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The Green Bag.
circuits, at the principal towns within these for that, and when found, nothing but im divisions. It was no uncommon thing for perious legal necessity can prevent me from crowds of the people to attend the sessions enforcing it." 1 The apparently opposite of the court, especially on the days when spirit is voiced in the utterance of Judge the decisions were to be delivered. In pro Benning: " There is but one question for a nouncing an opinion in any case in which court, — What is the law? " 2 These di the question involved touched any great vergent tendencies are but different aspects principle of constitutional liberty -or popu of the same truth, — justice according to lar right or domestic happiness, or which in law. And yet if there is a difference in the
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any way touched the two mental attitudes human heart, Judge exhibited by these Lumpkin gave full statements, that of vent to his marvellous Lumpkin is to be powers of oratorical preferred. For those expression. He was technicalities which '-'a very priest-justice," are great principles in the happy phrase of in concrete forms he had judicial rever Judge Seymour D. ence; but with those Thompson, comment which never rested ing on this singular on a principle, or in tradition. Unfortu which the principle nately, there was no had ceased to be stenographer to record vital, he was ready these remarkable ut to play the icono terances. Judge clast. A specimen of Lumpkin did not write his dealing with such out his judgments un til afterwards, — after topics is to be found the heat of the argu in his remarks about seals. ment and his own The question in the fresh interest in the case3 was whether a case had passed away. writ of error was He did not love to HIRAM WARNER. amendable by attach write; he could not ing the seal of the tolerate the labor of revision. He was utterly careless of his rep court. Judge Lumpkin says: — utation. The result is that although his "What magic, I ask, is there in our own seal? opinions are scattered from the first to the True, the Clerk has attested this writ of error in thirty-fifth volume of the Georgia Reports, his official name, and by his private seal, and in they wholly fail to convey any adequate im obedience to it, the Clerk of the Circuit Court has pression of his greatness and his power. certified and transmitted to this court all the rec And yet, after this heavy discount, there ords and papers of the file in the court below, is enough in the records to show his charac which are necessary to enable us to hear and deter ter and vindicate his work in the develop mine properly this cause upon its merits. But then ment of the jurisprudence of Georgia. He { we look in vain on this writ for the three pillars appears as the ardent lover of justice. In supporting an arch, with the word ' Constitution ' one decision he says: " After all, where lies engraven within the same, emblematic of the Conthe justice of the case? 1 always dig deep ' 26 Ga. 30. . 19 Ga. 393. "13 Ga. 253.