The Late Lord Chancellor Campbell.
It is worthy of note that the English statesmen of the present century have mostly originated in two totally distinct ranks of society. They have either been the scions of noble and powerful families; or they have arisen, in spite of circumstance, from humble parents, by the sole recommendation of personal worth. Of the great middle class, the class which is certainly the most respectable of the English community, and which is at present the controlling power in the state, but few have recently attained great eminence. That the titled and wealthy should advance to power and influence in a government peculiarly influenced by such recommendations, is not strange. Any son of a great English house, who has ambition, and a reasonable share of brains, may attain, with comparative ease, eminence in the state. An apt example is Lord Russell, who, with but little genius, with no oratorical force, and hardly more than medium capacity as a statesman, has become the leader of the predominant party, by dint of shrewdness, a persevering spirit, and ambition, backed by the powerful influence of the noble house of Bedford. And that the master-spirits born in poverty should shake off the incubus of humble birth, and advance to a level with the noblest, is not so unnatural or improbable but that the history of every nation affords us abundant examples of such men; while the middle class, who are neither stimulated by the calls of penury, nor pushed forward by hereditary interest, naturally retain a contented mediocrity of renown and honor.
If any of our readers have visited the House of Lords within the past two years, they doubtless had their attention directed to the venerable statesman who for that period has occupied, with eminent dignity and grace, the office of chairman to that body, and whose recent decease has been noticed with such profound regret in British journals. On inquiry, they doubtless learned that this was Lord Chancellor Campbell. He had risen from the lowest drudgery to the highest eminence of the legal profession. By the prolific arts of perseverance and industry, he had scaled each successive round in the ladder of promotion, until now, in his declining years, with accumulated honor and respect, he had thus reached the summit, taking precedence after the Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the great seal, and presiding over the peers of the realm.
He was one of those rare examples of unconquerable pluck, who have mastered the prejudice of wealth and power, and to whom has been yielded a position envied by the most worthy descendants of the most illustrious nobles. In America, where public distinction is within the reach of all, it is difficult to conceive of the restraints which beset the humble aspirant in the old country. But notwithstanding such obstacles, the examples of such men as Eldon, Stowell, Truro, St. Leonards, Ashburton, Canning, and Campbell exhibit the gratifying fact, that hereditary power or wealth can not bide the dignity of great genius; that greatness will thrust aside the lesser privilege of worldly circumstance, whether it be born in a palace or a cottage; and that you can no more control the operation of a superior mind by the vanities of title and lucre, than you can subordinate truth to error, or eternity to time. The glittering train of peers and nabobs who followed in the path of the great Elizabeth lie forgotten under the stately arches of the old cathedrals; while the poverty-stricken player, William Shakspeare, has adorned every library with his name, and reigns in every appreciative heart, as a perfect master of nature and lofty thought. The names of the brilliant court which welcomed George the Third to the throne of the Plantagenets no longer linger on the lips of men; while every household boasts its 'Rasselas,' and the civilized world holds sacred the memory of the illustrious 'Rambler.'
John Campbell was born in 1781, and was the son of an obscure Scotch clergyman. His father destined him for the clergy; in consequence of which he was sent to the University of St. Andrews, where he met the great Dr. Chalmers, then a student like himself. But young Campbell became averse to the profession which had been chosen for him, and soon turned his attention to the law. Soon after graduation, he betook himself to London, where he studied with great zeal, meanwhile supplying his wants by acting as the theatrical critic of the 'Morning Chronicle.' There, seated in an obscure corner of the pit or upper gallery, we may imagine the Chancellor in embryo, jotting down the petty excellences and failings of the players, to pamper the taste of the frivolous on the morrow; while below him, in the decorated boxes and circles, lolled the vain crowd of coroneted simpletons and courtly beauties, now long forgotten, while he is honored as the benefactor of his country's laws. He was called to the bar by the Society of Lincoln's Inn, and then commenced a long life, replete with arduous study, with untiring interest in duty, and stubborn perseverance. He early espoused the liberal doctrines of Fox and Grey; and inasmuch as for many years after the Tories monopolized the power, his politics were an effectual bar to his professional preferment. He remained, however, through his whole life, an earnest and consistent advocate of his early convictions. Owing to the prejudice which Lord Chancellor Eldon entertained against the Whigs, he did not obtain the silk gown of King's Counsel till the venerable Jacobite gave place, in 1827, to the more courteous and liberal Lyndhurst.
He entered the House of Commons in the year 1830, and was soon recognized as one of the leading members of the British bar. The period of his debut in public life is one of peculiar significance in the party history of England. The long dominion of the statesmen of the Pitt, and Liverpool school was at last overthrown. The political dogmas which had resisted Catholic toleration, which had sustained the continental powers in their persecution of the French Emperor, which had resisted the right of a neighboring people to choose their own rulers, which had held in imprisonment the first genius of the century, which had opposed the abolition of the test act, which had sustained the most licentious and most obstinate sovereign of modern times, now yielded to the more enlightened views of such statesmen as Russell and Lansdowne, Brougham and Grey. Several causes operated to bring about this auspicious change. George the Fourth, whose partiality for the Tories was only surpassed by his animosity against the Whigs, had given place to a liberal and enlightened prince, renowned for his zealous attachment to the popular weal. Again, Canning's influence in moderating the maxims of Tory theorists was greatly felt among the gentry. Finally, the rapid growth of general intelligence, developments in the history of nations, and juster conceptions of the true relations of sovereign and people, prepared the public mind for extensive reforms in the constitution. Earl Grey, a statesman eminent no less for his eloquence and sagacity than for the worth of his private character, succeeded to the premiership in 1830, being the first Whig who held that office since the cabinet of 'all the talents,' in 1806.
It was at such a juncture that Campbell entered the House of Commons. The sanguine dreams of his youth were dawning into reality; and he was gratified to see his cherished principles fully adopted by the country, and to know that he was a participant in the glories of the great reform.
In 1832, when he had been a member of the House but two years, and a King's Counsel but five years, and in the same year that the reform of Russell and Grey received the royal sign-manual, he was elevated to the dignity of Solicitor General. No one of the long line of his illustrious predecessors brought to the discharge of this eminent trust greater learning and acuteness than Lord Campbell evinced; who, at the same time of this appointment, was honored with the order of Knighthood. In 1834, after serving as solicitor with the marked approbation of the government, he was promoted to the Attorney Generalship.
He now re-entered Parliament as the representative of the capital of his native Scotland, and became a leader in debate and the transaction of the public business. He continued Attorney General through the conservative ministry of Sir Robert Peel, and the subsequent Whig government of Lord Melbourne. In 1841, he held for a brief period the Chancellorship of Ireland; being at the same time elevated to the rank of a peer of England, with the title of John, first Lord Campbell. He retired from office when Sir Robert Peel returned to power in the autumn of 1841, and turned his thoughts to the gentle and graceful pursuit of literature. The first production of his pen was the 'Lives of the Lord Chancellors,' from the earliest times to the close of Lord Eldon's Chancellorship, in 1827. For the spirited interest of its style, the clear and precise detail of fact, and the simple yet elegant course of its manner, it is surpassed by no work of the present century. It is regarded by eminent critics as a masterpiece of biography, and may justly rank with the first books of that character in the English tongue. It has probably been as serviceable to perpetuate the name of the author, if not more so, than the numerous profound and equitable decisions which he has left on the records of the Courts of King's Bench and Chancery.
It was soon followed by 'The Lives of the Chief Justices of England,' which only enhanced the reputation of the former work; and we would heartily recommend both of these books to the perusal of all who are interested, either professionally or as a matter of taste, in this branch of literature, as a deeply interesting as well as instructive entertainment.
In 1846, Lord John Russell assumed office, and Lord Campbell was recalled from the occupation which had proved so congenial to his mind, to take a seat in the ministry as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. While he held this position, he was a frequent and popular debater in the House of Peers, where he zealously defended the policy of the government. In 1850, Lord Chief Justice Denman retired from the King's Bench, ripe in years and in honorable renown, and Lord Campbell was at once designated as his successor. In this exalted place, he was removed from the harassing uncertainties of political life; and he continued for nine years to administer justice with promptitude, skill, and equity.
It was while Chief Justice that he became eminent for the great light he brought to bear upon many important and intricate questions of law; and his fame may be said to rest mainly upon the profound ability with which he exercised the functions of this trust. In 1859, when Lord Palmerston succeeded to the brief administration of Lord Derby, Lord Campbell was finally raised to the summit of his profession. He was the fourth Scotchman who has been Lord Chancellor within the century, and is a worthy compeer of such men as Loughborough, Erskine, and Brougham. The long years of unremitting toil were at length crowned with glorious success; and the great man died in the midst of duty, affluence, honor and power, while enjoying the prerogatives of the highest judicial trust, during the summer of the past year.
Whether we consider him as a lawyer, statesman, author, or man, his character appears in a most amiable light. Profound without pedantry, subtle without craft, zealous without bigotry, and humane without effeminacy, he lived a philanthropic, pure, and consistent life. His highest eulogium is that he lived and died in the service of his country; that through every vicissitude his chief care was the national weal; that his chief fame rests in the love and veneration which he awakened in his countrymen; and that few Englishmen of the present century have left more enduring monuments of public wisdom and private example.
'O, civic music, to such a name,
To such a name for ages long,
To such a name,
Preserve the broad approach of fame,
And ever ringing avenues of song.'