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REGISTER OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF EVERY KIND OF USEFUL INFORMATION RESPECTING THE STATE.

EDITED BY SAMUEL HAZARD.

VOL. XII.-NO. 19. PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBER 9, 1833. NO. 306.

HOPKINSON'S ADDRESS BEFORE THE LAW ACADEMY.

An Address delivered before The Law Academy of Philadelphia at the opening of the session of 1826-7, by Joseph Hopkinson, LL. D. Vice Provost of the Academy.

Gentlemen of the I.aw Academy of Philadelphia,

which he will limit the extent of his knowledge. It confines the movements of his mind in narrower chan

nels; engages him in exertions less diversified, and directs him to fewer objects of excitement and ambition. Not so in the United States: the lawyer here is one day in a Court of Common Law, and another in Chancery. He examines and discusses, with equal learning and facility, questions in every branch of the science; civil, In addressing you, at this opening of your session, it maritime, ecclesiastical. He sometimes addresses a is not my design to carry you through any learned or judge without a jury, and sometimes a jury without a difficult disquisition. It will be my more humble un-judge. There is no department of human knowledge, dertaking to present to your consideration some practi- even to the most ordinary occupations of men, that may cal lessons, which may be found useful, not only in your not in turn be useful to him;-there is no variety of the preparation for the bar, but in your subsequent pro-human character that he may not, on some occasion, use gress in your profession.

When a young man enters upon an occupation which is to be the business of his life, it is all important that he should entertain just notions of the profession he has adopted. A mistake of this point may mis direct him in his whole course. If he elevates his aim too high or too low, he will miss his object, and all his efforts will but exhaust his strength and embitter his disappointment. To do his duty, it is necessary to know what is required of him; to attain distinction and excellence, he must learn in what they consist.

The student of law, in this country, who commences his labors with sordid and narrow views; who has no other object than the profits of the profession; and will be satisfied if it procures for himself the means of existence, may be respectable and useful, but he will never reach the high eminences of his calling, nor add any thing to its dignity and importance.

It is a reproach, often visited on the profession, that all its studies are technical; that it confines and cramps the powers of the mind, and extinguishes the ardour of genius in the dull routine of prescribed opinions and operations; that it is inimical to liberal and extended views, and habituates us to consider and decide every question by some arbitrary precedent or artificial rule, rather than by general principles and great results. From a hasty adoption of such opinions, it is passed almost into a maxim, that a lawyer cannot be a statesman. This sentiment is peculiarly acceptable to those who have endeavoured, in vain, to become lawyers, and find it more easy to impose upon themselves, and sometimes upon others, the belief that they are great statesmen, with intellects too gigantic for a business which puts some restraint upon the imagination, and assumes some guidance of the judgment. The failure of some distinguished advocates in England, when they have tried their strength on the floor of the House of Commons, and mingled in the war of politics with the mightiest of the land, has afforded some ground for this stigma on the profession. It is obvious that the argument drawn from such instances is very unsatisfactory, and the premises by no means broad enough to sustain the whole conclusion. Without discussing the question or the fact, as it may exist in that country, we are altogether confident in denying it in this. The profession of the lawyer in England is much more technical than with us. Its divisions into various branches and jurisdictions may produce a higher degree of perfection in each, but it certainly diminishes the basis on which the student is to erect the fabric of his reputation, and by VOL. XII.

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to his advantage. Every thing connected with the nature and business of men, may demand his acquaintance and attention. The study of the constitution and political relations of his country, at home and abroad; of the great principles of international law which govern the intercourse of independent states, is indispensable to every American lawyer who hopes to tread the loftier paths of his profession. The actual state of our country, as well as its experience; the possession and disposal of all political power by the people themselves, and the manner in which they have chosen to entrust it, fully confirm my view of the subject. It is so far from being true, in a land of laws, that no lawyer can be a statesman, that we have scarcely had a statesman who was not a lawyer. Where there is no government but by the law, or rather, where the law is the government, the ministers of the law will have influence and respect, will be called to aid in administering the government, and receive the confidence of their fellow citizens in their most honorable service. Where the will of a despot is the only rule of right, or rather the only rule by which right is decided-where a controversy is settled by the caprice or venality of a bashaw, who instantly executes his own sentence, and cruelly punishes even a murmur of disobedience, it would be ridiculous to look for a profession whose privilege and duty it is to investigate and expound the law to the understanding of the judge. Who can fathom the depths, or influence the motions of absolute power; who can unfold the principles of its decrees? What is our experience of the political importance of our profession? Of six Presi dents, five have been lawyers; and the other a being who stands exalted and alone, "unimitated and inimita ble," who furnishes no example for other men, because none can hope to follow him. Our secretaries of state have all been lawyers: and, generally, the heads of the other departments, and foreign ministers. In both houses of Congress, the men who take the lead in directing the destinies of the nation, and in managing all its concerns, are distinguished lawyers. Nor can these facts be evaded by the calumnious pretence that an American statesman could claim no such rank in Europe; and is deficient in the talents and knowledge required of those who are so esteemed in foreign states. Without going back to the period of our revolution, in which the capacity and wisdom of our statesmen, united with a full and minute acquaintance with the whole science of government, and all the abstract questions that arose in the controversy, enforced by close reasoning and impressive eloquence, triumphed over the utmost efforts

of those disciplined politicians: let us look at the history of our country in her foreign and domestic relations for the last thirty years. Our unexampled increase in wealth, power, and population, bears conclusive testimony to the competency and wisdom of our interior government. But we rise still higher in contemplating our foreign connexions and difficulties. The French revolution, with its effects and consequences, threw the civilized world into a state of unprecedented convulsion; the intercourse held between its several parts was interrupted and changed; new situations and relations were produced; new assertions of right, and complaints of wrong, were constantly arising; every thing became unsettled and dangerous; the great effort of the contending parties was to draw every nation into the contest, and to trample upon all who resolved to avoid it. This state of the world necessarily produced occurrences and collisions, in which a people, determined to be neutral, and also to assert and defend their rights, as established and protected by the laws of nature and nations, had a daily call for a perfect knowledge of those rights, even to the most abstruse learning, as well as for great discretion and firmness in maintaining them. This was done by American statesmen to the eventual safety and honor of their own country, and the acknowledged admiration of every other. These statesmen were American lawyers.

The voluminous correspondence between our department of state and the British and French ministers, through these years of violence and trouble, is sufficient to repel the charge of inferiority in our statesmen. It contains a rich body of learned and lucid argument upon very interesting topics of national law, and is worthy of a careful and repeated perusal. At a subsequent period, when our war with Great Britain was terminated by the peace of Ghent, the Marquis of Wellesley, speaking in the House of Lords, of the negotiation, declared that he was at a loss to account for the astonishing superiority of the American over the British Commissioners, in their correspondence and discus

sions.

How imposing is the majesty of the law! how calm her dignity; how vast her power; how firm and tranquil her reign! It is not by armies and fleets, by devastation and blood, by oppression and terror, she maintains her sway and executes her decrees;-sustained by Justice, Reason, and the great interests of man, she but speaks and is obeyed. Even those who may not approve, hesitate not to support her; and the individual on whom her judgment falls, knows that submission is not only a duty he must perform, but that the enjoyment and security of all that is dear to him depend upon it. A mind accustomed to acknowledge no power but physical force, no obedience but personal fear, must view with astonishment a feeble individual, sitting with no parade of strength; surrounded by no visible agents of power; issuing his decrees with oracular authority, while the great and the rich, the first and the meanest, await alike to perform h's will. Still more wonderful it is to behold the co-ordinate officers of the same government, yielding their pretensions to his higher influence. The executive, the usual depositary and instrument of power; the legislature, the very representative of the people,give a respectful acquiescence to the judgments of the tribunals of the law, pronounced by the minister and expounder of the law. It is enough for him to It is the opinion of the Court," and the remotest corner of our republic feels and obeys the mandate. What a sublime spectacle!-this is indeed the empire of the law: and safe and happy are those who dwell within it-may it be perpetual.

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I have alluded thus briefly to these matters, only for the purpose of giving a proper elevation to the views of the American student of law. He must not consider himself as the mere drudge of a mercenary occupation;he must not believe that he does enough for himself or his profession, if he is qualified to conduct an action of

debt or ejectment, in their usual course, through a court of law; but he must fix his eye on higher destinies, and more important services. He must believe that to his integrity and knowledge and talents, the best interests of his country may hereafter be committed; and he must prepare himself to fulfil these dignified du ties with honour and success. He must lay his foundation commensurate with the noble superstructure that is to be raised upon it. What a stimulus to rouse every action! what a rich reward is offered to perseverance and talent! The prize is not to be gained by indolence or vanity. The student who, feeling the quickness of his intellect in its exercise upon lighter subjects, and trusting that he is blest with the gifts of genius, neglects the grave and complicated studies of the law, and hopes to find a substitute for knowledge in the agility or brilliancy of his parts, will end his career in the most mortifying failure and disappointment. While he is figuring and flaming round the bar of a Court of Quarter Sessions, and drawing all his business and importance from the crimes and vices of aociety;-while his legal reading will be confined to a few treatises on criminal law; his eloquence to the trite topics of criminal defence, and his professional intercourse to the tenants of county jails, he will see some more slow and laborious competitor, who started with him in the race, whose capacity he probably held in contempt, passing regularly and surely on to the high honours and employments, which await the lawyer who has given his days and nights to the acquirement of the deep and various knowledge, which brings strength, and fulness, and ornament, to the character and exercise of his profession; and which can be obtained only by long and careful reading, and profound reflection. It is not enough to read;—the manner of reading should be attended to. It will not do to run over, or even peruse attentively, any given number of pages in a day; it is not to heap upon the memory line upon line, and case after case, that will make a lawyer. In the study of the law, as in every other science, there is danger in reading too much and thinking too little. The power of the understanding; the faculty of precise and accurate discrimination, a most essential quality in a lawyer, may be overwhelmed or weakened by referring every thing to the memory, by constantly collecting and using the thoughts and opinions others, and never consulting our own. The student should frequently lay down his book, and, by reviewing what he has read, incorporate the subjects with his own mind, and make it his own; he must examine, analyze, and test, by his own reason and understanding, the opinions and principles of his authors: without this, his memory will become an over loaded magazine of pages and cases, which he will be unable to apply to any use. The memory, however, is not to be neglected. It is capable of much improve. ment by a proper cultivation and judicious exercise. Some men complain of a want of memory, when the real failing is the want of attention; reading with a wan dering, unsettled mind, instead of fixing it closely and exclusively on the subject. We seldom entirely forget what has been forcibly impressed; we easily remember what has greatly interested us.

It is not my intention to point out any course of study; this would require much more time than this occasion would afford, and is not within the limits of my design. But I cannot forbear to recommend, what, I fear, is not sufficiently estimated as a preparatory study of a lawyer; I mean elegant literature; that which is of the first order, and formed by the soundest principles of taste. Without speaking at present of the ancient models of History, Poetry, and Eloquence, I would call your attention to the distinguished classics and scholars of our own language. In addition to Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden, an English library will furnish plentiful, and rich materials to strengthen and adorn the mind. The days of Elizabeth and Anne abound with writers of the first eminence for force and skill of

odium of taking any unjust advantage in a bargain almost wholly at his discretion; or of doing wrong to a man whose confidence has left him no choice but to sub. It is also the part and duty of professional integrity to give the client not only sound, legal council, but that which is just and judicious in the actual circumstances of his case. Much aspersion has been brought upon our profession by unworthy members, who, for a paltry, personal gain to themselves, plunge their clients into trifling, ruinous, and, sometimes, hopeless litigation; and then strive to carry them through it by the most unjustifiable means. Let every lawyer consider and treat his client, pro hac vice as a friend throwing himself upon his counsel for safety; and direct him, not always by his strict rights, but for his permanent, substantial interests; by that which, under all the circumstances, it is most prudent, and reputable, and beneficial for him to do. It is often incumbent upon us to advise and urge a client to give up a right, when the pursuit of it will involve him in the loss of time, money, and perhaps character, more valuable than all he could gain by success in the prosecution.

argument, for neatness and precision of narrative, and for all the refinements of genius and taste. The English forum has its orators as worthy of imitation as the Roman. All these belong to the accomplished lawyer.mit. The grasp of his profession is universal--there is nothing he may not make tributary to it; there is no species of information or improvement, which may not be useful to him, as his operations extend over all the con cerns of man in society. The lawyer must not only know what is right, but he must be able to convince others of it. To do this, he must take man as he is; not always a deliberating, reasoning being, but compounded of passions, prejudices, and various interests; and he must know how to approach and command them all. If he would unite the powers of persuasion with a knowledge of the law he must cultivate eloquence; he must acquire the art of managing and controlling the feelings and passions of men by studying the great masters of the human heart. He must enrich him self with elegant, appropriate, and illustrative imagery; he must learn to touch the chords of feeling with a skilful hand. Let him ponder on the pages of Shakespeare and Milton, not as amusing pastime, but for lessons of instruction and utility. How much of the reputation of It may not be amiss to notice a reproach frequently Erskine, Curran, and many others, is due to this study, cast upon the profession of the law, in high favour and is apparent from their speeches. Besides their acknow- currency with the vulgar and ignorant, but which alledged quotations, which are shining spots on their though supported by a specious attempt at a syllogism, pages, it would be curious to trace some of their most is without any solid foundation. It is said there is but a brilliant and renowned conceptions to the volumes of right and a wrong in every disputed case, and therefore Shakspeare. The student who would become a suc one lawyer or the other defends what is wrong; and, it cessful advocate should exercise himself not only in is added, what he does or should know to be so. This reading the most finished compositions, but in writing charge against us is more generally applied to the dehimself. He will thus acquire a wide range and selec-fence of persons accused of atrocious crimes, which tion of language, with the command of a correct, easy have excited the public indignation, not only against and elegant style. He will be able to regulate the the pre-judged offender but against those who are supchoice of his expressions, the construction and arrange-posed to endeavour to screen him from justice. A moment of his sentences, and to make the best disposition ment of candid reflection would satisfy the most zealof his subject, arguments and illustrations. Extemporeous of these lovers of justice, that the object and effort speaking is rapid composition; and to compose rapidly, of the advocate is not to stop the course of justice, but with ease and propriety, will become habitual only by to see that it flows in its proper and prescribed chanfrequent use. nels; that it is administered according to law, which alone Presuming that the student has qualified himself for is justice under a government of laws. The vilest and the practice of his profession, and has been duly admit- most assured criminal has a right to this protection, ted to the bar, it is my intention to offer some sugges- even if it should shield him from merited punishment; tions on the course of conduct he should afterwards and if it be denied to him, the innocent cannot depend pursue. I need scarcely say that the basis of all our upon it. The administration of justice, civil and crimidealings with our adversaries as well as our clients, nal, by courts of law, is a vast and complicated system, should be a strict and pure integrity; a perfect fidelity spreading over all the concerns of men, and governed in the performance of every act and duty required of by principles of infinite importance to those concerns. us, and a liberal justice in all we ask of others. I speak The constitution of civil society is, in a great degree, not of that politic, indispensable honesty, which the artificial, and so must necessarily be the means by which penal code exacts; nor of that doubtful balancing integ- it is regulated and supported. A long experience, rity, which nicely weighs the question of right and noted and improved by the learning and wisdom of inwrong and decides in its own favor by the turn of an dividuals appointed to the duty, has gradually ascertainequivocal argument. I require of the lawyer, most es-ed and established the rules most safe and salutary for pecially in his dealings with his client, a high, delicate, the government of the judicial tribunals; and the issue and sensitive principle, which shrinks from the suspi- of any particular case is insignificant in comparison with cion of wrong; which will take nothing by a questiona- a firm, consistent and uniform maintenance of these ble title; which decides every doubtful case against rules. Hence a claim prosecuted in a court of law, must himself, and will be clearly and indisputably right when be sustained and proved by the sort of evidence prehe assumes to be so, in a matter in which his inter st is scribed for such a case; and no conviction of the judge concerned. He will carry this principle of integrity or of counsel, as to the justice of the claim, can warrant even to the point of disinterestedness; and scorn to use either of them in giving it a legal validity in the absence to his own advantage, the means which the confidence of such evidence. The first duty of the ministers of of his client, and the necessity of the trust reposed in the law is to maintain the law, in which not only the him, may have placed in his power. He must not im- individual suiter, but every citizen of the commonwealth pose upon ignorance or thoughtless liberality, or treat has a paramount interest. Such is the duty of the law. his profession as a mere mercenary agency, from which yer, who is not called upon to become the judge of his he may take as much money as he can extort; but while client's case, but to see that that of his adversary is he may and ought to receive a fair and honorable re-made out according to the law of the land. I would not muneration for his services, he should take care to regulate his demand by justice and even with generosity; preferring to satisfy, in this respect, the client rather than himself. This is due not only to the dignity of his profession, which overlooks and despises the contrivances and exactions of petty trafficking, but to his own personal character, which must not be polluted by the

be understood to mean that a lawyer is bound to lend himself to the bad passions, much less to the dishonest purposes of any man. I speak of the ordinary cases of litigation, in which each party, according to his view, may believe himself right, and both are entitled to a legal examination and determination of their respective pretensions. It is upon the information of the client

that the counsel takes the case, and he naturally adopts his views of it. It is only on the hearing before the Court that the whole ground is exposed to him; and he is able to discover where the right lies. As to an unconscientious defence of a criminal, I will put a strong case. A lawyer is engaged to defend a prisoner charged with murder. The wife of the accused is offered as a witness against him. Could his counsel reason thus? I am, in my conscience, satisfied that this man is guilty; his wife is the only witness that can prove his guilt; without her, this foul crime will go unpunished, and a murderer be again turned loose on society. The witness is honest, and I doubt not will tell nothing but the truth; the objection to her testimony is merely technical; I will not therefore interrupt the course of justice by rejecting this evidence. The lawyer who would reason and act in this manner, would betray his client, his profession, and the laws of his country.

opponent by coarse language and a rude demeanor, be fitting the contests of a fish market, not the grave dis cussions of a Court? Does he advance his argument with his judges, or his reputation with the public, by ribaldry, or passionate invective; by a vulgar joke or insulting reproach upon his antagonist? This is to be come the hired bully of his client, not the educated, learned, and eloquent advocate of right, and defender of the law. Be therefore always on your guard against this intemperate zeal which brings no fruit but mortifica tion and repentance to a generous mind. The members of the same profession, a high and honorable calling, owe to each other the most kind forbearing courtesy and respect. To see them, in the public exercise of their functions, coarsely sparring, indulging in ill-natured sarcasm, bandying Billingsgate jests across the Bar, is indeed sport to the vulgar bystander, who delights to see the lofty thus humbling themselves, the honourable thus degraded; but it is death to the character of the profession. It is equally unworthy to entrap each other in little inadvertencies; to play a game of small tricks, and accidental advantages wholly beside the merits of the case, and the duty of the advocate.

To parties, and more especially, to witnesses, a ge nerous decorum should be observed; every attack upon them not absolutely required by the necessities of the case, every wanton injury to their feelings, should carefully be avoided. How can you assail those who are not in a situation to repel the attack; how can you use the privileges of your station to tread upon the defenceless?

Before I part with you, on this occasion, you will allow me to exhort you, with sincere earnestness, to prosecute your studies with determined diligence and per severance. It is in the season of youth that the most vivid impressions are made, which take complete possession of the mind. They do not find the ground preoccupied; they have not to contend with unfriendly and obstructive habits; every thing is fresh and vigorous and encouraging. If in early life a vicious taste be acquir

Thus far have I spoken of the conduct and duties of the lawyer in his relations with his client. I will add a few words on what he owes to the Court, and his breth ren of the bar. There is an error which gentlemen of high and ardent spirits, and I may add, of irritable nerves, are apt to fall into, in believing that they assert their independence of character and professional dignity, by a prompt, petulant, and disrespectful manner of repelling whatever they consider to be an invasion of their rights by the Court. They are sometimes too sudden, sensitive and suspicious, on this subject, and hastily and rudely resent an affront never intended, and defend themselves against an encroachment never made. A discreet lawyer, like a well-bred gentlemen, will not seek for causes of offence, but be well assured of the insult before he compromits himself in resenting it. The Judges of a Court have, at ail times, a most arduous, and frequently perplexing task to perform. They have to encounter every variety of difficulty and embarrassment; their patience is sometimes taxed by unreasonable importunity; their principles shocked by bold and pertinacious fraud; their vigilance alarmed by subtle attempts at injustice; and all their learning, ex-ed, the appetite returns slowly and reluctantly to whole. perience and sagacity, put in constant requisition to discharge their high and interesting functions. If, in such circumstances, they are sometimes excited a little beyond the point of judicial propriety, if their sentiments are delivered in a tone somewhat too absolute, and they are not always sufficiently guarded by that delicate decorum which belongs to the Bench and is due to the Bar, they should, neverthelesss be treated with respectful forbearance; for let it never be forgotten, that the profession of the law can never be respected, if the Judges be degraded and brought into contempt. We are one family, and the Court is our head; and we render a most acceptable service to the whole, by setting an example of deference and suitable submission to that head. If it be laid low, we also shall be prostrated; if the first ministers of the law be humbled and disregarded, what will become of the secondary agents? Vul garity and intemperate passions only will trespass upon the reverence that is due to those who are entrusted with the office of administering the law and justice of the Commonwealth to its citizens. All that I require is entirely consistent with a scrupulous preservation of personal character and professional independence. These should never be surrendered to any power; and, if the rest be given, and gracefully given, these will not be required. The deportment which a lawyer owes to the Bar is much of the same description with that which is due to the Bench. It might be enough to repeat that he is a gentleman; that his profession is one of dignity, liberality, and refinement; and that his intercourse with his brethren should be governed by the rules of the best society. This is always compatible with an anxious zeal for the interests of his client, and a full and faithful performance of his duty. Can he believe that he serves his cause by degrading himself and his profession; that he obtains any advantage over his

some food; if pleasure and indolence be indulged, it is painful and laborious to shake them off. Do not believe that what is called light reading is most suitable to youth, and that graver studies may be reserved for graver years. From the commencement, accustom yourself to books which require close attention, and exercise your faculties of reason and reflection: the mere power of attention, that is, confining the mind exclusively to one object, to restrain its erratic propensities, is more rare and difficult than is generally ima gined. It can be acquired by habit, produced by that sort of reading which makes it necessary; and it will be weakened or lost by a devotion to works whose gossamer pages will not bear the weight of thought, but are skimmed over by the eye, hardly calling for the aid of the understanding to draw from them all they contain. I do not mean by this recommendation to fasten you down to law and metaphysics; nor to exclude you from the delights of the imagination. The master spirits who rule that region of literature, instruct as much as they enchant. But this is not to be found in the productions of poets whose reputation is founded on periodical supplies of quaint conceits, artificial sentiments, antiquated verses, and obscure phrases; who dress up sme popular topic in a garb of unmeaning mystery, and startle the reader by the extravagance of their con ceptions. Turn from such poets to those who have dipped the pen in the human heart; who have consult ed the everlasting oracles of nature and truth, and whose works are therefore not of the ephemeral tribe, local, temporary and transient. These great men have not mistaken the effusions of a brilliant fancy, the facility of graceful expression, for the precious gifts of poetic genius. They float not on the caprice and fashion of a day, but will endure while man remains the same. Their learning has pervaded the recesses of knowledge; they

have penetrated and analyzed every feeling and passion By J. O'Neill. The Building Committee of the Exand propensity of our nature; and embellished whatev-change-Their gentlemanly deportment in the execu er they have touched with the brightest, purest, and tion of their charge, entitles them to our best regard most variegated imagery, drawn from every moral and and friendship. physical source in the compass of creation. They have enforced and illustrated the sublime precepts of philosophy and truth, and taught man to know himself. It is by such works you should form your taste and enrich your studies; the rest will do for those readers who desire only to praise or condemn, as it may be, the last exhalation from the fashionable press; and are satisfied to float on the stream that flows from the popular spring. It is a light vessel that swims in such shallow waters; you must look to deeper and more copious sources, and complete this part of your education by better models.

As an efficient means of improvement in the acquirements of your profession, I beg your unwearied attendance upon your duties as members of this Academy. What you have already done is sufficient to convince you of the utility and honor of the enterprise. The reputation the Institution has obtained and is obtaining, the notice it is daily drawing to itself, bear ample testimony to the talents and industry of its members. While the exercises of the Academy are as pleasant as they are useful, it must not be considered as a place of amusement,for light and superficial disputation, but as a solid school of instruction, to be conducted with order, diligence and attention. A facility will thus be acquired in investigating and tracing to their roots important questions of law; in accurately discovering the true point on which the question turns, and discriminating it from others which might mislead a superficial and unpractised enquirer; in searching and comparing authorities; arranging and managing an argument, and delivering it with ease, force and propriety. In all these efforts and exercises you will be enlivened and stimulated by a laudable spirit of emulation and pride, without which excellence and success are seldom attained in any thing.

EXCHANGE CELEBRATION.

By James McClure. The stockholders, directors, architect, and superintendents, with the workmen of the Philadelphia Exchange, whose liberality, design, and erection, have reared a monument that shall long outlive the tenements which they now occupy. By the Building Committee of the Exchange. The artists and mechanics whose skill and labour have achieved the noble designs of the architect of the Philadelphia Exchange-The board of managers tender to them their thanks for their excellent past conduct, and wish them in future the success which such conduct deserves.

By J. R. Chandler. Wm. Strickland, the architect of the Merchant's Exchange-He will realize the boast of the ancient emperor-He found us living in a city of brick, and he will leave us a city of marble.

By J. O. Ewing. The city of Philadelphia-Unrivalled in the chasteness of her architecture and the skill of her artizans.

By R. Manser. The Philadelphia Exchange-Chaste in its design, an ornament to our city, and an honor to its workmen.

By Wm. Davis. Pennsylvania-In patriotism, exemplary; praiseworthy and enterprising in all social improvements.

By Wm. Strickland. Peter and Philip Bardi, the Italian brothers who sculptured the capitals of the columns of the Exchange-The excellence of their art will be a lasting model for our American chissels.

By J. M. Sanderson. The working men of Philadelphia-Their deeds louder than words, speak volumes to the admiring world.

The memory of Stephen Girard (drunk standing.) Our industry has fabricated our wealth: let us enjoy its fruits.

Mr. John Struthers-The skilful builder and the mechanic's friend.

Mr. John O'Neill-The practical mechanic and workmen's friend.

Mr. J. M. Sanderson-The telegraph of the merchants of Philadelphia.

The Caduceus-The symbol of peace given to Mercury by Apollo; while it directs the merchants which way the wind blows, may they stear clear of rocks and shoals -U. S. Gazette.

From Poulson's American Daily Advertiser. ORIGIN OF THE PORCELAIN MANUFACTURE IN AMERICA.

On Saturday, the board of directors of the Philadel. phia Merchant's Exchange, celebrated the event of placing the cap stone upon the splendid edifice. The occasion was used to express their approval of the labors of those who had been employed upon the building. A dinner was given in the hall at the corner of Seventh and Chesnut streets, served up by Messrs. McCalla and Mann, of the Tontine Coffee House, in a manner to do credit to the purveyance and cooking of that establishment, as well as to their general good taste and general arrangements. About one hundred and forty of the artizans and working men employed on the building, He who by the efforts of genius accomplished a great sat down to the excellently provided table, at the head undertaking, that had hitherto remained a secret to the of which was Wm. Strickland, Esq. the architect, as-country in which he lived-who achieved by the unsisted by Mr. Strothers, and Mr. O'Neill, the superin- aided powers of mind, a triumph in the arts that had tendants of the marble masons and carpenters. The baffled all previous experiment, and brought to a deboard of directors and one or two guests were also at gree of perfection to rival the production of foreign the table. Several toasts were drunk, and a few good climes, a manufacture for which we had until that pesongs well sung, when the company broke up, after riod, been solely indebted to them, may at least be having devoted a suitable time to refreshment. considered to have been a benefactor to his country, and his memory entitled to the gratitude of a community, who are ever anxious to award the meed of praise to native talent and enterprise.

The following were among the toasts on the occasion: By Wm. Strickland. The artizans, mechanics, and working men engaged in the building of the Philadelphia Exchange-Their good conduct and orderly de portment have been as remarkable as their skill and excellence of workmanship. By John Struthers.

WILLIAM ELLIS TUCKER, who devoted years of his life to bring the manufacture of porcelain, to comparative perfection in this State, and who struggled with The merchants and stockhold- difficulties and disappointments, that would have disers of the Philadelphia Exchange-It is to their libera-couraged a mind less enthusiastic, and gifted with less lity that Philadelphia is indebted for another monument of the Grecian art.

By J. M. Sanderson. The Philadelphia ExchangeThe head that planned and the arm that executed, have exhibited in this model, a structure unrivalled on the American continent.

energy of purpose, is now no more!--and no motive can exist to withhold from his memory the tribute of admiration and esteem, which his genius and industry won for him whilst living.

His knowledge and love of chemistry first led him when quite a boy, to experiment upon coloring the

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