gress from each State should be m propor tion to its quota of contribution, and that in the Senate in proportion to its importance. He energetically opposed Madison's scheme of giving to the national government the right to negative acts of the States, and said : "If nothing else, this alone would damn, and ought to damn, the Constitution." Lastly he believed the right of habeas corpus should be inviolate. Thus he appears to have desired a strong central government, the preserva tion of the rights of the States, and the lib erties of the citizens. No difficulty was experienced in South Carolina over the adoption of the new con stitution, and upon the organization of the new national government Chancellor Rutledge was complimented by the electoral vote of his State for Vice-Président. On Septem ber 26, 1789, he was commissioned the first senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The strange dis regard for and the small importance attached to that tribunal at that time are shown by Mr. Justice Rutledge's course. He does not appear to have sat in the Supreme Court as Associate Justice, or to have resigned his Chancellorship of South Carolina. There is no record even of his having taken the oath of office. If he acted at this time as a Federal Judge it must have been upon the Circuit, although there are no records or reports which show that he ever exercised those functions. After his appointment to the United States Supreme Court, however, he probably did not sit as Chancellor. The last case in which he is reported to have sat on the equity bench of his State was decided at the December term, 1789. On March fifth, 1791, he resigned his Federal commission, having been elected Chief Justice of South Carolina. This office he held until July first, 1795, on which date he was appointed by Washington Chief Justice of the United States. He sat as Chief Justice at the August term of the Federal Supreme Court of that year, at which there are but two cases re ported to have been decided in 3 Dallas.
We have no adequate means of determin ing his qualifications for a judge or the merits of his judicial administration, except the facts that Washington deemed him of sufficient ability and eminence twice to ap point him to the Supreme Court, and that twice he was elected to the highest judicial offices in his own State. It has been said 'that his knowledge of the principles of law was profound, and that his bearing upon the bench was courteous and dignified. His ap pointment, however, as Chief Justice of the United States was undoubtedly unfortunate. His health and his mind were impaired. In a speech in July, 1795, delivered at Charles ton upon the occasion of the outburst of in dignation at Jay's treaty with England, the vehemence, extravagance and incoherency of his language, the lack of logical argument, the bitter and undignified personal abuse, showed that his mental powers were weaken ing. His attitude towards that treaty mani fested by that speech, aroused the wrath of the Federalists in the Senate and doomed his appointment as Chief Justice to rejection. He was the target of great political and per sonal vilification. Before December fifteenth, when the vote of rejection was passed, it was notorious that his mind had given way en tirely. The last four years and a half of his life were filled with ever increasing mental aberration and physical weakness, until death released him from suffering on July eight eenth, 1800. Thus sadly ended a life actively and pic turesquely spent in the public service at the most important era of our history. Greatly acting in great events, I know of not one in stance in his career that is justly subject to criticism, while his faculties were intact. In politics he was too independent to be bound by party ties. But until his unfortunate and fatal attitude on Jay's treaty he was a Fed eralist. His positive character compels re.spect. Although perhaps not in the first rank of intellect, yet he was a man of good sense, who proved himself adequate to all occa sions. He acted always with decision and
