Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 02.pdf/526

 The Highest Courts of Law in New Hampshire. was the last of that distinguished set of law yers who made up the old Superior Court from its birth in 1816 to its demise in 1855. They were men of intense purposes, deeply conscious of their responsibility, hard-work ing, conservative, and faithful. They gave the best years of their lives to the service of the State, and by their devoted and unceas ing labors made the courts of New Hamp shire as illustrious as

any in the land. In the mean while the Court of Common Pleas, established in 18 16 and abolished by the Parker bill in 1832, had come to life again in 1842, and went on until 1859, when its light was once more extinguished. On this bench sat some very eminent lawyers, who in later years were pro moted to the Supreme Court. Among them were Judges Cushing, Bell, and Sargent, who became Chief-Justices under a new order of things, — all achieving signaldistinction in the judicial walks of life. ISAAC W. Of the many judges of this court, two only are living, — Charles R. Morrison and Josiah Minot, both of whom reside in Concord. The new court called into existence by the political overthrow of 1855 was known as the Supreme Judicial Court, and its judges received their commission from Gov ernor Metcalf in July of that year. Ira Perley was the Chief, the associates being Ira A. Eastman, Asa Fowler, George Y. Sawyer, and Samuel Dana Bell. The sala ries attached to the offices were rigidly Jeffersonian, the Chief-Justice receiving $2,000, and the others $1,800.

481

In Ira Perley the bench of New Hamp shire found its beau ideal, — "A giant in learning, a giant in mind; A lion in temper, both savage and kind." In an intellectual point of view Ira Perley stood well-nigh solitary and alone. Rufus Choate said of him that he knew more law than any other lawyer in New England; and he might have added that he knew more of everything that could be learned than any other lawyer in New England. After graduating at Dart mouth he remained in the college as tutor for several years, and his classical learning was at that time ac counted singularly wide and exact. While Latin and Greek were his life long companions, the modern languages found in him a de voted lover. He read everything, and his prodigious memory never failed to store away the SMITH riches of his acquisi tive mind. His read ing often followed the most unexpected subjects; and this was illustrated one morning when, overhearing his students discussing horse-racing, he forthwith delivered a lec ture on the famous steeds of history, and wound up by giving accurate histories of the celebrated racers of the present day, their pedigrees and their records. And yet Judge Perley never drove a horse fifty miles in his life. During his career on the bench he was frequently required to pass upon grave questions affecting the constitutional policy of the State, but his great and mas