• « o - ^^O' ^ - • ' ^ * ^ «>i-. ^"^ o ^^-^^^ • TV.* ,0 '. u c ° " " -» "^ .>Va: >" .*> r.^ .^^ c ♦ * V *^ * » H" •"^^ A" 0^ ♦: « « - *o '^ *.,■.♦ ^ ^^. 'o . » * A <> *'7vr* .0^ Nb, 'o , . * A > • i 1 ^: d« —————————— ^ EULOGY ON THE LATE HONORABLE JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, DELIVERED AT COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, • ON THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1850, BY ROBERT HENRY, D. D. PROI'BSSOR OF GREEK LITERATXJEE IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE; 1»UBLISHED AT THE BEQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS. COLUMBIA, S. C. PRINTED BY I. C. MORGAN. 1850 * ^' EULOGY ox THE LATE HONORABLE JOHI CALDWELL CALHOUI, DELIVERED AT COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, ON THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1850, BT EGBERT HENRY, D. D. PEOFESSOr. OF GREEK LITEEATUEE IX THE SOrTH Ci\P.OLIXA COLLEGE. PUBLISHED AT THE EEQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS. COLUMBIA, S. C. FEINTED BY I. C. MOKGAN. 1850 e= 'it iutiiMaiJiaux!VVi:iiia J *?«. mmiv a xtjmm^\ii3mK m Kuum m aie x 3W W imMm m3tn CORRESPONDENCE, Columbia, S. C, May 17tli, 1850. My Dear Sir : The completeness of your performance on yesterday, as the Eu- logist of the late distinguished Statesman and Patriot, the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, filled your fellow-citizens, hy whose request you undertook the task, with emotions of the profoundest gratitude and admiration, absolutely nothing being wanting to render it a per- fect tribute ; and as a mark of their appreciation of it, and of respect for the author, and that it may be perpetuated in an enduring form for the benefit of posterity, I am instructed to request of you a coj^y for publication. I ardently desire that their application may meet with your assent, and on their behalf I respectfully address it to you. I am with profound regard, dear Sir, your very obedient servant, James D. Tradewell, Chairman of Committee of Citizens, &c. To Robert Henry, D. D. Columbia, S. C, May 18th, 1850. My Dear Sir: Your assurance, through your obliging communication of yester- day, that my recent effort to pay an appropriate tribute of respect, to the memory and character of our exalted fellow-citizen and states- man, the late Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, had met with the approbation of our community, is a source of the highest gratifica- tion to me. No one, however, can be more sensible than myself, that the success of the speaker, was chiefly owing to the noble subject presented for his Eulogy, and to the fact that the associations and feelings of his hearers were in perfect unison with the occasion. n imiiM,iiiwmu.umiiM.mvi. ivm&mbks e. .ic: A rpqnest to print what lias been spoken on sucli a tlieme, sliould be regarded as imperative, and I shall, accordingly, with the least possible delay, furnish you with a copy of the discourse for publi- cation. ]My best thanks are due to the Committee for the honor they have conferred upon me, and to yourself, especially, for the very cordial terms in wliich you have announced their wishes. I pray you both to accept the assurance of the highest consideration and respect of, My dear Sir, Your very obedient servant, Robert Henry. To Jaimes D. Tradewell, Esq., Chairman of Committee of Citizens, &c. U ' ■tnriwm«MMgiaiMWiiMMw«MMMM«it.i t.ij-mjir»4TJijm for one of the learned professions, he had cahiily made up his mind to hve contented upon his scanty patri- mony, as a planter, in preference to embracing pur- suits, in which imperfect preparation must forever preclude the hope of attaining to eminence. On the remonstrances, however, of his elder brother, who early set an high estimate upon his talents, he con- sented to reconsider the matter ; yet with a coolness and intelligence, which even then strongly character- ized him, he requested to know, whether the re- sources of his estate could be so arranged, as to secure him seven years of uninterrupted leisure for prepara- ^ tory study. An answer in the affirmative being re- ceived and his mother's consent obtained, he at once entered upon his plan. In four years from this time, he became a graduate of high distinction at Yale. There the clearest auguries of his future renown were uttered by the President, Dr. Dwight, and reechoed, with enthusiasm, by all the young scholar's class fel- lows. Over the latter indeed, he never ceased, almost unconsciously, to preserve the influence which he then obtained. Many of his companions, who afterwards differed widely from him in public affairs, yet felt themselves honored by their early association, with one possessed of such unimpeached integrity, joined to commanding intellect, and cultivated his friendship. The topic, which he selected for the subject of his Oration at Commencement, was the "qualifications necessary to constitute a perfect statesman." Nothino- could present a more rational subject of curiosity. 10 than the recovery of this composition, if it be yet in existence. It could hardly fail to mark, distinctly, "the boy as father of the man." There must have been there the elements of that hioh estimate of in- dependence and equality — of justice, truth and un- affected magnanim'ty, which were never absent from his character. From early life, he was a genuine disciple of the Academic School : The great men of our country, who had j^receded him — Washington, Jefferson, INIadison, all shared his veneration, but in the sanctuary of his heart, he worshipjoed nothing but truth. From College, he repaired to the Law School at Litchfield, Here, too, he soon became celebrated, especially for his skill in extempore speaking, which he cultivated with crreat assiduity. Afterwards, in Charleston, he enjoyed the instructions and official training of the late accomplished Chancellor DeSaus- sure. With a view also to greater familiarity with the routine of business, he passed some time in the office of Mr. Bowie, of Abbeville. With these arrange- ments, the period of study, which he had so saga- ciously devised and so pertinaciously pursued, was concluded. He was soon after called to the Bar, and immediately ranked on a level with its most distin- guished members. He probably now anticipated no other destin}'-, for a series of years, than increasing- labors and augmenting emoluments, insuring the acqui- sition of wealth and the recognized honors of his pro- fession. His continuance at the Bar, was however. 'a 11 eventually, of short duration, for the finger of Provi- dence seems to have marked him for a higher sphere. About this time the whole nation began to be agita- ted, by the most angry feeling towards Great Britain, in consequence of the insults offered to our flag and the spoliations practised on our commerce. At a pub- lic meeting at Abbeville, Mr. Calhoun was requested to draw up a Preamble and Resolutions, and to sup- port them by a proper address. Such was his com- manding success, that he was immediately nominated as a candidate for the Legislature, and subsequently elected a Member, at the head of the ticket. Through- out life, Mr. Calhoun studied deeply, estimated high- ly, and applauded, with due discrimination, the insti- tutions of England. His course, therefore, in the outset of his political career, w^as dictated neither by passion, nor prejudice. His animated call to resist- ance arose out of the enthusiasm, which a careful study of her history had inspired. In his speech made in reply to Mr. Ptandolph in 1811, he has hap- pily expressed the attitude and balance of his mind. He says, "But the gentleman, in his eager admiration of England, has not been sufficiently guarded in his aroument. Has he reflected on the cause of that admiration ? Has he examined the reasons for our hieh regard for her Chatham? It is his ardent patriotism — his heroic courage, which could not brook the least insult or injury offered to his country, but thought that her interest and her honor ought to be vindicated, be the hazard and expense, what they &" S ^ rSa^ '■ w&» tt^^:tf■Jy^J^■.ly■Y-^^-V■^■^ll^ ft«f tw?^-J..Vi&=^-^.3m.'.,hf .ffygg g V^ Q> 12 might I hope when we are called upon to admire, we shall also be asked to imitate. I hope the gentle- man does not wish a monopoly of those great virtues to Enoland." O ^Mr. Calhoun served but two sessions in the State Legislature. Such, however, were the impressions left upon it, by his clear and energetic intellect and manly enthusiasm, strikino- for the rii^ht, as in the lonor run, the truly expedient, that the spell of his influence over that body was never lost or weakened, to the last hour of his life. He at once o-ave the wdiole weight of his talents and authority to the Republican party, by strenuously advocating the election of Mr. Madison, as most likely to prevent distractions and to concen- trate the energies of the people for the mighty strug- gle, in which, it was evident they must soon be engaged, with the haughtiest and most redoubtable nation of modern times. It may seem astonishing, that one so young, without the adscititious aids of rank or fortune, should so sud- denly emerge to eminence. Yet if he early imped his wings for the eagle's flight, he only followed the genuine impulses of his noble nature. Conscious of the internal force, which sustained him, he eyed the noble quarry, his country's weal, and launched towards his object, with a sustained and undiverted flight, regardless of distinction, but eager to compass his lofty end. Our institutions awaken generous minds to the calls of ambition, by the facility with wdiich the oppor- tunity for distinction is conceded to all. Yet our 6' ■.rir'.'V^l!JB:ttmti»t:rjmaiiamacinTait uvxw iti r»T. Mui.a.^m-.«^MjiM.^f >fUMy ^ ,|;^y^ 13 illustrious statesman, must not be mingled with the herd of vulgar asjDirants. He valued station as the means of multiplied usefulness and of securino- the success of his plans, for improvement or reform. The proof is to be found in the fact, that when patronage was in his power, it was invariably assigned to merit and apportioned to the degree of service among the competitors. Indeed, the rapidity of his ideas and the clearness of their combination, left him no chance for dissimulation and intrigue. No matter what the subject might be, his thoughts flowed in upon him with the speed of lightning; they were instantly marshalled under clear and irrefragable premises; and pushed forward to their legitimate conclusions. The consequence was that he never had to abandon his principles, though as a matter of business, he might be obliged, practically, to accept the best compromise that he could obtain. His great effort through life, was to be himself; to be, what even envy now allows him to have been, fearless and consistent in what he knew to be right. From his first entrance into public life, and throughout his brilliant career he possessed that consolation, which the great Cardinal of England was only privileged to feel, when ambition had taken its flight and left him "leisure to be good." At any time Mr. Calhoun might have said, with all the exact- ness of truth — " I know myself now; and I feel witliin me A peace above all earthly dignities, A still and quiet conscience." @- ^© »&"■ 14 His success in life, never at any time, depended upon the court, which he paid to the people at large ; to any man, however exalted, or to any body of men. During his term of service as a Representative in Con- gress, the Act establishing a fixed annual compensation to members, was passed and voted for by Mr. Calhoun. The measure proved, in the highest degree, unpopu- lar, and extinguished the political importance of almost every man, who had voted for it. A powerful oppo- sition was organized against him in his District, and he w^as advised by friends to adopt a course, at once soothing and apologetic. Such a course he, notwith- standing, absolutely refused to adopt, feeling, no doubt, like the great Socrates,* in not dissimilar circumstan- ces, that it was ignoble and inappropriate to his char- acter, to be the instrument of casting the slightest shadow of suspicion over conduct, which he had adopted as, under all circumstances, correct and proper. On two several occasions, he addressed his constituents, with all the calmness and self-possession of conscious innocence ; defended his course as abso- lutely right, and eventually had the satisfaction to find, that nothing so certainly wins the esteem and affection of the people, as fortitude in the performance of duty, and an ingenuous avowal of motive. The true basis * " Imitatus est homo Romanus (Rutilius) ct consularis veterem ilium Socratem,t qui, quum omnium sapientissimus esset, sanctissi- mc(jue vixissct, ita in judicio capitis pro sc ijise dixit, ut no7i supplcz aut rcus^ sed magister aut dominus videretur esse judicura." — De Ornt. lib. I, c. 54. t ouOHv abixoM Siuysyivriixai ffoiSv, rivjf;^ vo/xi^oj fjLsXsVyjv ;ivai xaXkisr^v A-TroXoylug. — Soc. Dot". Xen. 4, Mem iv. S, 4. 15 of the most effective eloquence, will ever be found in the deep-seated, the unassailable confidence, which is reposed in the speaker. This is the solid bullion, from which oratory derives its value ; art may mould it into new and graceful forms, but can never su|3ply its place, v/here it is wanting. The observation has been so often repeated as to have become hackneyed, that opportunities make men. It would, perhaps, be more correct to say, that only great men know the value of opportunities. Mr. Cal- houn entered the arena of the national councils, when the stress of mighty events was calculated to thrust him into prominence. The timid started at responsibility ; the selfish were intent upon schemes of individual ag- grandizement ; the grovelling listened only to sugges- tions of safety ; the manly elements were still waiting, in abeyance, for the advent of that electric flash of genius, which should force them into brilliant and en- ergetic combination. Embargo, non-importation, non- intercourse — a kind of belligerent alteratives, had been long sapping the life of the patient, without, in any degree, counteracting, the virulence of his disease. The people suffered under all the inconveniences of war, loss of trade and the interruption of their regular pursuits, without any speedy prospect of relief, until the operations of their own government had become as hateful as the hostile measures of their foreio-n enemy. War, on the other hand, with all its horrors, has its compensations. It exercises all the forces, both intellectual and physical, of a great people ; the arts @« 16 of life frequently make rapid strides to perfection, un- der its exciting influences, and if it have its disasters and defeats, it is, not unfrequently, accompanied with and compensated by the triumphs of victory and the acquisition of renown. Various forms of restriction may have their timely use, as notes of preparation, but war alone convinces the unprincipled assailant, that a nation is earnest, in the defence of her rights. When it is considered, that the greatest statesmen in the country, were in favor of a temporizing policy, and that the greatest orators in Congress adopted the same course, under the severest sanctions of party discipline, it required no ordinary self-possession, to steal a march upon their supineness, and occupy the most advanced position of responsibility. Not the sm^ooth pebble from the brook, slung by the unerrino- hand of the youthful warrior, insjDired more life into the hearts of desponding friends, and more certain trepidation into the spirit of their presumptuous foe, than did Mr. Calhoun's unblenched declaration, that his election was for war. At the maoic recollections of Saratoga, Princeton and Eutaw, the nation felt the pulses of a new life, propagated to its remotest ex- tremities. " Let me not" said the orator, "be consid- ered as romantic. This nation ouoht to be tauorht to rely on its courage, its fortitude, its skill and virtue for protection. These are the only safeguards in the hour of danger. Man was endued with these great quali- ties for his defence. There is nothing about him that indicates that he was to conquer by endurance. He @, 17 is not encrusted in a shell ; lie is not taught to rely upon his insensibility, his passive safFering for defence. No, sir, it is on the invincible mind, on a magnanimous nature he ought to rely. Here is the superiority of our kind ; it is these that render man the lord of the world. It is the destiny of his condition, that nations rise above nations, as thev are endued in a greater degree, with these brilliant qualities." Mr. Calhoun's first effort derived no assistance from any station ^vhich he occupied. He was young and scarcely known, but this speech and the dauntless resolution, which it inspired, at once assigned him his true position, by common consent. Though only se- cond on the Military Committee, he was in reality, the main spring of its movements. When, in the follow- ing year, its Chairman retired from Congress, he suc- ceeded him in that position. Nor was he in the least pertinacious upon matters of mere precedence, for, when at the subsequent Session, the speaker felt embarrassed in assigning prominent positions to the numerous distinguished men from our State, Mr. Cal- houn, as the youngest, at once requested to be post- poned, and tha.t a member, from another State, might be assio-ned as the head of the Committee on which he was placed. The gentleman so honored, declined acceptance with great magnanimity, notwithstanding Mr. Calhoun's repeated assurances, that he would serve under him, with great pleasure. Mr. Calhoun, on ballot, was unanimously elected. So when his friend and colleague, Mr. Cheves, was proposed as a candi- 9Kmv^ w ijuu m ^\umiH' *f j ti n ta vi ttf *u i >Mm^.MimM: i. n iqmw>w ^wa>jw. n j| iigia ^ i ^i iMH-mw "to. @, CCTS uwiu apxw^ewwwgnr^MB^narrg ^j^ Bii j^ ' mafl i u 'a t wnj ff ju i wa-u 18 (late to fill the Speaker's Chair, Mr. Calhoun, though earnestly solicited by many, absolutely refused to have his name mentioned upon the occasion. Yet this was the man, who was afterwards calumniated as cherish- ing a vaulting ambition, which could brook no superior. During the whole of the war with Great Britain, Mr. Calhoun was the great spirit, who directed the storm. His courage never quailed even at the period, when by the downfal of Napoleon and the pacification of Europe, our great enemy flushed with success, was left with the means and the opportunity of directing all his energies against us. "Our enemy" said he, " never presented a more imposing exterior. His for- tune is at the flood. But I am admonished by uni- versal experience, that such prosperity is the most precarious of human conditions. From the flood the tide dates its ebb. From the meridian the sun com- mences his decline. Depend upon it, there is more of sound philosophy, than of fiction in the fickleness, which poets attribute to fortune. Prosperity has its weakness, adversity its strength. In many respects our enemy has lost by these changes, which seem so very much in his favor. He can no more claim to be struggling for existence ; no more to be fighting the battles of the world, in defence of the liberties of mankind." Never was political prophecy more amply verified. In a few short months from the time it was uttered, the veterans, who had marched almost in continual triumph, from Lisbon to Paris, were destined, at New Orleans^ to resign the palm of victory into the (O)- >_' mil III |||||BiiB MiMi i nT'-''""**^'*>«»i;^»^r»^t'3>»-KPi'w*t««rarwwt^r^^ aa 19 hands of troops, that had never frequented the tented field, nor felt their spirits stirred, by the glorious con- course of arms. From behind the darkest clouds of adversity, the star of our country burst forth, in more than its pristine effulgence. From that day the Uni- ted States ceased to have merely a putative rank among the great family of nations. It was now felt, that she had a right to speak, and speaking, she must be heard. If such be now their estimation and exalt- ed place among the nations, is there any man, who has more contributed to the glorious result, than Cai'o- lina's illustrious son? In all great undertakings, the first successful step is the harbinger of those which follow, and he, who takes it, secures a distinction, from which no subsequent chance can eject him. When we survey the vast domain, that stretches in boundless magnificence, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, teem- ing with ever-multiplying hosts of men, happy and contented, and able to defend and adorn the rich in- heritance, let us never forget what is due to him, who in the darkest hour of our country's peril, predicted the brilliancy of the future prospect, and rallied the hearts and nerved the arms of his compatriots to achieve the noble destiny. Peace being happily restored, Mr. Calhoun took a leading part in all the measures necessary to restore the nation, without fear of collapse, to her ordinary position, by the restoration of the finances to a healthy condition, and by the salvation of those great interests, which had started up under the unnatural excitement 20 of war. Tlic currency of the country was rotten tbrouoh all its vast and overshadowino- ramifications. What individuals, if left to themselves, could never have effected, was marvellously accomj)lished b}' the multiplication of corporate credit, and promises to pay were generated in such reckless profusion, that it seemed almost madness to dream of liquidation. Mr. Calhoun saw plainly that the revival of commerce, and the renewal of our intercourse with foreigners, must, in a very short time, bring the whole system to a halt. Our own citizens miijht be satisfied in the receipt of such exchanges as the circulation of domestic products furnished, but foreigners could only be sat- isfied by liquidating their balances in the currency of the world. Correction, he saw, could only come from the application of force extraneous to the system ; and he proposed to apply a compression stringent enough to restore the elasticity of its materials, but not powerful enough to crush them. He gave his consent and support, therefore, to the formation of the Bank, in connection with the reception and distribution of the Government funds, not as abstractedly the best scheme, but as the best which the country could bear. The chartering of this institution is, perhaps, the only instance in which a keen perception of the value and jealous guardianship of State Rights may be said to have forsaken him. The friends of strict construction have always contended that, as the creation of a corporation is the highest act of sovereignty, if it be I not contained, which it is not, among the enumerated 21 powers, it could never be permitted to pass as an I incident to the powers granted. This vast fiscal machine proved itself unworthy of the high confidence reposed in it, and, after numerous shocks and perilous escapes, reached the term of its existence, having precipitated the finances of the country into a more frightful depth of destruction, than that in which it originally found them. Whilst its rottenness remained concealed, Mr. Calhoun defended its rights, and even favored the renewal, for a short period, of its charter, with a view to the gradual and final hquidation of its affairs. As soon, however, as the failure of the scheme and the greatness of the ruin became apparent, Mr. Calhoun, whilst he felt the impossibility of correcting past mistakes, gave his whole energies to the support of the only plan, by which future disasters could be avoided. In allusion to Mr. Rives's proposal of substi- tuting the State Banks as depositories of the public funds, he observed: "Nor ought he to be surprised ■ that those, who joined him in the first, [experiment in 1836,] should be rather shy of trying the experiment ao-ain, after havino- been blown into the air, and burned and scalded by the explosion." Mr. Calhoun's course on the subject of the Tariff of 1816, has often been grossly misrepresented, as if he had first been an advocate of the American System and then abandoned it. That Tariff was, strictly, a fiscal measure, intended to meet the current expenses of the Government, and to provide a fund for the extinguishment of the National debt. In pursuing the -a ?■ .^ 22 latter of these objects, there were plainly two feasible methods, either to subject the public resources to the least possible burden, by distributing the amount over a very long series of years, or by a rapid process of extinouishment, to remove the weight from off the shoulders of the nation, and leave it, at once, free and untrammelled in the developement of its wealth and power. The slower process would have left room for intermediate projects, involving immense outlays and eventuating in an indefinite postponement of the re- demption of the public faith. New wars might thus arise and find us laboring under the undiminished pressure of former misfortunes or extravagancies. The rapid extinction of the public indebtedness was surely a requisition of correct statesmanship, fraught, when viewed simply upon its own merits, with every prospect of advantage to the country at large. Whilst arranging the plan, Mr. Calhoun rejoiced, that inci- dentally, vested interests, which had conferred incal- culable benefits upon the community, at a time when they were greatly needed, would be sustained and preserved for future usefulness. Soon after this adjustment, he quitted Congress to engage in the Executive Department of the Government. His commanding position now gave him an ample oppor- tunity of estimating the aims and tendencies of what was then habitually obtaining the appellation of the American System. He saw the inequality of its ope- ration, and its utter destitution of all foundation of right, either in the letter or the spirit of the Constitu- 23 tion. I have heard hini sa}^ that after returning home in 1816, upon a relation and near neighbor suggesting to him, that some objection had been made to his course, he rephed that he regarded the measure as a fiscal one; that as a system, the thought had never even crossed his mind, and should never enlist his support. Whilst pursuing his striking career as a Member of Congress, possessing at once, the admiration and con- fidence of the entire Union, he was selected by the new President, at the formation of his Cabinet, to take the direction of the War Department, In estimating the value to be attached to this appointment, it must be recollected, that the affairs of the War Office, were in a state of great confusion, and demanded a thorough and searching reform, and that it was a leading rule with Mr. Monroe, in selecting his coadjutors, never to appoint any man, with respect to whom the humblest citizen might have to ask — "Who is he?" This pro- motion was received without the slightest solicitation and was quite unexpected. Mr, Calhoun's friends rather advised against his acceptance of it, on account of its crashing responsibility, and from the fact, that he was at that time utterly unacquainted with the requisite military details. In such matters friends may advise, and their communications may be very available elements in the formation of a correct judg- ment, but at last a man of genius is the fittest estima- tor of his own powers. When feeble minds survey a stretch of diflficulties, each one makes its separate im- pression by tale and weight. But the commanding 1 »® 24 intellect, separates them into squadrons, and knows that ^vhcn two or three are vanquished, the rest van- isli spontaneously. JVFr. Calhoun resolved to direct the best energies of his mind to the task assio-ned him. In doing so, he commenced in a manner strikingly characteristic of the man. Instead of a stately air and imperious habits, which would have been a signal to his agents to withhold all information from him ; instead of wordy promises and abortive, because ill- considered efforts, with a view to popular and ephem- eral applause, lie, for the first few months, adopted the course, of a " masterly inactivity." His eye was everywhere; his ear constantly open; his attention and | observation in continual exercise, whilst his genial tem- per and bland but inartificial manners, invited and secured confidence. Details in great number and variety in this way became familiar, and his subse- tjuent generalizations, were not vapid abstractions, but tallied with the true state of facts, and at once met and provided for the exigencies of the public service. A judicious economy, a severe system of accountabil- ity, and a constant intelligence with the department, were the chief means relied upon for success. The consequence was, that a complete synopsis of all the transactions of the army, might have been furnished at any moment. Universal satisfaction prevailed, and it is not too much to say, that no superintendent of our military affairs, either before or since, has ever afforded more gratification to all employed under him. The new Secretary's plans had no trace of servile BHasHMrwa 25 imitation in them, yet were devised and carried through, with such abihty, that a General Officer, who had been high in favor with Napoleon, observed that he had known no man, who, in the rapidity and certainty of his combinations, so much resembled his ancient patron, as Mr. Calhoun. In the medical staff of the army he also instituted a plan for the collection of the statistics of temperature, climate, and diseases, which have led to many valu- able inferences, that a physician of merit has since placed before the world in a permanent form. The Academy at West Point, also, shared largely in his fostering care. Its course of studies was re- formed and enlarged ; classes were permanently fixed, and no promotion from a lower to a higher class Der- mitted, until the requisitions of the former were com- plied with. The ablest instructors were engaged, their authority sustained, and they required to trans- mit to the Department, a regular and faithful account of the conduct and progress of every pupil. It is now admitted, even by foreigners not favorably disposed towards our institutions, to be one of the most efficient military schools, which any country can boast of In- deed, the triumph of our arms, recently achieved in Mexico, abundantly attests the scientific attainments and the high efficiency of its pupils, when in actual service. Time rolled on, and the commencement of Mr. Monroe's second term having been entered upon, it was natural for the country to discuss the merits of 4 26 those, who were conceived fit to succeed him. There was, in Pennsylvania, a very warm fechng in favor of Mr. Calhoun, whilst in Carolina, many were anx- ious to have the claims of Mr. Lowndes considered. Without the privity of either, their respective friends, according to the bent of their predilections, nominated the one or other, for the high station. Between the two the kindest feelings and the highest estimate of each other's character, had long subsisted. Mr. Calhoun, as rather the younger, made the first ad- vance towards the removal of this awkward dilemma, by assuring his rival of his utter previous ignorance of the proposed nomination, and by requesting that the whole proceeding should create no change in their friendly relations. Ambition is generally so rank in its appetite and so oblivious of the calls of magnanimity, that the conduct pursued by these two favorite sons of our State, on this occasion, affords a touching spec- tacle of disinterested patriotism. It is cheering to refliect, that their friendship never suffered the slight- est diminution. It is to be regretted, for the cause of sound princi- ples, that the rivalry between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Crawford did not settle down into like harmony. Educated together, there had always existed between them a certain degree of emulation, not inconsistent with stronfT attachment. Mr. Crawford had, at the last election for President, been brought forward by his friends on a caucus nomination. As Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Mr. Calhoun 27 had had frequent intercourse with Mr. Monroe, who was Secretary of State under Mr, Madison. The greater age, the revolutionary claims and the long j)ublic service of Mr. Monroe, had made him promi- nent, and he was regarded as in the legitimate line of the succession. That under all the circumstances, Mr. CalhoOn should have conceived a hioh deoree of attachment for Mr. Monroe, and have I'egarded his elevation to power with approbation, can afford no ground of censure to any reasonable man. In addi- tion, he had always expressed himself as opposed to caucus nominations. He reo;arded them as filching from the people, the highest and most animating privi- lege, which, by the Constitution, they had reserved to themselves. By a corrupt understanding also, among party managers, it followed, as a necessary result, that all the great officers of the Government were designa- ted beforehand. Popular enthusiasm in Pennsylvania, having been strongly demonstrated to be in favor of General Jack- son, Mr. Calhoun very readily acquiesced in the withdrawal of his name by his friends. Being, how- ever, subsequently adopted both by the partizans of General Jackson and Mr. Adams, as their candidate for Vice-President, he was elected with little opposi- tion. Mr. Calhoun was never without misgivings of the propriety of advancing to the highest station in the land, one whose merits, though of the highest order, were purely military. Yet, so far as he had given any .9 28 indication of opinion, the hero of New-Orleans always professed himself to be a disciple of the school of Jefferson ; a rigid constructionist and a great advocate of economy and retrenchment. On the other hand, Mr. Adams was known to favor the most latitudinarian construction, and to regard the "general welfare" as the one comprehensive and essential clause of our federal compact. In the event, each disappointed public expectation. Mr. Adams, in practice, was comparatively moderate and economical, whilst Gen- eral Jackson pushed the Presidential prerogative to an extent, which laughed all responsibility to scorn. His first term of service exhibited an unhesitating abandon- ment of his best friends and an unblushing canvass for reelection. Towards the end of his term of service the Government had become the same with that of Rome under Octavius : the forms of freedom were speciously observed, where no present exigency tempted to a violation of them, but in reality the em- pire had found a master. When sectional legislation and practical disregard of all principle had reached this unhappy eminence, Mr. Calhoun saw, at a glance, that the expectation of reform through the ballot box was desperate. The people were literally fascinated, with the military fea- tures of an administration, in which will had succeeded to the place of law. Tried by any standard of en- lightened policy, it was a satire upon free institutions. The liquidation of the National debt was the avowed motive for enormous taxation ; almost equal in amount (?<>•' =-p> 29 to one half the exports of the country, and when it was found, that this excuse was rapidly vanishing, the still more monstrous proposition of distributing the surplus revenue began to be ventilated. In all the annals of human infatuation and misgovernment, there is nothing on record to equal this. Cromwell's taxa- tion, the first of protective systems, was so managed as to stimulate, perhaps unwisely, the developement of British resources, but ever}^ farthing of it was neces- sary to meet the expenditures of the country. For the last fifty years, the greatest minds of all nations, Turcot and Adam Smith and Franklin had been occupied in demonstrating, that a country never flour- ishes so much, as when all restrictions upon industry and competition are removed, and men, for success, are commended to their own unshackled energies, but, as if to show how small the wisdom, which usually presides over the affairs of nations, America gathers up the cast off* rags of European policy, and feels daz- zled and delighted, with the supposed splendor of her political apparel. South Carolina, from generous motives, had tolera- ted the Tariff' of 1816, but every fresh impost, after that, met with her decided opposition and protest. She had not bargained for the semblance of indepen- dence, but the substance, and that the forms of law were observed, w^hilst intolerable burdens were heajDed upon her, she held to be no alleviation, but only the addition of insult to injury. So early as 1820, the House of Representatives of South Carolina affirmed aacx'SBBeaaEm 'b rniWT — — -i-^*«i—^*ncyr»ac-.if>»i 30 the principle of Free Trade, but declined embarrass- ing the action of Congress, in what seemed to be intended for the regulation of Commerce. In 1825, both branches of our Legislature, denounced as un- constitutional, all duties levied for the purpose of protecting domestic manufactui-es. In 1827, the Leg- islature again, in a very able memorial, reaffirmed the whole subject of State Rights and a limited inter- pretation of the Constitution, and specially denounced the Tariff of Protection as unconstitutional, and so instructed our Senators in Congress. In 1828, there was a very energetic and eloquent Protest, accompa- nied by instructions. To these. Resolutions were appended, in which it is boldly announced, " That the measures to be pursued, consequent on the persever- ance in this system, are purely questions of expediency and not of allegiance." Simultaneous with these, a there was read and ordered to be printed, an ExjDosi- tion of singular ability, known to have proceeded from the pen of Mr. Calhoun. In it, the iniquitous operation of the Tariff' for protection, is exposed with profound ability, and yet most dispassionately argued. The document, however, is still more remarkable for its correct estimate of liberty, and the safeguards necessary to secure it, and for its lucid developement of the practical working of the Constitution, "Liber- ty," it is there strongly urged, "comprehends the idea of responsible power, that those who make and execute the laws should be controlled by those on whom they ope- rate, that the governed should govern." * * * * '-^ ©, 31 * * " In fact, the abuse of delegated power, and the tyranny of the greater over the lesser interests of society, are the two great dangers, and the only two, to be guarded against ; and if they be effectually guarded, liberty must be eternal." ****** " No government, based upon the naked principle that the majority ought to govern, however true the maxim in its proper sense, and under proper restrictions, ever preserved its liberty for a single generation." * * * * * * " Those governments only, which provide checks, which limit and restrain within proper bounds the power of the majority, have had a prolonged ex- istence, and been distinguished for virtue, power and happiness. Constitutional government, and the gov- ernment of a majority are utterly incompatible, it be- ing the sole purpose of a constitution to impose limita- tions and checks upon the majority. An unchecked majority is a despotism — and government is free, and will be permanent in proportion to the number, com- plexity and efficiency of the checks, by which its pow- ers are controlled." ****** " Doubtful powers," it is there further contended, "are not to be assumed, but if requisite, obtained by the stipulated majority of three fourths." There appears here to be a hast}^ concession, which at a later period, when his mind had more maturely reflected upon the subject, Mr. Calhoun would more warily have guard- ed against. It is said, "But by an express provision of the Constitution it may be amended or changed, by three fourths of the States ; and each State, by assent- sancsKTrBOB .9 32 ing to the Constitution with this provision, has surren- dered its original rioht as a sovereion, which made its individual consent necessary to any chanoe in its pohtical condition, and has placed this important powe]', in the hands of three fourths of the States, in which the sovereignty of the Union under the Con- stitution, does now actually reside." The true doc- trine, in which Mr. Calhoun afterwards acquiesced, is that sovereignty or the permanent right to exact obe- dience, is indivisible and indispensable to the safety and happiness of every independent community. It cannot escheat as an incident ; it can only be lost by express abandonment and a deliberate consent to be merged in some other sovereignty. Now, every feet in our History — our colonial governments, our sepa- rate declaration of independence ; our subsequent several adoption of the Confederation and Constitu- tion, and the terms, in which the mother country acknowledged the distinct independence of each State, demonstrated beyond contradiction, the sove- reign character of each State. Accordingly, there is no mode of avoiding the force of the conviction, that each State is the uncontrolled depository of all the functions and powers necessary to its own safety and progress. In his speech on the Force Bill, the magni- tude of the danger, the crying enormity of the insult, caused his mind, now excited to the full develope- ment of its energies, to ascend to the highest platform of truth. The whole doctrine is so clearly conceived and so lucidly expressed, and presents us with so ■ H f ■ ■I BP *— J i '!« 33 noble a specimen of his style, that there needs no apology for quoting it ; at least not in this assembly, nor on this occasion, when the deepest feelings of the heart awaken, by contrast, the highest inspirations of the understanding. " In spite of all that has been said," pronounces this great master of ^political wisdom, " I maintain that sovereignty is in its nature indivisible. It is the supreme power in a state, and we might just as well speak of half a square or half a triangle, as half a sovereignty. It is a gross error to confound the exercise of sovereign powers, with sovereignty itself, or the delegation of such powers with a surrender of them. A sovereign may delegate his powers to be exercised by as many agents as he may think proper, under such conditions and with such limitation as he may impose ; but to surrender any portion of his sovereign- ty to another is to annihilate the whole. The Senator from Delaware" [Mr. Clayton] "calls this metaphysi- cal reasoning, which, he says he cannot comprehend. If by metaphysics he means that scholastic refinement, which makes distinctions without difference, no one can hold it in more utter contempt than I do; but if on the contrary he means the power of analysis and com- bination — that power which reduces the most com- plex idea into its elements, which traces causes to their first principles, and by the power of generaliza- tion and combination, unites the whole in one harmo- nious system — then, so far from deserving contempt, it is the highest attribute of the human mind. It is the power, which raises man above the brute — which 5 ICm 34 distinoulshes his faculties from mere saoacitv, which he holds in common with inferior animals. It is this power which has raised the Astronomer from being a mere oazer at the stars to the high intellectual eminence of a Newton or Laplace, and Astronomy itself, from a mere observation of insulated facts, into that noble science, which dis2;)lays to our admiration the system of the universe. And shall this high power of the mind, which has effected such wonders when directed to the laws which control the material world, be forever prohibited under the senseless cry of meta- physics, from being applied to the high purpose of political science and legislation ? I hold them to be subject to laws as fixed as matter itself, and to be as fit a subject for the application of the highest intellectual power. Denunciation may indeed, fall upon the philosophical inquirer into these first principles, as it did upon Galileo and Bacon when they first unfolded the great discoveries which have immortalized their a names; but the time will come, when truth will prevail in spite of prejudice and denunciation, and when politics and legislation will be considered as much a science as Astronomy and Chemistry." I yet retain a lively recollection of the impression produced upon me by this magnificent specimen of the highest oratory. In the lapse of years, it has lost nothing of its interest. How majestic its cadence, yet how severe its simplicity; the sublime of thought has naturally suggested the sublime of language, and the judgment, the fancy and the feelings all move in nim- ©' 35 ble responses to the Speaker's power. Standing in the Capital at that moment, and battUng in sohtary grandeur against fraud and force, he might have been hailed as the Atlas of the State, free and strong- enough to sustain the burden, or to hurl it again into confusion and chaos. Was not his moderation as remarkable as his merit? In the summer of 1831, Mr. Calhoun put forth a very able address, on the subject of the relations, which the State and General Government bear to each other. It is a very powerful paper, and fixed, the political faith of many, who, till then, had been unable to decide for themselves. It was, however, superseded in its importance, by another, addressed, to General Hamilton, in which the whole subject was resumed and advanced to the consideration of the remedy in State interposition and nullification. It is an able didactic composition, close and compact in its arrangement, presenting a masterly synopsis of the fundamental principles of free government. It is chiefly remarkable for the perspicacity and vigor, with which it demonstrates the vast importance of checks and balances in every form of popular polity. Under the designations of the absolute and concurring majorities, he traces the oscillations of power, and shows how, by a combination of different materials in the prime mover, and a well calculated antagonism in their forces, the motion of the entire machine may be rendered equable and permanent. The whole ex- hibits the developements of a mind long familiar with @- KoaaausKa 36 the aptest precedents both of ancient and modern times. Speaking of the two great adjusting principles before referred to, he observes — "Of this modification the British and Spartan governments are by far the most remarkable and perfect examples. In others the right of acting — of making and executing the laws, was vested in one interest, and the right of arresting or nullifying in another. Of this description the Roman Government is much the most striking instance. In others, the right of orio^inating or intro- ducing projects of laws was in one and of enacting them in another : as at Athens, before its government degenerated, where the Senate proposed, and the General Assembly of the people enacted laws," It is impossible to resist quoting the following para- graph, in which the brightest rays of his mind appear to be drawn to a focus of the utmost intensity of light and heat. " Two powers," he remarks, " are necessa- ry to the existence and preservation of free States : a power on the part of the ruled to prevent rulers from abusing their authority, by compelling them to be faithful to their constituents, and which is effected through the right of suffrage ; and a power to coinpel the parts of society to he just to one another, hy compell- ing them to consult the interest of each other, which can only be effected, whatever may be the device for the purpose, by requiring the concurring assent of all the great and distinct interests of the community to the measures of the government. This result is the sum total of all the contrivances adopted by free States to 37 preserve their liberty, by preventing the conflicts between the several parts or classes of the community. Both jDOwers are indispensable. The one as much so as the Other. The rulers are not more disposed to encroach on the ruled, than the different interests of the community on one another, nor would they more certainly convert their power from the just and legiti- mate objects for which governments are instituted into an instrument of aggrandizement, at the expense of the ruled, unless made responsible to their constitu- ents, than would the stronger interests theirs, at the expense of the weaker, unless compelled to consult them in the measures of the government, by taking their separate and concurring assent. The same cause operates in both cases. The constitution of our nature, which would impel the rulers to oppress the ruled, unless prevented, would in like manner, and with equal force, impel the stronger to oppress the weaker interest. To vest the right of government in the absolute majority, would be in fact, hut to embody the will of the stronger interest, in the operations of the government, and not the loill^ of the whole community, and to leave the others unprotected, a p'ey to its ambition and cupidity, just as would be the case, between rulers and ruled, if the right to govern was vested exclusively in the hands of the former. They would both be, in reality, absolute and despotic governments : the one as much so as the other." From the earliest records of their colonial history, down to the present time, the people of South Caroli- ( \m 38 na have shown themselves httle disposed to tolerate the abuses of government. They wrested the reins of power from the incompetent hands of the proprie- tary rulers, by a very high-handed revolution. To the royal authority, they for a half a century, submit- ted with a devotion, which might have been almost denominated filial. The moment, however, that it became apparent, that advantage was about to be taken of this state of things to evacuate the principles of the Constitution, indignation and defiance were substituted for loyalty and obedience. Brought into existence, almost simultaneously with the great Revo- lution of 1688, her notions were all in favor of regu- lated liberty; not the comet-like coruscation, which starts in madness from its sphere, but maintaining a well ascertained orbit, impressed upon her, alike by the dictates of freedom and the demands of subordi- nation. Mr. Calhoun, born on the soil and nurtured in early life, amidst the inspiring associations of a revo- lution, whose success had been cemented by the blood of his relatives and family connections, knew the cost of independence, and felt that it could not be perpetu- ated by mere parchment stipulations, but by the intel- ligence and dauntless resolution of those, who had inherited it. All the due preliminaries of conflict, explanation, remonstrance, entreaty, protest, having been exhausted, he felt, that some decided form of ac- tion was necessary to convince our antagonists that we were in earnest. The enactment of the iniquitous Tariff of 1832, in the face of so many calls and rea- a)' ■^ 39 sons for forbearance, with the Treasury full to over- flowing, and wild schemes of distribution afloat, seemed to announce the knell of freedom, and emphat- ically to proclaim, the will of the majority and not the Constitution to be the law of the land. To this was joined the kindly memento of the President, of an earlier date, that among his "high and sacred duties" was the exercise of coercion, should the common- wealth prove refractory. The Legislature of the State being specially convened by Governor Hamilton, resolved upon the call of a Convention, the highest earthly authority known to the people of South Caro- lina, and the legitimate successor of that, by which the Constitution had been adopted. The Convention pronounced the whole system of a Tariff for protec- tion, to be fatal to the pi'osperity of the people of the State, and a g7'oss, deliberate and palpable violation of their Constitutional rishts. This was immediatelv followed by an address to the State, in which the Convention declared: "We have solemnly resolved upon the course, which it becomes our beloved State to pursue — we have resolved that until these abuses be reformed. No more Taxes shall be paid here. "Mil- lions for defence, but not a cent for tribute." They concluded with a religious appeal, in a tone of the profoundest reverence — and with the solemn injunc- tion to their fellow-citizens, "Do your duty to your country and leave the consequences to God !" General Hayne having been designated as successor to the chief magistracy of the State, resigned his situ- ©= .a> 40 ation as Senator in Congress. Mr. Calhoun was im- mediately appointed to the vacant office, and though it was seen to be one of imminent peril and vast res- ponsibility, resigned, with great self-sacrifice, the Vice Presidency of the Union, in order to sustain his own principles now become the voice of the State. From that period, so completely was he rivetted in the affec- tions of the people, that his voice and that of the peo- ple, were one. Thenceforth, politics and parties, within the State, were scarcely heeded by him. All the energies of the man were directed to the accom- plishment of the reforms which he knew to be neces- sary to the preservation and permanence of the Union. For that Union, in the use of its legitimate powers, with all its associations of glory and renown, derived from its past achievements, and all its prospects for the future developement of its immense physical, men- tal and moral resources, no man entertained a higher or intenser admiration than he. It was the great arena in which his own reputation and renown had reached that palmy height, which was the envy of many and the admiration of all. In addition to the working out of their own happy destiny, he hoped to see the United States, affording the other nations of the world a model of rational and permanent liberty. His feelings were now intensely wound up, in refer- ence to his double task of saving the Union and rescu- ing the country at large, from the most deplorable doom that can await a nation — the triumph of irre- sponsible power. At this time, during a short stay, '& 41 which he made in Columbia, I called upon him and found him alone. He never appeared in better health, nor calmer and more self-possessed. On my mention- ing the report, which extensively prevailed, that the President intended to have him arrested as soon as he arrived in Washington, he replied with a smile on his countenance, but with perfect dignity : " It will not be done ; my opponents are too politic to attempt it, but as far as myself and the cause are concerned, I should desire nothing better; it would set people a thinking." On his arrival at the seat of government, he took the earliest opportunity, from his place in the Senate, to reaffirm his principles, and offered a series of resolu- tions, in which they were succinctly and forcibly em- bodied. He thus obtained a hearing, and if his views were attacked, the privilege of reply. Mr. Webster wished Mr. Calhoun to precede him in the debate on the Force Bill, and carried his point, but having also incidentally touched upon the resolutions, Mr. Calhoun in his rejoinder so completely established the basis of his doctrine, that his magnanimous antagonist was oblioed to admit, that if the Historical facts, concern- ino- the orioin and prooress of the Constitution, were as had been stated, that it was impossible to escape the conclusion. Mr. Clay vvihingly lent himself to the work of compromise, and Mr. Calhoun, anxious only for the restoration of sound princijDles, was willing to allow very moderate rates of reduction, operating through a long series of years. Even in undoing, what had been badly done, Mr. Calhoun was unwill- ®* 6 ___„™ 42 ing to crush the })rivate citizen, who had been be- guiled into hazardous enterprizes by the irregular action of his rulers. Indeed, to his wise and prophetic mind, a dissolution of the Union was one of the great- est evils and second only to that of submission to the flat of an uncontrolled majority. Never was there a more cheering proof of what a single exalted mind, of competent ability, can effect for the preservation of liberty. Only a few short months after the most vex- atious of imposts had been laid with a reckless hand, the whole grievance, so far as related to the possibility of future action, was removed. The Force Bill, on which Mr. Calhoun's admirable effort has been already noticed, was indeed past, but it was only the surly snarl of the mastiff, when his prey has es- caped. If fighting had been the object. South Caro- lina was prepared, at all points, for the conflict ; but she saw plainly that in a polity, which was understood to be founded upon the consent of the governed, the moment coercion became necessary to retain any member in the Union, the system became a shapeless abortion. She was determined not to assume the responsibility before the world, of dissipating all the animating hopes, which rallied around this hitherto successful experiment in self-government. Along with the acceptance of the compromise act, by the Convention, the Force Bill ceased to be of the slight- est significance. As soon as things were happily ad- justed at Washington, Mr. Calhoun hastened to Car- olina, with the utmost expedition, in order that the lanwpgHi.vMPKU'liii -© e "■•fiTP"*' 11 I II iimTiTiT r''^™''''^'''^'*fTV'*TriwrT'^''^*°"*'^'*'**'^^ 4 *? State mioht not be without the influence of his mode- ration and calm judgment That the Union is safe and that our scheme of regulated liberty continues to flourish, is more owing, under Providence, to Mr. Calhoun, than to all other causes put together. In- deed, up to the latest period of his existence, he never failed to warn the young and inexperienced, not rashly to discard so rich an inheritance. He maintained, that whatever might be the just causes of discontent, and whatever the acrimony of our struggles to remove them, we, in the United States, at last enjoyed more true happiness, than any other country of the globe. Time w^ould fail us, should we attempt even the most cursory glance at all the important discussions, in which Mr. Calhoun took a part, for the next ten years. The most remarkable of these were on the Sub- Treasury ; the Distribution Bill ; the Treaty of Washington, and the Oregon Bill. With regard to Oregon, his plan of policy would have consisted in continuing the Treaty for joint occupation, and for the rest, to be content with a " masterly inactivity." To use his own words, " There is often in the affairs of government, more efficiency and wisdom in non-action than in action." Pretenders in all professions, we may add, rush into action upon all occasions, because they have no rule of right within themselves. They selfish- ly hope, that a momentary success may answer the demands of their own vanity or cupidity. They dis- course blandly of the wants and expectations of the public, but the sagacious know, that they mean only I __„__„ .& 44 tlicmselves. Accordingly, the whole aftair was aban- doned to popular enthusiasm, which soon produced a crisis, attended with a commercial pressure, caused by the fear of a protracted war, with our most valu- able customer. Mr. Calhoun felt that justice was as much a cardinal virtue amono- nations as amomx men. Of a property long held in common, he knew that it was in vain to set up a claim which covered nearly the whole of it. In opposition to all party clamor, he contended for an equitable adjustment; one which a great nation might accede to without loss of honor. Upon this basis a treaty was at last concluded, in which both countries have entirely acquiesced. This whole transaction afforded a remarkable proof of the correct and exalted rules of action, which invariably influenced the conduct of this oreat man. When En o land <^ •' did bestride tlie nanow world Like a Colossus" — trampling the rights of unoffending and defenceless nations under foot, he felt that America should make no other answer to insult, than a cartel of deliance. But when peace had been restored and long friend- ship ripened into habit, and where the difficulty in- volved no great principle, to rush on war, with all its hazards and all his horrors, appeared to him, not mag- nanimitv, but madness. Towards the close of Mr. Tyler's administration, Mr. Calhoun consented to accept a place in his Cab- -.C', 45 inet, purely with a view to carry through the nego- tiations for the annexation of Texas. They could, with propriety, be entrusted to no other agency than that of a Southern statesman, and he strong enouah to sustain the act before the nation and the world. The appointment gave universal satisfaction, and the suc- cess, which attended it, confirmed the opinion of the wisdom that dictated it. Latterly there had been but little sympathy on public measures between the Pres- ident and the new Secretary, but there was one tie, which had prevented separation from being trans- formed into alienation. Calhoun could never foroet, Carolina could never forget, that, when in the Senate of the United States, her principles were stigmatized as treason, and herself driven to the wall, John Tyler was the only man, not of her soil, who boldly avowed his adhesion to them. As had been predicted by some, the annexation of Texas involved the nation in a war with Mexico. Mr. Calhoun thought the event possible, but not probable, if subsequent proceedings were inspired with pru- dence and moderation. At a later period, he con- tended that the mere crossing of the Del Norte, and the effort to occupy territory of which Mexico had never consented to divest herself, was not a cause of war. We had grounds to resist her entrance into or to drive her from territory, which we held under co- lor of right, but that we pursued an indefensible course, when, without causes transcendino- the limits of neo-o- tiation, and without a previous declaration of war, we tm-MT'fgtrm.LWHiti tmij.jitwKmrt if cffw sazy) 46 invaded her soil, sacked her cities and slaughtered her defenceless inhabitants. Her weakness, he thought, should have pleaded as an additional cause of for- bearance. Hatred of oppression and wrong; con- tempt for all subterfuge and indirectness of conduct, were the very instincts of his nature: He was a lively exemplification of the profound truth, uttered long ago by a French writer of depth and acuteness, "oreat thoughts come from the heart."* On no subject have Mr. Calhoun's views been less understood ; with respect to none, was he more ex- posed to the wanton attacks of calumny and vitupera- tion, than on the subject of oar peculiar institutions. His perspicacity w*as too searching ; his readings of history too ample ; his appreciation of the nature of language too accurate to permit him to bandy in argu- ment such terms as "best" and "worst," as if they car- ried an absolute meanino-. He knew that thev were O •J relative : relative to some previous state of things, to some other condition of existence. He held that in most instances, the government of every people was only a reflexion of its actual physical, moral and indus- trial condition : that to attempt a republic in Hindoos- tan, would be as bootless as to proclaim a monarchy in the United States. Equality of political rights pre- supposes equality of condition : if mental indepen- dence and property be generally diffused, you may expect to rear a fabric of government, whose move- m.ents may be generated and perpetuated from its own * " Les grandes pensees viennent du coBur." — Vativenargnes. CiBc; 47 internal energies. On the other hand, if the minds of the mass be yielding and prostrate ; timid and unen- terprizing, their spring of action must be derived from without. Unless the previous elements be supplied, you may proclaim the forms of freedom, but you will only evolve a subtler and more desolating phasis of despotism. He held it to be a " mistake so often and so fatally repeated, that to expel a despot is to establish liberty — a mistake to which we may trace the failure of many noble and generous efforts in favor of liberty." He, therefore, looked rather with apprehension than hope, upon the revolutionary mania, which has assailed the ancient institutions of Europe, within the last ^ew years. He saw plainly that the human condition must be rather deteriorated than improved, when anarchy is substituted for subordination. He did not believe, that by any declaration of liberty, however solemn or grandiloquent, you can make men free, un- less they have been prepared by a long and practical training. Men look with envy and desire upon the happy exemption from shackles, which we enjoy, but they forget the plain of Runn^aiiede, the fight at Edge- hill, the landing at Torbay, the struggle at Breed's Hill, and the crowning glory at York Town. You cannot compress such events into a day or a century. The spreading creeper, which shades the wall, with its luxuriant and graceful foliage, starts up in a few weeks of summer, and perishes to the root at the approach of winter, but the mantling oak pursues its progress to grandeur and strength, through sun-shine and through 48 storm, sometimes faster and again slower, tbrough long- revolving periods, affording apt shelter and cool shade to countless generations of ephemeral men. For free institutions then, there must be capacity to develope, and there must be time. If this be true of races whom nature has endowed with an original apt- itude for freedom, and among whom we discover, in all other respects, the most brilliant results of mental power and progress, what must be said of those, who, for thousands of years, have exhibited the same unde- viating level of deo^radation and stasf nation 1 If it be asked now, why the African is held in hopeless bond- age ? the answer is plain : because he has never been able, at any period of his history, to show titles to a higher destiny. To use the language of the im- mortal Stagirite,* pronounced of races, originally pos- sessing a much higher physical type — " They are slaves because it is their interest to be so : they can obey reason, although they are unable to exercise it." Are there no other portions of societ}', whose lot may be said to be equally hard in being deprived of all * Aristot. de Repub. Lib. I. Cap. 5. In all systems the safety of the whole depends upon the predominance of the superior pai'ts. In man, the soul is naturally superior to the body. Man is naturally sujiorlor to the lower animals, and if there be those whose intelli- gence reaches no higher than to render them a superior kind of machines, it is right, and for their own interest, that they should obey the hio-her intelli2:encc. Wliere these distinctions do not exist, but slavery depends merely upon the force ot law, it is unjust. In his own u"ords : " xoivwvwv Xoya too'stov, orfov di(fda.vs(jdtti aXXa fjLv^ cj^siv. * * * * * * /3aX£Tai fJl,:V 2v r) (potfif- X. T. X. * * * * # * * * * * on fx£v TOi'vuv sufi (pj(fsi tivsj." x. ~. X. rj II , I I iiii iTrgrTr'*Tn« i '" ' ■■^"*««j ^-^ -i i ■ ■■■. ■■.i imium^ — m ^ m&> 49 share of Government 1 Mr. Calhoun pronounced emphatically, that African Slavery was a blessing, be- cause, whatever hysteric tears a false philanthrophy pours over his destiny, the African sheds none for him- self Nature, so far, has cursed him with no dreams of progress which he cannot gratify. Whenever, like the Anglo-Saxon, he shall deal in all sorts of curious and gainful inventions; and by perseverance in his plans and audacity in their execution, he has raised himself to the level of his master, the tables will be changed — it will then be the interest of his master to raise him to a political level with himself, for he will be destitute of all power to depress him below his deserts. Hitherto liberty, glory, art, progress, have not been marked in the African vocabulary. If he utters them, it is because, like the tropical bird, he has been taught to chatter and to repeat from external prompting, words to which he really attaches no ideas. Hitherto, he has invented nothing, he has improved nothing: the world owes him nothing for any sino-le comfort, by which the lot of humanity is cheered, nor for any contribution to science, by which the eleva- tion of man's descent is asserted. He is, in truth, what the scathing satire of the Roman historian, de- picted the sensualists of his time to have been — " veluH pecora, quce natiira prona^ atque ventri obed'ientia jinxit" His lowest are his strongest instincts. With such an array of striking and familiar facts continually forcing themselves upon the notice of all, who are not subjept to judicial blindness, the madness of fanaticism, -a @. ■1,1 I t, 50 ever since the foundation of our Constitution, has nevertheless been constantly dreaming of some para- dise of negro perfectibility. For a time, it was said, he had no chance : make him free and he udll sur- prize the world, by the rapidity of his march towards excellence. Have their eyes been closed upon the two pictures, which the march of events has unfolded for our instruction ? Are Hayti and Jamaica, the one sunk into the lowest depths of religious, moral and political degradation, and the other fast hastening to the same irreversible doom, fit objects for imitation 1 Surely, in the words of nature's great analyst, "There is scarce truth enough alive to make society secure ; but security enough to make fellowships accursed: much upon this riddle runs the wisdom of the world." To a philanthropy, so fraught with folly, to apply no harsher epithet, Mr. Calhoun could never be in- duced to give the slightest quarter. He beheved that the whole subject of slavery was foreign to the legili- mate action of Congress, and should be forever ban- ished from its halls. He was not so unreasonable as to expect that men, who knew nothing of the practi- cal working of our system, should form the same esti- mate of it as ourselves, but he did think it becoming, that when men are ignorant, they should be silent. He felt that it was a system, which no rude and for- eign hand could, with safety, be permitted to touch. Left to ourselves, and to the great innovator, time, he • — — — ■' 11 ■ ■ — 51 knew that the interest of the master, would of itself, ultimately generate any improvement that seemed feasible ; but that officious intrusion, although it might, accidentally, hurl the coordinate interests of the tw^o races into utter ruin, could never be productive of salutary change. Mr. Calhoun utterly opposed the whole right of petition, as having not the shghtest foundation in our recorded compacts. Farther he perceived, that for the fair and safe working out of the system, it must ke kept distinctly ao-ricultural and not be suffered to be abrido;ed of large and ample limits. If in the acquisition of these any expenses were sustained by one j)oi'tion of the Union, without an immediate equivalent, it had already been more than forestalled by the immense contribution of the South to the public domain and by the compromises to which it had already submitted, for the sake of peace. Beyond those compromises, he wasi utterly opposed to concession, for he knew, that if the weaker section, for an instant, acquiesced under any derogation of right, the little finger of usurpation would soon effectuate a breach large enough for the whole body of power to enter. He was convinced, that if we were less teeming with population than other sections, the spirit of the predominant race, was more than a match for any force, which could be brouo-ht to bear against it. His watch-word to the South, therefore, was equality of burdens and equality of privileges at any and at all hazards. Freemen ^ tm *ff«— I .SiSC 52 should be just, generous, even wary in their demands upon others, but having once made an issue upon principle, they could afterwards yield nothing. "Peace be to France; if France in peace permit Our just and lineal entrance to our own ! If not, bleed France, and Peace ascend to Heav'n ! Whilst we, God's wrathful agent, do correct Their jiroud contempt, that beat his Peace to Heaven." Mr. Calhoun's last appearance in the Senate of the United States, to take any active part in its debates, was on the 4th of March. Although obliged to rely upon the utterance of a friend, we may, notwithstand- ing, say, *"Illa tanquam cycnea fuit divini hominis vox et oratio," as Cicero declared concerning Crassus, on the sudden demise of the latter, after having exert- ed himself, with great vehemence in the Senate. It was the last voice of the swan, chanting its own monody. The speech was a resumption and review of nearly every thing that he had been urging, for the last seventeen vears. He declared the balance of power between the North and the South to be utterly disturbed, in favor of the former ; that both in the House of Representatives and in the Electoral Col- lege, the North possessed a striking preponderance, that if the territory now contended to be surrendered to her prejudices, should be added to what she had already secured, she would have succeeded in appro- priating to herself three-fourths of the newly acquired * Dc Orat. Lib. Ill, Cap. 2. ■BTJBiWjmai 'Bi Ti'jtm— iaaKM«g«M 53 public domain; that she had laid the most unjust and onerous imposts upon the weaker section, and revelled in the division of the spoils; that not satisfied with these, she had sought to convert a well adjusted Fed- eral Republic, into an absolute democratic majority ; that she called in Executive force to consummate the wrong; and that, in addition to and above all these grievances, for the last fifteen years, the chief public occupation of her people had been to preach a cru- sade against slavery as an unpardonable sin, and to band themselves together for its abolition. That insult and oppression had attained a height, that left the South no alternative, but to resist them. A remedy he declared must be found, and it belonged to the North to propose it. He protested that the cry of Union, had been vociferated so often, that the spell was losing its charm, and that even the illustrious Southerner, who had, under better auspices, lent the magic of his name to increase the force of the Talis- man, could he now be heard, would counsel resist- ance. He observed, that the two great distinctions of parties, which by their mutual opposition, formerly kept up, in every part of the country, secured the equilibrium of the government, were now lost in a secret struggle to obtain the support of fanatics, by surrendering the safe-guards of the Federal polity. He also insisted, with great power, upon the fact, that the bond formerly existing among the various reli- ' gious denominations, with some was already ruptured, and with the remainder was fast giving way. The .u 54 course attempted to be pursued, in the case of the ter- ritories, especially California, was, be declared, a fraud upon the Constitution, and ought to be imme- diatelv renounced. It was the parting legacy of our illustrious patriot. He had never uttered his opinions with more earnest- ness and less passion. We trust that the warning may not remain unheeded, nor without its salutary influ- ence. His whole career, from his first connection with the Federal Government, to its noble and im- pressive close, may be pronounced a triumphal pro- gress. The Union admired him, his own State adored him, troops of friends and retainers surrounded him, the young equally with the old flocked to his presence. But he was no flatterei*, no intriguer, no speculator for influence, supported by the power of bestowing lar- gesses alike on the worthless or the worthy. He was a severe estimator of men, but whatever any man's character or services properly claimed, he freely con- ceded to him. There was, besides, a genial sympathy with human nature, which stripped him of the trap- pings of artificial manners, whilst it invested him wuth a union of natural grace and dignity, inviting approach, but securing respect. Wisdom and instruction flowed from his lips in a continual stream, yet so unaffectedly and without all arrogance, that the listener hung upon his words. He possessed, also, that infallible indica- tion of high manners, he was in his turn a ready and attentive listener. No matter what the subject, if it involved nothing indecent or trivial, he cheerfully fol- .@ @. , 55 lowed. Nor was he eager to lead; on the contrary, he kindly permitted his companions to select their topics, knowing, that men converse most pleasantly, upon what they hest understand. A child would have been attracted by his kindliness, whilst a philoso- pher might feel that he stood in no ordinary presence. Deriving his motives of action from his own internal perceptions of excellence, it is astonishing how little solicitous he was about attracting the gaze or sharing the plaudits of the multitude. He refused invitations to public festivals to be celebrated in his own honor, so frequently, and they were known to be, really, so little to his taste, that they were, at last, withheld from motives of respect to his opinion. He might arrive at an hotel, when crowded, and be refused its hospitality, because his person was not recognized. He has been denied, by the way-side, a cup of cold water, to slake his feverish thirst, because wholly unknown; the un- fortunate author of the denial, long after, when appriz- ed of his mistake, saying that had he declared himself, he would have run miles to gratify his wish. On one occasion, business calling him into a neighboring State, it happened that an humble laborer in the mines was prostrated with fever. When the Physician arrived, quite late at night, he found a very unpretending per- son, seated at the foot of the patient's bed, and pro- ceeded, as a matter of course, to interrogate him con- cernino- the case. Having retired, the next day, the Physician observed the same person, in the piazza of the village tavern, and eagerly enquired who he was, 56 for said be, "I met him last nigbt, in the sick chamber, and was astonished at the clearness and pertinence of bis remarks." " Do you not know him," replied the person addressed? "That, Sir, is John C. Calhoun." This anecdote rests on indubitable authority, and has been related, because it appears to be in such admi- rable keeping wdth the whole character of the man. When at the head of the War Department, some one offered to name to him an individual of his office, who was in the habit of betraying the secrets of his department to his opponents. His reply was charac- teristic: "My bitterest enemies are welcome to know all that occurs in my department. I think w^ell of all about me, and do not wish to change my opinion, and as far as the communication of information is concern- ed, I only regret that my permission was not asked, as it would have been freely granted."* Mr. Calhoun's eloquence was of that highest order, which baffles criticism. It was not the result of rules, and yet from it, the highest rules may be derived. When intending to speak, his first aim was to make himself familiar with the details of his subject in all its bearings. His mind immediately discriminated be- tween what was unimportant and what was essential to the merits of the case. Arrangement followed, placing everything in regular connection and sequence. If tropes and similies presented themselves and could * Sec a terse and succinct biography, prefixed to the collected edition of Mr, Calhoun's Speeches. I have found it useful as a reference. 'Q) t3''a 57 be gathered up, without turning out of" the way to reach them, he knew well enough how to weave them gracefully, into the tissue of his discourse. The splendor of his thoughts, and the absence of all con- cealment and indirectness, imparted to his language a crystal clearness, which, whilst it could not be mis- taken, was sure to attract and rivet attention. His tall erect person awakened interest as he arose to speak, and his brilliant eyes seemed to lend his thoughts the nimblest avenues into the hearts of his hearers. In him the tacit compact for truth, be- tween ft public orator and his hearers was religiously respected. "Never! Never! Never!" did the heart of the man suggest one thing and his language another. Makino- due allowance for the difference between an- cient and modern manners, his whole image may be said to have been formed in the Roman mould, by nature herself, for he was far above the servility of imitation. What the historian has recorded of the younger Cato, is as applicable to our illustrious statesman, as if it had been drawn from himself — "A man, as like as possible to virtue, and in everything more allied to a higher order of beings than to men, who never performed what was right, in order that he might be seen to do it, but because he could not act otherwise ; to whom, also, that alone appeared reasonable, w4iich was sanc- tioned by justice; free from all human vices, he al- ways remained the arbiter of his own fortune."* * Homo virtuti simillimus, et per omnia ingenio Diis, quam homi- nibus proprior; qui nunquam recte fecit, ut facere videretur, sed MIIM i gM ' tijUljlL Bi jML ' jlBaJUi '@ ©. 58 During forty years the political fortunes of South Carolina might be said to have been embarked in the same vessel with Mr. Calhoun. The voyage was prosperous and happy for both ; exposed to no un- toward storms, subject to no dangerous under-currents, and to the last " his mistress Did hold his eyes, lock'd in her crystal looks!" In noticing the characters of public men, it is often necessary to take a distinction between their private and their public morals. It may well be a fresh source of consolation, amidst the tears which bedew the memory of our departed patriot, that in domestic life, he has bequeathed an example to posterity, in all respects w^orthy of imitation. His piety, his morality, his philanthropy, all the gentle yearnings of his na- ture were without display ; leading to the constant and conscientious performance, even of the humblest duties, " As ever in his great task-master's eye !" No man could with more propriety adopt language such as that he used, when closing a reply to an attack made upon him, by a generous, but mistaken adver- sary: "I then transfer this and all my subsequent acts. 'juia, aliter facere non poterat, cuique id solum visum est rationem habere, quod haberet justitiam; omnibus humanis vitiis inimunis, .semper fortunam in sua potestate habuit. — C. V. Paterculi : Lib. II., Cap. 35. ©. r.9 D including the present, to the tribunal of posterity, with a perfect confidence, that nothing will be found, in what I have said or done, to impeach my integrity or understandinff." •o' [finis.] ^°-d «*» — a" ^°-n*., -. * -ay 1^ ^ « o_ V v •t:^'* 'ci. aOV»::.'j?-. v- v*. •.•"'- ^o^c,- o^ -o , * * A o, k* A «• ♦^ a"^ ^Vi!RTB60KfeI^fDIN& JAN ]989 r.-^t Grantville, PA -3^.r s