"I have been deputed by the bar to perform the melancholy duty of announcing to the court the death of Thomas Swann; and respectfully soliciting permission to have inscribed, among the records of this high tribunal, the expression of their respect for his memory, and esteem for his character, as a lawyer and a man. In a scene which he has so often adorned by the exercise of his genius, and distinguished professional ability; among those who have so often admired, as friends and associates, the mild beneficence of his deportment, and his unsullied probity and worth; it would be vain for me to dwell on personal traits and incidents, which are felt with more truth than I have the ability to delineate them. He was constantly called on, through a long life, to discharge important public and private trusts; and his duty was performed without a single stain. As the reward for this, by him most prized, would have been the approbation of the chief ministers of the profession to which he was devoted, I feel well assured that I shall not ask the court, without success, to add that sanction to the sincere and spontaneous testimony of his brethren of the bar. And I now move the court, in pursuance of the fourth resolve contained in the subjoined proceedings of the bar and officers of the court, to have said proceedings entered on the records of this court."

To which Mr. Chief Justice Taney replied: "The court receive with great sensibility the communication made by the bar. In the death of Mr. Swann, we feel that we have lost, not only an eminent lawyer, to whom we have

esteemed and valued friend, whose kind heart and upright principles endeared him to all who had an opportunity of knowing him. We sincerely deplore his loss, and will cordially unite with you in paying to his memory the honors so justly due."

Whereupon it is ordered by the court that the following proceedings be entered upon the minutes, viz.:

At a meeting of the gentlemen of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and of the officers of the court, at the Court Room in the Capitol, on Tuesday, the 28th instant,

The Honorable Samuel L. Southard was appointed chairman, and Francis S. Key appointed secretary.

The following resolutions were submitted by General Walter Jones, and unanimously adopted, viz.:

Resolved, That the members of this bar, and the officers of this court feel, with deep sensibility, the loss which the profession and the country have sustained in the death of Thomas Swann, a member of this bar.

Resolved, That we cherish the highest respect for the professional learning of the deceased; for the purity and uprightness of his professional life; and for the amiable and excellent qualities which belonged to him as a man.

Resolved, That, to testify these sentiments, we will wear the usual badge of mourning, for the residue of the term.

Resolved, That Mr. Gilpin, the Attorney-General of the United States, do move the court that these resolutions be entered upon the minutes of their proceedings.

Mr. Gilpin, the Attorney-General of the United States, made the following remarks:

"I have been requested, by a meeting of the members of the bar and officers of the court to present a copy of the resolutions they have adopted on being apprised of the death of Joseph M. White, of Florida, and respectfully to ask that, with the approbation of the court, they may be inserted among the records of its proceedings. These records already give abundant and various evidence of the distinguished legal ability of Mr. White, and the debt of gratitude that is due from his associates, for the profound researches he made in branches of jurisprudence not previously brought to the notice of the profession; for the light his own intellect has shed upon them, and for the collection of authentic and necessary documents which his zeal and industry have made. Such acts entitle him to the grateful remembrance of his professional brethren; but with these he united an amenity of manner, and a generosity of disposition, which secured him also their strong personal affection and regard. In bearing their testimony to his merits, and in expressing their feelings on his death, they will derive no small gratification, if this evidence of them is permitted to be placed in the archives of that tribunal, whose approbation is among the highest rewards to which an American lawyer can aspire.

"I move, in accordance with one of the resolutions to which I have referred, that these proceedings of the members of the bar and officers of the court be entered among its records."

To which Mr. Chief Justice Taney made the following reply:

"The court will cordially unite with the bar in paying the proposed honors to the memory of Mr. White. His learning, high character,

and amiable deportment had won for him the respect and esteem of the court, and we sincerely deplore his loss. He has been cut off in the prime of his life, and in the midst of his usefulness; but his last work, upon a highly important branch of the law, will be an enduring monument of his talents and industry.

"The court will order the proceedings of the bar to be entered of record, according to their request."

Whereupon it is ordered by the court that the following proceedings be entered upon the minutes, viz.:

At a meeting of the gentlemen of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and of the officers of the court, at the Court Room in the Capitol, on Tuesday, the 4th of February, 1840.

The Honorable Samuel L. Southard was called to the chair, and General Walter Jones appointed secretary.

The following resolutions were submitted by Joseph R. Ingersoll, Esq., and unanimously adopted, viz.:

Resolved, That the members of this bar, and the officers of this court feel, with deep sensibility, the loss which the profession and the country have sustained in the death of Joseph M. White, a member of this bar.

Resolved, That we cherish the highest respect for the professional learning of the deceased; for the purity and uprightness of his professional life; and for the amiable and excellent qualities which belonged to him as a man.

Resolved, That, to testify these sentiments, we will wear the usual badge of mourning during the residue of the term.

Resolved, That Mr. Gilpin, the Attorney-General of the United States, do move the court that these resolutions be entered upon the minutes of their proceedings.