PRESENTATION OF THE PORTRAIT
OP
EX-ASSOCIATE JUSTICE JAMES CAMERON MACRAE
TO THE SUPREME COURT
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EX-CHIEF JUSTICE JAMES E. SHEPHERD
TUESDAY MORNING, 17 MARCH, 1908.
In making the presentation, ex-Chief Justice Shepherd said:
May it please your Honors : In response to an invitation of the Court,
I have the honor of presenting the portrait of the Honorable James Cam¬
eron MaeRae, a former Associate Justice of this high tribunal.
It is characteristic of the modesty of this distinguished jurist that he
has requested that no words of eulogy be pronounced on this occasion, as
he is happily still with us and engaged in the discharge of the respon¬
sible duties of his important and dignified position. As, however, he
has retired from the practice of the law, I trust he will pardon me in
giving, at least, a brief outline of his useful and honorable career.
We are standing very near where the river and the ocean meet. Every
day brings its sad reminder that our generation is passing away, and
that those who were reared in the high and peculiar civilization of the
past, and those who illustrated its virtues and courage in the days that
tried men’s souls, are rapidly crossing over the river and resting under
the shade of the trees.
It is meet, therefore, that a few words be said of one who, though still
living, began his career in that crucial period in the history of his State
which reflects its greatest civic and military glories— a time indeed
when “None was for the party and all were for the State” ; when men
bared their breasts to the iron hail of battle, not for conquest or glory,
but in defense of their homes and firesides.
Justice MaeRae was born in the historic town of Fayetteville, in
1838. His father, John MaeRae, for many years occupied a prominent
position in that place. His mother, Mary Shackleford, was from
Marion, South Carolina. He was educated at old Ronaldson Academy,
in Fayetteville, and taught school in Brunswick County, North Carolina,
and Horry County, South Carolina. He was licensed to practice law in
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