E 340 .C15 U5 Copy 2 OBITUARY ADDRESSES DELIVERED ON TIU OCCASION OF THE DEATH ^ t • ■ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 3, 1850. Mr. Cass addressed the Senate as follows: — Mr. President — I present the following resolution, and ask its immediate and unanimous consideration. This is due, not less to the memory of him we have lost, than to the feelings of the country in whose service he passed a life without spot and without reproach. Resolved, That the committee of arrangements be directed to cause to be published in pamphlet form, and in such manner as may seem to them appropriate, for the use of the Senate, ten thousand copies of the addresses made by the members of the Senate, together with the discourse of the Reverend Dr. Butler upon the occasion of the death of the Honorable John C. Calhoun. Passed the Senate, April 3, 1850. Attest, ASBURY DICKINS, Secretary. -• ®- ■® OBITUARY ADDRESSES. In the Senate op the United States. Monday, April 1st, 1850. On the motion of Mr. King, the reading of the Journal of Thursday was dispensed with. Mr. Butler rose and said : — ■• Mr. President, I rise to discharge a mournful duty, and one which involves in it considerations well calculated to arrest the attention of this body. It is, to announce the death of my late colleague, the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun. He died at his lodgings in this city, yesterday morning, at half-past seven o'clock. He was conscious of his approaching end, and met death with fortitude and uncommon serenity. He had many admonitions of its approach, and without doubt, he had not been indifferent to them. With his usual aversion to professions, he said nothing for mere effect on the world, and his last hours were an exemplification of his life and character, truth and simplicity. Mr. Calhoun, for some years past, had been suf- fering under a pulmonary complaint, and under its effects could have reckoned but on a short exist- «■ 6 ence. Such was his own conviction. The imme- diate cause of his death was an affection of the heart. A few hours before he expired, he became sensible of his situation ; and when he was unable to speak, his eye and look evinced recognition and intelligence of what was passing. One of the last directions he gave was to a dutiful son, who had been attending him, to put away some manuscripts which had been written a short time before, under his dictation. Mr. Calhoun was the least despondent man I ever knew; and he had, in an eminent degree, the self-sustaining power of intellect. His last days, and his last remarks, are exemplifications of what I have just said. Mental determination sustained him, when all others were in despair. We saw him, a few days ago, in the seat near me, which he had so long and honorably occupied; we saw the struggle of a great mind exerting itself to sustain and overcome the weakness and infirmities of a sinking body. It was the exhibition of a wounded eagle, with his eyes turned to the heavens in which he had soared, but into which his wings could never carry him again. Mr. President, Mr. Calhoun has lived in an eventful period of our Republic, and has acted a distinguished part. I surely do not venture too much, when I say that his reputation forms a striking part of a glorious history. Since 1811 until this ®- ft. ■ ft time, he has been responsibly connected with the Federal Government. As Representative, Senator, Cabinet Minister, and Vice President, he has been identified with the greatest events in the political history of our country. And I hope I may be per- mitted to say that he has been equal to all the duties which were devolved upon him in the many critical junctures in which he was placed. Having to act a responsible part, he always acted a decided part. It would not become me to venture upon the judg- ment which awaits his memory. That will be formed by posterity before the impartial tribunal of history. It may be that he will have had the fate, and will have given to him the judgment that has been awarded to Chatham. I should do the memory of my friend injustice were I not to speak of his life in the spirit of his- tory. The dignity of his whole character would rebuke any tone of remark which truth and judg- ment would not sanction. Mr. Calhoun was a native of South Carolina, and was born in Abbeville district, on the 18th March, 1782. He was of an Irish family. His father, Patrick Calhoun, was born in Ireland, and at an early age came to Pennsylvania, thence moved to the western part of Virginia, and after Braddock's defeat, moved to South Carolina, in 1756. He and his family gave a name to what is known as the Calhoun settlement in Abbeville district. The ■<§ <9- 8 mother of my colleague was a Miss Caldwell, born in Charlotte county, Virginia. The character of his parents had no doubt a sensible influence on the destiny of their distinguished son. His father had energy and enterprise, combined with perseverance and great mental determination. His mother be- longed to a family of revolutionary heroes. Two of her brothers were distinguished in the Involu- tion. Their names and achievements are not left to tradition, but constitute a part of the history of the times. Mr. Calhoun was born in the Revolution, and in his childhood felt the influence of its exciting tradi- tions. He derived from the paternal stock, intellect and self-reliance, and from the Caldwell's, enthusiasm and impulse. The traditions of the Revolution had a sensible influence on his temper and character. Mr. Calhoun, in his childhood, had but limited advantages of what is termed a literary tuition . His parents lived in a newly-settled country, and among a sparse population. This population had but a slight connection with the lower country of South Carolina, and were sustained by emigrants from Virginia and Pennsylvania. There was, of course, but limited means of instruction to children. They imbibed most of their lessons from the conversation of their parents. Mr. Calhoun has always express- ed himself deeply sensible of that influence. At the age of thirteen he was put under the charge of §1 f) 9 his brother-in-law, Dr. Wad&el, in Columbia county, Georgia. Scarcely had he commenced his literary course before his father and sister died. His brother- in-law, Dr. Waddel, devoted himself about this time to his clerical duties, and was a great deal absent from home. On his second marriage, he resumed the duties of his academy; and, in his nineteenth year, Mr. Cal- houn put himself under the charge of this distin- guished teacher. It must not be supposed that his mind, before this, had be3n unemployed. He had availed himself of the advantages of a small library, and had been deeply inspired by his reading of his- tory. It was under such influences that he entered the academy of his preceptor. His progress was rapid. He looked forward to a higher arena with eagerness and purpose. He became a student in Yale College in 1802, and graduated two years afterwards with distinction, as a young man of great ability, and with the re- spect and confidence of his preceptors and fellows. What they have said and thought of him would have given any man a high reputation. It is the pure fountain of a clear reputation. If the stream has met with obstructions, they were such as have only shown its beauty and majesty. After he had graduated, Mr. Calhoun studied law, and for a few years practiced in the courts of South Carolina, with a reputation that has clescend- 2 (.. , ■ ft 10 eel to the profession. He was then remarkable for some traits that have since characterized him. He was clear in his propositions, and candid in his in- tercourse with his brethren. The truth and justice of the law inculcated themselves on his mind, and when armed with these, he was a great advocate. His forensic career was, however, too limited to make a prominent part in the history of his life. He served for some years in the Legislature of his native State ; and his great mind made an impression on her statutes, some of which have had a great prac- tical operation on the concerns of society. From the Legislature of his own State he was transferred to Congress ; and from that time his career has been a part of the history of the Federal Government. Mr. Calhoun came into Congress at a time of deep and exciting interest — at a crisis of great mag- nitude. It was a crisis of peril to those who had to act in it, but of subsequent glory to the actors and the common history of the country. The in- vincibility of Great Britain had become a proverbial expression, and a war with her was full of terrific issues. Mr. Calhoun" found himself at once in a situation of high responsibility — one that required more than speaking qualities and eloquence to fulfil it. The spirit of the people required direction ; the energy and ardor of youth were to be employed in affairs requiring the maturer qualities of a statesman. The part which Mr. Calhoun acted at this time *» • — f 11 has been approved and applauded by cotemporaries, and now forms a part of the glorious history of those times. The names of Clay, Calhoun, Cheves, and Lowndes, Grundy, Porter, and others, carried asso- ciations with them that reached the heart of the na- tion. Their clarion notes penetrated the army,* they animated tlu people, and sustained the Administra- tion of the Government. With such actors, and in such scenes — the most eventful of our history — to say that Mr. Calhoun did not perform a second part, is no common praise. In debate he was equal with Randolph, and in council he commanded the respect and confidence of Madison. At this period of his life he had the quality of Themistocles — to inspire confidence — which, after all, is the highest of earthly qualities in a public man ; it is a mystical something, which is felt, but cannot be described. The events of the war were brilliant and honor- able to both statesmen and soldiers, and their history may be read with enthusiasm and delight. The war terminated with honor ; but the measures which had to be taken, in a transition to a peace establish- ment, were full, of difficulty and embarrassment. * Governor Dodge (now a senator on this floor), who was at that time a gallant officer of the army, informs me that the speeches of Calhoun and Clay were publicly read to the army, and exerted a most decided influence on the spirits of the men. ■s> 12 This distinguished statesman, with his usual intrepi- dity, did not hesitate to take a responsible and lead- ing part. Under the influence of a broad patriotism, he acted with an uncalculating liberality to all the interests that were involved, and which were brought under review of Congress. His personal adversary at this time, in his admiration for his genius, paid Mr. Calhoun a beautiful compliment for his noble and national sentiments, and views of policy. The gentleman to whom I refer, is Mr. Grosvenor, of N. Y., who used the following language in debate : — " He had heard with peculiar satisfaction the able, manly, and constitutional speech of the gen- tleman from South Carolina. (Here Mr. Grosvenor recurring in his own mind to a personal difference with Mr. Calhoun, which arose out of the warm party discussions during the war, paused for a mo- ment, and then proceeded.) " Mr. Speaker, I will not be restrained. No bar- rier shall exist, which I will not leap over for the purpose of offering to that gentleman my thanks for the judicious, independent, and national course which he has pursued in this House for the last two years, and particularly on the subject now before us. Let the honorable gentleman continue with the same manly independence, aloof from party views and local prejudices, to pursue the great interests of his country, and to fulfil the high destiny for which it is manifest he was born. The buzz of popular ap- *— b « 13 plause may not cheer him on his way, but he will inevitably arrive at a high and happy elevation in the view of his country and the world." At the termination of Mr. Madison's administra- tion, Mr. Calhoun had acquired a commanding reputation; he was regarded as one of the sages of the Republic. In 1817, Mr. Monroe invited him to a place in his Cabinet. Mr. Calhoun's friends doubted the propriety of his accepting it, and some of them thought he would put a high reputation at hazard in this new sphere of action. Perhaps these suggestions fired his high and gifted intellect; he accepted the place, and went into the War Depart- ment under circumstances that might have appalled other men. His success has been acknowledged. What was complex and confused, he reduced to simplicity and order. His organization of the War Department, and his administration of its undefined duties, have made the impression of an author, having the interest of originality, and the sanction of trial. To applicants for office, Mr. Calhoun made few promises, and hence he was not accused of delusion and deception. When a public trust was involved, he would not compromise with duplicity or tempo- rary expediency. At the expiration of Mr. Monroe's administration, Mr. Calhoun's name became connected with the Presidency ; and from that time to his death he had -• 3 ._ s 14 to share the fate of all others who occupy prominent situations. The remarkable canvass for the President to suc- ceed Mr. Monroe, terminated in returning three dis- tinguished men to the House of Representatives, from whom one was to be elected. Mr. Calhoun was elected Vice President by a large majority. He took his seat in the Senate, as Vice President, on the 4th of March, 1825, having remained in the War Department over seven years. While he was Vice President, he was placed in some of the most trying scenes of any man's life. I do not now choose to refer to anything that can have the elements of controversy; but I hope I may be permitted to speak of my friend and colleague in a character in which all will join in paying him sincere respect. As a presiding officer of this body, he had the undivided respect of its members. He was punctual, methodical, and impartial, and had a high regard for the dignity of the Senate, which, as a presiding officer, he endeavored to preserve and maintain. He looked upon debate as an honorable contest of intellect for truth. Such a strife has its incidents and its trials; but Mr. Calhoun had, in an eminent degree, a regard for parliamentary dig- nity and propriety. Upon General Hayne's leaving the Senate to become Governor of South Carolina, Mr. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency, and was elected in -» f f 15 his place. All will now agree that such a position was environed with difficulties and clangers. His own State was under the ban, and he was in the national Senate to do her justice under his consti- tutional obligations. That part of his life posterity will review, and, I am confident, will do it full and impartial justice. After his senatorial term had expired, he went into retirement by his own consent. The death of Mr. Upshur — so full of melancholy associations — made a vacancy in the State Department; and it was by the common consent of all parties that Mr. Calhoun was called to fill it. This was a tribute of which any public man might well be proud. It was a tribute to truth, ability, and experience. Under Mr. Calhoun's counsels, Texas was brought into the Union. His name is associated with one of the most remarkable events of history — that of one Re- public being annexed to another by the voluntary consent of both. He was the happy agent to bring- about this fraternal association. It is a conjunction under the sanction of his name, and by an influence exerted through his great and intrepid mind. Mr. Calhoun's connection with the Executive depart- ment of the Government terminated with Mr. Tyler's administration. x\s a Secretary of State, he won the confidence and respect of foreign ambassa- dors, and his dispatches were characterized by clear- ness, sagacity, and boldness. m i) m — 1 * 9 16 He was not allowed to remain in retirement long. For the last five years he has been a member of this body, and has been engaged in discussions that have deeply excited and agitated the country. He has died amidst them. I had never had any par- ticular association with Mr. Calhoun until I be- came his colleague in this body. I had looked on his fame as others had done, and had admired his character. There are those here who know more of him than I do. I shall not pronounce any such judgment as may be subject to a controversial criticism. But I will say, as a matter of justice, from my own personal knowledge, that I never knew a fairer man in argument, or a juster man in purpose. His intensity allowed of little compro- mise. While he did not qualify his own positions to suit the temper of the times, he appreciated the unmasked propositions of others. As a Senator, he commanded the respect of the ablest men of the body of which he was a member ; and I believe I may say that, where there was no political bias to influence the judgment, he had the confidence of his brethren. As a statesman, Mr. Calhoun's re- putation belongs to the history of the country, and I commit it to his countrymen and posterity. In my opinion, Mr. Calhoun deserves to occupy the first rank as a parliamentary speaker. He had always before him the dignity of purpose, and he spoke to an end. From a full mind, fired by genius, 17 he expressed his ideas with clearness, simplicity, and force; and in language that seemed to be the vehicle of his thoughts and emotions. His thoughts leaped from his mind, like arrows from a well-drawn bow. They had both the aim and force of a skillful archer. He seemed to have had little regard for ornament ; and when he used figures of speech, they were only for illustration. His manner and coun- tenance were his best language; and in these there was an exemplification of what is meant by Action in that term of the great Athenian orator and statesman, whom, in so many respects, he so closely resembled. They served to exhibit the moral ele- vation of the man. In speaking of Mr. Calhoun as a man and a neighbor, I am sure I may speak of him in a sphere in which all will love to contemplate him. Whilst he was a gentleman of striking deportment, he was a man of primitive taste and simple manners. He had the hardy virtues and simple tastes of a repub- lican citizen. No one disliked ostentation and ex- hibition more than he did. When I say he was a good neighbor, I imply more than I have expressed. It is summed up under the word justice. I will venture to say, that no one in his private relations could ever say that Mr. Caliioux treated him with injustice, or that he deceived him by professions or concealments. His private character was illus- trated by a beautiful propriety, and was the exem- m ■ — — — — — — ' — » 18 plification of truth, justice, temperance, and fidelity to all his engagements. I will venture another remark. Mr. Calhoun was fierce in his contests with political adversaries. He did not stop in the fight to count losses or be- stow favors. But he forgot resentments, and for- gave injuries inflicted by rivals, with signal magna- nimity. Whilst he spoke freely of their faults, he could with justice appreciate the merits of all the public men of whom I have heard him speak. He was sincerely attached to the institutions of this country, and desired to preserve them pure and make them perpetual. By the death of Mr. Calhoun, one of the bright- est luminaries has been extinguished in the political firmament. It is an event which will produce a deep sensation throughout this broad land, and the civilized world. I have forborne to speak of his domestic rela- tions. Thev make a sacred circle, and I will not invade it. Mr. Butler then offered the following resolutions: Rcsulvcd unanimoxisly, That a committee be appointed by the Vice President to take order for superintending the funeral of the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, which will take place to-morrow, at 12 o'clock meridian, and that the Senate will attend the same. Resohal unanimously, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire of showing every mark of respect due to the memory of the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, deceased, late a member a- §> «- •m 19 thereof, will go into mourning for him for one month, by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. Resolved unanimously, That, as an additional mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. Mr. Clay. — Mr. President, prompted by my own feelings of profound regret, and by the intimations of some highly esteemed friends, I wish, in rising to second the resolutions which have been offered, and which have just been read, to add a few words to what has been so well and so justly said by the sur- viving colleague of the illustrious deceased. My personal acquaintance with him, Mr. Presi- dent, commenced upwards of thirty-eight years ago. We entered at the same time, together, the House of Representatives at the other end of this building. The Congress, of which we thus became members, was that amongst whose deliberations and acts was the declaration of war against the most powerful nation, as it respects us, in the world. During the preliminary discussions which arose in the prepara- tion for that great event, as well as during those which took place when the resolution was finally adopted, no member displayed a more lively and patriotic sensibility to the wrongs which led to that momentous event than the deceased whose death we all now so much deplore. Ever active, ardent, able, no one was in advance of him in advocating the cause of his country, and denouncing the foreign ®- «® $■ 20 injustice which compelled us to appeal to arms. Of all the Congresses with which I have had any ac- quaintance since my entry into the service of the Federal Government, in none, in my humble opinion, has been assembled such a galaxy of eminent and able men as were in the House of Eepresentatives of that Congress which declared the war, and in that immediately following the peace ; and, amongst that splendid constellation, none shone more bright and brilliant than the star which is now set. It was my happiness, sir, during a large part of the life of the departed, to concur with him on all great questions of national policy. And, at a later period, when it was my fortune to differ from him as to measures of domestic policy, I had the happi- ness to agree with him generally as to those Avhich concerned our foreign relations, and especially as to the preservation of the peace of the country. During the long session at which the war was declared, we were messmates, as were other distinguished mem- bers of Congress from his own patriotic State. I was afforded, by the intercourse which resulted from that fact, as well as the subsequent intimacy and intercourse which arose between us, an opportunity to form an estimate, not merely of his public, but of his private life ; and no man with whom I have ever been acquainted, exceeded him in habits of temper- ance and regularity, and in all the freedom, frank- ness, and affability of social intercourse, and in all »- -® 8: 21 the tenderness, and respect, and affection, which he manifested towards that lady who now mourns more than any other the sad event which has just occurred. Such, Mr. President, was the high estimate I formed of his transcendent talents, that, if at the end of his service in the executive department, under Mr. Monroe's administration, the duties of which he per- formed with such signal ability, he had been called to the highest office in the Government, I should have felt perfectly assured that under his auspices, the honor, the prosperity, and the glory of our coun- try would have been safely placed. Sir, he has gone ! No more shall we witness from yonder seat the flashes of that keen and penetrating eye of his, darting through this chamber. No more shall we be thrilled by that torrent of clear, concise, compact logic, poured out from his lips, which, if it did not always carry conviction to our judgment, always commanded our great admiration. Those eyes and those lips are closed forever ! And when, Mr. President, will that great vacancy which has been created by the event to which we are now alluding, when will it be filled by an equal amount of ability, patriotism, and devotion, to what he conceived to be the best interests of his country? Sir, this is not the appropriate occasion, nor would I be the appropriate person to attempt a delineation of his character, or the powers of his enlightened mind. I will only say, in a few words, that he ®. 99 possessed an elevated genius of the highest order; that in felicity of generalization of the subjects of which his mind treated, I have seen him surpassed by no one; and the charm and captivating influence of his colloquial powers have been felt by all who have conversed with him. I was his senior, Mr. President, in years— in nothing else. According to the course of nature, I ought to have preceded him. It has been decreed otherwise; but I know that I shall linger here only a short time and shall soon follow him. And how brief, how short is the period of human existence allotted even to the youngest amongst us ! Sir, ought we not to profit by the contemplation of this melancholy occasion? Ought we not to draw from it the conclusion how unwise it is to indulge in the acerbity of unbridled debate ? How unwise to yield ourselves to the sway of the animosities of party feeling? How wrong it is to indulge in those unhappy and hot strifes which too often exas- perate our feelings and mislead our judgments in the discharge of the high and responsible duties which we are called to perform ? How unbecoming, if not presumptuous, it is in us, who are the tenants of an hour in this earthly abode, to wrestle and struggle together with a violence which would not be justifiable if it were our perpetual home! In conclusion, sir, while I beg leave to express my cordial sympathies and sentiments of the deep- »- ■s> «. .« 23 est condolence towards all who stand in near relation to him, I trust we shall all be instructed by the eminent virtues and merits of his exalted character, and be taught by his bright example to fulfill our great public duties by the lights of our own judg- ment and the dictates of our own consciences, as he did, according to his honest and best comprehension of those duties, faithfully and to the last. Mr. Webster. — I hope the Senate will indulge me in adding a very few words to what has been said. My apology for this presumption is the very long acquaintance which has subsisted between Mr. Calhoun and myself. We are of the same age. I made my first entrance into the House of repre- sentatives in May, 1813, and there found Mr. Cal- houn. He had already been in that body for two or three years. I found him then an active and efficient member of the assembly to which he be- longed, taking a decided part, and exercising a decided influence, in all its deliberations. From that day to the day of his death, amidst all the strifes of party and politics, there has subsisted between us, always, and without interruption, a great degree of personal kindness. Differing widely on many great questions respect- ing the institutions and government of the country, those differences never interrupted our personal and social intercourse. I have been present at most of ■® ® 24 the distinguished instances of the exhibition of his talents in debate. I have always heard him with pleasure, often with much instruction, not unfre- quently with the highest degree of admiration. Mr. Calhoun was calculated to be a leader in whatsoever association of political friends lie was thrown. He was a man of undoubted genius, and of commanding talent. All the country and all the world admit that. His mind was both perceptive and vigorous. It was clear, quick, and strong. Sir, the eloquence of Mr. Calhoun, or the manner of his exhibition of his sentiments in public bodies, was part of his intellectual character. It grew out of the qualities of his mind. It was plain, strong, terse, condensed, concise; sometimes impassioned — still always severe. Rejecting ornament, not often seeking far for illustration, his power consisted in the plainness of his propositions, in the closeness of his logic, and in the earnestness and energy of his manner. These are the qualities, as I think, which have enabled him through such a long course of years to speak often, and yet always command at- tention. His demeanor as a Senator is known to us all — is appreciated, venerated by us all. No man was more respectful to others ; no man carried himself with greater decorum, no man with superior dignity. I think there is not one of us but felt when he last addressed us from his seat in the Senate, his form still erect, with a voice by no f f) 25 means indicating such a degree of physical weakness as did, in fact, possess him, with clear tones, and an impressive, and, I may say, an imposing manner, who did not feel that he might imagine that we saw before us a Senator of Rome, when Rome survived. Sir, I have not in public nor in private life, known a more assiduous person in the discharge of his appropriate duties. 1 have known no man who wasted less of life in what is called recreation, or employed less of it in any pursuits not connected with the immediate discharge of his duiv. He seemed to have no recreation but the pleasure of conversation with his friends. Out of the chambers of Congress, he was either devoting himself to the acquisition of knowledge pertaining to the immediate subject of the duty before him, or else he was indulging in those social interviews in which he so much de- lighted. My honorable friend from Kentucky has spoken in just terms of his colloquial talents. They cer- tainly were singular and eminent. There was a charm in his conversation not often found. He delighted, especially, in conversation and intercourse with young men. I suppose that there has been no man among us who had more winning manners, in such an intercourse and conversation, with men comparatively young, than Mr. Calhoun. I believe one great power of his character, in general, was his conversational talent. I believe it is that, as well »■ 26 as a consciousness of his high integrity, and the greatest reverence for his intellect and ability, that has made him so endeared an object to the people of the State to which he belonged. Mr. President, he had the basis, the indispensable basis, of all high character; and that was, unspotted integrity — unimpeached honor and character. If he had aspirations, they were high, and honorable, and noble. There was nothing groveling, or low, or meanly selfish, that came near the head or the heart of Mr. Calhoun. Firm in his purpose, per- fectly patriotic and honest, as I am sure he was, in the principles that he espoused, and in the measures that he defended, aside from that large regard for that species of distinction that conducted him to eminent stations for the benefit of the republic, I do not believe he had a selfish motive, or selfish feeling. However, sir, he mav have differed from others of us in his political opinions, or his political princi- ples, those principles and those opinions will now descend to posterity under the sanction of a great name. He has lived long enough, he has done enough, and he has done it so well, so successfully, so honorably, as to connect himself for all time with the records of his country. He is now a historical character. Those of us who have known him here, will find that he has left upon our minds and our hearts a strong and lasting impression of his person, ■S) § , — ® 27 his character, and his public performances, which, while we live, will never be obliterated. We shall hereafter, I am sure, indulge in it as a grateful re- collection that we have lived in his age, that we have been his cotemporaries, that we have seen him, and heard him, and known him. We shall delight to speak of him to those who are rising up to fill our places. And, when the time shall come when we ourselves shall go, one after another, in succession, to our graves, we shall cany with us a deep sense of his genius and character, his honor and integrity, his amiable deportment in private life, and the purity of his exalted patriotism. Mr. Rusk. — Mr. President : I hope it will not be considered inappropriate for me to say a word upon this solemn occasion. Being a native of the same State with the distinguished Senator whose death has cast such a gloom upon this Senate and the audience here assembled, I had the good for- tune, at an early period of my life, to make his acquaintance. At that time he was just entering on that bright career which has now terminated. I was then a boy, with prospects anything but nattering. To him, at that period, I was indebted for words of kindness and encouragement; and often since, in the most critical positions in which I have been placed, a recurrence to those words of encouragement has inspired me with resolution to 28 meet difficulties that beset my path. Four years ago, I had the pleasure of renewing that acquaint- ance, after an absence of some fifteen years ; and this took place after he had taken an active part in the question of annexing Texas to the United States, adding a new sense of obligation to my feeling of gratitude. In the stirring questions that have agitated the country, it was my misfortune sometimes to differ from him, but it is a matter of heartfelt gratifica- tion for me to know that our personal relations re- mained unaltered. And, sir, it will be a source of pleasant though sad reflection to me throughout life to remember, that on the last clay on which he occupied his seat in this chamber, his body worn down by disease, but his mind as vigorous as ever, we held a somewhat extended conversation on the exciting topics of the day, in which the same kind feelings, which had so strongly impressed me in youth, were still manifested toward me by the veteran statesman. But, sir, he is gone from among us; his voice will never again be heard in this chamber; his active and vigorous mind will partici- pate no more in our councils; his spirit has left a world of trouble, care, and anxiety, to join the spirits of those patriots and statesmen who have preceded him to a brighter and better world. If, as many believe, the spirits of the departed hover around the places they have left, I earnestly pray ■» <«- -V® 29 that his may soon be permitted to look back upon our country, which he has left in excitement, con- fusion, and apprehension, restored to calmness, se- curity, and fraternal feeling as broad as the bounds of our Union, and as fixed as the eternal principles of justice in which our Government has its foundation. Mr. Clemens. — I do not expect, Mr. President, to add anything to what has already been said of the illustrious man, whose death we all so deeply de- plore; but silence upon an occasion like this, would by no means meet the expectations of those whose representative I am. To borrow a figure from the Senator from Kentucky, the brightest star in the brilliant galaxy of the Union has gone out, and Alabama claims a place among the chief mourners over the event. Differing often from the great Southern statesman on questions of public policy, she has yet always accorded due homage to his genius, and still more to that blameless purity of life which entitles him to the highest and the no- blest epitaph which can be graven upon a mortal tomb. For more than forty years an active parti- cipant in all the fierce struggles of party, and sur- rounded by those corrupting influences to which the politician is so often subjected, his personal character remained not only untarnished, but unsuspected. He walked through the flames, and even the hem of his garment was unscorched. «■ •® » . ^— $ 30 It is no part of my purpose to enter into a recital of the public acts of John C. Calhoun. It has al- ready been partly done by his colleague ; but, even that, in my judgment, was unnecessary. Years after the celebrated battle of Thermopylae, a traveler, on visiting the spot, found a monument with the simple inscription, " Stranger, go tell at Lacedsemon that we died in obedience to her laws." "Why is it," he asked, "that the names of those who fell here are not inscribed on the stone?" "Because," was the proud reply, "it is impossible that any Greek should ever forget them." Even so it is with him of whom I speak. His acts are graven on the hearts of his countrymen, and time has no power to obliterate the characters. Throughout this broad land " The meanest rill, the mightiest river, Rolls mingling with his fame forever." Living, sir, in an age distinguished above all others for its intelligence, surrounded throughout his whole career by men, any one of whom would have marked an era in the world's history, and stamped the time in which he lived with immortality, Mr. Calhoun vet won an intellectual eminence, and commanded an admiration not only unsurpassed but unequaled, in all its parts, by any of his giant compeers. That great light is now extinguished; a place in this Senate is made vacant which cannot be filled. The sad tidings have been borne upon the lightning's 9 31 wing to the remotest corners of the Republic, and millions of freemen are now mourning with us over all that is left of one who was scarcely "lower than the angels." I may be permitted, Mr. President, to express my gratification at what we have heard and witnessed this day. Kentucky has been heard through the lips of one, who is not only her greatest statesman, but the world's greatest living orator. The great expounder of the constitution, whose massive intel- lect seems to comprehend and give clearness to all things beneath the sun, has spoken for the Common- wealth of Massachusetts. From every quarter the voice of mourning is mingled with notes of the highest admiration. These crowded galleries, the distinguished gentlemen who fill this floor, all indicate that here have " Bards, artists, sages, reverently met, To waive each separating plea Of sect, clime, party, and degree, All honoring him on whom nature all honor shed." The resolutions were then unanimously adopted. I •> «■ •» IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. Tuesday, April 2, 1850. The remains of the deceased were brought into the Senate at 12 o'clock, attended by the Committee of Arrangements and the Pall- bearers. Committee of Arrangements. Mr. MASON, Mr. DAVIS, of Miss., Mr. ATCHISON, Mr. DODGE, of Wisconsin, Mr. DICKINSON, Mr. GREENE. Mr. MANGUM, Mr. CLAY, Mr. WEBSTER, Pall-Bearers. Mr. CASS, Mr. KING, Mr. BERRIEN. «-• e. «(§ A SERMON PREACHED IN THE SENATE CHAMBER, APRIL 2, 1850, AT THE FUNERAL OF THE HON. JOHN C. CALHOUN, SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA. BY THE REV. C. M. BUTLER, D. J)., CHAPLAIN OF THE SENATE. I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High ; but ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. — Psalm lxxxii. 6, 7. One of the princes is fallen ! A prince in intel- lect ; a prince in his sway over human hearts and minds ; a prince in the wealth of his own generous affections, and in the rich revenues of admiring love poured into his heart ; a prince in the dignity of his demeanor — this prince has fallen — fallen ! And ye all, his friends and peers, illustrious statesmen, orators, and warriors — " I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High ; but ye shall die like men, and fall like this one of the princes !" The praises of the honored dead have been, here ■# 34 and elsewhere, fitly spoken. The beautifully blend- ed benignity, dignity, simplicity, and purity of the husband, the father, and the friend; the integrity, sagacity, and energy of the statesman; the com- pressed intenseness, the direct and rapid logic of the orator ; all these have been vividly portrayed by those who themselves illustrate what they de- scribe. There seem still to linger around this hall echoes of the voices, which have so faithfully sketched the life, so happily discriminated the powers, and so affectionately eulogized the virtues of the departed, that the muse of history will note down the words, as the outline of her future lofty narrative, her nice analysis, and her glowing praise. But the echo of those eulogies dies away. All that was mortal of their honored object lies here unconscious, in the theatre of his glory. " Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye" — there he lies ! that strong heart still, that bright eye dim ! Another voice claims your ear. The minister of God, stand- ing over the dead, is sent to say — " Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High; hut ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." He is sent to remind you that there are those here, not visible to the eye of sense, who are greater than the greatest of ye all — even Death, and Death's Lord and Master. Death is here. I see him stand over his prostrate victim, and grimly smile, and shake at us his unsated ®- 35 spear, and bid us all attend this day on him. He is King to-day, and leads us all captive in his train, to swell his triumph and proclaim his power. And there is no visitant that can stand before the soul of man, with such claims on his awed, intent, and teachable attention. When, as on a day, and in a scene like this, he holds us in his presence and bids us hear him — who can dare to disregard his man- date ? Oh, there is no thought or fact, having re- ference to this brief scene of things, however it may come with a port and tone of dignity and power, which does not dwindle into meanness, in the presence of that great thought, that great fact, which has entered and darkened the Capitol to-day — Death ! To make us see that by a law perfectly inevitable and irresistible, soul and body are soon to separate ; that this busy scene of earth is to be suddenly and for- ever left ; that this human heart is to break through the circle of warm, congenial, familiar and fostering sympathies and associations, and to put off, all alone, into the silent dark — this is the object of the dread message to us of death. And as that message is spoken to a soul which is conscious of sin ; which knows that it has not within itself resources for self- purification, and self-sustaining peace and joy ; which realizes, in the very core of its conscience, retribu- tion as a moral law ; it comes fraught with the un- rest, which causes it to be at once dismissed, or which lodges it in the soul, a visitant whose first coming is «■ ■® ® ' m 36 gloom, but whose continued presence shall be glory. Then the anxious spirit, peering out with intense earnestness into the dark unknown, may, in vain, question earth of the destiny of the soul, and lift to heaven the passionate invocation — " Answer me, burning stars of night, Where hath the spirit gone ; Which, past the reach of mortal sight, E'en as a breeze hath flown V And the stars answer him, " We roll In pomp and power on high ; But of the never dying soul, Ask things that cannot die !" " Things that cannot die !" God only can tell us of the spirit-world. He assures us, by his Son, that death is the child of sin. He tells us what is the power of this king of terrors. He shows us that in sinning "Adam all die." He declares to us that, sinful by nature and by practice, we are condemned to death; that we are consigned to wo; that we are unfit for Heaven; that the condition of the soul which remains thus condemned and unchanged, is far drearier and more dreadful beyond, than this side, the grave. No wonder that men shrink from con- verse with death; for all his messages are woful and appalling. But, thanks be to God! though death be here, so also is death's Lord and Master. "As in Adam i , , — . — — — -4 «■ •m 37 all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." That Saviour, Christ, assures us that all who repent, and forsake their sins, and believe in him, and live to him, shall rise to a life glorious and eternal, with Him and His, in Heaven. He tells us that if we are his, those sharp shafts which death rattles in our ears to-day, shall but transfix, and only for a season, the garment of our mortality ; and that the emancipated spirits of the righteous shall be borne, on angel wings, to that peaceful paradise where they shall enjoy perpetual rest and felicity. Then it need not be a gloomy message which we deliver to you to-day, that " ye shall die as men and fall like one of the princes ;" for it tells us that the humblest of men may be made equal to the angels; and that earth's princes may become "kings and priests unto God!" In the presence of these simplest yet grandest truths; with these thoughts of death and the con- queror of death ; with this splendid trophy of his power proudly held up to our view by death, I need utter to you no commonplace on the vanity of our mortal life, the inevitableness of its termina- tion, and the solemnities of our after-being. Here and now, on this theme, the silent dead is preach- ing to you more impressively than could the most eloquent of the living. You feel now, in your in- most heart, that that great upper range of things with which you are connected as immortals; that ©« •m $ ' f 38 moral administration of God, who stretches over the infinite of existence; that magnificent system of ordered governments, to whose lower circle we now belong, which consists of thrones, dominions, prin- cipalities, and powers, which rise, " Orb o'er orb, and beigbt o'er beiglit," to the enthroned Supreme ; — you feel that this, your high relation to the Infinite and Eternal, makes poor and low the most august and imposing scenes and dignities of earth, which flit, like shadows, through your three-score years and ten. Oh happy will it be, if the vivid sentiment of the hour become the actuating conviction of the life ! Happy will it be, if it take its place in the centre of the soul, and in- form all its thoughts, feelings, principles, and aims ! Then shall this lower system of human things be consciously linked to, and become part of, and take glory from that spiritual sphere, which, all unseen, encloses us, whose actors and heroes are " angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven." Then would that be permanently and habitually felt by all, which was here, and in the other chamber yester- day so eloquently expressed, that " vain are the per- sonal strifes and party contests in which you daily engage, in view of the great account which you may all so soon be called upon to render ;"* and that " it * Mr. Wintbrop's speecb in tbe House of Representatives. «- •m «■ '& 39 is unbecoming and presumptuous in those who are the tenants of an hour in this earthly abode, to wrestle and struggle together with a violence which would not be justifiable if it were your perpetual home."* Then, as we see to-day, the sister States, by their Representatives, linked hand in hand, in mournful attitude, around the bier of one in whose fame they all claim a share, we should look upon you as engaged in a sacrament of religious patriotism, whose spontaneous, unpremeditated vow, springing consentient from all your hearts, and going up unitedly to heaven, would be — "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable !" But I must no longer detain you. May we all "So live, that when our summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, We go not like the quarry-slave at night Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach our grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." * Mr. Clay's speech in the Senate. «■ ■® LIBRAE OF CONGRESS 011 838 192