Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

State Central Committee in 1886, and his
senatorial record had so established him
in the confidence of his constituency that
upon his renomination, they reelected
him by twice his first majority.
He had won recognition in the Senate
as a man of power, fearless in spirit, keen
of wit, relentless and untiring in pursuit
of his object, yet always a fair opponent
and graceful in relinquishing a point to
the mind of the majority. He served as
chairman of the committee on incorpora-
tions, in 1885, and later, in 1886 and 1887,
was chairman of the judiciary committee.
In filling these important positions, for
which by nature, as well as by training,
he was peculiarly fitted, he demonstrated
that element of fairmindedness which so
largely contributed to the success of his
whole career. During the session of 1887
he had the honor of being called to pre-
side over the senatorial body as president
pro tern, and no one appreciated more than
he the significance of the dignity being
accorded to so young a man. In 1888 he
was nominated by his party for the office
of Secretary of State, and his election was
included in the success of the ticket. In
the spring of 1889 the home county called
upon him to fill a position demanding
every power and grace with which the
man was so generously endowed. He was
appointed judge of the Criminal Court of
Common Pleas in Fairfield county.
Rarely indeed is a man found who fills this
responsible and dignified position as well
and as conscientiously as did Judge
Walsh. Appreciating to the full the psy-
chological side of criminology, his fine
discernment and unwavering sense of
justice made him no easy prey to sentiment.
His thorough training and wide
experience gave him a firm grasp on the
most complicated legal problems, and his
clear-sighted progress through the most
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tangled case made him the admiration of
all connected with it.
With the arduous duties thus devolving
upon him, he made every effort to withdraw
from all political connections, and
positively refused renomination to the
office of Secretary of State, which he had
filled with so much honor to his party
and satisfaction to his constituency. The
Legislature, however, failed to declare the
election of his successor, and since it was
constitutionally impossible for the office
to remain vacant, he filled the office until
another election released him from it, and
allowed him to give his full time to the
county judgeship, where his personality
was becoming a power for right and justice.
But his party had not released him
permanently from the broader service to
the State, as time proved.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy
periods of Judge Walsh's public service
was in 1885. He had for some time served
as corporation counsel for the borough of
Greenwich, and his capacity for the wise
administratiion of public affairs became
so widely recognized that Governor Harrison,
in that year, appointed him a mem-
ber of the commission to revise the stat-
utes of Connecticut. He was one of the
youngest in that body of men, all eminent
in the legal profession. His influence
upon the deliberations of the commission
was apparent from the first. His keen
mind and progressive spirit made him a
recognized leader among them, and it was
cordially conceded that much of the suc-
cess of the commission was due to his
efforts. There is a particularly charac-
teristic touch in the fact that personally
he was more proud of having been the
counsel for the town of Greenwich for
a period of thirty-five years of changing
political administrations of the town government
than of any of the more showy