Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/815

 KENT 795 lature for Dutches.? co. The country was then excited by political discussions, arising from the adoption of tho federal constitution, and Mr. Kent became an active and leading fede- ralist, attracting the notice and confidence of Hamilton and Jay. It was by Hamilton's coun- sel that the reading of the young lawyer was directed to the doctrines of the civil law, and the treatises of the jurists of continental Eu- rope ; and thus he acquired the deep knowl- edge of the works of Pothier, Emerigon, and other civilians, which is to be traced through- out his own writings. In 1793 he was an un- successful candidate for a seat in congress for Dutchess co., and in the same year removed to New York, and was appointed by Gov. Jay one of the two masters in chancery for that city. In 1796 he was elected a member of the legislature, and also professor of law in Co- lumbia college. Three of his lectures in the latter capacity, forming together an introduc- tion to his general course, were published in 1797, and attracted the favorable notice of the legal profession. In 1797 he was appointed recorder of the city, an officer then administer- ing a court of civil jurisdiction ; and the extra- ordinary ability he exhibited in the office in- duced Gov. Jay in 1798 to nominate him a judge of the supreme court of the state. He continued a member of this tribunal till 1814, having been from 1804 chief justice. The su- preme court at that time was formed after the model of the English king's bench, being com- posed of five judges, who rode the circuits to try jury cases, and convened during the year at four appointed terms to decide reserved questions of law. Both the court and the law itself were in a rudimental state. There were no American law books, and no reports of American decisions, except those of Mr. Dallas, which were just commenced. Tho proceed- ings of the court were languid and dilatory ; and resort was had for rules of procedure and principles of law almost exclusively to English precedents and decisions. The accession to the bench of a young, energetic, and able judge produced a striking change. It was the diffi- cult task of the court to expound the prin- ciples of the common law as applicable to American institutions ; to define and limit our new constitutional provisions ; to construe re- cent statutes ; to bring the principles of com- mercial law to bear upon transactions of trade and commerce ; to devise rules of practice ; and in short to adapt to a young and rising nation a complicated yet practical code of laws. That this work was well accomplished, and that a large portion of its success must be attributed to the unremitting energy and talent of the chief justice, will appear from the reports of Mr. Parsons, and the 14 volumes, entitled " Johnson's Cases " and " Johnson's Reports," of the decisions of the supreme court during the time of Mr. Justice Kent. By the consti- tution of New York as it then existed an im- portant political duty was imposed on the ju- diciary of the state. The judges of the supreme court and the chancellor formed with the gov- ernor a council of revision, possessing a quali- fied veto on the acts of the legislature. This council was abolished by the constitutional convention of 1822, the judges themselves ac- quiescing in the change. They felt that, though the council was often a salutary check upon hasty and unwise legislation, the effect upon the judiciary was unfavorable, as exposing it to the influence and excitements of political parties. The subsequent publication of the pro- ceedings of the council of revision displays Mr. Kent as prominent and efficient in the discharge of his political, as he had been in performing his judicial duties. In 1814 Chief Justice Kent was appointed chancellor. Up to that time the court of chancery had been of secondary importance in the jurisprudence of tho state. This was partly owing to the nature of its busi- ness. Complicated trusts and intricate settle- ments of property, which form the peculiar subjects of chancery jurisdiction, belong to an advanced period of national growth. But the proceedings of the court had been dilatory ; its mode of practice was circuitous and expensive, and tho court was regarded with disfavor both by the profession and the community. Tho change effected by Chancellor Kent was aptly described in an address presented to the chan- cellor by the members of the bar, on his retire- ment from the office after nine years' admin- istration of its duties. They compared him to Lord Nottingham, the English chancellor, who was described by Blackstone as the founder of the equity system of England, and who was " enabled in the course of nine years to build a system of jurisprudence and jurisdiction upon wise and national foundations." The seven volumes of Johnson's "Chancery Reports " contain the decisions of Chancellor Kent, and present a profound and extended exposition of the whole system of equity law. In 1822 he was elected a member of the convention called to revise the constitution of the state. He took an active part in the discussions of this body, and displayed a power of debate remarkable for one so long retired from foren- sic discussions. His opinions were strongly conservative. He opposed without success the extension of the right of suffrage, and other democratic innovations ; but his personal in- fluence and character preserved for the time the court of chancery, which he believed to be a useful means of administering justice. In 1823 his official term ended ; and, having at- tained the age of 60, he found himself, by the then existing constitution of the state, prevent- ed from holding judicial office. Still in vigor- ous health, he soon formed for himself new occupations. Returning to the city of New York, whence he had removed on becoming a judge, he was reflected professor of law in Columbia college, and for several years he de- livered courses of lectures on law to numerous classes, which were embodied in his " Com-