F 
 
 111 
 
 /c?^ /^i ?^a/^ 
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ^ LIFE, CHARACTER, AND PUBLIC SERVICES, 
 
 OF THS LATE 
 
 HON. HENRY WM. DE SAUSSURE, j 
 
 PREPARBO AND READ ON THE 15th FEBRUARY, 1841, ^ 
 
 AT THE 
 
 CIRCULAR CHURCH, CHABLESTOn, 
 
 •T ApraraTinHT o» thk aouxH oaromm bab AgaooUTion. 
 
 BT THE HOM. WILMAM HARPER. 
 
 
 Pf'B/^ISHKD AI'THE BEQUEST OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION. 
 
 S 
 
 CHARLESTON : 
 
 .?BIirTED BT W. KILET, 4l BROAIK8TRBET. 
 1841. 
 
Glass. 
 Book. 
 
 £j^ 
 
 ,1)5 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE, CHARACTER, AND PUBLIC SERVICES, 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 HON. HENRY WM. DE SAUSSURE, 
 
 PREPARED AND READ ON THE 15th FEBRUARY, 1841, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 CIRCULAR CHURCH, CHARLESTON, 
 
 BY APPOIirrMEKT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION. 
 
 BY THE HO]V. WILI.IAM HARPER. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OP THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION. 
 
 CHARLESTON : 
 
 miNTED BT W. RILET, 41 BROAD-STREET. 
 1841. 
 
f2T3 
 
 •lis- 
 
 
 ir 
 
 3 3^1 ^ 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION, CHARLESTON. 
 
 At a special meeting of this Association, held in the Library Room, on 
 the 15th February, 1840, the following resolution was offered by the Hono- 
 rable Judge Gantt, and unanimously adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That Chancellor Harper be requested to prepare a memoir 
 of the late Chancellor De Satjssure, to be delivered at the next anni- 
 versary of the Association. 
 
 I5tk Febrmry^ 1841. 
 A special meeting of the South Carolina Bar Association was held this 
 day, when it was 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee be appointed to wait on Chancellor Har- 
 PBR, and to return the thanks of the Association, for his able, interesting, 
 and instructive discourse, in honor of our late venerated magistrate, Chan- 
 cellor Db Saxissure, and to request a copy for publication. 
 From the minutes, 
 
 JAMES L. GANTT, Secretary. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OP 
 
 CHANCELLOR DE SAUSSURE. 
 
 Of all the forms of human weakness and vanity — 
 and what is there pertaining to human character 
 with which weakness and vanity are not mingled ? — 
 one of ihe most natural, one of the most allownhle, 
 and, perhaps it may be said, one of the most useful, 
 is that which prompts men to find gratification in 
 having received their descent fiom ancestors dis- 
 tinguished by their virtues, their great qualities, or 
 illustrious actions. .Such a feeling is, of itself, a 
 guaranty for the virtue of the descendant, and an 
 incentive to all honorable actions; for if unworthy 
 and degenerate, he must know that he is doubly 
 disgraced. It has been well said, that the man, who 
 is indifferent with respect to the character of those 
 from whom he derives his being, is not likely to be very 
 careful of the character which he himself is to trans- 
 mit to his posterity. But that this feeling may 
 produce its proper eflTect, it must be sustained by 
 the sympathy ot public sentiment. If public opinion 
 undervalues and despises this advantage, the indivi- 
 dual himself will soon learn to disregard it. I have 
 often thought, that in a republic, where there are no 
 
 s 
 
6 
 
 artificial and arbitrary distinctions of rank, peculiar 
 consideration ought to be attributed to illustrious 
 descent. It is the sentiment of nature, whose dic- 
 tates are unerring. The Romans carried in proces- 
 sion the statues of their ancestors. If a descendant of 
 Washington were living, we could not, if we would, 
 regard him with no greater interest than an indivi- 
 dual sprung of a race undistinguished by the per- 
 formance of any public service. You regard with 
 veneration any thing connected with a great man — 
 the plac) of his birth, or residence, or the scene of 
 his exploits — how much more his living and kindred 
 blood. To pay this consideration, is not to attri- 
 bute merit to the individual so distinguished. It 
 imports the good of the whole community, that it 
 should be inspired by a generous sentiment. Mo- 
 tives inspired by the imagination, such as the love 
 of fame, or of country, are of a more elevated 
 character, and tend more to produce great actions, 
 than those of a more tangible character, such as the 
 desire of present wealth or power. But no motive 
 of this sort operates more strongly than that which 
 prompts a man to aspire to become himself the 
 founder of a race, and to transmit his own honors 
 to a long posterity. Tliis addresses itself equally 
 to the most obscure, as to the most eminent ; to all 
 who feel the stirrings of genius, or the capacity for 
 noble actions. By paying this consideration, society 
 provides for its own service. 
 
 The subject of this memoir was of a highly dis- 
 tinguished ancestry. He, who may be regared, in 
 one respect, as the founder of the family, was An- 
 thony De Saussure, who lived in the beginning of 
 the sixteenth century, in Lorraine, in France. The 
 family name is derived from a borough of that 
 
datchy, called Saussure, which the family formerly 
 possessed. His father, Mongin De Saussure, who 
 lived in the latter part of the fifteenth century, pos- 
 sessed large estates in the dutchy of Lorraine : he 
 was lord of Dommartin and Monteuil, near Amancc, 
 with full seignoral jurisdiction, and various honors and 
 ofhces were conferred upon him by the Duke of Lor- 
 raine ; among others, the oflice of Counsellor of State, 
 and that of Grand Falconer, then regarded as one 
 of the highest offices of the State. Portions of his 
 correspondence, with various eminent personages, 
 are preserved by his descendants, to shew the con- 
 sideration in which he was held. Among his cor- 
 respondents were the Duke of Lorraine, (who killed 
 Charles of Burgundy, at the seige of Nancy, in 
 1479,) Rene, king of Sicily, and Henry of Navarre, 
 the maternal grandfather of Henry the Fourth. 
 
 Anthony De Saussure embraced the reformed re- 
 ligion, on which account he abandoned Lorraine in 
 1551. He resided successively in the cities of 
 Metz, where he was one of the chief instruments, in 
 the hands of God, for the establishment of the re- 
 formed religion;* in Strasburgh, and in Neufchatel. 
 He also resided for some time in the city of Geneva, 
 
 * I am furnished with the following references to the History of CaU 
 vinism, by Father Maimbourg, Book 5, p. 359, 360 ; and to the Ecclesias. 
 tical History of Theodore Beza, vol. 3, p. 441. 
 
 "And when it was perceived that the protestants failed to receive the 
 holy communion at Easter, (1552,) they were forced to it under the pe- 
 nalty of beinft expelled the city of Metz ; as were, a month before its 
 reduction, one, a Frenchman, named Croggsville, and the other of 
 Lorraine, called Anthony De Sacssdre, who absolutely refused to 
 obey." 
 
 " Some time after, at the solicitation of a gentleman of Lorraine, Sieur 
 de Dommartin, a man fall of piety and zeal, who had retired some years 
 before to Switzerland, there came to Aletz, a young man of Bordclais, 
 named Villeroche, sent from Lausanne, who secretly exercised the minii- 
 try, and accomplished a great deal in n short time." 
 
 1 
 

 ^ 
 
 *, 
 
 B 
 
 during the life of Calvin, with whom he was on 
 terms of friendship and intimacy. A portion of his 
 correspondence, with tlie great reformer, is still pre- 
 served by his descendants. He finally placed him- 
 self under the protection of the Slates of Berne, and 
 settled in the city of Lausanne, which, in the year 
 15.'36, spontaneously honored him wiih citizenship. 
 He left numerous descendants, who were rcpcateLly 
 distinguished by the highest honors of their adopted 
 country, and the nobility of the family v/as officially 
 recognized. In 1712, John Louis De Smjssure ha- 
 ving performed gallant service in the battles of 
 Bremgarten and Wilmergen, tiie States of Berne, to 
 testily their approbation, erected his estate of Ber- 
 cher into a barony, and directed their Chancellor to 
 confer on him the titles of'' uobl: and o-encrovs.'''' But 
 one of the most distinguished ornaments of this dis- 
 tinguished family, was the illustrious philosopher 
 and naturalist, to whom science is so much indebted, 
 Professor De Saussure. 
 
 Henry De Saussjre, of Lai sanne, the grandfather 
 of the subject of the present memoir, emigrated to 
 South Carolina in the year 1731. Ho purchased lands 
 in Beaufort district, near Coosawhatchie, and became 
 a planter. There he lived and died, and there his 
 monument is found. He left, at his death, four sons 
 and two daughters, and his numerous descendants 
 have become connected with a great number of the 
 principal families of the State.* 
 
 Of his sons, Louis, the third, entered the army 
 early in the revolutionary war, and received a com- 
 
 ♦The descendants of Henry De Saussuue, now living, amount to ono 
 hundred and twenty-nine, and with the exception of ten, are all residents 
 in the JSUite of South Carolina. But four members of the family have 
 ever emigrated from the State. 
 
mission in the continental line of South Carolina. 
 He wns in scvcrr.l engagements, and was at last 
 mortally wounded in the assault upon Savannah, 
 under General Linco[,\. He was brought to Charles- 
 tan, hilt died of locked-jaw while entering the har- 
 hor. We see his monument in St. Michael's church. 
 
 Thomas, the fourth son, was on a visit to Norfolk, 
 when Virginia was invaded by Arnold, in 1781. With 
 other gentlemen, driven out of Noriolk by Arnol.i, 
 he went into the country and joined a volunteer 
 corps, and was soon alter killed in one ot those skir- 
 mishes which preceded the events that led to the 
 capture of Coknyvallis — the second life of the fa- 
 mily devoted in the cause of their country. 
 
 Danu:l De Saussure, the eldest son of Henry 
 De Saussure, and faiher of the subject of this me- 
 moir, was born at Pocotaligo, in Beaufort district, 
 in 17.3/>. He removed to the town of Beaufort in 
 1767, where he conducted the largest commercial 
 establishment then existing in the State, out of the 
 city of Charleston. He took an early and active 
 part in tlie revolutionary struggle, and when the 
 troubles broke out, was elected member of the Pro- 
 vincial Congress of South Carohna, from Beaufort, 
 which he contiiiucd to represent until his removal to 
 Charleston, in 1779. 
 
 In 177.0, when the question of declaring inde- 
 pendence was anxiously discussed, he was sent by 
 the Provincial Congress, in conjunction with Mr. 
 l^owELi., to Georgia. That young colony was fee- 
 ble in resources and population, and the object of 
 the mission was to stimulate their energies, and to 
 confer with them as to the plan and means of resis- 
 tance. The mission was successfully ccnductecf: 
 
 He was an intelligent and enterprising merchant, 
 
10 
 
 and when our relations with England were broken 
 o(r, was the first merchant of South Carolina to 
 open a trade with France. Early in 1777, he sailed 
 in his own brig, witli a cargo ol" rice and indigo, to 
 Nantes, where he established a commercial corres- 
 pondence, long afterwards kept up, and brought 
 back a large and valuable cargo, which he sent 
 into Charleston. 
 
 While in France, he determined to visit the land 
 of his fathers, and passed into Switzerland. Here 
 he foimd that his father's brother had recently died, 
 but met with first cousins at Lausanne, and nume- 
 rous relatives, who received him with great cordi- 
 ality and kindness. The authorities at Lausanne 
 presented him with the medal of the Canton, (still 
 in the possession of the family,) representing the 
 significant fable of the old man and his sons, and 
 the bundle of sticks, to which every head of a fa- 
 mily in the Canton was entitled. At their request, 
 he recorded the names of his children in the town 
 books at Lausanne, which gave them the right of 
 citizenship. Visiting Geneva, he became acquainted 
 with his distinguished relative. Professor Dk Saus- 
 suRE, with whom he continued to correspond for 
 many years.* After a short visit he returned to 
 America, and re-established his residence at Beau- 
 fort, of which he was a resident when the British, 
 in December, 1778, advanced witii a formidable 
 armament to the attack ol Savannah. A transport, 
 belonging to the fleet, laden with troops and horses, 
 grounded on the shoals near St. Helena. Mr. De 
 
 * While on this visit, he obtained from his relatives a manuscript ac- 
 count of the family, to wh^ch 1 am indebted for the particulars which re- 
 late to its early history. The manuscript contains other cuiious and is- 
 tereeting dotails. 
 
n 
 
 Saussure, at that time commanding a volunteer 
 company at Beaufort, proceeded with part of this 
 company, in a barge, to reconnoitre the vessel. 
 Finding her to be an enemy's vessel, tiiey boarded 
 her ; the transport surrendered, and was brought 
 into Beaufort, with the troops and two British cap- 
 tains, as prisoners of war. 
 
 Having removed to Charleston, he bore arms du- 
 ring the siege of that city by Sir Henry Clinton. 
 By the terms of capitulation, tlie officers were sent 
 to Haddrell's Point, as prisoners of war, and the 
 militia prisoners were ordered home upon their parol. 
 Emboldened by the defeat of Gates, at Camden, 
 provoked by the affiiir of Andrk, and determined 
 to break the spirit of the State, the British com- 
 mander sent to St. Augustine, to be put mto close 
 confinement, upwards of sixty of the [)rincipal gen- 
 tlemen of Charleston; among whom, were Edward 
 RuTLEDGE, Hugh Uutledge, Gen. Gadsten, Gen. 
 Read, Arthur Middletox, Daniel L)e Saussure, 
 and other leadmg men. Here they were detained 
 till the general exchange ol prisoners in 1781, when 
 Mr. De Saussure, with the other hberated priso- 
 ners, were transferred to Philadelphia. Here he 
 received an appointment in the bank of Robert 
 Morris. 
 
 Upon the surrender of Cohnwallis, he returned 
 to Charleston, and resumed his commercial pur- 
 suits, and upon the establishment of a branch of 
 the Bank ol the United States in Charleston, he 
 was appointed its President ; which office he con- 
 tinued to hold until his death. 
 
 In 1783, he was elected a member of the Legis- 
 lature of South Carolina, and served as a mend)er 
 until 179 J. During the two last years of his life, he 
 
12 
 
 was President of the Senate, in which body he pre- 
 sided at the first session held in Columbia, after the 
 removal of the seat of government. 
 
 His character is thus drawn by, perhaps a partial, 
 but certainly discriminating hand. He was a gen- 
 tleman of great equanimity and amiable disposition ; 
 generous, though prudent, and greatly beloved by 
 his friends. His judgment was sound, his under- 
 standing clear, and his capacity for business great. 
 To these qualities were added habits of the most 
 persevering industry. He died in July, 1798. 
 
 Henry William DeSaussuiie, the eldest child, and 
 only son, of Daniel De Saussuhe, was born on the 
 I6tli of August, 17b3, at Pocolaligo; but was re- 
 moved, while a child, to the town of Beaufort. Dr. 
 Johnson, 1 believe, has said, that he who has ccn- 
 tributed, in any degree, to the education of a dis- 
 tinguished man, deserves to be commemorated, and 
 it may be mentioned that he received his early edu- 
 cation at the school of Mr. Cummings, a Scotchman. 
 On the removal of the faniily to Charleston, he was 
 placed under the care of Mr. Jamfs I Iaaipden Thomp- 
 son, a classical teacher of high reputation. At 
 these schools he formed friendships with many boys 
 and young men, who afterwards acted distinguished 
 parts in public affairs, and preserved his friendships 
 with them through life. What friend, indeed, did he 
 ever lose, whom he had once gained ? The inva- 
 sion of the State, untler Prevost, in 1779, caused 
 the schools on the seaboard to be closed, and the 
 youth of the country to be summoned to arms. 
 Among others, the suhject of our Memoir bore arms 
 at the age of sixteen, and served during the siege 
 of Charleston, as a private in a volunteer corps. 
 After the surrender, he was parolied for some time, 
 
13 
 
 in pursuance of the terms of capitulation. Broken 
 in spirit, and believing the contest ended, many of 
 the prisoners consented to accept protection, ac- 
 knowledging themselves British subjects ; but he, 
 with others of more enduring metal, refused this 
 submission. In consequence of this, they were, in 
 the spring of 1781, summoned to the guard house, 
 and thence marched on board the prison ships in 
 the harbor. Their imprisonment lasted about two 
 months ; when, upon the general exchange of pri- 
 soners, he was sent in a cartel to Philadelphia. 
 Soon after his arrival, he was joined by his father, 
 sent from his exile at St. Augustine, whom he had 
 not seen for nearly twelve months. We may imagine 
 the feelings of the parent and son, at a meeting 
 after such a separation, under such circumstances. 
 
 He was desirous of returning to the South, but 
 his father determined to enter him in the office of 
 Mr. Ingersoll, the distii]guished jurist of Philadel- 
 phia, for the study of the law. To supply, as far 
 as practicable, the deficiencies of an interrupted 
 education, he attended lectures in the University of 
 that city, on moral and natural philosophy, and also 
 attended the mathematical class. In 1784, he was 
 admitted to the bar of Philadelphia, and was, before 
 his death, the oldest member of that bar, with the 
 exception of Mr. Duponceau. At this time he met, 
 in the circles which he visited, his future wife, who 
 had been sent to Philadelphia, from Morristown, in 
 New Jersey, for her education. 
 
 Returning to South Carolina, he was admitted to 
 the bar of Charleston, in 1785. The character of 
 the bar, in our country, must always exert a strong 
 influence over the character of the community. As 
 it exercised a peculiar and deserved influence, and 
 
14 
 
 had miich effect in determining the character of the 
 subject of our memoir, it may not be inappropriate 
 to advert to the state and characteristics of the bar 
 of South Carolina, at that time. It was, for the 
 most part, composed of men of accompHshed edu- 
 cation, who, before the beginning of the rcvohitionary 
 war, had completed their literary and legal studies 
 in the English Universities and Inns of Court, 
 They were, therefore, well grounded in the elements 
 of their profession ; but as all civil business had been 
 suspended, and the Courts shut up by the war, and 
 then but lately resumed, and re-opened, they could 
 not be practised or profound technical lawyers. 
 Many of them had discharged important public 
 functions during the revolution, and not a few had 
 distinguished themselves in the military service of 
 their country. This engrafting the lawyer upon the 
 soldier and statesman, gave a peculiar and liberal 
 character to the profession, such as has not often 
 marked it, and which perhaps it would be well for 
 the State, if it had more fully retained. There was 
 a frankness, a fairness, a high and generous integ- 
 rity, which has not been often supposed to be charac- 
 teristic of the legal profession. The sense of honor 
 tempered the narrowness and selfishness which is 
 accustomed to stand upon strict right. It was the 
 time of chivalry of the bar. They supposed that to 
 be a gentleman^ was the first requisite to becoming 
 a lawyer. There was a liberal courtesy extended 
 even to the weakest and youngest, which counte- 
 nanced and encouraged their efforts, and hailed with 
 generous and disinterested pleasure the appearance 
 of superior worth or talent ; while there was a dig- 
 nity and energy which could not have tolerated, for 
 an instant, in any member of the profession, the 
 
15 
 
 slightest approach to falsehood, chicanery, or the 
 practice of petty arts. They would have disdained 
 to contend with feigned zeal, and the appearance of 
 full conviction, for propositions which they knew to 
 be false, and which every intelhgent lawyer must 
 have known to be false ; as they would have dis- 
 dained to color the statements of a brief, or to mis- 
 lead a Court as to facts. Indeed, there is nothing 
 which tends more to impair the legal mind, than the 
 habit of defending, with the same earnestness, per- 
 tinacity, and confidence, the weakest, and most pal- 
 pably untenable, as the strongest, and soundest posi- 
 tions. The mind loses after a time the power of dis- 
 criminating truth and falsehood. The lawyer who 
 is distinguished for the talent of making the most of 
 an utterly desperate cause, is perhaps most likely to 
 endanger a good one. A bad cause is entitled to 
 have said all that can be fairly said on its behalf^ 
 but it cannot fairly claim that its advocate should 
 prostitute his mind by chicanery, disingenuousness, 
 or palpable sophistry. 
 
 At the head of the Court with which he himself 
 was afterwards identified, Mr. 1)e Saussure found 
 John Rutledge, who had played all the parts of 
 patriot, statesman, soldier, orator, and jurist, and at- 
 tained the highest distinctions of all. At the bar, 
 he found General Charles Cotesworth Pincknev, 
 whose name is, indeed, well known to the people 
 of South Carolina, but himself not half so well 
 known as he ought to be ; who, perhaps, more than 
 any other individual, contributed to form what was 
 generous, hoiiorable, and estimable, in the character 
 of the bar and of the State. JNotliing, 1 think, can 
 be more characteristic of the man, and the high tone 
 of his character — that patriotism wliich is shewn. 
 
16 
 
 not by words, but by sacrifices, devotion, and ser- 
 vice — disinterestedness, courtesy to others, and that 
 true self-respect which is inseparable from modesty 
 of self-estimation — than the correspondence which 
 is preserved in Spark's Life of Washington.* Wash- 
 ington being appointed Commander-in-Chief, upon 
 the apprehension of a French war, in 1798, was 
 anxious for the appointment of general officers, in 
 whose zeal and ability he could repose perfect con- 
 fidence. For this purpose, he turned his thoughts 
 upon Hamilton, Pinckney, and Knox. But a diffi- 
 culty occurred. Knox was his most cherished per- 
 sonal friend ; but from his estimate of the energy 
 and talent of Hamilton, and Pinckney, he was desi- 
 rous that the first of these should be placed next in 
 command to himself, and Pinckney second, leaving 
 the third place to Knox. He, however, during the 
 revolutionary war, had been first in rank, Hamilton 
 being the lowest ; and there was a delicacy in pro- 
 posing to military men to serve under those whom 
 they had formerly commanded. On the appointment 
 being tendered to Knox, in the order proposed by 
 Washington, the gallant old soldier, with the com- 
 mon military feeling, replied : " In so plain a case, it 
 is unnecessary to multiply words. The impossibility 
 of my serving under officers so much my juniors, 
 must have been known to those who made the ar- 
 rangement. The principle, that no officer can con- 
 sent to his own degradation, by serving in an inferior 
 station, is well known and established among mih- 
 tary men." Upon the same communication being 
 made to Pinckney, just then arrived from his mission 
 to France, he answered : " A few hours after the ship 
 
 ♦Spark's Life of Washington, xi. vol. Appendix, p. p. 550,551. 
 
17 
 
 in which I came, had cast anchor in the North River, 
 it was intimated to me, that it had been doubted 
 whether I would accept my appointment, as General 
 Hamilton, who was of inferior rank to me in the last 
 war, was ranked before me in the new arrange- 
 ment, I declared then, and still declare, that it was 
 with the greatest pleasure I saw his name at the 
 head of the list of Major Generals, and applauded 
 the discernment which had placed him there. I 
 knew that his talents in war were great, that he had 
 a genius capable of forming a great military plan, 
 and a spirit courageous and enterprising, equal to 
 the execution of it." Speaking of the dissatisfac- 
 tion of General Knox, which had been communicated 
 to him by Major Haskell, he adds : " As I consider 
 General Knox to be a very valuable officer, though 
 I do not estimate his talents in a degree equal to those 
 of General Hamilton, I told the Major that, rather 
 than the feelings of General Knox should be hurt, at 
 my being ranked before him, he might take my place 
 in the arrangement, and I desired him, when he wrote 
 to the General, to intimate this to him. General 
 Knox's absolute refusal to serve, because I am placed 
 before him, would make the same ofTer from me more 
 improper. I do not, therefore, renew it. But if the 
 authority which appointed me second Major General 
 in the army, will reverse the arrangement, and place 
 General Knox before me, I shall neither quit the ser- 
 vice, nor be dissatisfied." This is worthy of him, 
 who replied, " my countrymen will give millions for 
 defence, but not a cent for tribute."* 
 
 At the same bar was General Thomas Pinckney, 
 accomplished as a scholar, beyond the ordinary 
 
 *Mr. De Saussure was appointed aid-de-camp to General PiNCKNETf 
 and would have served, if the army had taken the field. 
 
13 
 
 scholarship of a gentleman, and not less accompHshed 
 in manners ; distinguished as a soldier, and successful 
 as a statesman, and diplomatist. The same character 
 might be attributed to Edward Rutledge, of whom the 
 venerable subject of our memoir was accustomed to 
 speak, as the most perfect specimen he had known, of 
 a courteous and accomplished gentleman. We might 
 well suppose that his own character had been formed 
 on that model. It is remarkable, that these four indi- 
 viduals were the friends, the intimates, and corres- 
 pondents of Washington; of whose abilities, and 
 characters, he, whose praise is fame, often expressed 
 the most exalted opinion. His unerring judgment 
 repeatedly selected them for public situations of 
 the highest distinction, and greatest responsibility* 
 Others there were of the legal profession, vvorthy 
 associates of the men I iiave nanicd. Hugh Rut- 
 ledge, afterwards Chancellor, Moultrie, Pringle, 
 then lately admitted, and others. Such was the school 
 into which Mr. De Saussure entered upon coming to 
 
 * John Rutledge was appointed by Washington, first an Associate 
 Judge, and then Chief Justice of the United States ; and upon his resigna- 
 tion of the latter office, the same situation was offered to Charles 
 CoTEswoRTH PiNCKNEY, or Edward Ru FLEDGE, as they might deter- 
 mine between themselves, in a letter addressed to them jointly. They 
 declined to accept, among other reasons, because they thought they would 
 "be of more real advantage to the General government, and their own 
 State government, by remaining in the Legislature, than they could 
 possibly be by accepting an office, which fills the public eye with the ap- 
 pearance of being lucrative." Charles Cotesworth Pinckney had 
 served as Washington's aid-de camp, and was appointed, at a most 
 critical period, minister to France. We need not say how he performed 
 his functions. As we have seen, he was appointed Major General on tho 
 prospect of a war with Francs. The situation of Secretary of State, 
 and that ot Secretary at War, were also, at different times, tendered to 
 him by Wvshington. Thomas Pinckney was appointed minister to 
 London, and the situation of District Judge of the United States was of- 
 fered to him. Edward Rutledge was recommended by Washington, 
 for the command of the artillery, in the event of a war with France. 
 
19 
 
 the bar, and the pupil was worthy of the school. 
 The tone of his own character, the courtesy of his 
 manners, his conscientious and untiring zeal and 
 industry in business, and ardor for honorable distinc- 
 tion, attracted the kindness and friendship of his dis- 
 tinguished leaders ; which, I believe, in every in- 
 stance he retained, while they continued to live. 
 The spirit which animated the bar of Charleston, at 
 the time of which I speak, did not become extinct 
 upon the retirement of the members who then com- 
 posed it. The mantle descended upon many wor- 
 thy successors. Docs tlie same spirit still continue 
 to exist among us ? or will it be revived ? or shall 
 we speak of the venerable friend whom we comme- 
 morate, as the last of the Carolinians ? 
 
 In the spring of 1785, Mr. De Saussure returned 
 to Morristown, and was married to Miss Eliza Ford, 
 who returned with him to Charleston, and with whom 
 he lived in a long and happy union. His assiduity 
 in the study and practice of his profession, and 
 the talent which he evinced, were attended by corres- 
 ponding success. In October, 1789, being then but 
 twenty-six years of age, he was elected a member 
 of the Convention which was to assemble at Colum- 
 bia, in the following May, both by his native parish 
 of Prince William's, and for Charleston. He chose 
 to represent the latter, as being his place of resi- 
 dence. The Convention assembled, and framed the 
 Constitution of the State of South Carolina. In the 
 ensuing autumn, ho was elected a member of the 
 Legislature, which assembled at Columbia, in Janu- 
 ary, 1791, to mature and enact the laws proper to 
 give effect to the Constitution. Among these, was 
 the act to abolish the right of primogeniture, on 
 which Mr. De Saussure was consulted by Edward 
 
20 
 
 RuTLEDGE, who drcw it, and siigf^ested an amend- 
 ment. A bill was drawn, and introduced by Mr. De 
 Saussure, which passed into a law, to remedy the 
 inconvenient arrangement of the circuit court dis- 
 tricts. 
 
 The young whigs who came into the Legislature 
 soon after the revolution, commiserated the suffer- 
 ings and rum of those citizens of South Carolina, 
 who had been opposed to the country during the late 
 war. These severities were likely to be pecuHarly 
 revolting to the native benevolence of Mr. De Saus- 
 sure, who accordingly became the advocate of the 
 sufferers. Whole families had been broken up by 
 the confiscation of their property. Many of these 
 were of great worth, who had, doubtless, acted from 
 a mistaken sense of duty. When the storm had 
 passed away, and the country had the feeling of se- 
 curity, ihere was a re-action of public opinion. The 
 younger members of the Legislature exclaimed 
 against the severities which had been practised to- 
 wards these unfortunates, and proposed to repeal the 
 acts of confiscation, and restore their property. Some 
 even ventured to speak of these laws as acts of 
 oppression. But in the words of their advocate, 
 the veterans of the revolution in the Legislature in- 
 terposed, saying, " we do not object to your gene- 
 rous views, but beware how you censure the revo- 
 lutionary policy, or we will go into the house, re- 
 kindle old feelings, and raise such a storm as will 
 sweep away all your benevolent plans. It is neces- 
 sary to have been in the midst of that fearful con- 
 test, when men fought with halters round their necks, 
 and our country was trampled under the foot of 
 military domination, to appreciate the feelings un- 
 der which the confiscation acts were passed." 
 
21 
 
 The advocates of the lenient policy were suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 In 1794, Mr. De Saussure suffered under an at- 
 tack of rheumatism, so violent that his life was 
 despaired of Having spent the summer at the 
 Sweet Springs of Virginia, with benefit to his health, 
 he proceeded to New York. Here he received a 
 packet from Edmund Randolph, then Secretary of 
 State, enclosing the commission of President Wash- 
 ington, appointing him director of the mint of the 
 United States. We learn from himself, that he 
 waited on General Alexander Hajvhlton, and, shew- 
 ing him the commission, said, " I know nothing of 
 this matter, nor why this commission has been sent 
 me; I am utterly unacquainted with the duties of 
 the office." General Hamilton replied, " If this of- 
 fice will be convenient to you, accept it. You are a 
 lawyer, and a man of business, and can easily make 
 yourself acquainted v/ith its duties. You have only 
 to see that others discharge their duties." He ac- 
 cepted the office, proceeded to Philadelphia, and 
 visited his predecessor, the venerable Rittenhouse. 
 Applying himself to his official duties, with his usual 
 conscientious assiduity, he soon became master of 
 their details. There was, about this time, a large 
 importation of bullion from France, and the West 
 Indies, in consequence of the disturbed state of those 
 countries, and universal activity was given to the 
 operations of the mint. 
 
 General Washington, whose habit was to see the 
 heads of departments every week at his table, upon 
 one of these occasions, expressed to the director of 
 the mint his satisfaction at the activity which had 
 been introduced into the silver coinage, and added, 
 " I have long desired to see gold coined at the mint^ 
 
 4 
 
22 
 
 but your predecessor found insuperable difficulties. I 
 should be much gratified if it could be accomplished 
 before I leave office." « I will try," was the reply ; 
 and the director went to the mint, summoned the 
 officers, ascertained the wants and difficulties of each 
 department, and by great diligence, speedily re- 
 moved all obstacles. In six weeks he carried to the 
 President a handful of gold eagles, and received his 
 thanks and approbation. 
 
 Finding his health re-established, and being anxious 
 to return to Carolina, and his profession, he ten- 
 dered his resignation to General Washington, who 
 accompanied his acceptance of it with a letter ex- 
 pressing approbation of his conduct in office, and 
 regret at his leaving it. This autograph letter, as 
 the slightest memorial of Washington would, of 
 course, be, is still preserved in the family. The 
 President consulted him with respect to his succes- 
 sor in office, and Elias Boudinot was appointed. 
 Returning to Charleston, he again devoted himself 
 to his i)rofession, in connexion with Mr. Timothy 
 Ford, who had married his sister. 
 
 In 1799, Mr. 1)e Saussure received the unanimous 
 thanks of the City Council of Charleston, for his 
 services in the office of Intendant, which he had just 
 vacated. In 1801, as a member of the Legislature,, 
 he took a zealous and active part in promoting the 
 act for the establishment of the South Carolina Col- 
 lege, and few contributed more to its success ; an 
 act of more lasting benefit to the State, more honora- 
 ble to its character, and more promotive of its true 
 interests, than any which its Legislature ever passed. 
 This measure originated in the contest which had 
 arisen between the iqiper and loiver country of the 
 State, with respect to representation in the Legisla- 
 
23 
 
 ture. The upper country, which, at the adoption 
 of the Constitution of 1791, was comparatively poor 
 and unpeopled, had allotted to it, by the provisions 
 of the Constitution, a much smaller representation. 
 It had now grown in wealth, far out-numbered the 
 lower country in its population, and imperatively de- 
 manded a reform in the representation. This, the 
 people of the lower country feared to grant, on the 
 ground of the general deficiency of education and 
 intelligence in the upper country, which would ren- 
 der it incompetent to exercise wisely and justly the 
 power which such a reform would place in its hands. 
 It was to remedy this deficiency, that it was pro- 
 posed to establish a college at Columbia. The act 
 was passed, not without difficulty, nor without the 
 strenuous opposition of many whom it was more es- 
 pecially intended to benefit. There is no citizen of 
 the State, and still more, there is no one who has di- 
 rectly and personally received the benefits of the in- 
 stitution, whose deepest gratitude is not due to every 
 one who contributed, in any degree, to the success 
 of the measure. 
 
 From 1802, Mr. De Saussure declined serving in 
 the Legislature, remaining devoted to his profession, 
 until 1807, when he was again elected. At the first 
 session he attended, after his re-election, he prepared 
 and reported a bill, then very much needed, to re- 
 medy abuses at sheriff's sales, which was passed into 
 a law, and has been found eflfectual. The most im- 
 portant measure, however, which was agitated by 
 that Legislature, and one of the most important ever 
 agitated by any Legislature of the State, was brought 
 forward at its June session in 1808. This was the 
 bill to alter the Constitution of the State, so as to 
 make an apportionment of representation in the 
 
24 
 
 Legislature, on new principles, which was warmly 
 supported by Mr. De Saussure. This measure was ma- 
 tured and introduced by one who was associated with 
 him, not more by ties of near affinity, than of affec- 
 tion and esteem, and whom it well becomes us to as- 
 sociate with him in our recollections. Of the same 
 assiduous devotion to any public duty, amounting 
 indeed to ardent and enthusiastic zeal for that which 
 appeared to him to be good and useful ; of the same 
 generous inclination to develope and bring forward 
 every indication of worth or talent in others ; of 
 sound and vigorous mind, which placed him at the 
 head of the legal prolession, and which rendered 
 him impatient of any thing short of a thorough and 
 perfect comprehension of that which he desired to 
 know j"* this measure was one of the many benefits 
 conferred upon the State, of many more desired and 
 attempted to be conferred, by Mrnm Blanding^ 
 whose life was, at last, a sacrifice to the sense of 
 public duty. With him, it is understood, that Wil- 
 liam Lowndes was associated, in the maturing of the 
 bill. This was upon principles so obviously fair and 
 satisfactory ; balancing so happily the interests of the 
 several portions of the State supposed to be discor- 
 dant ; providing so completely, not only for remedy- 
 ing the present difficulty, but for preventing the re- 
 currence of it in future ; that it was received and 
 adopted with almost unanimous satisfaction. From 
 this measure, we may trace the extinction of the in- 
 vidious feelings and contests, which formerly divided 
 the State, and its present happy harmony ; and now, 
 after an experience of more than thirty years, we still 
 regard it with unabated approval, as one of the hap- 
 piest features of our Constitution. 
 
 At the session of li^OS, Mr. De Saussure, without 
 
25 
 
 any previous intimation, and without any movement 
 on his part, was elected one of the Chancellors of 
 the State. .Soon a(ter his election, he removed to 
 Columbia, where he continued to reside for a period 
 of twenty-nine years, and until a short time before 
 his death. During all that time, he might be regarded 
 as the centre ot the society of that place. Exer- 
 cising an elegant and almost unbounded hospitality, 
 at his table, might be often met every thing of worth 
 and intellect that was within his reach. And, cer- 
 tainly, no man was ever better qualified to discharge 
 the offices of hospitality. His courteous demeanor, 
 his happy ease, his cheerful and intelligent conversa- 
 tion, inspired like ease and friendly feelings in others, 
 and drew out what was best in the minds of his 
 guests. I believe, that all who remember these meet- 
 ings, will concur with me, in saying, that there are 
 few more grateful recollections of social enjoyment. 
 There was no visitor to the place of his residence, citi- 
 zen of the State, of another State, or foreigner, having 
 the least claim to his attentions, who failed to receive 
 them. A gentleman once observed to me, »* I love to 
 see a foreigner in the society of Judge De Saussure. 
 It must convince them that there are eminent excep- 
 tions to the general reputed rudeness of our manners." 
 The college of the State, which he had contri- 
 buted so much to found, was an object of his un- 
 ceasing care and interest. By his office, one of its 
 trustees, he watched over all its affairs with an un- 
 ceasing, industrious vigilance, as if its superintend- 
 ance, and the advancement of its prosperity, were 
 his own peculiar and exclusive duty. Always indul- 
 gent to youth, he delighted to watch for any indica- 
 tion of merit, and to develope whatever appeared 
 promising in talent or character ; and when he sup- 
 
26 
 
 posed such promise to appear, he watched over 
 the individual with an almost parental solicitude. 
 And it well becomes his memorialist to commemo- 
 rate this part of his character. At that time, in the 
 humblest obscurity, I was distinguished by his coun- 
 tenance, encouraged by his kindness, instructed by 
 his advice ; and for thirty years, until from an en- 
 couraging friend and adviser, he had become an inti- 
 mate friend, and official associate, no occasion of 
 shewing kindness was permitted to pass; his counte- 
 nance was never turned upon me but with benignity. 
 
 About 1816, and 1817, Chancellor De Saussure 
 published his Equity Reports. These, to an extent 
 which it is, perhaps, now difficult to appreciate, 
 gave an impulse in the State to the cultivation of 
 that department of jurisprudence ; the study and 
 practice of which, had previously been very much 
 confined to Charleston. I well remember the first 
 bill, which, when a student at law, I knew to be 
 drawn by eminent counsel, which contained two 
 counts, in the manner of a declaration at law. I be- 
 lieve these reports are quoted, with approbation, in 
 every State of the Union in which a chancery juris- 
 diction exists j and it may not be invidious to say, 
 that his own decisions and opinions constitute the 
 most valuable portions of them. 
 
 In 1822, he was deprived, by death, of his excel- 
 lent and amiable wife, and the bereavement long 
 threw a shade over his cheerful and hospitable home. 
 
 When, in 1824, a new organization of the Courts 
 was made, by which the number of Chancellors was 
 reduced from five to two, he, together with Chan- 
 cellor Thompson, were elected by the Legislature, to 
 remain on the Chancery Bench. Some years after 
 this, he performed an office of piety, in preparing 
 
27 
 
 and publishing an interesting memoir of his lafe 
 
 deceased liicnd, and former associate on the Chan- 
 cery Bench, the amiable and gifted VVaties. 
 
 In 1835, Ciianceilor De Saussure was elected the 
 first President of the Society for the advancement of 
 learning, then lately established at Columbia. Not 
 anticipating how imbecile the attempt would be, and 
 how disgraceful the fiiilure, to maintain such an in- 
 stitution, he professed to be much gratified with the 
 appointment, as the highest distinction he had ever 
 received. At his inauguration, he expressed himself 
 with his usual modesty, as to his appointment, and 
 said with a feeling, which communicated itself to all 
 who heard him, " I can only ascribe your choice to 
 your Spartan veneration for age, and your too par- 
 tial personal regard. You saw the remnant of a 
 generation which has nearly passed away, floating 
 down the stream of time, and verging on eternity. 
 You arrested him for a moment, to make use of him 
 as the connecting link between the present and the 
 past generation." 
 
 He continued to discharge the duties of his of- 
 fice with his customary zeal and abihty, until the year 
 1837. About that time, his health became so much 
 impaired as to render him, in his own opinion, in- 
 capable of satisfactorily discharging his public du- 
 ties, and he proposed to resign. It will illustrate 
 his character to relate, that several of his friends 
 waited on him to dissuade him from taking this step. 
 He had been too generous and too hospitable to be 
 rich. He had rather impaired than improved his 
 private circumstances, while in office, and, in fact, 
 depended for his support principally on his public 
 salary. It is true, that his children would most 
 joyfully have supplied any deficiency in his income^ 
 
28 
 
 but it was invincibly repugnant to his feelings, thus 
 to reverse the order of nature, as he expressed it, in 
 the conferring of such benefits. He could not bear 
 to be a burden. His friends represented this to 
 him ; and that he, who had spent the prime and vigor 
 of his life in the public service, at a compensation 
 which did not permit him to make provision for a 
 time of infirmity, and whose income might, in some 
 sort, be said to have been devoted to the public, 
 should receive a support from the public during that 
 time of infirmity. They represented that his office 
 was held by the tenure of good behaviour ; that no 
 one doubted, but that he had discharged its duties 
 faithfiilly, while in his power, and that it could not 
 be attributed to him as misconduct, that he should 
 not perform duties, which it was physically impossi- 
 ble that he should perform j that his health might, 
 perhaps, improve, of which, indeed, his physicians 
 gave hopes; and that by similar reasoning, any 
 judge who, in consequence of protracted illness, 
 failed to attend a Court, or a circuit, might feel 
 himself called upon to resign. At their earnest so- 
 licitation, he took time to reflect, and at length re- 
 plied, that he would not attempt to reason upon the 
 matter, but could not reconcile it to his feelings to 
 receive the emoluments of a public situation, of 
 which he was unable to discharge the duties ; that 
 with health so much impaired, at his time of life, he 
 could not reasonably expect any considerable or 
 permanent improvement ; and at all events, that the 
 pubhc service ought not to be obstructed, and the State 
 embarrassed, upon such a speculation. 
 
 His resignation was communicated to the Legis- 
 lature through the Governor, who recommended to 
 that body to bestow on him some signal mark of the 
 
29 
 
 public esteem and gratitude. Resolutions were ac- 
 cordingly passed, expressing their high sense of his 
 eminent and faithful services — "services," as the 
 resolutions expressed it, " which not only furnished 
 the best memorials of his worth, but an enduring 
 example to those who are destined to succeed him." 
 A year's salary, in advance, was voted to him. The 
 sentiments expressed by the Legislature were shared 
 by every good man in the State. From his amiable 
 character, his venerable age, and present infirmity, 
 a feeling of tenderness mingled itself with the re- 
 spect, which was inspired by his talent, and pubhc 
 services. 
 
 A few months after his resignation, his health ap- 
 peared, for a time, to improve, so as to afford hopes 
 of a life prolonged beyond the ordinary period. 
 These appearances, however, were but transient; 
 he soon sunk again, and continued more and more 
 to dechne, until the 26th of March, 1839, when he 
 expired. He died at the residence of his eldest son, 
 in Charleston, in whose family he lived a considera- 
 ble time before his death. And, perhaps, no man 
 ever met death under circumstances of greater 
 mitigation. During his long illness, which happily 
 was not attended with great pain, he was surrounded 
 by affectionate relatives, the objects of his own 
 fondest attachments. He perceived more clearly 
 than in former times, the affectionate interest with 
 which he inspired his numerous friends, and it may 
 be said, the State at large. The business of life 
 with him was done. He had the happy consci- 
 ousness of having discharged faithfully and honestly, 
 so far as human frailty would permit, his duties to 
 himself, to his family, and to society. He saw his 
 numerous children, of mature age, established in 
 
30 
 
 life, with fair hopes, or assurances, of prosperity and 
 usefulness, and knew that he should transmit to 
 them, and to their children, the inheritance of a 
 name unsullied by any shade of dishonor. He con- 
 versed cheerfully with his friends, endeavoring to 
 make his conversation not only entertaining but in- 
 structive to them, and spoke of nothing more cheer- 
 fully than his own approaching dissolution. There 
 was no affectation of stoicism ; no undervaluing of 
 hfe, which his own benignity had taught him to en- 
 joy; but the rehgion which he had professed in life 
 supported him in death, and he looked forward with 
 the serene hope of a happy immortality. There is 
 no superstition in believing, that this auspicious clo- 
 sing of life was vouchsafed by the peculiar favor of 
 heaven to a good and virtuous man. " The good 
 man is taken away, and the merciful man is re- 
 moved, and the living lay it not to heart." Yet 
 there have been few men whose death has caused 
 a more general or affectionate regret. His remains 
 were interred in the family burial ground at Co- 
 lumbia. 
 
 The leading traits of the character of Chancellor 
 De Saussure, were the sense of duty, and benevo- 
 lence. The former was most conspicuous to general 
 observation, in the discharge of his official duties. 
 His devotion to them was assiduous, untiring. His 
 object was not to geS over the business of a Court, 
 but to get through it, and dispose of it effectually ; 
 and for this purpose, he was the most patient of hs- 
 teners and investigators. The labor which he be- 
 stowed in the preparation of his opinions, his re- 
 search into every quarter and authority whence light 
 could be derived, were extensive, and almost un- 
 bounded. Yet, coming so cautiously and laboriously 
 
31 
 
 to his conclusions, he was the least opinionated of 
 human beings. In exercising appellate jurisdiction, 
 when his own decisions were in question, he scru- 
 tinized them with the same candor, freedom, and im- 
 partiality, as if he stood totally uncommitted on the 
 subject, and i beheve no one more sincerely rejoiced 
 in the correction of his errors. Even when retain- 
 ing his own opinion, it was overruled by others, he 
 cheerfully acquiesced, and ever after, in good faith, 
 followed and maintained the authority of the deci- 
 sions from which he had dissented. Never did he 
 attempt to obtain consideration for himself, and to 
 depreciate the tribunals, of which he formed a con- 
 stituent part, by insinuating their errors, and his own 
 better judgment. It appears, from a return of the 
 Commissioners in Equity, made for another purpose, 
 in 1030, that of more than two thousand decrees and 
 opinions, made and delivered in the State, for the 
 preceding twenty years, nearly one half were pro- 
 nounced by Chancellor De Saussure.* During the 
 
 * Total number of regular Decrees in the Circuit Court of Equity from 
 January, 1809, to January, 1829, according to the Commissioners' re- 
 turns. 
 
 Charleston, total, 700 of these Chancelor De Saussure delivered 272 
 
 55 
 66 
 55 
 45 
 54 
 33 
 19 
 14 
 16 
 42 
 48 
 12 
 6 
 14 
 6 
 
 Richland, 
 
 104 
 
 Georgetown, 
 
 139 
 
 Colleton, 
 
 101 
 
 Beaufort, 
 
 135 
 
 Laurens, 
 
 120 
 
 Spartanburgh, 
 
 59 
 
 Darlington, 
 
 63 
 
 Barnwell, 
 
 81 
 
 Orangeburgh, 
 
 42 
 
 Edgefield, 
 
 111 
 
 Abbeville, 
 
 133 
 
 Pendleton, 
 
 44 
 
 Greenville, 
 
 11 
 
 Camden, 
 
 41 
 
 Lancaster, 
 
 8 
 
32 
 
 greater portion of this time, there were five Chan- 
 cellors, and when we recollect the care with which 
 his opinions were prepared, we may very well say, 
 that more than one half the labor of administering 
 the Chancery jurisdiction within the State, was per- 
 formed by him. For twenty-five years he never 
 failed to attend a circuit at the appointed time. And 
 in later years, when increasing infirmities might well 
 have excused such omissions, they were exceedingly 
 rare. During the same time, he never failed to at- 
 tend, but three days, in the Court of Appeals. 
 
 In Court, he presided with a dignity from which 
 few would have ventured to derogate, and an urba- 
 nity which took from every one all temptation to do 
 so. It must have been, indeed, a rude nature which 
 could have failed in respect to this venerable magis- 
 trate. Before him, every one was sure of a patient 
 hearing, and if uncommon merit appeared — and 
 more especially, in the young advocate — it was sure 
 
 10 
 12 
 83 
 
 88 
 86 
 
 38 
 
 Total, 2173 Chancellor De Sacssueb delivered 924 
 
 Charleston Court of Appeals, total, 820 
 
 Chancellor De Saussure delivered 185 
 
 Columbia Court of Appeals, total, 395 
 
 Chancellor De Saussure delivered 205 
 
 Chester, 
 
 24 
 
 York, 
 
 23 
 
 Fairfield, 
 
 50 
 
 Union, 
 
 68 
 
 Newberry, 
 
 79 
 
 Sumter, 
 
 91 
 
 The cases reported in 3d and 4th Equity Reports, and in Harper's "i 
 
 Equity Reports, and in 1st and 2d M'Cord's Equity Reports, > 337 
 amount to ) 
 
 Of these Chancellor De Saussure prepared and delivered* 163 
 
 ♦And of these were reversed, 17 
 
33 
 
 to be distinguished by him. He knew and respected 
 
 the rights of the bar, so important to the freedom 
 and security of the community, and claimed respect 
 for the justice of the State, as represented by him- 
 self. 
 
 The same mdustry, the same conscientious sense 
 of duty, was conspicuous in every office, or business, 
 public, or private, which he undertook. As I have 
 said, he was careless of wealth, and rather impaired 
 than improved his circumstances, while in public of- 
 fice. But he was always careful to be fully informed 
 of the exact state of his affairs, that he might not 
 expose himself to embarrassment, and to avoid all 
 risk of doing injustice to others. He could not 
 have endured to have a pecuniary claim made on him 
 which he was not prepared to satisfy. It was the 
 business of every morning to make a memorandum 
 of all matters of duty, business, or civility, which re- 
 quired his attention during the day, and, in conse- 
 quence, none of these were ever neglected. His 
 reading was very various and extensive, and it was 
 his habit to note every passage which was curious 
 or instructive in what he read. 
 
 He was habitually and devoutly religious, accord- 
 ing to the faith of his fathers ; though without a 
 shade of the harshness, severity, or intolerance, 
 which has been sometimes attributed to that form of 
 Christianity. He was, indeed, one of those who made 
 religion amiable, by showing that it is not incom- 
 patible with every thing that can grace, or adorn, 
 or cheer human life ; and even the thoughtless and 
 the gay, who would have heard with impatience the 
 admonitions of a different sort of instructor, could 
 not fail to be impressed by his. 
 
 His benevolence appeared in the whole of his de- 
 
34 
 
 meaner to every one with whom he came in con- 
 tact. I believe that nothing would have given him 
 more pain, than the thought of having, in any de- 
 gree, given pain to the feehngs of another. But 
 this, from the original bent of his nature, and the 
 effect of confirmed habit, would have been scarcely 
 possible. But he did not merely abstain from giving 
 pain ; it was his study to oblige and give pleasure. 
 He raised those with whom he conversed, in their 
 own esteem. I recollect a distinguished gentleman 
 from another State, to have said, " how I envy him 
 the presence of mind, which never fails to prompt 
 him how and when to do and say that which is kind 
 and courteous." He was, in the highest sense of 
 the word, polite. And it was no holiday suit, put on 
 for purposes of exhibition in society. His politeness 
 ran through the whole tenor of his deportment — in 
 the intimate intercourse of his family — in his address 
 to servants — for it was founded in his nature. No 
 shade of any thing coarse could, at any time, be de- 
 tected in his conversation or demeanor ; he had the 
 true refinement of mind, which does not admit the 
 thought of what is debased or impure. He loved 
 the conversation of the young, who found in him not 
 only an instructive, but a most agreeable associate. 
 In times, when the contests of political party had 
 severed old friendships, and the intercourse of those 
 who differed in opinion, was distant or interrupted, 
 no friend of his was chilled or estranged for a mo- 
 ment. He could not bear a good man's enmity. 
 From the universal amenity of his manners, some 
 may have supposed his bearing indiscriminate to 
 all ; but it was only his intimate friends who could 
 estimate the strength, sincerity, and constancy of 
 his attachments — warm and unimpaired, even to 
 
35 
 
 the moment of death — his zeal for their interests, 
 his care to defend or enhance their reputation, and 
 his watchfulness, either to render serious services, or 
 to do that which should be grateful to their feelings* 
 He was, indeed, 
 
 "The kindest man, 
 The best conditioned and unwearied spirit 
 In doing courtesies," 
 
 that it has been my lot to know. We may sum up 
 his character in a word, as that of a man who per- 
 formed faithfully all the duties of life, who rendered 
 kindness to all with whom he had intercourse, and 
 who did wrong to no one. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Extract of a letter from George Washington, President of the Uni- 
 ted States, to Henry Wm. De Saussure. 
 
 Philadelphia, 1st November, 1795. 
 " I cannot, in this moment of your departure, but express my regret, 
 "that it was not accordant with your views, toi'emain in the Directorship 
 " of the mint. Permit me to add thereto, that your conduct therein gave 
 "entire satisfaction. 
 
 " With great esteem, dear sir, your ob't. 
 
 "GEO. WASHINGTON." 
 
 MESSAGE OF GOV. BUTLER TO THE LEGISLATURE OF SO. CA. 
 
 Executive Office, Columbia, 
 7th December, 1837. 
 To the Honorable the Speaker of the House of Representatives of So. Ca. : 
 
 In sending to your honorable body, the resignation of the venerable 
 Chancellor De Saussure, I must be permitted to say, that he has occu- 
 pied, and now occupies, a striking position to the people of the present 
 generation. He is the last of the revolutionary patriots who has held oflBce 
 under the authority of the State. He now surrenders to his country, 
 (the State ot South Carolina,) the trust v/hich he received from her, under 
 the conscientious belief, that it is his duty to do so. His country, and a 
 grateful posterity, in the midst of which he is now living, will appreciate 
 and do honor to his motives. His age commands our veneration, and his 
 services and virtues entitle him to our gratitude. He has worn the sword 
 of a soldier, amidst the perils of the revolution, and the ermine of a vir- 
 tuous magistrate in peace. The one was never used but against the ene- 
 mies of his country, and the other will descend from him, without spot or 
 blemish. 
 
 Tlie State should make him a living monument of her gratitude, and a 
 just appreciation of the services of one of the fathers ot his country. Our 
 Spartan veneration for his age, should be only equal to our gratitude for 
 the services of a venerated and virtuous magistrate. 
 
 I hope that the Legislature will not suffer the occasion to pass away, 
 without some signal manifestation of public gratitude. 
 
 I have tlie Iionor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 P. M. 3UTLER. 
 
38 
 
 RESOLUTIONS OF THC LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SO CA. 
 
 In Senate, December 7, 1837. 
 
 Resolved, That the General Assembly has learned, with deep regret, the 
 circumstances of ill health, which ave compelled the Honorable Chan- 
 cellor Ue Saussure to resign his seat on the Equity Bench of this State. 
 
 Resolved, That the General .\ssembly regards with a due estimate of 
 their value, his long, able, and faithful, services to the people of South 
 Carolina, in the high judicial station which he has occupied — services, 
 which not only furnish the best memorial of his worth, but an enduring 
 exjimple to those who are destined to succeed him. 
 
 Resolved, That the Comptroller General, in s tiling the accounts of 
 Judge De Saussdke, be authorized, and directed, to p:iss one year's salary 
 to the credit of Judge 1)e Sacssurb, over and above the amount now 
 due him. 
 
 Resolved, That the Senate do unanimously agree. Ordered to the 
 House of Representatives for concurrence. 
 
 By order, 
 
 JACOB WARLEY, C. 8. 
 
 In the House of RepresentcUives, Dec. 9iht 1837. 
 Resolved, That this House do concur. 
 Ordered, That it be returued. 
 
 By order, 
 
 T. W. GLOVER, C. H. R. 
 

 .4^mi 
 
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