Terms of Fublication,
- TIOGA COUNTY AGITATOR is published
™ Thttr'day Morning, and mailed to subscribe
'"ihe very reasonable price of
““one DOLLAR PER ANNUM,
■alhi i* advance. It is intended to notify every
>carl 'h€T when tbo term for whioh.be has paid shall
H b!C ”ijsd, by the stamp—“Tiub Om,” on the mar
l‘ TC -Xe last paper. The paper will then bo stopped
P* ° . farther remittance bo received. By this ar
acet no man can bo brought in debt to tho
Agitator is the Official Paper of the County,
•As large and steadily increasing circulation reach
• itto every neighborhood in the County. It is sent
uef'fcilagv lo an Y Uoat Office within tho county
JV jnt whose most convenient post office-may be
County. _ ,
'Viness Cards, not exceeding 5 lings, paper incln
fci. f 5 per year.
Business directory.
|. s ,IOWRET« S. F. WIISOS,
A TTORNBY3 * COUNSELLORS AT LAW, will
attend the Coart of Tioga, Pdttor and McKean
[Wellsboro’, Feb. 1, 1853.]
'— sT B. BROOKS,
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW
i IIUL elkiand, tioqa co. Fa.
«Tn tie multitude of Counselors there in safety.”—BiMe.
gept
Dll. W. W. WEBB.
OFFICE over Cone’s Law Office, first door below
Farr’s Hotel. Nights he will bo found at his
Midence, first door above the bridge on Main Street,
towards Samuel Dickinson’s.
dentist.
at his residence near the
Academy. All work pertaining, to
UtR i fTThi« line of business done promptly-and
[April 22, 1558.]
warranted.
dickiksos house
COEX I x 0 > x -
p. C. Noe, Proprietor.
Guests Depot free of charge.
PESSSYIiVAKIA HOUSE
WELLSBORO’, PA.
L. D. TAVXOR, PROPRIETOR.
This deservedly popular house is centrally located, and'
tttnmends itself to the patronage ot tbe travelling public,
jior. ISSB, ly. ;
■ American hotel.
, -CORNING, N.T.,
E rKtEMAN, - - - - Proprietor.
iffsl*. 2irts. Lodgings, 25 cts. Board, 75 cts.per day.
Coming, March 31, 1859. (ly.)
J. C. WHITTAKER,
Hydropathic Phyticianf and Surgeon.
EI/KLAND, TIOGA I'CO., PENNA.
Will visit patients in all parts of the County, or re
tire them for treatment at his house. [June 14,]
B. O. COLE,
BARBER asd hair-dresser ,
SHOP in tbe rear of the Post Office. Everything in
bi* line will be done as well and promptly as it
nn be done in the city saloons. Preparations for re
coring dandruff, and beautifying the hair, for sale
cheap. Hair and whUkers dyed any color. Call and
*e. Wellsboro, Sept. 22, 1859. .
GAINES HOTEL.
If, VERMIL YEA, PROPRIETOR
Gaines, Tioga Comity, Fa.
THIS well known hotel is located within easy access
of the best fishing andhunting grounds in North’rn
I't Xo pains will bo spared for the accommodation
if pleasure seekers and the traveling public.
April 14.1359.
THE CORNING JOURNAL.
Surge W. Pratt, Editor and Proprietor.
15 published at Corningl Steuben Co., N. Y., at One
boll&r and Fifty Cents per year, in advance. The
bursal is Republican in politics, and has a circula.
mu reaching into every part of Steuben County.—
flare desirous of extending their business into that
nj the adjoining counties will find it an excellent ad-
Tertising medium. Address as above.
COIDEKSPORT HOTEL.
COUDERSPOBX POTTEK CO., PENNA.
t, p. Glassmire, - - Proprietor.
THIS 110 TEL is located within an hour’s drive o
the head waters of the Allegheny, Genesee, and
hipiehanna rivers. Xo efforts are spared to make
tuhonie fur pleasure seekers during the trouting sca
ittjind fur the traveling public at all times.
Jid, 27.1559, ly.
JOHN B. SHAKESPEAB,
TAILOR.
HAVING opened his shop in the room over
Wm. Roberts Tin Shop, respectfully informs the
cuisas of Wcllsboro’ and vicinity, that he is prepared
tuiecute orders in his line of business with prompt
ibi and despatch
Cutting dune on short notice.
TVt’l-bjro, Oct 21, IS.'jS.—Cm
watches: watches:
Toe Subt' nbcr has got a fine aasorlment of heavy
EpJLISH LEVER lIENTER-CASE f
Cold and Silver Watches,
he will sell cheaper than'" dirt” on ‘Time/ i. c.
-* will sell ‘Time Pieces' on a short (approved) credit.
All kinds of REPAIRING don© promptly. If a
.A of work U not done to the satisfaction of the party
■ritrmg it, no charge will be made.
Put favors appreciated and a contiuance of patron
•fiiindjv solicited. 5 ANDIE FOLEY,
June 24, ISIS.
HOME INDUSTRY.
THE SUBSCRIBER having established a MAR
BLE MANUFACTORY at the village of Tioga,
*i:reLe is prepared to furnish
, Qonuments, Tomb-StoneS, &c,,
At lest
WRWONT & ITALIAN MARBLE
T t’d respectfully- solicit the patronage of this and ad
• ning couniifcd.
Having a good .-took on hand he is now ready to cx
frjl4 all orders with neatness, accuracy and dispatch.
All work delivered if desired.
, JOHN BLAMPIED.
T,u S»-Tw.ga Co., Pa., Sept. 28,1839.
WM, TERBELL,
CORNING. N. Y.
Wholesale and Retail Dealer, in
I OS, And .I Ldirinrs, Lind, Zinc, and Colorrd
\ V>irni*h, Rnivhcb Camgheucand Iturning
EnuJt and Glass, I*nre Liquors Jur
. '! I | '‘i Lntmt Medicines, .-IrfiVs Paints and Brushes,
‘'."''•'■rv. fancy Articles, Flavortnig Extracts,
ALSO,
"A gcccr.il assortment of School Books—
Blank Books, Staple and Fancy
*r . Stationary.
_vttiaas, Druggists and Country Merchants dealing
'^7 ff the above articles can be supplied at a small
_ on New York prices. [Sept. 22, 1557.]
St'ISTiUESMTIfSirOP!
BOY’S DRUG STORE. jgt
tiCie Vfu can lug Stoves, Tin , and Japanned
Burt; fur one-half the usual prices,
s’.J» e Elevated Oven Cook Stove and Trim
v $15,00.
'•Hind; nf
Tin and Hardware
for Ready Pay.
an >' one who wants anything in this line
W-Oi Sfce our l ,r * ccs Before purchasing elsewhere.
.. "ufcct the place—two doors south of Farr’s Ho
- 2 P l o ,ls-9 ° J ’x Dr “ S St ° rC ’ ° ALL AND SEE
D. DEMING,
CtfuMy Rnn °unce to the people of Tioga County
to fill all orders for Apple, Pear
*y?* - NectA nne, Apricot, Evcrcreon and Deciduous
Also Currants Jtaspbcrrics, Gooseberries,
V Q 111(1 Strawberries of all now and approved vari-
of Hybrid, Perpetual and Srnn
'=a!nrm “"■ r Itosl! -’ -Moss, Bourbon, Noisette, Tea,
top T ,‘“ a - a, "l Climbing Roses.
. K L BBER Y_Tncluding all the finest new rn
'-•ta Lila,, c A rietics of Althea, Cntyeantlnu,
[T A,,, a ‘ I—S, ftyiingiaa. Viburnums, Wigilias Ac.
ERS— P< "oui'is. Dahlias, Phloxes. Tulips,
' Uyaciutha, Narcissis; Jonquils, til
larielios.
«oz. plants, $5.
' " : ' v . / Grafting, Budding or Pruning will bo
I’., .. u to. Address
U. D. DIIJUNG, Wellsboro, Pa.
THE AGITATOR
Zlefrotcg to tfjc SSxttnaion of the ofiFmJjom anh the s»#vea& of ©ealttig Reform*
WHILE THERE SHALL BE A WRONG UNRIQHTED, 1 AND UNTIL ‘‘MAN’S INHUMANITY TO MAN" SHALL CEASE, AGITATION MUST CONTINUE.
voL yi.
THE SEXTON’S DREAM.
bt prants j. White.
On a marble slab in the Churchyard old
Sifcteth the Sex ton r gray,
- At mid of night, os the olden .year
Is sighing its life away.
Pale and cold from the half-hid moon.
Falleth a gentle beam,
Playing along his frosted locks
With a glittering silver gleam.
Little he recks the clinging damp, "
As bo bows in silent prayer;
Nor the wind that springs with a lonely chill
From the dead entombed there.
He sleepeth now—on a sculptured urn
He resteth his weary head,
While noiseless round him gather
All of his angel dead.
Little ones time,
Risen from out the mould.
Brushing across his silveredlock3-
Kinglets of silken gold.
One of a fair and angel form
Bondcth over him low.
He smileth, or in his dreaming
He claspoth her fondly now!
Madge, with her tresses of sunny tint,
Brow of a*heavenly snow,
Who died sin broken and scorned of all.
Weary long years ago.
Madge, who had died on his heaving breast,
Penitent, sobbing the while;
Now, in God's Heaven of Holy Love,
Shriven of all her guile.
Softly she pillows the old man’s bead
, On her bosom of driven snow.
Whispering tales of tho oldon time,
Of the buried long ago.
Faint, from the tall cathedral spire,
Cometh a feeble shout;
Heavily now are the brazen bells
Ringing the old year out.
Gently his dream is fading away,
Tho little ones all have flown;
Yet not for a wearily passing year
Is he left upon earth alone.
The bells that are ringing the old year Out,
Toll for the Sexton dead,
Lying upon the marble cold
Where he pillowed his weary head.
—Evening Post
Loving and Patient.
A LESSON FOR HUSBANDS.
“A faithful wife, a tender mother, a true
friend,' the life of our departed sister was beau
tiful. She had trial, pain, com
mon lot of all; but there was this difference be
tween our sister and many others—in lifer trials,
pains and suffering, ehe was always loving and
patient.” And with these words the minister
closed the eulogy. His voice was earnest, and
there was a low tremor of feeling in his tones,
lie had known this faithful wife, this true friend
well, and therefore he had uttered no mere
common places, as he stood, uncovered, by the
grave around which gathered the weeping
mourners.
“Loving and patient,” said one to another,
as they waited slowly amid the flower-covered
tomb-stones, on their way out from the ceme
tery. “Yes, she was all that —few so loving,
few so patient.”
“And few with 1 more need of patience,” was
replied. “They speak of home martyrs some
times, I think shd was one. The loving heart
asks for love in return, and if it receives not
this food to nourish its life in sufficient meas
ure, it droops, wastes, dies. So did our precious
friend-"
“You think so ?” .
“I am sure of it.”
“Mr. Carson was not an unkind man.”
“He did not treat her with the brutality of
an ignorant'French peasant, hut, for ail that,
he is none the leas guilty of having diminished
by years, the period of her earthly existence.”
“Then it was an uncongenial marriage,” said
the other.
“A mild way of speaking truth,” answered
this friend. “Yes, it was, I think, wholly un
congenial for her. He was, probably, as well
satisfied with her as he would have been with
any woman. She ministered to his selfish
pleasures, And was, as we have just heard, lov
ing and pa lent, It was all right, so far as his
enjoyments were concerned; as for her, life, I
think, was lone long martyrdom of the heart.—
But it is all over now, and she sleeps well.”
And so they talked as they went out from the
place of graves.
“Loving and patient!” The bereaved hus
band carried the words home with him. They
had fallen upon his ears with a new meaning
applied to his wife, and gave tp his mind a cer
tain new perception as to her character —“A
faithful wife, tender mother, a true friend.”—
These were the minister’s words also, and they
were sounding still in his ears. How singular
ly elevated had become, all at once, Mr. Car
sou’s ideal of his wife. Her character stood
out with a new distinctness. “She had trial,
pain, suffering.” Alas 1 and this was true also
to the bereaved husband in a way never before
appreciated.
Back to his home returned Mr. Carson, and
gathered his motherless children around him.
How very, very desolate he felt. What a pres
sure there was upon his bosom —what an aching
void within. '
“Loving and patient.” The brief sentence
found an involuntary repetition in his mind, —
He kept saying it over and over, until memory
began to draw pictures of the post. Let us
transfer one of those pictures to the canvas.—
Here it is. Mr. Carson gazed upori it until it
gave him the heart-ache.
They had been married over a year, when
Mrs. Carson, who had not seen her mother du
ring that period, asked to “go home,” a distance
of some two hundred miles, and make a short
visit. Since her marriage she had not visited
tho dear old place, though tho heart kept going
back to its loved ones, yearning all the while.
•‘X don’t sea how that la possible,” answered
her husband, coldly, and in evident surprise at
the request. “You can’t go alone, and for me
to leave my business is out of the question.”
Tears came instantly to the soft brown eyes
of the young wife.
“I have not seen my mother since I came
from home." , .
Down, down through years, came to Mr. Car
son the voice of his wife, as it trembled on this
sentence. Not a single shade of its tender sad
ness was gone. And now it fell upon sensitive
ears that searched into all its meanings. But
WELLSBORO, TIOGA COUNTY. PA., THURSDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 17, 1859.
when living lip* uttered the words so faithfully
kept by memory, they awakened no feeling of
sympathy in hi* selfish heart. “Came from,
home!", He then said, to himself, angrily,
“Isn’t this her home f ”
“Write to your mother,, and ask her to come
and make us a visit," replied Mr. Carson.
“Mother has' a large family and many cares
—she could not get away for so long a journey.”
“And you have cares, and a home where your
presence is needed," said her husband. Then
ie added, “No, no, Mary, I can’t see that it is
possible now."
can go alone." Tears had been gathering
in spite of her efforts to repress them, and now
a few drops fell slowly over her oheoks.
“Don’t think of that for a moment. Xam
particularly apposed to ladies traveling alone.
I don’t think it at all safe. Apd then the baby
is young. It would be certain to take cold, and
might contract a fatal disease."
“Baby is nearly three months old
“It’s no use arguing the matter,” said Mr.
Carson, with considerable impatience of man
ner. “You can’t go, Mary, and you might as
well give it up at once."
Memory had kept with daguerreotype fidelity
the expression of his wife’s face, when he flung
back upon her this unfeeling interdiction, and
now it was before him in nil its rebuking sad
ness.
“Loving and patient.” This was the com
mentary. No angry, impatient, or rebellious
word escaped her lips, nor did a frown disfigure
her brow. But she seemed to shrink before
him, as if a strong hand had borne down hard
upon her.
Two months from that time news came of
the mother’s sudden illness.
“I-must go home now,” she said.
“It is impossible for me to accompany you—
wait for a few days. Your mother will be well
again."
“I can go alone, Thomas," urged Mrs. Car
son.
“I will not consent to that Mary,” was posi
tively objected. Next week, if your mother
should continue to grow worse, I will go with
you.”
“Oh, Thomas! If I should never see her
again!”
“You indulge a needless alarm,” said the
husband, coldly. “This sickness is but tempo
rary, and will pass away.”
The pleader was silenced, but the pale, sad
face gave signs of intense suffering. A whole
week passed without another word. Then came
a letter from her father in these words;
“Your mother is dying! Gome! Oh, come
quickly! We have,been looking for you every
hour during the last four days. Don’t delay a
moment after receiving this, if you would see
your mottcr alive
There was no objection to urge now. But
when Mrs. Carson re-crossed the threshold over
which she bad gone forth a bride, it was to fall
with a deep wail of anguish, insensible across
the bed where lay the cold form of her almost
idolized mother, back to whom she had so pant
ed to fly, through more than a year of patient
waiting.
There was a strange expression in the face of
Mrs. Carson for months afterwards. Its mean
ing her husband did not seek to penetrate. In
deed, perception with him had no plummet line
that could reach far enough down to fathom her
consciousness. Months passed ere any warmth
came back to her cheeks, or any light to her
dreamy eyes. Yet no murmer of reproach es
caped her lips. She was loving,' dutiful and pa
tient. But she never spoke to Mr. Qarson of
her mother. Once or twice he referred to the
dear departed one,.but she did not seem to hear
his remark; and be, from a vague suspicion of
the truth, held back from repeating the refer
ence.
With what painful distinctness was this whole
scene restored, as Mr. Carson sat grieving over
his great loss, ih the desolate home from which
the light of a loving face hod departed forever.
Oh, what would he have given for the power to
change that one cruel act! Away from the
rebuking record, written in his book of life, in
characters never to be erased, nut it was only
ta gaze upon another almost as selfish, behold
-as this faded, memory restored other scenes in
which he was the mean, painful opposer, and
she the loving, patient, long-suffering wife. It
had been all exaction on his part, and gentle
compliance on hers, even through reluctance or
pain. He had been a selfish tyrant; she a*
yielding, dutiful subject, though often burdened
beyond nature’s power of endurance.
llow little had he taken her needs of mind
and body into consideration, daring all the
years of their married life. He had scarce
thought of her as a being with necessities like
his own; but rather as one given to be the ser
vant of his wants and pleasures. It mattered
little how she thought, felt, or desired. If her
action served him that reached the compass of
his estimates.
"Loving and patient.” What a- new power
to smite him as with a whip of stinging scor
pions, was the testimony of the preacher gain
ing every moment. Yes she had been loving
and patient amid cruel wrongs and neglects,
that sapped the foundation of her life. Loving
arid patient, though daily she bent lower and
lower beneath the heavy weight of her un
cheered duties.
And these were the memories that came back
upon the bereaved husband, as he sat, with his
motherles children, in the home now made des
olate. There had been an angel in his house
for years; hat in his blind selfishnes be bad
not recognized her presence, even though her
band crowned bis days with comfort, and made
his pillow soft for him at night. And worse
than this; for love, coldness; for gentle words,
unkindly speech. . .
Not a gleam of consolation found its way in
to this night of sorrow and self-robuke. Our
dead return not. As we have been to them so
will he our memories of them—blessed, or ac
cusing memories, according to our deeds.
A Theoretically Benevolent Man, on being
asked by a friend to lend him a dollar, an
swered briskly, “With pleasurebut suddenly
added, “dear me, how unfortunate I I’ve only
one lending dollar—and that is out."
Tops and Bottoms.
Jonathan Dubikens, of a certain town in
Connecticut, had, many years ago, grown tired
•of sweating for his-father, becanse,- to use his
own words, “he didn’t get nothin’, but cabbage
and homespun," juuLas- for honors, he might
once hasffbeen! promotedttoihnrank: pf corpo
ral, if bis sire had not utterly refused to; loan
him his cast off suit of regimentals. But, for
all his disappointed hopes, Jonathan was a
shrewd personage, ready to “gum the flats,”
.whenever occasion offered, and exceedingly am
bitious of hoarding shiners which he could call
his own. Hie pockets, however, had never felt
the weight of a single fourpence which did not
spmehow. or other, find its way into, the family
locker. He therefore broke his allegiance with
the old man, begged three-and-sixpence of his
grandfather, and journeyed westward;- Fortune
adapted him as her own, and he, soon fell in
with,a Dutchman, whose inner jnan borrowed
its vivacity from the outer, which ranged, some
where between Falstdff and turtle-soup fash
ions, inclining, as years multiplied, to the for
mer, and indicating absence of thought in pro
portion to bis corporeal rotundity. Michael
Von Higginbeck, girthed precisely eight feet
Flemish, His words were few and emphatic—
his movements deliberate to a charm—and he
made it a chief boast that he had never been
cheated.
Jonathan learned at an inn that Michael had
a snug, but untenanted farm in a distant county
in New York; and after making sundry inqui
ries touching Mynheer, repaired to his home
stead and offered to take the untenanted farm
“at the halves.” To this proposition Michael
consented, adding a condition that he should
have the tops and Jonathan the bottoms of all
that was raised, Jonathan retired to his new
abode to make 'the bSst of the bargain, and Mi
chael to his pipe, chuckling at his adroitness in
overreaching the Yankee.
Time brought the harvest, and with it Mich
ael to demand the rent. The season bad been
propitious, and Jonathan had gathered in on
abundance.
“Will you take yonr half now, sir ?”
“Yaw,” said Michael, j
Jonathan pointed to a huge pile of tops —the
bottoms were potatoes. |
The truth suddenly flashed upon Michael’s
understanding, but it was too late to grumble;
there was his bargain and there were his tops.
Thinking still to come around the Yankee, he
rented the farm to him another year, this time
conditioning for all the bottoms. The season
elapsed, and Michael appeared to claim the
bottoms; but Jonathan had cultivated nothing
but wheat.
“Mein Gott!” exclaimed Mynheer, “te tam
Yankee gets te tops and te bottoms: but I will
them bote mineself next' year.
At the close of the year came Michael with
his teams; but Jonathan had decamped with
the corn - , leaving behind him according to
agreement, all the tops and bottoms for the
landlord.'
A Protest Against Duelling.
Colonel Baker stood before the corpse of Sen
ator Broderick and delivered his eulogy. In
the course of bis oration he said;
When William of Nassua, the deliverer of
Holland, died, in the presence of his wife, the
hand that struck the blow was not nerved by
private vengeance. When the Fourth Henry
passed unharmed amid the dangers of the field
of Ivry to perish in the streets of his capitol by
'the hands of a fanatic, it was not to avenge a
private grief. An' exaggerated sense of person
al honor—a weak mind, with choleric pajssions,
and intense sectional prejudices, united.with
great confidence in the use of arms, sometimes
serve to stimulate the instrument which accom
plishes the deepest and deadliest purpose.
Fellow-citizens, one year ago I performed a
duty such as I perform to-day, over the remains
of Senator Ferguson, who died as Mr. Broder
ick died, entangled in the meshes of the code
of honor. To-day there is another and a more
eminent sacrifice. To-day I renew my protest.
To-day you utter yours. The Code of Honor
is a delusion and a lie 1 It palters with the hope
of a true courage and binds it at the feet of
craft and cruel skill. It surrounds its victims
with the pomp and graces of procession, but it
leaves him bound bleeding at the altar. It sub
stitutes cold and deliberate purpose for the
-courageous and manly impulse, and arms the
one to disarm the other. It may prevent fraud
between practiced duelists, who should be for
ever without its pale; but it makes the mere
"trick of the weapon” superior to the noblest
cause. It is equal in all its forms—it is une
qual in all its substance. The habitude of arms,
the early training, the frontier life, the border
war, the sectional custom, the life of leisurfc—
all these are advantages which -no negotiation
can neutralize, and no courage eanovercome.
But, fellow-citizens, the protest is not only
spoken in yonr words and in mine, it is written
in indelible characters; it is written in the
blood of Gilbert, in the blood of Ferguson, in
the blood of Broderick ; and the inscription
will not altogether fade. ■
With the administration of the code in this
particular cose I am not here to deal. Amid
passionate grief let us strive to be just. I give
no credit to rumors, of which personally I know
nothing. There are tribunals to which they
may be referred ; hut this is not one of them.
But I am here to say, that whatever in the code
of honor, or out of it, demands the deadly com
bat where there is not in all things an.entiro
and certain equality, is a prostitution of the
name of honor—is an evasipn of the substance
—is a shield, blazed with the name of chivalry,
to cover the mean malignancy of murder.
A lady, whose husband had “left his bed and
board" for porta unknown, met one of herlcooa
ins shortly afterwards who endeavored to con
sole her by saying that she “appeared much
better than he expected after so much domestic
trouble.” “Trouble I” exclaimed the deserted
wife, “I have no trouble at all compared with
what Job had. Me lost his children,, his men
servants and bis maid-servants, his cattle, his
horses and his asses, while I have only lost one
jackass
POLITICAL.
From the Delaware County Republican.
Bon. John a and the Presidency.
' PuitiDiLPHiA,,Sept. 5, 1859.
My Dear Sib: —Your article in May last, in
relation to the nomination of Judge Read as the
Opposition candidate for the Presidency, afford
ed me much gratification, so far as it stated the
incidents of hid career and exhibited the prom
nent traits of his character; hut I think that
your article might have been improved, had
your information as to. the subject of it been
more ample. Having known Judge Read nearly
ever since he Entered upon active life ns a
member of the Philadelphia bar, and witnessed
the labors to which be owes bis reputation, I
may be able to furnish you with some facts in
his history which you may not yet possess, and
which it may he desirable to you to receive
from an authentic source. I therefore propose
very briefly and plainly to tell you what 1 know
of him, leaving; it to you to make use in your
own way and time, of the information I may
give you. 1
With regard to the family of Judge Bead I
can say but little beyond what is generally
known. His grand-father, George Bead, was
a man of distinguished ability, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, a member of the
convention that; framed the Constitution of the
United States, a Judge of Appeals in Admi
ralty under the' Confederation, a Senator in the
first Congress, and lastly, Chief Justice of the
State of Delaware. His grand uncle, George
Boss, was a signer of the Declaration of Inde
pendence ; and George Clymer, another signer,
was a family connexion. The two brothers of
George Rend were actively engaged, and ren
-1 dered valuable service in the Revolutionary
contest. Thomas was a captain in the conti
nental navy, add James an officer in the army.
Both fought under Washington at Trenton and
Princeton, and James served ns Major at Bran
dywine and Germantown. Lieut. Col. Gun
ning Bedford, who belonged to the Delaware
regiment, and was Governor of Delaware after
the war, was a brother-in-law.
John Bead, the father of tbs Judge, was ed
ucated to the |bar, and admitted to practice
about 1790 or ’9l. He settled in Philadelphia,
where he married, in 1796, a daughter of Sam
uel Meredith, an active patriot of the Involu
tion, and the first Treasurer of the United
States, of whose father General Washington
was an intimate friend and frequent guest. —
John Bead wnsj a man of influence and talent.
He served for two sessions in the Legislature of
■Pennsylvania as a representative from Phila
delphia, and ah nnexpired term of four years
in the Senate, was for some years City Solicitor,
....a ioid naa luaat. u. —: .3 . n.L
dclphia Bank. ; He resigned that post in 1811,
and died about five years ago, at an advanced
age.
John Meredith Bead, the subject of this com
munication, is the eldest son of John Read,
and was admitted to the bar in 1818 or ’l9.
He was educated at the University of Pennsyl
vania, and graduated very young. Students at
that period often left the University, crowned
with its honors, with no more Latin and less
Greek, than is jnow required for admission to
Yale or Princeton, and it is not likely that Mr.
Read was an exception to the ordinary rule.—
At a later period, feeling the want of the learn
ing which he ought to bavo derived from his
collegiate course, he labored to acquire it in the
midst of cares | which most men would have
thought sufficient to occupy their whole time.
His appearance at the time of his admission to
the bar was exceedingly youthful. Tall of
stature and of manly proportions, his face was
fresh and ruddy, and he looked as little like one
given to the wasting of midnight oil in reoon- ,
dito studies as those least troubled with ambi- !
tious dreams. He read much, and bad a strong
propensity for literature, but he was no student
in the proper sense of the term, and partook
with a zest natural to the young, of social en
joyments. Life had not yet presented itself to
him in its serious aspects', and he thought little
of the honors of the profession for which he
was ere long to compete. Within a year, how- ‘
ever, of his admission to the bar, he was ap
pointed Solicitor for the Philadelphia Bank,
and in that capacity became concerned in some
important cases, in the management of which
he exhibited a remarkable aptitude for legal
practice. As business increased, a sense of its
responsibilities compelled him to labor, in order :
to acquire the I learning necessary for the full
performance of his duties, and he soon becamo |
distinguished for the diligence with which he i
tried them. By degrees he acquired a rooted !
attachment to jhis profession, and studied the '
law as a science., He habitually came into
court armed ati all points, and gave his client I
the advantage'of a masterly manipulation of j
the facts, and the utmost support of authority j
of which his cause was capable. lie was not 1
liable to bo confused, disconcerted or flurried, j
betrayed no surprise at an unexpected develop
ment of the facts, but went through his case I
steadily and without excitement, master of it I
and of never forgetting for a moment
the decorum due to the administration of j us
tice, nor the courtesies becoqiing the practice of
an honorable profession. He partook largely
of the chivalrio spirit of the bur of the olden
time—was fair and generous to an opponcut,
and shared liberally with a colleague the fruits
of bis own laborious preparation. Though
early noted as a rising man, his upward course
was necessarily slow and toilsome. There were
giants in those days at the bar, and they mo
nopolized the heavy practice, leaving but the
gleanings of the field to their youthful co-la
borers.
In the fall of 1823 Mr. Read was elected a
member of th'o House of -Representatives of
Pennsylvania, and during the session of the
following winter took an active part in the de
bates of that body, and proved himself an able
and influential member. He was re-elected the
next year, and j had for his colleagues Judges
Kane and Stroud, and Mr. Meredith, late Sec
retary of the Treasury under Gen. Taylor, con
stituting the strongest delegation ever sent by
Philadelphia. ......
Having declined further service in the Legis-.
lature, be applied himself with increased dili-
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eon ted neatly and -promptly. Justices', Constables’] 1
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NO. 16.
gence to professional studies and pursuits, and
it was not long till he began to reap the proper
reward of his industry and learning. He was
appointed city solicitor, and became counsel
for a number of large mercantile firms. Har
ing been elected a member of the Soleot City
Council, he thought it his duty to investigate
the condition of the finances, and to under
stand the sources of its revenues and tbe sub
jects of its expenditures. His habits of ex
haustive research qualified him for a species of
labor which to most minds is of all others the
most repulsive, and it was not long till he pre
sented in a forcible and luminous speech, which
was subsequently published in Hazard’s Reg
ister, the first connected view ever given to the
public of the operation of the financial depart
ment of the city government. An ordinance
drawn hy him providing for quarterly and an
nual accounts in a special shape, was passed by
the councils, and by its means tbe community
for the first time were enabled to understand
the management of their municipal aliairg.
When the proposition for the amendment of
the Constitution of Pennsylvania was first pro
mulgated he hesitated to join! in the movement,
although he was satisfied that certain altera
tions could be made which would prove bene
ficial. Having studied the subject with his
usual care, he determined to advocate the pol
icy of amendment, but only on specific points,
and he prepared an address to the people of
Pennsylvania designating clearly those points.
This address he reported as one of a committee
of a town meeting held in this city, to tbe meet
ing, and it being adopted, it was circulated
throughout the State, and furnished the basis
of the scheme of reform which was subse
quently worked out by the convention and rati
fied by the people. Whether tbe constitution
as a whole was improved hy the alterations may
perhaps be a question; though as to the pro
priety of depriving the exeantive of the im
mense patronage which be wielded under the
old constitution, and which contrary_to the
spirit and purpose of the instrument had be
come an engine for party uses, there cannot he
a reasonable doubt.
Soon after the accession of Martin Van Buren
to the Presidency, Mr. Head was appointed
United States District Attorney for the eastern
district of Pennsylvania, and held the office till
1841. After his resignation and the appoint*
ment of Mr. Meredith as his successor, in con
sequence of the previous engagements of that
gentleman, Mr. Read was retained as the spe
cial counsel of the Government hy the solicitor
of the treasury, notwithstanding his adverse
political position. This compliment paid to
Mr. Head’s professional standing was not less
honorable to the appointing power than to him.
While officiating as District Attorney, he was
appointed by the Secretary of War Judge Ad
\ ucirus uiruic uuuiv ui inquiry upuu uommoaorS
Elliott, and he was afterwards appointed to the
same position in the court martial constituted
for the trial of that distinguished officer. Al
though much bitterness of feeling was mani
fested between the accuser and accused, and
the feeling affected In no small degree the
friends of the respective parties, every one paid
tribute to the fairness, candor, and ability of
the Judge Advocate, and the voluminous pro
ceedings, embracing some seven hundred pa
ges, exhibit no single exception taken to his
ruling by the very able counsel engaged in the
defence.
Standing now in the foremost rank of.bis
profession, eminent as well for the depth and
variety of his learning as for his talents, he
was designated by public opinion as the proper
successor to Judge Baldwin. lie was accord
ingly nominated in 1845, to the Senate as a
Judge of the Supreme Court of the United
States. The nomination thus made, however,
was not acted upon by the Senate. There was
an adverse influence in that body prescient of
the future, and a Northern man with Southern
principles was demanded for the position. To
that influence Mr. Read’s unswerving fidelity
to the law and the Constitution, which it was
well known could not be made in his bands
flexible instruments of a power in the State
greater than the State itself, constituted an in
superable objection. When Mr. Polk came
into office he selected a successor to Judge
Baldwin, with a direct reference,to his publicly
expressed opinions as to negro slavery, and Mr.
Read was not re-nominated.
In 1840 Mr. Read was appointed Attorney
General of Pennsylvania, and hold the office
about six months when he resigned.
For the twelve years that intervened between
his relinquishing the office of Attorney General,
and his election as. Judge of the Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania, he pursued the practice’of
the law with unabated intelligence, and [prose
cuted his studies with an ardor that would have
done credit to a youthful aspirant to the hon
ors of the profession. He made himself ac
quainted with all branches of the law, civil and
criminal, municipal and-federal, equity and ad
miralty, constitutional and international, and
with all of them a scientific familiarity. Dur
ing the interval referred to he was engaged id
many important trials, and among the rest in
that of the United States vs. IXanway, tried in
18-31 for treason. Ilis speech, which was the
closing one in the case on the part of the de
fence, and occupied the court during three days
of its session, was a niost masterly performance,
and absolutely conclusive on every point. In
his preparation for pis trial he had studied
thoroughly the English law of treason, and our
own, and made himself familiar with a slave
code of all the Southern States and the decis
ions of the courts under them, and was ready
to answer any suggestion that might come from
the opposite side. His speech was never fully
reported. If it had been, it would have settled
the law of treason in the United States fur the
present century.
But although now in the busiest part of his
life, he found time to pay some attention to
politics, and in 1849 attend as a delegate the
Democratic Convention-at Pittsburg, and ably
and successfully advocated the adoption of a
resolution offered by Col. Black, now of Ne
braska, against the extension of slavery into
the territories of the United States. The reso
lution reads thus:
Resolved, That the Democratic parly adheres now
a. it ever lie? tlniie, to the C "iiatitulion of the country.
It- letter -tutl spirit the; wiit neither weaken ucr tie-
I
3 MONTHS.: 6 MONTHS. 12 MONTHS
$3,001 . $4,30 $O,OO
5.00 6,50 3,oft
7,09 3,30 10,00
8.00 9,30 12,50
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