he served as President of the Senate. Resign ing his position, he was then appointed reporter of decisions, which office he held until 1872, when he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Bench by Governor Perham. As a reporter of decisions in the court in which he later became Associate Justice, he laid the foundation which gradually raised him to a posi tion in the legal firmament that commanded the respect of all. One of his most notable efforts was in connection with the Coburn will case, when ex-Gov. Abner Coburn left some $3.000,000. onehalf of which was bequeathed to charitable insti tutions. Relatives fought for years to contest the will; but Judge Virgin triumphed. During the war Judge Virgin became a MajorGeneral. He recruited the Twenty-third Maine Regiment, and with it guarded Washington during the Rebellion. RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES, who was the nineteehtli person to hold the office of President of the United States, died on January 17. He was born on Oct. 4, 1822, .in Delaware, Ohio, his father having died a few months previous, leaving his mother in moderate circumstances. He was of Scottish ancestry on his mother's side, and of English on that of his father. Both of his parents were natives of Vermont, whence they emigrated in 1817. After a careful preparatory course he was gradu ated from Kenyon College, at Gambier, Ohio, in 1842, at the head of his class, although he was its youngest member. He at once began the study of law, and was graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1845. He began practice at Fremont, Ohio, but re moved to Cincinnati in 1849. His reputation as a lawyer was soon established, and he was employed in some of the most noted cases ever tried there. His personal popularity, too, was great, and in 1856 he was nominated for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Cincinnati, but he declined the nomination. In 1856 the Common Council of that city elected him to fill a vacancy in the office of City Solicitor, and three years later he was reelected to the office by the people, running ahead of his ticket. This office he held until 1861, to the satisfaction of men of both parties. His career in the army began with the war and ended with it. He enlisted originally as a private
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soldier, and was appointed Major of the Twentythird Ohio Infantry by Governor Dennison, who requested him to accept that position. After the war he returned to civil life, and took his seat in Congress Dec. 4, 1865. In August, 1866, he was re-nominated for Congress by accla mation. In June, 1867, the Republican Conven tion of Ohio nominated him for Governor, and he defeated Judge Sherman. He was nominated for President by the National Republican Convention on June 14, 1876, and was elected over Samuel J. Tilden; the result having been decided by a special commission. He was inaugurated March 5, 1877. The deceased was married to Lucy Ware Webb in 1852; and eight children were born, four of whom died in early life. As President, Mr. Hayes conducted the affairs of the nation with great wisdom and to the satis faction of the country.
BENJAMIN F. BUTLER died in Washington on January 13. He was born in Deerfield, N. H., on the 5th of November, 1818, and was the son of Capt. John Butler, who served under General Jackson at New Orleans. He was graduated at Waterville College (now Colby University), Maine, in 1838, was admitted to the bar in 1840, began practice at Lowell in 1841, and has since had a high reputation as a lawyer, especially in criminal cases. He early took a prominent part in politics on the Democratic side, and was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1853, where he was prominent in forwarding the bill to reduce the hours of labor in factories from thirteen to eleven. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in the same year, and in 1859 was a member of the State Senate. In the last National Democratic Convention held prior to the War of the Rebellion, General But ler took part as a delegate from Massachusetts, the session being held at Charleston. When a portion of the delegates re-assembled at Baltimore, Mr. Butler, after taking part in the opening de bates and votes, announced that a majority of the delegates would not further participate in the de liberations of the convention on the ground that there had been a withdrawal in part of the ma jority of the States; and, further, he added, " upon the ground that I would not sit in a convention
