he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Chancery. This had not been a very lucrative position in the hands of his predecessors; but Mr. Potts not only elevated the office in character, but made it remunerative. He held this place for ten years. During the time he was clerk, he compiled an excellent book of chancery practice, much needed at the time and suited to the then present state of equity procedure. It is, however, superseded by another book more fitted for the improved state of the practice. Although not a graduate of any college, Princeton conferred upon him the honorary degree of A. M., in 1844.

The statutes of the State were badly arranged in the Digests which had been published, and in 1845, he was appointed, with Peter D. Vroom, Henry W. Green and William L. Dayton, Commissioner to revise the laws. The gentlemen with whom he was associated were at the front of their profession and Mr. Potts would not have been made one of this board, if he were not fitted for the task. He was intrusted by his fellow commissioners with the most laborious and, by no means the least important, duties assigned to them. In 1852, he was nominated Justice of the Supreme Court, which position he held for one term, and was assigned to a circuit which was one of the largest and most important in the State Judge Potts's opportunities for acquiring a practical preparation for performing some of the duties of his new office had been few. He had very little equipment for the criminal jurisprudence committed to him; but, he was quick to learn and his mental force enabled him, almost intuitively, to master the abstruser legal principles of the causes which came before him. His plain, practical common-sense was of very great service to him and he soon became an accomplished jurist. His opinions were marked by his strong bias for justice. Perhaps his ten years' constant intercourse with equity jurisprudence led him in this direction. It is evident that his desire. was to learn what the law ought to be, rather than know what other judges had held, in similar cases. He was a simple-minded man, always looking straightforward for a result which would do justice to all, and seeking to find what was right, in the cause before him.

At the close of his term, he was quite enfeebled in health, and, in fact, had never been an entirely healthy man. He then withdrew from active life, to enjoy the comfort and solace to be derived from books, of whose society he was ever fond. He was a kind-hearted, benevolent man, philanthropic in his nature, and interesting himself in charitable institutions. He took a deep interest in the common schools

of the State and, at one time, drafted a law, which was passed by the Legislature, revolutionizing the school system then in existence. He died at Trenton, universally regretted, in 1865, after a protracted illness.

Daniel Haines, during his lifetime, filled many important positions in the political and judicial history of New Jersey. He was born in the City of New York, in 1801, and came from ancestry known for its sufferings in the War of the Revolution. Stephen Haines, his grandfather, had made himself obnoxious to the British, by his patriotic services in the cause of the colonies. One dark night, some English soldiers led by Tory refugees from Staten Island, surrounded his house, made him prisoner, carried him to New York and confined him in the infamous "Sugar House." After the battle of Monmouth he was exchanged for a British officer. Elias Haines, the father of Daniel, was then a lad of eleven years of age. His mother, Mary Ogden, was the daughter of Robert Ogden 3d and the niece of General Matthias Ogden and Gov. Aaron Ogden, all three of whom were well known patriots of the Revolution.

He was educated at Princeton College, where he graduated in 1820 and, immediately after graduation, entered the office of Thomas C. Ryerson, then a leading lawyer at Newton, Sussex County, afterward an Associate Justice. He was licensed as attorney in 1823, as a counsellor in 1826, and was made a sergeant in 1837. He began practice at Hamburg, Sussex County, in the midst of a large agricultural community, but in a small country settlement. Here he secured a clientage. of the very best men of the county, who respected him for his integrity and admired him for his sound, sensible methods of business.

Political parties, in the early days of his practice, were not equally divided, in Sussex County; the voters of that county were, overwhelmingly, friends of General Jackson, one or two townships voting. solidly for him. One of these two townships was that in which young. Haines resided. He shared in the universal enthusiasm and strongly espoused the chieftain's cause. In 1839, he was brought prominently forward as a candidate for the position of member of the Council, as the State Senate was then called. He was rather averse from accepting the nomination, but it was deemed important that a man of talent and influence should represent the county, as a subject of great importance to the community was to be agitated before the Legislature. He was nominated and, of course, elected by a very large majority. This

election was the means of bringing forward the young and obscure lawyer from his unknown home in the mountains of Sussex and eventually of landing him in the governor's chair-the only instance of the kind known in the State. In 1840, the "Broad Seal War," already referred to, was waged in New Jersey. The very best minds in the State were enlisted in the argument of the Whig party, which sustained the Governor, and young Haines was obliged to measure weapons with these men, practiced and skilled in the mental arena. He lost nothing by the contest and was not forgotten by his party. In 1843, the Democrats obtained the ascendancy, and he was elected Governor. While the result of this election was greatly due to his character and talents, it is very doubtful whether he would have been successful if the Whig party had not been divided. Be that as it may, he was elected and elected, too, because he was a man of integrity and ability. Then, the office of Governor carried with it that of Chancellor and the incumbent

was elected by the Legislature, from year to year. He was continued in office until the inauguration of his successor, and would have been re-nominated, after the passage of the new Constitution, had he not declined. While he was Governor, he strongly urged, in messages and by his personal influence, two very important measures,-one, a rearrangement of the common school system, so that it could be systematized and receive a permanent support; the other, a constitutional convention. He was successful in the convention, and his advice and recommendation for the other measure, although for a time rejected, took root and, in due season, were followed. In 1847, he accepted a nomination for Governor, then elective, under the new Constitution, by the people, and for a term of three years. The position was now removed from the judiciary and its holder obliged to confine himself ex clusively to the performance of the duties of the executive.

Governor Haines's opinions, as Chancellor, fill one volume of equity reports, were prepared with the greatest care and regarded with high respect.

At the expiration of his term of office as Governor, when last elected, he returned to Hamburg and resumed the practice of the law with very great success.

In 1852, he was nominated by the Governor as an Associate Justice, was confirmed by the Senate and took his seat on the bench in the month of November, of that year. He retained the office for two full terms, of seven years each. He brought to the position great experi

ence as a trial lawyer, having been generally employed in every im portant cause tried in Sussex County, while practicing at the courts of that county; a skilled knowledge in the common law science of pleading, a learning which was strengthened by years of ardent and unremitting study; a stern determination to do his whole duty as a judge without fear or favor; a strict integrity; a character untarnished by a charge of fault; a kind and courteous manner; a willingness to listen. and a broad-minded appreciation of right and wrong. No judge ever sat on the bench who had less of prejudice in his composition, or who was freer from passion.

He filled many positions of prominence not connected with either political or judicial affairs. He was appointed a commissioner to select a site for an insane asylum and was a member of the first board of managers of that institution; he was also appointed a commissioner to select site for a home for disabled soldiers and was one of the first trustees of that organization. When the Legislature established a reform school for juvenile delinquents, he was selected as one of the Trustees, was the first President of the Board and held that position for many years. He took a great interest in prison reform and was appointed one of the commissioners to examine the systems of State prisons in New Jersey and elsewhere. In 1870, he was sent to Cincinnati as a delegate from New Jersey, by its Governor, to a National Prison Reform Congress. He represented the United States at the International Convention on prison discipline and reform which met in London in 1872, was Vice President of the Convention, and presided over some of its sessions in Middle Temple Hall. While abroad, he received marked attention from English Judges and other distinguished men of different countries. For many years he was a Trustee in Princeton College, He lived to a green and honored old age and died at his home in Hamburg.

If Peter Vredenburgh had been born in New York City, he would have ranked among the Knickerbockers of Gotham. His birth-place was Readington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and he came of a goodly German parentage. His father, whose name he bore, was a physician. Young Vredenburgh graduated at Rutgers, in 1826, was licensed as an attorney, in 1829, and began practice at Eatontown, in Monmouth County. This obscure village was too circumscribed for a man of his abilities and he very soon removed to Freehold, the county seat of Monmouth, where he ever after resided. In 1837, five years

after he became counsellor, he was made Prosecutor of the Pleas and was continued for fifteen years in the position. He soon took a high rank in the profession and the leaders of the bar, who, perhaps, were at first disposed to regard the young attorney with some contempt, learned that in the Prosecutor of Monmouth they had an antagonist worthy of their highest respect. His manner of performing the duties of this office of counsel for the State, in criminal cases, not only soon gained him clients, but also the respect and confidence of the commnnity. No man at the bar of New Jersey ever surpassed Mr. Vredenburgh in ability to grasp and understand, almost intuitively, the salient facts in a cause. His power of analysis and of marshalling the testimony of witnesses was wonderful; and if, after fully examining the case, he was satisfied that the defendant was innocent, he not only did not press the case, but declared to judge and jury his honest convictions. But, on the other hand, woe to the defendant whom he believed to be guilty. If he thought the defence was tainted, in any way, by fraud, or was dishonest, he was merciless and no earthly power could turn him from a pursuit, keen and sure of the criminal. He was capable of weaving a web of circumstances around the defendant which ended in a complete and swift overthrow of the best-laid and acutest plans to secure an acquittal. He impressed juries with his entire honesty of purpose and they learned to follow his leadings because they knew that if he were doubtful of guilt, he would plainly and frankly tell them so. In addition to this keen perception of the workings of human nature, he possessed great eloquence; his was the quiet, calm eloquence of power and truth urged before his hearers, who ap preciated an honest struggle for the right and were prepared to do what justice demanded. An examination of the reports of decisions in both common law and equity courts will reveal the fact that very soon after he came to the bar in Monmouth, he argued almost every case of importance from that county before the higher tribunals of the State. He left the office of Prosecutor with a character established for great honesty of purpose and as possessing one of the very best legal minds in the State.

In 1855, he was appointed an Associate Justice by Gov. Rodman M. Price, who was opposed to him in politics, but rising superior to the trammels of party, in this instance, selected the very best material he could find to fill the place. At the end of his first term, Governor Olden reappointed him, so that he held the office for fourteen years.