488
The Green^Bag.
leaning against the desk in an attitude whose grace contrasts strangely with the slovenly make of his dress, his snuff-box for the moment unopened in his hand, his small grey eye and placid half-smile con veying an expression of pleasure which re deemed his face from its usual unaccount able commonness. The Attorney-General (William Wirt), his fingers playing among his papers, his quick black eye, and the thin, tremulous lips for once fixed, his small face, pale with thought, contrasting remark ably with the other two. These men, ab sorbed in what they are listening to, think ing neither of themselves nor each other, while they are watched by the group of id lers and listeners, among them the news paper corps, the dark Cherokee chiefs, the stragglers from the far West, the gay ladies in their waving plumes, and the members of either House that have stepped in to listen; all these I have seen constitute the silent assemblage, while the mild voice of the aged Chief Justice sounded through the Court." She thus writes of the Chief Justice's opinion of slavery : " Chief-Justice Marshall, a Virginian, a slave-holder, and a member of the Colonization Society (though regard ing this society as being merely a palliative, and slavery incurable but by convulsion), observed to a friend of mine, in the winter of 1834, that he was surprised at the Brit ish for supposing they could abolish slavery in their colonics by act of Parliament. He could not think that such economical insti tutions could be done away by legislative enactment. When it was done, the Chief Justice remarked on his having been mis taken, and that he rejoiced in it. He now saw hope for his beloved Virginia, which he had seen sinking lower and lower among the States. The cause, he said, was that work is disreputable in a country where a degraded class is held to enforced labor. He had seen all the young, the power of the State, who were not rich enough to re
main at home in idleness, betaking them selves to other regions where they might work without disgrace. Now there was hope, for he considered that in this act of the British, the decree had gone forth against American slavery, and its doom was sealed." Letter to his son, Hon. Edward C. Mar shall : — Washington, Feb. 15, 1832. My Dear Son: Your letter of the 10th gave me great pleasure, because it assured me of the health of your family and the health of the other families in which I take so deep an interest. My own has improved. I strengthen considerably, and am able, without fatigue, to walk to court, a distance of two miles, and return to dinner. At first this exercise was attended with some diffi culty, but I feel no inconvenience from it now. The sympathetic feeling to which you allude sus tains no diminution, I fear it never will. I per ceive no symptoms, and I trust I never shall, of returning disease. The question of Mr. Van Buren's nomination (minister to England) was not exempt from difficulty. Those who opposed him, I believe, thought conscientiously that his appointment ought not to be confirmed. They felt a great hostility to that gentleman from other causes than his letters to Mr. Mcl^ane. They believe him to have been at the bottom of a system which they condemn. Whether this conviction be well or ill founded, it is their conviction, at least I believe it is. In such a case it is extremely diffi cult, almost impossible, for any man to separate himself from his party. This session of Congress is indeed peculiarly interesting. The discussion of the tariff and on the bank, especially, will, I believe, call forth an unusual display of talents. I have no hope that any accommodation can take place on the first question. The bitterness of party spirit on that subject threatens to continue unabated. There seems to be no prospect of allaying it. The two great objects in Virginia are internal improvements and our colored population. On the first, I de spair. On the second, we might do much if our unfortunate political prejudices did not restrain us from asking the aid of the Federal government. As far as I can judge, that aid, if asked, would be freely and liberally given. The association you
