Part 2 (1/2)

Thus the period which began at Portsmouth in 1807 closed in Boston, in 1817, with the death of the eldest born In that decade Mr Webster had advanced with great strides from the position of a raw and youthful lawyer in a back country town of New Hahest professional eminence in his own State, and had removed to a wider sphere, where he at once took rank with the best lawyers He was a leading practitioner in the highest national court During his two terress he had become a leader of his party, and had won a solid national reputation In those years he had rendered conspicuous service to the business interests of the nation, and had established himself as one of the ablest statesmen of the country in matters of finance He had defined his position on the tariff as a free-trader in theory and a very moderate protectionist when protection was unavoidable, a true representative of the doctrine of the New England Federalists He had taken up his ground as the champion of specie payments and of the liberal interpretation of the Constitution, which authorized internal improvements While he had not shrunk fro the war, he had kept hiland in the year 1814 He left Congress with a realizing sense of his own growing powers, and, rejoicing in his strength, he turned to his profession and to his new duties in his new home

CHAPTER III

THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE--MR WEBSTER AS A LAWYER

There is a vague tradition that when Mr Webster took up his residence in Boston, some of the worthies of that ancient Puritan toere disposed at first to treat him rather cavalierly and reat in New Hareat in Massachusetts They found very quickly, however, that it orse than useless to atte of this sort with a man who, by his mere look and presence whenever he entered a room, drew all eyes to himself and hushed the murmur of conversation It is certain that Mr Webster soon found hireeable and distinguished eneral popularity which, in those days, ith him everywhere It is also certain that he at once and without effort assunized equal of its most e still further enlargement, a practice in which one fee probably surpassed the earnings of three reeable society about hi could have beenyears of his life in Boston

The period upon which he then entered, and during which he withdrew from active public service to devote himself to his profession, was a very important one in his career It was a period rowth and by the first exhibition of his talents on a large scale It embraces, moreover, two events, landmarks in the life of Mr Webster, which placed him before the country as one of the first and the reat master in the art of occasional oratory The first of these events was the argue case; the second was the delivery of the Plymouth oration

I do not propose to enter into or discuss the al theories and principles involved in the fareat cases subsequently argued by Mr Webster In a biography of this kind it is sufficient to exae case, and endeavor, by a study of his arguments in that and in certain other hardly less important causes, to estimate properly the character and quality of his abilities as a lawyer, both in the ordinary acceptation of the ter with constitutional questions

The coe case is very curious and deservesnotice Until within three years it is not too much to say that it was quite unknown, and its condition is but little better now In 1879 Mr John M shi+rley published a volue Causes,” which is a h research Most persons would conclude that it was a work ofto a limited class of professional readers Even those into whose hands it chanced to co it as it deserves by the first chapter, which is very obscure, and by the confusion of the narrative which follows Yet this raph, which has so unfortunately suffered froreat value, not only to our legal and constitutional history, but to the political history of the tiuished actors in a series of events which resulted in the establish of constitutional doctrines, one that has been a living question ever since the year 1819, and is at this moment of vast practical importance Mr shi+rley has drawn forth from the oblivion of manuscript a collection of documents which, taken in conjunction with those already in print, throws a flood of light upon a dark place of the past and gives to a dry constitutional question the vital and human interest of political and personal history

In his early days, Eleazer Wheelock, the founder of Dartious controversy with Dr Bellaraduate of Yale Wheelock was a Presbyterian and a liberal, Bellaationalist and strictly orthodox The charter of Dartious discrimination By his will the elder Wheelock provided in such a way that his son succeeded hie Niles, a pupil of Bellae, and he and John Wheelock represented the opposite viehich they respectively inherited from tutor and father They were foran some twelve years before it reached the public The trustees and the president were then all Federalists, and there would seeious nature The trouble arose from the resistance of a minority of the trustees to what they termed the ”family dynasty”

Wheelock, however, maintained his ascendency until 1809, when his enemies obtained a majority in the board of trustees, and thereafter adovernment, and used every effort to subdue the dominant dynasty

In New Ha party, and the Congregationalists formed the state church The people were, in practice, taxed to support Congregational churches, and the clergy of that denoational ministers were stanch Federalists and most of their parishi+oners were of the sa in the State, was one of the Federalist and Congregational strongholds

After several years of fruitless and bitter conflict, the Wheelock party, in 1815, brought their grievances before the public in an elaborate pamphlet This led to a rejoinder and a war of pamphlets ensued, which was soon transferred to the newspapers, and created a great sensation and a profound interest Wheelock now contee Smith and Mr Mason were allied with the trustees, and the president therefore went to Mr Webster, consulted him professionally, paid him, and obtained a promise of his future services

About the tiislature, charging the trustees with misapplication of the funds, and various breaches of trust, religious intolerance, and a violation of the charter in their attacks upon the presidential office, and prayed for a coation The trusteesall the charges, especially that of religious intolerance; but the coust 5th, Wheelock, as soon as he learned that the co hi a fee of twenty dollars, and asking him to appear before the coo on as best he could without hinant letter to Mr Webster on his failure to appear; to which Mr

Webster replied that he had seen Wheelock and they had conte he was otherwise engaged, and ard a suislative co that he was by no ht The truth was, that est personal and political friends, and most of the leaders hom he was associated in the control of the Federalist party, were either trustees themselves or closely allied with the trustees In the interval between the consultation with Wheelock and the co, these friends and leaders saw Mr Webster, and pointed out to hie controversy was fast developing into a party question Mr Webster was convinced, and abandoned Wheelock, , as has been seen, a very unsatisfactory explanation of his conduct

In this way he finally parted coed on the side of the trustees

Events nowthe advice of Mr

Mason to delay, removed Wheelock from the presidency, and appointed in his place the Rev Francis Brown This fanned the flaislative committee threw the whole question into politics As Mr Mason had foreseen when he warned the trustees against hasty action, all the Deational, and all freethinkers generally, were united against the trustees, and consequently against the Federalists The election came on

Wheelock, as a Federalist, went over to the ene his friends with him, and Mr Pluether with a Deislature Mr Webster perceived at once that the trustees were in a bad position He advised that every effort should bea new college should be noised abroad, in order to create alarainst the trustees in his islature in June, 1816, despite every sort of protest and ree, and virtually to place it within the control of the State The Governor and council at once proceeded to choose trustees and overseers under the ne, and a those thus selected was Joseph Story of Massachusetts

Both boards of trustees assee Woodward, their secretary, as a friend to Wheelock and secretary also of the new board, and, receiving a thousand dollars froht President Brown refused to obey the summons of the new trustees, who expelled the old board by resolution Thereupon the old board brought suit against Woodward for the college seal and other property, and the case cae Se Sullivan and Ichabod Bartlett for Woodward and the state board The case was argued and then went over to the September term of the same year, at Exeter, when Mason and Sued again on both sides and with signal ability In point of talent the counsel for the college were vastly superior to their opponents, but Sullivan and Bartlett were nevertheless strong ood lawyer and a fluent and ready speaker, with great power of illustration Bartlett was a shrewd, hard-headed man, very keen and incisive, and one whoed, in his argument, in some severe reflections upon Mr Webster's conduct toward Wheelock, which so much incensed Mr

Webster that he referred to Mr Bartlett's argument in a most contemptuous way, and strenuously opposed the publication of the reht of the argue fell upon Mason and Smith, who spoke for two and four hours respectively Sullivan and Bartlett occupied three hours, and the next day Mr Webster closed for the plaintiffs in a speech of two hours Mr Webster spoke with great force, going evidently beyond the li up with a splendid sentimental appeal which drew tears from the crowd in the Exeter court-room, and which he afterwards used in an elaborated form and with siton

It now becomes necessary to state briefly the points at issue in this case, which were all fully argued by the counsel on both sides Mr Mason's brief, which really covered the whole case, was that the acts of the Legislature were not obligatory, 1, because they were not within the general scope of legislative power; 2, because they violated certain provisions of the Constitution of New Haislative power; 3, because they violated the Constitution of the United States In Farrar's report of Mason's speech, twenty-three pages are devoted to the first point, eight to the second, and six to the third In other words, the third point, involving the great constitutional doctrine on which the case was finally decided at Washi+ngton, the doctrine that the Legislature, by its acts, had ihtly In so doing Mr Mason was not alone Neither he nor Judge Smith nor Mr Webster nor the court nor the counsel on the other side, attached h, the theory had been originated many years before, by Wheelock himself, at a time when he expected that the islature against him, and his idea had been remembered It was revived at the time of the newspaper controversy, and was pressed upon the attention of the trustees and upon that of their counsel But the lawyers attached little weight to the suggestion, although they introduced it and argued it briefly Mason, Sround covered by the first point in Mason's brief This is called by Mr

shi+rley the ”Parsons view,” frouard to visitatorial powers at Harvard College Briefly stated, the argue was an institution founded by private persons for particular uses; that the charter was given to perpetuate such uses; that misconduct of the trustees was a question for the courts, and that the Legislature, by its interference, transcended its powers To these general principles, strengthened by particular clauses in the Constitution of New Hae trusted for victory The theory of iation of contracts they introduced, but they did not insist on it, or hope for much from it On this point, however, and, of course, on this alone, the case went up to the Supreme Court In Dece that the case went up on ”one point only” He occupied hi cases which should raise what he considered the really vital points, and which, co within the jurisdiction of the United States, could be taken to the Circuit Court, and thence to the Supreton These cases, in accordance with his suggestion, were begun, but before they careat effort in Washi+ngton Three quarters of his legal argument were there devoted to the points in the Circuit Court cases, which were not in any way before the Supree vs Woodward So little, indeed, did Mr Webster think of the great constitutional question which has made the case famous, that he forced the other points in where he adued theth They were touched upon by Marshall, who, however, decided wholly upon the constitutional question, and they were all thrown aside by Judge Washi+ngton, who declared them irrelevant, and rested his decision solely and properly on the constitutional point Two u forward the Circuit Court cases, wrote to Mr Mason that all the questions ht properly before the Supreeneral principle”

that the State Legislature could not divest vested rights, strengthened by the constitutional provisions of New Hampshi+re, he was sure they could defeat their adversaries Thus this doctrine of ”iation of contracts,” which produced a decision in its effects eneral interest than perhaps any other ever estion of laylected in every arguo back now, for a moment, in the history of the case

The New Haainst the plaintiffs on every point, and gave a very strong and elaborate judged was ”able, plausible, and ingenious” After reed on a special verdict, and took the case up on a writ of error to the Supreo to Washi+ngton, and the case was intrusted to Mr Webster, who secured the assistance of Mr Joseph Hopkinson of Philadelphia The case for the State, hitherto ably ed, was now confided to Mr John Holmes of Maine, and Mr Wirt, the Attorney-General, who handled it very badly Holmes, an active, fluent Democratic politician, made a noisy, rhetorical, political speech, which pleased his opponents and disgusted his clients and their friends Mr Wirt, loaded with business cares of every sort, came into court quite unprepared, and endeavored to make up for his deficiencies by declaed with consu thoroughly prepared, ument The burden of the conflict was, however, borne by Mr

Webster, as more interested personally than professionally, and who, having raised money in Boston to defray the expenses of the suit, caton arreat powers