Class ^tAa Book .L ^ ^ 'X-^J^^^Z.^-^^^ iHaja!ja!acl)U0ctt0 i^i^torical ^ocict^* MEMOIR HON. JOHN H. CLIFFORD, LL.D. BY ERT C/W ROBERT C. ^VINTHROP. M i: ]M O 1 R HON. JOHN H. CLIM'OUI), LI>.I). I'REl-.VllEn A(iREK.VI(LY TO A RESOLUTION MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY BY v/ ROBERT C. WINTHROP, rUESIDENT. i .. ... li O S T O N : PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON. 1877. CC3 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. At the stated niontlily meeting of this Society, held at their rooms on Thursday, Jan. 13, 1876, the Presi- dent, — Hon. Eobert C. Winthrop, — announced the death of Ex-Governor Cliffokd, a Resident Member of the Society, as follows : — It is not, gentlemen, without a deep sense of personal loss, that I announce the death of the Hon. John H. Clifford, who has been one of the Resident Members of this Society for more than twenty years. It may not be forgotten that I mentioned, at our last monthly meeting, that he had promised to be with us on that occasion, to pay a tribute to his venerable friend. Judge Met- calf. He had gone, however, a fortnight before, — soon after his arrival from Europe, — to pass Thanksgiving Day at liis old home in New Bedford ; and, while there, he was struck with sudden and serious illness. Under the care of skilful physicians, and of a devoted family, his alarming symptoms were alleviated ; and there was the best reason for hoping that he would soon be able to resume liis winter residence in Boston, and to enter anew upon his chosen pui-suits. But New Year's Day was destined to be the last day of liis earthly 1 life; and, before another morning dawned, the mysterious call had come, and his spirit returned, without a struggle, to God who gave it. In company with several of our associates, I attended his funeral at New Bedford on Thursday last, where the presence of a great throng of his friends and fellow-citizens attested the respect and affection in which he was held by all who knew him. It is more than forty years since we entered the Legisla- ture of Massachusetts, as young men, together, and took an early fancy for each other, which ripened into a life-long friendship. During that protracted period, there have been but few months, — I might almost say but few weeks, — in which we have not held more or less of communication, either personally or by correspondence. I can recall no friend with whom I have ever been on the same footing of intimacy for so long a time, except the late excellent John Pendleton Kennedy of Baltimore. We were long associated in the friendship and confidence of Edward Everett. We were more recently associated in the friendship and confidence of George Peabody ; and in the administration of one of his most interesting and important trusts. In view of these intimate relations, I have willingly acceded to the request of the Council, that I would take it upon myself to prepare hereafter a brief Memoir of him, according to usage, for the next volume of our Proceedings. I forbear, therefore, at present, from any attempt to delineate his char- acter or career. There are those with us here, this morning, who have known him in youth and in manhood ; at his own University in Providence, and in his associations with our University at Cambridge ; at the Bar, in the Legislative Halls, as Attorney- General, and as Governor of Massachusetts, as well as in his relations to the other public institutions with which he was connocted. I Icavr it to them to bear their testimony to his abilities, his iiscfiibicss, and liis virtue's. It is enougli for mo to say on tliis occasion, as I sincerely can say, — " Multis illo bonis Uobilis occidit, Nulli flebilior (luam iiiihi." I am authorized by the Council to submit tlic following Resolutions : — Jiesolred, That tills Society has learned with sincere sorrow the death of tlieir distinguished associate, the Hon. John Hknky Clif- ford, of New Bedford, whose public services as a member of both branches of the Legislature, as Attorney-General, and as Governor of Massachusetts, and whose abilities and virtues as a man, had won for him our warm respect and regard. Jicsolrecl, That the President be requested to prepare the custo- mary Memoir. After remarks by President Eliot, of Harvard Uni- versity, Hon. B. F. Thomas, and Winslow Wakuex, Esq., and the reading of letters of regret and sympathy from Ex-Governor Emory Washburn, and Ex-Chief Justice BiGELOW, the Resolutions were unanimously adopted. Charles Deane, Recording Secretary. MEMOIR. In the beautiful town of New Bedford, long. since incor- porated as a city, there might have been found, some thirty or forty years ago, as charming a group of choice spirits as could be gathered anywhere within the limits of Massachu- setts. Among them was Ephraim Peabody, the pastor of the Unitarian parish of the town, afterwards the rector of King's Cliapcl in Boston ; wise, accomplished, amiable, eloquent, beloved by all who knew him. Among them was Charles Henry Warren, widely known afterwards as Judge Warren, whose^sparkling wit, and racy anecdote, and keen irony were the delight of every circle in which he moved. Among them was William W. Swain, whose jurisdiction over " Naushon " had won for him the fiimiliar sobriquet of " Governor," and whose great heart and genial hospitality had made willing subjects for him far beyond the narrow domain of the Eliza- beth Islands. These and others of that little group have passed away. At least one of them, however, is still living, — the venerable Joseph Grinncll, — born before any of them, and now surviving them all ; who, after many years of valu- able public service in the Congress of the United States, is to-day, in his eighty-ninth year, conducting successfully and 8 •vigorously a great manufacturing establishment, and who, by his firmness and discretion, has just succeeded in putting down a formidable strike of its workmen. But of this little circle of choice spirits in New Bedford, into which I was so often admitted as a guest on occasional ■visits from Boston or Washington, the subject of this Me- moir was the central figure. Younger than any of his associates ; with less accomplishment, perhaps, than one ; with less wit, perhaps, than another ; with not more of heart or head than a third or fourth of them, — he had yet a combination of qualities, intellectual, moral, and social, which gave him an easy lead, and secured for him a read^'- following. No one, I think, could spend a day in New Bedford, at that period, without feeling that the active, moving spirit of its social and intellectual life was John Henry Cliffoed. Thus early — for he was then hardly more than thirty years of age — did he exhibit that practical tact, that genial disposition, that magnetic temper, which always gave him one of the foremost places among those with whom he was associated, whether in public or in private life. Of great executive ability, and with a peculiar faculty of organization, he was at least the prompter and the manager of scenes, in which he may not have assumed or aspired to play the first part. He would, indeed, have counted himself at that time the humblest of that little group ; but not the less did his earnest nature im- part animation and inspiration to them all. Governor Clifford, hoAvever, — for by that title he will be most readily remembered, — was not a native of New Bed- ford, nor of Massachusetts. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on the 16th of January, 1809, and continued to reside there with his parents until he had completed his school and college education. It was only after he had gone through his four years' course and taken his degree, as Bachelor of Arts, in 1827, at Brown University, that he left his parental home and native State. He then entered on the 9 study of law with Timothy Cr- Coflin, Esq., of New Hcdford, and sul)st'([uently studied with the hitc Jud^a! Thciou Mct- calf at Dedhaiu, Massachusetts. In 1830 he was admitted to the Bar of the county of Bristol, having in the same year received his degree of Master of Ai-ts at Brown, when he delivered an oratiiui on " the Perils of Professional Life." Thenceforth he was to confront those perils himself, in the daily practice of his chosen profession. lie estahlished him- self as a lawyer in New Bedford, and two years afterwards gcave " a hostage to fortune," and left no further doubt where his permanent home was to be fixed. On the IGth of January, 1832, his twenty-third birthday, he married Sarah Parker Allen, daughter of William Howland Allen, Esq., and granddaughter of the Hon. John Avery Parker, of New Bed- ford ; and from that da}' to his death he resided nowhere else. Three years afterward, in 1835, he took his seat in the Legislature of ^Massachusetts, as a representative from New Bedford. There I met him for the first time ; and from that association resulted a friendship and an intimacy which ended only with his life. It was the year of the Revision of the Statutes of the Commonwealth, and he did good and faithful service on the large committee which had that subject in charge. In 183G he became one of the aides-de-camp of Governor Everett, and retained that position nntil, by a single vote out of a hundred thousand votes, Mr. Everett's chief magistracy was brought to a close in 1840. Before Mr. Everett went out of office, however, — in 1830, — he had conferred upon Colonel Clifford, in whom he had the highest confidence, the appointment of District Attorney for the Southein District of Massachusetts ; an oflice in which he served the Commonwealth assiduously and successfully for nearly ten years. Meantime, in 1845, the county of P>ristol had elected him a member of the Senate of Massacliusetts, where he gave renewed evidence of his ability and accomplishments as a 10 debater and a legislator. But his taste for legal practice predominated over all others, and in 1849 he entered upon the duties of an office which was to be the field of his longest and most distinguished public service. In that year he re- ceived from Governor Briggs the appointment of Attorney- General of the State. Early in the following year it fell to his lot to conduct a memorable trial, with which his name will be always most prominently and honorably associated. No trial in the his- tory of our country for many generations, if ever, has excited a deeper interest, or challenged a more anxious and critical attention, than that of Professor John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. George Parkman. Even to this day, the cir- cumstances of the crime and the proceedings to which it gave occasion, as contained in the detailed report prepared and published by our associate member, Mr. George Bemis, the junior counsel for the Commonwealth, have the attraction and fascination of some tragic drama. The responsibility and the labor which it threw upon the Attorney-General were of the most arduous character; and it is enough to say of the man- ner in which they were met, that when the verdict was obtained, and the full details of evidence and argument were published to the world, he had earned a reputation for ability and force, as well as for discretion and fairness, as a prose- cuting officer, which was recognized . far bej^ond the limits of New England. Few things, if any thing, could have gratified him more than the following passage from an article in " Blackwood's Magazine " for June of that year, on " Modern State Trials," — being one of a series of articles from the pen of the eminent barrister, Samuel Warren,* the author of the " Diary of a Physician," and of " Ten Thousand a iTear " : — * The death of Samuel Warren, Q. C, on the 29th of July, is announced from England, while these pages are going through the press. 11 " It was our iiitciitioii to Iiavc iiirlmliMl in this papor a skolcli of a great Aiiu'ricau trial lor luiinlir, — tliat of tlw; latti Professor \Vfl»- ster for the murder of I )r. Tarkuiau ; a fearful occurrouce ; a black and tlisnial trai^edy frouj l»ei;inuini; to end; exiiihititiif most remarkai)le indications, as it appears to us, of the overruling I'rovidiMiee, which sometimes sees lit to allow its a;^eney in human allairs to Ijeeomo visi- ble to us. We have, however, now concluded the present scries ; but it is not impossible that we may take an early opportunity of glvinjj some account of this extraordinary case, of which, «;ven whih; we are writing, a report has been courteously transmitted to us from America. All we shall at present say on the subject is, that the reply of Mr. Clifford for the prosecution cannot be excelled in close and conclusivo reasoning, conveyed in language e(pially elegant and forcible. Its effect, as a demonstration of the guilt of the accused, is fearful." Tlie fi)llo\viiig" letter, dated tlie diiy after tlie sentence liad been pronounced, affords a striking view of his own impres- sions at the result: — "New Bedford, April 2, 1850. " jMy dkau "NViNTnuoi^ — The long agony is over, and I am once more l)y my own hearthstone, trying to restore the equilibrium which two weeks' straining of my entire being had deranged and disturbed. I have never been before, and can never be again, kept up to such an extreme tension ; but in looking back, and steridy scrutinizing my whole course from the commencement of my connection with the case to its close, I amnot lind any cause of self-reproach. God knows I liave compassionated the poor criminal ; and my heart has l)led for his family almost as if they were my own. " Personally, I cannot help feeling this trial to have been a great crisis in my life. A failure in it would have been fatal; a moderate deoree of success would have been scarcely less unfortiniate : and I fer- vently thank the Good Being who has guided and strengthened and sustained me, for the eminent success which the assurances that I have received from all (piarters leave me not at liberty to doubt my having achieved. ... I am ge dayUght from tlic world to keep.* " 16 Governoi' Clifford was, also, one of the original Board of Trustees of the great Education Fund, established by the munificence of George Peabody, for the impoverished and desolated States of the South ; and I can bear witness to the zeal and assiduity with which he attended their meetings, and entered into all their discussions. No one was more faithful to that noble Trust, and no one will be more affection- ately and gratefully remembered by all who were associated with him in its labors and responsibilities. But the health of our lamented friend had more than once during these latter years given warning that he needed re- laxation. Indeed, there is the best authority for saying, that nothing but the earnest admonitions of his physician, and his own consciousness of waning strength, had originally induced him to renounce the professional career in which he had won so distinguished a reputation, and to which he was so ardently attached. The efforts and excitements of the court-room had more than once been followed by serious prostration, and he had reluctantly yielded to the necessity of exchanging them for the quieter, though hardly less arduous and responsible, duties of presiding over a great business corporation. But in the spring of 1873 he was compelled to abandon all occupa- tion, and fly to the salubrious airs of Florida. In the spring of 1875, a visit to Europe was recommended to him, and he sailed for Liverpool on the 24th of April of that year. It was his first visit to the Old World, and, though he prudently denied himself to the attentions and hospitalities which were abundantly offered to him in London, he went through the laborious round of sight-seeing, there and everywhere, with all the enthusiasm of his nature. I was in Europe myself at that time, and saw him more than once, and had frequent let- ters from him along his route. England and Scotland, France, Switzerland, and Northern Italy were traversed in the half- year's absence from home which he allowed himself. His family were with him, and he enjoyed every moment. As 17 he approaclied the limit whicli lie had assiixiiod to his absence, he was coni[)t'llcd id abandon all thoiij^ht ot" Ronio and Na- ples. A letter IVoni him, dati'd Florence, 1 Sept., 187.^, speaks of the strngglo it has cost him to give up seeing the Eternal City ; but adds that " he looks towards home with inlinitely more desire than towards Rome, Pompeii, or even the Holy J^and." "You were quite right," he proceeds, "in your judgment of Switzerland as the true Paradise of the American traveller. There is nothing to be compared with it ; and, if I were to be restricted to one view in Europe, it would be that mag- nificent combination of the grandeur of the Creator's works with the marvellous skill and geriius of man, which is ex- hibited in the audacious conception and wonderful execution of the road Ijuilt by Napoleon over the Pass of the 'Simplon.' Waldo Emerson once told me if he were to have but one day in Europe, it should be spent in the Square of St. Marc, in Venice. To me, interesting as Venice is, making one feel all the while as if he were in a dream, the great realities of the Alps are a thousand-fold more impressive ; and indeed the whole effect of my journeyings amongst those sublime exhibitions of Nature, and the myriad treasures of ancient and modern art Avhich I have had opened to me on every hand, has been to satisfy me that my tastes are better suited to the enjoyment of the works of Him, the great Artist and Archi- tect of the universe, than those of the most gifted of His children, wonderful and beautiful as they are." In less than six weeks from this date he had embarked at Liverpool, and he reached his native shores safely about the middle of November following. He felt, as he said, like a new man, and resumed his work without the interval of a day. On the 17tli of November he presided at the Annual Meeting of the Hoston and Providence Railroad Corporation, and made a felicitous address to the assembled stockholders, who had come together under the discouragement of a re- 18 dnced dividend. Among other things, he spoke of the new Station-house, in which they were assembled, as having been pronounced by a German architect, — who, after visiting the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, had come from Phila- delphia to Boston expressly for the purpose of inspecting it, — " the model railway station of the world." But his re- marks were rendered especially memorable by his declaration, that he was not only entirely satisfied that the dividend had been rightly reduced, but that he desired, if any reduction of the pay-roll of the road was to be made, that his own salary should be reduced first, and the wages of the workmen last, or not at all. He struck a true chord, and kindled a respon- sive note all along the line. Had such an example been followed in other parts of the country, it is not impossible that some of the deplorable outbreaks of later days might happily have been averted. No wonder that, when his funeral took place a few weeks afterwards, not a few of the flowers heaped upon his coffin were the offerings of the employes of the Road, and that one of them was heard ex- claiming, " I would give every dollar I have in the world for the Governor." Before Governor Clifford embarked for Europe, he had declined appointments as United States Minister both to Russia and to Turkey, which had been successively oifered to him by the Administration at Washington. He had, however, previously accepted an appointment as United States Commissioner on the Fislieries under the Arbitration Treaty with Great Britain, — now at last in session at Halifax, — and had always contemplated fulfilling that ap- pointment. But his work was ended, public and private. Indeed, he had hardly reached his home in New Bedford, after a brief stay in Boston where he arrived, and was but just beginning to receive from his old friends and neighbors the tokens of welcome which had awaited him, when a disease of the heart, 19 wliicli liad givoM niystciions indications in former years, was now unniistakalily nKinifeslcd. A very few weeks sufficed to brinijf it to a crisis; and on the indinini;' of tlie lid of .January, 187(», Ins death was announced. Happily for liim, and for all to whom he was so dear, he was ])ermitted to die in liis native land, under his own roof, surrounded by life-loiiL;' friends and a devoted family. Not Avithout hopes of recovery to the last, lie was yet ready for the sunnnons when it came ; and no murmur ever escaped his lips at the dispensations of the kind Providence in which he had always lovingly trusted. Cordial tributes to his career and character were paid by the Legislature of Massachusetts, then in session; by the Bar of the Southern District ; by the various associations with which he was connected ; by the Overseers of the University ; by the railroad corporation over which he had presided ; and by the public journals throughout the country.* His funeral was attended by a great concourse of his friends and fellow- citizens at New Bedford, on the following Thui-sday. Thus truly did he fulfil the idea contained in a letter written by him, just as I was embarking to return from Eu- rope, in September, 1868: " But all our journeyings, whether on one side or both sides of the ocean, are only carrying us all to that home, which at the farthest is not distant from any one of us." Governor Clifford's life had not been altogether unclouded. In his earlier years he had many sorrows. Any one who shall visit the stately granite Monument which has just been placed over his remains in the New Bedford cemetery, will observe at its side the humbler stones which tell of the death of four children, — two daughters and two sons, — all cut off at a very early age. On the stones which mark the graves of the little boys, are inscribed, " Edward Everett Clifford," and " Robert VVinthrop Clifford." • See Appendix. 8 20 I should hardly be pardoned, were I to omit from this cursory record of his life an extract from his touching letter of 29 August, 1843, informing me of the death of this latter child : — " My DEAR Friend, — Your heart I know will bleed for me when I announce to you that your sweet little namesake has left us for a better world. We have added another to the angel throng ; and although that world is as real to me as the earth upon which I tread, and the blessed existence of my precious flock is as certain as my own, it has been an inexpressibly bitter trial to part with my only boy. I had indulged in high hopes for him, and he gave all the promise that infancy could give that his future career would justify them all. He was the sweetest tempered, the most equable and placid, of all my children ; and in his beautiful expression of countenance and his finely- formed head we could not but discover the germ of a rich maturity. With his name, too, I need not say, were associations which increased and strengthened the interest and hopes with which I looked forward to his future years. It has not infrequently occurred to me that, if I should be called away from him before his education for this life's duties had been completed, your interest in him would have given him the advantage of your counsel and direction ; and that, for his father's sake and his own, you would have so watched his progress as that he should bear that name through the trials and temptations of youth with honor. But, alas, for my desolate hearthstone, — not alas for him, — he has exchanged our guidance for His who will ' lead him by the still waters ' of Paradise, and ' make him to lie down in its green pas- tures ' by the side of those dear ones who have already welcomed him to their eternal home." These early sorrows, however, were abundantly compen- sated by the blessings of his later life ; and, at his death, he left tln^ee sons, — all of them graduates of Harvard, — and two daughters, to comfort their mother, and to do honor to his own memory. I can close this brief Memoir with nothing more appropriate than the following passage from the tribute paid to Governor Clifford by a distinguished statesman of Virginia (the Hon. Alexander H. H. Stuart), when his death was announced at 21 the iViimiiil MfC'tiiiL;' of tliu l*i';il)0(ly Trustees, iit llie White Sulphur Si»riM;j;s, iu Virginia, hist August: — " It ri'(|uin\s IK) effort of luciiioiy, on our part, to recall his iimiily figure aud noble face. They are indelihly imprinted on our minds and hearts. Nature had so moulded his form and features as to give the world assurance of his admirahlc character. There was a (piiet dignity and grace in every movement, and his countenance heamcd with intel- ligence and benignity. To a mind of great power he united a heart which throbbed with generous imi)ulses, and a hapjiy facility of expres- sion which gave a peculiar charm to his conversation. There was a frankness in his bearing and a genial urbanity about him, which at once commended confidence and inspired good-will. Every one who approached him felt attracted by a species of personal magnetism, which was irresistible. " When last autumn, in New York, I was urging that the present session of our Board should be held here, in the mountains of Vir- ginia, one of the great pleasures which I anticipated was the oppor- tunity which it would present of introducing Governor Clifford to my Virginia friends. I felt sure that they would share my ftivorable regard for him, and thus a new link of fraternity would be added to the chain of memories which unite Massachusetts and Virginia. But it has pleased an All-wise Providence to ordain that it should be otherwise ; and all that I can now do is, on behalf of the people of Virginia and of the South, to tender to Massachusetts the assurance of their profound sympathy in the loss which she has sustained iu the untimely death of her distinguished son ! " APPENDIX. Telegram from the State Department of the United States. Washington, Jnn. 3, 1870. The finnouncement of tlie death of your most excellent father is received with the dee[)est regret. The country loses a good and pure man. The President tenders his sincere condolence. Be assured of my sympathy and sorrow. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of Slate. Charles W. Ci.iffoud, Esq., New Bedford. Extract from Governor Ulceus Inaugural Message to the Legis- lature of Massachusetts^ Jan. 6, 1876. Nor can you or I forget that, even now, the earth is receiving to its bosom the remains of a past Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth, ■who embodied in his character and exemplified in his life all that we recognize as highest and noblest in the name of Christian, and scholar, statesman, gentleman, and friend. Proceedings of the Executive and Legislative Departments of the Govermnent of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts^ in regard to the Death of Ux- Governor John II. Clifford. EXKCDTIVE DkPARTMENT, BosTits, Jiin. 5, IHTtJ. To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives. It becomes my painful duty to annuunco to the L!ature tho death of E.\-Governor John II. Ci.ii'KOun, which occurred at New Bedford on the second day of the present month. 24 The' funeral service will be performed to-morrow, January 6. I respectfully recommend the Legislature, by some appropriate action, to express their high ajipreciation of the great personal merit, and the able and distinguished public services, of that eminent citizen ; their profound sense of the loss which the State and the country have' sustained by his death, and their great respect for his character and memory. Wm. Gaston. In Senate, Jan. 5, 1876. Read and referred to a joint special committee, to consist of three on the part of the Senate, with such as the House may join. And Messrs. Crane, Sargent, and Wing were appointed on the part of the Senate ; and Messrs. Kellogg of Pittsfield, Kimball of Boston, Pierce of Milton, Noble of Westfield, Wetlierell of Worcester, Morissey of Plymouth, Gargan of Boston, and Barker of New Bedford were appointed on the part of the House. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, In Senate, Jan. 5, 1876. The Committee appointed to consider the communication from His Excellency the Governor respecting the death of Ex- Govern or John H. Clifford, report in part as follows : — That a Committee of the Legislature, consisting of four members of the Senate and eight of the House, be appointed to attend the funeral of the late John Henry Clifford, Ex-Governor of the Commonwealth, which will take place at New Bedford, on Thursday, the sixth day of January. And the Committee ask further time to complete their report. In Senate, Jan. 5, 1876. Accepted. And Messrs. Sargent, Ayres, Belcher, and Wing were appointed on the part of the Senate ; and Messrs. Fairbanks of Fall River, Noble of Westfield, Babson of Gloucester, Wethei-ell of Wor- cester, Morissey of Plymouth, Barker of New Bedford, Gargan of Boston, and Paul of Boston, on the part of the House. In Senate, Jan. 11, 1876. The Committee on the death of Ex-Governor Clifford, to whom was referred the communication of His Excellency the Governor, report the accompanying resolutions : — lit'solee'l. That in tlip doatli of John Ih'iiry Clifford, Ex-CIovonior of Massachusetts, the Commonwealth has lost one of its most useful, aceom|>lishe(l, ami distinguished citizens. Whether his varied and well- traineil powers were exerted in tho cause of education or in the execution of the laws, or exercisetl in dihate in either branch of the Le^jislature ot this State, or tested in the resimnsible Executive duties devolving upon him as the Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth, — in all the positions of public trust he so worthily tilled, he illustrated the ardor of his patriotism, the vigor of his intellectual powers, and added to the fame of the State which now mourns his death and honors his memory. Jicsoh'id, That his private, no less than his public, life bore testimony to the wisdom, strength, beauty, and grace of his personal character; dignified without austerity, firm and decided in liis convictions, yet courteous and deferential to those of his associates, with a power to apply his varied ajttainments to the practical affairs of business life, — he added to the prosperity and happiness of his fellow-citizens by his services and counsel ; and thus exemplified the peculiar rej)\il)lican sim- plicity of our systems of government, which recognize all public jjositions as temporary trusts, conferring lu)nor only upon those who by wise and pure administration prove themselves worthy the no less honorable duties of private life. Jiesolrttl, That we tender our sympathy to the family of the deceased, and that a coi)y of these resolutions be forwarded to them. In Sesatk, Jan. 11, 1876. Adopted. Sent down for concurrence. S. N. GiFFOUD, Clerk. House of Representatives, Jan. 11, 1876. Concurred. Geo. a. Harden, Clerk. Tribute of the Trustees of the Peahody Education Fund. Anxcal Meeting, White Sulphur Springs, August 5, 1870. The following resolutions, proposed by Hon. A. II. II. Stuart, of Virgiiii.i, and seconded by Gen. Richard Taylor, of Louisiana, were unanimously adopted : — liesolverl, That we have heard with profound sorrow of the death, since our la.st Annual Meeting, of lion. John II. ClilVord, one of our original Trustees, appointed by Mr. George Peabody to superintend the 26 administration of his munificent donations to the cause of education in the Southern States. We feel that in the death of Governor CUfford we have lost the services and co-operation of one of the most useful, zealous, and efficient members of our body, and that we have been deprived of the society of a gentleman whose eminent talents, liberal attainments, dignified and affable manners, and genial temper were sources of con- stant pleasure to all who had the good fortune to be thrown into intimate association with him. As Legislator, Attorney- General, and Governor of Massachusetts, he gave abundant evidence of his wisdom, legal and administrative ability, and enlightened patriotism. As a sagacious, energetic, and public-spirited citizen he contributed largely to the de- velopment of the material interests of his native State. And in his private life there was a continual exhibition of those manly virtues and attractive graces, which dignify and adorn the character of the Christian gentleman. His seat at our Board has been left vacant. The places that have known him will know him no more. He has gone to enjoy the reward of a well-spent life. All that is left to us is the memory of his talents, his eminent public services, and his many virtues. We bow with humble resignation to the will of Him in whose hands are the issues of life and death, and with sorrowful hearts we now desire to inscribe on our records this imperfect tribute of reverence and affec- tion for the memory of our deceased associate and friend. Resolved, That the Secretary of this Board be instructed to transmit to the family of Governor Clifford a copy of the foregoing resolution, with the assurance of the heartfelt sympathy of all its members with them in their sore bereavement. A true copy of record. George Peabodt Russell, Secretary. Ti'ihute of the Overseers of Harvard University, Jan. 26, 1876. In the death of our late associate, John H. Clifford, we recognize the interruption of an honorable, useful, and happy life. Born in another State, he attained the highest official station in our Common- wealth ; educated iu another university, he presided for many years over the Overseers of Harvard ; trained to the law, he reached its high honors a quarter of a century before he retired from practice, to gain equal precedence iu another field of labor ; trusted with high public offices, he held in private social station an equal rank ; and 27 whetluM' in j)ul»li(' or in j)rivate, lu; liclil no plaoe wliicli he diil not utlctiuutfly lill. Adininistriiiij; tlii' allairs of the Coiunioriwcaltli, or tilt' liiisiness of liis corporution, liu was wise in counsel, conservative in aclioii, skilful in dealiiijj with nimi. Presidiiij^ in the Senate, or in this rmanl, we well know his tact, his courte'^y, his impartiality. In his profession, to the strength of a sound mind in a sound body he did not disdain to add the grace of clear expression and of silver speech. As Attorney-General, he gave a dignity to the ofliee of puhlic prosecutor whieh in his hands partook of the nature of judicial service. In pri- vate life, welcome at every board, ho welcomed his friends to his own with a broad, free hospitality. Success waited upon desert throughout his life. As a public man no malice assailetl, no envy touched him. In his profession, the successful prosecution of a great criniiruil in a cause cclebre gave him a name at home and abroad. In his later busi- ness career, he left the corporation which he had in charge at the head of its kind in prosperity, and gave to our city an ornament which may stand as a monument alike of his good taste and his good judgment. His grace of manner, the expression of a kind and genial nature, attracted hosts of friends whom his real worth retained ; and, in the sacred circle of home, love was given and returned without stint or limit. He carried into public and business life the high sense of honor which is too often left at the home threshold ; and the State-house, the Court-house, and the Railroad felt its presence and its influence. Society has lost in him a noble gentleman, the State a useful citizen, this Board an honored member, and many of us a dear friend. Tribute of the Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation. At a meeting of the Directors of the Boston and Providence Kail- road Corporation, called for Wednesday, January 12, 187 G, owing to the death of the Honorable John Hexuy Clikfoud, the late President of the Company, which occurred suddenly at his home in New Bedford, on Sunday morning, January 2d, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, the following resolutions were adopted, and ordered to be entered upon tlio records. The acting President was requested to send a copy to Mr. Clifford's family. In the death of their President, his associate Directors recognize the loss to the eornn)iuiity — in which he had held so prominent and honorable a position during a peculiarly active and useful life — of a I 28 distinguished chief magistrate ; of a pure, able, and eloquent public servant, in the Senate and the forum ; of a valued citizen ; and of a most genial, cultivated, and courteous gentleman. His presence will be missed from the academic exercises and advis- ing council of our neighboring university, of which he was an adopted and favorite son. and whose honors he so greatly valued ; from the list of the loyal living sons of his own cherished Alma Mater ; and from the Board of Trustees who were charged with the liberal educational bequest of the late George Peabody. The grief of the house of mourning for its beloved head is known but too well. The general Government, whose proffers of diplomatic life he felt obliged to decline, the Commonwealth and the Bar, with many learned bodies of which he was a member, have already offered their tributes to the memory of Mr. Clifford; but, as intimately associated with him in his official position as President of this Corporation, we wish to make some simple record of the attachment and bereavement of every person connected with it. And it is therefore — Resolved, That, by the death of President Clifford, the Stockholders of the Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation have lost the ser- vices of one who gave of the best years of his life to their interests ; and during whose administration, marked as it was by enterprise, dis- cretion, and a conservative liberality, the prospei'ity of the road was so conspicuous. Resolved, That the Directors, Officers, and Employes have lost an ever-thoughtful and considerate friend and judicious adviser, towards whom they held feelings, not only of high respect and esteem, but of strong personal and affectionate regard. Resolved, That in behalf of those who for so many years were of President Clifford's official family, — Superintendents Folsom and Chace, Mr. Treasurer Torrey, Messrs. Morrill, Daily, and Davis, — and in behalf of all the servants of the Corporation, including their own body, the Directors would seek to express to Mrs. Clifford, her sons and daughters, their deep sympathy and sorrow in this time of affliction. Henry A. Whitney, George W. Hallet, Thomas P. I. Goddakd, William R. Robeson, Francis M. Weld, Joseph W. Balch, Direct 07-s. Boston, January 12, 1876. Winslow Warren, ClerL. 29 Tribute of the Bar of the County of Bristol, MaaxachuHetts. Ni:\v Bkdkokd, Jan. 0, 1876. lloii. (Jr.ouoK INLvRSTON, District Attorney, j)ri'.sente(l to the Court tho following resolutions of the Bristol Comity I>:ir: — Upon the decease of the IIou. JoilN Henry Cliffoud, it is by tho Bar of Bristol County — Resolved, That, while we are saddened by th(; allliotion which has removed from our sight our most eminent brother and leader, our recol- lection of his profes-sional career affords the highest satisfaction. His love of the law, as the chosen pursuit of his life, was sincere, ardent, controlling, and unabated. His ability was uuiiuestioned in every de- partment of his profession. His learning was ample and his skill adequate to every exigency. The tone of his practice, whether in con- sultation or in his addresses to the jury or to the court, was always in accord with the purest ethics. His fidelity to his client and his cause was only equalled by his fidelity to the best standards of honor and duty. As tho law olHcer of the Commonwealth he added dignity to the olhce and distinction to the State. The fame which he attained as a lawyer was illustrated by the noblest qualities of personal character. Resolved, That the Members of the Bar attend his funeral services in the church, and that these resolutions be presented to the Superior Court, with the request that they be entered in its records, and that the Presiding Judge be moved to adjourn the Court for the day and join the Bar in attendance upon the funeral. Resolved, That a copy of the Resolutions, signed by the President and Secretary of this meeting, be communicated to the family of our departed friend and brother, as an expression of sympathy with them in their great bereavement. Resolutions adopted by the Boston Typographical Union. Whereas, in obedience to the Divine summons, an honored citizen and worthy son of Massachusetts, the lion. Joiix II. Clikfohd, — a tliorouj^hly practical friend of the workingman ; faithful to every trust confided in him ; and of the strictest integrity in all tl«e duties of life, — has been removed from the scene of his earthly labors. Therefore — 30 Resolved, That in the death of the Hon. John H. Cliiford, at a time when con'uj)tion and selfishness seem to have talven possession of all classes of society, the Members of the Boston Typographical Society deplore the loss of a true friend of the workingman ; and, while humbly bowing to the Divine decree, cannot but feel that his death at such a time is an irreparable loss. Resolved, That one of the last acts of Mr. Clifford — his resistance to a proposed reduction of the wages of the employes of the Boston and Providence Kailroad Company, of which he was the honored President, and his generous offer to surrender a portion of his own salary rather than the workmen of the road should suffer — is a noble and enduring monument to his memory. No stone is needed on which to record his epitaph. His name and good deeds are inscribed in the hearts of the workingman. Resolved, That the Members of this Society tender their respectful sympathies to the family of the deceased in their bereavement. Boston, Jan. 29, 1876.