fore
the court when the appointment was tendered to me; and, of course,
did not expect to remain there very long. In a few days I arranged my
affairs at Marysville and then removed permanently to Sacramento.
I left Marysville with many regrets. I had seen it grow from a
collection of tents with a few hundred occupants to a town of
substantial buildings with a population of from eight to ten thousand
inhabitants. From a mere landing for steamers it had become one of the
most important places for business in the interior of the State. When
I left, it was a depot of merchandise for the country lying north and
east of it; and its streets presented a scene of bustle and activity.
Trains of wagons and animals were constantly leaving it with goods for
the mines. Its merchants were generally prosperous; some of them were
wealthy. Its bankers were men of credit throughout the State. Steamers
plied daily between it and Sacramento, and stages ran to all parts
of the country and arrived every hour. Two daily newspapers were
published in it. Schools were opened and fully attended. Churches
of different denominations were erected and filled with worshippers.
Institutions of benevolence were founded and supported. A provident
city government and a vigorous police preserved order and peace.
Gambling was suppressed or carried on only in secret. A theatre was
built and sustained. A lecture-room was opened and was always crowded
when the topics presented were of public interest. Substantial stores
of brick were put up in the business part of the city; and convenient
frame dwellings were constructed for residences in the outskirts,
surrounded with plats filled with trees and flowers. On all sides were
seen evidences of an industrious, prosperous, moral, and happy people,
possessing and enjoying the comforts, pleasures, and luxuries of life.
And they were as generous as they were prosperous. Their hearts and
their purses were open to all calls of charity. No one suffering
appealed to them in vain. No one in need was turned away from their
doors without having his necessities relieved. It is many years since
I was there, but I have never forgotten and I shall never forget the
noble and generous people that I found there in all the walks of life.

The Supreme Court of the State then consisted of three members, the
senior in commission being the Chief Justice. David S. Terry was the
Chief Justice and Peter H. Burnett was the Associate Justice.