In 1876 (twenty-five years ago) I was President of a National Convention
held at Nashville, Tenn, and of which H. V. Redfield, an able
correspondent of the "Cincinnati Commercial," made the following unduly
flattering mention: "Mifflin W. Gibbs, of Arkansas, was selected as
President. It may be interesting to know that Gibbs is strongly in favor
of Bristoe, now an aspirant for the Presidency. He will likely be a
delegate from Arkansas to the National Republican Convention at
Cincinnati. He is a lawyer, one of the foremost of his race in Arkansas.
He is rather slender and a genteel-looking man, with something in his
features that denotes superiority" ("Though poor in thanks," Redfield,
yet I thank thee.) "His speech upon taking the chair, was another event.
It was the third good speech of the day and calculated to leave the
believers of internal inferiority in something of a muddle.
"He made a manly plea for equal rights for his race. All they wanted was
an equal chance in the battle of life. They did not desire to hinder any
man for exercising his political rights as he saw fit, and all they
claimed was liberty of thought and action for themselves. He was sorry
there was occasion for a convention of black men to consider black men's
status. The fact alone was evidence that the race had not been accorded
right and justice. Of the treatment of his race in Arkansas he had
little to complain of, but spoke bitterly of the murders at Vicksburg,
Miss. He gave the Republican party, as administered at Washington,
several blows under the chin. He complained of bad treatment of colored
men by that party, notwithstanding all its professions. He made the bold
declaration that all the whites of the South need do to get their votes
was to promise equal and exact justice and stand to it. All they wanted
was their rights as American citizens and would go into the party that
would secure them. He said the question primarily demanding the
attention of the convention were educational and political, and he hoped
the proceedings would be so orderly as to convince the whites present
that we were capable of self-control. His speech had a highly
independent flavor and the particular independent passages were
applauded by whites and blacks alike."
While the call for the convention was not distinctly political, that
feature of the proceedings was the most pronounced. For at that early
day, through an experience the most bitter, the lesson had been learned
that politics was not the panacea, but that our affiliation with the
Republican party was the main offence. Hence a disposition to
fraternize with Southern politicians for race protection and opportunity
had many adherents, and voiced by Governor Pinchback and other prominent
leaders in the South, who, while preferring to maintain their fealty to
the Republican party, were willing to sacrifice that allegiance if they
could secure protection and improve conditions for the race. Had the
leaders of Southern opinion met these overtures, even part of the way,
much of the friction and turbulence of subsequent years would have been
avoided. But that there will be a breaking up of the political
solidarity of the South, not on sentimental but on material lines, at no
distant day all signs promise, and be its status what it may, the Negro
will benefit by commingling with the respective parties in political
fellowship. Laying down the "old grudge" at the door of opportunity and
entering, should the premises be habitable, he could "report progress
and ask leave to sit again."
It has been alleged to the discredit of the Negro that he too soon
forgets an injury. Nevertheless as a virtue it should redound to his
credit. He is swift to forgive and, if necessary, apologize for the
shortcomings of his adversary. But human nature seldom appreciates
forgiveness, preceded as it is by censure, the subject of which usually
repels, and another melancholy phase is often apparent, for the pricks
of conscience for those we have wronged, we seek solace by hating. There
are in both parties a fraction of saints, who, notwithstanding his
immense contribution by unrequited labor to the wealth of the nation
whilst a slave; his fidelity and bravery in every war of the Republic,
have for him neither care nor regard; denounce him as an incapable and a
bad legacy. He should, nevertheless, be patient, diligent, and hopeful,
with appreciation for his friends and for his enemies a consciousness
expressed in the Irishman's toast to the Englishman--
"Here's to you, as good as you are;
And here's to me, as bad as I am;
But as good as you are,
And as bad as I am,
I'm as good as you are,
As bad as I am."
Very ill considered is the opinion held and advocated by some, that he
should defer or eschew politics--who say: "Let the Negro be deprived of
this right of citizenship until he learns how to exercise it with wisdom
and discretion." As well say to the boy, Do not go into the water until
you learn to swim! The highest type of civilization is the evolution of
mistakes. While education, business, and skilled labor should have the
right of way and be primarily cherished, his right to vote and
persistent desire to exercise it should never be abandoned, for he will
yet enjoy its fullest fruition all over this, our God-blessed land.
Among the delegates I met at the South Carolina convention in 1871 were
the Hon. William H. Grey, H. B. Robinson, and J. H. Johnson, of
Arkansas, prominent planters and leaders in that State. I was much
impressed with the eloquence of Grey, and the practical ideas advanced
by Robinson, the one charmed, the other convinced. Learning that I
sought a desirable place to locate in the South, they were enthusiastic
in describing the advantages held out by the State of Arkansas. The
comparative infancy of its development, its golden prospects, and
fraternal amenities. Crossing the Arkansas River in a ferry-boat, in
May, 1871, I arrived in Little Rock a stranger to every inhabitant. It
was on a Sunday morning. The air refreshing, the sun not yet fervent, a
cloudless sky canopied the city; the carol of the canary and mocking
bird from treetop and cage was all that entered a peaceful, restful
quiet that bespoke a well-governed city. The chiming church bells that
soon after summoned worshipers seemed to bid me welcome. The high and
humble, in their best attire, wended their way to the respective places
of worship.
Little Rock at that date, not unlike most Western cities in their
infancy, and bid for immigration, was extensively laid out, but thinly
populated, having less than 12,000 inhabitants. From river front to
Twelfth Street, on the south, and to Chester on the west, it was but
sparsely settled. The streets were unimproved, but the gradual rise from
river front gave a natural drainage. Residences and gardens of the more
prominent, on the outskirts, gave token of culture and refinement. The
nom de plume "City of Roses" seemed fittingly bestowed, for with trellis
or encircling with shady bower, the stately doorway of the wealthy, or
the cabin of the lowly could be seen the rose, the honeysuckle, or other
verdure of perfume and beauty, imparting a grateful fragrance, while
"every prospect pleases." My first impressions have not been lessened by
lapse of time; generous nature has enabled human appliance to make
Little Rock an ideal city.
As knowledge of the local status of a State, as well as common law, must
precede admission to the bar, I applied and was kindly permitted to
enter the law office of Benjamin & Barnes, at that time the only
building on the square now occupied by the post office and the Allis
Block. In this for preparatory reading I was very fortunate. I not only
found an extensive law library, but the kindness and special interest
shown by Sidney M. Barnes was of incalculable benefit. Mr. Barnes was an
able jurist, one of nature's noblemen, genial, generous, and patriotic.
A wealthy slaveholder in Kentucky, when the note of civil war was
sounded, called together his slaves, gave them their freedom, and at an
early date had them enrolled in the Federal army, and went forth himself
to fight for the Union. James K. Barnes, his son, now a prominent
citizen of Fort Smith, and the able United States Attorney for the
Western district of Arkansas, and whose fellowship and kindness has
extended through all my political career in Arkansas, is "a worthy son
of a noble sire," having courage of conviction and eloquence in their
enunciation. Among the young men then practicing law was Lloyd G.
Wheeler, a graduate from a law school in Chicago, popular and an able
lawyer, with considerable practice. In 1872 we joined, under the firm
name of Wheeler & Gibbs, opening an office in the Old Bank Building,
corner Center and Markam Streets.
[Illustration: HON. JUDSON W. LYONS.
Present Register of the Treasury. Born in Georgia--A Graduate of Howard
University--Appointed by President McKinley to the Above Position.]
It is not without considerable trepidation that an infant limb of the
law shies his castor into the ring, puts up his shingle announcing that
A, B, or C is an "Attorney and Counsellor at Law." His cerebral column
stiffens as, from day to day, he meets members of the bar, who
congratulate him upon his advent, and feels his importance as he waits
from day to day for the visit of his first client, but collapses when he
arrives and with ghostly dread salutes him and prepares to listen with a
disturbed sense of an awful responsibility he is about to undertake.
For, side by side with his client's statements there seem to appear in
stately majesty all the adjuncts of the law: First, the inquisitive
glance of the judge, like a judicial searchlight, scans him as he rises
to defend Mr. Only Borrow, charged with larceny. Will he be able to
think on his feet at the bar as he did in his chair in his office? Will
he succeed or fail in stating his case, with eye and ear of every
veteran of the bar intent on his first utterance? How about the jury,
that unknown quantity of capricious predilections? Will they give him
attention, or will their eyes find a more congenial resting place?
Unbidden, the panorama insists on prominence. He attempts the most
nonchalant air, tells Mr. B. to proceed and state his case. This was not
the first time that he had been requested to perform this incipient step
of the law's demand, and he does it with such astuteness and flippancy,
and how he had been wronged and persecuted by the plaintiff, that tears,
unbidden, are ready to glisten in your eyes. Injured innocence and your
sworn duty to your profession inspire courage and induce you to take his
case. Later on the tyro will have learned that it was highly probable
that Mr. B. would not have called on him but for the fact that he was
not only out of cash, but out of credit with able and experienced
practitioners.
At the time of my examination for entry to the bar by the committee, of
which William G. Whipple was one, I was instructed that the most
important acquisition for a member of the bar was ability to secure his
fee. Having noted all the points of defence for his honesty, the last,
but not the least matter to be considered was the fee, resulting in an
exchange of promises and his departure. When the case was called, for
reasons not divulged, the plaintiff failed to appear. Mr. Borrow was
acquitted; I won my case and am still wooing my fee. The study of the
law is not solely of advantage to those who intend adopting it as a
profession, for its fundamental principles are interwoven with the best
needs of mankind in all his undertakings, making it of value to the
preacher or laymen, the merchant or politician. For the young man
intending the pursuit of the latter it is quite indispensable. The
condition in the South for a quarter of a century giving opportunity for
colored men to engage in the professions has not been neglected. In each
of the States there are physicians and lawyers practicing with more or
less success. With equality of standing as to culture, ability and
devotion, the doctor has had the advantage for a growing and lucrative
practice. This can be accounted for partly on account of the private
administrations of the one and the public career of the other. The
physicians has seldom contact with his professional brother in white and
escapes much of the difficulty that lies in wait for the colored
disciple of Blackstone.
During my practice I found the judges eminently fair in summing up the
evidence produced, noting the points and impartially charging the
jurors, who were also fair when plaintiff and defendant were of the same
race, but who, alas, too often, when the case had been argued by, or the
issue was between the representatives of the two races, bowed to the
prevailing bias in their verdict. Bishop, in his introduction to his
"Criminal Law," has fittingly said: "The responsibilities which devolve
on judicial tribunals are admitted. But a judge sitting in court is
under no higher obligation to cast aside personal motives and his likes
and dislikes of the parties litigant, and to spurn the bribe if
proffered than any other official person acting under a jurisdiction to
enforce laws not judicial. Happy will be the day when public virtue
exists otherwise than in name." It often happens with cases commanding
liberal fees and where the litigant has high regard for the legal
learning and ability of the colored lawyer, yet conscious of this
hindrance to a successful issue of his case, very naturally goes
elsewhere for legal assistance. Hence, as an advocate not having
inducement for continued research and opportunity for application of the
more intricate elements of the law, confined to petty cases with
corresponding fee, he is handicapped in his effort to attain eminence as
a jurist. It has been said that great men create circumstances. But
circumstances unavoidably produce great men. Henry Drummond is quoted
as saying: "No matter what its possibilities may be, no matter what
seeds of thought or virtue lie latent in its breast, until the
appropriate environment presents itself, the correspondence is denied,
the development discouraged, the most splendid possibilities of life
remain unrealized, and thought and virtue, genius and art, are dead."
It should be the solemn and persistent duty of the race to contend for
every right the Magna Charta of the Republic has granted them, but it
might assuage the pang of deprivation and stimulate opportunity did he
fully know the stages of savagery, slavery, and oceans of blood through
which the Anglo-Saxon passed to attain the exalted position he now
occupies. Much of the jurisprudence we now have responding to and
crystallizing the best needs of humanity were garnered in this sanguine
and checkered career. It is said that the law is a jealous mistress,
demanding intense and entire devotion and unceasing wooing to succeed in
winning her favor, or profiting by her decrees. Yet, for student or
layman, the study is instructive and ennobling. It is an epitome of ages
of human conduct, the products, the yearnings, and strivings of the
human heart, as higher conceptions of man's relation to his fellow found
echo or inscription in either the common or written law. Locality,
nationality, race, sex, religion, or social manner may differ, but the
accord of desire for civil liberty--the "torch lit up in the soul by the
omnipotent hand of Deity itself"--is ever the same. Constitutional law
"was not attained by sudden flight," but it is the product of reform,
with success and restraint alternating through generations. It is the
ripeness of a thousand years of ever-recurring tillage, blushing its
scarlet rays of blood and conquest ante-dating historic "Runny Meade."
It is well to occasionally have such reminiscent thought; it makes us
less pessimistic and gives life to strive and spirit and hope. We cannot
unmake human nature, but can certainly improve conditions by
self-denial, earnest thought, and wise action.