Some Virginia Lawyers of the Past and Present.
59
seventy dollars, and was then able to support He had a passion for labor." He taught a himself. Though lawyers' fees in that day law class in Winchester and wrote extensive were pitifully small, yet the cost of living ly. A history of a day with him, which his made the income of the enterprising young son gives, would appal some of the hardest lawyer ample for the support of his family. working lawyers of to-day. " He rose at four, He became engaged in a large amount of wrote his notes for the press before breakfast, after that devoted the remainder of the morn important business in connection with the es tate of Lord Fairfax, and the rents which ing until court to the study of his cases. He grew out of his feudal grants. It was, no went into court at mid-day, heard arguments and decided cases. doubt, his practice in In the afternoon he these cases that gave lectured on his print him so thorough a ed notes. At night knowledge of the he studied his court common law doc cases, and retired trines as to rents, about ten o'clock after which are so clearly relieving the mental set forth in the chap pressure by social in ter upon that subject tercourse with family in his commentaries." and friends, enjoying He entered Con music and conversa gress in 18 1 5, when tion." he was thirty-five, and In 183 1 he was was chairman of the elected president of committee on theDisthe Court of Appeals trict of Columbia. One of his first and was the youngest speeches in Congress man on the bench. At this time President was on "The Treaty Jackson offered to ap of Ghent, and the con vention for commer point him attorneycial relations connec general of the United ted with it." He main States, but he declined THOMAS JEFFF.RSON saying, that he could tained that the treaty power in such cases not accept a Federal is not effectual until the House assents to office just after having had the honor of an its provisions. He voted and spoke against election to the Court of Appeals of Virginia. the new Compensation bill for members of In 184 1 he resigned the judgeship to be Congress, and refused to receive the compen come professor of law at the University of sation which it fixed, and his son tells that Virginia, where he remained until 1845 when "To this day on the books of the Treasury compelled to resign on account of ill health. there is a balance to his credit, which neither He was elected chairman of the Faculty and he nor his representatives have ever claimed." for changes in two of the laws of the Univer He was elected judge of the superior courts- sity the students to this day have cause to for the Winchester and Clarksburg districts bear him in grateful remembrance. One was in 1824, and it is said " His labors in this po in reference to wearing a uniform and the sition were effectual in a rapid and successful other repealed the law as to early rising, only dispatch of business, almost without parallel. requiring a student to be ready for breakfast.
