' leaf fan. From time to time he shifted un he considered his most important contribu easily in his seat and glared impatiently at tion to our constitutional jurisprudence. the lawyer, who was talking around and These cases involved the construction of the around the issue. Finally, unable to restrain war amendments to the Constitution, and it himself longer, he glanced furtively around cannot be denied that, as he stated at the out the court room, and believing everybody else set of his opinion, "no questions so far-reach to be asleep, fairly shouted at the energetic ing and pervading in their consequences, so lawyer, "Damn it, Blank, come to the point!" profoundly interesting to the people of the "What point, your Honor?" inquired the country, and so important in their bearings astonished lawyer. "I don't know," was the upon the relations of the United States, had reply: "any point, some point!" been before the court during the judicial life Justice Miller's judicial labors extend of any of its members." The action arose out through seventy volumes of reports, from the of a statute of the State of Louisiana, which, second Black to the one hundred and thirty- assuming to regulate the business of slaugh sixth United States. His own opinions, tering animals for food within the city of New numbering above seven hundred, consti Orleans, created a corporation upon which tute a contribution to Federal jurisprudence it conferred the exclusive right of slaughter which has not been surpassed in value by any ing animals for food within that city; it other justice of the court. While he bore his directed the place where cattle should be full share of the burden of the solution of the landed and slaughtered, made regulations for wide range of subjects that came before the the maintenance of a public slaughter house court, and attained particular distinction in by the corporation, at which all butchers many, he won his highest fame as a constitu were compelled to slaughter, required the tional jurist. It was in this class of cases that corporation to provide all the conveniences he displayed most signally his remarkable for this purpose, and regulated the charges capacity for seizing upon the vital points of a to be made. The butchers of New Orleans, controversy, his instinctive command of legal considering this monopoly an invasion ol principles, and his statesmanlike foresight their personal rights, contested its validity on the ground that the new amendments to the and breadth of view. There is only one conspicuous exception Constitution forbade such a grant by the to his powerful influence among his col State. The Supreme Court held, however, leagues. His very able dissenting views in that the act was a police regulation for the Gelpcke v. City of Dubuque, i Wall. 175, re health and comfort of the people, and as such affirmed in Meyer v. City and Muscatine, I was within the power of the State, and was Wall. 384, and throughout the consideration unaffected by the Constitution or its amend of the subject, were ineffective in limiting the ments. Justice Miller delivered the opinion doctrine of the majority of the court with of the majority of the court. He asserted that the war amendments were designed pri respect to a general commercial jurispru dence. But even in these cases, his judicial marily to prevent discrimination by the States against the colored race, and that in their dicta upon the general subject of local taxa construction this fact, which indicated their tion and municipal bonds exercised wide in main object, should be kept steadily in view. fluence in the settlement of the law with re i The only privileges and immunities that were spect to those subjects. protected by the amendments were those In considering Justice Miller's work, it is which affected citizens of the United States customary to begin with his great opinion in as such. Citizenship of the United States and the Slaughterhouse Cases, 16 Wall. 36, which
