PREFACE. THE writer of the following pages esteems it an act of justice to the subject, and of fairness to the reader, to state their origin. He was prompted to write them by a sense of obligation, both to the intellect and to the personal kindness of Judge Gibson, and he intended them to form an article in a Periodical to which he has occasionally contributed. Before much progress had been made in the work, it began to exceed the bounds usually allotted to such articles, and he abandoned it. A casual glance subsequently cast on the materials collected, induced him to suppose them worthy of preservation in their present form. If mistaken in the supposition, little harm has been done. Truth only has been writ That ten, and the reader has the power to determine how much of it he will read. portion of the author's time which has been devoted to the subject, has been taken from the cares of professional life, and has left him the gainer. If this had been otherwise, he would have found sufficient motive to the work. The fame of a great jurist, becomes the common property of the profession. If they do not protect and cherish it, who will? Philadelphia, October, 1855. W. A. P. AN ESSAY. . THE design of this essay is sufficiently indicated by its title. In the case of so distinguished a man, it is remarkable that no similar effort has yet been made in print. I except, of course, the beautiful eulogy—a picture, rather than a discourse delivered on the occasion of his death, from the bench which he had so long adorned. On every ground a more extended tribute to his genius seems appropriate, for during nearly half a century, no man in Pennsylvania did more to strengthen and improve that literature which is the chief glory of the law. Time sufficient has now elapsed to cast a mellowing tint over the unavailing regret with which we view the departure of the living, and to enable us to pronounce with less partiality on the qualities which have challenged our applause. All that I expect to accomplish may be stated in a few words. I propose to sketch the leading events in the life of Chief Justice Gibson; to interweave with the narrative such reflections as it may naturally suggest; to trace his intellectual progress by the landmarks set up in his own writings; to note incidentally the advancement made during the same time by our jurisprudence; to examine his qualities as a judge; and to portray his character as a man. To the theme itself, I can demand the attention of the reader: for the mode of its discussion, I may require his indulgence. The parents of Mr. Gibson resided at the date of his birth, on the 8th of November, 1780, in Shearman's Valley, then Cumberland, now Perry County, Pennsylvania. His ancestry on the side of his father originally Scotch, and then Irish, pass generally under the name of Scotch-Irisha people whose story is entitled to an important place on the page of history. It is known that they were a body of men driven from their own country to the north of Ireland by the persecution of the Stewarts, there to remain for a few generations, and then year by year to find with us a more congenial home. Fortunately, enough remained behind to assist in relieving one of their royal oppressors of his head, and another of his crown; and enough were driven off to form a * In Scotland the family name was Gilbertson. valuable element in American colonization. In Pennsylvania, their settlements were more widely diffused than in other portions of the Union, and they have always constituted an important part of its population. Quiet, peaceable, laborious, lovers of order, lovers of justice, republicans by nature and by adoption, drawing a pure religious faith from the well of living waters, and bowing the knee to no power but that of the King of Kings, it may well be doubted whether amid the varied phenomena attending the settlement of the colonies, we received any people more exactly suited to the wants of the country, or the genius of her institutions. To the present day they retain their distinctive peculiarities. Let any traveller in the interior of Pennsylvania turn aside to one of their unambitious dwellings, and he will find as much kindly hospitality, as much purity of life, as much cheerfulness and content, as much accurate information on all questions of public and private interest, as he can find among the people of any rural district in the bounds of civilization. As the German has generally been able by his superior foresight and wealth, to pitch on the limestone valley, and as the Scotch-Irishman has sometimes been |