Twelve jurymen sat spell-bound under the sway of his eloquence. One wept. A mute, absorbed and sympathetic audience listened—the judge, bending forward, his eyes fixed eagerly on Delmas; the defendant hanging on the words that he hoped would set him free; the wife, the mother, the sister—their faces distorted with the pain of suspense—clutching their chairs, clenching their hands—all the while, rising and falling in waves of emotion, the voice of Delmas echoing a masterful plea for the life of Harry Thaw.
Delmas himself proved little less interesting than his wonderful argument. He first attracted attention in 1856 as a brilliant young student in Santa Clara college in California.
The following sketch of his life was published in the History of the Bench and Bar of California:
Mr. Delmas was graduated in 1862, and in 1863 received the degree of Master of Arts with the highest honors. Entering the law department of Yale College, he received from that University, in 1865, the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and at the same time was admitted to the bar of the State of Connecticut. Returning shortly thereafter to California, he was admitted in February, 1866, in the Supreme Court. In May of that year he opened an office in San Jose.
Mr. Delmas remained at the bar in San Jose for sixteen years; and, in that period, acquired a reputation for skill and ability of the first order. He had also great prosperity from the standpoint of finance. He early held the office, so important and lucrative in that rich section, of District Attorney. He was a public speaker of acknowledged force and grace. By his knowledge, talents and address he gathered around him more friends and clients that any other man of his age in the State. Setting forth without money resources he amassed a fortune. It did not take long to accomplish all this; and when his fame had spread through and beyond the State, he left the field where his most splendid visions had been realized, and established himself in San Francisco. This was on the 1st of February, 1883.
When Mr. Delmas had been in San Francisco about six years, we said of him that no lawyer in this State possessed broader knowledge or was a greater master of his profession than he. As an advocate he is the admiration of the bar itself. His remarkable clear vision, his subtle intellect, his piercing judgment, his power of statement, have been applauded by the veterans of the profession. Before a jury, he is argumentative or pathetic, as the occasion demands. Unlike some other advocates of brilliant parts, he keeps in mind the fact that “the jury are sworn to make a true deliverance, and that to address their passions is equivalent to asking them to violate their oaths.” Mr. Delmas is very painstaking in the preparation of causes and very skillful in their management. He has great capacity for applying himself to his subject. In the matter of evidence his method is noticeable. His system is to make himself, before the case is answered “ready,” accurately, mathematically if possible, master of all the facts of the controversy, and especially, of those which are favorable to his adversary. Upon the trial, he takes full notes of everything that is said and done. It is an article of faith with him to state evidence to the jury with absolute accuracy; and he almost invariably prefaces his argument with a courteous invitation to his adversary not to hesitate to interrupt and correct him in case he should inadvertently fall into an error.
It would be impossible to enumerate the cases in which Mr. Delmas has taken part. His practice has been confined to no specialty, but has extended to all branches of litigation. He has figured in almost every important case which has been before the courts during the last twenty years. The most celebrated of these is, perhaps, that of Ellen M. Colton vs. Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and C. P. Huntington, in which Mr. Delmas, who had for associates ex-Chief Justice William T. Wallace, ex-Judge John A. Stanly, Hon. George R. B. Hayes and G. Frank Smith, was the senior counsel for the plaintiff. This case, if regard be had to the eminence of the counsel engaged, the standing of the litigants, the amount involved, the nature of the issues, and the duration of the trial, is, doubtless, the most important that has been tried in California in the last quarter of a century. The trial lasted eighteen months—from November, 1883, to May, 1885. The arguments alone consumed nearly five months. Mr. Delmas closed the case, answering Hall McAllister and J. P. Hoge, who had immediately preceded him.
Since he was elected District Attorney of Santa Clara County, in 1867, Mr. Delmas has never been a candidate for any office, having devoted himself entirely to the practice of his profession. He was, however, appointed a regent of the University of California by Governor Stoneman, in 1884, and served until 1892. While regent he was President of the day on the occasion of the inauguration of Hon. Horace Davis as President of the university, March 23, 1888, and delivered the address of welcome.
In 1869, Mr. Delmas married a daughter of Colonel Joseph P. Hoge, of San Francisco. There are four children of this union one of whom is the wife of William S. Barnes, ex-District Attorney of San Francisco. Mr. Delmas occupies offices at 120 Broadway, New York City.