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Proceedings on the death of Mr. Justice Bradley.

term is generally understood in its relation to juries; but he had what is vastly more important to a lawyer and a judge, the power of clear, terse, vigorous statement, which, illuminating the subject under discussion, if it does not enlist the feelings, does convince the understanding.

Politically his affinity was rather in the school of Hamilton than of Jefferson. He believed that, in framing the Federal Constitution, the fathers intended to create a nation, a sovereign. among the sovereigns of the earth; and, his judgment approving their work, he omitted no opportunity to assert and vindicate that sovereignty. Hence in his decisions upon constitutional questions, whether arising out of economic or quasi political issues, the national idea always appears, even as the strand royal in the woof of all the banners of Britain.

Of the quality and measure of his work as a justice of this court, running through near sixty volumes of the reports, there is no need to speak. With all his learning, with all his familiarity with reported decisions, Justice Bradley's opinions rarely rest primarily on adjudged cases. They are bottomed in principle, and then, when practicable, buttressed by authority. The principle involved is clearly stated, with its necessary logical results, and cases are cited to show that, on similar facts, like deductions have approved themselves to other judges been sanctioned by other courts. The conclusion is right, not because others have said so, but others with him have said so, because it is right. Being what he was, the work of Justice Bradley could not be less than what it is worthy of the man, an honor to the great court and the great country for which he spoke. His opinions are their own eulogy, the best, the most enduring monument to the fame of their author.

But let no jurist suppose that popular fame awaits him. Such honors are for more showy service, for men on horseback, or for those in political life who touch the people's heart-excite national enthusiasm. The laws of society like the laws of nature work unseen and in silence. The principle of gravitation, pervading and regulating the material universe, was unnoted by men for near six thousand years. If the law herself, omnipresent and allbeneficent, excites so little interest, her priests, quietly ministering in her temple, must be content with respect and veneration. They may not hope for popular applause.

Proceedings on the death of Mr. Justice Bradley.

Justice Bradley was a Christian man, cherished the domestic virtues in his home, was a good neighbor, and a good citizen. tried always to preserve a conscience void of offence toward God and man. Charges against his integrity or honor fell away from him as hurtless as hail from the face of yonder monument. To assert that such endowments, enriched by such cultivation, have perished, that the light of such a life has sunk in endless night, is to impeach the economy of nature.

Justice Bradley was a great lawyer, a great magistrate, a great man. He exalted the tribunal wherein he sat; he enlarged the measure of the place he occupied. His successor will in due time be appointed; his place will not soon be filled.

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE FULLER responded as follows:

We receive the memorial of the bar and the address of the Attorney General as deserved tributes to the eminent man, whose labors have illuminated the conclusions of this tribunal, and whose gracious presence has been to its members a source of inspiration and fraternal regard for so many years. We, indeed, sorrow deeply that we shall see his face no more.

The story of the lives of those who have triumphed over adverse circumstance and by indomitable will and industry attained that greatness in usefulness and in fame to which their mental gifts entitled them, is always full of interest and instruction, and in portraying the early difficulties surmounted by our departed brother, the Attorney General has justly called attention to the impressive lesson taught, in that particular, by his career, and indicated one of the most striking grounds of the success with which that career was attended. For the capacity for unremitting intellectual toil was his, accompanied by that power of concentration wherein lies the secret of mastery.

He had not only the "inquiring" but the "intending" mind. He not only looked into things, but threw himself upon them and possessed himself of them. In each instance, his nature seemed subdued to what it worked in, "like the dyer's hand." Minuteness and comprehensiveness went together, so that to his understanding the illustration from the Arabian Nights might well be applied, as it was to Bacon, that it resembled the fairy's tent, which could be placed, perfect in its proportions, on the hand, but

Proceedings on the death of Mr. Justice Bradley.

set up upon the plain, whole armies could encamp beneath its shade.

It would be unreasonable to say that he took "all knowledge for his province," yet the range of his studies was vast; the books chewed and digested, many; and his acquaintance with affairs so extensive, that what was original and what acquired poured from him in a common flood.

If, as has been said, great judges may be divided into those who decide the particular dispute correctly, and those who, in doing that, expound the principles which will govern future cases, Mr. Justice Bradley undeniably belonged to the latter class; for his decisions in disposing of the matter in hand so explained the reason and the philosophy of the rule applied, as to furnish a guide to the solution of problems to come.

Taking his seat upon this bench, conversant with every branch of the law, and with a mind filled with the results of brooding over fundamental principles in the vigils of many years, there is no ground for surprise that he has left a lasting impress upon the jurisprudence of his country. His opinions from the 9th Wallace to the 141st United States, (numbering nearly five hundred,) couched in pure, undefiled English, vigorous but elegant, whether in the great domain of constitutional law, in cases at law or in equity, in admiralty, in patent causes, covering the whole field of judicial investigation, whether involving the application of the subtle learning of the common law or the refined and equitable distinctions of the civil, whether treating of the principles of social order, of civil and political liberty, the bases of forms of government or the immortal structure of his own, constitute a repository of statesmanlike views, and of enlightened rules in the administration of justice, resting upon the eternal principles of right and wrong, which will never pass into oblivion - an edifice which will remain even though time erase from its corner-stone the name of the architect and builder. This is the exceeding great reward of an illustrious magistrate, that his work in contributing to the progress and happiness of mankind, by the just enforcement of the laws, will last as long as humanity endures.

The President of the United States, in acknowledging the official notification of Mr. Justice Bradley's death, said: "He was not only learned in the law, but the temper of his mind was so fine and his wisdom so great that I do not wonder that you valued his

Proceedings on the death of Mr. Justice Bradley.

counsels so highly." This observation is discriminating and just, for it touches that reserved force, termed character, which gave Mr. Justice Bradley an influence beyond the mere words he wrote or uttered. Fineness of mind, wisdom of thought, cordiality of heart, simplicity of manner, conscientious devotion to duty, an absolute integrity-these he had, and possessing these, he has left no unfinished window in the palace of the reputation bequeathed to posterity. Never suffering the talents given him to be weakened or extirpated by disuse, he persevered in the performance of public duty far beyond the period assigned as entitling to well-earned repose.

And so beneath the quiet stars, that appeared in the heavens as the twilight faded away, he continued to reap the harvest of a well-spent life, and at the summons of his Master came, bringing his sheaves with him.

An adjournment has heretofore been had as a mark of respect to the memory of our beloved associate, and a majority of our number has attended the committal of his body in the sure and certain hope of the life of the world to come. The resolutions and the remarks which have accompanied their presentation will be entered upon the record.

-INDEX.

ACCRETION.

See RIPARIAN OWNER.

ALASKA.

See BEHRING SEA;

JURISDICTION, D, 1, 3, 4.

ALIEN IMMIGRANT.

The act of February 26, 1885, “to prohibit the importation and migration
of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor
in the United States, its Territories, and the District of Columbia," 23
Stat. 332, c. 164, does not apply to a contract between an alien, resid-
ing out of the United States, and a religious society incorporated under
the laws of a State, whereby he engages to remove to the United States
and to enter into the service of the society as its rector or minister.
Holy Trinity Church v. United States, 457.

APPEAL.

See BEHRING SEA.

APPURTENANCE.

An appurtenance is that which belongs to or is connected with something
else to which it is subordinate or less worthy, and with which it passes
as an incident; and in strict legal sense land can never be appurtenant
to land. New Orleans Pacific Railway Co. v. Parker, 42.

See RAILROAD, 1, 3.

AVULSION.

See RIPARIAN OWNER.

BEHRING SEA.

At a time when a diplomatic correspondence was going on between the
United States and Great Britain respecting the extent of the jurisdic-
tion of the former in the waters of Behring Sea, a libel in admiralty
was filed in the District Court of Alaska, alleging a seizure by the

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