Through the twenty-seven years of our acquaintance, from 1850 to the
present time, July, 1877, his friendship and esteem have been sincere
and cordial, which no personal abuse of me could change and no
political differences between us could alienate. His worldly
possessions would have been more abundant had he pursued the
profession of the law, which I urged him to do; and his success as a
public man would have been greater, had he been more conciliatory to
those who differed from him in opinion.
THE TURNER CONTROVERSY.
Towards the end of May, 1850, William E. Turner, who had been
appointed Judge of the Eighth Judicial District of the State by the
first Legislature which convened under the Constitution, made his
appearance and announced that he intended to open the District Court
at Marysville on the first Monday of the next month. We were all
pleased with the prospect of having a regular court and endeavored,
as far as lay in our power, to make the stay of the Judge with us
agreeable. I had been in the habit of receiving a package of New York
newspapers by every steamer, and among them came copies of the New
York "Evening Post," which was at that time the organ of the so-called
Free-soil party. When Judge Turner arrived, I waited on him to pay my
respects, and sent him the various newspapers I had received. He had
lived for years in Texas, and, as it proved, was a man of narrow
mind and bitter prejudices.
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