1880 History of Blair County - Johnstown, PA

HISTOIIY OP ALTOONA AND BLAIR COUNTY. 41"Tlio cost of tilt' i)ri'st'nt Ituildinu-, witli all its surniimdinfi-s uiidconveniences, is very close to $131), 000. It cannot exceed $140,000.Onr records, whose ]ireservatinn is wortli millions of dollars to thepeople, are now sectireil in lire-i)roof ottiees and vaults. For the sessionsof tlie courts, for the deliberation of juries and for the detentionof witnesses, we have rooms spacious, comfortable and convenient.Lonu- after we art* g-one this buildin,i>-. in all its strength and l)eauty,will stand as a monument to tlie ]>ublic sjtirit and enterprise of thepeople who authorized it, as well as an intlisputable evidence of thearchitectural talents of him who designed it, antl the mechanical skillof those who carried the design into execution." We have met to-day, as lawyers and citizens, to dedicate it to itsai)i)i'opriate uses—the ailministration of justice between nuui antl man.What we noiv say or do, will soon pass from the memory;say or do within these walls hereafter, will nt)t be forgotten ;l)ut what wethe fruitsof our words antl conduct will a])pear in ineflfaceable lines upon therecords of our ctiurts ; will be cut deep in the hearts and lives of thosewho shall here appear to have rights determined and wrongs redressed.May we so perform our jiart that we shall reflect liontjr upon an honorableprofession ; and so perform it, too, that, when called to appearin a Higher Court, there to be inquired of, we shall be ready to answer,although with awe, A'et not with fear: 'What Thou gavest us to do,with the light we had, we did as best we could.'"[In most eloquent terms Jutlo-e Dean closed his address, the])rincipal historical points of which we have given, omitting matterwhich, to many, would prove to be even more interesting. Want ofspace, the reason previously assigned, is our exeuse for not ]iublishingthe discourse in its entirety. We will take this oci^asion to say that,however ably his predecessors. Judges Black and Taylor, may haveadministered justict>, Judge Dean has sustained, and still sustains, thereputation of the Ixnich of Blair county for profound learning, soundjudgment, legal talent and executive ability.]Hon. Samuel Calvin was next introduced. He said that he wasassigned a place on the programme l)ecause he was the oldest memberof the bar, but he wanted the latlit>s to bear in mind the differencebt^tween the oldest member of tlic liar and tdtlestman practicing at thebar. His address was full of reminiscences, many of them of a highlyhumorous character—concerning Judges Taylor, Burn.side and M'Cune(associate), and the older members of the bar.The Hon. Jeremiah S. Black was next introduced, who stated thathe came there upon the condition that he Avas not to make a speech,