On his return from New York he was appointed Judge of the Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions and Orphans' Court of Newcastle county. The Stamp Act was then in full _life_ but not in full force in Delaware. Judge McKean was the first judicial officer who put a veto on stamped paper--directing the officers of the courts over which he presided not to use it, as had been ordered by the hirelings of the crown. He set them at defiance and was sustained by the people of the nation. That circumstance, trifling as it may _now_ seem to superficial readers, was big with consequences. It was one of the entering wedges to the Revolution that made an awful opening in the monarchical mass that was ultimately split into atoms and annihilated by the wedges and malls of the hard-fisted sons of America. From that time Judge McKean was hailed as one of the boldest champions of Freedom--one of the ablest defenders of his country's Rights. He was a prominent member of the Congress of 1774. He had talent to design--energy to execute and at once made himself useful. He was the only man who served in the Continental Congress during the whole time of its duration. He was a strong advocate for the Declaration of Independence and promptly put his name to that revered instrument. When it came up for final action, so anxious was he that it should pass _unanimously_--that he sent an express for Mr. Rodney who arrived just in time to give an affirmative vote. Notwithstanding the arduous duties that devolved on him as a member of Congress--of several important committees and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania--so ardent was his patriotism that he accepted a colonel's commission--took command of a Philadelphia regiment and marched to the aid of Gen. Washington, remaining with him until a new supply of recruits was raised. During his absence his Delaware constituents had elected him to a convention to form a constitution. On his return he proceeded to Newcastle, put up at a tavern and without consulting men or books, hastily penned the constitution that was adopted by the convention. Understanding the feelings and wants of the people--well versed in law and republicanism--a ready writer, he performed the labor in a few hours that has required a large number of men nearly a year to accomplish in more modern times. How changed are men and things since the glorious era of '76. How changed the motives that impel many politicians to action--how different the amount of useful labor performed in the same time and for the same money. _Then_ all were anxious to listen--_now_ nearly all are anxious to speak. _Then_ legislators loved their country _more_ and the loaves and fishes _less_ than at the present day. I do not blame the politicians--it is their trade and living. Office seeking has become a card game in which the applicants are the pack--demagogues the players and the _dear_ people and government the table played upon. The bone and sinew of our country