•^ 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
fiULOIilliiU 
 
 UPON 
 
 JAMES KNOX POLK, 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE U. S 
 
 By JAMLS MADISON FORTiiK 
 
 EASTOJN, JULY 1819 
 
 
 PRINTED Al HIE EASTON SENTINEL 10] OFFICE, 
 
 EASTOJN, PENNA 
 
Pa 4- 
 
■EULOCIUM 
 
 A nation is .mourning the logs of a distinguished Citizen, who 
 has tilled the highest position to .which the suffrages of its Free- 
 men could elevate, him. We have assembled, as a portion of 
 those mourners, to pay the last tribute to departed worth and 
 greatness. The present seems a lilting occasion, as introduc- 
 tory to the consideration of the life and character of the deceas- 
 ed, to take a cursory review of the Governments of the World ; 
 —the mode of their institution ;— and the superior Constitution 
 of that of our Country, in its recognition of the rights of man, 
 and its adaptation to promote his happiness. 
 
 The first, or original constitution of Government in the human 
 family, after the fall and expulsion of our first .parents, was pa- 
 triarchal, and this, like almost every other institution adopted 
 by man, arose out ot the circumstances in which they found 
 themselves placed. 
 
 The advocates of absolute government would endeavour to 
 trace up to this source, an authority to govern by divine command 
 or right, whilst the more correct and better opinion on the sub- 
 ject, would refer this mode of government to the exercise of pa- 
 ternal authority over the young and rising family, in the first 
 place, the patent exercising a fatherly care and goodness over 
 his offspring, and the children rendering a willing obedience to 
 those placed over them in the natural relation of parents, prima- 
 rily, and extending that same obedience or deference from res- 
 pect, when grown to manhood, as well from motives of affection, 
 as because the superior experience of the aged enabled them the 
 better to advise and direct. 
 
 As the human family increased and spread over the earth, it 
 became necessary to lorm distinct communities, and hence the 
 
(4-) 
 
 government which had originally been that of the family, ex- 
 tended over a larger portion of the population, and a ruler of 
 such community was either selected for his supposed capacity 
 and experience, or that authority was assumed by those exerci- 
 sing the patriarchal government, and submitted to by those over 
 whom it was exercised. In process of time, wars became by no 
 means uncommon, and he who from position or from the choice 
 of his troops was found in command, exercised the civil as well 
 as the military authority of his community or district. 
 
 As an easy consequence from this, the power thus conferred 
 or usurped, became in most countries hereditary. The oldest 
 son generally being about the person of the ruler at the time of 
 his decease, and being then the senior member of his immediate 
 family, usually assumed the authority which the father posses- 
 sed, and became the ruler in his stead. This did not always oc- 
 cur, for when the command was principally or purely military, 
 some of the other officers in command, would assume or usurp 
 the authority which their departed chieftain had exercised. 
 
 With the exception of the theocracy of the Israelites, the gov- 
 ernments of the ancient world were the result of accident, cir- 
 cumstance, or force. It is generally said that Greece and Rome 
 had republics, in which the rights of the people were somewhat 
 regarded ; but an examination of their structure, as well as their 
 history will shew, that the term Republic as applied to them, 
 bote a vastly different signification from that which we apply to 
 it now. That the rights of the masses were imperfectly under- 
 stood, and still more imperfectly respected, — that even their 
 boasted civilization was confined to the cities, whilst their peas- 
 antry was little, if any advanced in intelligence or education, be- 
 yond our Indian who roams through his native forest. 
 
 The so-called republics of Greece and Rome sunk and were 
 absorbed in military despotisms. The Roman empire which 
 succeeded, declined and fell. Its prosperity and its power may 
 be said to have expired when the second Antonine ceased to 
 
., 
 
 For within a few years after his decease, the imperial 
 purple was usurped by an African and a Syrian— a peasant and 
 a robber. The power of Rome was broken, and its feeble gov- 
 ernment and enervated inhabitants were incapable of stemming 
 the current of what, with complacent contumely, they were 
 pleased to designate "the tide of barbarians, " which overrun 
 the empire. If here and there the arms of Rome obtained a tem- 
 porary advantage, it but suspended the fate of the empire, which 
 tottered beneath its own weight and ultimately fell. 
 
 To this succeeded the middle ages, when moral and intellect- 
 ual darkness sat brooding over the whole world, and gloomy su- 
 perstition seemed to have almost absolute control over the hu- 
 man mind. During the centuries of mental darkness which en- 
 shrouded this period, there were but few coruscations of light, 
 that broke upon the world, either in learning or in government. 
 The republic of Venice alone, seemed to deny the monarchal 
 rule of government, yet it had but few of the characteristics of a 
 Republic, as we understand them at this day. It was an Aris- 
 tocracy. 
 
 But as in the physical, so it turned out in the moral world. — 
 The darkest clouds are just before daybreak. The art of print- 
 ing was discovered and brought into use, about the time when the 
 religious reformation of the world commenced. The mind of 
 man was to a great extent unfettered, and the storehouses of li- 
 terature were unlocked and their contents cast broadcast over the 
 land : thanks to the efforts of Faust and Guttemberg. New im- 
 pulses were given to thought, and it is almost inconceivable, 
 what rapid progress intelligence and information made ; the 
 world became a reading world. This begat reflection, and man 
 beiran to scan and investigate his own rights and condition. 
 
 The vices and selfishness of Henry the 8th., induced him to 
 break with the papal authority, and give encouragement, in effect, 
 if not by design, to a more free current of thought. The im- 
 pulse oner given, could not be rettacted. The leaven had com- 
 
(6.) 
 
 menced its operation, and it progiessed through the tour suc- 
 ceeding reigns of England, until the rights of man came to he 
 boldly asserted in the reign of the first Charles, who lost his life 
 in his ineffectual contest with the people. 
 
 In the throes and convulsions which led to the dethronement 
 of Charles and the establishment of the Commonwealth in Eng- 
 land, many of the bold thinkers and speakers of the times visit- 
 ed 01 were compelled to seek shelter in Holland and Switzer- 
 land, where there existed the only resemblances to Republican 
 government then in being. This led them into a fuller and 
 freer inquiry into the true principle upon which alone gov- 
 ernment could be founded, to wit, the consent of the govern- 
 ed. They found the condition of Europe, where regal authority 
 had been for centuries trampling on the rights of the people, not 
 a favorable one for the developement of their theory. The dis- 
 covery of America, then comparatively recent, opened a new 
 theatre for action. Hither kindred spirits emigrated, and laid the 
 foundations of a future empire, destined to exercise an immense 
 influence on the happiness of the human family. Those foun- 
 dations were laid in sound religion, in pure morals, in extended 
 education, and in that love of individual liberty, which has ever 
 .been the characteristic of the Anglo Saxon race. The first emi- 
 grants were necessarily men of great and indomitable eneigy; — 
 they were fitted by nature, by education, by habits ol reflection, 
 and by a pure and unostentatious piety, for the great part they 
 were to act, and nobly did they act it. 
 
 The forms of government in all the colonies were essentially 
 republican. The power and influence of the distant crown was 
 at first unfelt, and it was not until the colonies had grown up by 
 their own exertions, and almost without the knowledge of the 
 mother country, into importance, that the power of the British 
 crown over them, was attempted to be exercised to any consi- 
 derable extent. 
 
 The attempt to tax them without representation, occasioned 
 the Declaiation of Independence, by which we assumed that 
 
equal station among the nations of the earth, to which the law 
 ol nature and of nature's Cod entitled us. 
 
 Here the government of each State, as well as that of the U- 
 nion, recognizes the right, and admits the ability, of man to gov- 
 ern himself. The choice of our rulers must spring from our- 
 selves. Knowing that power has a tendency to corrupt, our 
 forms of government wisely provide that all public servants are 
 to be chosen for a limited period of time, for the purpose of 
 having the will of the people always observed ; to reward the 
 faithful and discard tho?e who aic not so. In a Republic, there- 
 fore, public trusts' are delegated for a time to those deemed 
 worthy of being invested with them. At the end of that thne, the 
 power reverts to the people, to be again exercised by them, ci- 
 ther in favor of the old incumbents, or those deemed more wor- 
 thy. It is not asserted that power always corrupts. That 
 would be a libel on many of the great and good of our land. It 
 is only meant to be said, that the Constitution of our Country 
 admits the fallibility of human nature, and reserves to the people 
 the right of examining into the conduct of their agents, at stated 
 seasons, that if found unworthy, their places may be supplied 
 by better men. 
 
 To enable any portion of the human family, properly, to ex- 
 ercise the right of self-government, it is necessary that they 
 should be educated. Without information as to the nature and 
 extent of his rights and duties, it is impossible that an individual 
 can intelligently perform his duty, as a portion of that govern- 
 ment, of which by raw, he is a constituent part. By education, 
 I do not mean that every man shall have been sent to school 
 half his life, and made to study the various branches of science, 
 which constitute a collegiate education. But 1 do say, that in a 
 Republic, every citizen ought to receive the rudiments of a good 
 •ommon school education, and make himself familiar with the 
 Hue principles of government and the Constitution of his coun 
 try, or he is unfit, intelligently, to perform his duty as a citizen, 
 and is liable to be imposed upon ami cheated in the exercise of 
 
(8.) 
 
 iris rights, by every designing demagogue, who may find it his 
 interest or pleasure to dupe him. 
 
 It is assumed, that the people of these United States W6re 
 educated for the enjoyment of the right of self-government, long 
 before even the Declaration of Independence. They had, to a 
 limited extent, practiced the right before that memorable event, 
 and have continued ever since to exercise k to the fullest extent. 
 For the restraints, as they are called, imposed by the Constitu- 
 tion, are imposed by the people themselves, to prevent aggres- 
 sion by the majority upon the minority. Indeed, such is the 
 only object of any Constitution. Were we only sure that man 
 was infallible — that he would always be operated upon by right 
 motives,, and never act but with impartial and careful considera- 
 tion, there would be no occasion for any constitution or bill of 
 rights, nor indeed for any laws whatever of man's enactmerrt.- 
 Such, unfortunately, is not the case, and never will be, until our 
 state of existence is changed and man becomes a perfect being. 
 
 The high moral and mental training, however, of the people 
 of these United States, enables them, beyond any other people 
 or nation, on the face of the globe, to act intelligently in the ad- 
 ministration of their government. It hence follows, that no man 
 ever has been, and it is not only to be hoped, but expected, that 
 no man ever will be selected, to preside over the government of 
 this" country, that is not a man of superior intellect and superior 
 qualifications for the post—of high personal character, and of 
 tried worth. We may differ, as we always will, about the pe- 
 culiar course of policyof an administration. But we may rely up- 
 on it, that no man, placed at the head of our government, can be 
 governed by any other motive than that of advancing its true in- 
 terest and promoting its prosperity. Human ambition can reach 
 no higher political position, than to be elevated, by the unbias- 
 sed suffrages of intelligent freemen, to preside over their govern- 
 ment, and the desire of posthumous fame, could wish for no high- 
 er praise, than that of having, with fidelity, presided over the 
 greatest a? well as the most free nation upon the face of the 
 
earth, lie, therefore, speaking from human anil interested mo- 
 tives alone, cannot but intend the best means of advancing his 
 country's interests and preserving inviolate its constitution and In- 
 stitutions. And when added to this, we have the motives of con- 
 scientiousness, and the higher responsibilities to Him, who rub 
 cth and reigneth over all tilings, there need be but little fear that 
 any errors, save those of judgment, can ever enter into the ad- 
 ministration of the public affairs of the United Slates, so far as 
 the President is concerned. That errors of this kind may be 
 committed, the admitted fallibility of man, and the results of 
 three score years' experience, under ,10 less than twelve Presi- 
 dents, have too plainly established. 
 
 Since the establishment of the present constitution, we have 
 had seven Presidents, taken from the walks of civil life, and 
 five from those, who had chiefly distinguished themselves in a' 
 military career, in their previous public services. That a sue 
 cessful military chieftain, should become a popular favorite', is not 
 •o be wondeied at. The experierice of all history shows, that 
 there is something in the faithful and successful discharge of mi- 
 litary duties, that at once wins upon the public mind. Whether 
 it be the glory of the exploits, or the fact, that capacity to com- 
 mand in one department, is evidence of capacity to direct in 
 others, matters not, so far as the fact is concerned. The expe- 
 rience of the world too, shows, that where that military capaci 
 ty is not led on by fatal and indomitable ambition, but is solely 
 used for defending the rights or repelling the foda of their eoun» 
 try, it seldom or ever fails to give energy and decision to the 
 civil administration of the country. Whatever, however, may 
 may be its effect on the political movements of ills government 
 ilo one can fail to sec how great a hold it gives a candidate foi 
 popular favor upon the people, for their suffrages. To be se- 
 lected for President of the United States, with even the advan- 
 tages of previous military services ami success, is no small hon- 
 or. But to be selected for that gieat arid important trust, with 
 nothing but the plain and itnobtru iv< ■!> charge of civil dutie: i 
 
(10.) 
 
 recommend the candidate, must indicate in him, qualifications 
 and merit of a superior order indeed. It argues well too, for 
 the intelligence of our citizens, that however much they may 
 prize military merit, and be disposed to reward its possessor, 
 they are not ihsensrble to the value of the cfvil attainments which 
 have equally qualified men' to govern, although their acquisition 
 has been accomplished on a less conspicuous theatre. It is not 
 claiming too much, then, for the civilian, who rises to the politi- 
 cal eminence of President of the United States, to say, that his 
 merit and qualifications must be at least equal, if not superior, to 
 those of his military competitor, or he never can" succeed. 
 
 James K. Polk, whose memory we would this day honor, 
 Won not his way to the Presidency by the glare of military fame 
 and glory. He slowly and steadily mounted the ladder of fame 
 and political fortune, by honest and laborious effort and steady 
 perseverance. He affords a beautiful illustration to the rising 
 and future generations of our country, of the blessings of that 
 form of government, which opens the way to its highest honors, 
 to the virtuous and deserving, and requires ndt the adventitious 
 aid of family influence or wealth to press them forward. 
 
 In the reign of James the first, he managed to forfeit to the 
 crown the largest part of the province of Ulster, in Ireland, for 
 the alleged treason, rebellion, or non-conformity of its former 
 proprietors. The lands were parcelled out to several of his fa- 
 vorites, on condition of having them settled by Protestants from 
 England and Scotland. This carried into the North of Ireland 
 a race of hardy, enterprizing and energetic men, principally 
 from Scotland, whose descendants are known by the appellation 
 of Scotch Irish. These men, carried with them the shrewd- 
 ness, intelligence, and education, of Scotland. " They retained 
 the characteristic traits of their native stock, borrowed some 
 things from their neighbors, and were fashioned in some meas- 
 ure by the moulding influence of climate and country. Their 
 religious principles swayed their political opinions, and in main- 
 taining their forms of worship, and their creed, thev learned the 
 
rudiments of republicanism, before they emigrated to America." 
 This body of men had passed something like a century in 
 Ireland, when a considerable portion of them, desirous of more 
 fully enjoying the liberty of worshiping God according to the 
 dictates of their own consciences, as well as that of exercising a 
 voice in the administration of the government, under which they 
 lived, determined to emigrate, to America. They found that Ire 
 land was not the true theatre for the realization of their hopes 
 and the enjoyment of their rights. They accordingly emigrated 
 to this country, not indeed in one body, but at different periods 
 and in large numbers. Their industry had made h Ister blossom 
 as the rose, and they brought with them their habits and their 
 principles to this western hemisphere. They filled the upper 
 country of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. They 
 had been trained to labor and habits of independence ; were ge- 
 nerally men of strong, intelligent and unostentatious piety— had 
 read the scriptures faithfully, and had most generally received at 
 least the rudiments of a good English education, whilst many 
 of them, especially their clergy and teachers, were men of high 
 classical attainments. They were energetic and enduring in 
 character, and given to hospitality without stint. They reared 
 their churches and school houses wherever they went, and the 
 influence of their principles is even now strongly impressed up- 
 on the middle, southern and western states of this Union. 
 
 It was from this race of men that James K. Polk descend 
 ed. We profess, in this country, to have set aside all claim to 
 merit in right of birth, and we have done rightly in so doing.— 
 But we all admit that 
 
 " Tis education forms the common mind, ^ 
 Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined, 
 
 and the instillation of correct principles into the infant mind by 
 parents, exercises an immense influence for good. Hence we 
 find that children thus trained and thus instructed, become useful 
 in society, whilst those not enjoying these benefits, become often 
 the reverse There is, therefore, much in parental intelligence 
 
V 12.) 
 
 a\\d worth that, Uy force of piecppt ami example may be impart 
 ,ed to children, as every days experience .proves. 
 
 The .forefathers of Mr. Polk, as has been stated, were among 
 the emigrants from .th e north of Ireland, who came to this coun- 
 try more than a century since. That portion of the family from 
 .which he was immediately descended, were, at one time, residents 
 of Cumberland .County, near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, whence 
 they emigrated to the western frontier, of North .Carolina, a con- 
 siderable time before the Revolutionary War. In that contest 
 .they were, as the descendants of the Scotch Irish everywhere 
 ,were, in favor of the Independence .cf their country. We find 
 them among those .who put forth the memorable Declaration qf 
 Independence at Mecklenburg, North Carolina, in May, 1775, 
 about fourteen months anterior to the Declaration of jlndepend- 
 ence, adopted by Congress on the $th day of July, 1776. — 
 Among the signers of that memorable instrument, (the Mecklen- 
 burg Declaration,) we find Thomas Polk, the paternal great un- 
 cle of the President, who is stated to have been the most prom- 
 inent man in Wging the measure. Ezekiel Polk, the brother of 
 Thomas and the grandfather of James K. Polk, if not a signe? 
 .of the instrument, was cue of its active promoters aud support- 
 ers. The father o,f James iv. Polk was too young to participate 
 in these movements. When he attained to manhood he pursued 
 ,ihe business of a farmer in his native county, in North Carolina, 
 .until the year 1806, when, with his family of ten children, of 
 ,%vhom James was the eldest, he emigrated to the Duck Rivei 
 country, in Tennessee, and was one of the pioneers in the set- 
 tlement of that now Nourishing and fertile region. 
 
 The subject of this notice was born in Mecklenburg County, 
 North Carolina, November 2d, 1795, and was in the eleventh 
 year of his age when his father removed to Tennessee. He re- 
 ceived the rudiments of an English education, and was placed, 
 by his father, in a store to learn the business of a merchant. — 
 Evincing a strong repugnance to this business, he soon quit the 
 counting house and commenced a course of classical studies— 
 
(13.) 
 
 first under the Rev. Dr. Henderson, and subsequently in the 
 Murfreesborough Academy, under Mr. S. P. Black. Having 
 *;cne through the usual course of academic studies, he entered 
 the University of North Carolina, in the autumn of 1815, in 
 .which institution he pursued his collegiate studies with great as- 
 siduity and attention, and graduated with high honor in 1818. 
 His course there was distinguished by incessant and laborious 
 application to study; unusual punctuality in recitations ; and in 
 conforming to all the rules of the institution. He sought to ac- 
 quire everything solid which he could obtain, whilst his correct 
 judgment rejected everything like .meretricious ornament in his 
 style. He left the University with the reputation of an exem- 
 plary student and a ripe scholar. Returning to Tennessee, he 
 entered the office of Felix Grundy, Esq., and commenced and 
 prosecuted the study of the law under that distinguished man, 
 and was admitted to the bar in 1820. He commenced the prac- 
 tice of his profession successfully and was shortly afterwards 
 elected clerk of the House of Representatives of Tennessee. — ■ 
 In 1823 he was elected a member of that body from Maury 
 County, where he resided, and served as such for. two sessions- 
 He was active, when there, in presenting the name of Andrew 
 Jackson to the people of the Union for the Presidency. 
 
 in 1825, when thirty years of age, he was elected to Con* 
 gress, of which body he continued a member for fourteen years; 
 the last four years of which he presided over, its deliberations, as 
 Speaker with great dignity and ability. Although, when he en- 
 tered Congress, he was, with one or two exceptions, the young- 
 est member of that body, yet his experience in parliamentary 
 proceedings, his business habits, his pains-taking examination 
 of every subject that required his attention, soon gave him a 
 highly respectable standing in that body. Me was a ready de- 
 bater and good popular speaker, and his reputation increased to 
 the close of his service in the House. 
 
 In 1827 he was placed on the committee of foreign relations, 
 and made chairman of a special committee appointed on the sub 
 
(14.) 
 
 ject of the distribution of the surplus revenue, and made an able 
 report against that measure. In 1829 he was made chairman 
 of the committee of Ways and Means, and, in 1835 was elect- 
 ed and, in 1837, re-elected Speaker of the House. In 1839 he 
 declined a re-election to Congress and was nominated as the De- 
 mocratic candidate for Governor of the State of Tennessee, to 
 which office he was elected (after an animated contest) by a ma- 
 jority of about 2500 over Newton Cannon, the incumbent. In 
 1841 he was a candidate for re-election and was defeated by 
 James C. Jones by a majority of a little over 3000, although 
 Gen. Harrison's majority in that state, the preceding year, had 
 been upwards of 12,000. He then retired to private life and 
 the pursuit of his profession, with which he was fullv engaged, 
 until nominated by the Democratic Republican Convention 
 which assembled at Baltimore on the 29th of May, 1844. I 
 have reason to know from himself, that this nomination was 
 wholly nnlooked for by him. He was residing at Columbia, 
 Tennessee, wljen the news of it reached him, and was actually 
 engaged in drafting a bill in equity when a friend stepped into 
 his office and informed him that the mail had arrived, and that 
 it was rumored he was nominated for the presidency. He en- 
 quired whence the news came and was informed that the mail 
 had brought a slip from the Louisville Whig paper, stating the 
 rumor. Distrusting the source whence it came, and apprehend- 
 ing that it might be a political hoax, he told his friend that it 
 would be safe to wait for further and more authentic intelligence 
 before giving the report credit. On the arrival of the next mail, 
 as soon as it was opened, there went up a succession of loud 
 huzzas, and as he heard the crowd approaching his office to con- 
 gratulate him, he realized the fact that he was the nominee of 
 that convention. 
 
 The electioneering campaign was conducted with great ani- 
 mation and with no little acrimony. His competitor was Henry 
 Clay, and everything that talents, and argument, and influence 
 could exert, was brought forth to carry the election of that dis- 
 tinguished statesman. But Mr. Polk succeeded, having received 
 170 electoral votes — whilst his opponent received but 105. On 
 being officially informed by the Committees of Congress of the 
 result, he modestly replied, that in signifying his acceptance of 
 the office to which he had been chosen by the people he express- 
 ed his deep sense of gratitude to them for the confidence which 
 they had reposed in him, and requested the committee to con- 
 vey to their respective Houses of Congress, assurances, that in 
 executing the responsible duties which should devolve upon him. 
 
[15.) 
 
 Jt would be Ins anxious desire to promote the welfare of the 
 
 "ThTadmimstfationof Mr. Polk, was one of great interest 
 a „d with important results to the country. The Oregon ques 
 tfon Wa s sealed, which had threatened a rupture with Great 
 Br"ta n Mexico made war upon us in consequence of the 
 linn of Texas and our arms were carried to the Capitol 
 S^t ReoublTc earing a reputation for our army and navy 
 of i JTSKntry well deserved. An honorable peace was 
 SS.SdSSlJ™ accession made to our territory thus 
 SS an opportunity to extend Anglo Saxon energy and re- 
 publican liberty and intelligence, over a large portion of the 
 SwtpartoTcVeatton. which was groaning under law ess op- 
 
 "res on and immersed in almost Cimmerian darkness. Our 
 Sard on the Pacific, has been greatly enlarged and fiom the 
 
 Atlantic to the Pacific it may now indeed be said, that our kc 
 pubCn inlthutions give assurance to man of the secure enjoy- 
 
 Tn the '"th&rch 1849, Mr. Polk .retired from the Presi- 
 dency, on the expiration of the term tor which he had been 
 g He had, from the time of his nomination, declared he 
 tufd not be a candidate for re-election, and - ^adi^ can, d 
 out this resolution, notwithstanding many strong eftor were 
 made to induce him to change it. He returned to re me see 
 and had made preparations for spending the residue of his days 
 fahoWable retirement. But scarcely had he become settled 
 his new habitation, which he had selected near Nashville ere 
 he was attacked with disease, to which, on the 15ih of June last, 
 hp fell a victim, in the 54th year ot his age. 
 
 'of the policy of his administration, it does not become us, on 
 ,uch an occasion as the present, to comment at large. He has 
 passed from this stage of existence, and his fame and public con- 
 S ct will Te commit^ to the muse of History who dis, egardmg 
 the oettv bickerings of party politics, will, looking at the 
 ie P r a'ourse of his policy" do" justice to an admimstration 
 which has clone much to elevate the character of our country at 
 home and abroad, and enlarge the area ol freedom and equal 
 
 ng Ofme political character of Mr, Polk, it is proper to say that 
 he was a strict and unfaltering democrat, of the Jefiersonra 
 school. That he favored a strict construction ot the Constitution 
 of the United States, and steadily opposed the exercise of al 
 power by the general government by loose implication. I hat 
 he was opposed to a National Bank and to the genera govern- 
 ment making grants or appropriations to purpose, ol in eina 
 improvement, as well as to havin, m was 
 
(16'.) 
 
 necessary for the absolute wants of the government, in an 
 economical administration of its duties. 
 
 In every situation in life he possessed unwearied industry 
 and unusual punctuality in the discharge of his duties, and great 
 order and method in the arrangement and transaction of his 
 business. As the presiding officer of the House of Representa- 
 tives, during Wo 'stormy and tempestuous Congresses, he main- 
 tained his temper, and discharged the duties of the station in so 
 cool and impartial a manner, as to elicit the approbation even of 
 his political opponents ; whilst his decisions were, without art- 
 exception, sustained by the House When appealed from. He 
 was always firm and fiank in the expression of his opinions 
 upon every subject of public interest, yet doing so in such a 
 spirit as to give no cause of personal offence to others. It is 
 said, that m the fourteen years" he was a member of the House 
 of Representatives, he never missed attending the daily sitting 
 of the House but once, and then was unable to do so from sick- 
 ness. In his public as well as private intercourse with his 
 iellow men, Mr. Polk was a modest, polite, well-bred and ! 
 unassuming gentleman. He was a man of exemplary moral 
 deportment, fulfilling his private and social duties in a manner 
 creditable to him as a man and a christian. It is refreshing to J 
 humanity, it is encouraging to the cause of sound morals, to see 
 a man filling high public stations, exposed to trials and tempta- 
 tions, such as assail all who inhale the atmosphere of the political 
 metropolis of a large country, living an exemplary, moral life- 
 preserving the simplicity of his character, and the purity of his 
 mind and conduct. The force and effect of such a character 
 upon his countrymen, and especially the rising generation, is- 
 beyorid all calculation. 
 
 His conduct, character* and success, are calculated to encou- 
 rage the young to lives of blameless rectitude and persevering, 
 energy. From a farmer's son we behold him uinnina the first 
 honors of his Alma Mater— taking a distinguished stand anion* 
 the learned and eloquent in that profession, which, of all others* 
 jest tries and tests a man's capacity. Mingling in the publie 
 councils of the State and Nation, we find his course is still 
 upward and onward until he reaches (he goal, the highest and 
 most honorable station which this world knows; 
 
 Sons of America, if you would win the success that James 
 K. 1 oik attained, you must, like him, seek it by lives of probity 
 and industry— improving all the opportunities afforded you, and 
 always remember, that it is not the erratic son of genius, but the 
 quiet and persevering votary of application that rcache- the 
 highest point in science and in station* 
 
 i 946 
 

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