c ^::^:^^ O'-'^^/Z^^.,^-^ ^^ /^^^ ADDRESS ON TOK GENIUS, PUBLIC LIFE, AND » OPINIONS OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON. DELIVERED AT RICHMOND, VA., MAY 9, 1856, liy RK(ir^S!T of tiik LADIES OF THE CENTRAL MOUNT VERNON ASSOCIATION, AND IN AID OF THE PURCHASK OF MOUNT VERNON. HON. FERNANDO WOOD, .MAYOR OF THE CITY OF Nl'.W YORK. NEW YORK: EVANDER GUILDS, STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTER, Sun Buildings, corner Fulton and Nassau Sts. 1856. 40427 ADDRESS. Ladies and Gentlemen: la accepting the invitation to visit Richmond and deliver an Address in aid of the high and patriotic objects of the Mount A^ERNON Association, I perform a most gratif3nng" pnblic duty. The only cloud which hovers around the effort, is the doubt in my own mind, as to my fitness and capacity for the undertaking; arising not only from the complete occupation of my time in the discharge of my official duties which has precluded the attention required for preparation, — but from the character of my previous studies, which have beeu more practical than literary or historical. 1 rely upon the liberality and universally acknowledged kindness, which so much distinguish the people of this City, for the removal of this cloud, rather than upon my own ability to dispel it in the delivery of this address. Ladies and Gentlemen: I have chosen for my subject to-niglit, Alexander Hamilton— Ins character — his genius. — his public services. — A theme which in its magnitude and interest will supply any deficiency in its discussion— a subject which, while it challenges the deepest study of the early history of this country, and calls forth and revives a recollection of the sentiments which surrounded and imbued the fathers of the Repuljlic, will also make its application to many of the public questions of tliis day, and produce reflections, not at all flattering to our own boasted advancement, superior intelligeiKNi; and know- ledge of Government. I have selected this topic because of its peculiar adaptatiou to the objects of the Mount Yeruon Asso- ciation. It is in keeping witli its patriotic design, that in an assembly convened to aid in tlie purchase of Mount Veunox, the subject sliould be the private and public virtues of oiu' who held the closest official and personal relations to Wash- ington himself. And if the spirit of the Father of liis Country is permitted to guard these eflbrts of the women of Ame- rica, it will look down benignantly upon this attemi)t, feeble tho\igh it be, to do justice to the fame and memory of Alexander Hamilton. In approaching the discussion of the life ;ind char- acter of a truly great man, like Hamilton, the mind should be- come elevated and the spirit ennobled. We should view the scenes upon which he appeared, and the events in which he took part, freed from the recollection of unworthy imputations, or of the iuiblcs incidental to our feeble nature. We should see but the pultHc man — canvass the ability, the patriotism or the genius which marked his progress through the fitful drama of life — and in weighing the result of his exertions — the advantages derived from his services, and the evidence of disinterested devotion to his coun- try — forget the aspersions, if any originating, it may have Iteen in the jealousies of rivals and the interests of party. There is probably no theme of public discussion more difficult than that of the char- acter of ]mblic men, yet living or recently deceased. There can be no literary navigation so liable to shipwreck as that which lies through the eddies and rocks and quicksands of political life ; and with this consciousness of the embarrassments which surround the topic selected by me, I proceed at once to a plain and candid statement of my own views, and for which I alone am responsible. Hamilton was descended from an ancient and distinguished Scotch ancestry, though it has been well said he required no illus- trious lineage to give renown to his memory, lie was a native of Nevis, the smallest of the windward West India Islands, then, as now, under the dominion of the British governmeut. At the age of twelve years lie was placed in a counting room, preparatory to a mercantile education. Evea at this early period, his strong mind and soaring ambition had' developed themselves. In a letter addressed at that time to a school-fellow then in New York, he says, " I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk or the like, to which my fortune conducts me, and would, willingly risk my life, hut not wy character, to exalt my station. I am confi- dent that my youth excludes me from any hopes of immediate preformcnt, nor do I desire it, but 1 mean to prepare the way for futvmty. 1 am no })hilo80})her, you see, and may be justly said to build castles in the air ; my folly makes me ashamed and beg you '11 conceal it ; yet Neddy, we hear such schemes success- ful, when the projector is constanl. I shall conclude by saying I wish there was a war." How the letter of the boy foreshadows the genius of the man. Three years afterwards he left the counting- room and was sent to New York, it having been wisely determined by his friends that such a mind should not mature bereft of cultiva- tion. He was placed at a grammar-school in the vicinity, but soon after transferred to Kings (now Columbia) college. It was whilst a student here, that he gave forth the first scintillations of that genius, energy and courage which so signally distinguished liis after life. The times and the temper of the people were auspicious for the development of great minds and lofty patriotism. New York at this period, (1772,) no recent convert to the doctrine of the capacity of the people for self-government, was agitated by the increasing oppression of the Home Government. Sixty- eight years anterior to the Declaration of Independence, she had proclaimed the principle that the rights of property were inalien- / \ able and not to be controlled by Government, except by the con- // sent of the governed ; that the Colonies could only be taxed with their own consent ; principles thut lay at the foundation of onr re- volutionary struggles. From these positions, so early taken. New York never wavered, maintaining theuj in CI56 and 1165, with 6 uiuleviating consistency, down to the American Revolutioa ; nor did the repeal of the Stamp Act serve to shake the constancy of her people, followed as it was by the quartering of British troops upon them. Throughout these aggressions the colony mantained her antagonism. She held firmly to the declaration of 1108, to Republican ideas. Thus the spirit of the people needed little encouragement to arouse their indignation. Indeed, the genera- tion of 11*16 in New York had inherited hostile proclivities to England, not easily subdued. It was quite prepared for rebellion before the first blow had been struck, or the boldest had conceived it prudent to resist. Such was the general tone of public ojiinion ill the colony when Hamilton arrived. He was not long in partnk- ing of its spirit. He acknowledged no allegiance to England. I le had never put foot upon any other than American soil, or breathed any other than American air. His youthful ambition was easily fired by what was going on around him, and having become imbued with and absorbed in the great cause, he was ready to enter the contest with all the resources of his powerful, though as yet embryo mind. One act of perfidy and usurpation by the British Government followed another until 1114, when the whole continent of America instinctively resolved that longer forbearance would be pnsilani- mons. The Boston Tea party ignited the sleeping volcano. New York followed with public demonstrations, evincing an unniistake- able determination for open, armed rebellion. She hesitated no longer. On the 6th of July, 1114, a public meeting was called in the city of New York, at the Liberty I'ole, (before erected by the " sons of liberty") to elect by free suffrage, in defiance of min- isterial authority, representatives to a Provincial Convention. '^I'his was the first truly popular election ever held in that Colony, and I believe about the first ever held on this continent entirely free in its suflTrago. At this meeting Alexander Hamilton, though a boy of seventeen, appeared as the principal orator. His biograplier eloquently says of this maiden effort : " Tlie novelty of the attempt, his youthful countenance, his slender and diminutive form, awakened curiosity and arrested at- tention. Overawed by the scene before him, he at first hesitated and faltered ; but as he proceeded almost unconsciously to utter his accustomed reflections, his mind warmed with the theme, his energies were recovered, aud after a discussion clear, cogent and novel, of the great principles involved in the controversy, he de- lected in glowing colors the long-continued and long-endured op- pression of the mother country ; he insisted on the duty of resist- ance, pointed to the means and certainty of success, and described the waves of rebellion sparkling with fire, and washing back ou the shores of England the wreck of her power, her wealth and her glory. The breathless silence ceased as he closed, and the whis- pered nuu-mur ' It is a collegian ! it is a collegian ' was lost in loud expressions of wonder and applause at the extraordinary eloquence of the young stranger." From this time Hamilton's energies were aroused. The people looked upon him as a prodigy. His presence became indispensi- ble to every movement, and we find him engaged iii eloquent ad- dresses to the people ; in filling the columns of the only journal which could be procured to sustain the cause ; in irresistable attackvS upon the measures of the ministry; and with the organization and disciplining of troops. But Hamilton was not content with contributions to the press, he attempted higher flights with the pen, and, in one of the most convincing and able efforts of his remarkable mind, produced an essay, which, in argumentative force aud bold positions — con- sidering the date of its production and ths youth of its author — was little less than miraculous. It was in reply to a " West 8 Chester Farmer," who had assailed, with much severity the Cou- tinental Congress, Avhich had just closed at Philadelphia, attacking the i)roceedings of that body with an ability which had made an impression on the public not at all favorable to the liberal party. Hamilton was quick to discern the ettect, and within a fortnight there appeared an anonymous reply written by him with this quaint title: "A full vindication of the Measures of Congress from the cahunnies of their enemies, in answer to a letter under the signa- ture of ' aWestchester Farmer,' whereby his sophistry is exposed, Ills cavils confuted, his ar/ifces detected and his wit ridiculed." This was written in 1774, and was followed up with others of yet wider scope, enlarging with almost prophetic vision, upon the present and future trade and commerce of the Colonies, if freed from the restrictions placed upon their industry. In these pamph- ' lets it was declared that there was no resource but resistance vi et armis; there was no freedom except in representative government " BASED UPON UNRESTRICTED SUFFRAGE; there was uo fomi of govern- ' raent suited to the American colonies but that which guaranteed the enjoyment of constitutional freedom. He advocated the pro- motion of home manufactures by the consumption of American products ; the encouragement of emigration and the enlargement of domestic commerce. In one of the most impassioned ])assages he says : " I say tell me not of the British Commons, lords, minis- terial tools, placeman, pensioners, parasites. I scorn to let my life and property depend upon the pleasure of any of them. Give me the steady, uniform, unshaken security of constitutional free- dom. Give the right of trial by a jury of my own neighbors, and to be taxed by my own representatives only. What will become of the law and courts of justice without this ? The shadow may remain, but the substance will be gone. I would die to pre- eserve the law upon a solid foundation ; but take away liberty and the foundation is destroyed." Ill a later production a few weeks after, he attempts a yet more comprehensive discussion of the great principles involved ; evincing a grasp of intellect and knowledge of tlie political and conuner- cial resources of the country almost superhuman. In this paper he pays a high but deserved coiupliment to Yirginin, in alluding to its reception of the first act of the Home Government to impose duties ; adding that it was to satisfy that high spirited and patri- otic colony that a declaration was made under tlie privy seal, "that tiixes ought not to l)e laid witliout tlie authority of tiie Gen- eral Assembly." These able essays made a deep impression. They became the lexicon upoli which the liberalists maintained their position in dis- cussion. The oldest and most distinguished advocates of indepen- dence sought and read them witli avidily. They were the Alpha of American freedom, and the Omega of British opju'ession. But the wonder was, who composed them. At times they were attrib- uted to Jay, Governor Livingston, of New Jersey, and other eminent scholars, known to be republican and far the seniors of Hamilton. Tlie greatest surprise was inanilested, vvlien it was known that tin; young student of King's College was the autiior, who until then had been known only for his fiery eloquence. He became the lion and the leader of the Sons of Liberty. He at once placed himself in the front ranks of American patriots in INew York, whilst the whole country, irrespective of })arties, acknow- ledged tlie prodigious intellect of the young collegian. The excitemeuts which always jjrecede revolution begun now to prevade the popular mind, though the power of the ministerial party unfortunately renuiined intact so far as the (Jeueral Assembly of the colony was concerned. By tin; liberal dislmrsenient of mon- ey, honors, and commercial advantages, the home government managed to retain control of that body. This continued apparent adherence to the ministry instilled additional energy into the peo- 2 10 pie of the City of New York. They detenuiued upon having dele- gates to the approaching Congress who would truly represent them. The ministry made preparations to defeat them, even at the point of the bayonet, but the people were not to be deterred by threats or overawed by the display of soldiers. As soon as the patriots assembled, it was attempted to put them down with violence — they resisted, and having collected arms, turned upon their assail- ants, put them to flight, and carried their ticket by a decisive vote. This was on the first of March, 1175, and was the first conflict between the patriots and the ministerial party in which a resort to arms was necessary to decide the contest, and was nearly two months in advance of the battle of Lexington. From this day event followed event with magic rapidity. The battle of Lexington was fought — the war-cry was raised through- out the land. A noble and patriotic baud had been collected as an American Congress, truly reflecting the sentiments of the country, which had been aroused to a heiglit of indignation no longer to be suppressed. The city of New York at once assumed her true posi- tion. Her people rallied as one man in response to the noble ac- tion of her friends and neighbors of the East and South. The mob seized the keys of the Custom House ; broke open the armory, and drove a battalion of royal troops from the city, after having iorciljly taken their arms from them. From her example the whole Colony became aroused and determined — favorable positions upon the Hudson were secured and occupied— alarm posts estab- lislied, the counties divided into military districts and commanding officers chosen to act under the direction of provincial committees. Hamilton joined a provincial troop, which he soon commanded. The men of wealth came forward with profers of material aid, and in the absence of ready money pledged their fortunes for the payment of such sums as were borrowed to sustain the cnuse. Every man who could bear a musket fell into line. Hamilton, whose pen and energy had contributed more than any other in the 11 colony to create this cnthusiasni, did not slirink from tlie storm wlien thus aroused. He had thrown hiuiseli" into the front raiik, hut amidst the tumult maintained the coolness of a consimimate leader. Instead of the ungovernable extremes to which ordinary men of his temperament and youth would have been carried, he ap- peared as the conservator of the peace and the sedate reasoner. When the impuLsive mob became turbulent, he was found the elo- quent declaimer against violence to property or life. It was in one of these excitements that he saved the life of his Professor, Dr. Cooper, when the exasperated crowd had sun'ounded the college, to ■ make the old loyalist suffer for his principles. This was effected by holding them in abeyance at the door to listen to his sage counsels, until the old gentleman had an oppor- tunity to escape on board of a ship in the harbor. Upon another occasion, when the rage of the people, now forced up to its highest pitch, burst forth in an attempt to destroy the establishment of Rivington, the Tory printer, he appeared upon the ground, and with the soft persuasive oratory (for which in after life he was so much distinguished, and, indeed, in which at the New York bar he had no compeer,) he strove to subdue their passions by eloquent appeals for the liberty of the press. Nor was it alone in the capacity of author, speaker, and counsellor, that Hamilton, even at this age, appeared. Astounding indeed must it seem to us, that a youth of seventeen should combine the rare qualities of ex- celling in the discussion of abstruse questions of philosophy and of government — the capacity to enforce with a pen of almost unequalled power the great truths of civil and religious liberty, with the yet more effective gift of extemporaneous eloquence, at once ready, fluent, didactic, and convincing; a knowledge of military tactics, a love for the profession of the soldier, and a devotion to military life truly marvelous ; thus presenting in the same person the possession of the three great mental energies by 12 which thrones have been destroyed, revohitions achieved and States established. He was indeed the snge, the statesman, and the soldier, whilst yet the hvimble college boy 1 I challenge his- tory for a parallel! We now approach the most interesting period in the youthful career of this remarkable man, as it was the most critical in the history -of " the times which tried men's souls." The war Iiad in reality com- menced. Washington had been chosen Commander-in-chief. Gene- ral Lee had been de[)uted as the commanding officer in New York, the devotion of whose people continued and is illustrated in the fact' that the proprietors of the largest estates authorized him to lay the city in ashes, if by so doing the cause of the Revolution would be advanced. Hamilton had applied himself with great assiduity to the knowledge re(iuired for military life, and was already proficient. He had organized and equipped a military company from tlie slender resources of his own limited allowance for college education, and was appointed ou the 14th of March, I'll6, its captain, by the Convention of the Colony. He was in command of this company during the movements which preceded the Declaration of Independence, and was an officer of recognized accomplishments even before Wasliington established his head quarters in New York. His immediate-introduction to the regular army is well told by Irving, who relates that one day as General Green' was passing through the fields now known as the Park, in wliich the City Hall stands, his attention was called to the manoeuvres of a, provincial artillery company, at whose head a])peared a mere youth, but whose skill was so remarkable, tliat it induced the Cieneral to make his ac- quaintanc(! and to invite him to his quarters. This youth 1 need not say was Hamilton, and this accident the commencement of his connection with the Revolutionary ai*my. He soon joined the regular forces for active service as Captaiu Hamilton ; was at the battle of Long Island, and brought up the retreat at the head of his little 13 company with only the loss of his baggage and a field piece. It was, however, on the heights of Harlem, where llaiuilton was engaged in throwing up works of defence, that he first attracted the notice of Washington, whose experienced eye was not long in discerning the merits of the young officer. He was invited by the great commander to his tent, where was laid the foundation of tlie fu- ture couiidence and aflection which connected these great nuMi together during the remainder of their lives, and will unite their names so long as American history shall live. The can)paign which succeeded, and which was prol)ably the most severe of the whole - Revolution, found Hamilton ever equal to the most hazardous and trying duty, always maintaining himself with the same cool- ness, courage, and address. On the 1st of March, 1117, he wtis invited by General Washing- ton into his military family as aid-de-cnrai), with the rank of Lieu- tenant Colonel, which he accepted with reluctance, preferring to await the certain ])roin()tion which he well knew liis success in the line of the army would command. He retained this position through- out the most trying periods of the war, serving his chief with a devotion and constancy that have never been snrjiasscd. It is well known that many of the dispatt'hes and official papers, which bore the signature of Washington diu-ing this relation, were ])repared by Hamilton. In the difficulty with General Gates, grow- ing out of the correspond(!nce of that officer with Gener- al Conway, Hamilton rendered essential aid, and in the suljsequent attempts of cabals to supplant the Conunamkn'-in-chief, he served him with fidelity and skill; and not only Hamilton, l)ut the whole (Jolouy of New York, sustained him also, when his good name was thus assailed. His l)iograplier says : " Whilst Peim- sylvania hesitated to contimie her confidence in him, and the votes of Maryland, North (Jarolina, and Georgia were divided in their support— his native Virgnia misrepresented — the whole of Maryland marshalled under adverse leaders, New York, 14 though her metropolis and her mountain passes on the Hudson were in tlie liands of an enemy — her temporary seat of government in ashes — though just relieved from subjugation by the ea- pitulution of Burgoyne — thus dismembered and dislocated, maintained all her constancy and all her firmness." In the many dreary scenes, and gloomy events of tlic of '78, '79, and '80, Hamilton maintained his constant fidelity to his commander. If his loyalty to the glorious cause in which he had • been engaged had not been enough to wed him to the hend of the army, to whose person he held such near official relations, admiration for the character of Washington would of itself suf- ficed. He loved his commander because he knew him well; he had (h'ank from the fountain of his calm wisdom; he had been a spectator of his courage in the trying conflicts of ^the battle field ; he had heard from his lips in the councils of wnr the sage conclusions of a great mind; lie knew his entire personal disinterestedness and stoical in- tegrity; and, more than all, deeply sympathized with him in the holy i)urpose of freeing his country from foreign misnde and op- piession. Washington reciprocated the attachment of Hamilton. It is well ascertained that no man was held by Washington in higher esteem. His discernment enabled him quickly to observe the comprehensive intellect of Hamilton. The proofs which the youth had given of attachment to the liberal party, even be- fore those who afterwards attained })rominence in it had de- cided which side to choose, had not escaped him ; and when to these were added fidelity as his aid, coolness and skill as a strage- tist, ripe and finished scholarship, the acconiplishments of the di- plomatist and the statesman, it was impossible that a man with such a head and such a heart as Washington, should not become alike the counsellor, the friend and the father of one possessing so many attributes by which to win the affection and applause of the world. And yet these remarkable men presented striking con- trasts. Hamilton, in stature almost lilliputian, was the child of 15 genius — quick, vivacious, eloquent, and of extraordinary versatili- ty and scope of intellect; acquiring knowledge without apparent study or effort, of genial social qualities, fond of good cheer, and not insensible to the soft repose of Cupid's couch. Beyond the orduiary stature, Washington towered above most men in figure as well as in grandeur of bearing and solemnity of character. He had not what the world calls genius, but he had tlic rare, sure quality of a vigorous, well balanced intellect, known as common sense. His mind was as nuxssive as his person, and as firm upon its purpose as are the mighty hills upon their Ixise. In the science, of war he had no equal — either upon this Continent or in Europe ; as a sagacious and far seeing statesman he was no less pre-eminent. He was the impersonation of his country's hopes, and his country's nationality, and as such, the living representative of the princi- ciple of human liberty throughout the world. But time changed the official relations of Washington and Hamilton. Hamilton resigned his position oF aid-de-camp on the Kith of February, ItSl, under circumstances at the time painful to each, and which, as developing their personal characteristics, I will relate. Hamilton had been sent for by Washington, no doubt in haste, on business of a pressing nature, and was on his way up stairs to the General, when met by the Marquis de Lafayette, with whom he was a favorite, who detained him in conversation. The General deemed this delay disrespectful, and so told the aid upon his arrival. To this Hamilton replied, no doubt, quickly, " that he was not conscious of it but since you have thought neces- sary to tell me so, we part." " Very well, sir, if it be yotir choice," was the rejoinder of Washington, and their official relations, as then existing, ceased for ever. The next day an effort was made by Washington to induce Hamilton to rettu'n to his post. Col. Tilghman, who was deputed for this pur})ose, assured Ham- ilton, in the General's name, that he retained the utmost confi- 16 dence iii liis integrity, ability and usefulness ; but Hamilton being desirous of an opportunity to distinguish himself in some position of command, was averse to resume a place presenting no openhig fur ad- vancement, and so restricted in its chance for military distinction. Not the slightest alteration, however, was made by the separation in the kind personal relations existing between them. The same affection and mutual esteem, remained through life. Hamillon was calleii in at the councils of war, and as will be seen in the progress of this hurried sketch, enjoyed the continued conhdence of the General. Being now at liberty, he resolved to obtain, if possible, a command in the army, equal to the services he had rendered. An application was made, which, after some delay, was successful and which subsequently gave him the opportunity for distinction, which he knew himself so well able to win. He joined the army in the fall of the same year, and was placed in charge of important posts, preparatory to the siege of Yorktowu. He was invited by Washington to be present at the councils that decided upon this important movement against Coruwalli.s. He was placed in command of a corps of light infantry attached to the division of Lafayette, in that splendid achievement of the American arms. I need not detain you with the details of that, the most important as it was the last of tlie revolutionary eng- agements. It occiu'red at your very doors, and must be familiar to every school l)oy in your midst. But the gallant part which my hero acted upon the occasion, may not be so well I'emeni- bered, nor need we be surprised if it were altogether forgotten in the recollection of others, higher in position, and more promi- nently identified at the time with the result. In this battle Hamilton was, by his own urgent solicitation, placed in command of infantry which were to make a charge at the point of the bayonet upon one of the principal redoubts of the enemy — to be carried only in the face of a most destructive fire. He led in per.son this perilous euterprize, and rushing forward in 17 advance of all others, ascended the abatis, stood for a moment upon the parapet with three of his soldiers, beckoned the others to follow, and then sprang into the ditch — Major Fish, the father of one of New- York's present Senators in Congress followed. Animated by the heroic conduct of Hamilton and Fish, the in- fantry pressed on with muskets, unloaded, and fixed bayonets; they soon reached the counterscarp under a heavy and constant fire from the redoubt, and surmounting the abatis, ditch, and pali- sades, mounted the parapet and leaped into the work. Hamilton in the surrounding smoke was for a moment lost sight of, and it was feared he had fallen, but he soon re-appeared, and formed the troops in the redoubt, which soon surrendered. This was one of the most splendid achievements of the revolution ; not only in its intrepedity and success, but in the discipline and celerity of the movements which accomplished it. In nine minutes from the passing of the abatis, without the firing of a gun, the surprise and capture were perfected. "Few cases" said Washington, "have established greater proof of intrepedity, coolness and firm- ness, than was shown on this occasion." This feat virtually de- cided the battle of Yorktown ! and the battle of Yorktown decided the Revolution. Cornwallis never rallied or succeeded in regaining to the least extent the ground thus lost. Two days afterwards he made propositions to surrender, which were not assented to by Washington until Hamilton was consulted as to the terms. This was Hamilton's last military service as it was Washington's. There being no necessity for further action in the field, he withdrew to the bosom of his young family, and to the pursuit of intellectual culture and professional life. He now determined upon entering a new career at the bar, but the hold he had already obtained upon the affections of the people, would not permit this withdrawal from their service. He was elected before the expiration of the same year a Delegate to Congress — the somewhat unpopular 3 18 Congress of 1*182. In this Assembly, as iu all in which he ever held a seat, he soon became a leading spirit. This was indeed a singular Congress. Not sharing the pervading spirit of the Ameri- can people, it appeared to be lukewarm, and indifferent. .If there ever was a political body requiring stimulus, it was this. The f delegates appeared to be but the representatives of a heteroge- neous oligarchy. Without energy themselves, or moral power before the country, they were unable to enforce their own recom- mendations and resolutions. In this extremity all eyes were turned upon Hamilton. They recognized in him the only man among them, with sufficient capacity and influence to save the country from subsiding into a condition, worse than that from which it had just extricated itself. He was selected to prepare an ad- dress to the several State Conventions, recommending a general convention, for the purpose of taking the state of the Country into consideration, and for the establishment of a constitutional (xovcrument. From this action resulted the meeting at Auuapolis, five years after — which subsequently led to the convention of Philadelphia, in 1787, from which emanated the glorious fabric now universally recognized (except it be by a few abolition mad- men) as the Charter by which we have maintained our liberties and preserved our Union. As to the prominence of Hamilton's position in the Convention of Philadelphia, and the signal aid he rendered in reaching a hap- py and harmonious conclusion, there is no diversity of opinion ; but as to the doctrines of government he advocated therein, and as to the genuine republicanism of his theories, there is a difference of opinion entertained, which in my judgment is en- tirely unjust to his patriotic character, and services. It is said he advocated Monarchical doctrines, and declared sentiments di- rectly antagonistic to the principles upon which the present Con- stitution was established. I stand here to deny these positions, 19 and to assert, that so far from being an enemy to our present system, lie was the first man who proposed and advocated the ' general form of government which was adopted by that Conven- tion, many years before the idea of a general confederated Go- vernment like this was dreamt of in the philosophy of the most ntopean enthusiast. In his celebrated letter to James Duane, President of Congress, written in 1*180, whilst yet but 23, he urged its leading principles, recommending and depicting in almost prophetic terms the necessity of a political compact, essentially the basis of our present constitution. — In that letter he also dis^ played, with a master-hand, the utter insufficiency of the feeble government then existing, and the substitute in detail, with which he proposed to replace it. Here was proposed the first idea of a departmental form of government. This, however, had been pre- ceded by an equally remarkable production. — I mean his letter to Robert Morris, in which the same declarations were made, and urged with a power never excelled. He saw at the outset that the articles of confederation, bound the Colonies, but with a rope of sand. In this letter, written in 1T*I9, he says, "I wish to see a convention of all the States, with full power to alter and annul, finally and irrevocably, the present futile and senseless confedera- tion." — His celebrated Resolutions of IT 83, took the same ground. It is not my purpose, nor is it necessary in an address of this character to go into the details of the proceedings of the conven- tion which framed the Constitution. I will not weary you by fol- lowing the reported proceedings, even meagre as they are, which inform us of the several projects and debates thereon. SufBcc it to say, no full reports, such as we now have of the proceedings of legislative bodies, were made by this, the most important of any gathering of men, whether considered with reference to the intellect or patriotism of the delegates themselves, or the mo- mentous questions presented for their deliberations. We should gather these from the results rather than from the skeleton reports 20 existing. Of Hamilton's efforts iu that Convention we know but little. These may be inferred better from what he had spoken and written anterior, and from what we know of his opinions subsequent to this convention, than from the reported debates. There can be no doubt, however, that he advocated a solid government, to be formed upon some principle of cohesion that would be sufficiently sti'ong in its general or federal functions to protect the nationality of the whole, but I presume the strongest opponents of Hamilton's opinions will not deny that this solidity would have furnished a stable, conservative and durable system, and that it is to his exer- tions that we are mainly indebted for these elements in our present constitution. Nor will they deny that much upon which we now rely to maintain domestic peace and continued union, was incor- porated at his instance, and yielded as a compromise by which to satisfy a yet stronger government, urged, it is true, by him. Before considering the precise attitude assumed by Hamilton in the Convention, we should remember that it was the habit of his mind, to present every question in a practical manner. He was, next to Washington, the most practical man of the Revolution. It was his custom iu the discussion of principles to propose and present propositions to be made the basis of argument and discus- sion, that the right, the good^ and the true could be sooner elicited. By reference to the debates it will be seen that the various sugges- tions made were mostly abstract and theoretical. Hamilton prepar- ed and presented a scheme of a constitution — a practical idea and substance, placing before the Convention shape and form and feature, from which might be created the fabric of an organic law. This plan, which was presented in his celebrated speech of 18th of June, was produced not so much as a declaration of his own tenets and principles, as a rough mass from which the artisans of the Convention were to chisel and mould the perfect statue. He quarried the unhewn stone, and presented it to the master architects, thus furnishing the 21 basis and susbstance of the materials from which to construct the fabric. It is not a violent presumption to say that the introduction of liis plan into the Convention was intended to define certain forms, for the proper distribution of the functions of government, rather than the declarations of his own settknl and determined judgment as to the government itself, or, as well hinted by Morris, " his speculative opinions, which should not be treated as deliberative designs." It lias been my good fortune to become the possessor of a fac-simile copy of the original draft of a Constitution introduced into the Con- vention by Hamilton, with all its original erasures, interlineations and alterations. Here it is, free to the examination of any who doubt the correctness of the reference which it is my intention to make to its provisions. By it we may discover — admitting that it truly reflected his convictions — what really were his theories and principles. That it does propose a strong National Government cannot be denied — to be sovereign in its sphere as such — but it was to emanate directly from the people, and in that respect not to dero- gate from the domestic or local rights of the Colonies or States themselves, so far as was consistent with the necessities of a central power sufficiently strong for efficient action. It made the / first grand initiatory effort to establish universal suffrage ; and this practical and legitimate ingredient of popular representative gov- ernment (a controlling influence from the people) it was supposed would insure a more intelligent and virtuous administration. In it the spirit of democracy and the spirit of conservatism were closely blend- ed and happily balanced. It had the merit of directness and ex- plicitness of statement, leaving nothing to inference, which in con- stitutions are injurious and hazardous. The democratic principle was extended to the fullest limit of universal suffrage ; the mem- bers of the lower House of Congress to be elected only for one year, and by an entirely free and independent vote ; whilst the mem- bers of the upper house were also to be elected by popular suffrage, though for a term of good behavior. His Chief Executive was 22 also to be elected directly by the people. The entire plan was based on the hypothesis of establishing a national government re- moved from the short-sighted jealousies aiid influences of local and l)artisan powers. The incongruity and weakness of the confedera- tion represented by the trammeled delegates of State sovereignties, had been so effectually proven, that it had become apparent to the patriot and the statesman, that a radical change was necessary. It is true he proposed for his President a tenure of office out of all proportion with our ideas of democratic principles, but we must remember that he was pursuing the great thought of remov- ing that high place from the reach of all influences of a partisan, intriguing or corrupt character ; that every motive for the improper use of its patronage should be obviated. Without wishing to be understood as expressing any opinion, as to what should be the proper period for which it would have been best to fix the Presi- dential term, I am prepared to say, that the term now fixed is too short. It is quite certain that great difference of opinion has always existed as to tenure of office under our government, whether by executive or judicial officers. The continual agitation of the whole country by frequent elections, and the strong in. ducements offered to incumbents to exercise the power inherent in the office for its continuance in their own hands, is as mischievous in its effects, as it is in my judgment detrimental to the welfare of the country. Hamilton's Executive was subject to the impeachment of the lower house, which was invested witli power over him of the highest and most responsible order. When impeached he was suspended from the exercise of his ministerial duties. The impeiichment was to be tried by the judiciary — a majority of whom were to consist of the Chief Justices of the several States; thus constituting a Court removed from all federal or political bias. It is by no 23 means certain that, if the project of Hamilton Imd been a little closer followed in some of these principles, the administration of the general Government wonld not have been less liable than it now is, to thf direct and indirect influence of sectional preju- dice, its consequent embarrassments and evil results. It is not too much to assume that in this responsibility of the Executive to the people, through their annually elected representa- tives, there would have existed a responsible government, substan- tially dependent for its permenancy and its success, on the approv- al of public sentiment. In this case we should rarely see a cabinet of ministers holding office and approving measures in violation of the national feeling, its will and its interests. In our system of government in which laws are made by the legislative power, and in which it is the peculiar function of the executive authority to administer them, laws enacted by a legislature chosen upon the basis of universal suffrage, must be regarded as expressing the popular will. In this sense, a law is the embodiment in a material form, of the opinions of the majority, prescribing a rule of action to be obeyed in the commonwealth. The Chief Magistrate there- fore, in executing these laws only enforces the Mill of the people, constitutionally ascertained. It follows then that a concentration of power in the executive department of a Republican government, sufficient to execute every law of the land, is not only in no re- spect inconsistent with the Democratic theory of government, but is in perfect harmony with it. A strong executive is a logical and necessary deduction from the Democratic theory, indispensable to its just and complete development, since the executive in causing the laws to be obeyed, is himself the agent and representative of the people, chosen to execute the mandate of the majority. Thus it will be seen, that in the strong Executive advocated by Hamilton, associated as it was to be with free suffrage in the selec- 24 tion of the Representative, the wishes of the people in the adminis- tration of the government would have been secured. Nearly all of the conservative elements and many of the most liberal of our present constitution are to be found in Hamilton's plan. The present limitations to the powers of Congress were mostly taken from it veriatim. He was the first to present to the Convention the suggestion that Congress should have no power to pass ex-2)ost facto laws, bills of attainder, or give titles of nobility, and that persons holding office could receive no presents, title or office from any foreign power or state. He also proposed that there should be no religious tests, and that Church and State should never be united under this government — restrictions which were not incorporated until the constitution was amended, two years afterwards. It is also in his constitution that we find (article ix. sec. 5, ) this remarkable provision, which has been the great safe- guard of the rights of the States under the present constitution. " The citizens of each State shall be entitled to the rights, privileges and immunities of citizens in every other State, and full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records and Judicial proceedings of another." His Senators were to be chosen by electors, selected by the people for that purpose, and not by the Legislature, as finally adopted. We may differ as to which is the better mode, but there ean be no difference of opinion as to which is the most consistent with the spirit of our institutions. Nor were his limitations to the powers reserved by the States so many or so stringent as the requirements in the present Constitution. Throughout the whole was displayed a strong bias in favor of the elementary principles of free elections — the conserva- tive principle which alone has kept us so long together. Again — and which to Virginia and other Southern States, is a matter of no small moment — his plan recognized the right to slave property, and 25 its correspondent representative riglit is fully mantalaed by iiim in the power granted to Congress to levy taxes on tlie basis of three- fiftlis population. In the recognition of this fundamental principle of taxation, were established the nature and character of the representative apportionment, and it is worth remembering just now, that not only did the Convention adopt his proposition in this respect, but that it was also assented ti and approved of by all the States in the Union, in their acceptance and ratification of the na- tional compact. I repeat, therefore, that he was, in the main, the father of the leading principles of the present Constitution, and in this opinion I but assert what has before been stated by Governeur Morris and men equally eminent among his contemporaries. Nor does his claim to the possession of liberal principles rest alone upon his early writings from which I have quoted, nor upon his propositions in this Convention. At an earlier day he proposed in the old confederation, that their deliberations should be with open doors, and he was always the defender of the liberty of the press. During the war of the Revolution, and agaiu in the celebrated case of Croswell, he was the first to assert that, in a puiilication from a rightful motive, the truth might be given in justification. This was at a time when the judiciary of England was earnestly en- gaged in settling the law of libel, and on the receipt of his argu- ment in this case, and the subsequent action in the Legislature of New York, his definition was adopted almost verbatim; and this has been the law ever since, both in England and America. But whatever may have been his peculiar theories, no man, it will not be denied, evinced more energy and ability in behalf of the adop- tion of the Constitution, it was mainly owing to his exertions, in conjunction with other master-spirits of Virginia and New York that we are indebted for its confirmation by the States. It is true he saw objections to portions of it at the time of its adoption — so 4 26 did Virginia see objections — yet, when the alternative presented itself of this Constitntion or none, he, like your own noble and patriotic commonwealth, gave up opposition and rallied for its defence. New York was strongly adverse. She would not have approved the Constitution in the form in which it came from the Con- vention, but for Hamilton; and who can say that that de- fection would not have defeated it altogether. He returned home, became a member of the State Convention to consider the propriety of ratifying it, and by his eloquence and command- ing abiUty, succeeded in securing for it the sanction of that body. About the same time, in conjunction with Madison and Jay, he commenced those masterly contributions to the " Federal- ist," which, I believe, it is now universally conceded, were more potent in subduing the opposition to the Constitution throughout the country, by convincing the people of its beneficence and wisdom, than any other means taken to accomplish that vital neces- sity, upon which depended the continuance of the federal union. No man — and I say it with proper reverence for the distin- guished services of others — contributed more efficient aid. What if he did propose a constitution possessing features hostile to the short term principle, and which, in this respect, was repug- nant to our now well settled theories of democratic republic- anism ? Several patriotic States put forward, through their delegates to that body, projects equally objectionable. In contemplating the public life and genious of such a man as Hamil- ton, with the revival of the recollection of his many glorious deeds upon the field as well as of the part he took in these momen- tous deliberations, we should look upon any propositions he may have made, let their details have been what they may, as sub- jects of opinion about which, at that time, men may have hon- estly differed, without detracting at all from their patriotism. It must not be forgotten that the ruling idea in that body was. 27 perhaps too much " What do the people wish — what will the people lik-^," aud perhaps too little what will make the most perfect form of government. It is quite evident, in look- ing at their proceedings in the best possible light, that the master minds and most devoted men of that body, each gave up some- thing of his own convictions to satisfy the public mind and to form a more perfect union, lest the federative league then existing should crumble into pieces, aud the States resolve themselves altogether into their former independent, unprotected, and isolated condition. Hamilton, however, never sought a compromise between his public duty and his love of popularity. On the accession of Washington to the Presidency, Hamilton was invited to take charge of the Fiscal Department of the Government, as Secretary of the Treasury. In the fulfilment of this arduous duty it became necessary for him, not only to create and organize that important branch, but to devise and put in mo- tion a system of Government finances and revenues equal to the redemption of the country from its prostrate condition. This he accomplished, and the same system, after a lapse of sixty years, stands unaltered and nnamended as a monument of his immense financial and executive skill. He found the national Treasury almost hopelessly bankrupt, and the honor and credit of the country almost entirely destroyed. No man but Hamilton could have been equal to the herculean undertaking of resuscitating a treasury in so pitiable a condition of exhaustion and embarrass- ment, and bringing order, system, and solvency out of its troubled chaos. Well was it said by Webster, in his celebrated eulogy of Hamilton, that " He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. The fabled bird of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more perfect than the financial system of the United States, as it burst forth from the conceptions of Alexander Hamilton." 2S I regret that the limits of this discourse will not permit a full reference to tliis part of his public life. Its importance to the country, as well as the wide space it necessarily fills in his public career, demand for it a larger share of attention than my time or your patience will allow. To those who are familiar with the history of Hamilton's financial administration, noihing can be more satisfac- tory than that, in the honest provision which was made to secure and to pay the debts of the Revolution, he established for the nation a high and honorable character — that of fidelity in the dis- charge of its obligations. It was this high toned integrity, so like Hamilton in all his private duties, that at once placed this country, scarcely emerged from the chaos of the Revolution, in a position to command the confidence of European capitalists. Large amounts of foreign capital were at once invested in our securities, and that which we most required to develope the agricultural, commercial, and industrial resources was immediately furnished. If this course had not been pursued, the debts would have remained to the dis- grace of our national honor, and to the discredit of our financial integrity. We should have suffered in every element of prosperity, and who can say that the result might not have so paralized the country, as to leave it a victim to internal exhaustion and anarchy. At this critical period, when we had scarcely emerged from the Revolution, and were still suffering from its effects, and when our Government had not as yet risen to the dignity of an experiment, and when a large State party still clung to the hope that we would again relapse into British depenedeuce, it required no ordinary mind to conduct the monetary affairs of the Republic. However great we have shown Hamilton in the field and in the solemn and momentous deliberations of the Constitutional Con- vention, he was, in my opinion, still greater as he steered the national bark through the storms of this troubled and eventful epoch of its opening history. The slightest error would have caused irretrievable ruin. The least hesitancy or want of con- 29 fidence or presence of mind in the pilot would have wrecked the little craft. The war had left the country a barren waste, without money or credit, and almost without commerce or agriculture. So depleted was the public Treasury, that the officers of the Government, including the members of Congress, at the commencement of Washington's administration, went home unpaid. And yet public and private demands were finally met and provided for, and his system, as originally devised, was put into successful motion, as perfect and harmonious as it came from his giant intellect. Nor was the management of the Executive Department, of which he was the head, the only duty which it became necessary for him to perform in the accomplishment of this important object. He drew all the revenue bills for Congress, and counselled, supervised, and directed their passage through both Houses. Fisher Ames says of him in reference to the revenue reports before Congress, prepared in all cases by Hamilton, that " there is not to be found a single clause that savors of despotic power; not one that the strongest champion of law and liberty would on that ground hesitate to approve and adopt." Nor was it alone in the Fiscal Department of Washington's administration that the mind and energies of Hamilton were exer- cised. He was the leading spirit in every other, giving tone and form to its foreign as well as its domestic policy. His enemies have made him responsible for its mistakes, and [ am not prepared to deny their right to do so — though none but those who are cog- nizant of the secret consultations of those who control the policy of Government, can know who of its members are chargeable with its errors. In the withdrawal of Washington from the Presidency, the country lost the services of Hamilton. Alter leaving the Trea- sury he retired to New York, and resumed the practice of the law, and though still deeply solicitous for the right administration of public affairs, and as ever watchful of the interests of his country, he refused to occupy any official position. Ou the threatened rup- 30 ture with France, during the administration of the elder Adams, he offered his military services, and if a war had grown out of that difficiily, he would have held the second position to Washington in the command of the army. Washington refused to accept that post, when offered to him by Adams, upon any other condition. No higiier endorsement of the military talents of Hamilton need be sought for — Washington's confidence in him had grown with his years, and had ripened with his age. He had tried his abilities in the cabinet and tested his courage and conduct in war, and in the evening of life, when again invited to enter the tented field, and to bear the clang of arms, he insisted on the co-operation of his trusted associate and friend. President Adams attempted to resist this wish of Washington to to place Hamilton second in command, but the alternative was presented by Washington of his own declination or Hamilton's promotion. The events which succeeded, with which he was connected, were few and without public interest, and I need not refer to them. Nor is it necessary to allude to the distracted condition of the politics of the Country, which led to that acrimonious controversy existing anterior to and during the administration of Mr. Jefferson. In the State of New-York these contests were bitter, unrelenting and personal. In that State Hamilton's position was too high, and the estimation in which he was held by his fellow citizens too favorable, for him to escape the shafts of enemies and the de- signs of the envious and aspiring. The more able and brilliant a pubUc man the more violent and unscrupulous is the opposition ! He was singled out as "the bright and shining light," which it was necessary to extinguish before the lesser luminaries could be discerned and appreciated. Every unpopular position of Washington's administration, and every word and act, whether public or private, which owed its paternity to him, were invoked, like Banquo's ghost to affright the ignorant or timid. It was 31 with this spirit, that sentiments he never uttered were attributed to him — acts he never committed were charged upon him, and motives he never entertained were imputed to him. He became the impersonation of the sinking fortunes of an expiring party — a party which like an unfortunate man, but encounters renewed hostility as it falls still lower in the popular esteem. He be- came the victim of a plot— a plot to extinguish forever the brilliant glory which surrounded the brow of New- York's favorite son. I do not intend to detain you with a recapitulation of the inci- dents which immediately preceded the death of Hamilton. These must be familiar to every person in an audience so intelligent as this. You all know the character of Burr, his antagonist in that melancholy tragedy— his profligate private hfe, and his unprin- cipled public career. Do not let us contrast the characters of two such men as Hamilton and Burr. I shall not attempt it ; nor is it my wish to make allusions to the dark spots in the life of any man. So far, however, as is necessary to the completion of the picture I have undertaken to portray, it becomes my duty in maintaining the truth of history, to speak out freely and frankly of one so intimately associated with the last sad days of Hamilton. Burr had long been jealous of the overshadowing position of Hamilton, whilst Hamilton had long known and detested the vices and princi- ples, public and private, of Burr. Against the aspirations of the latter for the Presidency, Hamilton threw himself in opposition with all his resources, not so much that the success of Burr would have been a triumph of the adverse party, as from a firm conviction upon the part of Hamilton, that the accession of such a man to the Presidency would have been a great public calamity from which the Republic could never recover. It was in this contest that he openly and boldly advocated the selection of Jefferson for President. I know it is the general belief that the feeling between these great men was of a character which always placed Hamilton in an attitude of opposition to Jefferson. This is not the case; for 32 though from the necessities of their positions as leaders of antago- nisticai poUtical parties, these two controlling intellects of our Revolutionary period were often in conflict, they nevertheless en- tertained the highest respect for each other's talents and devo- tion to the true interests of the country. On the IGtli December, 1800, Hamilton writes to Wolcott, discussing the probability of Burr's having strength in the House of Representatives for the Presidency, that " upon every virtuous and prudent consideration, Jefferson is to be preferred." The result is known. Jefferson was elected, and the intellect and high toned patriotism he evinced, fully justified the prefer- ence of Hamilton. I would fain stop here to pay a tribute of reverence and respect to the memory of the father and founder of the democratic party, of which I am an humble member; but agreeable as such an episode might be to a Virginian audience, and pleasing as the theme would be to my own feelings, I must omit it in the necessity which forces me to a rapid conclusion of this diffuse and imperfect performance. The defeat of Burr but added fuel to the flame which was burning in his breast; he had, however, obtained the second place, and, in the power of that posi- tion, made every effort to crush out Hamilton's influence in New York. For the succeeding two or three years New York politics were agitated and disturbed by the efforts of Burr to retain by intrigue his waning power. As is well known, his machinations in Congress were directed against Jefferson, whilst in New York and in the North they were equally devoted to Hamilton. In both he was foiled, and soon stood before the country — pros- trate and deserted as a public man. In February, 18U4, Jeffer- son was unanimously re-nominated by the Democratic, or, as was then called, Republican members of Congress as a candidate for re-elec- tion; for Burr there was no support, not even one vote for the Yice-Presidency, which he then held. Spurned from the National Capital, he turned his aspirations to New York, and became a can- 33 didate for the less conspicuous position of Governor of that State. But even here the Republican party, to which he had been attached, repudiated him, nominating first Lansing and then Lewis in prefer- ence. Thus all chance for even this position appeared to be lost. He was, however, never without resources, for with all his faults of character, he was really an able man, and a bold and ingenius leader. He caused himself to be nominated as an independent candidate for Governor, with the hope that the Federalists, much distracted and broken down, would be induced to give their support. It was now that Hamilton assumed a still more open attitude of hostility, and it was through his exertions, and the general distrust of the people, that Burr came out of the can- vass shamefully defeated and forever prostrated. Nothing was now left to him but revenge, that last resort of an utterly disgraced and ruined man. He was not long in finding pre. texts upon which to demand an explanation of Hamilton. It appears that whilst at Albany the winter preceding, during the efforts of Burr to procure the support of the Federal party for Governor, Hamilton had, in conversation with a Dr. Cooper, expressed himself freely of Burr's political character. Cooper^ in a publication for the newspapers, made some allusions to this conversation with Hamilton, and used the word " despica- ble" as one spoken of Burr by Hamilton at the interview referred to. Burr made this statement of Cooper's the basis of a demand upon Hamilton for explanation. Several letters passed between the par- ties before friends were called in, though it was apparent that Burr was acting from the commencement in concert with others. The requirements of Burr were unreasonable, and evinced from the opening of the correspondence a determination to force Hamilton into a dishonorable disavowal of every expression or insin- uation he had at any time, during a political controversy of twenty years, made against the conduct and character of Burr, or else pay the forfeit of his life. Hamilton was not long in discovering the 5 34 murderous intent of liis desperate antagonist, and in one of his replies delicately but pointedly referred to it. This allusion was made an additional ground of complaint by Burr, who, refusing to listen to any steps towards compromise and honorable adjustment, forced on the difficulty to a bloody result. The correspondence opened on the 18th June, 1804, and was continued by the princi- pals and their immediate friends in the duel, until the 21th, when it ceased with an understanding that they were to fight. Hamilton suggested that as the Circuit Court was then in session, in which he had to appear as Counsel in several important suits, the meet- ing should be postponed till after the adjournment, that the interests of those who had intrusted to him the charge of their cases should not suffer by any fatal result to himself. The seconds agreed to this delay, and the meeting was postponed till July. On Friday, the 6th July, Mr. Pendleton, the friend of Hamilton, informed Mr. Yan Ness, the friend of Burr, that his principal would be ready at any time after the Sunday following. On Mon- day the "Jth, the particulars were arranged, and on Wednesday the 11th, at day light in the morning, the parties crossed the Hudson River to Weehawken, on the New Jersey Shore, opposite to New- York. The incidents upon the ground were not marked by unusual circumstances. It is conceded that both parties bore themselves with coolness and courage. Burr fired first, and his shot took eft'ect upon the right side of Hamilton, who was mortally wounded before his own pistol had been raised from his side. He lingered in anguish until two o'clock the next day, en- during more, it is supposed, from the consciousness of the affliction he had brought upon his family and his friends, than from bodily pain. He died amidst the heart-rending tears of a devoted wife and seven young and helj^less children. The next day a Coroner's jury held an Inquest upon his body, which, after a lengthy exami- nation, returned a verdict of willful murder against Aaron Burr, 35 Vice-President of the United States. The following is a verbatim copy of tlie original Inquisition in my possession : Cita nntj ffiauntg o£ Wcto govft, as : An Inquisition, Indented, taken for the People of the State of New Yot-Ic. at the Third Ward of the City of New York in the County of New York, the loth day of July, In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred aud four, and continued hy adjourunicnt until tlie second day of August, in the year aforesaiil. before me, John Burger, Coroner, for tlu; said City and County of New York, on view of the body of Alexander Hamilton, then and tliere to wit, on the said thirteenth day of July in the year last aforesaid at the Ward, City and County aforesaid, lyino^dead, upim the oath of Alexander Anderson, George Minuse, John A. Hardcnbrook, Peter Bonnett, Elam Williams, John Coffiu, John .Mildcberger, David A. Brower, David Lydig, Abraham Bloodgood. James Cumraings, Amos ("urtis. Isaac Burr, Ben- • Jamin Strong, and John D. Miller, good and lawful men of the said City and County of New York, duly chosen, and who being then and there duly sworn and charged to enijuire for tlio people of the State of New York, when, where, how and by what means the said Alexander Hamilton came to his death, do upon their oaths say, that Aaron Burr, late of the Eighth Ward of said City in the said County, Esquire, ami Vice-President of the United States, not having the fear of God before his ej'es, hut being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil, on the eleventh day of July in the year last aforesaid, witli force and arms, in tl>e County of Bergen and State of New Jersey, in and upon the said Alexamler llarailtou in the peace of God and of the people of the said State of New Jersey then au