Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/683

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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state, and at the time of his death he was one of the most distinguished lawyers of Virginia.

He was noted everywhere as a profound student of the science of government, a most able and eloquent advocate, and the demand for his services was not confined to his own state. The only report that we have of his many appearances in the great cases of his time is that known as "The Trial of the Washington Election Rioters." On July i, 1857, when the City of W'ashington was in what was then known as Washington coun- ty, and its citizens were vested with the right of suffrage, there was in that city a great election riot ; the United States ma- rines were called out, who firing into the crowd, killed and wounded many. A num- ber of the alleged rioters were indicted and brought to trial in the September following before Judge Crawford. Philip Barton Key, then United States district attorney, con- ducted the prosecution, and Mr. Scott led the array of the lawyers for the defense. His speech on that occasion was published in "The American," a newspaper published in the City of Washington, and is a model of its kind. Clear, accurate and profound in all its statements of legal propositions, un- answerable in its logical array of facts, courteous and dignified, it presents an elo- quent defense of the accused.

But it was as a statesman and a political leader, when great and grave questions of state were discussed by great men, that he shone preeminent. Among the men of his time he was facile priucips, so acclaimed by friend and foe alike. He was a most earn- est advocate of the doctrines promulgated by the old-line Whig party and was its recognized leader in his state, its chosen champion on all great occasions. His de- votion to the Union was of the most ardent character and in the stormy days of 1859, i860 and 1861, he was its earnest eloquent and prophetic advocate on the hustings and the legislative halls of his state. But great as was his devotion to the Union, his love for his native state was far greater. Al- ways he preferred to serve her and he de- voted to her service his great talents and profound knowledge of law and the science of government.

He served with great distinction in the legislature of Virginia as the representative of his county for a number of years, was a

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member of all the constitutional conven- tions called in his time, those of 1850 and 1861. Thereafter he represented his county in the state legislature and his district in the Confederate congress, where he served until his death. In the legislature of 1849 he introduced a bill for the reform of the jury system of the state and supported it in a luminous and profound argument which furnishes a striking illustration of his pow- ers in debate. The changes he advocated were the taking of the burden of the main- tenance of the system from the several coun- ties, and placing it upon the state where it properly belonged ; transferring the selec- tion of the jurors from the hands of the sherilTs to the judiciary ; reducing the num- ber of jurors in civil cases from twelve to seven, and finally legalizing the majority verdict, permitting a decision by a majority tc be controlling. All of these reforms have since been adopted and are now in force, save the last.

A member of the legislature of 1849, his desk mate, one who came to know him well, writing in the "Richmond Times" of July 21, 1895, thus speaks of him and his work at that time :

At the head of these Whig leaders stood Robert E. Scott of Fauquier, without a peer in intellectual power and fascinating oratory. Singularly enough, Mr. Scott, when he arose to speak, for several min- utes stammered and hesitated as if at a loss for the right word to use or his inability to pronounce it distinctly, and when uttered, it seemed to be shot out by the sudden explosion of constrained energy. Sometimes this embarrassing condition lasted sev- eral minutes, and then suddenly disappeared with an emotional quivering of the voice, as if overcome by an eager desire to plunge into the very core of the subject of the debate. But this hesitancy and jerkiness of utterance passed away with a few rather awkward introductory sentences and then his words flowed out as freely as water from a gushing fountain, and proposition succeeded propo- sition, deduction followe^d deduction with the energy and irresistible force of a mountain torrent sweep- ing everything before it. I think he was one of the most eloquent man I ever heard and I know he was the most logical. The Whigs although in a hope- less minority in the House, often defeated their adversaries on extremely radical measures and forced them to a modification through Mr. Scott's transcendant ability. * * *

Of all men that I ever knew intimately, there was none that I admired or respected more than Robert E. Scott. He generally spoke on very important questions and rarely had a word to say in mere squabbles and quibbling over immaterial matters that spring up in all deliberative bodies, and that are pitched into by mere hair splitters. He had