the supremacy of the Constitution in all its pristine vigor, leaving the departures noted as some of the many monuments to mark the times when partisanship rose above patriotism, and when passion obscured the understanding and appreciation of the fact that an American citizen has rights fundamental and inalienable in their nature.
Mathias McGirk.
When Governor McNair selected the first Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri, he set the worthy example of eschewing political considerations. Although a disciple of Thomas Jefferson, he chose one who belonged to the school now remem beredas Old Line Whigs. Judge McGirk was born in Tennessee in 1790, came to St. Louis about 1814, but soon removed to Montgomery County in the interior of the State. He was appointed to his high position at the early age of thirty-one,and filled it admirably and well for twenty years. Prior to his appointment, he had served in the Territorial Legislature, and was the author of a number of the important statutes enacted by it, notably the one introducing the common law of England into the local jurisprudence. He is described to have been inclined to corpulency and of medium height. His strong sense of right, vigorous intellect, and courteous demeanor made him a popular judge. His opinions are clear and to the point, and many of them discuss questions of grave importance. In differing from his associates upon the nature of the legislation under which loan-office certificates were issued, holding that, in the light of the Constitution of the United States, they were bills of credit, he expressed the views which received the sanction of the Federal Supreme Court in the well-known case of Craig v. Missouri, 4 Peters, 410. His tastes were domestic and for the country. At his handsome home on Loutre Island in the Missouri River, he was hospitable to his friends, and drank deep of the sober pleasures of a full, rounded life. He retired upon his resignation in 1841, in the full possession of all his faculties, and beloved of all his fellow-citizens.
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HAMILTON R. GAMBLE.
John D. Cook
came to Missouri during territorial days, and was a member of the convention which framed her first Constitution. He served as judge of the Supreme Court but a short period, and resigned to accept an appointment to the circuit court bench. His tastes led him to prefer nisi prius service, in which he achieved high distinction. He is remembered as a thorough master of the common law, but greatly lacking in industry and application. He was genial in disposition, and charitable to the point of prodigality. The following is related as illustrative of Judge Cook's liberality in granting applications for admission to the bar: A young cabinet-maker, with a few months' reading, imagined that he was predestined to be a lawyer, and accordingly applied for the necessary license. The committee ap-
