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HELIOGBAPHIC EKGK<^ &-.PRJNT9 C0.135 W.aS'ST,

THE
PROCEEDIIGS AND SPEECHES

AT THE

PUBLIC DINNER

GIVEN TO

JAMES W. GERARD ESQ.,

BAR OF NEW YORK.

JANUARY 14, 1869.

ON HIS RETIRING FROM PRACTICE.

NEW YORK:
PRESS OP DOUGLAS TAYLOR, LAW, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER,
Commercial Printing House, cor. Nassau and Fnlton Sts.
186 9.

(i\ y^- "^1=1

LETTER OF INVITATION.

New York, November 20, 1868.

Jambs W. Gerard, Esq.

Dear Sir ; — It is with deep regret that your professional brethren
of this City have learned that you are about to retire from the Bar,
of which you have so long been an acknowledged leader and
ornament. They are unwilling that a relation so pleasant and profitable to
them should be severed without an opportunity to manifest in a pub
lic manner then- high appreciation of your worth, both as a Lawyer
and Citizen.
We beg therefore that you Will name an early day when you will
meet the Bar of New York, at a dinner to commemorate yom' retire
ment from professional life. Your Obedient Servants,

James T. Brady,
William Fullerton,
Clarkson N. Potter,
Edwin W. Stonghton,
Henry E. Davies,
Aaron J. Vanderpoel,
William Fullerton,
Charles O'Conor,
Henry Hilton,
John E. Burrill,
John W. Edmunds,
Hamilton W. Robinson,
Luther E. Marsh,
John E. Pai-sons,
ElbridgeT. Gerry,
William Allen Butler,
Stephen P. Nash,
Clarence A. Seward,
Nathaniel Jarvis, jun.
Edward H. Owen,
Charles D. Bnrrill,
E. Delafield Smith,

Benjamin F. Dunning,
Richard H. Bowne,
Isaac P. Martin,
William C. Wetmore,
Augustus F. Smith,
Marshall S. Bidwell,
Dudley Field,
Charles E. Butler,
Edgar S. Van Winkle,
John Slosson,
Augustus L. Brown,
James Moncrief,
James Thomson,
Joseph S. Bosworth,
Francis F. Marbury,
.Tohn N. Whiting,
Charles A. Rapallo,
Henry A. Cram,
Ashbel Green,
Chester A. Arthm-,
J. P. Giraud Foster,
George R. J. Bowdoin,

A. Oakey Hall,
Henry E. Knox,
Andrew Boardmau,
Enoch L. Fancher,
William E. Curtis,
Daniel D. Lord,
John W. Hamersley,
Charles Tracy,
Joshua M. Van Cott,
Henry Nicoll,
Dorman B. Eaton,
John K. Porter,
Samuel G. Courtney,
Frederick A. Lane,
John Adriauce,
George F. Betts,
James Emott,
Charles P. Kirkland,
Stephen Cambrgling,
David Dudley Field,
James J. Roosevelt,
Charles A. Peabody,

New Toek, December 3,
Messrs. E. W. Stoughton,
" Aaron J. Vanderpoel,
" Charles O'Conoe,
" James T. Brady,
And others, Members of the New York Bar.
Gentlemen : — I have received your very kind and gratifying invi
tation to a dinner, proposed to be given to me by the Bar of New
York, on my rethement from practice.
Never having held any judicial or other public position, this act of
kindness and friendship is doubly gratifying as a free offering by the
rank and file of the Bar to one of then- own number, and as such, I
esteem it as the compliment of my life.
I do not feel at liberty to decline this kind testimonial of the con
sideration of my legal brethren, and would suggest the fourteenth
January next, if agreeable to you.
I am, with great regard,
Your Friend,
JAMES W. GERARD.

(ffitfmwitte* on ^^mxUtxmg,
CHARLES O'CONOR. , CHARLES TRACY.
DAVID DUDLEY FIELD. MARSHALL S. BIDWELL.
EDWIN W STOUGHTON. WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

(Howmittee on ©oasitsi.
JAMES T. BRADY. WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER.
LUTHER R. MARSH. JOSEPH H. CHOATE.
HENRY A. CRAM.

(Bumtivc (HammitUt.
CLARENCE A, SEWARD. WILLIAM FULLERTON.
JOHN E. BURRILL. DUDLEY FIELD.
STEPHEN P. NASH. CHESTER A. ARTHUR.
AARON J. VANDERPOEL.

BANQUET TO JAMES ¥. GERARD.

SPEECHES BY FRANCIS B. CUTTING, JAMES W. GERARD,
JUDGE BLATCHFORD, DAVID PAUL BROWN, or
Philadelphia, DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, LUTHER R.
MARSH, JAMES T. BRADY, and others.
The complimentary banquet tendered by the bar of the City of New
York to James W. Gerard, Esq., on his rethement from practice,
came off last night at Delmonico's and was in every respect a very
handsome testimonial to a professional gentleman worthy of this mark
of respect and esteem. Almost every notability in city professional
life was present, together with many judges and ex-judges, as well as
eminent visitors from sister cities.
The banquetting room and tables were decorated with Delmonico's
usual good taste, and the carte included viands of the most exquisite
qualities. Among the Pieces Montees with which the table was orna
mented were some that were comically appropriate to the occasion — as
"The Torment of Tantalus," which would be suggestive of the agonies
of many a client suffering from the "laws delay," and "Moses and his
code," in frosted sugar ! The wines were, as usual, of the rarest
quaUty. Grace before dinner was said by the Rev. Dr. Washburne, and after
dinner by the Rev. Dr. Warren.
The chah- was taken by the Hon. Francis B. Cutting, and on his
right was the guest of the evening, James W. Gerard, Chancellor Za-
briskie, of New Jersey ; Rev. Dr. Gurney, David Paul Brown, of

8
Philadelphia; Judges Barbour and Sutherland, Frederick A. Tal-
madge, ex-Judge Henry E. Davies, Judges Daly and Brady, John A.
Stewart, President of the United States Trust Company. On the left
of the chairman were Rev. Edward A. Washbm-ne, D.D. ; Judges
Blatohford and Benedict, of the United States District Court ; Rev.
Dr. Alexander McCosh, President of Princeton College, New Jersey ;
William B. Astor, Judges Ingraham, Barrett, Bedford, Jones, and
Monell, and ex-Judges J. J. Roosevelt, Slosson, and Bosworth.
Among the other prominent gentlemen present were Chai'les O'Conor,
Samuel J. Tilden, Edward W. Stoughton, ex-Judge Whiting, R.
Ogden Doremus, David Dudley Field, S. L. M. Barlow, William Ful
lerton, John Brougham, Charles A. Rapallo, Luther R. Marsh,
Charles P. Kirkland, John McKeon, A. J. Vandei-poel, James T.
Brady, Augustus Schell, and Edgar Ketchum.
Rev. Dr. Warren said grace after the entertainment, and then the
following letters, among others received by the committee, were read :

letter prom governor hoppman.
State op New York, Executive Department, 1
Albany. January 5. J
Messrs. E. W. Stovghtmi, David Dudley Field and others, Oommittee, Se. :
Gentlemen : — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of yom- kind invita
tion, asking me to be present at a complimentary dinner, to be given
by the legal profession of New York, to Mi-. James W. Gerard, on his
retirement from professional life.
Mr. Gerard's long and honorable service at the bar ; his eminent
abilities, and the genial warmth which has characterized his intercourse
with his legal brethren, have united to win for him a reputation so
pure and high that I should very much delight to join in the compli
ment which it is proposed to pay him on the 14th instant. But the
pressure of official business compels me, reluctantly, to forego this
pleasure.

You will please convey to those who meet on the occasion of the
dinner my best wishes, and you and they, I am sm-e, will join with me
in the hope that Mr. Gerard may live long to enjoy that repose which,
by many years of studious labor, he has abundantly earned.
Vei-y truly yours,
JOHN T. HOFFMAN.

letter prom judge la thobe.
Baltimoke, January 7, 1869.
Gentlemen: — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
2d instant, inviting me to meet Mr. James W. Gerard at a dinner, to
be given to him on the 14th, by his legal brethren of New York on his
rethement from professional life. Nothing but the absolute pressm-e
of engagements that I cannot control prevents my accepting an invita
tion that would permit me to unite personally in doing honor to a
gentleman as distinguished as Mr. Gerard, socially and professionally.
As a lawyer he has long been known to me, and the mention of his
name always revives the recollection of once meeting him among
friends, when wit not barbed with bitterness, good feeling which was
contagious, gi-eat general information, and rare conversational powers,
while they rejoiced all around him, gave assiu-ance that whenever he
left the Bar, the compliment which it is now proposed to pay would be
eminently deserved, not only on account of his professional standing,
but by reason of his social qualities.
Regretting that absence at our Court of Appeals delayed the receipt
of yom- letter until this morning, and most especially that on this
occasion inclination has to yield to duty, I beg you to believe me,
Very respectfully yom-s,
JOHN H. B. LA TROBE.
Messrs. E. W. Stoughton and others, Committee, &c.
2

10

letter from chief-justice hunt. Albany, January 7.
Gentlemen : — My duties at this place will prevent my acceptance of
your invitation to attend the dinner to Mr. Gerard on the 14th instant.
I should be most happy to unite in any proceedings intended to do
him honor. He has now become a veteran in the legal profession, and
during his long career as an attorney and counsellor he has always
been regarded as a gentleman of learning, of high intellectual capacity,
and of unsuspected integi-ity. Upon leaving the profession, he is well
entitled to the honor you propose to do him.
I am, very respectfully,
WARD HUNT.
E. W. Stoughton and others. Committee, &c.

letter of attorney-general evarts.

Attorney-General's Office,

Washington, January 9, 1869.

I

Gentlemen : — I had the honor to receive some days ago your kind
invitation to the complimentary dinner which the Bar of New York
are to give, on the 14th instant, to Mr. Gerard, upon his retu-ement
from the profession of which he has been so long a distinguished
leader. Although I have felt much anxiety lest the pressm-e of ofiicial and
professional duties, dm-ing the session of the Supreme Court, might
deprive me of the pleasm-e of bearing a share in this exhibition of our
affection and respect for our friend and brother, yet, until to-day, I
have not given up the hope that I would be able to be with you. I
regret to say that I now find it wiU be impossible.
From the date of my first knowledge of the Bar of New York
untU now, Mr. Gerard has been among its most honored and most
eminent leaders. His genial disposition and lively humor, his absolute
integrity and sensitive honor, his talents, zeal, energy and great capa-

11
city for labor, his diversified employment in the com-ts, and his
manifold successes, have, altogether, made up for him a professional
and personal reputation with his brethren of the Bar and in the esti
mation of the public, which can scarcely be matched in the Ulustrious
roll of our lawyers. We all owe him our good will, om- homage, our
applause, and none more than I,
With my best wishes for the prosperity of your feast, and with no
little chagrin that untoward circumstances prevent me from sharing it,
I am, gentlemen, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
WILLIAM M. EVARTS.
To E. W. Stoughton, and others. Committee, &o.

risTTER FROM JUSTICE NELSON, OF THE SUPREME COURT U. S.
Washington, January 11, 1869.
To B. W. Stoughton and others, Committee, &c.
Gentlemen : — I have received yom- invitation to the complimentary
dinner to be given by the Bar to Mr. Gerard on his retu-ement from
the active duties of the profession. Were it practicable, I would at
tend with pleasure this well-merited honor awarded him by his,profes-
sional brethren. I have known Mr. Gerard in the profession since
May, 1831, and from that time down to the present, he has practised
before me, or before courts of which I was a member, both State and
Federal, and in every instance, he is entitled to the praise of having
thoroughly studied his case, collected the authorities, and argued it
with clearness and ability. As a consequence of his thorough prepar
ation, he always knew the controlling points involved, and these he
discussed with learning, and skill, and stopped when he got thi-ough.
(Applause.) He had great tact and resources in the trial of causes
before a jury, into which his preparation beforehand was carried, as in
cases in bank. I remember a case before me and a jm-y, involving

12
the issue whether his client was entitled to a certificate of discharge
under the Bankruptcy Act of 1841. His adversary in summing up to
the jury, had wearied them, as was apparent, by a long and tedious
review of the evidence ; when he sat down, it was late in the
afternoon. Mr. Gerard rose to reply, took out his watch, laid it on
the table before the jury, and announced to them that he would
occupy but ten minutes of their time. This he was enabled to do
from his thorough knowledge of the case, and that he had the right of
it; he obtained a verdict fi-om the jm-y in less time than he had de
tained them in summing up. (Applause and laughter.)
He has our heai-ty wishes in his retirement ; that he may live long
to enjoy the weU-earned honors he has acquhed by a life devoted to a
profession of which we are justly proud.
Respectfiilly yours,
S. NELSON.

TO-A.STS

1. « Our Guest."
2. "The Bench."

JAMES W. GERARD.

Hon. SAMUEL BLATCHFORD.
3. " The Bai- of oui- Sister States."
DAVID PAUL BROWN.
4. " The Contemporaries of our Guest."
DAVID DUDLEY FIELD.
5. "The Junior Bar."
LUTHER R. MARSH.
6. "Om- Fraternal Union."
JAMES T. BRADY.
7. " The Kindi-ed Professions.''
Rev. ALEXANDER McCOSH, D. D.
Prof R. OGDEN DOREMUS.
Rev. EDWARD A. WASHBURNE, D.D.

13
The proceedings and speeches are taken from the reports in the
World and JVew York Herald of the next day, but the reports being
necessarily condensed and in many particulars erroneous from the
short time allotted to the reporters before their papers went to press
in the morning, they have been revised and corrected.

speech of MR. cutting.
The Chairman then said : Gentlemen : The very agreeable privi
lege has been conferred upon me to propose to you this evening the
first toast. On an occasion so honorable to the Bar of New York, so
worthily tendered to my fi-iend on the right, and so magnificent in all
its aspects, the toast I am requested to propose is that of " Om- Guest.''
(Great applause.) It is usual, I believe, on occasions like this, for him
who proposes the sentiment, to accompany it with something like a
review of the merits and characteristics of the gentleman in whose
favor. the entertainment is given. But I confess to feeling some em-
ban-assment this evening in so doing in consequence of the presence
of my friend ; for, in enumerating the long catalogue of his worth and
merits, I am aii-aid I would opi^ress the sensibilities of my friend, and
obtrude upon his fine and delicate sentiments. I will therefore defer
till a better occasion and a better opportunity presents, for saying what,
if he were not here, might very appropriately be said. Nevertheless,
there ai-e some points patent to all, notorious to all, of which every
body speaks ; and the most fastidious, therefore, cannot object if I
were to allude passingly to some of these traits. In the first place,
during a very long life, through very stu-ring and occasionally angi-y
scenes, did any one ever know our learned friend, om- esteemed
guest — did any one ever know him to forget that courtesy, that kind
ness, and conciliatoi-y temper which has distinguished him thi-oughout
his long cai-eer ? (Enthusiastic applause.) Did any of us ever know,
under the most provoking chcumstances, of his forgetting for a mo
ment that genial kindliness of disposition which he has manifested at
all times 1 In looking back, and calling to mind the many angry con-

14
troversies in which we have been engaged, and in which I was fre
quently opposed to my fliend — and I am not insensible that I had less
control of myself than he — ^it is a most remarkable fact that I cannot
recall a single instance where my friend, as he might properly, ever
threw back a retort, a bitter repartee ; on the contrary, though so
well capable of doing it, if he had allowed himself, my friend answered
every harsh or impatient remark, with the kindness, geniality, cour
tesy and conciliation which has made him so agreeable at our bai-.
(Applause.) There is another characteristic to which I may be per
mitted to allude. Did any one know of any person so poor or so
humble, who, if he needed the services of my friend, might not always
have commanded them, with the same zeal he would have given to the
richest and most powerful 1 (Ardent applause.) I may add besides,
that through a very long, very active, and vei-y stu-ring life, where
natm-ally and necessarily my fi-iend, as we all have been, has been
brought more or less in contact with what our profession invari
ably must to a greater or less extent touoh, did any person at the
bar ever come out more bright or more fair than did om- friend? Like
a diamond, his hands were unsullied, his heart untouched by that
to which I have referred. (Cheers.) I believe that, having for so
many years been associated with or opposed to my friend in the courts,
I am as well capable of comprehending, estimating, and valuing his
resources as any person, and I here say that a more dangerous adver
sary it has never been my lot to encounter; and the weaker his
cause, the more dangerous his opposition. (Applause and laughter. )
And while skillful and daring in attack, he was wary and cautious in
his defense ; and it was difficult to say whether in defending a bad
cause, or in m-ging a good one, he displayed the greater zeal or the
greater intrepidity. And, gentlemen, when I saw for the first time a
notice that yom- friend and mine was about to retu-e fi-om the active
walks of professional life, my first reflection was one of regi-et — regi-et
for my fellow members of the bar, that in the difficult and thorny paths
which they daily trod in then- professional career they would miss the
sunshine and genial humor which my friend always threw upon these

15
paths; and the next reflection was, what would become of my fr-iend
himself, who for so many years has trodden those paths. (Applause
and laughter.) Who, for so many years filled with briefs, would now
cast them aside and became briefless. (Laughter.) What would my
friend do, sm-rounded by a host of clients, after having discarded them
all, and found himself solitary and alone? I inquh-ed. How will my
friend, who has been so long accustomed to navigate in the stormy
winds of professional life — how would my friend stand the drifting
into a dead and pei-petual cakn ? How would he, in this extraordinary
contrast, be able to can-y himself through ? A little reflection, how
ever, satisfied me that my apprehensions on that score were enthely
misplaced. If I ever had any doubts before, when I came to retrospect
and consider the life of my friend, I found that in the most busy time
of his professional life, when hours and minutes were of high value, he
could always find time for the furtherance of measures of philanthropy
and useful public pui-poses. (Applause.) I suppose you aU remember
certainly I do — ^that during a summer in which he took an excursion
to Em-ope, my learned fr-iend's observation there tended to enlarge and
enrich his store of knowledge, and when in London he seemed par
ticularly struck with the discipline and capacity of the London police.
He contrasted that establishment with om-s, and when he came back,
it was one of his opinions, which time has since sanctioned, among
other matters, that the uniform worn in London gave self-respect to
the men, and gave great aid to those who, in moments of necessity,
desh-ed to find an officer, and to be able to designate between him and
citizens. On coming back he sought to introduce this reform, but
found much opposition. Yet, with that vigor which distinguishes
him, he urged the matter, and in less than a year he secured its adop
tion. Now the police would as soon think of throwing off their shkts
as then- uniform ; and that uniform has been adopted in almost every
city in the Union. My fr-iend, under the pressure of business, found
time for the accomphshment of that busmess. The speaker referred to
another reform effected by Mr. Gerard— that of preventing the news
boys from crying their papers on the Sabbath, and that reform resulted

16
in benefit to all — to the newsboys and the papers, enlarging the circu
lation of the latter in gi-eater proportion than the increase of popula
tion. You all know that my learned friend also found time for the
promotion of the great system of public schools. By his presence and
counsel he encouraged teachers and aided pupils. When I came to
consider all these tendencies of my fi-iend, I soon saw that if di-ifting
into calm became disquieting and disagi-eeable to him, he could fill
the leisiu-e hours in attending to great matters of public concern, and
do good to the whole community, and occupy agreeably his whole
time, and consequently I dismissed all apprehensions. Now, gen
tlemen ; let me ask you to fill and drink his health, happiness, and
prosperity ; and may he enjoy many years the recollection of this
evening, and the unusual honor which this bar has conferred ujion
him. (Cheers.)

speech of MR. GERARD.
Mr. Gerard then arose amidst enthusiastic applause and said :
I have addressed various assemblages of people, on every variety
of occasion, of aU numbers up to ten thousand and I have never
quailed, have never felt nervous nor intimidated — nor do I now ; (aj)-
plause.) But I labor under a feeling that oppresses me, arising from
this great act of kindness of the old and younger members of the Bar
in tendermg me this beautiful compliment of a public banquet — a com
pliment as unexpected by me as I am afraid it is undeserved. (No,
no, and applause). I ascribe it to the kindness of those with whom I
have been so many years associated, and as an acknowledgement that
for forty-five years I have endeavored to maintaLn the dignity of the
Courts and the honor of the Bai-. (Renewed applause.) Therefore I
accept the compliment, and here I am, and when I have " got through
I will stop." (Laughter and cheers.)
Some persons may object (for lawyers are always objecting) and
ask — "Why do you make two valedictories? You bade the Bar
good-bye at the recent Evart's Dinner, and hei-e you are again to-night

17
about to make another valedictory." I will answer that objection by
a plea in confession and avoidance. Every actor fr-om the days of
Roscius down to the present time, having gone through his characters
on the mimic stage, is allowed to take many farewell benefits, and
make divers valedictories, and if the mere actor can do this and re
peat his last, parting, dying speeches, why cannot I, who have played
many parts on the busy stage of legal life, in tragedy, melo-drama,
comedy and almost farce — why cannot I have two valedictories ? If
I had known, when I made a speech at the Evarts' Dinner, that
this compliment was to be tendered to me, I should not have spoken so
much at length on that occasion, my first valedictory ; for in so doing
I committed a petit larceny on myself by stealing my own thunder,
which I ought to have reserved for this occasion. (Laughter.) But
I will endeavor to forge some new bolts for your accommodation and
cast them harmlessly around.
It may also be asked, "Why do you retire from practice, while your
health and strength appear to be such as to stand the wear and tear of
the profession and the racket of the Courts ? " I will give you some
reasons. One is I have no necessity of working any longer. Another
is, I have bothered my brains about other people's afiau-s quite long
enough, and therefore I want some rest ; some change, in the shifting
scenes of life. A third reason is, I go on the democratic principle of
rotation in office. (Applause.) I throw off my mantle and put it on
the shoulders of my younger associates, and I hope that it may fit
them and that they may wear it gracefully, Again : I do not want to be
like the Bishop in Gil Bias, who, advancing in years, and his sermons
not being quite so attentively listened to as formerly, told his confi
dential valet that the first time he saw in him any of the slightest
symptoms of failm-e in his physical or intellectual powers, to let him
know and he would stop preaching. After a while his servant did
think that he saw some signs of weakness in his preaching, and gently
suggested his reth-ing according to his promise, when the Bishop in
a rage gave him a sound thrashing on the spot. Now I don't want to
be put in the same category with the Bishop ; I don't want to commit
3

18
an assault and battery on any of my fi-iends who should give me a
similar hint. (Laughter and applause.)
Now, what subjects shall I take for my remarks to-night? I am
not going to deal in abstraction, generalities, or in di-y platitudes of
the profession, or m strains of lament over my farewell to Bar and Bench ;
I am going to speak cheerfully — mainly of myself— to give you a little
of my early autobiography : of my struggles and mishaps, and of my
disappointed hopes, and I , wiU do it, not in strains to send my
hearers weeping to their beds, but as showing that I was more of a
laughing than a weeping philosopher ; and I do it for the benefit of
the junior members of the profession who are just offering themselves
for practice in this busy city, in their contests with hundi-eds of aspi
rants, who, just like themselves, are strugghng for distinction and the
emoluments of practice, I want to give them my experience of what
patience and determination vnll do under unfavorable circumstances ; I
want to let them know that they must strike fr-om their vocabulary every
such word as "/'a«7,"and if that they would succeed they must stamp in
letters of gold over then- office-door " Excelsior," and that if they would
hit high, they must aim high. With that motive I can talk of my
self and my eai-ly struggles without being chargeable with offensive
egotism, because havrag reth-ed from competition at the Bar, and hav
ing made my last argument to the Court, and my last appeal to a jury,
I have nothing to gain or lose as an advocate by giving incidents in
my early practice.
In vjhat style shall I clothe my thoughts ; the grave or the gay ;
the lofty or the style natural to myself and which is familiar to most
of you ? I will not assume the mock gravity of the owl for that would
not be natural to me. I will not mount on stilts and stalk above the
earth, nor assume bird's wings and soar into the regions of fancy. I
shall clothe my thoughts and illustrations in such language as suggest
themselves to me on the inspiration of the moment. I have been
asked by the reporters this evening, and on many other occasions, if I
would let them have my speech, so as to send it down to their print-
ting offices before I had dehvered it. Now, I do not deliver wi-itten

19
speeches ; I have never since I have been at the Bar, ever delivered a
single sentence before Court or jm-y, which I had written or commit
ted to memory, nor shall I this night. But, understand me, no lawyer
could or should ever addi-ess Com-t or jm-y, or any assembly on any
occasion whatever, without having his ideas well digested and ar
ranged in his mind so that he can have his whole subject, as they say,
at his finger's ends. He who speaks without preparation, even to fully
arranging his thoughts on paper, does not do justice either to himself,
his subject, or his audience. Now here is my speech to-night (shaking
a small piece of paper at the reporters) and if you can make anything
out of its cabaUstic catch-words you are welcome to it. It is a lean
skeleton of the subjects on which I shall treat — ^fr-amework of my
thoughts. As I go along I shall fill it up with muscles, flesh, sinew,
ligaments and nerves, to make it as passable a speech as possible ; and
in doing so I trust in two splendid helpers which have never deserted
me and I hope they will not to-night, viz.. Providence and Sponta
neous Combustion. (Roars of laughter and applause.)
Years ago I belonged to a debating society in this city called the
Forum, consisting of young lawyers and students. We chai-ged the
pubUc six cents at first for admission, had crowded houses, and re
ceived a good deal of money which we gave away in charity. The
only person now Uving who took an active part in the debates besides
myself is my- friend Hh-am Ketchum — would he were here to-night !
I took out my hcense as a lawyer when the Forum was in full blast,
and then had a great deal more conceit of myself than I have ever
had since ; it has been rubbed and knocked out of me, and my friend, '
the President, (Mr. Cutting) has helped to do it. Well, I hh-ed a very'
humble office in William street, at a rent of a hundred dollars a year,
put up my sign and waited for clients, (laughter) but none came.
(Cheers and langhter.) I had no commercial patronage ; I had plenty
of fashionable friends, but they make poor clients. I waited with
patience, and wondered at the stupidity of people in not employing
me. No one came " tapping at my office door." Silence was there
" and nothing more." One day I heard a heavy tread in the entry ; I

20
took up hm-i-iedly a bundle of papers which I had bon-owed for the
occasion and placed them ostentatiously before me. (Laughter. ) In
came my worthy friend, Earman Westervelt, the Notary. He said,
"I have come to give you an opportunity at last of making a speech
before a jm-y." I rephed that was what above all things I desh-ed,
and added " I hope the cause wiU involve some gi-eat principle, or, at
all events, a large amount of money." At this his countenance fell,
and he replied : "I do not think the cause will fall within either caie-
goi-y." I said, with some degree of importance, "please state the
case." He said " that it was a case of Ireland against Germany."
That sounded very large, and I asked him to "state the particulars.''
He said the plaintiff lived up in Greenwich, which you know was then
out of town. She was a female baker, and had a German for a neigh
bor living next door who was a baker of the masculine gender, and he
being jealous of the quality of her bread, and of her success in business,
had kicked over a barrel of her bread, and had cast it, not upon the
waters, but in the mud. " Now," he said, " all Greenwich is in arms, and
I am commissioned to ask you to volunteer for the plaintiff. You wiU
have a very large audience, for there is the greatest excitement between
Ireland and Germany." I assented, and on the day of trial I went to
the Court room of Justice Constantine, and adai-k gloomy hole it was.
I was introduced to my cUent who was fat, but not fau-, and more
than forty. There, too, waS^ our German adversary with his counsel
and witnesses, and the trial went on. After the evidence was in we
summed up the cause to the Jm-y. I depicted to them in the most ex
citing terms I could use, the barbarity of the German upon the wid
owed plaintiff; how he not only injm-ed her bread but her feelings.
The Judge delivered his charge - the Jury retired and soon retm-ned,
with then- verdict — I triumphed. They gave me a verdict of twelve
shillings damages. (Roars of laughter and applause.) The impet
uous Irish were fuU of gratitude. They vociferously gave three cheers
for Ireland and thi-ee gi-oans for Germany. The men took me by
force over to the nearest corner grocery, and insisted upon my taking
a dose of the decoction of Fusel. (Cheering and laughter. ) A depu-

21
tation of females came over to invite me to take tea at the plaintiff's
house. I went there where I found them* dancing their national jig,
and I had quite a frolic with the Irish gh-ls. If I was not Gerard, the
lion-killer, that evening, I was at least the lion of the party ; the pet
of the petticoats. That was what I call the first legal triumph of my
life. This splendid ovation is my last. What a contrast thore^is be
tween them !
I must tell you one very pleasant incident connected with that hum
ble trial. On the jury was a gentleman who eyed me very closely,
and when the trial was over, he came to me, shook hands and intro
duced himself to me, and said he was pleased to make my acquain
tance. That gentleman and I became friends and remained so until
his death ; I had transactions with him involving thousands of dol
lars. He has trusted me with thousands without a voucher. That
gentleman was Jacob B. Taylor, the agent of Mr. Astor, and father
of Moses Taylor, now one of the merchant princes of New Yoi'k. '
I will give you a little reminiscence of my first criminal case. I
was called upon to defend a boy who was indicted for stealing a ca
nary bh-d. He was a very handsome lad of about fourteen years of age.
He belonged to a reputable family although his education, both intel
lectual and moral had been neglected, and he became a reckless, wild
boy. He was tried before Mr. Colden, Mayor of the city, and a jui-y,
and Hugh Maxwell was District Attorney. I urged the plea of ferce
naturcB, and that the bhd was not a subject of larceny. The Mayor
overruled the plea, and we went to the jm-y on the question of intent.
I urged that if the boy was brought in guilty and sent to prison, he
would be ruined for life ; his association there with old and hardened
thieves would confirm him in a life of crime. The jury listened to
my appeal and let him off. There was a sequel to that story. The
boy became a confirmed thief when a man — he was bad in grain.
He died not many years siace in the State Prison, and while there he
was left a fortune of $80,000.
The circumstances connected with this case led me to think that
something might be done for the reformation of juvenile criminals. I

22
saw that it was wrong to place young offenders in contact with persons
hardened in crime, and I made up my mind that I would endeavor to
reform it. There was a society existing in this city for the prevention
of pauperism and crime, of which I was one of the managers, and, I
believe, the youngest. In 1828 I was asked to deliver a public ad
dress, and to select such subject as might tend to lessen poverty and
crime. I visited the prisons ; consulted the police justices ; saw that
old and young offenders were mixed up together in very defective
prisons, and that the untried and unconvicted were confined in the
same apartments with the old and condemned convicts. To meet the
evil I took for the subject of my address, the propriety of establishing
a House of Refuge to separate the young oflenders from the old, and
to educate them for future usefulness in life by teaching them trades
which they could pursue when let out again upon the world. The
proposition took well with the public, and the managers agreed to es
tablish a House of Refuge, and to merge their existence into that as a
specialty. John Griscom was placed at the head of a committee, by
the managers, to draw up in detail a plan of rules and regulations car-
f
rying out my proposition, which he did, and which were vei-y much
the same as those upon which it is now conducted, and the House of
Refuge for juvenile deUnquents has been adopted in a majority of the
States of the Union as the grand reformatory institution of the present
day. But for that little incident of the canary bh-d, the stately palaces
which adorn the Sound, the beautiful buildings of the House of Refuge,
would probably never have been erected.
I may be asked to give my experience as to how are juries to be
approached ? I answer, by creating an atmosphere around the cause
favorable to your side, and which will bear the test of the barometer.
How is that to be done ? First, by having none but good causes if
you can, but if there is question about the merits of yom- cause, then
by presenting it before the jury in the most attractive manner possible ;
by modestly stating your case and not overstating the facts ; by for
bearance to the other side, courtesy to the opposing counsel, and de
ferential respect to the decisions of the judge, and never offend the

23
prejudices of a jury. When should you try to create this atmosphere ?
In the very opening of the cause. Formerly the openings were very
brief — very shortly stating the bare facts without commenting on
them, as if the object of the opening was to conceal the strong points
of your cause fr-om the adversary. Then it was customary in the first
place to give as little evidence as possible to save a non-suit, and then
in reply to pom- out the strength of yom- proof The defendant
opened his case in the same manner, and reserved the strength of his
case to the end of the cause. In this manner a trial was a see-saw, "^
both in the openings and evidence, and fatigued the jury. My friend,
Mr. O'Conor, after his return fi'om Europe, by objecting to this mode
of trial, broke it up, and the respective parties were compelled to give
in all their evidence on the first opportunity, and were only allowed
afterwards to give evidence in rebuttal. . I believe I was the first victim
of Mr. O'Conor (laughter) in the application of this rule, by which I
was shut out of a great part of the evidence in a cause which I had
reserved for the last (cheers for Mr. O'Conor). But I, in return,
had my revenge by making others the victims of this rule (renewed
laughter). The idea of the old practitioners was to reserve the strength
of their case until the summing up. I never practised on that sup
position, but generally poured out all the force I could muster in the
opening, and then, if possible, win the cause by the atmosphere that
was created. Take yom- castle on the first opportunity, for it is an
easier matter to defend it through the trial than to take it at the end.
The jury make up their minds long before the summing up. My
theory is that many more causes are won in the opening than in the
summing up. The use of summing up is only to supply the jury
men who are in yom- favor with the arguments to enforce your views
on their fellow-jurymen when they retire to deliberate on their verdict.
As to the style of addressing juries, that depends upon the size of
the court-room. If small, you cannot raise a tempest in a tea-pot.
As a general rule (except in sensational causes) I think the colloquial
by far the most efiective style. The London court-rooms being very
small, a trial in them, even of very important and sensational causes,

u
is carried on in the subdued, colloquial style that references are with
us. You must not be too intellectual, for the jury will not understand
you ; you will shoot over then- heads : not bombastic, lugging in
flowery figures of speech, for they probably have not studied Blair's
Lectures. I was, in a very important case, opposed to John McKeon
when he was District Attorney. In defending the parties indicted I
put on stilts and played the lofty. Mr. McKeon following me, re
plied in the most simple colloquial style, and mainly read the evidence.
He then coolly brushed away all the eloquence I had expended, and
beat me very handsomely. Mr. Gerard said that great changes had
taken place in the time allotted to address juries since he was first in
practice. It was formerly unlimited. The bar was monopolized by
half a dozen great lawyers who made oratory then- study, and theh-
summings up were models of eloquence. The jury were generally
merchants ; the circuits were open at nights ; the city was small, and
the Com-t^house was the centre of population. Amusements were few,
and late at night the vaulted roofs of the City Hall would ring with
splendid bursts of eloquence by such legal giants as Emmet, Wells,
the elder Hoffman, Griffin, and their associates. The Judges en-
com-aged eloquence and would listen for hours, and then- charges were
eloquent. Then there was no hour-glass, with its swiftly falling
sands, which limited their speech, nor did the Judges think of the'r
mutton boiling at home, as a reason for adjourning Court.
Some modern Judges are in the habit of rushing causes through, as
the lawyers often think, to the prejudice of their causes. One very
distinguished Judge of the Superior Court (now no more) whose great
perspicuity of mind saw at the beginning the very end of the cause ;
was in the habit of saying that the cause was in a nut shell and con
fining the lawyers to a very narrow discussion. He had applied that
expression to me very often, and I took the liberty of rising up one day
with as much gravity as I could assume and saying, " True, your Honor,
but I think that the Court is judicially, bound to take notice that nut
shells are of various sizes from a hazel nut up to a cocoanut." The Judge
took my reply very kindly, and gave us our time to try the cause.

25
How are lawyers to prepare causes ? By becoming masters of the
facts, not minding much the Law ; the Judges know the law and wUl
take care of it, and every lawyer understands its general principles ;
the difficulty lies in applying the rules of law to a given state oi facts.
I never went into Com-t without taking a fuU reconnoissance of the
camp of the enemy, and having committed to writing a sketch of the
e/"oss-exa,mination of every main witness expected to be produced on
the other side.
Another piece of advice. Do not cross-examine too much ; it is a
dangerous thing. I have seen many a cause lost by a general ramb
ling cross-examination, having no particular point in the mind to carry
out. If a witness who appears to be fan- and intelligent testifies
against you, take his shot without wincing, and meet him by the
strength of yom- own contradictory testimony. The trial of a cause is
very much a game of chess, and a game of chance, and more depends
upon the skill of the advocate in many cases than on the law of the
case. Pawns are to be taken, and the enemy is to be check-mated.
Knights are to be unhorsed kings and queens to be dethroned and
castles to be taken and defended, and when your cause is doubtfiil
compromise and make a di-awn game.
Jm-ors have sometimes very weak spots and often render verdicts
without any assignable reason. They will listen to your summing up
with intense interest, and you will think you have caught them all,
when they wUl reth-e, and in a few minutes render a plump verdict
against you. Sometimes you wUl find a man Ustenuig to you atten
tively, but he does not understand a word you have said. Hans is a
conscientious man, and never excuses himself fr-om serving on a jury
on the ground that he does not understand a word of English.
I have said that the opinions and verdicts of jm-ors are often unac
countable, fr-om whim or prejudice, or the behavior, or di-ess even of a
party to a suit.
I was on a trial in the Cu-cuit, and was required by the Judge to
open the cause late at night. I did so very much against my will, for
it was a cause in which I was very much interested for the plaintiff,
4

26
and I made a fiill opening as strong as I well could for the jury to sleep
upon. The next morning the evidence was pom-ed in by both sides ;
at three there was a recess, the Judge having gone out and the jury
standing at ease, familiarly talking with the lawyers, when one of them
said, and others seemed to agi-ee with him, that the cause was not
altered a particle fi-om what it was last night ; no evidence had been
given in, only the opening.
On another occasion the evidence lasted a day, when at the end of
it, several of the jmy who had got tired of the cause, told the Counsel
and the Judge that there was no use in summing up the cause ; that
they had all made up their minds, at which the Judge and Counsel
were astonished, but as the jury said they had made up then- minds,
there was no use to waste time in summing up. The Judge thereupon
gave a formal charge to the jury, and told the clerk to enter then- ver
dict, when some of the jury began to nod, and others to shake then-
heads and then consulted together, when they announced that although
they had all made up their minds, six of them were one way and six
the other, no agreement of com-se.
On another occasion I defended a physician who was sued for an
assault and battery by a female clairvoyant who was sailing around
the exhibition room in a pretended trance, singing out a monotonous
chant in a slumber fr-om which she said nobody could wake her. The
Doctor thought he could do it, and had brought with him some
cayenne pepper which he appUed to her Ups as she approached him.
She soon became wide awake, threw off her feigned trance, and being
a very strong woman she pummelled him on the spot and then brought
an action for burning her with the pepper. Wlien the jm-y reth-ed in
the afternoon, the general expectation was that there would be an
immediate nominal verdict of six cents for the plaintiff, because there
was no denying the appUcation of the pepper, but the Doctor had
proved that she was an imposter and her trance a humbug. But the
jmy remaining out, the Com-t broke up and they were dkected to
bring in a sealed verdict in the morning, which they did, having been
out the greater part of the night, when it appeared that eleven of the

27
jurors had agreed upon a six cent verdict as soon as they went out, but
that one man would neither agree, nor give any reason why he would
not, although frequently importuned dm-ing the night to do so. At
last one of the jurors approached him, and asked him to tell him con
fidentially why he refused to- join in the verdict. He said he would
tell him, and asked him, "Did you not see the Doctor, all through
the trial have in his hand a large gold-headed cane, with which he was
knocking his chin ?" The fellow juror responded " Yes.'' "Now,'' says
the obstinate one, " I will never give a verdict for a man who comes
into Court with a gold-headed cane, especially if he keeps knocking it
against his chin." "Well," said the other juror "that is my sentiment
exactly ; but suppose you were assured that instead of being gold, the
head was brass, what would you say then ?" " Oh, I would agree to
the verdict immediately." "Well," says the jm-or, "I am a brass foun
der, and I did not like the ostentatious display of the gold, and during
the trial I had a chance of examining the cane, and I beheve it is
nothing but brass /" The verdict was signed immediately.
Mr. Gerard continued, I have seen great changes in the law since I
began to practice. I have practised under the Revised Laws of 1813 ;
under the Revised Statutes of 1830, and under the present Code of
1848, whose author now present, (Mr. Field,) deserves great credit for
the talent, industry and obstinate perseverance with which he fr-amed
the code and caused it to be forced upon the bar, against its general
opinion, and which entitles its author to the well-eai-ned appellation of
the modern Justinian. It was at first pretty hai-d to digest, but it
has become incorporated into om- system, and the lawyers (and its
author with them) have become rich under its enactments, and the
whole bar may now be said to be in favor of it. I have had under these
different systems, much law to learn, and much to unlearn, and the
latter is the more difficult of the two to accompUsh. I have practised
in the Supreme Court when it consisted of five judges, and splendid
judges they were, when it consisted of three judges, and now when it
consists of thirty-three. I have gone thi-ough for forty-five years, a
fiery ordeal of trying aU sorts of causes, for and against all kinds of

28
men, good, bad and indifferent. I have had to contend with all sorts
of lawyers, and have had to come in contact with some of that class of
litigants whom Mr. Cutting has refen-ed to, but I have always en
deavored to hold fast of my integrity, and to keep the hem of my gar
ment fr-ee fr-om fire and smoke.
I am smTOunded at this table by a mass of intellect, judges and law
yers, who (allowing twenty years to the study and practice of each of
the two hundred and fifty present) make five thousand years of legal
study, more than half the Biblical age of the world. I am smTounded
by Judges that were, Judges that are, and by many who hope to be
Judges. I am sm-rounded by many of my contemporaries, and by very
many of junior members who are just starting on then- legal career,
and all of whom expect to attain eminence, and I have no doubt that
many vtdll. In my remarks at the Evai-ts dinner, I hailed the gentle
men then present as all Brothers-inAaw. Now, as I beheve I am the
oldest practitioner present, I may claim that I &vix father-in-law to you
aU. (Laughter and applause.) I have seen Chancellors, Judges and
eminent lawyers in long procession, depart fr-om the scenes of then-
triumphs, and vanish like dissolving views, falling around me like autumn
leaves ; many in the hey-day of then- physical and mental strength,
others who had accompUshed their full measm-e of days on earth.
Recently we have held om- funeral eulogies on Walworth, the last,
and one of the greatest, of our Chancellors ; on my friend, Mr. Lord,
the great mercantile lawyer of our city, and on Judge Robertson the
favorite of the bar, and the esteemed of many friends.
At the table opposite to me ai-e eleven of my former students who
have come to do me honor. Others have gone to seek then- fortunes
in the Western countiy, and others have gone to that country fi-om
whence they will never retm-n. There should have been twelve ; one
is absent, a favorite student, Jeremiah Laeocque, who came to me
when a mere lad, in a roimd jacket, and remained with me until he
went to join the respected house of extensive practice with which he
was connected up to his death. He feU a victim to a highly excitable
nervous temperament and a too active and overworked brain. Peace

29
to his ashes, a tear for his untimely fate, and respect to his memory
(Here the assemblage rose up in silence.)
I must inform the junior members of the bar that there is no royal
road to legal eminence. Genius avails but little in getting into prac
tice. I rarely knew a great genius make a great lawyer. Energy, un
tiring industry, perseverance and patience are the elements that enter
into a lawyer's success. But, when he gains the pinnacle of his ambi
tion, he declines and dies. The lawyer has no immortality. If
he makes a great legal argument before the Com-t, when the volume of
reports comes to be printed, the only notice he receives is " Smith, for
the plaintiff. Brown for the defendant/' whUe the results of his labors
are incorporated in the judge's opinions. (Laughter and applause. )
Let him make a brilliant speech before a jury, with many admuing
listeners, and gain great fame at the time, in a few days it is forgotten
and the report of his speech in the newspapers in a short time is for
gotten amidst the many exciting events of the day, and serves the cook
to light the kitchen fire, going off m a blaze one way if not in another.
(Laughter and applause. )
Now my friend Mr. Cutting was anxious to know, what would be
come of me ; where I should go, and how I should occupy my mind,
feaiing that I who have rode the stoi-m and whu-lwind of trials so many
years cannot navigate in the calm of a dead, motionless sea.
I have no apprehension that I shall shde down into listless apathy.
My time will be fuUy occupied. I shall have enough to do. I go fr-om
the bustle of the law, not into listlessness, but into a large and active
scene of usefulness. I shall give the principal pai-t of my time and
energies to the Pubhc Schools — the largest and most splendid system
of popular education, which is known in any part of the world, and that
is one great motive of my giving up the practice of the law. I have
been for twenty years, a peripatetic educational missionary, and
although my especial gi-ound is confined to the 15th and 18th Wards,
yet my walks have extended over the whole city fi-om the Batteiy to
Hai-lem ; from the East to the North Rivers ; and I intend to devote
my energies to the welfai-e and interests of the rising generation of the

30
working classes of this city. (Applause and cheers. ) The school sys
tem as organized in this city is perfect; it requires no change; no
amendment ; and only let the pohticians keep clear of it and its success
vsdU be certain.
The doors of its attractive school-houses are opened to receive with
out money and without price, the children not only of the native, but
of all immigrants, no matter from what part of the world they come
nor what language they speak ; no matter what is then- nationality,
what then- social condition or then- religion. The doors are open to
Jew and Gentile, and Chi-istians of all denominations, — the Protestant,
the Catholic, the Episcopahan, Presbyterian, Methodist or Baptist — all
meet on a neutral ground, and they acquire as good a practical educa
tion (both sexes) as any boarding or day-school in the country or in
any country can afford. To a gentleman of any taste or refinement,
nothing is more agreeaWe, and, I may say, instructive than to pass an
horn- or two in the morning in the class-room and see the development
of mind, and the ambitious strife between the different nationalities, of
the masses of children, who, with happy faces, go through their exer
cises under a nuld, but beautiful and gentle discipline, vrith no harsh or
loud orders given, but the discipUne of the whole school led by the
music of a piano or the sound of a little beU. In any discussion rela^
tive to the merits of the public schools, remember that universal in
telligence is the bulwark of a RepubUc, and if you vnll have universal
suffrage, you must have its antidote universal education.
Now there is one horn- in the day which is sacred in this great city,
and which is enough to redeem it fi-om much of its sin and wickedness.
As the city beUs toll out the hour of nine in the morning a hundred
thousand children are engaged in prayer in more than a hundred
lofty buildings; a hundred thousand tongues with eyes cast up
wards to the skies, are repeating in solemn, subdued accents that
beautifU prayei- to then- God which our Saviom- taught on earth ; a
hundred thousand voices pour forth a solemn chant in praise of
the great Creator who has given them the hght of another day; —
and the sweet music of children's voices pouring forth strains of sol-

31
emn music is more acceptable to heaven than any holy incense every
thrown from sUver censer. There is sublimity in the thought.
I shall now conclude my remarks. This beautiful banquet will ever
be a green spot in my memory, which I never, never can forget. It is
the greatest compliment that could possibly be paid to me. It is un
precedented to a mere lawyer who had never wore the ermine, or held
judicial office, and was simply one of the rank and file of the bar. As
we now part, I wish you all, individually, health, happiness and pros
perity for many years to come. May yom- lines be cast in pleasant
places. May you be plagued with few of the ills of life which flesh is
heir to. May yom- paths be strewed with roses, and may there be but
few thorns among them. (Prolonged applause.)

In response to the second toast, " The Bench," the Honorable
Samuel Blatohford, Judge of the District Court of the United
States for the Southern District of New York, said :
I feel highly honored, Mr. President and gentlemen of the bar, at
being called upon, on this occasion, to respond to this sentiment. The
Bench, in the presence of members of the Bench, my seniors, not only
in years but in service, and so much better able to do justice to the
occasion. But I have felt that I could not refuse the request so
kindly made of me by the committee, that I should make a few re-
mai-ks on the occasion of this festivity, given in honor of our distin
guished fi-iend. In what I shall say to you I shall be very brief, for,
after the highly intellectual entertainment we have already enjoyed,
and in view of what is still to follow, I feel that it becomes me to
detain you but a few moments. I shall speak, therefore, as tersely
as I can to the sentiment itself which has been given.
The Bench has two functions, as known in our jurisprudence. One
is the conservation of pubUc order, by the suppression of violence and
crime ; and the other is the adjudication of disputes on civil matters
between the individuajls who constitute the community. Under

32
Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence we have succeeded, as, I think, not only
the legal profession, but the community, generally recognizes, in re
conciling the antagonism which long existed, in the history of the
world, between pubUc order and popular liberty. The success we
have met with in reconciling that antagonism is due, in my judgment,
in an eminent degree, to the constitution of om- judicial tribunals, in
thi-ee marked pai-ticulars. The first great feature in which the judicial
system of Em-ope and of the United States differs from that of ancient
Rome, is the recognition, in the constitution of judicial tribunals, of
the political principle, that the judicial function must be sepai-ated
fr-om the executive function. The second principle is, that the tenm-e
of judicial office shall be independent of the pleasm-e of the executive
authority. That principle is carried out whether the appointment of
judges be made by the executive authority or by popular election.
In either case, the judicial office is independent, in its tenm-e, of the
appointing authority. The third featm-e, and one of the most import
ant features to secm-e the result to which I have alluded, is the fr-eedom
of judges from personal responsibihty to htigant parties. That is a
peculiar feature of the Enghsh and the American systems. Among
some, if not all, of the continental nations, the judicial functions are
separated fi-om the executive functions, and the tenure of office of the
judge is independent of the pleasm-e of the executive authority, but
the judge is personally responsible to litigants. Under the Fi-ench
law, at this day, a judge is hable to be sued personally by a party
against whom he has rendered judgment. That same feature obtains
in some other European countries, and the doctrine is laid down, in
some of the books which enforce that principle, that a judge who
evokes a case fi-om an inferior tribunal under the pretext of an appeal,
and then does not dispose of it, is Uable to be sued for not deciding it
— a principle which, perhaps, if applied here, might, in some cases,
involve very severe consequences to the judges who were sued. So,
also, the general principle is laid down, under the French system,
that a judge who denies justice is liable to be sued personally by a
litigant pai-ty to whom he has denied justice, and to be made respon-

33
sible therefor, if the fact can be established. But, as you all know,
the great principle was long ago settled, in Anglo-Saxon law, that no
private suit lies against a judge of a court of general jurisdiction, for
error of judgment, or even for misconduct in the exercise of his judi
cial functions. The enunciation of that principle serves to show how
broad, and deep, and weighty is the responsibility that lies upon the
judge under this system. With these high prerogatives, vnth the
watchful scrutiny of an enlightened and learned bar, and with the force
of public opinion manifested by free discussion in the public press and
otherwise, every opportunity is afforded to a judical officer to exercise
favorably and beneficently the high functions which are conferred
upon him.
An allusion has been made by our guest this evening to the
colloquial style and manner of the English courts. There is a
marked contrast, in that respect, in the administration of justice,
between the English courts and our own, vpith which I have been for
cibly struck. During a visit abroad, which I made a few years since,
I went into the Court of Exchequer, in Westminster Hall, and was
invited by one of the Barons to take a seat on the bench, while he was
engaged in the trial of a cause. The court was held in a very small
room, much smaller than the rooms which many of the gentlemen
present occupy for then- private offices. There were the jm-y, and the
court, and the barristers. The case on trial was one involving no im
portant principle and a small sum of money ; and I recollect that no
less distinguished an advocate than Sh- Fitzroy Kelly, afterwards
Chief Baron of the com-t, was engaged in talking to the com-t and the
jmy in very much the same colloquial manner in which you would
talk to a client in your office. As soon as the judge became possessed
of the facts, he stopped the counsel and said : " Gentlemen, you must
settle this case." " May it please yom- Lordship, we will endeavor to
do so," was the reply. The counsel for the respective parties consulted
together, and in a few minutes the case was settled and disposed of
That is the daily practice in those com-ts, and not only in cases of
minor importance, but in cases of great importance. There is, in the
5

34
EngUsh courts, that feature which my fi-iend has alluded to, of plain
common sense and straightforwai-d business habits, which is quite
in contrast with what we sometimes see here, and which greatly
conduces to the settlement of litigation and the despatch of business.
The imjDortance of a learned, acute, intelligent and high-toned bar,
to the proper discharge of the functions of the bench, cannot be too
highly estimated. The stream can never rise higher than the fountain.
The bench will always be what the bar makes it. No judge can ever
brave the force of the united opinion of a disapproving bar, and every
judge is sustained and supported, in the discharge of the duties which
are thrown upon him, by the watchfulness, the labor, and the zeal of
such a bar as that which I now see before me. To say nothhig of
living judges and living lawyers, we can refer to those judges and
lawyers who have passed away, after having adorned the annals of
our jmisprudence, and find a perfect warrant for what I have said.
For, when the bench was graced by the learning and the wisdom of
Marshall, and Story, and Shaw, and Kent, and Spencer, the advocates
at the bar were Daniel Webster, and Rufus Choate, and Jeremiah
Mason, and Samuel Dexter, and Thomas Addis Emmet, and John
Wells, and WUliam Wirt, and WiQiam Pinkney, and Robert Good
loe Harper, and Luther Martin. The acuteness, the zeal, the learning
and the character of the bar always have their response in the bench,
or they have no response at all ; and I am happy to be able to bear
my humble testimony, from what experience I have had, that the bar
of New York is no whit behind the bar of former times, or the bar of
any other part of the country, in all those high qualities to which I
have alluded. Om- distinguished fi-iend, in whose honor we have met
here this evening, and who, as he himself has told you, has never had
any political patronage to bestow, and has never held a political office,
is, in all his public, professional and social qualities, a marked instance
of what can be achieved by assiduity, integrity, fidehty and high-
toned character, no matter how humble be the position fi-om which
the start in life is made. It is upon such men that the community
must rely to fill its judicial and other positions under a free govern-

35
ment. With these few remarks I close, trusting that I have suc
ceeded, in some measm-e, in interpreting the true character of the
sentiment which you have offered in honor of the Bench.

Third Toast. " The Bar of our Sister States," was responded to by
David Paul Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia.
Me. President, Gentlemen and Brethren of the New York
Bab. — I think it is Horace, who says, that a moment is an indefinite
lapse or period of time. If so you will aUow me to say, that I shall
speak to you but for a moment. I have traveled one hundred miles,
and I would have traveled one thousand, for the purpose of uniting
with you in this testimonial of regard for one of your most deserving
and distinguished members, and one of my earliest and best friends.
I am here now, as I am informed, representing by appointment, the
associated Bar of your neighboring States. In return for that compli
ment, and also in return for the incidental compliment to myself, I beg
leave at the outset to say, with all my heart, I thank you !
This perhaps in ordinary civil and social, or convivial intercourse
might be deemed satisfactory ; as we are told by high authority that
the grateful mind " by owing owes not, but still pays, at once indebted
and discharged." Yet I am given to imderstand that I am not to be
restrained to this frugal honesty ; but am expected to deliver a
speech. Well ! that is no very difficult thing, and certainly I have
no excuses to offer. In the fashionable slang of the present day, I am
not " unaccustomed to public speaking,'' for I have been a speaker
after a fashion, almost ever since I was born, nor am I taken by siir-
prise. No man, and certainly no lawyer, has a right to plead sur
prise in being the recipient of the hospitality, generosity and kindness
of the citizens of New York, and especially of the members of the legal
profession, who may truly be said to be the head and the heart, and
looking around me, I may be permitted to say, the very stomach of

36
New York. While however, I feel bound to express my acknowl
edgements for the favors conferred, I am stUl not unmindful, that of
late, public speaking has, if not enth-ely proscribed and prohibited,
been severely reprimanded, and that too from the highest official
authority in the land. With all my soul, I protest against this doc
trine. It is unconstitutional ! The constitution secures to every man
the privilege of free speech ; this is therefore a violation of the char
tered rights of the community ! But as regards the legal profession,
it is almost higlir-treason, or, in the language of Dogberry, it is ' flat
burglary at least.' What ! to deprive a lawyer of the right of speech !
upon which not only his life and liberty, but his character and property
depend — nay, upon which often depend, the life, the liberty, the
property, the character of his fellow-citizens ! " You take my house,
taking the prop which doth sustain my house. You take my life,
taking whereon I live." Notwithstanding, this modern and exalted
condemnation of speech, I think ancient doctrine may well be referred
to, as much better entitled to regard. QuintUlian for instance, one of
the princes of oratory, if I remember rightly, in a fit of enthusiasm
exclaims. "May I perish, if the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, and
architect of this world has endowed man with any quality which so
eminently distinguishes him from other animals, as the faculty of
speech." We need not look to the poets for superadded authority. They tell
you, that speech is the very morning of the soul, exhibiting all its
beauties, its majesty, and its perfection, which also lie furled or buried
in the mind. It attracts, sustains, countervails, or controls men and
nations at pleasure — "wielding at will the fierce democracy." It is
terrible as an army with banners.
Speech, however, must depend undoubtedly, in order to be effective,
upon the fitness of the theme and the occasion — a projDer adaptation
of thought, or, in a word, on good taste — ^which would seem to imply
everything. And here you must allow me to say, in all frankness, that
dinner-table speeches, are sometimes, neither profitable nor commend
able. The reason is obvious. On such occasions the mind and the

37
body, are often opposed, and of course divided. The reason and the
appetite may not exactly concm-. In other words, the mind would
seem, like Desdemona, to hold a divided duty, and to become dis
tracted in its choice.
Allow me also to suggest another objection — it too fr-equently hap
pens that set speeches are prepared. That while the enjoyments of
dinner destroy the memory — the exercise of the memory destroys the
enjoyments of the dinner. Nothing contributes more to those enjoy
ments than famiUar and agreeable colloquy. But when the brain is
engaged in reflections upon a prepared speech, it is naturally impossi
ble for any man, to be an accomplished colloquist or an attentive
auditor. Practically to illustrate this view, permit me to refer to sev
eral occasions, which will be calculated to confirm what I have said on
this subject.
I recollect various occun-ences in life, upon the combined influences
of which the opinions thus expressed have been founded.
When in my early manhood, I was once privileged to be present at
a gi-eat dinner, given to a great man, Chief-Justice Marshall, in Wash
ington, at which were assembled many of the most eminent members
of the Bar, — together with those of the Senate and the House of Rep
resentatives. Among them was John Randolph, an en-atic, and ec
centric, though still a distinguished man. The tables groaned with
the weight of the feast — the soup, the first course, was just served,
when all at once, Mr. Randolph, mounting a temporary rostrum, com
menced a eulogistic addi-ess to the Chief-Justice, which continued up
wards of twenty minutes. In the excitement of his speech he entirely
forgot that while he was getting warmer, the soup and the guests were
getting colder — and, in short, he gave a perfect damper to the whole
proceeding, and rendered it perhaps as stupid a dinner as could well be
conceived. So much for great talents and bad taste.
I remember also a few yeai-s after, a great entertainment was given
to the Marquis LaFayette, at the Masonic HaU in Philadelphia. Most
of the magnates of the land were of course present, and among them,
and inferior to none, DeWitt Clinton of the State of New York :

38
The first toast of course was to the Marquis, who retm-ned the
compliment, in that easy, simple and impressive manner, for which he
was so very remarkable.
The next toast was to DeWitt Chnton, who rose in stately and ma^
jestic form, and replied, substantially in these words, "I feel highly
" honored by the comphment thus paid to me by this distinguished as-
" semblage. I have no words adequate to express my gratitute. I did
" not come prepared to meet such unmerited honors" — and then he
faltered and began to stammer — and finally it resulted in his pulhng
out his written speech, and dehberately reading it to those around him
— so much for want of candor, and want of memory — and a written
speech. The last instance that I will give you, occmTcd at a great banquet
given at Washington-Hall, in commemoration of the landing of Wil
liam Penn ; one of the largest and most si^lendid (hsplays which this
country has witnessed. A regular programme was timely prepared, the
most eminent, and those who were not so eminent, had their different
parts assigned them. Mr. Rawle, Mr. Edward Livingston, Mr. Galla
tin, Mr. Dallas, Mr. Duponceaur, Mr. Ingersoll and men of that stamp,
were present at the repast. Now the misfortune of the whole business,
was this — all the speakers came prepared with written or premeditated
speeches — of course it followed that there was no conversation at all —
everyone was absorbed by his own memory and duties. Finally, as I
carried my speech in my head and not in my pocket, and as I a1>
tempted some conversation, unhappily, while addressing a gentleman, I
capsized a glass of wine into the lap of another, who was studying his
speech, which he held under the side of the table. " I beg your pardon,
"sir," said I, "sincerely." "Oh!" responded he, "' there is no harm
" done." " Oh, but there is harm," I replied : "I am afraid I have wet
" your speech — ^however, you will have this consolation at least, that I
" have imparted some spirit to it, and at all events, it will be more
" fluent." ;'
Having thus presented, to you my humble views upon the privilege
and proprieties of speech, allow me, after again thanking you for being

39

permitted to share in the enjoyment and fi-aternal sympathy of this
magnificent banquet, in conclusion, to offer you this sentiment :
" An able and impartial judiciary — and a patriotic and enlightened
Bar. — Always the best Bulwark of a Repubhcan Government."

David Dudley Field then responded to the next toast, " The Con
temporaries of Our Guest."
speech of DAVID DUDLEY FIELD.
Me. Chairman and Gentlemen. — In his long and honored life our
fi-iend and guest has seen many illustrious men. Beginning with
those who flourished in his earlier years, and ending with those who
are just enacting distinguished parts, what an array of names will
come into light as we seek to recall them. In his youth, he saw
Hamilton, the most consummate genius that ever adorned om- bar,
whose fame as a lawyer is only echpsed by his fame as a statesman,
and whose wi'itings and speeches are to this day an inexhaustible
mine from which constitutional arguments are di-awn. When our
guest came into the profession, Kent sat in the seat of the Chancellor,
and was beginning that career as judge and commentator which has
made his name famous throughout the world. Smith Thompson,
afterwards Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United
States, was om- State Chief Justice, and Spencer sat beside him, while
Van Vechten was Attorney General. What a noble figure was Van
Vechten as he stood before the judges. I can fancy him now as I last
saw him debating a motion before Chancellor Walworth, erect, im
movable, in full dress, his sonorous voice ringing thi-ough the court
room. Among the men immediately preceding and following Mr. Ger
ard in then- admission to the bai-, were Samuel Sherwood, whom we
all remember as a vigorous common-law lawyer ; John Duer and
Thomas J. Oakley, Judges of our Superior Com-t, how like in emi
nence, and yet how unlike in mental qualities — the one all genius, the

40
other all reason, and both unequalled, save by their associate, once chan
cellor, Samuel Jones ; Samuel R. Betts, for more than a generation
Judge of our Federal District Com-t ; Henry R. Storrs and EUsha Wil
liams, eloquent advocates : Daniel Cady, the acutest of reasoners ; Tal
cott, whose learning was only equalled by his genius ; Thomas Addis
Emmet and John Wells, the rivals of their day ; Griffin, Ogden,
Slosson, Anthon, Codwise, and friends of my youth, Henry and Rob
ert Sedgwick, of whom I cannot speak without emotion — names, all
of them to be held in honorable remembrance.
I have heard om- friend say that he once belonged to a debating
club, the Forum, I think it was called, of which Henry Wheaton was
a member — that Wheaton whose works on international law have
carried his name through America and Europe, and beyond the Indian
Seas. Of those who came later to the bar, and who have passed away
before then- seniors, I should like to enumerate the eminent names,
the Sandfords, Jordan, Beardsley, Bronson, Wood, Butler, Lord,
Bonney, Robertson, and especially would I speak of Noyes and Brad-
ford, to whom I am drawn by years of common labors. Of the living,
who bear the honors of long success, some of whom still wear their
armor, though most of them have put it away, there are not a
few at these tables, come to manifest their sympathy with our
friend in this his triumphant hour. Here is Talmadge, scion of a
sturdy race fi-om the Litchfield hills. Here is Roosevelt, gi-ave
and judicial as ever, whose eye is not dimmed, nor his natural
force abated. Here is Kh-kland, whose praises are daily chanted by
grateful birds that have come to us over the sea, to make music before
his door. Ruggles and Vandei-poel, who began then- professional life
together, and have tiavelled different roads, have settled down in
luxurious homes side by side ; Ketchum, who combines the shrewd
ness of the Dutch burgher with the vigor of a New England Pmitan,
is not here, but sends the expression of his sympathy. Mun-ay Hoff
man, though absent in body, is with us in spuit, the most learned of
all our profession in the laws of our city, the surviving representative
of a family of lawyers, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, and Ogden Hoffman.

41
Though the lawyer's greatest efforts are made within a narrow
circle of auditors, it would be a great mistake to supf)0se that his
labors perish with the occasion. When the voice which utters wise
and eloquent words ceases, when the audience which heard them,
departs, and no written record remains, the work nevertheless en
dures. The great fabric of our jurispi-udence is the monument of
lawyers and judges, on which they work, day by day ; it stands on
foundations of rook and rises to the sky. The names of the workmen
are scattered through the books, memorials of their labors ; as in the
cathedrals of the old world, I have seen wrought into tablets built in
the walls, the names of the builders who have carved in stone the
ideals of their genius.
The men whom I have named were specially the contemporaries
of our own guest. But in a more general sense, we are all his
contemporaries. We have taken part in many of the same trans
actions. We have lived through a portion of the same great his
tory. We, like him, ai-e the inheritors of the renown of his pre
decessors. May we hope, like him, to transmit to our successors
an honored name and a useful example. After so many years of ser
vice he retires from our ranks, and we meet to salute him as he retu-es.
A veteran of many victories he withdraws his shield from the lists and
steps fi-om the arena. And, though we hope long to see him among
us, to enjoy that ease with dignity, which the philosopher thought so
becoming to age, we here bid him adieu as a member of the bar. In
that sense we say to him, in the language of the ancients, Friend,
comrade, brother, " HaU and Fai-eweh ! " (Great applause.)

Fifth Toast. " The Junior Bar" was next responded to by Luther
R. Marsh. speech of MR. MARSH.
Mr. President : The brevity of yom- toast is not very suggestive
of topics to a speaker. Not so a toast I have just heard, as given at a
lawyer's dinner in Vermont. They have there, it seems, an action of
6

42
" Book Account," into which have been drifting, for many years, all
sorts of doubtful remedies. When ever there was doubt as to the
proper form of a contemplated suit, safety was found in the compre
hensive action of " Book Account. " The sentiment was : " The action
of Book account : Like freedom, it is constantly enlarging its area ;
like necessity, it knows no law ; and like the Gospel, it passeth under
standing.'' One feels strong here to-night amid so many counsellors — of such
rich and varied gifts and experience — and all on the same side. With
the Bar and the Com-t unanimous, and no obstinate twelfth juryman,
I do not well see how we can fail to get a verdict. We encounter
here no formidable opponent, alert to detect the slightest eiTor ; all are
ardent and sympathizing fiiends, and supporters. This is not om-
usual lot. We cannot, ordinarily, in the practice of our art, assert any
fact, or any proposition of law, but there vdll spring up, on the other
side of the table, a vigilant opponent, ready to qualify, if not to deny.
If we aver that common law affirms, or modern decision adjudges, or
that statute enacts a given proposition, we are met, at the threshold,
with a prompt denial, or a counter-averment of reversal or repeal, or
a wire-di-awn distinction between that proposition and the case in hand,
or, at least, as the mUdest form of controversy, with an ominous
dubitantur. If we trace our doctrine back to the dawn of jurispi-u
dence, we are met, if not by some ancient Doomsday book, yet by some
modern book of doom, the first of Daly, the tenth of Bosworth, the
fiftieth of Barbour, or the thh-ty-ninth New York, which shakes our
theoiy to its fall. If we may find and quote the very words of some
judge, now descended to and meeting us in the forum, he will
 " sever and divide
A hair 'twixt north and north-west side ;"
and, if compelled to admit the con-ectness of his principle, -will demon
strate that it has not the slightest application to the case at bar. Thus
live we in perpetual opposition, struggle, strife, anxiety : in constant
expectation that some appai-ent rock whereon we stand wUl prove after

43
all, only a beguiling quicksand, to sink beneath us in the hour of
trial — or that, as we stretch out our eager hands to grasp the victory,
some masked petard will hoist us out of sight. There need return to
us no Hobbes, fi-om across the solemn boiu-n, to inform us that the
normal state of a lawyer is a state of war. All the world agrees, and
accords us belligerent rights.
We have not always the same enemies, nor the same allies. Our
foe of yesterday may be our associate of to-day, our petitioner to
morrow, and on the next day, our judge or referee.
But hail this auspicious night ! Here are we, daUy combatants, now
hand-in-hand and all together. Om- bugles sing ti-uce. The master-
wranglers are sUent. Even the bench is not impatient.
It is proper and just and grateful that the bar of New York, sym
bolized by this large assembly — joined by eminent representatives of
foreign bars — proving that State lines have not bounded the reputation
of our brother — should yield its tribute of affection and regard to one
who, much to our sm-prise and more to om- grief, while yet his eye is
not dim nor his natural force abated — as I have had occasion recently
to experience — chooses to withdraw^ fi-om the arena of many a des
perate conflict and many a brUhant triumph — an arena in which he has
ever borne himself with unswerving fidelity and stainless honor and
knightly courtesy; loyal ever to his profession, to his client, to his
own manhood ; in which he leaves no personal enemy, and in which
the blows he has given, however hard and fast they fell, however un
expected, however they may have sought out the very weakest point
of our armor, we must acknowledge, were always fairly, as weU as
deftly dealt. It is left for hours like these to hang about the brows of
om- legal champions, some crown of lam-el, some offering of dehcate
sympathy and cordial affection, more precious in its perfume of appre
ciative testimony, than more solid remunerations ; and it is a pleasure
to us to bring to our feast an earnest fi-iendship to pay tribute to un
blemished honor, and a noble career.
The forensic experience of om- distinguished guest stretches back, as
we have just been told, into a period which embraces the golden age of

44
American jmisprudence, and holds the stai-ry names that stud om- legal
sky, — names amongst which his own rises to its conspicuous place.
My toast permits me to speak only for the junior, while my memo
ries are carrying me to an elder bar, — memories hard to resist, since
they bear me back to a studentship with Freeborn G. Jewett and Sam
uel Beardsley, to a partnership with Henry R. Storrs and Daniel Web
ster, and to a relationship yet more intimate with Alvan Stewart. But
this theme has been committed to an abler hand. I may not leave it,
though, without the mention of some names that wUl awaken in yom-
breast, Mr. President, lively emotions. The ocean is still chanting its
plaintive requiem oyer the stately form of Edward Sandford. The
banquet and the com-t are no longer enriched bj' the mellow, clarion
tones of Ogden Hoffman. George Wood no more jDursues his lumi
nous path through the intricacies of the law, making that plain which
was, before, obscm-e. Jones, and Oakley, and Duer — a mighty judicial
triumvu-ate — are gone. Judge Samuel R. Betts, with golden and fuU-
eared sheaves, the earth has taken to its bosom. Quite recently have
we contributed of our leaders, William Curtis Noyes and Benjamin
West Bonney and Daniel Lord, to the world beyond ; whUe the ab
sence of Judge Anthony L. Robertson fi-om a festival he would have
so heartUy enjoyed, reminds us of a stUl fresher bereavement. But I
may not pause to sweU the catalogue.
I beai- to om- guest the thanks of the Junior Bar for the inheritance
he bequeaths them, of his fan- fame, of his bright example, and of the
memory of his skill and eloquence. But shall these, and others, be
transmitted by us to the yet Junior Bars fast coming on — though their
heads may not yet have risen over the horizon into view — only by oral
traditions, which a few generations will enth-ely efface : a destiny too
often — ^Alas ! must I not say, almost always — ^befalling the efforts and
the career of aU, even the gi-eatest advocates om- Order has known.
WUl he not enhance our gratitude, as he now retires fi-om the field,
amid the congratulations and regrets of his associates, by devoting
some of the hours now about to spread then- tempting leism-e before
him, in giving chi-onicle to the past — ^by gathering, in endm-ing form

45
the fast fading reminiscences of the great lawyers he has met, in amity
or combat, and of the interesting causes in which he has himself parti
cipated ? Is there any trade, business, science, art or subject which has
not come under his review and study ? What new discovery — as of
railroads or telegraphs, what new business has grown up ; what new
advance in civilization, but has requhed his plastic hand to mould the
ancient princijoles to their new adaptation ? If he shall do so, let him, I
pray, impart to us, the younger bar, the secret of his charmed and
charming life ; how it is that labors most intense and exacting, exhaust
ing excitements and anxieties, and the tainted ah- of crowds, and even
old Time himself, have not been able to invade his unbroken and rosy
health ; so that the period of his retu-ement from forensic effort comes
to him, if frosty, yet kindly ; how, amidst the disappointments, the re
vulsions, and the emergencies of nisi prius, he has always main
tained such geniality of temper ; how he has managed to unite so much
of social joy and public benefaction with so much of legal toil. The
mystery of his persuasive speech, his quick insight and tact, those light
ning jets of wit, and that peculiar humor, which, in the sharpest colli
sions, however disastrous to the opposing case, never ruffles a feather
in his adversary's plume, I do not expect him to communicate ; they
have then- homes in his own genius, and are alike incapable of imita
tion or of rivalry.
But it is now so late that it is almost to-morrow, and I must no
longer keep your ears fi-om those who are to follow. Among them I
see one, [James T. Brady] worthy to splinter lance with om- eloquent
guest ; and who, with the exception of yom-self, Mr. President, can tell
us more than any one else, of the pecuUar mode in which our friend
was accustomed to organize and to accomplish his successes. I
see also, in the list of those you are to hear, the learned Professor
[Doremus] — known abroad, as at home — who holds the many-warded
key which unlocks the arcana of nature — who has but to point his fin
ger at some dark tube, and there is light — and who, however he may
play with acids, in conjuring new chemical combinations, permits no
touch of vinegar upon his own qualities.

46
And, now, my compeers and my juniors, let us learn fr-om this ex
ample that whatever natural endowments we may be crowned withal,
we cannot fly at the high rewards — that there is no patented veloci
pede to bear us smoothly and rapidly along a royal road to the con
quest of the law — that it is only by steady, faithful, persistent, and
long-continued labor we can becoipe entitled to, or can receive, the
honors of the bar.

Hon. James T. Brady then responded to the sixth toast, " Our Fra
ternal Union," in his usual humorous vein.
Mr. Brady having made his speech very late in the evening, and
the reporters having left, no report was made of it in the papers.
This was the last speech he ever made. A short time afterward he
was taken suddenly Ul, and died in three days.
It was a brilliant effort, and he is said to have exj)ressed himself as
being more satisfied with it than any speech he had ever made on a
simUar occasion.

In response to the toast " The Kindred Prof essions," Dr. R. Ogden
Doremus said:
Mb. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : The lateness of the hour
forbids my responding as I had intended, to the toast, with the ter
tiary part of which I am honored, of " The Kindred Professions."
A comparative analysis of the three learned professions, was humor
ously presented by the Attorney General of the United States, in a re
cent address before a medical class, at the Academy of Music.
He remarked that the doctor had an advantage over his profession
al brethren, inasmuch as every man had a body ; that unfortunately
for the lawyer, few clients possessed estates ; and it was a question of
theology, whether every one was provided with a soul.
To the chagrin of the doctor, his fees cease with the death of his
patient ; whereas, for the lawyer, affairs were often in a more favor
able position after the demise of his client than before.

47
Ml-. Evarts stated that a legal brother had promised to take a trip
to Europe, during the approaching summer ; but that, when the time
arrived, he said he was unable to go, for a wealthy client had died, and
should he be absent from home three months, the heirs woidd get all
the p>roperty !
The minister, like his Master, as he also advised us, is as a sheep
among wolves; whereas the lawyer and the doctor are as wolves
among sheep; we (of the legal profession) look after the fleece, while
you walk into the mutton.
He also accorded a privilege to members of my profession, after the
modulus of Dr. Franklin, that every man, when he attains the age of
40, is either a fool or a physician. Gentlemen of the medical class, he
said, you can congi-atulate yourselves, that you may be both — the one
by natm-e, the other by degree.
Another differential diagnosis might be cited of the young recipient
of collegiate honors, who, deeming the soul the most important part of
man, undertook the study of theology. He soon disco^'ered his error,
and that bodily interests were more thought of than spiritual ones.
He perfected himself, therefore, in the science of medicine. After re
ceiving his degree, he found that the mass of humanity cared more for
property, than for body or soul, and he culminated his professional la
bors with that of law.
As a representative of the profession which deals with ultimate
atoms, and the mysterious laws which invest them, I must beg you to
acknowledge, that in the sumptuous dinner you have so heartUy
partaken of, you have all kneeled at the shrine of chemistry.
When we would honor a feUow being, we " drink his health " in
some refreshing, diffusible stimulus ; or, behoving in the doctrine of
reconstruction, we offer a more substantial repast, and mysteriously
transmute bread and butter, with the varied bm-thens of the social
board, into bone and brain.
But, gentlemen, I feel called upon to represent another profession —
that of the teacher.
He has no trammels obligating him to read the Scriptures as a Ro-

48
manist or a Protestant, a Baptist or an Episcopalian. Nor is he called
upon to look with legal acumen for precedents. Nor, again, to become
an advocate for any " pathy ;" but, like the man of science, ever seeks
for truth.
This should be one of the most hberal of all the learned professions,
for, more than any other, it is charged with the weighty responsibUity
of developing the new generation. DaUy intercom-se with pupUs, for
the purposes of instruction, affords the teachei- opportunities not ac
corded to the three acknowledged learned professions.
His work is with developing humanity ; theh-s with developed hu
manity. Arid, gentlemen, what greater honor can we boast of, than that, as
our Ulustrious guest, with all his varied experience and erudition,
leaves your j)i-ofession, he has this evening announced that he will de
vote his energies to the profession of the teacher.
But this is no novel occupation for him. Not a child in our pubhc
schools is unfamiliar with the name of Mr. Gerard ; and did time per
mit, I could testify to many a lectm-e, replete with insti-uction and en
tertainment, which, for years, it has been his custom to offer as an ex
pression of his interest in the welfare of the young, and his apprecia
tion of our splendid system of fr-ee education.
Would that other eminent men would emulate his example. Gen
tlemen, as he leaves your profession, with open ai-ms we welcome him.
Rev. Dr. McCosh made a veiy short but pertinent speech on the
education of young men, but it was not reported.
Rev. Dr. Washburn, on account of the lateness of the horn-, did not
addi-ess the company.

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