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"plaintiffs," or "prosecutors." This construction might be attacked on many grounds. No reason can be shown in the spirit of the laws or the Constitution, which would induce us to suppose, that a plaintiff is any more entitled to a jury than a defendant. In revenue cases the United States are plaintiffs, and the proceeding partakes, to a considerable extent, of the nature of a criminal prosecution. In all cases the party attacked is the one to whom the fair and impartial decision of the claim made against him is the most important. Besides, we have already seen, that Congress has no power to deny the trial by jury to a defendant, in such cases as are met by the proviso-that is, where the common law can give a remedy-without violating the seventh amendment. But, merely hinting at these considerations, let us look, for a moment, at the argument against the construction of the proviso which we are contending for, as it appears in its most authoritative form. The Supreme Court of the United States, after adverting to this reading of the law, speaks as follows:

"The common law courts exercise a concurrent jurisdiction in nearly all the cases of Admiralty cognizance, whether of tort or contract, (with the exception of proceedings in rem.) which, upon the construction contended for, would be transferred from the Admiralty to the exclusive cognizance of these courts. "The meaning of the clause we think apparent.

"By the Constitution, the entire Admiralty power of the country is lodged in the federal judiciary; and Congress intended, by the ninth section, (of the judiciary act,) to invest the District Courts with this power, as Courts of original jurisdiction.

"The term exclusive original cognizance,' is used for this purpose, and is intended to be exclusive of the State as well as of the federal courts.

"The saving clause was inserted, probably, from abundant caution, lest the exclusive terms in which the power is conferred on the District Courts, might be deemed to have taken away the concurrent remedy which had before existed.

"This leaves the concurrent power where it stood at common law."

Never was there an argument which so completely ran away with its maker, and reached a conclusion so different from that wished for. The result is, that the concurrent power of the common law exists, in full vigor, under the proviso in question, and notwithstanding the grant of exclusive original cognizance. If this is so, and in that we fully agree with the Supreme Court, the Admiralty jurisdiction of the District Courts, over seizures on water, is usurped, and has no foundation whatever, by Constitution or by Statute.

A few words more and we will close this paper-already extended much beyond our original intention. We desire, again, to disclaim any wish, or purpose, to send abroad the idea that the federal judiciary have acted in these matters with any improper motive. We believe that, by the inevitable influence of their position and professional feeling, they have been led into the course of decision which they have adopted. But that they have wilfully violated the Constitution and laws of the land, or that they do not in conscience believe themselves to be right, we cannot for a moment suppose. While, however, we accord to them the full measure of our respect, we have no hesitancy in avowing that (it may be from a fault in our powers of comprehension,) their arguments are not conclusive to our mind; and we see no reason why the principles on which their decisions rest, should not be examined outside of the court room.

SIR THOMAS MORE,

AS A STATESMAN AND A SCHOLAR.

Ir is an interesting and useful study to contemplate the lives of those great men, who seem clearly to have reflected the image and fully to have breathed the spirit of their age. The leaders of parties, the authors of great movements, and the chief actors of stirring scenes, claim from the biographer, the historian, and the poet, the commemoration of their deeds. The biographer of Washington is the historian of the American Revolution, and in his "Life of Napoleon" are detailed the causes and the progress of those events still acting in their results, which have remodeled the social system of Europe. There are other men, not indeed unknown to fortune and to fame, but never regarded as the chiefs of a victorious party, who are not the chosen representatives of their times; we study their lives not to gain a comprehensive view of the periods in which they lived, but to derive practical instruction in the study of human nature, and in the formation of character. To this latter class belongs Sir Thomas More. He lived, it is true, in an age when a succession of events occurred, such as were not equaled in their immediate and remote effects by any that had been witnessed since the advent of the Messiah. But belonging to a party which was crushed by Henry VIII., and at length annihilated in England, he does not occupy a prominent position in the foreground of history. We enter upon the study of his character with a nobler purpose than that of merely gaining a knowledge of his age-the wish to know how he was enabled to combine the abilities of a civilian, the literary enterprise of a scholar, and the virtues of a private man. We contemplate his deportment in the Court of his Sovereign. We visit him in his rural retreat at Chelsea. We follow him to the scaffold-in order that we may learn to conduct ourselves humbly in prosperity, manfully in adversity-and to bear with meekness and resignation all the allotments of Providence.

It is the design of this essay to illustrate the character of Sir Thomas More as a Statesman and a Scholar. It will therefore be necessary to describe briefly the political and literary condition of England in his age; to relate the principal acts and events of his life; to make mention of his studies and associates, and to criticise his literary productions.

Sir Thomas More was born of a respectable family, in 1480. He received the rudiments of his education at St. Anthony's School, then kept by Nicholas Hart. In his fifteenth year he became a page in the family of Cardinal Morton, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in which he had an opportunity of hearing the conversation of eminent divines, and of the most celebrated restorers of ancient literature in England. The Cardinal even then foresaw his future distinction, and was accustomed to say of him, "This child here, waiting at the table, whoever lives to see it, will prove a marvellous rare man." At the age of sixteen he became a student at Oxford, and there entered into the contest which was carried on between the partisans and the opponents of Grecian literature. His active and ingenious mind was not content to ponder the works of Roman

orators and Roman poets, without searching in the storehouse from which they had derived their models. Oxford was awaking from its indolence, and the scholars of the exiled Greeks were collected there. Here was formed an intimacy between Erasmus and More, which naturally arose from the similarity of their tastes and pursuits, and continued unbroken till the death of the latter. At the University, More "profited exceedingly in rhetoric, logic and philosophy, and showed evidently what wonders wit and diligence can perform, when joined, as seldom they are, in one painful student." After completing his academical course at Oxford, he applied himself to the study of the law, and such was his success in prosecuting it, that at the age of twenty he was appointed to deliver lectures on the civil and the canon law, at Furnival's Inn. Thus prepared for the active duties of life, he commenced the practice of the law. He rose rapidly at the bar, and his biographer says of him, "There was not at that time any cause of importance in any of the King's Courts, but he was of counsel to one of the parties, still choosing the justest side, and therefore he continually went away victorious." His intellectual and moral qualities could not long be concealed, and he was soon honored with civil trust.

The commencement of the sixteenth century was the commencement of a new era in the history of England. The wars of the Roses had ceased, and the title of the reigning dynasty was undisputed. The Constitution, in spite of the civil wars, had acquired a form not unworthy of the free people whom it protected, and the government began to require for its support the wisdom of the statesman, rather than the prowess of the soldier. The improvement of agriculture, the progress of commerce, and the introduction of manufactures, gave encouragement to industry, security to property, and stability to the laws. To the parliament belonged the undisputed prerogatives of making laws and raising taxes. The ministers of the king were subjected to impeachment for official misconduct; and the right of a trial by jury was esteemed as the birthright of an Englishman. The general privileges of the nation were, however, more secure than the personal rights of the individual. When the whole people were threatened with the illegal imposition of taxes, they could rise in arms to prevent the meditated invasion of their immemorial charBut the citizen, alone and unaided, could not with his sword defend himself from unlawful imprisonment, or his property from confiscation. His right to a trial by jury was sometimes infringed, and he was no less a victim of tyranny when tried by a jury which had been packed or intimidated by the officers of the crown. The communication between the different parts of the kingdom was so imperfect, that weeks might elapse before the unjust acts of the government would be known by the larger portion of the nation; and the interval of time between their commission and their wide-spread publicity, would repress that spirit of righteous indignation which prompts an injured community to the forcible assertion of its rights. The minds of men did not then comprehend those principles of generalization, which now teach them that the liberty of a whole nation is violated whenever a single citizen suffers in person or in property from the illegal and arbitrary acts of the government. The personal character of the Tudors also enabled them, in the language of a living historian, "To exercise their power always with vigor, often with

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At the age of twenty-two More was appointed Under-Sheriff of London, an office of more consequence than the name implies, as more important causes were then adjudicated in the County Courts than since they have been superseded by the Superior Courts, at Westminster. Erasmus, speaking of his official conduct at this time says, "No Judge of that Court went through more causes; none decided them more uprightly, of ten remitting the fees to which he was entitled from the suitors.'

Two years after receiving this appointment he was elected a burgess of the Parliament, called by Henry VII. for the purpose of raising a feudal subsidy on the marriage of his daughter Margaret to the King of the Scots. Henry had demanded a larger sum than he intended to bestow on her, but no commoner was willing to expose himself to the displeasure of the king by opposing the grant. More, however, for the first time in public, displayed that moral courage which never forsook him, and, "making a grave speech, pronounced such arguments why the exactions were not to be granted, that thereupon all the king's demands were crossed and his request denied." The king hearing that he had been defeated by a beardless boy, was much enraged, and revenged himself upon More's father. Dr. Fox, bishop of Winchester, proposed to mediate between him and the king, if he would consent to ask the king's pardon; but More, too wise not to understand the stratagems of the Court, and too honest to purchase royal favor by the sacrifice of personal independence, promptly refused the proposal. The zealous patriot was constantly watched, and preferring voluntary exile to the inquisition of a tyrant, was preparing to reside in France, when the crown passed from Henry VII. to his son. Previously to this event he had retired almost entirely from the bar, and was passing his time" in studying the French tongue at home, sometimes recreating his tired spirits on the viol, where he also perfected himself in most of the liberal sciences, as music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and grew to be a perfect historian."

On the accession of Henry VIII. he again became actively engaged in the duties of his profession. The most remarkable instance recorded of his success as a legal practitioner, occurred about this time. A ship of the Pope was claimed by the King, as forfeited to him for a breach of the law of nations. More was obtained to argue the cause of the Pope before the Star Chamber, and on account of his able arguments and skillful management of the case, was successful. The King, forgetting the loss of his prize, as he foresaw the advantage which he might gain from so learned a subject, was pleased with his conduct, and endeavored to secure his services at Court. More would not for some time consent to his wishes, but at length wearied with his solicitations, he accepted a seat in his Privy Council. From this time till his resignation of the Great Seal, he was constantly intrusted with important missions abroad, and responsible offices at home. In the early part of his reign, Henry VIII. merited the affections of his people. Himself educated for the Church, he was more proficient in literature than any of his predecessors. Before the nerous sentiments of youth had been repressed, he punished informers, protected his subjects, and patronized the learned. But when his mind had been narrowed by theological controversy, and his violent temper had been enraged by opposition to his desires, arrogance and obstinacy, injustice and cruelty characterized his reign. Such was the character of the Sovereign in whose Cabinet the prudence of More enabled him to re

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main for nearly twenty years, without compromising his honesty or his independence. In 1523 a Parliament was summoned by the King, and More was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. His address to the King, though couched in the customary style of addresses to him in those times, still contains a petition well worthy of mention. He besought the King that if at any time he should mistake his message to him, he might repair to the Commons for a renewal or an explanation of his instructions; and also that since men in the ardor of debate, may utter words which in their cooler moments they would not, "it may therefore like your most abundant grace to give to all your Commons, here assembled, your most gracious license and pardon freely, without doubt of your dreadful displeasure, every man to discharge his conscience, and boldly in everything incident among us to declare his advice." As Speaker of the House of Commons, More distinguished himself for his jealous regard for its honor, and his prudent guardianship of its privileges. To this Parliament Chancellor Wolsey was sent by the King to demand a subsidy, and to reprove the parsimony of the House of Commons. After making an oration in favor of the grant, and being unable to obtain a reply to his demands, from the members, he asked the Speaker what was the opinion of the House. More replied that, " for the members to make answer was neither expedient nor agreeable with the ancient liberty of the House, and that though they had all with their voices trusted him, yet except every one of them could put into his own head their several wits, he alone, in so weighty a matter, was unmeet to make his grave answer." Thus, by the mild, yet stern independence of More, was established the rule-that the House can make and decide no communications except through its presiding officer-which was adopted by Lenthall, when Charles I. attempted to arrest the five members-has guarded to this day the liberty of the House of Commons, and has been introduced into the government of all deliberative assemblies in England and America. It was his aim, while he averted the displeasure of the King from the legislative body over which he presided, to guard sacredly its privileges, and with good reason did Wolsey say to him, at the close of the Session, when only half of the required subsidy was granted, "I wish to God you had been at Rome, Mr. More, when I made you Speaker."

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Wolsey, fearing that his influence would be exerted against the court, obtained for him a mission to France; but, at his own earnest request, the appointment was revoked by the king. He was subsequently sent as an ambassador to Cambray, where, in the words of his biographer, he so worthily handled himself, that he procured far more benefits unto this realm than by the king or council had been thought possible to be compassed." We have now reached the period in his life when he was elevated to the highest office in the gift of his sovereign. The passion of the king for Anne Boleyn produced the disgrace of Wolsey. After due deliberation, the Great Seal was delivered to Sir Thomas More, and he became Lord-Chancellor of England. The Duke of Norfolk, in an address at his installation, spoke of his admirable wisdom, integrity, and innocency, joined with the most pleasant faculty of wit," and said, that "the king had perceived no man in the realm to be more wise in deliberating, more sincere in opening to him what he thought, nor more eloquent to adorn the matter which he uttered."

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