Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 2.djvu/211

 COL. JOHN HATCH GEORGE.

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��Grafton", and other counties in the state. Our gleanings are defective in their record of the leading cases — civil and criminal — in which Col. George had prominence as leading counsel, as pub- lic prosecutor, or otherwise. He was prosecutor in the case of State v. Has- kell, a negro man, and wife, in 1855, when sentence of death passed on Has- kell for murder, which doom was com- muted to imprisonment for life. Being officially engaged on this trial the mem- ory of the writer enables him to state that the conduct of this case by the prosecutor was managed with great skill, and without that redundancy of immaterial testimony, and surplusage of words in argument, which very often render trial proceedings, which ought to be of grave and dignified character, almost ludicrous. Other capital cases, defended by Col. George, and followed by acquittals, were those of State v. Scammel, tried in Grafton county ; State v. Young, tried in Rockingham county, and State v. Sawyer, decided in Grafton county. Among Col. George's more memorable civil cases were those of Smith v. the Boston, Concord and Montreal railroad ; Con- cord railroad v. Clough ; Frost v. the city of Concord ; Tufts' Brick Compa- ny v. Boston and Lowell railroad, and, recently, and still unfinished, the suit Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the pier accident case at Salem.

In 1 85 1 and during the two succeed- ing years, and again in 1S56, he was chairman of the Democratic state com- mittee, during which he did much ac- tive service. He was especially prom- inent in orsranizinsr the Presidential

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campaign which resulted in the elec- tion of his intimate personal friend — Gen. Franklin Pierce. From 1852 until i860 he was a member of the national Democratic committee ; and, from 1853 until 1858, he was United States Attorney for New Hampshire. In 1853 he was elected a member of the state legislature, but he resigned his seat on accepting the appointment of U. S. Attorney.

It may properly be mentioned here that Col. George had a narrow escape

��from becoming Secretary for the terri- tory of Minnesota. That appointment was offered him and accepted, and all arrangements were made to enable him to go to the north-west. On going to Washington he was informed by Presi- dent Pierce that he need not hasten his departure for a couple of weeks, nor until the President and he should have an opportunity to talk over old home matters ; but some business having been left undone in New Hampshire by the colonel, he sought permission to return and complete it, for which he had leave. On arriving at home such was the pressure brought to bear on him by his old clients, and such the impor- tance and value of new encouragements presented him, as to induce him to give up the Minnesota appointment and resume his profession in Concord, greatly to the satisfaction of his friends in social, political and business relations.

Although primarily, in his military career, he was a member of that nu- merous body whichhold colonelcies by a merely ornamental tenure, it cannot be said of him that he "never set a squadron in the field ;" for, besides be- ing aid-de-camp and chief of staff of Gov. Dinsmore during three years, up to 1850, for several years from the or- ganization he commanded company A. of the "Governor's Horse Guards," one of the finest, be.st equipped and most thoroughly drilled cavalry corps in New England, and one in which the people of the state had just pride.

From 1847 until 1866, Col. George was clerk and counsel for the Concord railroad. In 1867 he moved his office to Boston, he having accepted the position of Solicitor for the Boston and Lowell and associate railroads — a position he now holds. He has a peculiar fitness for this office, through his being thoroughly conversant with railroads, their laws and modes of their management. In Feb- ruary, 1870, at the special request of the leacling citizens of Concord, he de- livered a public address on " Railroads and their Management," which was ex- haustive of the subject and created great local as well as wide national interest. It was reported by a short-

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