Mr. Burnett was one of the early settlers in Oregon, and had held positions of honor and trust there before settling in California.  He came here soon after the discovery of gold, took an interest in public affairs, and was elected the first Governor of the State, when the constitution was adopted.

Judge Terry resigned his office in September, 1859, when he determined to send a challenge to Mr. Broderick, and I succeeded him as Chief Justice; and W.W.  Cope, of Amador, was elected to fill the vacant place on the bench.  I was absent from the State at the time, or I should have exerted all the power I possessed by virtue of my office to put a stop to the duel.  I would have held both of the combatants to keep the peace under bonds of so large an amount as to have made them hesitate about taking further steps; and in the meantime I should have set all my energies to work, and called others to my aid, to bring about a reconciliation.  I believe I should have adjusted the difficulty.

Mr. Cope, who filled the vacant place on the bench, possessed a superior mind and a genial nature.  He made an excellent Judge.  He studiously examined every case and carefully prepared his opinions.  He remained on the bench until January, 1864, when the new constitutional amendments, reorganizing the court, went into effect.  He is now in practice in San Francisco, and has a large clientage.

Judge Burnett continued in office until the election of his successor in the fall of 1858.  His successor was Joseph G. Baldwin, a lawyer of distinction and a gentleman of literary reputation.  He was the author of “The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi,” and of “Party Leaders.”  The first is a work full of humor and a great favorite in the section of the country whose “times” it portrays with such spirit and glee as to excite roars of laughter in the reader.  The latter is a thoughtful history of the character and influence upon the country of Jefferson, Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and Randolph.  His portraitures present these men in the fullness and freshness of living beings, whom we see and hear, and whose power we feel.

My friendship for Mr. Baldwin commenced long before he came to the bench, and it afterwards warmed into the attachment of a brother.  He had a great and generous heart; there was no virtue of humanity of which he did not possess a goodly portion.  He was always brimful of humor, throwing off his jokes, which sparkled without burning, like the flashes of a rocket.  There was no sting in his wit.  You felt as full of merriment at one of his witticisms, made at your expense, as when it was played upon another.  Yet he was a profound lawyer, and some of his opinions are models of style and reasoning.  He remained on the bench until January, 1862, when he was succeeded by Edward Norton, of San Francisco.  This gentleman was the exemplar of a judge of a subordinate court.  He was learned, patient, industrious, and conscientious;