (held by Judge BETTS) as follows:

May it please your Honor: Since the last adjournment of this Court, the intelligence, sad but not unexpected, has reached us, that DANIEL WEBSTER is no more. He died yesterday morning, in the full possession of all his mental powers, exhibiting in his death, as he had always exhibited in life, the entire superiority of his mind over all corporeal attributes. When we consider his greatness as a man, his public services, his glowing patriotism, his political distinction, his official station, his matchless eloquence, and, as lawyers, his professional eminence, which placed him, beyond dispute and without doubt, at the very head of the American bar, it seems fit that the occasion of his death should not be suffered by this tribunal to pass by without some special notice of the event, and some evidence to endure, upon its records, of the high consideration with which he was here regarded.

I rise not, sir, to pronounce an eulogium upon this great man. "The world knows that by heart;" and a nation's tears are at this moment poured out upon the bier where he lies in the solemnity, the repose and the majesty of his death. He died, sir, as we all could have wished him to die, when the inevitable hour should come-his profound intellect clear, serene and unclouded, triumphing over all the infirmities of physical decay, and relying upon those religious consolations which are the only solace in the dread hour of mortal dissolution.

I knew Mr. WEBSTER well. I had the honor of his acquaintance, and hope it is not too much to say, of his friendship, for more than a quarter of a century. It was his counsel and advice which led me to this great city, where I met with professional encouragement far beyond my deserts. I have seen

him under every variety of circumstances-in the secluded hours of consultation, where his client's interests seemed to absorb all his remarkable power of attention. I have seen him in the midst of his family circle, dispensing and enjoying a genial hospitality. I have partaken of his innocent and manly amusements. I have walked with him alone, at twilight, upon the shore of the (6 far-resounding sea." I have seen him in the forum and in the Senate-chamber -his gigantic intellect towering above all his compeers. And, under no circumstances nor on any occasion did I ever know him to forget his own dignity, or cease to impress, if not overwhelm, with the sense of his surpassing greatness. From his lips I have never heard an irreverent, a profane or an unseemly expression; while his playful wit, his deep philosophy, his varied acquirements and unrivalled powers of conversation are among the richest treasures of my recollection.

He has gone down to the grave full of years and full of honors. His voice will no longer be heard in the Court-room or in the halls of legislative debate; but his example still remains, and his fame, undying and wide-spread as the world, will be cherished among the chief treasures of his country. His sun is set, but it leaves behind that long and luminous track which shows what glorious orb it is that has descended beyond the horizon. The philosopher, the patriot, the "great man eloquent," has gone to "his recompense of reward," and there remains not upon the whole earth another intellect to supply his place.

I move you, sir, in consideration of our professional loss and the national bereavement, that this Court do now adjourn, and that the cause of its adjournment be entered upon its records, in perpetual remembrance of the sad

event.

Judge BETTS replied, in substance: It has not been the usage with this Court, or the Presiding Officer, on occasions like the present, to accompany the acceptance of motions of this character with extended observations on his part. I trust, however, that a long and intimate acquaintance, in professional, legislative and private life, with the eminent subject of the eulogy pronounced so feelingly and eloquently by the United States Attorney, will render it not inappropriate for me to add the expression of my deep sympathy in this great bereavement, and join my individual testimonial with that of this assemblage of the friends and associates of the deceased, to his surpassing gifts as a jurist,

statesman, orator, scholar, companion and friend. These proceedings at this place, although not within the special sphere of Mr. WEBSTER'S professional and public life, seem to be eminently appropriate, not only because this tribunal was frequently the field on which were displayed his commanding eloquence and juridical powers, but especially because his highest distinctions at the bar were those of a national lawyer and an expounder of the Constitution of the country. I accept the motion of the United States Attorney, and direct that the testimonial of this meeting to the talents and character of Mr. WEBSTER be recorded upon the minutes of the Court; and, in further respect to his memory, it is ordered that judicial business be suspended for the day, and that the Court now adjourn.

III.

[The following proceedings took place in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York, at Albany, on the 25th of October, 1852.]

THE DEATH OF DANIEL WEBSTER.

At the opening of the Court, Samuel Stevens, Esq., addressed the Court (held by Mr. Justice NELSON and Judge HALL) as follows:

May it please the Court: Since the adjournment of this Court on Saturday evening, a member of our profession, who, as a jurist, had no superior in profound wisdom, deep and varied learning, and clear, forcible and convincing eloquence, in this or any other country, and who, as a statesman, justly occupied the highest position in the councils of this nation, and the largest space in the confidence and affections of the people of the United States, has departed this life. DANIEL WEBSTER died at Marshfield, a few minutes before 3 o'clock, yesterday morning.

The present year has been singularly fraught with melancholy events both in this country and in England. Scarcely three months had elapsed since the nation was called upon to deplore and lament the death of Henry Clay. It is no injustice to others to say, that those two great men, for the last forty years, have acted the most important parts in the councils of this nation; and that, to their patri tism and their wisdom this country is deeply indebted for the stability of its Government and institutions, and for the unexampled prosperity and happiness of its people. England, too, during this year, has been called upon to mourn the loss of two of her most distinguished sons-Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington.

It is some consolation to us, while we most deeply deplore the loss of our two great statesmen and jurists, that they were called to their last rest full of years, possessing the entire confidence and deep affection of the people of the United States, and with well and faithfully-earned honors thickly clustering around them.

As an evidence of our heartfelt appreciation of the great loss which our profession and our country have sustained in the death of Mr. WEBSTER, and as a mark of our never-dying respect for his worth and memory, I move that this Court do now adjourn.

Mr. Justice NELSON responded as follows: The Court readily acquiesce in the propriety of this motion. The long and eminent life of Mr. WEBSTER in the profession, and in the public councils of the nation, well entitles his memory to this mark of respect from his professional brethren and the Court. It is not too much to say that, in our profession, which he loved, he had no superior in this or any other country.

We shall direct the adjournment of the Court, agreeably to the request of the bar, and that the proceedings be entered upon the minutes.

Judge HALL said: I am well aware that, on ordinary occasions of this character, it would be most appropriate for me to remain silent and leave to the Presiding Judge the expression of the sentiments and sympathies of the Court. But, having been so recently the personal associate and official colleague of Mr. WEBSTER, I cannot refrain from declaring my concurrence in the sentiments already expressed, as well as my deep sympathy with those who feel most keenly the afflicting dispensation which has taken from us one whose genius and intellect and eloquence and learning eminently entitled him to rank, by common consent, as the profoundest American lawyer and the ablest American statesman.

IV.

RULES.

[The following Rules have been adopted since January 29th, 1851, in the Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York.]

JANUARY 27th, 1853.

ORDERED, that all and each of the Commissioners appointed by this Court, by order or rule entered January 20th, 1851, to take affidavits in civil causes depending in the Courts of the United States, &c., be and the said Commissioners are hereby appointed and authorized to act as Commissioners, and each of them is hereby appointed and authorized to act as a Commissioner, under the provisions of the Act of Congress entitled "An Act for giving effect to certain treaty stipulations between this and foreign Governments for the apprehension and delivering up of certain offenders," approved August 12th,

MAY 7th, 1853.

ORDERED, as a standing rule of this Court, that the Clerk issue a venire to the Marshal, for a Grand Jury to be in attendance at the commencement of each regular term of this Court.

[The following Rules have been adopted since October 22d, 1850, in the Circuit Court for the Northern District of New York.]

AUGUST 15th, 1855.

ORDERED, that the Clerk of this Court be, and he is hereby vested with general power to name Commissioners, in commissions to be issued to take testimony, in like manner that the Court or a Judge thereof can now do by the 67th Equity rule prescribed by the Supreme Court of the United States.

JULY 1st, 1858.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that the rule formerly adopted by the District Court of this District, while having Circuit Court powers, and which afterwards became and was made a rule of this Court, under which the First Judge of the County Courts and the Clerks of the several Counties in this District were made or appointed Commissioners, and authorized to discharge certain duties conferred by Acts of Congress upon Commissioners appointed by the Circuit Courts of the United States, shall be and the same is hereby repealed, annulled and vacated, and that such officers and persons shall no longer be ex-officio Commissioners under the said Acts of Congress, by appointment of this Court, or of the said District Court whilst exercising the powers and authority of a Circuit Court.

[The following Rule has been adopted in the Circuit Court for the District of Connecticut.] APRIL TERM, 1857.

THE parties shall be allowed to examine their witnesses and exhibit their proofs in open Court, at the hearing of the cause, in the same manner as on the trial of actions at common law. Provision shall be made by the party or parties so examining the witnesses in Court, for taking down the testimony of such witnesses, and placing a transcript thereof on file, in all appealable causes.