REV. DR. OILMAN'S 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 Ox\ THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF 
 
 JUDGE LEE. 
 
 r — ^A 
 
Glass F a 7_a_ 
 
 Book. 
 
 ,L ^ 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER ^^^ 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HONORABLE THOMAS LEE, 
 
 LATE JUDGE IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE U. STATES. 
 Pronounced in the 
 
 UNITARIAN CHURCH, CHARLESTON, S. C. 
 
 ON SUNDAY EVENING, NOV. 3, 1839. 
 
 BY SAMUEL GILMAN, D. D. 
 
 PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 Preceded by 
 A PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTION.S 
 
 ADOPTED AT A PREVIOUS MEETING OF THE CORPORATION. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQ,UEST. 
 
 CHARLESTON : 
 
 PRINTED BY BURGES & JAMES, 
 EAST-BAY STREET. 
 
 1839. 
 

 13 
 
PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Corporation of the Unitarian Church 
 of Charleston, held at the Church edifice, on Sunday, the 27th of 
 October, immediately after morning service, the following preamble 
 and resolutions were submitted by Dr. Whitridge, and unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
 The mournful occasion upon which we are assembled, is one of 
 deep and abiding interest. It has pleased Almighty God, in the 
 course of his inscrutable Providence, to remove from among us, — 
 from the scene of his earthly labors — and especially from this 
 Church, the Honorable THOMAS LEE. 
 
 In the death of Judge Lee, his immediate family and friends have 
 indeed sustained an irreparable loss — this Church a scarcely less af- 
 flictive bereavement — and the community in which we live, have 
 been called to mourn the sudden departure of a great and good 
 man — a faithful public servant, and an exemplary Christian. One 
 who, like a shock of corn fully ripe, has been gathered to his fath- 
 ers, and in peace with all the world, in the enjoyment of a pure and 
 lioly hope, has gone to his reward. 
 
 Whilst we commingle our tears and our sympathies in condolence 
 with the family of the deceased, it becomes us in paying this tribute 
 of respect to the memory of departed worth, to bow in humble sub- 
 mission to the will of Divine Providence, — and however severe the 
 blow, to acquiesce with Christian grace and fortitude in the mandate 
 of Jehovah ! and with becoming resignation, to yield a willing obe- 
 dience to the irreversible decree of Heaven ! 
 
 The happy influence exerted by Judge Lee in this society, from its 
 first formation as a Unitarian Church in 1817, to the day of his la- 
 
mented death, will be long remembered — and the loss of it will be 
 deeply felt by a mourning congregation. The benevolence of his 
 character — his mild and pacific disposition — the suavity of his man- 
 ners — and the charity of his soul, (especially towards those who dif" 
 fared from him in opinion) — genuine fruits of heartfelt piety, — ren- 
 dered him an ornament to the Church, of which he was ever a con- 
 spicuous member. 
 
 To these were superadded a quick perception — a persuasive elo- 
 quence — and a mind of superior power, which always gave him pro- 
 digious influence, whether at the Forum, in the Church, in the Halls 
 of Legislation, or upon the Bench, — and this influence was invaria- 
 bly exerted for good. 
 
 In the cause of morals and religion, as well as in jurisprudence, in 
 politics, and in the monetary affairs of a mercantile community, he 
 was ever prominent. 
 
 In the temperance reformation, he was the foremost of the most 
 zealous advocates. He eschewed ardent spirits — and was a bold, 
 uncompromising enemy of intemperance (the great scourge of ouJ" 
 land,) in all its forms. Had his life been spared a little longer, he 
 would have delivered, by appointment, lectures on this now very in- 
 teresting and important subject, in some of the upper Districts of 
 our State. 
 
 The loss of such a man, in the midst of his multifarious labors and 
 duties, one who was so highly endowed, and who was still in the en- 
 joyment of a green old age, is lamentable indeed ! Therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That we, the members of the Unitarian Church of 
 Charleston, deeply deplore the sudden demise of our late venerable, 
 highly esteemed and excellent friend. Judge Lee, to whom we were 
 attached by the strong ties of affection, and to whom we owe a 
 debt of gratitude. 
 
 Resolved, That we duly appreciate his talents and worth — and are 
 duly sensible of his many virtues and genuine piety, of his undevia- 
 ting attachment and devotion to the principles of Unitarian Chris- 
 tianity, and to the interests of this Church ; and whilst we revere 
 
liis memory, we shall ever cherish with the liveliest emotions, the 
 recollection of his virtues, and hope to profit by the purity of his 
 character, and by the brightness of his example. 
 
 Resolved, That in testimony of our admiration of the public and 
 private character — the intloxiblc integrity and moral worth of the 
 deceased, and our gratitude for the labors and duties which he so 
 faithfully performed, and the great moral influence which he so hap- 
 pily exerted, — our respected pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gilman, be reques- 
 ted to deliver an eulogium upon the character of our departed friend, 
 on Sunday Morning next, at tlie usual hour of worship, and that the 
 pews of this Church be thrown open to the public upon that occa- 
 sion. 
 
 Resolved, That whilst we participate in the general lamentation 
 of the City and State, we sincerely condole with the widow and 
 family of the deceased, in their affliction, and respectfully tender to 
 them our heartfelt sympathy, under this dispensation of Divine 
 Providence. 
 
 Resolved, That we, too sensibly, feel the great deprivation which 
 we have individually sufl^ered, and the great loss wiiich this Church 
 has sustained, and that we will wear, 7i<)t the usual badi^e of mourn- 
 ing upon the arm — but the genuine mourning of the heart, in me- 
 mory of the deceased. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this preamble and of these resolutions, 
 be transmitted to the lady and family of the deceased, and that they 
 be entered upon the pages of the Church Minute Book, by the Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 On motion. 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in 
 all the Gazettes of the city. 
 
FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 Proverbs, x — 7. 
 "The memory of the just is blessed." 
 
 Refreshing indeed is the recollection of de- 
 parted excellence. Death seems to consecrate 
 and fix an unalterable seal on the virtues which we 
 love and admire. They have now become our in- 
 violable inheritance. We know that nothing 
 henceforward can tarnish or impair them. So 
 long as we beheld these virtues connected with a 
 mortal, fallible man, we might feel a sense of their 
 precariousness and insecurity. We could not 
 predict, with certainty, their continued strength 
 and lustre. But now — they arc beyond the reach 
 of accident. Neither time, nor earth, nor change, 
 can affect them. They are as fixed as the stars 
 of heaven. They have taken their place among 
 the imperishable treasures of our souls. The 
 memory of the just is blessed. 
 
 Penetrated, no doubt, with this profound and 
 aflTecting sentiment of inspiration, you, my hear- 
 ers, have requested me to appropriate a portion 
 of the religious services of this evening, to a de- 
 lineation of the life and character of one, who has 
 long worshipped among you — whom you have 
 
8 
 
 tenderly loved and revered — and whose place in 
 this sanctuary will know him no more. 
 
 The true and proper object of eulogy, I con- 
 ceive, is neither to flatter the dead, nor gratify the 
 living. Why should we lavish praises on the un- 
 conscious dead? Far are they now beyond the 
 reach either of our applauses or reproaches. Al- 
 most equally futile is it, to trace out their biogra- 
 phies, or to dwell on their extraordinary qualities, 
 for the mere purpose of satisfying a busy curiosi- 
 ty, or to indulge the fond vanity of surviving 
 friends and admirers. No. We must not be led 
 to our interesting subject, this evening, through 
 any such man-worshipping, or man-admiring mo- 
 tives. It is not to exalt, or blazon forth, an indi- 
 vidual, that I interpret your recent resolutions and 
 request. To us, the memory of the just is blessed, 
 not because we happened to know him, and to be 
 thrown into the same limited sphere of action 
 with him — but because he himself was a noble 
 representative of what is excellent and enduring in 
 human nature. The memory of the just is bless- 
 ed, not because we can call him by name, and 
 remember the graces of his person, the energies 
 of his intellect, or the virtues of his mighty heart, 
 but because we see in him a new manifestation, 
 a glorious revelation, of the Deity — an illustra- 
 tion of the power of Christianity — an animating 
 encouragement amidst the trials and toils, the 
 
darkness, embarrassments, and contradictions of 
 life — a type of what we might, and ought, to be — 
 a specimen of what man may yet be — a blazing 
 light, to call forth, sustain, and direct, the pure 
 and undying aspirations of our souls. — Such, as 
 I apprehend, were the legitimate objects which 
 you had in view, in requesting me to present to 
 you, at this time, some fitting memorial of the 
 late Honorable Thomas Lee. 
 
 He was born in this city of Charleston, on the 
 1st of December, 17G9 : a year which happened 
 to be prolific of so many distinguished men who 
 adorned the past and present centuries. He was 
 thus near the verge of seventy years, at the time 
 of his decease, on the 28rd of the last month. 
 It may be worthy of remark, that about one year 
 ago, when he appeared to be in possession of per- 
 fect health and vigor, he calmly stated to me, in 
 confidential conversation, the very strong presen- 
 timent he felt, that he should not live much be- 
 yond the limits of three-score years and ten. I 
 state the circumstance as at least an interesting 
 coincidence, and undertake not to decide how far 
 the presentiment might have been casual, or how 
 far it was an instance of his usual practical sa- 
 gacity. 
 
 His infancy and youth were exposed to the well 
 known vicissitudes wkich marked the progress of 
 the revolutionary war, and the early struggles 
 2 
 
10 
 
 of our republic. He may be said to have been 
 born along with his country, and felt his way to- 
 gether with her, up to fame and fortune, through 
 various developments of intellectual and moral 
 character. Thus he was an American in grain ; 
 and the lover of our institutions might fairly and 
 proudly point to him, as an indigenous specimen 
 of what they were intended to produce. His 
 father, who pursued the industrious and skilful 
 occupation of watch-maker in Charleston, enter- 
 ed among the foremost into the conflicts, expo- 
 sures and sacrifices, encountered by the inhabi- 
 tants of the colonies. This gentleman must 
 have been distinguished for considerable energy 
 of mind and character, since he was for some 
 time a Commissioner in the American Army, and 
 was afterwards appointed Colonel of one of the 
 Regiments of South-Carolina. We also find his 
 name in the list of that honorable band, who, for 
 purposes of intimidation, were exiled to St. Aug- 
 ustine by the enemy when in possession of Char- 
 leston. The subject of our memoir was at this 
 period about eleven years of age. His father 
 had transported his whole rising family, for 
 safety, to Philadelphia. To what influences the 
 youthful Lee was exposed at that very obser- 
 ving and impressible age, — whether he saw any- 
 thing of the excellent society which then abound- 
 ed in Philadelphia, or was engaged in pursu- 
 
11 
 
 ing such an elementary education as the times 
 would permit, or felt the pinching grasp of priva- 
 tion and poverty, I have no materials whatever 
 to determine. 
 
 The next incident which I have hecn able to 
 trace in his juvenile biography, is his attendance 
 at the respectable classical school of Messrs. 
 Thompson & Baldwin, in this city. This must 
 have occurred not long before and after the 
 peace of 1783, when he was about thirteen years 
 old. Here it is certain, that he made sufficient 
 proficiency at least in the Latin language, to 
 serve as an auspicious foundation to his attain- 
 ments in legal science, for which it appears he had 
 an early instinctive propensity : for we find him 
 only two or three years after, at the age of fifteen 
 or sixteen, already a student in the office of an 
 eminent lawyer, who still survives at a very ad- 
 vanced and most honored decline, and who well 
 remembers his youthful pupil, as one of the most 
 promising and interesting of his time. He be- 
 longed about this period to a Moot, or Debating 
 Society, which numbered among its members the 
 flower of the city, many of whom subsequently 
 obtained hio;h distinction in the race of honorable 
 renown. It was in this society, no doubt, that 
 Judge Lee first developed and cultivated the ele- 
 ments of that fluent, persuasive, and commanding 
 eloquence, which afterwards so frequently enlist- 
 
12 
 
 ed all hearts in its favour, prompted as it ever 
 was, by a conscientious love of right, and clothed 
 in the most captivating gifts of voice, language, 
 and manner. Even in his early life, an opportu- 
 nity was not wanting for its public exercise and 
 display. The French Revolution, in its prelimi- 
 nary stages, had commanded the best sympathies 
 of the whole world ; and when intelligence in the 
 year 1789 arrived, at Charleston, of the destruc- 
 tion of that strong-hold of oppression and tyranny, 
 the Bastile, a meeting of the citizens was sum- 
 moned to express their congratulations on the 
 event. Although but in his twentieth year, young 
 Lee appeared with characteristic ardour, on this 
 congenial occasion, before his fellow-citizens, 
 and won the first leaf of that public chaplet, 
 which continued to increase and strengthen for 
 fifty years, and which was even on the point of 
 acquiring new and verdant honours, when the 
 venerable wearer was summoned, we trust, to re- 
 ceive an infinitely more precious crown, that fa- 
 deth not away. 
 
 The six or seven years which he devoted to the 
 study of the law, at a period of comparative boy- 
 hood, sufficiently evince the original decision of 
 his character, together with a deep-seated con- 
 sciousness of his appropriate destination in life. 
 Among his other accomplishments, he acquired 
 so perfect a knowledge of the French language, 
 
13 
 
 that he could, at any time afterwards, address 
 with his accustomed ease and happy effect, a body 
 of his French fellow-citizens, or examine a French 
 witness at the bar, without an interpreter. 
 
 In 1790, as soon as he arrived at age, he com- 
 menced the practice of his profession under the 
 most favorable auspices. The general difficul- 
 ties and embarrassments of the country had been 
 now surmounted ; the new government had ac- 
 quired a stability which secured universal confi- 
 dence ; commercial activity and prosperity every 
 where revived : and Charleston partook largely 
 of the happy renovation. Mr. Lee continued 
 several years in very successful practice, at the 
 same time riding an extensive circuit, in company 
 with a few ardently attached friends, some of 
 whom yet survive to bear witness to the delights 
 of a connexion, which grew stronger and dearer 
 through every subsequent and strange vicissitude, 
 preservmg even its genial fires amidst the storms 
 of party abroad, and beneath the whitening hair 
 at home, until the hand of death brought about 
 the irrevocable parting, and the warm tears of 
 long tried friendship were poured into his closing 
 grave. 
 
 In the mean time, his imposing talents and fine 
 qualities attracted the attention of his fellow- 
 citizens, who, shortly after he commenced the 
 practice of the law, elected him a member of the 
 
14 
 
 State Legislature. In this capacity he served 
 for several years, advocating, with especial enthu- 
 siasm and effect, every measure which leaned to 
 what is called the popular side. Yet I am assur- 
 ed by those, whose opportunities and penetra- 
 tion well qualify them to decide, that even in 
 times of the greatest political agitation, he never 
 was properly a party-man ; he never surrendered 
 himself as the slave of any faction — but always 
 preserved his independence untrammeled, and re- 
 frained from pushing his favorite principles to a 
 reckless extreme,* He was married in the year 
 1792, and afterwards passed a few years in the 
 country, but has generally resided in Charleston 
 with his large and interesting family, on whom he 
 conferred the most enlightened education that his 
 opportunities allowed. 
 
 In the year 1794, he was appointed, at the age 
 of twenty-five. Solicitor-general of the State, an 
 office which he discharged to universal satisfac- 
 tion for about ten years, when he was appointed 
 one of the Judges of the Court of General Ses- 
 
 * During tlie highest excitement of the recent conflict between 
 South-Carolina and the General Government, when many even of 
 the most honorable members of both the opposing parties contri- 
 buted to separate funds, for the purpose of purchasing votes. Judge 
 Lee, although surpassed by none for a deep interest in the great 
 questions at issue, nor for a readiness to incur pecuniary sacrifices 
 in the promotion of what he deemed the righteous cause, resolutely 
 refused to encourage a proceeding which he considered so unjusti- 
 fiable. 
 
15 
 
 sions and Common Pleas. This office he held 
 but a very short time, being induced to resign it 
 by some constitutional maladies, incompatible 
 with the sedentary duties which it required. He 
 was soon after appointed Comptroller -general of 
 the State, and continued to discharge that office 
 for twelve or fourteen years. Respecting his ser- 
 vices in this department of public duty, perhaps 
 no authority more satisfactory could be adduced 
 than the late Dr. Ramsay, who rendered him, 
 while living, the following testimony in his excel- 
 lent History of South-Carolina — a testimony, the 
 full truth of which I am not aware was ever in 
 the slightest degree questioned. When speaking 
 of the recovery of the State from her financial 
 embarrassments and difficulties at the commence- 
 ment of the present century, Dr. Ramsay remarks: 
 "After five years faithful service, in which Paul 
 Hamilton introduced the same order into the 
 finances of the State which had been done by his 
 illustrious namesake for the United States, he was 
 honoured by his grateful country with the highest 
 State office in his gift. Tiioii.vs Lee was ap- 
 pointed his successor, who with equal jinnness and 
 ability, prosecutes the same good work. From 
 their exertions,'''' he continues, thus evidently inclu- 
 dino; .TudjTo Lee in the same encomium with his 
 meritorious predecessor, "from their exertions, a 
 chaos of public account has been reduced to or- 
 
16 
 
 der ; energy and decision infused into every de- 
 partment of finance ; and the fiscal concerns of 
 the State, recovered from disorder, are now in a 
 flourishing and healthy condition." Dr. Ramsay 
 also remarks afterwards, that the very delicate 
 and difficult measure of adjusting the legislative 
 representation of the people to their property 
 and numbers, was effected by the preliminary exer- 
 tions of Comptroller Lee, who reduced to one 
 view the whole property of the State from nu- 
 merous and complicated returns. The legisla- 
 ture then adopted a new principle of distributing 
 the representation, introduced and ably support- 
 ed by Abraham Blanding. Thus, he concludes, 
 "a real difficulty, which threatened the peace of 
 the State, was compromised to general satisfac- 
 tion, and the reform of the fiscal department es- 
 sentially contributed to a reform of the constitu- 
 tion, and the stability of the government." 
 
 In 1817, Judge Lee was elected President of 
 the State Bank in this city, an office which he 
 faithfully and satisfactorily filled for the last 
 twenty-two years of his life. A sense of his ser- 
 vices to that institution has been publicly ex- 
 pressed by the Directors, precluding any farther 
 reference to the subject here. 
 
 In 1823, he was commissioned by President 
 Munroe, as Judge of the District Court of the 
 United States for South-Carolina District. His 
 
17 
 
 connexion with this office also ceased only with 
 his death, after a punctual and assiduous perform- 
 ance of its duties for almost seventeen years. 
 Those who were best acquainted with his merits 
 in this department, and best qualified to judge of 
 them, have in a public manner already conferred 
 on him the beautiful and comprehensive eulogy, 
 that his "decisions were characterized by a love of 
 truth, and his judgments were given in mercy; 
 that he administered justice without respect to 
 persons, and did equal right to the poor and the 
 rich." — In addition to this high testimonial, it has 
 been privately remarked by a competent observer, 
 that Judge Lee exhibited a striking flexibility of 
 talent in adapting himself immediately to the 
 forms and phraseology and spirit of his juridical 
 function, after the long disuse of legal habits to 
 which his other duties had previously subjected 
 him. Another, eminently qualified, assures me, 
 that no Judge ever sat on the bench, who was 
 more patient in listening to counsel, or more 
 candid and open to every just impression, or who 
 made up his judgments with more calm delibera- 
 tion, or who would more gracefully surrender his 
 deeply fixed opinions and prepossessions, before 
 the light of reason and argument. And if I 
 might venture, myself, another train of remark 
 on a subject so alien from my sphere, I would 
 diffidently observe, without presuming to pro- 
 3 
 
18 
 
 nounce on his legal merits either one way or ano- 
 ther, that the published decisions of Judge Lee 
 exhibited a most commendable perspicuity of 
 style ; that he did something to free the profes- 
 sion from the usual charge of being technical 
 and pedantic ; that there was a happy neatness 
 and point about his explanations and reasonings, 
 avoiding both the extremes of saying too much 
 and too little ; and that in one respect at least, he 
 followed at no large distance the steps of the 
 great legal luminary of our country and day, 
 himself so lately extinct, by popularizing and ren- 
 dering intelligible to ordinary capacities the sci- 
 ence and mysteries of the law. 
 
 While enumerating the public services of Judge 
 Lee, it will by no means be out of place to allude 
 to his exertions in the cause of the Temperance 
 Reform. The time will come, when South-Caro- 
 lina, and his whole country, will more vividly re- 
 member and recognise his merits in this depart- 
 ment of action, than even his fiscal and juridical 
 services. In fact, the Temperance Association 
 may now be regarded as one of the settled insti- 
 tutions of our country, although no legislature 
 has sanctioned it, and no political convention has 
 enforced its paramount authority. And he, who 
 takes a leading part in it, as did our deceased 
 friend, without the least tincture of fanatical ultra- 
 ism on the one hand, or of shrinking timidity and 
 
19 
 
 indecision on the other, may be as emphatically 
 pronounced a public man, as if he acted by the 
 unanimous vote of a legislature, or could show on 
 his warrant, the Great Seal of the United States. 
 For he has God for his authority — his conscience 
 for his charter, — and the advancement, good or- 
 der, and happiness, both spiritual and temporal, 
 of the community, as much his object and guide, 
 as if he were the author of a whole code of en- 
 grossed laws. It was therefore, I conceive, with 
 peculiar propriety, that in your resolutions of the 
 last Sabbath, you gave this feature of his public 
 history a prominent place. Truly, also, might 
 the Managers of the Young Men's Temperance 
 Society, while recently bewailing his decease, ob- 
 serve, that if his departure is a source of afflic- 
 tion to other associations, it is profoundly and 
 emphatically so to them. Judge Lee having been 
 identified with the rise and progress of the Tem- 
 perance movement in South-Carolina. Yes, to his 
 lasting honour be it said, that with that far-reach- 
 ing instinct of benevolence and usefulness, which 
 was one of the constituent elements of his char- 
 acter, he perceived from the very beginning, the 
 vital importance of this cause to families and to 
 states, — to fathers, mothers, children, neighbours, 
 communities and nations. It was about ten years 
 ago that he stepped fortii with a little band — long 
 before the cause began to be in any way popu- 
 
20 
 
 lar, — nay, when it was decidedly unpopular, — 
 when it was thought the most legitimate object 
 of wit, sarcasm, and reproach. All this he cheer- 
 fully and calmly bore, both from high quarters 
 and low, moving steadfastly onward to the end 
 with an unshaken and devoted faith. 
 
 The next circumstance in his history, to which 
 I shall advert, although still less of a public na- 
 ture, can yet scarcely be classed among the trans- 
 actions of his private life. 1 mean his connec- 
 tion with this Church. In the resolutions at your 
 late meeting, it was declared, with equal truth 
 and simplicity, that to Judge Lee we "owe a debt 
 of gratitude." Perhaps few among us are aware 
 of the full extent and bearing of that remark. 
 It may be known to many, that in the year 1817, 
 this Church had been long united with another 
 in the city, so as to form with it one legal corpo- 
 ration and one ecclesiastical body, even to the 
 regular interchange of pulpits every Sabbath by 
 the two acting Pastors. Few persons acquainted 
 with religious history, would antecedently pre- 
 dict that a connection like this could be indefi- 
 nitely permanent. It must have been foreseen, 
 that in the lapse of time, the harmony of the as- 
 sociation, however complete at first, would at 
 length be disturbed by personal partialities and 
 prepossessions in favour of different Pastors, or 
 by diflferences in theological opinions. Accord- 
 
21 
 
 ingly, witli the year just mentioned, the period 
 had arrived for both these causes of disturbance 
 to operate with uncontrollable power. The two 
 Churches were rent into an irreconcilable divis- 
 ion, one party embracing the ancient Calvinistic 
 creed of the Corporation, and the other adopt- 
 ing those principles of Scriptural interpretation 
 denominated Unitarian. The breach was still 
 further widened by the fact, that one of the offici- 
 ating ministers for the time being, Mr. Forster, was 
 an earnest advocate of the last mentioned system, 
 and had in a short time acquired a large number 
 of adherents, being otherwise particularly accep- 
 table as a preacher and a man. It thus became 
 a desirable object of the Calvinistic party, to ex- 
 change him for a clergyman of a different descrip- 
 tion, and secure, if possible, the continued adhe- 
 rence of both the Churches to their ancient creed. 
 At this crisis. Judge Lee was found among the 
 friends and followers of Mr, Forster, who pro- 
 posed to the other party the terms of an amicable 
 separation, and the future appropriation of each 
 Church edifice, to the use of the denominations 
 respectively. The proposition was for some tune 
 strenuously resisted. Various discussions and 
 meetings took place, at which Judge Lee was al- 
 most the only prominent advocate of the side 
 M'hich he had espoused. Single-handed, he en- 
 countered four or five very able and active oppo- 
 
22 
 
 nents, until at length both parties became convin- 
 ced that there was no kope of future harmony and 
 reconciliation, except by a voluntary and abso- 
 lute separation. Our departed friend was Chair- 
 man of the Joint Committee of Ten, who drew 
 up and reported the articles of separation. "Im- 
 pressed," say the Committee in their Report, 
 "with the solemnity and importance of the sub- 
 ject confided to them, and anxiously solicitous to 
 meet the wishes of their constituents, they fre- 
 quently and freely interchanged their sentiments, 
 and now recommend the above measures as the 
 most likely to tranquilize the Church, and unite 
 in brotherly love and affection, all its worship- 
 pers." Upon this recommendation the whole 
 body acted, and the result may be perceived in 
 the following extract from their minutes: "Charles- 
 ton, 24th June, 1817. At a Church meeting held 
 this afternoon in the Circular Church, present one 
 hundred members and supporters, on the above 
 Report from the Joint-committee being read, it 
 was unanimously agreed to adopt the same with- 
 out any alteration whatever." Thus terminated 
 this severe struggle, and they who have since en- 
 joyed the advantage of an edifice here, where they 
 could celebrate the worship of Jehovah, and ob- 
 serve the ordinances and institutions of Chris- 
 tianity, according to the principles then contend- 
 ed for, and which they have been led conscien- 
 
23 
 
 tiously to adopt, may estimate the truth and force 
 of the declaration, that we owe a debt of gratitude 
 to Judge Lee. 
 
 But this was but the beginning of our debt of 
 gratitude to him. For twenty-two years he has 
 continued one of the firmest and most efficient 
 supporters that ever blessed and upheld a Church, 
 Truly may we say, that a fair pillar has been re- 
 moved from our temple. Unstintedly and un- 
 shrinkingly did he throw his reputation, his influ- 
 ence, his exertions, his time, his voice, his good 
 wishes and his prayers into the ark where he be- 
 lieved the truth was enshrined, and the best inter- 
 ests of himself and mankind enclosed. Never 
 doubting, never desponding, always conciliatory, 
 always forbearing, he entered with zeal into ev- 
 ery project which the exigencies of the Church, 
 or the defence and maintenance of its principles 
 required. A prominent and beautiful feature of 
 his character was, to surrender peacefully and 
 gracefully to the will of the majority, in matters 
 where his conscience was not absolutely concern- 
 ed. For instance, when it was proposed several 
 years ago to procure an organ for the improve- 
 ment and assistance of the choir, his private taste 
 preferred the ancient practice of vocal music ; 
 but as soon as he learned that an organ was de- 
 sired by the congregation at large, his generous 
 subscription was immediately ready for the pur ■ 
 
24 
 
 pose. Nor did his interest in the Church rest 
 simply in externals. He was as far as any man 
 living from employing religion as an instrument 
 of policy, or for the promotion of good order in 
 society. He would have scorned so low a motive 
 for its support. His religion too was infinitely 
 removed from the mere negation, of which his 
 views are sometimes thought to consist. His 
 zeal was never inspired by the fact that he had 
 made a party-matter of the cause, and that he 
 must now support it at all hazards. He had 
 repeatedly and seriously examined his religious 
 tenets. They had entered into his heart and soul. 
 They had become a part of the very man, mould- 
 ing him to the will of an all-present God, and 
 assimilating him to his meek and spotless Re- 
 deemer. Their influence seemed almost to over- 
 come in him the few infirmities inherited from 
 our common imperfect nature, causing him to for- 
 get, like a child, the quick resentments of the mo- 
 ment, to forgive the injuries which he may have 
 incurred, to bear with peculiar and unexpected pa- 
 tience the attacks of the last oppressive disease, 
 and to encounter the approaches of death with 
 a firm, unwavering, and even triumphant faith. 
 In some published remarks which he delivered 
 a few years ago at a public meeting of the Tract 
 Society in this Church, he expressed himself in 
 the following words : — "The creed of my fathers. 
 
25 
 
 Mr. Chairman, was Trinitarian ; and I had every 
 motive to attach myself to and love that religion 
 which they professed. 1 was brought up in that 
 faith, and worshipped in it long after the period 
 of manhood. I then found its mysteries perplex- 
 ing and incomprehensible. The demands which 
 it made upon my mind to yield implicitly and 
 blindly to doctrines, as fundamental, which I could 
 not understand, led me to calm and deliberate in- 
 vestigation, which resulted in their rejection as 
 not warranted by Scripture. I considered my- 
 self, Sir, as an accountable being ; and believing 
 that it was my sacred duty to use the reasoning 
 faculties with which God has endowed me for the 
 discovery of truth, and in a more especial man- 
 ner of religious truth, I rejected the authority of 
 men and councils, and sought for light and direc- 
 tion where alone it could be found, in the records 
 of Revelation. My mind. Sir, is completely sat- 
 isfied ; and I thank God I have no longer any 
 doubts or misgivinsjs." 
 
 Such was the state of his mind and belief, yet 
 combined with the most tender regard and the 
 most entire respect for the conscientious views 
 of all other denominations, when he became in 
 the year 1824, almost sixteen years ago, a regular 
 attendant on the administration of the Lord's 
 Supper in this Church. His interest in religion 
 
26 
 
 has seemed to increase with every succeeding 
 year. Not long after the event just mentioned, 
 his eldest son, a most pious and worthy member 
 of this Church, died and was buried in the family 
 cemetery in the country. One of his surviving 
 sons informed me, that on the return of the family 
 from the interment to the mansion, his father ad- 
 dressed them all in an impressive and instructive 
 strain of remark, which he trusted they never 
 could forget. During the absence of the pastor of 
 this Church a few summers ago, our friend took the 
 lead in conducting the usual services of the con- 
 gregation, and his impressive manner in devotion 
 and reading, heightened as it was by his exemplary 
 character, will long be remembered. About a 
 year since, when it was announced that our Sun- 
 day School required a few more teachers, he was, 
 in his sixty-ninth year, among the first to offer 
 his services ; and when a sufficient supply pre- 
 vented them from being accepted, it still seemed 
 to be his pleasure to enter his pew every Sabbath 
 morning at an early hour, and listen to the les- 
 sons and hymns of the children. When, a few 
 months since, a vacancy occurred in the Deacon- 
 ship of the Church, he cheerfully accepted the 
 office, notwithstanding his advancing age, and 
 probable infirmities. To his Pastor he was ever 
 an invaluable friend, soothing his mind and sus- 
 
27 
 
 taining his labours by frequent notes and letters 
 of sympathy and kindly counsel, or by visits 
 snatched from the hours of business. 
 
 Shortly before his death, as if in near anticipa- 
 tion of the event, while standing with a dearly be- 
 loved relative in the cemetery of our Church, he 
 pointed to a spot which he had recently purcha- 
 sed, and said, "when I die, let me be laid in the 
 centre of that square. It is the next square to 
 
 my friend 's," whom he at the same time named. 
 
 "We have never quarreled in life," said he, "and 
 we shall slumber peaceably by each other's side in 
 death." 
 
 Does not this Church owe him a ^'■deht of grati- 
 tude ?" Shall not the memory of the just be 
 cherished as peculiarly blessed and precious, by 
 every heart of sensibility among us ? 
 
 I had intended to close this discourse with a 
 general summary or estimate of Judge Lee's in- 
 tellectual and moral qualities ; but the materials 
 of his biography have so swollen under my hands, 
 that I shall leave this unvarnished statement of 
 his personal history, to make its own impressions ; 
 to enforce its own conclusions, on your minds. 
 There were one or two points, however, about 
 his character, so very prominent, yet so very in- 
 
28 
 
 trinsic, that I may be permitted to dwell on my 
 subject for a few moments more. 
 
 The first was his intense and deep conscien- 
 tiousness. He had as strong a love of right and 
 abhorrence of wrong as any man who ever lived. 
 One of his most frequent inquiries was, Is such 
 a policy or course of conduct right ? He would 
 meet you in the streets with this question. He 
 would discuss it with you at home. It haunted 
 him like a messenger from Heaven. It was in- 
 deed the voice of God. Would that individual 
 and social man might more and more earnestly 
 listen to it, like our departed friend ! 
 
 The second of his characteristics which I can- 
 not help noticing, was his open-handed and over- 
 flowing benevole?ice. His life was a series of bene- 
 factions. He seemed to know no value in money, 
 but the good it might do to others. It was this 
 quality that led him many years since to adopt 
 the orphan child of a perfect stranger who died 
 by the fever of our climate, and that at a time 
 when his own numerous and increasing family 
 made no slight demand upon his means. It was 
 the same quality which prompted him to place 
 considerable sums of money on the severely cold 
 days of every winter in the hands of his pastor, 
 with a request that it might immediately be dis- 
 tributed to the suffering poor. At other times, 
 
29 
 
 he would deposit amounts of money in the same 
 hands, for any general purposes of charity what- 
 ever that might occur. And again, he would ap- 
 propriate sums in the same manner, under a feign- 
 ed hand, but which was detected to be his, by in- 
 advertent resemblances of manuscript, paper, and 
 other circumstances. Doubtless, many are equal- 
 ly acquainted with other instances of a benevo- 
 lence, which appeared thus habitual and sponta- 
 neous. 
 
 It has been said of him, that he was of an in- 
 dolent, or more properly speaking, an inactive 
 temperament, unless roused to exertion by a 
 strong sense of moral obligation. Much of this 
 infirmity is unquestionably to be ascribed to the 
 long periods of sull'eriug and disease which he 
 endured in middle life. But if he were constitu- 
 tionally inactive, it only heightens his merit, that 
 he so often and so effectually overcame the pro- 
 pensity, and was ready to act at every call, even 
 of hopeless duty. Heaven bestow on society as 
 many indolent members as it may please, like 
 .Tudge Lee ! 
 
 But at last the period drew near when he was 
 to be called to a more solemn, yet at the same 
 time a more merciful tribunal than the admiring 
 or cavilling judgments of his fellow-mortals here. 
 On the Sabbath before the last, he sent from his 
 sick chamber to ask for the prayers of his Church 
 
30 
 
 in his behalf. On the following morning, he de- 
 sired to see his Pastor, who immediately repaired 
 to his abode, and visited him every day till his de- 
 cease. He found him calm, collected, firm as ever 
 in all his religious views, though not disposed to 
 dwell on speculative points of doctrine. Re- 
 peatedly did he express his confidence in God as 
 his merciful Friend and Father. He professed to 
 receive infinite comfort from the language of 
 sympathy and prayer. When informed that his 
 numerous friends were anxious for his safety, 
 "Tell them," said he, "that I am patient; and be 
 assured, that if ever man felt humble, such is my 
 feeling now." 
 
 Judge Lee may be said to have died an enviable 
 death. The very time that has taken him away 
 was almost as felicitous as the many happy points 
 about his own character. He has died in the 
 fulness of a ripe and good reputation. He has 
 not outlived his friends and admirers. He was 
 almost borne away like Elijah in a chariot of 
 glory, — for surely the afiectionate admiration of 
 a whole community may be compared to the 
 Tishbite's ascending car. He died before the in- 
 firmities of age had dimmed his faculties, or 
 rendered it a matter of question with the succeed- 
 ing generation whether his fame were so well 
 founded as his contemporaries represent. The 
 young have known and heard him, and learned 
 
31 
 
 from him. The middle-aged have been stirred 
 by the tones of his manly and melodious voice, 
 and have been prompted to high and virtuous ac- 
 tion by his persuasion and example. The aged 
 have witnessed his long, consistent, and honora- 
 ble career. Could happier circumstances and 
 coincidences have attended his death ? Yes, one 
 thing is happier than even these. He died the 
 death of a righteous man. "Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." 
 
^' 
 
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