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 MARSHALL 201 of the alien and sedition laws, voting for the repeal of the most obnoxious sections of the lat- ter. Virginia had recorded her solemn protest, in the resolutions passed by her assembly in the winter of 1798, against these laws, and had es- tablished arsenals and armories to defend her rights by force if necessary. Washington, the great bulwark of the federal party, was no longer at the head of government, and the re- publicans were flushed with the daily increas- ing revulsion against the federal administration. At this crisis Marshall appeared in congress as the federal leader. In the debates upon great constitutional questions he was confessedly the first man in the house. The great event of his career in congress was his speech in defence of the administration in the affair of Jonathan Bobbins. This person had committed a mur- der on board a British frigate, and fled to the United States. On the requisition of the Brit- ish minister, who alleged that Bobbins was a subject of Great Britain, he was surrendered by President Adams, in compliance with a clause in Jay's treaty. For this the opposition in congress furiously assailed the president. Mr. Livingston introduced a resolution of cen- sure on him for the surrender of Bobbins at the dictation of the British minister, and upon this resolution took place an animated debate. ; The speech which he made on this occasion is the only one that Marshall ever revised, and is that by which he is best known to the world. It demonstrated that the surrender was an act of political power which belonged to the ex- ecutive. Judge Story says the speech silenced opposition, and settled then and for ever the points of national law upon which the contro- versy hinged. In May, 1800, Marshall was ap- pointed secretary of war, but before his entry on the duties of the office was offered the place of secretary of state, which he accepted. In this capacity he conducted several important discussions with the British minister, and drew up the instructions to Mr. King, the American minister to London, which hold a prominent place among the great state papers of the coun- try. On Jan. 31, 1801, he was appointed by President Adams chief justice of the United States supreme court, and the senate unani- mously confirmed the appointment. In this great tribunal of ultimate resort his influence is known to have been paramount. In 1804-'7 Judge Marshall published a u Life of Washing- ton " (5 vols.), largely based upon unpublished official documents, in which he defended the course of Washington's administration against the assaults of the republican party. The first volume was published separately in 1824, as "A History of the American Colonies;" and in 1832 the whole work was revised and com- pressed into two volumes. In 1828 Judge Marshall was a delegate from Richmond to a convention held in Charlottesville for devising a system of internal improvements, to be rec- ommended to the legislature. In 1829 he represented Richmond in the reform conven- tion to revise the old constitution of the com- monwealth. For many years he had been suffering greatly from a disease of the bladder. A surgical operation procured him relief, but a hurt received in travelling brought on an attack of liver complaint. He went to Philadelphia for medical assistance, but the disease over- powered him. In person Marshall was un- graceful, and in dress and bearing presented the appearance of a plain countryman. Mr. Wirt describes him as " tall, meagre, emaciated; his muscles relaxed, and his joints so loosely connected as not only to disqualify him appa- rently for any vigorous exertion of body, but to destroy everything like harmony in his air or movements." In spite, however, of this un- gainliness and simplicity, no one was a greater social favorite. His great passion was the game of quoits; and he was a member of the club which met at Buchanan's Spring, near Rich- mond, to play at it. He was the centre of a brilliant circle of wits ; but he was an unaffected Christian, and in a time of skepticism he never uttered a word to throw doubt upon Chris- tianity. A selection from his decisions has been published, entitled " The Writings of John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States, upon the Federal Constitution " (Boston, 1839). MARSHALL, Thomas Francis, an American poli- tician, nephew of Chief Justice Marshall, born in Frankfort, Ky., June 7, 1801, died near Versailles, Ky., Sept. 22, 1864. In 1831 he removed to Louisville, where he soon gained an extensive legal practice, was a member of the legislature successively from Jefferson and Woodford counties, and for several years was judge of the Louisville circuit court. From 1841 to 1843 he was a member of congress. In January, 1842, when John Quincy Adams, un- der protest and in deference only to the right of petition, presented a memorial of certain citizens of Haverhill, Mass., asking congress to dissolve the Union, Marshall moved a vote of censure, and Mr. Adams's reply subjected him to much ridicule. Though he had entered con- gress as a whig, he opposed Mr. Clay's United States bank bill, and subsequently favored the annexation of Texas and the election of Polk to the presidency. As a public speaker he was remarkable for his ready repartee and satire, and at different times was involved in four duels, one of them with James Watson Webb, then editor of the New York " Courier and En- quirer." During the latter years of his life he lectured successfully on history and other sub- jects through the northern and eastern states, and at intervals on temperance, though during the greater part of his life his own habits were intemperate. A collection of his writings and speeches has been edited by W. L. Barre (8vo, Cincinnati, 1858). MARSHALL, William Calder, a Scottish sculp- tor, born in Edinburgh in 1813. He studied in London under Chantrey and Baily, visited Rome in 1836, and passed some years in Italy. In 1835 he first exhibited at the royal academy,