LYMAN TRUMBULL.

THE subject of this sketch was born at Colchester, Connecticut, on the 12th of October, 1813. His parents were descendants of an ancestry sturdy and strong in stature, noble in generosity, rugged in integrity, brilliant in intellect, and his active life, covering a period of nearly eighty years, full of usefulness to the Nation, demonstrates the truth of the law of heredity.

His early education was received in his native town, at the Bacon Academy; but when he had arrived at the age of sixteen, like hundreds of great men, he was compelled to teach school to enable him to satisfy his own thirst for knowledge. Four years later he left his native State to take charge of an academy at Greenville, Georgia. While thus engaged he devoted all of his leisure time to the study of law, and in 1837, when twenty-four years old, was admitted to the practice of his profession.

Immediately after he had passed his examination he removed to Belleville, Saint Clair County, Illinois, where he opened an office. In three years his legal practice was interrupted for a time in consequence of his having been elected to the legislature, and his appointment to the office of Secretary of State before the expiration of his term in that body. He filled the latter position with distinction for two years, at the end of which time he again devoted himself to the practice of the law with wonderful assiduity, in a short period attaining the highest rank.

In 1848 he was elected one of the Associate Justices

of the Supreme Court of his State, under the revised Constitution, a striking recognition of his legal learning and ability. Four years afterward, in 1852, he was reelected for the full term of nine years, but in 1853, he resigned this high office and resumed the practice of his profession. The opinions of Judge Trumbull, while on the Supreme Bench, are contained in four volumes of the Illinois Reports-from eleven to fifteen-and are remarkable for the clear, forcible and accurate manner in which his views are expressed, as well as for their correct interpretation of law.

Previous to his assumption of the judicial ermine, he had already won distinction in the practice, having appeared in many important cases throughout the State, but upon his resignation, and his appearance at the Bar again, his professional services were sought in almost every great suit, either as chief, or consulting counsel. But it was not ordained that Lyman Trumbull should continue the pursuits of private life, for the following year after his resignation as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, he was elected to represent his district in the Lower House of Congress.

These were times of angry turmoil; the pro-slavery advocates had become very unpopular in the North; the fact that Stephen A. Douglas favored the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, had served to intensify the disturbed condition of political affairs, and notwithstanding the popularity he had hitherto enjoyed in the State of Illinois, he was no longer able to hold public sentiment. at bay, and an anti-slavery Legislature was elected, and Lyman Trumbull, before taking his seat in the House of Representatives was sent to the United States Senate as a fitting colleague of the great champion of Democracy.

His early education, his long and efficient preparation and success at the Bar, his eminence as a jurist, his profound comprehension of Constitutional law,

sagacity, self-possession and logic; the intrepidity of his nature and natural gift of oratory and argument, had bountifully equipped him for the discussion of the great questions of moment and concern, some of which had already shaken the very foundation of the Republic.

He took his seat in the Senate on the 4th of March, 1855. Prior to 1854, he had affiliated with the Democracy, but as the lines became drawn closer between' the North and South, he joined the Republican party, just then founded on the ruins of the old Whig party.

Though eminent and useful in the Senate from the day he entered that august body, the culmination of all his powers did not come until the last twelve years of his service. His first term expired in 1861, and he was reelected the winter previously by the unanimous consent of his party. His second term began at the breaking out of the Civil War, and at that perilous period in the history of the Republic, he was wisely selected Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in which capacity he remained. until the conclusion of his services in the Senate, twelve years later, and as such reported all the measures which emanated from that important Committee, many, especi-ally those pertaining to Reconstruction, he drafted himself..

His long service commenced just before the close of President Pierce's administration, and continued throughout the administrations of Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson and Grant down to 1873. The events of our National history during that period were the most momentous and important in character; fraught with peril, and portentous of the destruction of a Republic which had become so marvelous in results and the wonder of all Monarchical powers. A large share of the cerdit due those Legislators for their efforts in bringing order out of chaos, must fall to Judge Trumbull, whose voice was ever raised for peace, liberty and justice. His speeches were always attentively listened to by his associates, and the wisdom of his

words heeded in many instances, when if he had not spoken, serious indiscretions by the too radical members of the party would have occurred.

During Senator Trumbull's term of service in the Halls of Congress, the anti-slavery sentiment fully developed; the Free-Soil party and its adjuncts merged into the Republican party. The Missouri Compromise was repealed; the Dred Scott decision followed; the Republican party triumphed in the Nation; the Great Commoner, Abraham Lincoln, was chosen President; Civil War was inaugurated; African slavery was abolished and peace restored by the victorious Union Armies.

After the assassination of President Lincoln, the Impeachment and trial of his successor, Andrew Johnson, was the next great event in the history of the United States; then came General Grant's elevation to the Presidency, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution were adopted, and the whole country was agitated over Reconstruction.

In all these vexed questions which demanded the earnest consideration of the Senate, he was an active participant. When the war became a necessity, none more heartily supported all measures for its vigorous. prosecution than Judge Trumbull, but was ever ready to welcome the return of peace on an honorable basis. In the record of Reconstruction legislation in the Senate, he always took a conservative and consistent attitude; never shirking from stringent measures if the highest wisdom seemed to demand it, but tempering his acts with mercy and tenderness when these were equally effective. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee he had charge of Reconstruction measures; he drafted the Civil Rights bill, and as a substitute for Senator Henderson's Resolution he drafted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. In support of the Amendment, he made one of the ablest speeches ever delivered