Page:The Supreme Court in United States History vol 1.djvu/266

238 General to state the facts was caustically commented upon by the Federalist papers, one of which termed him "a blacksmith, then a Coimty Court lawyer, and now the first law oflScer in the Union, the elegant writer of the pieces conmionly called * The Worcester Farmer'; who made the discovery that it was high treason for a clergyman to think of politics, and what is more extraordinary that it amounted to the horrid crime of *oppugnation', if he mentioned President JeflFerson's name without first, in token of reverence, pulling his hat and wig off — this great man was cited before the Supreme Court, a few days since, as a wit- ness, and being sworn in the usual manner was asked a simple question, but could not answer it till they gave it to him in writing, and he went off and spent a whole day and night with it, and with closed doors ; and then he made out to remember that he had for- gotten all about it/* ^ Finally, the existence of some of the commissions was proved by affidavits of a clerk in the State Department and of James Marshall. In view of the fact that the Chief Justice had been Secretary of State at the time when these commissions were prepared and knew personally everything which Lee was painfully trying to prove, it is difficult to see why Jefferson and Madison were so insistent in re- fusing to admit the facts; and the question put by Dana in Congress seemed to be somewhat justified:

1 Washington Federalist, Feb. 23, 1803. The Aurora, March 22, 1808, said that James Marshall, a brother of the Chief Justice, went to the office of the Secretary of State, on the 4th of March, to inquire if the commissions were completed, so that some magistrate might be found to preserve the peace in Alexandria, wh^ie riotous proceedings were expected on that night. Twelve commissions were given him, but finding that he could not conveniently carry them, he returned some. See also, 1 Cranch, 146. In Marshall, HI, 124, a letter of John Marshall is quoted, written to his brother, March 18, 1801, in which he stated : *' I should, however, have sent out the commissions which had been signed and sealed, but for the ex- treme hurry of the time and the absence of Mr. Wagner who had been called od by the President to act as his private Secretary."