T 3?Z St 6 o 'CO-^^ MR. SPRAGUE'S SPEECH. /i^^ C!ass__ELAi2^ Book__..S_7&__ ! REMARKS € OF THE HON. PELEG S PRAGUE AT FANEUIL HALL, BEFORE THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON AND ITS VICINITY, UPON THE CHARACTER AND SERVICES OF GEN. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, OF OHIO, THE WHIG CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES. », * > » » < • • » '■ ^ 'l * , ■' J » 3 J > Published by the Whig Republican Association of Boston, BOSTON: JOHN H. EASTBURN, PRINTER, No. 18 State Street. 1839. ^v 'X C- ' 1.J^ f & IN EiCCHAN^iJB i-i ■•« -• « 1 1 MR. SPRAGUE'S SPEECH. Mr. Spra.gue said that having been a Delegate to the Har- lisburg Convention he was called upon to give some account of the proceedings of that body. He should attempt only a plain statement, and, as he appeared somewhat in the character of a witness, it might not be improper to state his own position. I am, said Mr. S., no politician ; I cannot afford to take any political station. When I came to reside in this city, it was with a fixed determination to devote myself exclusively to the practice of my profession. I came to Massachusetts because it was the place of my birth, because here were my relations, my early friends, my dearest associations ; because the soil of Mas- sachusetts covered the bones of my ancestors for two centuries and I wished, in the fulness of time, to mingle my ashes with theirs. I adhered to the determination which I had formed, to take no part in politics, except what belongs to a private citizen who loves his country, until I was called upon, in a manner which I thought I could not resist, to attend tiie Harrisburg Convention. The pre-eminent Statesman of our own Com- monwealth having been withdrawn, — I went there the ardent friend of Henry Clay, revering his virtues, with the highest admiration for his genius, and the fullest confidence in his ex- S^ited, self-devoted patriotism. I carried with me, as I believed, your wishes for his elevation to the Chief Magistracy. I made your wishes fully known to others, but after a full and free interchange of views and opinions, the Convention has deemed it best to nominate General Harrison ; and I am convinced that their decision was the wisest that could have been made : although, under the influcncG of your and my own predilec- tions, I came to tiiat conclusion more slowly than a majority of my colleagues. What are the reasons on which this conviction rests ? The Convention was composed of gentlemen of the highest charac- ter for intelligence and virtue from all portions of our country. Twenty-two States were represented ; and it is believed that no assembly, since the organization of our government, has comprised more of talent, information and patriotism. The Delegates from Massachusetts sedulously exerted themselves to obtain full and correct information, not only by conversation with individuals from other States, but from each State Delega- tion as a body, upon their representative and official responsi- bility, as well as upon their personal honor. They ascertained, as they thought, that Mr. Clay in all probability could not get the votes of certain States without which no Whig candidate could rationally expect to be elected. To this conclusion they were brought reluctantly by evidence which they could not resist. As to the great State of New York with her 42 electoral votes — at least three fourths of her Delegates to the Conven- tion, and twenty out of twenty -one of her Representatives in Congress were of opinion that her electoral vote could not bo given to our favorite candidate ; and this representation was confirmed by at least as great a proportion of all others with whom we had opportunities to confer. The State of Ohio gives 21 and Indiana 9 electoral votes. It was the concurrent testimony of all that there was no fair pros- pect of Mr. Clay's obtaining either of those States ; while, on the other hand, the assurances were strong and uniform that General Harrison would undoubtedly carry them both. That he would take the vote of New York was the confident and undoubting belief of nearly all her Delegates, confirmed by every other source of information. Here then were 72 electo- ral votes which General Harrison could, and which, owing to transient causes, Mr. Clay could not now obtain ; and no assur- ance could be given us that his superior strength in the South or elsewhere would approach to a compensation for this loss Is the Whig party so strong that we can afford to dispense with 72 electoral votes ? But this is not all — there is Pennsylvania. When at Phila- delphia I was first told that the Key-stone State might be carried for Harrison, I received the suggestion with incredu- lity. But subsequent information induces the belief that we may rationally indulge in sanguine expectations of such a result. Three fourths of her Delegation expressed that opinion and what we heard from all sources, after the nomination, strongly confirmed it. These hopes will not seem visionary when it is recollected that, in 1836, when Jacksonism was in its palmy state in Pennsylvania, with a triumphant majority of twenty thousand ; General Harrison — brought forward as he was, at a late day, with other Whig candidates in the field, and without expectation of general success, still came within about four thousand votes of carrying the State ; and it is to be fur- ther recollected that from the Convention which then put him in nomination, that distinguished gentleman, Thaddeus Stevens with several of his friends and associates seceded, carrying with them, as we were assurred from very high authority, from ten to fifteen thousand votes. Had Mr. Stevens and his friends then supported the nomination it would have been sustained by a tri- umphant majority. Will he support it now? I have it from his own mouth that he will ; and I was assured by distinguished in- dividuals after the nomination, and among them Ex-Governor Shultz, that we might expect the vote of Pennsylvania to be given for General Harrison by ten thousand majority. For Mr. Clay there was no rational hope in that State. Here, then, are thirty more electoral votes, making an aggregate of 102 in these four States alone, which, if reliance is to be placed on the judgment and representations of distinguished and honor- able men we may confidently expect will be given for the nom- inee of the Convention. This is the best testimony which the nature of the case admits, it is that which the Delegates from Massachusetts went to obtain, which they felt bound to receive, and which they could not disregard. General Harrison is now the only Whig candidate. There is now no question except between him and Mr. Van Buren, Has he the qualifications to discharge the duties of Chief Ma- gistrate and can we support him with a due regard to our own self-respect ? General Harrison's merits have been less known and appre- ciated in this part of the country than they deserve. The scenes of his services have been in distant regions, and the sentiments generally prevalent here during the last war, caused us to look with less interest to the frontiers than to the ocean. Our enthusiasm was reserved almost exclusively for the achiev- ments of the navy. Since his name has been brought forward in connection with the Presidency, both in 1836 and more re- cently, we have had our more favorite candidates Webster and Clay, with whom we were unwilling to hear of any competi- tor ; and the unfounded attacks made upon General Harrison by his adversaries, their derrogating epithets and unmerited sneers, have remained unanswered and unrepelled. It is time that the public mind was disabused. Our opponents have objected that his qualifications are merely those of a military commander. With what truth this allegation is made a very brief review of his civil career will show. At the early age of twenty-four, he was appointed Secretary of the North Western Territory and ex officio Lieutenant Gov- ernor, the second civil office in that government comprising what now constitutes the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri. In this station he served with such acceptance that two years afterwards, by the voice of the people, he was elected their Delegate to the Congress of the United States. In that body he so distinguished himself that in a short time, upon the erection of Ohio into a State, and while yet under the age of thirty years, he was selected by the elder Adams, then President of the United States, to be Governor of the Indiana Territory, comprising what now constitutes the States of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri. This important station he held about thirteen years, and united with it was that difficult and responsible office of Superintendent of Indian Af- fairs. To judge of the requisites for the successful execution of those trusts, we must carry our minds back to that early period, when a great portion of that Territory was covered by hordes of hostile savages ; when a new population of the most bold, restless and adventurous spirits, not only from all parts of our own country but from Europe, was rushing into those fertile re- gions, impatient of restraint and with every variety of views, habits and pursuits. To govern successfully required a rare union of prudence and energy, mildness and firmness, sagacity and industry ; it demanded far higher talents than are requisite at the present day to be Governor of any State in the Union. In these offices, and as Commissioner to treat with the Indians, he was called upon to disburse vast sums of public money, and had much concernment with the public lands. That he dis- charged these high and difficult duties to the entire satisfaction of the Government of the United States, is attested by his suc- cessive re-appointment to the same stations by Presidents Jefferson and Madison. But how was it with the People over whom he presided ? Was it possible for him at the same time to secure their approval, — to unite the approbation of the Executive of the United States, with that of the People he was sent to govern ? In answer to this question, permit me to read to you a resolution passed unanimously by the House of Rep- resentatives of the Territory of Indiana, in the year 1809. " They (the House of Pi.epresentatives) cannot forbear re- commending to, and requesting of, the President and Senate, most earnestly in their own names, and in the names of their constituents, the re-appointment of their present governor, William Henry Harrisoh, — because he possesses the good wishes and affection of a great majority of his fellow-citizens ; because they believe him sincerely attached to the Union, the prosperity of the United States, and the administration of ks government ; because they believed him in a superior degi-ee capable of pro- moting the interest of our territory, from long experience and laborious attention to its concerns, from his influence over the Indians, and wise and disinterested management of that de- partment ; and because they have confidence in his virtues, talents and repuhlicanisin.''^ This resolution needs no comment. It is the unanimous and 8 cordial testimony of those who had the best possible means of judging, to his ability, wisdom, disinterestedness and patriotism. He subsequently established his residence in Ohio and be- came a member of the Senate of that State, — was chosen by the People their Representative to Congress, and afterwards elected a member of the Senate of the United States. In these stations he was brought into close and intimate rela- tions with the then administration of John Quincy Adams, by whom, with the approbation of his Cabinet and the Senate, General Harrison was appointed Minister from the United States to the Republic of Colombia. And when was John Quincy Adams ever accused, even by his worst enemies, of appointing incompetent men to office ? Himself possessing the highest order of talents, it was with him matter of pride as well as of duty to employ men of distinguished ability ; and if ther-e was any one department of the public service about which he was more solicitous than any other, it was that of our foreign diplomacy, in which he had himself been so long and so eminently distinguished. Mr. Clay was then Secretary of State, and, as such, had the more immediate charge of our foreign relations. His heart had been wrapped up in the suc- cess of South American liberty. He had anxiously wished to see established in this hemisphere a new association of sister Republics. Yet, by such men as Adams and Clay was General Harrison selected to represent the United States in South America, then in a state of revolution, where he would have to act in all the emergencies which revolution might produce, and act too promptly upon his own judgment and his own resources. Of the manner in which he discharged this high duty, I shall speak hereafter. I pass now to his military career. After receiving a literary education at one of our Southern seminaries, the Indian wars, which then raged upon our Wes- tern border, aroused his active spirit and he entered the army as an Ensign of artillery, at the early age of eighteen years, soon after the disastrous defeat of St. Clair. He was early promoted to a Lieutenancy and selected by that gallant general of the Revolution, Anthony Wayne, to be one of his Aids-de-Camp. In this capacity he served in sev- eral campaigns and fought in the desperate battle of the Miami. Gen. Wayne, in his public despatches, spoke of Harrison's services in terms of decided approbation. At the age of twenty-four he left the army and entered upon civil employ- ment as I have before stated. It was not until the year 1811, and then as Governor of Indiana, that he was called upon to resume the sword. An Indian war having broken out he assembled a body of militia and volunteers with which and 350 regular troops he fought the celebrated and important battle of Tippecanoe. The President of the United States thought this event worthy to be noticed by a message to Congress in which he speaks of the conduct of General Harrison in honorable terms of deserved commendation. A corps of Kentucky militia was in the battle. How his conduct was appreciated by them and others most competent to decide may be seen by the following resolution passed by the Legislature of Kentucky. "Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians on the Wabash, Governor W. H. Harrison has, in the opinion of this legislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that for his cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant conduct, in the late battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks of the nation." But what, to my mind, is stronger evidence still of the high es- timation in which he was held is the extraordinary fact that after the declaration of the war of 1812, General Harrison, then a citizen of another State, was by the Commonwealth of Ken- tucky made a Major General in her militia in order that he might command all the troops she was then raising for actual service. Thus did that gallant State pre-eminent for chival- ous daring and justly proud of her achievments in arms, sac- rifice her State pride and supersede her own high officers solely from a conviction of Harrison's great superiority. In the autumn of 1812, he was appointed by the govern- ment of the United States Commander in Chief of the North Western Army. Of the confidence reposed in his ability and patriotism, some judgment may be formed by the unlimited 10 discretion with which he was invested. The letter of tlie Sec- retary of War which enclosed his commission, said to him, *' You will command such means as may be practicable — exer- cise your own discretion, and act in all cases according to your own judgment." In this command he achieved the gallant defence of Fort Meigs, which Avas invested with a formidable force by the British General Proctor and his savage allies, confident of suc- cess. Harrison, by bold and successful sorties, executed under his orders, drove them from their batteries, and finally compel- led them to retreat. He afterwards followed them to Maiden which had been their strong hold, but which they now aban- doned, and continued his progress till he overtook them near the river Tliames. General Proctor selected his own ground, a strong position having the river on his left and a swamp on his right. But Harrison, by a bold and judicious movement, broke through his centre, attacked him in rear and front, and in a brief space of time, captured nearly the whole British force with several brass pieces, the trophies of our revolution, which General Hull had ingloriously surrendered at Detroit. The victory was brilliant and decisive. This was the celebrated Battle or the Thames, which secured to General Harrison the gratitude of the public, for which Congress presented to him a vote of thanks, and which an eminent statesman, Langdon Cheves, formerly Speaker of the House of Representatives, declared on the floor of Con- gress, " would have secured to a Roman General, in the best days of the Republic, the honors of a triumph.'' General Harrison had been called, by his country, to military command because formidable enemies were in the field, and a great emergency required his services. When the exigency had ceased, unwilling to eat the bread of idleness, he resigned his commission and returned to civil pursuits. Such is the man to whom it is objected that he has been a military commander — who drew his sword only when the necessities of his country required it, and sheathed it again the moment that that neces- sity had passed away. His military career may well be relied upon as evidence, — II evidence of his patriotism and his talents. To be an able military Chief, undoubtedly requires intellect of a high order. I speak not of subordinates who have only to execute com- mands, but of him who plans and carries on a campaign and guides and controls the movements of battles. This requires an almost intuitive sagacity, great powers of combination, with prudence, caution, promptness and energy, combined with per- fect self-reliance and self-control. It eminently requires those practical talents which act upon men and things as they exist. This is an intellectual power which however evinced, may be applied with success to the pursuits of peace as well as of war ; and history and observation concur in teaching us that when distinguished military commanders have become- civil rulers they have been eminent for their ability as statesmen. They have sometimes indeed continued their habits of military dominion and been high handed and arbitrary ; but against this the integ- rity and civil experience of General Harrison, and his invari- able submission to the laws, are an efiectual guaranty. His sentiments and the principles which guide his conduct, are happily exhibited in his celebrated letter to General Bolivar, written while Minister at Colombia. The whole is far too long for the present occasion, but with your permission I will present the following extract. " To bo esteemed eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero and the general must be devoted to the advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title of their benefactor ; and the station which he will hold in their regard and affections will depend, not upon the number and splendor of his victoiies, but upon the results and the use he may make of the influence he acquires from them. " If the fame of our Washington depended upon his mihtary achievements would the common consent of the world allow him the pre-eminence he possesses ? The victories at Trenton, Monmouth and York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting as they certainly did the highest grade of military talents, are scarcely thought of. The source of the veneration and esteem which is entertained for his character, by every description of poll- 12 ttcians, the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, is to be found in his undeviating and exclusive devotedness to the interest of his country. No selfish consideration was ever suffered to intrude itself into his mind. For his country he conquered ; and the unrivalled and increasing prosperity of that country is constantly adding fresh glory to his name." TJiis letter was addressed by Harrison to General Bolivar, the chief of the Republic of Colombia, immediately after his arrival in that country, and scarcely had he time to perform this service before he was recalled by President Jackson pur- suant to that unsparing system of removals which characterised his administration. He returned to his country and his home — j)oor. Yes the man who had served thus long and thus faith- fully — who as Governor of Indiana, Superintendant of Indian affairs and Commissioner had had millions of the public money pass through his hands and millions of public property under his control, retired from office so poor that he was under the necessity of engaging in some employment however humble that might enable him to support his family. He could not change his politics and become subservient to power. He could not abandon his principles for the sake of patronage, but chose rather to accept the laborious station of clerk of the Courts in his own State. And for this, the fruits and the proof of his Honesty, he has been sneered at by those who are in- capable of following his example. No wonder that the office holders of the present day are incapable of appreciating such merits. Had he possessed any portion of that laxity of princi- ple which now, alas, is too prevalent, had it not been for his scrupulous, unyielding integrity he might easily, by means of of the vast amounts of public money which he has heretofore disbursed and public property which has been subject to his control have amassed a princely fortune and been now rolling in wealth. Instead of which, having resigned his clerkship, he has now no resource but the plough, he depends for his sup- port upon what he can obtain from the surface of the earth by the cultivation of his farm. Of his integrity no one, even of his opponents, utters a whisper of suspicion. The whole course of his life, and the 13 confidence reposed in him by those who know him best, dem- onstrate that he is pre-eminently an honest man. And here let me remark that of all qualities in a public man, integrity, — integrity is the first. With this in your public rulers, com- bined with prudence and that homely quality — strong common- sense, — you cannot be in great danger ; without it, you can never be safe. Honest errors may be corrected, corruption will soon become fatal. Such is the candidate now oftered for your support. He has been selected — not for his sake, but for yours, for the country. In a Monarchy one man is every thing and the People are nothing ; in a Republic the People are every thing and one man is nothing. Your happiness and prosperity, aye, the happiness and prosperity of each one of you is more important than the gratification of any individual by elevating him to office. You need an instrument to arrest the career of this Adminis- tration, by whom the prosperity of our country has been struck down and its political morals debased. Look back for a few years when we were enjoying the fruits of Mr. Adams's Admin- istration — the national finances superabundant — every depart- men of private industry successful — the sun in his circuit shone not upon a more prosperous people. How has it been since ? We have been at peace with all nations, the seasons have been propitious and the earth has rendered its fruits in abundance. The Government of the Universe has been wise and merciful, but the government of our country has been that of folly and cruelty. The Executive in its reckless attacks upon the cur- rency has resorted to experiment after experiment, — convulsion has followed convulsion, — public and private credit has been prostrated, and bankruptcy and ruin overwhelmed thousands and tens of thousands of our most industrious and enterprising citizens. The slow accumulation of years was swept away in a moment. With men of business every thing was fluctuating and unstable. Sagacity itself was at fault and industry and economy were rendered useless. Who among you has not seen dear and valued friends and neighbors fall to rise no more, be- neath this wide-spread and overwhelming calamity? And when, more than two years since, the cries of distress were so 14 loud that they penetrated even the marble walls of the White House at Washington and startled the President into the call of an extra session of Congress, and the whole country were awaiting with anxious expectation a message that should pro- pose some measure of permanent relief, — how was that expec- tation answered ? By a declaration that the credit, the com- merce, the industry of the country, so far as they depend upon the currency, were to receive no aid or relief from the National Councils ; that the Government would only take care of itself. And who is the Government 1 General Jackson could say, I am the Government, and now I suppose the office-holders may say we are the Government ; and they, the servants of the peo- ple, are only to take care of themselves ! Yes, after by the Constitution the several States have divested themselves of im- portant powers, in the great matters of currency and finance, and vested them in the General Government in the confidence that they would be exercised for the general good, this Admin- istration declares that they are not to be exerted for the benefit of the people, and that the Government is only to take care of itself! I have said that they have debased political morals. Is it not so ? It was proclaimed in the Senate of the United States by a distinguished leader, the late Governor of New York, brought up, not indeed at the feet of Gamaliel, but at the feet of Mr. Van Buren, — that the " Spoils belong to the Victors," — that the public offices and emoluments created by people and for the people are to be the objects of pillage by the conquerors in our civil contests. And how has this senti- ment been carried out in practice ? How have they used the public officers and public monies upon which they have seized I will not go into detail, but refer you to the present condition of our national finances, and that melancholy roll of defalca- tions wiiich darkens the present page of our history. They declaimed against Mr. Adams's administration as ex- travagant because it expended some twelve millions of dollars a year for the public benefit. They have had more than double that amount and what have they done with it ? What public works have they erected ? What internal in)provements have i> 15 they carried forward ? What branches of national industry have they in any manner fostered ? But I forbear. You need no remarks from me to convince you that, as we love our country, as we woukl preserve our free institutions, we must struo-ale to arrest the downward course of our national admin- istration. And to do this, we must be united — cordially united. Our enemies have rested their hopes upon our divisions ; they have flattered themselves tiiat the opposition was composed of such discordant materials that they could never be brought to concentrate action. They have relied upon our efforts being paralized by our predilections for men. But the harmony and enthusiasm of the closing scenes at Harrisburg must despel their hopes. Union, — Union must be our watch-word. When this metropolis was in possession of British myrmi- dons, our Fathers, for the sake of combining the whole country sacrificed their preference for their own favorite. Gen. Ward, and cordially rallied under a Commander who was scarcely known to them except as a land surveyor in Virginia and an Indian fighter on its boarders, — and the oppressor was driven from our shores. Let us emulate their example and now cor- dially unite in one determined effort to drive the spoilers from the capital. In concluding, I will present to you not figures, of rhetoric, but figures of arithmetic. Let us look at our prospect of suc- cess. The calculation wiiich I am about to present is founded upon information obtained at Harrisburg, by my colleagues and myself. We sought it from the best sources and the most au- thentic form in our power. It is derived from gentlemen of the highest respectability, from the various sections of our country, and on their authority it rests. Let us see what for- ces we can muster in the coming contest ? In the first place we will set aside as a reserve corps certain States which we will class as doubt fid. And, notwithstanding the high hopes which we may indulge of the Key-stone State from the assurances we have received, we will place her at the head. 16 Pennsylvania, Add Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, 30 electors 5 15 15 65 We will then bring into action as forces to be relied upon. The Empire State, with her Connecticut, _ _ - - Rhode Island, - - - - Illinois, _ _ _ _ Michigan, _ _ _ - Add those States that gave their vote for Harri- son in 1836, and we are assured will do so again, viz: Ohio, - - Indiana, _ _ - - Kentucky, _ _ - - Maryland, _ _ - - New Jersey, Delaware, _ - - - Vermont, - _ - 42 electors 8 4 5 3 21 9 15 10 8 4 7 136 votes. One hundred and forty-seven will elect your President. Twelve more are wanting. Old Massachusetts gives fourteen. What say you shall we add these to the number and secure a victory ? (Yes was the unanimous and deafening response.) Theii fellow-citizens you may give three cheers — not for a man — but for Union and the Country. Making an aggregate of p MEETING AT FANEUIL HALL. [From the Boston Ailas.'\ One of the largest and most enthusiastic meetings that ever assembled at tlie old Cradle of Liberty, convened on the Evening of the 13th December, agreeably to the invitation of the County Convention, to hear the report of the Delegation to Har- risburg, from this district. The meeting was called to order by our Mayor elect, Jonathan Chapman, Esq., who briefly stated the object of their assembling. Robert C. Winthrop, Esq., was then placed in the chair. Nathan Hale, Esq., ) „„ . AT II T^ J' 01 Boston, Nathaniel. Hammond, Esq., ^ > David A. Simmons, Esq., of Roxbury, Elijah Vose, Esq., of Dorchester, GiLMAN Stanley, Esq., of Charlestown, and Isaac Livermore, Esq., of Cambridge, were appointed Vice Presidents, and William Brigham, Esq., ") William T. Eustis, Esq., ! „ , . oseph 1. Adams, Esq., [ Nathaniel Seaver,Esq., J Mr. Winthrop in taking the Chair, said that he would undertake to say but a few words, in order to break the ice for those that were to succeed him. He would congratulate his fellow citizens, not merely of Boston, but throughout the country, upon the glorious object for which they were assembled. They had met together, not in honor of the triumph of one man — not in the spirit of exultation at the success of a favorite — or the defeat of his rivals. He was sure not a man in the hall would so belie that noble sentiment of their illustrious delegate, who was about to address them, "that he was no man's man." A meeting for such a purpose would be unworthy of Faneuil Hall, and would be an object for condolence rather than for congratulation. Although not their first choice, he was sure none but the kindest feelings were entertained for General William Henry Harrison, as had been shown at the last Presidential election, when the vote of .Massachusetts would have been given him, in case it could have secured his success. Mr. Winthrop then alluded to General Harrison's high merits, and his eminent qualifications for the olfice, as shown by his long life of civil, as well as military services. It had been objected that he was a mili- tary hero, and his enemies professed to feel a horror at the thought. He would ask whether the fact that General Harrison had drawn his sword in defence of his country, was a reason v^^v his high civil services should be overlooked. He was as wholly opposed as a ne could be to rest his claims merely on his military renown, but he could se. o reason why these merits should prevent him from having his other claims du y appreciated. ^ He concluded with an eloquent exhortation now to make the first act of conces- sion. Every thing depended now on concession and organization. Who did not rejoice that the bugle note had been sounded to assemble and rally the Whig forces, that they might now present an unbroken front, instead of carrying on a desultory warfare, and meeting with certain defeat? The Whigs were now unit- ed, and their victory was certain. He would make way for Hon. Peleg Sprague, the delegate to Harrisburg, ficm Boston. 3 18 Mr. Sprague stated that the Harrisburg Convention had unanimously nominated William Henry Harrison, of Ohio. He had gone to the Convention the political and personal friend of Henry Cby ; but he was now convinced that that body had taken the wisest course. He proceeded, in a calm and dispassionate, but eloquent and convincing manner, to explain why it had been deemed advisable to nominate General Harrison. Mr. Sprague's address was throughout listened to with a most complete and re- spectful attention ; and although addressed, as he said himself, rather to their un- derstanding than to excite their enthusiasm, yet the mere narration of the fact3 which he adduced, and the reasons which he brought forward, produced an irre- pressible enthusiasm, which made Old Faneuil Hall re-echo with their shouts of approbation. Mr. Sprague outdid himself, and no one that heard him could fail of being proud in having been represented by such a Delegate. After Mr. Sprague had concluded, Elbridge G. Austin, Esq. offered a series of resolutions, which will be found below, which he prefaced with a few brief words. After they had been read, loud calls were made from all parts of the hall, for General ^VlLsoN, of New Hampshire. Mr. Wilson apologised for having gone to the Convention from such a State as New Hampshire, and alluded, in a very happy manner, to the overshadowing of their liberties by one of their Hills, notwithstanding its smallness. He wished that all could have witnessed the closing scenes of the Harrisburg Convention, and seen the noble manner in which the delegates from Kentucky, particularly Governor Metcalfe, h;'.d responded to the nomination. He had now, he continued, hopes even of New Hampshire. There were those there who had served under General Harrison, who would not fail to kindle the fires of liberty to such a degree, that it would sweep, like a prairie fire, all tbe brush and stubble which the present administration had spread over the land. He concluded by thanking his audience for the complimentary manner in which he had now, for the third time, been received. He would assure them that so long as liis muscles sufficed to keep his bones together, so long would he continue devoted to the Whig cause. He was kept, he was aware, without the pale of political honor in his State, but the price of admittance, being his honor and honesty, was too high for him to piy. ftlr. Wilson's remarks were all excellent, and were received with approbation. He was followed by Hon. Samuel Hoar, of Concord, Delegate from the JMiddlesex district. ]\Ir. Hoar said that he appeared merely as a witness to con- firm the statement of iMr. Sprague. He had gone to Harrisburg with his own mind made up in favor of Mr. VAny. He had been induced to change his views from the conviction that by adhering to such a course, he would be but endanger- ing the success of the cause we all had at heart. He was convinced that General Harrison could be elected if the Whigs would now but unite and join heart and hand in his support, Mr. Hoar's observations were excellent throughout, and from the calm, deliberate manner in which tiiey were delivered, must have car- ried conviction to every mind. He was followed by Mr. Burn ell, of Nantucket, one of the Delegates at large. Mr. B. said he had been one of the firm supporters of the claims of Gene- ral Harrison ; not on account of the man — not in behalf of the individual, but for the sake of his country. The Whigs must now be true to themselves. They had a candidate whose character, like the diamond from the mine, would only shine the more brilliantly the more it was handled. He proceeded in a most eloquent and convincing manner to set forth General Harrison's high individual claims upon our gratitude and veneration, and stated that, as he had heard another individual say, the only reason why General Harrison had not been regarded great was that he was so good. He would, in conclusion, invoke the aid of Heaven in behalf of our cause — the cause of the people. IMr. Vose, of Alaine, addressed the meeting in a peculiarly happy manner. He spoke of the noble character of the district from which he had the honor to be Delegate — a district which had once been that of the "no man's man." He called upon the Whigs, one and all, now to carry the war into the enemy's camp — to test this modern democracy, and to show to the world that it was in 19 reality but the support of executive power. The "Whigs were now to go forth to battle, and he felt assured they would conquer. Mr. Hough, of Gloucester, said it was too late to make a speech, especially as he was to make one at length to his constituents the next night. He would state however, that although he had voted throughout in the Convention for another, he concurred most heartily in their nomination, and was now convinced that their choice was better than his own. The remarks of the delegate from Essex made up for their brevity in their excellence and pith. He concluded, by saying that the Whigs would now, with the votes of the electoral college in their hands, march up to the Wliite House at Washington, and demand its surrender in the name of the Great Jehovah and the American People. Mr. Lee, of Tenipleton, delegate from the Franklin district, merely rose to corroborate the statement of those who had preceded him. Ho was satisfied that the nomination was the best that could have been made, and that it would be at- tended with success. Mr. Hudson, of Westminster, delegate from the Worcester district, would merely say a word. He concurred, most fully and cordially, in the statements which had been made, and was most happy in witnessing the enthusiasm with which they had been received. The resolutions were adopted by acclamation, and the meeting broke np after making Old Faneuil Hall ring with nine cheers for the Citizen Soldier. In short, we never witnessed, and we doubt whether the Old Cradle itself ever before witnessed, any thing like the enthusiasm which pervaded the meeting. But one feeling animated the whole — a conviction that the best selection of a can- didate had been made, and more than all, that the nomination would be sustained. The enthusiasm of the meeting at Faneuil Hall, last evening, is an omen of the unanimity and consequent success that is to attend the broad banner of the Consti- tution, now unfurled to the breeze. RESOLUTIONS. Resolved, By the Whigs of Boston and the vicinity, and others opposed to the administration of Martin Van Buren, in Faneuil Hall assembled, that we come to- gether with fresh zeal for our cause, with new hopes for our country, and with re- animated and re-invigorated determination to leave no honorable ellbrt unemploy- ed, to render that cause triumphant, and to rescue that country from existing op- pression and misrule, — now that the National Convention has held its long expect- ed session and the Presidential candidacy has been fairly and finally disposed of. Resolved, That we most heartily rejoice that the day for disputing about indi- vidual preferences, and for indulginn; in personal or sectional rivalries, is at last brought to an end, and that all the Whii;s of the LInion, and all others disposed to unite with them, in efiecting a change of our Js^ational Rtilers, can now go for- ward, with united hearts and hands, to the vindication of their common principles and to the support of a single candidate. Resolved, That our beloved country calls aloud, through all its interests and all its institutions, for such a change ; — that the Industry of the country demands relief from the ruinous policy which has so long fettered its energies and plundered its wages ; that the Commerce of the country claims a respite from the perni- cious measures which have so long embarrassed its course and deranged its circu- latmg medium ; — that the Credit of the country implores a reprieve from that sentence of annihilation, which is the great end and aim of the Sub Treasury system to enforce and execute ; that the Constitution of the country invokes pro- tection from those wanton violations and perversions which have already destroyed its balance of powers, already insparted such fearful preponderance to the Execu- tive scale, and which, if not speedily restrained, cannot fail to convert it into a charter of absolute despotism ; — and that finally, the people, the whole people of the country, are cniillcd to rest and repose from any further prosecution of those harrassing and oppressive experiments, to which they have been so long subjected by a band of canting, scheming, boasting, blundering, self-seeking office-holders. Resolved, That in such an exigency of our country and its afi'airs, we scorn to 20 inquire whether the candidate for the Presidency who has been selected by the Convention, was originally our /Irs/ or our last choice, — that we have entire con- fidence in the capacity, the honesty and the patriotism of WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, OF OHIO ; That he has been tried alike in the forum and on the field, in the councils of peace and in the conduct of war, and never found wanting ; — and that we henceforth hail him as our only choice, and pledge to him our best exertions to render him the choice of the nation at the next election. Resolved, That in the rules which were long ago laid down by General Harrison for the guidance of his conduct in the event of his election to the Chief Ma