University of Michigan Law School - Quad Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Fortune brought Professor Campbell to the bench at a time that cast upon him the necessity of passing opinions upon two questions of great difficulty and delicacy, which no doubt he would gladly have avoided had not necessity made it imperative that he speak. One of these concerned the right of the soldier righting the battles of his country in limits dominated by the rebellion to have a voice in the election of public ofhcers. The constitution of the State required that the ballots should be cast in the town- ships or ,wards of the elector's residence, but this had been adopted before the rebellion had broken out, and it was so manifestly wrong and unjust that absence from home exposing one's life to risk in defense of his country should be a reason for depriving him of suf- frage, that the legislature did not hesitate to declare that he should possess it, and sent special agents into the insurgent territory to collect and bring home the ballots. It was with great unwilling- ness that it was decided by the Court that these ballots could not be received. Nothing seemed to be plainer than that under a wholly unexpected contingency, 'the constitution of the State if strictly applied must prohibit what common justice demanded should be permitted, and the number was large who would have applied the maxim that Hamid wars laws are silent , and made even so vital a provision as that regulating the suffrage to stand aside before the existing emergency. But the law was plain and the judges would have been false to their oath of office if they had failed to apply it. Another case which came at an early day -before the Court was more difficult, because the rule of decision must .necessarily be found in general principles, upon which great differences of opin- ion had already been developed. A definite law had never been laid down in the State Constitution, and the time had come which with entire propriety might be called a craze, in which every little community, by the mere going through with the form of voting a tax, seemed to expect riches to flow in upon it and add greatly not only to the value of whatever they possessed but to the conven- iences and comforts of life also. This was to be done by voting aid in the construction of railroads. A madness seemed to have seized upon the people, every railroad that could be constructed was to be a source of wealth to the country it would serve, and if townships and counties could be allowed to vote taxes in aid of

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i f 5 a 1 4 S F acquaintances to meet him and to exchange an agreeable Word as Opportunity Offered, He was ready in conversation, he had anec- dgteg cf the primitive days in Michigan which he made instructive, and he seldom parted from even the casual caller ,without his visi- tor taking with him some reminiscence which it would be a pleasure for him to call to mind afterwards. He spoke from the Professor's chair with the same ease as he would read from a book, he had his subject thoroughly at command, and he neither 'hesitated for a word nor made use of one that did not seem exactly adapted to the place. Explanations when they seemed called for were ready and clear, and no one felt any embarrassment in calling for them when anything he had spoken of seemed to be left in any degree of uncertainty. i 'f i From what has already been stated, it will be seen that Pro- fessor Campbell was called very early to the service of the State in conspicuous positions, and as he continued to fill them while health permitted, he was for much the larger part of his mature life, a Justice of the Supreme Court, and an instructor in the law, I s n in the University. In both ' t posi ions the service was eminently satisfactory to those he served. A model of judicial dignity and propriety, and won universal respect. He was always accessible and col his way to win public applause or to attract in any manner the commendation that did not come natur regular and customary discharge of the duties of his official place. He was modest and unassuming everywhere, and more inclined to avoid than to seek the public notice when duty did not make it imperative. But nowhere was the greatness of the man more con- spicuous than- in his family relations Th s a fudge his deportment was a irteous, but he never went out of ally and properly from the . ere was one place in which those who were to look to him for guidance and example were to 'witness no unbecoming conduct, no outbursts of passion, hear no profane and no foul words. He never made parade even of the facts of lifeamost worthy of respect and remembrance, but the decencies of life, in which I would include as among the first an avoidance of whatever is ' f - pro ane, weie so natural to him that contemplate the possibility of his des- cending to the use of profanit ture hall listened to his words an no one could for a moment y. Of the thousands who in the lec- d were instructed by him not-one 7 went away carrying with him the recollection of an unbecoming word.

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them, this wealth would come back to them manyfold. This W2lS the general belief, and the legislature voted the permission. It was useless while the craze lasted to point out that the proposed work of internal improvement concerned large sections of country rather than the municipalities, and that a precedent was being set to which there could be no limit but the legislative discretion, the people were calling for the privilege to vote and no scheme seemed to absurd to find advocates. In general the Courts sustained the votes. They found them not forbidden in terms bythe State Con- stitutions, and applying the general rule that whatever is not for- bidden is within the competency of popular power, they felt them- selves bound to uphold them. But justice Campbell held that there were principles which in the case of municipal corporations limited them within bounds whichthese votes very plainly trans- gressed, and that no express inhibition was needful to deprive them of constitutional power. It was enough that they did not belong to the general grant of powers belonging to local governments. Upon this principle he stood, and upon this he felt that he had a right to stand, whatever might be the holding elsewhere. t Allusion has been made above to the connection of Professor Campbell with the Episcopal Church, but it should be added that there was nothing about it that was in any degree of a narrow, sec- tarian nature, or that was calculated to raise question whether those to whom we owe the foundation of our political institutions were in error in laying broad and deep the basis of religious liberty. There was nothing of bigotry in his nature, and the appeal to which he responded was- that which the Master and the Savior makes directly to the hearts of men. Every week when the day arrived which the Christian world has set apart as sacred, he was accus- tomed to meet with those of like faith in some gathering place appropriated for the purpose and with becoming reverence bow in worship before this Mystery of the universe. But he was every- where the Christian, not the Sectarian, and neither in his public nor his private life did he recognize distinctions which had been formally and with emphasis rejected by our fathers when framing their charters of government. I deem myself justihed in placing' some stress upon this at a time when the country of Washington, Franklin and Jefferson is made missionary ground for the promul- gation of a bigotry that seems to resemble rather what we might I D