Bartholomew F. Moore
■le was the recognized leader of the North
Carolina bar for an entire generation anil
was iironiinnt in many matters pertaining'
to the welfare of the state as a whole.
WE should venerate my subject
not because of the public of¬
fices he held, but because of
the fact that for a full generation he
was the recognized loader of the North
Carolina bar, and preeminent in his
public services.
lie was born in Halifax in 1801
and entered the sophomore class at the
University in 1817, where he was
graduated in the class of 1820, which
numbered among its members Justice
William
П.
Battle of the Supreme
Court and Janies II. Otey, who later
became Bishop of Tennessee. In later
years the University honored her
eminent son by conferring upon him
a Doctorate of Laws.
Ilis first public service was as a
member of the House of Commons in
1 836, where lie took a prominent part
on the Committee on Revision of the
Statute Law. He was one of tin*
strongest supporters of the act char¬
tering the Wilmington ami Raleigh
Railroad Company, although ho knew
it would lie unpopular in Halifax.
This net typifies the life of Moore, as
he always put wlmt he conceived to
be principle above expediency. He did
not believe an act chartering a rail¬
road to pass through Halifax could
be passed at that time, but so strongly
was he in favor of internal improve¬
ments that he supported the Raleigh
route.
Chairman of Judiciary Committee
He was again a member of the Com¬
mons in 1810 at which time he was
Chairman of the Committee on the
Judiciary. At this session occurred
the famous debate on the question
whether the legislature had the right
to instruct United States Senators
how to vote on any given question.
This issue had agitated the state since
its organization, as the legislature had
always insisted that it possessed such
right, and in consequence several
Senators had resigned their seats.
Moore took the legally correct po¬
sition; that the legislature did not
ossess the power of instruction to
enators, as they were responsible to
the people, not the legislature.
In 1810 he introduced and spon¬
sored a hill to establish an Asylum for
IS
у
It. C. LAWRENCE
the Insane, and while he was at that
lime unable to command a majority
in its favor, he did the spade work and
so prepared public opinion that
James C. Dobbin was able to secure
the passage of tho measure at a sub¬
sequent session.
Always a staunch supporter of any
improvement, in 1S44 he was Chair¬
man of the Committee on Internal
Improvements and was one of the
ablest aides of Governor Morehead in
advocating the granting of a charter
to the North Carolina Railroad, to the
Western Railroad and to the Atlantic
and North Carolina Railroad Com¬
pany.
Attorney-General
His eminence at tho bar was recog¬
nized by his appointment by Governor
Graham as Attorney-General, an ap¬
pointment ratified by election by the
legislature, but he bad no fondness for
public office and soon surrendered
that position to engage in private
practice. His work was always of a
constructive character, and in 1851 he
served upon a Commission named by
the General Assembly to revise the
statute law of the state. His work in
connection with the Rovisal of 1854
should entitle him to high distinction
for service to North Carolina.
His outstanding ability at the bar
caused him to be retained as counsel
in practically every important case
tried in eastern North Carolina, in¬
cluding State v. Will, where he suc¬
cessfully upheld the legal doctrine
that even a slave possessed the right
of self defense. He had the unpopular
side to the controversy, and his argu¬
ment is said to have rivalled that of
Judge Gaston in his famous speech
before the Constitutional Convention
of 1835.
He was not only an able lawyer,
hut he was a forceful and convincing
advocate, nnd in the Johnston will
case, where three ex-Govcrnors wore
arrayed against him, ho won before
the jury and the verdict was sus¬
tained by the Supreme Court.
He had an abiding conviction that
it was the duty of the superior race to
protect the weaker, and he favored
а
change in the basis of enumeration
for the public schools so ns to change
the basis from State to Federal
enumeration, thus including a certain
percentage of Negroes.
He was a stout hearted champion
of the cause of the Union and would
not surrender his settled convictions,
although he know how unpopular
these were at the time. He took the
position that there was no constitu¬
tional right of secession. He admitted
the South had many grievances, but
contended that these should and could
he adjusted within the bonds of the
Union. Soon after the Civil War
opened, a Confederate District Court
convened in Raleigh, and the presid¬
ing judge directed the clerk to ad¬
minister tho oath of allegiance to the
Confederate States to all the members
of the Bar. Although Moore had a
large practice in that court, he im¬
mediately returned all his retainers
nnd refused to accept further case* in
that court; but lie continued his prac¬
tice in the state courts where, strangely
enough, no such oath was required.
Conferred With the President
As soon ns peace was declared, lie
was one of a very few invited by Presi¬
dent Johnson to meet in Washington
for a conference on what steps should
be taken to re-admit this state to the
Union. Tho President laid be¬
fore this Committee hi* proclamation
and his proposed plan of amnesty.
Moore denounced both, especially the
clause denying the protection of tile
amnesty to those worth 820.000, as he
took the position that all citizens
should lie treated alike, lie denied that
the President possessed the power to
appoint a Provisional Governor, his
position being that tho legislature
should
1ю
allowed to convene and pass
the necessary legislation, and «‘all a
convention to make the necessary
Constitutional changes. The Presi¬
dent adhered to his determination to
appoint a Provisional Governor, hut
left the
паше
blank. The President
then left the room and Moore was
asked to act as chairman of the iiieet-
(Conlinw'd on i
шуг
tivenly-four)
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