EDWARD SHIPPEN.

In presenting the portrait of the late Chief Justice SHIPPEN, we are sure that we shall gratify, not only his numerous friends, by whom his memory is affectionately cherished, but the public, who are indebted to him for many and important services. He was, in every sense, a son of Pennsylvania, born and educated in the city of Philadelphia, and to his native state he devoted his labors and talents during a long and useful life. He was born on the sixteenth day of February, 1729. His grandfather, William Shippen, was a gentleman of fortune and family, in the county of York, England; and his father, Edward Shippen, emigrated to America about the year 1675. He first settled in Boston, but removed to Philadelphia about the year 1700, where his character and acquirements soon obtained for him the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, and led him to various offices of honor and emolument. He became a member of the governor's council, a commissioner of the board of property, a judge of the general court, and was the first mayor of the city.

EDWARD SHIPPEN, the subject of this memoir, followed the honorable course of his father, and fully sustained the reputation derived from him. Having completed his elementary education with distinguished diligence and success, he commenced the study of the law under the direction of Tench Francis, Esquire, then the attorney-general of Pennsylvania. In 1748, Mr. SHIPPEN, having prosecuted his legal studies for about two years, went to London to complete them in the Temple. In our day, this is no longer necessary; nor indeed are our American youth required to go abroad for instruction, in any of the learned professions more than in the mechanic arts. After spending two years in London, not in frivolous dissipated pursuits, but in the acquirement of the knowledge of his profession and the general cultivation of his mind, Mr. SHIPPEN was admitted a barrister of the Middle Temple; and he returned to Philadelphia, to commence his career of life, and enter upon the duties of a lawyer and a citizen. He was so occupied, when the war of our

revolution interrupted the civil pursuits of our citizens, and suspended, more or less, their private business.

On the happy conclusion of this momentous struggle, the departments of government, as well as the occupations of the people. returned to their regular action and course. To furnish the judiciary with men of suitable qualifications, as to character and knowledge, was obviously an object of primary importance. Professional learning and moral integrity in the administration of the laws, were indispensable to secure the public confidence for the courts of justice; and in seaching for them, Mr. SHIPPEN could not be overlooked. He was accordingly appointed president of the court of common pleas of the county of Philadelphia, a place of high trust; and was also the presiding judge of the court of quarter sessions for the city and county. These appointments were made under the constitution of the state, adopted in 1776. A more perfect organization of the judiciary was made by the constitution of 1790.

In 1791, Mr. SHIPPEN was appointed one of the judges of the supreme court, whose jurisdiction extended over the whole state, and whose duties and powers called for the highest grade of professional learning and talents, as well as of personal character and public confidence. On the election of Chief Justice M'Kean to the executive chair of the commonwealth in 1799, Judge SHIPPEN succeeded him on the bench, and was appointed Chief Justice by Governor M'Kean, who was perfectly well acquainted with the qualifications the office demanded, and with the fitness of the person he selected for it. Chief Justice SHIPPEN continued to perform the duties of his exalted station with undiminished ability, and unimpaired confidence and respect, until the close of the year 1805, when the infirmities of age, he being then nearly seventy-seven years old, admonished him to retire to repose. A few months after his resignation of office, on the sixteenth day of April, 1806, he found his final resting place, placidly leaving the world, in which, from his earliest youth, he had been conspicuous for his virtues and usefulness. The volumes of our judicial reports are enriched with many of his opinions, of great importance; and these are now received with the same respect they commanded, when they were sustained by his personal and official influence and authority. Much of our law which is now well settled, was, at the period of his judicial administration, in a state of uncertainty, long usages sometimes interfering with positive legislative enactments. Principles were to be established suitable to our system of jurisprudence, and con

structions to be given to doubtful laws. His sound mind, his excellent legal education and great experience, his cool temper and discriminating sagacity, were all admirably calculated for the performance of such functions; and he did perform them in a manner to satisfy his contemporaries, and to be approved and unshaken to this day. Judicial qualifications and services are not of a character to catch the multitude, or to be the subjects of popular applause; but there is no officer concerned in the administration of the affairs of a people, whose duties are more anxious and arduous to himself, or more important to the community, than those of the judge. The preparatory education and long study; the painful and attentive experience, which are indispensable for the attainment of the qualifications befitting the bench; the habits of close and careful investigation; the faculty of liscovering the true ground of controversy, of distinguishing between real and apparent resemblances, between sound reasoning and ingenious sophism; the firmness never to yield principles to expediency, nor to sacrifice or disturb the great system of jurisprudence for particular cases; and withal, to hold a perfect command over every feeling that might irritate the temper or mislead the judgment, present to our contemplation a combination of rare and valuable qualities, deserving our highest consideration and respect. The laws must be sustained with independence and intelligence, or it is in vain that they are wise and salutary; justice must be rendered faithfully to the parties who appeal for it to the judicial tribunals, or it is a mockery to promise them protection and redress. The active, efficient, vital operations of the government are performed by the courts. No man is so high or so humble as to be beyond their reach; they bring the laws into every man's house, to punish or to protect them. Such are the responsibilities of a judge. It was on the judgment seat of the law, that the high qualities of Chief Justice SHIPPEN were brought into their best exercise and use. He seemed by nature as well as education to have been especially prepared for this station. Patient, learned, discriminating and just, no passion or private interest, no selfish or unworthy feeling of favor or resentment ever held the slightest influence over his conduct or decisions.

Few situations expose the temper to more irritating trials than that of a judge. He must occasionally encounter ignorance, impertinence, stupidity, obstinacy, and chicanery, and he must take care that they do not move him from his line of duty. The bland and equal temper of Chief Justice SHIPPEN never forsook him amidst such trials, but, on the contrary, threw a charm over his.

manner of repelling or submitting to them. The young and the timid advocate was encouraged by his kindness, and flattered by his attention. He knew and practiced the lesson of Lord Bacon, that "patience is one of the first duties of a judge;" and he felt that he was bound to hear every party and every advocate, before he decided his cause. A suitor might go from his court disappointed by the judgment, but he could not be dissatisfied with the judge.

Of the private character and deportment of Chief Justice SHIPPEN, it may be truly said that he has left few imitators of his manners. His politeness was of the kind that has its foundations in a well regulated temper and the best feelings of a benevolent heart, polished by a familiar intercourse, from his birth, with refined society. He combined, in a remarkable degree, benignity with dignity, conciliating the affections while he commanded a perfect respect; and, as a valuable citizen, and an accomplished lawyer and judge, remarkable for the great extent and minute accuracy of his knowledge, he must ever be conspicuous, among those worthies who have won, by their virtues and their talents, an imperishable name.