Judge Westgate; he died not suddenly, not unexpectedly; he died full of years, and full of honors, yet his life, character and death, just the same, open a field for comment by the moralist and the philosopher. I think that the words of the inspired Psalmist may be most properly quoted and applied to Judge Westgate and to his character: "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." Judge Westgate, by his staid deportment, by his just comprehension and measurement of what was going on around him, by his sound judgment and integrity, demonstrated that he was one of the solid men that constitute the pillars of all wholesome society. The influence of such men is so quiet and unobtrusive, and under their direction the community moves along so orderly, that I have often thought their worth was unappreciated. Particularly have I thought this to be true of our own state.

Judge Westgate was born in the town of Plainfield, as I have before stated, in the year 1801, on a farm, and he received his education at the common schools and academy, and studied law, and commenced the practice of law in the town of Enfield, where he continued to build up a good character and reputation, and he remained there until he was called to Haverhill as register of probate, where he has since resided, and where he died.

In my mind Judge Westgate and N. B. Felton are very closely associated. My first knowledge of these men was by reputation, and that was as long ago as I was in college, in 1843. I was in the habit of going down to the east part of Lebanon, where a relative of mine lived, a well-to-do farmer, and a man of sense, who had a sharp eye and was a good judge of property and of men. I recollect in my visits there he told me of Mr. Felton. He said that he had then gone up to Haverhill, but that he used to be at Lebanon, and while he was there he was his lawyer, and he found he could rely on what he told him. He said he had got acquainted with another man then that was his man, down in Enfield, and that was Mr. Westgate. He said he had found him to be equally reliable, and that when he had occasion to use a lawyer he went to Mr. Westgate, and that he was a good man and had a large and extensive business. In my judgment the town of Haverhill has had in the past very many distinguished

citizens; citizens distinguished in the law and citizens distinguished in other walks of life, but I am sure that the memory of none of them is entitled to or deserves more profound respect than the memory of Judge Westgate, and of N. B. Felton.

HON. WILLIAM SPENCER LADD.

A MEMORIAL ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE GRAFTON AND COÖS BAR ASSOCIATION AT PLYMOUTH, N. H., JANUARY 29, 1892.

The everlasting laws of the universe never change. They were the same yesterday as today, and will be the same tomorrow and forever. "One generation passeth away and another cometh." The billows of the ocean do not succeed each other more constantly than the generations of humanity follow one another. Apparently changes are going on unceasingly all about us; every day brings something new, something different from what has been, and yet we know what the wise man has said is the truth: "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.

The great reaper, Death, is gathering his harvests, as he has gathered them, as he will gather then forevermore. He has just cut down a strong man, one of our number, the Hon. William S. Ladd. Our esteemed brother has been cut down in the very midst of his honors and his usefulness, before he had lived the number of days ordinarily allotted to man, and while we were anticipating for him long years of life yet to come.

"Leaves have their time to fall

And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath,
And stars to set; but all,

Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death."

It is our purpose to leave upon our records, a memorial of the life and character of our departed friend, brief, frail and inadequate though it be.

William Spencer Ladd was born at Dalton, on the 5th day of September, 1830. His ancestors belonged to that old, rugged

New England stock who have done so much towards clearing away the forests, planting civilization, and rearing those religious, political, and educational institutions which have made our country what it is today, that old, rugged New England stock, who have furnished so many pioneers and statesmen for the country at large; who have supplied every state in the Union with pillars and ornaments to uphold and adorn the bar, the bench, and the pulpit. There is no prouder ancestry of which any man can boast. Of all the powerful and energetic races that have found homes in the vast regions now embraced within the United States of America, none have made an impress upon the character, habits and institutions of our people so broad, deep, and lasting as that which has been made by the strong, hardy, and progressive race who first planted European civilization on the bleak hills and rock-bound coasts of New England.

Though Judge Ladd came of New England stock, yet New Hampshire may well lay exclusive claim to him. Upon a New Hampshire farm, within the shadows of her granite hills, he was born and passed his boyhood days. While compelling her reluctant soil to yield the fruits of the earth, he acquired those habits of industry and steady perseverance that so well stood him in hand in later years. Breathing her pure air amid the grand scenery of her majestic mountains, his mental strength and bodily vigor grew together, and he came to manhood with a sound mind in a sound body.

In the midst of these stimulating surroundings his youthful ambition was aroused, and he early conceived the idea of gaining that honorable distinction which he afterwards attained.

He received his academical training at New Hampshire schools and at her college. He studied law and became an eminent practitioner of the law, in the county of his birth. While yet a young man, he was selected from the bar of Coos County for one of the justices of the highest court in the state. In that position he gave early exhibition of the breadth and strength of his grasp of the law. The New Hampshire reports contain the monuments that attest his industrious research and the clear, comprehensive judgment that made proper application of the results of that research. When his judicial career on the bench

of the courts of New Hampshire terminated, he again became an untiring worker at the bar of her courts. He was a legislator in her halls of legislation. He sat in her Constitutional Convention, a member well equipped with knowledge of what the fundamental law of a state ought to be. He has been the reporter of the decisions of her Supreme Court, and in that capacity he has done his work most promptly and efficiently. He has been upon committees constituted for the purpose of inquiring into the evils that afflict the state, and for the purpose of devising wholesome legislation to remedy those evils. With his many sided capabilities, he has had something to do with almost everything. The business community around him called for his services in financial matters, and imposed upon him the duties of a bank director. Associations for social improvement and for elevating the standard of human conduct received his hearty support. Whatever he undertook to do, he attended to it with zeal, fidelity and efficiency.

His labors are finished, and New Hampshire furnishes him his last resting place. In her bosom "he sleeps the sleep that knows no waking."

The leading facts in the life of Judge Ladd are more or less familiar to us all. He had his preparatory course for college at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Sanbornton Bridge, now Tilton, and was graduated at Dartmouth College, in the class of 1855. He then entered upon the study of the law, and completed the preparatory course for admission to the bar, in the office of Messrs. Burns & Fletcher. He was admitted to the bar at Lancaster, in the year 1860. He very soon opened an office at Colebrook, and the numerous clients that flocked around him, without much waiting on his part, made him a busy man.

He married, in the year 1860, Miss Almira B. Fletcher, a most estimable lady, the daughter of Hiram A. Fletcher. She has stood by him as a faithful helpmeet, carrying her full share of the burdens and responsibilities of married life. They have reared a promising family of children, two sons and a daughter. Her father, the late Hiram A. Fletcher, was an old and distinguished practitioner of the law, and though he died some time ago, yet his name still sounds familiar in the ears of the people

of northern New Hampshire. He was actively employed in his day, and had a large influence over the business community around him. He was noted for his industry, his legal learning, and his quaint peculiarities. He is entitled to a prominent place in the annals of the Coös bar.

Judge Ladd soon found that the boundaries of extreme northern Hampshire were too narrow for his large and growing practice. He yielded, no doubt with reluctance, to the inexorable demands of business, and sought a larger sphere of action. He must have parted with regret from the fair and fertile fields of the far away upper Coös, from its grand and beautiful scenery, its picturesque Dixville Notch, and its frowning Monadnock.

In the year 1867 he left Colebrook and settled at Lancaster, the inviting metropolis of northern New Hampshire. Lancaster, the "vale in whose bosom the bright waters" of the Connecticut and Israel rivers meet. Lancaster, whose valley is so sweet, fertile and beautiful that "the bloom of that valley" drew the whole original township up the river several miles beyond its chartered limits. Lancaster, whose early inhabitants have left on its population of today the visible impress of their elevated tone and manners.

At Lancaster Judge Ladd found a congenial home for his family and a profitable location for his business. He entered into a partnership with our brother Hon. Ossian Ray who has just passed away. By his death we lose another pillar and ornament of the profession.

Mr. Ray was then in the full flush of popular favor, in law and in politics. He has since been in Congress two or three terms, and came out of it with his reputation untarnished. Death has overtaken him in the midst of his usefulness and with his good standing before the people fully maintained.

The firm of Ray & Ladd was a strong one, and soon acquired a reputation which brought clients in crowds, and business in abundance. Important litigations involving large interests were committed to their hands, and were conducted so satisfactorily that the demand for their services rapidly increased.

While the firm was thus absorbed in the cares and responsibilities of their large and growing practice, Mr. Ladd was appointed