YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

De vifitt, W.R.
A Discouitse on the Life and Character, of
Francis R. Shunlc,
Earrisburg, 1848.

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COREESPGNDENCE.

Harrisburg, August 10, 1848,
Dear Sir : — The undersigned -having heard your eloquent dis
course on the life and character of the late Governor Shunk, de
livered in the Presbyterian church on the evening of the 9th inst.,
respectfully solicit a copy of thfe' same for publication.

Nathaniel B. Eldred,
Rob. HaJieis,
L. Reij.¥,
VaL. jHtJMMEL,
John C. Bcchbe,
Jno. M. Forster,

J. C. KUNKEL,
H. Buehler,
. D-. Herr,
W. D. Boas,
Geo. Prince,
Charles Carson.

Harrisburg,' August 10, 1848.
Gentlemen: — Your note of this morning, asking for a copy of
ray discourse on the life and character of the late Gov. Shunk, de
livered, at your request, on the evening of the 9th inst., has been
received. I herewith transmit a copy to be placed at your dispo
sal. Yours, respectfully,
W. R.bE WITT.
To the Hon. N. B. Eldred, Robt. Harris, Dr. Luther Reily,
and others.

RESIGNATION OF GOV. SHUNK.

To the People of Pennsylvania :
It having pleased Divine Providence to deprive me of the strength
necessary to the further discharge of the duties of your Chief Mag
istrate, and to lay me on a bed of sickness, from which I am admon
ished by my physicians, and my own increasing debility, I may,
in all human probability, never rise, I have resolved, upon mature
reflection, under a conviction of duty, on this day, to restore to
you the trust with which your suffrages have clothed me, in order
that you may avail yourselves of the provision of the Constitution,
to choose a successor at the next general election. I therefore,
hereby resign the office of Governor of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, and direct this, my resignation, to be filed in the
office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
In taking leave of you, under circumstances so solemn, accept
my gratitude for the confidence you have reposed in me. My
prayer is, that peace, virtue, intelligence and religion, may pervade
all your borders — that the free institutions you have inherited from
your ancestors, may remain unimpaired till the latest posterity —
that the same kind Providence, which has already, so signally,
blessed you, may conduct you to a still higher state of individual
and social happiness — and when the world shall close upon you, as
I feel it is soon about to close upon me, that you may enjoy the
consolations of the Christian's faith, and be gathered, without a
wanderer lost, into the fold of the Great Shepherd above.
FRS. R. SHBNK.
Harrisburg, July % 1848.

DISCOURSE.

Death is inevitable. No vigilance can shun his approach. No
power can stay his ruthless arm. He heeds not the voice of en
treaty. He is callous to the agony of bereavement. When he
strikes, youth, beauty, manhood and venerated age fall alike, and
are gathered into the darkness of the tomb. It does not become us
to question the righteousness of this universal destiny. It is the
ordination of God. It must be right. When death has blighted
our fondest hopes, and the grave has hid from us the desire of our
eyes, God demands our acquiescence in His holy sovereignty, and
it is ours to bow in meek submission to His will. Yet Heaven
does not forbid the mourner's tears, as he weeps over the remem
brance of friendships, the ties of which death has sundered. It
assures us that the conflicts and efforts of goodness here terminate
not in the gloom of the sepulchre, but have their issues beyond it,
in a brighter and better world ; that now we wander amid the sha
dowy beginnings of a moral life 5 and that when virtue has here ac
complished its mysterious call, it commences its native development
in the high career of an immortal existence ; that there goodness
shall be invested with its high reward, and the dark and turbid
scenes of life give place to unclouded sunshine and eternal repose.
It, therefore, bids us enshrine in our hearts the memory of the
good — to treasure up their bright example — to dwell upon the con
flicts of virtuous emulation, struggling with adverse circumstances,
and growing strong by its own toil, until it emerges from its ob
scurity, secures the confidence of a generous people, and then holds
'on in its course of usefulness, like the shining light, that shineth

more and more unto the perfect day. From these musings it bids
us gather the lessons of that practical wisdom, and encouragement
to those persevering eflforts in the culture and practice of pure and
virtuous principles, which will render our lives useful and honored,
and our deaths happy and blessed.
Such is our sad and solemn employment this evening. In com
mon with the citizens of this great State, we mourn the death of
our late venerated Chief Magistrate. More than this, we mourn
the death of a friend, a neighbor, a fellow-citizen, who, for more
than thirty-five years, had his residence among us, and who had
endeared himself to us all, by his uniform courtesy, kindness and
affection, and by the faithful discharge of all the social and domes
tic duties of life. Disease invaded his manly frame, and weakened
his strength in the midst of his days. Death laid his icy hand
upon him, and numbered him among the victims of his power.
The grave has received his earthly remains as its sacred deposit,
until the time of the restitution of all things. The rivalship of
party has ceased. The bitterness of party strife, if any had ever
been awakened in regard to him, has died. Around his bier we
gather, as friends, as neighbors, as fellow-citizens, in the calmness
of hallowed and subdued sorrow, to pay the last tribute of respect
to the memory of departed worth.
Francis Rawn Shunk was of German descent. He was born at
the Trappe, a village in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Au
gust 7th, 1788. His father, John, was the son of Francis Shunk,
who emigrated from the Palatinate of the Rhine, in Germany, about
the year 1715. His mother, Elizabeth Rawn, was the daughter of
Casper and Barbara Rawn, the former of whom also emigrated
froin'the Palatinate, in Germany. The memory of this couple is
still held in the highest veneration by all who were acquainted with
them. They were examples of those excellent virtues, and that
devoted piety which elevate our nature, and invest with dignity, the
humblest conditions of life.

Elizabeth, the mother of the late Governor, was a woman distin
guished for her kindness and affection, and for her devotion to
the happiness of her children. Mr. Shunk often spoke of her in
terms of the most devoted attachment, and cherished her memory
with filial piety to the last hour of his life. There can be no doubt
but that her influence was greatly felt in the formation of his early
character, and its subsequent development. His father I have been
told, was a man of strong and stern mind, yet naturally facetious
and fond of indulging this propensity.
His parents were not able to furnish the means, or spare his time
to secure, in the ordinary way, even the rudiments of an education.
Much of the time of his childhood and youth was devoted to manual
labor. He was hired out, when not more than ten or twelve years
of age, to the neighboring farmers to aid them in their agricultural
pursuits. He has been heard to say, that, among the sweetest
hours of his existence were those, when returning from the toils of
the week to the home of his childhood, he was permitted to repose
his aching head on the lap of his mother, and listen to the soothing
accents of her voice, consoling him under his trials, and encourag
ing his hopes for the future. Notwithstanding his want of facilities
for securing an education, his untiring industry combined with his
earnest desire for self-improvement, enabled him to make such
advances in learning, that at the early age of fifteen he became the
teacher of a small school, and soon after the instructor of the village
school where he was born. From that time until 1812, he seems
to have been einployed as a teacher, during the few months of the
year the school was continued, and the rest of the time as a laborer
in the pursuits of agriculture. The intervals of toil were devoted
by him to the improvement of his mind in every useful branch of
study. In 1812 he was selected by Andrew Porter, then Surveyor
General, under the administration of Governor Snyder, to fill a clerk
ship in his department. While thus employed, he commenced and
prosecuted the study of the law with Thomas Elder, Esq., of this

8
place. In 1814 he marched as a private, with many of his fellow-
townsmen, to the defence of Baltimore. Soon after he was chosen,
first an assistant, and then the principal clerk of the House of Rep
resentatives, and for many years served the State by performing,
with great fidelity, the arduous duties of that office. He was sub
sequently elected secretary to the Board of Canal Commissioners,
and served in that capacity, during a period when the condition of
our public improvements called for the most constant and strenuous
efforts on the part of the commissioners, and rendered the situation
of their secretary any thing but a sinecure. In 1838 he was chosen
by Governor Porter to fill the office of Secretary of State. On
retiring from that office, he removed to Pittsburg, and engaged in
the practice of the law. In 1844 he was called from his retirement
by the voice of the people of the Commonwealth, to fill the highest
office in their gift. He so conducted his administration, as their
chief executive, that he received from them the highest expression
of their confidence and regard, by being re-elected with an increased
majority, and, that too against an opposing candidate of the most
estimable character, against whom party violence could bring no
accusation, but whose exalted virtues and worth are acknowledged
by all.
But he had scarcely entered upon the duties of his second term
before he became the victim of a disease, which in its early pro
gress, excited apprehensions in the minds of his friends that it
might prove fatal. The Governor himself, though conscious that
his disease- was deep seated, yet seemed to cherish, with confidence,
the hope that the vigor of his constitution, and the skill of his
physician, would eventually conquer the disease, and restore him
to health. It was not until the morning of the 9th of July, when
a severe and copious hemorrhage from the lungs took place, that he
gave up entirely the hope of life, and felt that his days were indeed
numbered. As soon as I heard of the hemorrhage, I went directly
unasked, unsolicited to see him, and was received as I always

had been, immediately into his room, with the utmost frankness
and kindness. I then spent an hour with himself and his family
alone, in the sacred duties of my profession. I found him in the
full possession of his mind, calm, resigned and peaceful.
During this visit, there was nothing said, or remotely intimated,
respecting his resignation, nor had there ever been before, in all my
intercourse with Governor Shunk. No one ever requested me to
solicit from him his resignation, or intimate it to him, or to any of
his family, in any form whatever. If such a request had ever been
made to me, I should certainly have resented it, as utterly repug
nant to the feelings of my own heart, and to all my views of pro
priety. If there were those who wished, and consulted to secure
his resignation, I know nothing of it. They never consulted or
approached me, in any form whatever. On leaving the sick room
of the Governor, on the day just alluded to, I was met in the hall
of his house by an intimate friend of the family, and there, for the
first time, was told by this individual, that the Governor intended
to resign that day his office, and that it was requested that I should
remain and witness it.
It was the holy Sabbath — the day which God had command
ed me to keep holy, and the sacredness of which, it had been
one object of a ministry of nearly thirty years among you, to
teach and enforce. The interview I had just had with the Gover
nor and his family, was such as to impart solemnity to my own
mind, and certainly to strengthen my impressions' of the vast
importance '•'¦of fearing God and keeping his commandments."
I do not remember that I reasoned or reflected much, in ray own
mind, on the propriety of the resignation taking place on that day
or not. Most certainly there have been political aspects of this
subject presented to me, since the resignation, of which I never
dreamed at the time. I do not know the motives that influ
enced the Governor to resign, for he never spoke of them to me.
But this I do remember, that from the solemn interview I had just

10
before had with him, from the deep impression on his own mind,
that the hand of death was upon him, that it was not possible
for him to survive another such hemorrhage, and that there was
no security but what it might return on him the next moment, I
was convinced, that if the Governor, on that day, resigned the high
office he had received from the people, into their own hands, it
would be done from a deep religious sense of his duty. Under
this conviction, I cheerfully yielded to the request, to remain and
witness his resignation. In doing so, I never imagined that I was
desecrating the holy Sabbath, or that those most rigid in their con
struction of its observance, could view my conduct in that light.
There was no parade, and no occasion for any. The resignation
was prepared, and written out, by his own direction. Just before
he signed it, I was requested to ask the Governor, whether the act
he was about to do, was one entirely of his own suggestion. Such
a question I should never have thought of asking him myself. To
me, it seemed wholly unnecessary ; and I at first declined putting
it. But as the request was repeated, on returning to his room, I
imraediately went to his bed-side, and asked the question as re
quested. His reply was, " Entirely of my own suggestion, entirely ;
no one ever suggested it to me. I have asked sdme of my friends,
their advice, but they have declined giving any, and referred the
subject to the decision of my own judgment." These were his
own words, so far as I can now recall them. They were spoken
in a whisper, because he knew the least exertion might bring back
the hemorrhage, and terminate his life. The resignation was then
signed, and I withdrew. In my subsequent interviews with him,
which were daily, as long as he lived, he never referred to his re
signation, nor to any act of his public life. His mind seemed ab
sorbed in the prospect of the change, which he knew soon awaited
hira, and to which he looked forward with calm resignation, and
humble, yet confident hope.
I have thus stated the facts connected with Governor Shunk's

11
resignation, that the public may judge of it for themselves. I,
however, cannot resist the conviction of my own mind, that it was
done from a deep religious sense of his duty. On that morning
his hopes of recovery from his protracted sickness were entirely
destroyed. He found himself on the verge of the invisible world.
The relations of this life, he knew, were soon to terminate, and its
scenes to close on him forever. His next breath might be his last.
Before him, and almost within his view, were the throne and the
judgment seat of God, before which he must appear. He had set
his own house in order for this event. One solemn duty, in his
view, still remained. He had received from the people of this
Commonwealth an important trust, as their Chief Magistrate.
That trust, in dependence on God, he had sought to discharge with
fidelity. But now, arrested by the hand of death, he resigned it
back to them, with expressions of his gratitude for their confi
dence, and his earnest prayer for their welfare, that they, to whom
it legitimately belonged, might confer it upon whom they chose.
This done, life's duties were over, and henceforth he waited in
patient hope for its final termination.
I shall leave it to those, whose professional avocations better
qualify them, to exhibit the public acts of Governor Shunk's life in
their true light, and vindicate, as far as they may regard it neces
sary, their wisdom and utiliiy. I choose rather to dwell on those
elements of character, indicated by this brief biography, which con
stituted his peculiar excellence, secured for him that respect and
confidence which he so largely enjoyed, led to the elevation to
which he attained, and gave to his last hours such calmness and
hope, in the prospects of a future existence. Among them we
place, as most prominent, his ardent desire for self-improvement.
Governor Shunk was emphatically a self-made man. His early
life, we have seen, was one of privation and toil, beyond his years.
Much of that time, now devoted to learning, even by those whom
penury visits with its severest trials, was spent by him in labor,

12
and when he sought to improve those intervals, usually spent in re
pose, in the cultivation of his mind, the facilities enjoyed for that
culture were greatly inferior to those now possessed, even in the
most adverse circumstances of life. Books, especially those de
signed to aid the youthful student in his advancement in learning,
were then comparatively rare. Yet what he wanted in the means
of improvement, he more than supplied by the diligent improve
ment of the means he enjoyed. What books he could obtain, he
read with deep interest, not lounging on a sofa, or around a marble
centre table, brightly illumined with an astral lampi but often in the
chimney corner, by the light, which a wood fire or its embers re
flected, and when his body, fatigued with the toils of the day, called
for the repose of the night. What he read, he pondered over, until
it became a part of his own mental being. Could we have seen
the youthful laborer in the field, striving beyond his years to main
tain his place, side by side, with vigorous manhood, we might have
thought of him, in the future, when manhood had matured his frame,
and strung his sinews with its vigor, only as a first rate hand; but
could we have seen him, when the toils of the day were ended, and
those with whom he had wrought retired to rest, poring over, with
intense interest, some old worn-out book, but valuable for the
thoughts it contained, it would not have required the ken of a pro
phet to have foretold that he would become more than a laborer.
Governor Shunk was not a learned man, in the ordinary sense of
that terra ; but he was a well-informed man, better inforraed than
most of those who enjoy the best means of instruction our country
affords. He had not read as much as many read, but he had
thought more than many, who read most, ever think. His love for
the German language amounted to a passion, and it is said he read
it with great beauty. Though not unacquainted with the best Eng
lish writers, he delighted most in German literature, especially in
German poetry, and had a taste for its deep and abstract philosophy,
for the study of which, had his attention been directed to it, few

13
minds were better adapted. He would have revelled in the abstrac
tions of Kant and Fichte, of Schelling and Hegel, those princes of
German philosophy, as he did in the deep musings, the sombre
imagery and recondite thoughts, of the most distinguished Gerraan
poets. At one period of his life he studied, as we have seen, the pro
fession of law, and was admitted to its practice. By those best
qualified to judge, I have been informed, that his professional attain
ments, especially in the more abstract principles of law, were
highly respectable, and that as a counsellor, he had few superiors.
But he shrunk from the personal collision its practice in the courts
involved, and retired from the bar, to engage in employments and
studies more congenial with his taste.
His administration as the Chief Magistrate of this Common
wealth shows, that he was no novice in the great and fundamental
principles of government. His stale papers indicate, that he had
deeply studied the questions of policy involving the great interests of
this Commonwealth, and the country at large, that he had looked
at their remote, as well as immediate consequences, and contem
plated their influence on the progress and advancement of the en
tire community, under the fostering care of our free institutions, as
well as their adaptation to the mere accumulation of gain. The
opinions which these papers contain, commend themselves to our
attention, not only for the candor with which they ate expressed,
but for the reasons by which they are sustained.
Correct views on the subject of the foundation, the origin, and
the ends of civil government, are essential to its right administration.
Error in the former, may lead to the most disastrous consequences
in the latter. Though I, by no means, regard myself as qualified
to present the opinions of our late Governor on subjects so recon
dite, and which he had himself so deeply studied, and though I do
not wish to be considered as the authoritative expounder of his
opinions, yet you will allow me to make a few remarks in illus-

14
tration of what I believe to have been his general views. If, in
doing so, I shall correct the impression which seems to have been
made on some minds, that there was, in Gov. Shunk, a strong ten
dency to extreme radicalism, it will be to me a happy reflection
that I have aided, in any measure, in rescuing his memory from
such an undeserved reproach.
In his views of the origin and end of civil government, so far
as I understood them, he accorded with those who have been re
garded as the soundest civilians. It is an institution founded
in the wants of our common nature, and has its origin in the
will of God, who made us, and whose will is the ultimate and
supreme law of our being, both as individuals and as communi
ties. In an important sense, civil government is an institution
of God — not the mere creature of human device — not a corpora
tion, having its origin alone in a compact among the corporators,
with no higher or more ultimate law, than the will of the majority
who compose the corporation. Such a view of the state is un
founded in fact, and vastly below its real dignity. It is the ordi
nance of heaven. Political science is but the application of the
great moral law of our social nature in regulating the constitution,
and administering the government of the Commonwealth. In that
administration, magistracy is the vicegerent of heaven. From hence
it derives ultimately its authority, and its sanctions. "The law
of nature," says Blackstone, "being dictated by God himself, is of
course superior in obligation to any other. No human laws are of
any validity, if contrary to this, and such as are valid, derive all
their force, and all their authority mediately, or immediately from
this original." So pervading and universal is this principle, that
even positive laws, as they are sometimes denominated, such as
are more restricted in their nature, and not necessarily of universal
obligation, come under its rule. An eminent civilian in his anno
tations on Blackstone, remarks, "that the principles of moral and
positive laws being precisely the same, they become so blended.

15
that the discrimination between them is often impracticable," or as
another author has expressed it with beautiful simplicity, "in every
law positive, well made, is somewhat of the law of reason and of
God, and to discern the law of God and reason, from the law posi
tive, is very hard." According to these views, human laws, and
human governments, both in their nature and administration, de
rive their authority and sanction ultimately from God. This is
in unison with the teachings of inspiration. " Let every soul be sub
ject to the higher powers, for the powers that be are ordained of
God, for he is the minister of God to thee for good — a revenger to
execute wrath upon him thatdoeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs
be subject not only for wrath, but for conscience sake."
This is the true basis of civil government. It places our obliga
tions to submit to civil magistracy, to obey civil l,aws, when just
and light in themselves, on the highest reasons — reasons that recog
nize the authority of God, and bind the human conscience by the
strongest of all ties — our responsibility to the Omniscient and Al
mighty Guardian of universal righteousness. In implicit submission
to such authority there is no slavery, butthe highest moral freedom,
of which our nature is capable. Under this view of this subject,
when I bow to the majesty of the civil law, and reverence those
who are entrusted with its administration, I yield no servile homage
to man. I bow to the throne in heaven, and reverence those prin
ciples of eternal rectitude, on which God has based the individual
and social happiness of man. If those who are invested with the
responsibilities of government, violate that trust — if they, be they
many or few, trample on those inalienable rights with which God
has invested me, though it be under the sanction of legislative enact
ments, or their administration by the magistracy regularly appointed,
I appeal to that higher power to which we are both responsible,
and resist their invasion of my rights as the violation of that divine
authority under which they act. It is this submission of human
government to the authority of God, whether the power of that

16
government is lodged in a single individual, or in a few, or in the
majority of the people, that invests with truth, and gives point to
that often quoted maxim of one of our greatest statesmen—" Resist
ance to tyrants is obedience to God."
Now, under the broad ^Egis of God's providential and moral gov
ernment, and on the foundation of His own immutable will, indi
cated by the essential wants of our nature, civil institutions are
based. This is the only safe foundation on which they can be
reared. Every other is like the shifting sand.
But, on this foundation, where is the power that shall determine
the peculiar structure of government, and control its adminis
tration .'' God has not any where, either by the light of nature, or
by supernatural revelation, given laws to regulate the specific form
of civil government, but has left it to the ordination of man, and to
be, in some measure, controlled, by the progressive development of
society. It is not the ordination of one man, who impiously pre
tends to derive his right to rule from God immediately, through a
line of legitimate succession ; nor of a favored few, to whose pre
tensions to more gifted and more noble endowments the many are
urged to submit. Such pretensions assume the debasement of the
many; and any government founded on such assumptions, will be
come oppressive and tyrannical ; for, on the one hand, the tendency
of power is to accumulate, and on the other of servitude to become
more debased.
Whatever, therefore, may be said in behalf of extreme cases,
every form of civil government, other than that founded on the con
sent of the governed, and subject to their control, is usurpation, and
inconsistent with the rational and responsible nature of man. This
is the grand principle, that pervades the organization of our govern
ment. No one acquainted with Gov. Shunk could be ignorant of
the deep hold this fundamental principle had taken on his mind. It
was the controlling principle of his public life. He never allowed
himself to lose sight of it, for a moment. It was not, as many may

17
have supposed^ adopted merely to secure popularity. Far from it
He believed that any invasion of this principle, in any form, was,
so far as it went, a fatal infringement on the very genius and spirit
of our free institutions.
From this he derived another important practical principle, which
had a controlling influence over his conduct as a public man, namely :
that it is both duty and policy to cherish toward the people, at large,
a generouaconfidence. The public mind, in this country, is liberated
from the thraldom in which it exists elsewhere. Its glorious privi
lege is to think, and speak, and act unrestrained. When thus free
it does act, and leaves the impress of its action on the face of so
ciety. It will indeed sometimes act wrong. In a government like
ours, where the popular will controls and directs every thing, we
are exposed, in its practical operations, to the influence of crude
opinions and illusory theories, which, though corrected by the
"sober second thoughts of the people," often inflict lasting injuries.
This results from that residiura of imperfection inherent in all hu
man institutions. It should inspire caution, but not distrust.>->
" Festina lente" — make haste slowly, is an excellent motto to ap
ply to every proposed alteration in the fundamental principles on
which our government is based, or the general policy by which it
has been administered. The results it has already achieved are too
glorious and too vast, to be hazarded by hasty changes in either.
Still, progress is a law of our nature. We are far from having
arrived at the ultimatum in the advancement of human society. Our"
safest conservative power is in the free, unrestrained action of the
public mind, enlightened and under the control and guidance of sound
moral principle. Thus controlled, it will move, but its movement
will be, in the main, onward and upward. Changes must be the
result of this activity. Look back through the political history of
our country, and you will learn, that all our institutions, whatever
be their nature or design, have been gradually assimilating to the
structure of our civil polity, and coming under the same spirit of

18
popular control. Even political parties, under this onward tenden
cy, have either entirely lost, or have changed their original distinc
tions. The tendency is still onward, and will continue so until
every thing submits to this principle of popular control. This is
our destiny, and it cannot be prevented but by changing the whole
organism of our government. One mind sees, in the future, nothing
but danger — all is darkness, confusion, anarchy, wild misrule, the
fierce conflict of lawless and depraved passion. Another sees, in
the same future, the consummation of his most cherished hopes. —
He believes these ill-boding prophecies will terminate like those
of years gone by, and that the future will continue to open with still
brighter skies, and more brilliant scenes. The former betrays his
fears. He pleads for a strongly restringent policy. He wants the
curb put on, and the reins held with a stiff hand, because he fears
the people. The people know their power, laugh at his fears,' and
by this very effort to restrain them, are urged on to a dangerous
radicalism. Such is the natural tendency of this suspicion and fear,
and the measures which they prompt. Gov. Shunk was one of
those who cherished the brightest hopes in regard to the future
prospects of this country. He cherished from principle a generous
confidence in the people at large. He believed that if the masses
were brought under the inffuence of education, and enlightened
moral culture, the native activity of the human mind, freed from
all unnatural restraints, would itself become the safest guardian of
pivil and religious liberty.
But this generous confidence in the people was not the result of
false views of human nature. The history of the world is not
wanting in the records of successful efforts to break the fetters of
civil despotism ; but it contains few indeed, to establish permanent
freedom. It is yet a problem unsolved, whether France, thrice revolution
ized, will be able to establish and maintain a free government.
That unhappy nation with whom we have just closed a war, most

19
disastrous to herself, found it comparatively easy to break the
yoke of Spanish dominion ; but, though more than thirty years
have elapsed since that event, she has failed to secure any thing
like a permanent government. Deluded with the name, and the
forms of free institutions, she has been the victim of priestly domi
nation, and successive military despotisms, until her moral and
physical energies have been utterly wasted, and her national exist
ence brought to the eve of its extinction.
If we contrast their failure with our success, and search for the
causes of both, we shall find it, in the vast difference in the intellec
tual and moral condition of the people. Free institutions cannot
exist without the intellectual and moral culture of the masses of
the community.
Of nothing was the late Governor of this Commonwealth, more
deeply convinced, than of this. Our comraon school system had a
deep hold on the affections of his heart. He knew it had many
imperfections, particularly as it was carried into operation in many
of our rural districts. He knew it was not accomplishing all that
it was desirable to accomplish ; but he believed it would yet work
its way into the confidence of the people, and be itself the most
elHcient means of curing many of its defects. He rejoiced in the
good it had effected, and with a generous enthusiasm, exulted in
the good it would effect. I cannot here withhold a paragraph from
one of his annual messages to the Legislature, in which he alludes
to this subject with his characteristic warmth of feeling and enlarged
philanthropy. "The incalculable benefits of our system of common school in
struction are extending themselves throughout our whole Common
wealth, strengthening, improving, elevating mind, and preparing
the generation which is to succeed us, for usefulness, and just ap
prehensions of duty. In country districts, where the population
is scattered, and a large portion of the children find active employ
ment for near half the year, the system cannot reach all the ends

20
that are accomplished in cities and towns. But signal and exten
sive advantages resulting from it, as shown in the comprehensive
report of the Superintendent of Common Schools, give assurance,
that Pennsylvania has laid the broad and deep foundation for the
perpetuity of her institutions, by securing a sound, intellectual and
moral education for her children. I have lately, with the Superin
tendent of the public schools, visited the city of Philadelphia.
There is much for the good man to admire, in the variety, com
prehensiveness, and beautiful arrangement of her benevolent and
charitable institutions, and to warm his gratitude towards the men
who founded, and who now direct them. But there is a moral
grandeur presented to the patriot in her public schools, that sur
passes them all. By the former, which cannot be coramended too
strongly to the continued favor and fostering care of the Legislature,
comfort and instruction are provided for a few, who are exempted
from the mass, by special misfortune. But the latter are a blessing
to all ; they provide for improving and elevating the whole body of
the people, and for qualifying every child, in its onward way to
maturity, by sound mental and moral instruction, for filling up its
measure of usefulness, and accomplishing, intelligently, the end of
its being."
There is another subject, on the moral relations and effects of
which. Governor Shunk felt deeply. The domestic relation lies at
the foundation of human society. There are no earthly ties more
sacred than those, which bind together the different members of the
same family. Around this institution and all its relations, God has
thrown his watchful guardianship, and for its interests, he has legis
lated more specifically, than for-any other institution, save his church.
The welfare of human society depends on nothing more than pre
serving this institution inviolate, as God has formed it. But for
years past, with a ruthless hand and a reckless spirit, it had been
invaded by our I^egislature. The sacred ties of matrimony had
been broken for the slightest reasons, and those natural and sacred

21
bonds which God has himself formed between parents and children,
had been rudely violated. So regardless had our Legislature become
of the sanctity of these bonds, that not only applications from our
own citizens crowded upon them for their dissolution, but from other
States, where a wiser policy and a sterner morality prevailed, the
licentious, who desired to be free from the restraints their marriage
vows imposed, hastened hither to take advantage of a laxer morality,
in securing, by legislative enactments, the dissolution of the marriage
contract. At first Governor Shunk seems to have yielded, without reflection,
to the policy that had prevailed ; but no sooner did he reflect upon
it, than he was convinced of its enormous evil, and labored to
resist it. Much has been done by him to check that licentious
disregard for the marriage relation, which began to prevail to an
alarming extent, and which threatened the most serious evils to the
purity of domestic institutions — the nlost effectual guardian of public
morals. Cases undoubtedly occur, which call for the interference
of law, as well as for the exercise of our warmest sympathies.
But they are few, in comparison with the number that crowd the
journals of our Legislature, and from them are transferred to the
statute book. The conduct of the late Governor, on this subject,
secured the warm approbation of the virtuous of all parties. On
no subject have we heard him more loudly or universally applauded.
For, in truth, the moral sensibilities of the community had been
outraged by the exhibitions of licentious disregard for the sacred
ness of the marriage relation, which yearly took place at the seat
of government ; and public feeling could not brook the imputation,
that our Legislature had become the refuge of those, who fled from
the indignant resentment of the virtuous of other States. We
trust that the reform commenced will be faithfully prosecuted, and
an institution, the richest in its blessings to society, will be pre
served inviolate from such a ruthless invasion.
The influence of Christianity and Christian institutions, in form-

22
ing and sustaining a sound public sentiment, and elevating the tone of
public morals, our late Governor regarded as unspeakably impor
tant. An open Bible for all to read ; a holy Sabbath, in which the
vast and enterprising population of our country should be simul
taneously arrested in the busy pursuits of life, and their thoughts
directed to their duty to God, to their responsibility to Him, and
the retributions of eternity; an open sanctuary, where all, the rich
and the poor, the most exalted and the most humble, could meet
together, as children of the same father, and forgetting the distinc
tions of life, 6ffer their sacrifices of penitence, and faith, and praise
on the same altar, and bow down and worship the same Jehovah ;
an intelligent and pious ministry, whose lives are devoted to the
instruction of the people, and ministering the consolations of re
ligion to the afflicted — ^these he regarded as among the most invalua
ble supports of our free institutions, by instructing the public mind,
and elevating the tone of public sentiment And he regarded their
power as vastly increased, by their entire disunion from the State,
and their reliance on the affections of the people alone, for their sup
port. It was in the silent, constant, all-pervading influence of these
agencies, forming the public mind, and directing and controlling its
activities, under a special and overruling providence, that our late
Executive founded his ardent hopes of the perpetuity of our free
institutions, and the future glory of our country. He desired to
icherish in the public mind a deep sense of religious truth, and
dependence on an overruling providence. He wished them to
recognize in every blessing the hand of a merciful God, offer to
Him the tribute .of their gratitude, acknowledge their sins, and im
plore their forgiveness and the continuance of his goodness.—
Hence he cheerfully acceded to the wish of the good and the pious,
in recommending, yearly, the observation of days of thanksgiving
by the whole community, and delighted in the sublime spectacle of
a whole nation thus voluntarily worshipping the God, who reigns in
heaven.

2S
I do not claim for the late Governor, any thing peculiar or dis
tinctive, in the views to which I have now referred ; because, I
believe they are substantially the views of most, if not all of our intel
ligent citizens of all parties. But I refer to them, because of the
strong hold they took on his mind, and the influence which they
exerted over his conduct, especially in his public capacity.
There were opinions, however, more distinctive, entertained by
him, to which he attached great importance, and which may be
regarded as giving its peculiar character to his administration, A
vindication of these is no part of my design. They are before the
public, with the reasons by which he sustained them, and it is for
the public to judge of their soundness and utility. We shall, how
ever, refer to them simply, in illustration of the character of his
mind, and its operations on questions submitted to his decision.
He adopted the maxim, as sound, that that government was best
which governed least, and hence he was, in the main, in favor
only of general laws for the protection of property, life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness, operating equally on all, and leaving all
alike free, in the exercise of their natural energies, to advance their
own interests.
He said, "it was not by looking to special legislation for privi
leges, which are denied to others, but by a just and manly self-reli
ance, that men secure their own progress and the well being of the
State." The tendency of capital to accumulate in the hands of the
few, the power which it always wields, the antagonism between
it and labor, and the encroachment of the former on the just rights
of the latter, even under the best administration of the most equita
ble laws, he regarded as one of the dangers of republics. The
distinctions thus created engender unhappy jealousies ; and even
the appearance of oppression on the one side, too often excites to
lawless aggression on the other. This tendency he thought should,
by no means, be increased by legislation. Hence he resisted all
grants of special privileges for the prosecution of private gain, as

24
creating artificial distinctions, as repugnant to the spirit and genius
of our institutions, and calculated to destroy, ultimately, that equal
ity of condition essential, in his view, to the preservation of equal
rights. In securing this equality, he regarded, as most important, the
operation of our intestate laws, and laws prohibiting the entailment
of estates ; and consequently regarded all contrivances, in the shape
of corporations with special privileges, by which wealth is aggre
gated and perpetuated Under the control of a few individuals, as
artificial aristocracies of the worst kind, and directly opposed to the
natural simplicity of our democratic institutions. He dreaded their
demoralizing tendencies in our elections, from the power which
they might acquire over the property, and consequently over the
independence of the electors.
Wealth he regarded as of minor consequence in promoting either
the happiness of individuals, or the welfare of the community. A
lofty independence of character, a free mind, a good conscience,
generous, and kind affections, combined with the sanctifying power,
the holy aspirations, and the animating hopes, of a pure Christi
anity, he considered the essential elements of human happiness.
He believed that man, never since the sad apostacy, was ever placed
in a better civil and social condition, to secure this happiness, than
in our own beautiful country, and under our own free institutions,
subject to the operations of just and equal laws, which protected
all alike, but granted special privileges to none.
Whether he carried this opinion too far, in the administration of
the government, and unnecessarily impeded the progress of human
industry and enterprize, the development of our natural resources,
and the accumulation of wealth, I must leave to others to determine.
There are those, and among them individuals for whom he enter
tained a high personal regard, who think so. But whether right
or wrong, the stand he took and maintained, on this subject, exhi
bits his honest zeal, for what he deemed the best interests of the

25
community, and his unyielding firmness in adhering to the policy,
he regarded as best adapted to secure them.
When we review his life ; when we reflect on the defects of his
early education, on the serious difficulties to which he was sub
jected in the culture of his mind ; when we look at his onward
progress through life — his steady advancement from the poor labor
ing boy, to the Chief Executive of this great Commonwealth, and
the ability with which he performed the duties of that exalted sta
tion, we cannot but cherish the highest respect for his mental acqui
sitions. His example presents, in the strongest light, the genius
of our free institutions, in opening the road to the highest eminence
to the poorest and humblest, of our youth, and should excite all
to a virtuous emulation to excel in4he culture of their minds ; for,
although all cannot reach the Executive chair, all may become re
spected, useful and eminent in the several spheres of life.
But we should do signal injustice to the character of Governor
Shunk, and omit one of the most important elements of his suc
cess in life, if we did not refer to his moral, as well as intellectual
culture. He was a sincere, honest, upright man, pure in his private
morals, and no less so in his public character. The political prin
ciples and policy, avowed in his State papers, were sincerely en
tertained. They were not set forth, as some, who knew him not,
and did not agree with him, may erroneously suppose, to please
the popular taste. He never courted popular favor at the expense
of sincerity and truth. He did not believe that the end justified the
means. The want of political integrity, in his view, involved the
want of private worth. The man who was dishonest in one situa
tion, he believed would be dishonest in another ; that sincerity, truth
and honesty, faithfully maintained in all the relations of life, in lit
tle matters, as well as those more important, were essential attributes
of character for one who would secure and maintain, for any length
of time, the public confidence. Trick, fraud, artifice and chicanery,
though they may secure an ephemeral success, he believed were

26
sure to meet, ultimately, their due reward, in public, as in private
life. Dishonesty at heart cannot long be concealed, even from a
naturally confiding people. Occasions will occur when a righteous
Providence will leave the man to himself, to fall under the power of
some temptation, that will unfold his real character, and subject
him to the desecration of an indignant public. Hence the prema
ture fall of so many politicians.
The proverbial honesty of Governor Shunk was one principal
cause of his popularity, both in public and private life. There
were multitudes who did not properly estimate his intellectual
worth, who did not adopt many of his political views, or did not
belong to his pohtical party, who, yet, believed him to be an honest,
upright man, in whom they could confide, and on that account gave
him their support
There are many of our politicians who suppose that as a worthless
man's vote is worth as much at the polls as that of a good man ;
while it is important to conciliate the friendship of the latter, by
pretensions to morality, it is equally important to associate with the
former, and cater to his propensities ; to treat the intemperate at
one time, and praise temperance at another ; to laugh with the Infi
del, and pray with the Christian., Such a game cannot be long suc
cessfully played. The good and the wise will soon understand the
man, and withhold from him their confidence, while the wicked
and licentious have too great a regard for their own interests to trust
them in the hands of one who has proved himself insincere and
dishonest The example of our late Governor strikingly shows the
value of honesty and uprightness, as elements of permanent politi
cal success.
With sterling, unbending integrity, he united child-like simplicity
of character, and unmeasured kindness of heart I have never
known a man, of whom it can with so much truth be said, that affec
tion and kindness were the very elements of his being, nor one

27
who manifested such unfeigned pleasure in the happiness of others.
He seemed to revel in their enjoyments. The gamboling of a lamb,
the smile of an infant, the joyous shout of childhood, lit up his
countenance, and seemed to make his very heart beat stronger with
joyful emotions. The constant boundings of his affections rendered
his life a very happy one. Despondency and gloom seldom lit upon
his brow. There was a lightsomeness, a joyousness, that made his
very step elastic in the days of his health, and transfused into his
conduct almost a boyish cheerfulness, which some, unacquainted
with his character, looked upon as a weakness, and others consid
ered as violating the proprieties of his elevated situation. But he
could not help it If a kind look, a cheerful remark, and a cordial
shake of the hand, would give any pleasure to the poorest man he
met, it was not in his heart to withhold them. If sportiveness
would make the children around him happy, he could not refuse it,
though it should be at the expense of the gravity of the Governor
of the Commonwealth. There was a frankness, a full and open
heartedness, that secured your confidence ; and I never heard that,
in one instance, the confidence thus secured, was betrayed. Much
of his cheerfulness and kindness arose, probably, from his natural
temperament, the full development of his noble physical frame, and
the general good health, with which he was blessed through life —
much also was the effect of culture, and the result of principle.
"Governor Oglethorp, of Georgia, a superior man, more than one
hundred years ago, emphatically announced it, as his own approved
disposition — I never forgive. A late eminent citizen of our country
gloried in the same declaration — I never forgive," I have known
Gov. Shunk to do good to those who have spoken evil of him, and
despitefuUy used him, when they knew nothing of it themselves,
and never will, in all probability, till the Day of Judgment. Re
sentment he never cherished. During the thirty years of my ac
quaintance with him, I cannot remember, that I ever heard him
speak bitterly, or even unkindly of an individual.

28
Under that lightsomeness, that joyousness which imparted to his
general manner through life, a youthful cheerfulness, there was, if I
may be allowed the expression, a stratum of deep seriousness, and
religious feeling, of the extent of which, many of his most inti
mate friends were not fully aware. Gov. Shunk was a firm believer
in the great doctrines of Christianity. He was a Lutheran by edu
cation, and remained, through life, strongly attached to the doc
trines, the polity, and the discipline of the Lutheran Church. He
read Luther's Bible, in the German, daily — and from some expres
sions that dropt from his lips on his death bed, he was not a stran
ger to the duty of habitual secret prayer.
Yet he did not make a public profession of religion ; not because
he did not deem it the duty of a Christian man to do so; not because
he was insensible to the obligations, which rested upon him to pro
fess the Saviour before the world, for he has been heard to acknow
ledge these obligations ; but there were circumstances which he
judged justified his neglect of it In this, I must express my decided
conviction, he judged wrong. I regret it the more, because, from
the prominent place he held in society, he would, as an open, active
and consistent member of the church of Christ, have honored his
profession, and been the means of more extensive usefulness; This
was unquestionably his duty. It is the duty of every public man
to be in reality, and at heart a Christian; and not only that, but to
make a public profession of his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
as a member of his visible kingdom on earth, maintain openly and
before the world, a walk becoming his high vocation. This is a
duty enjoined by the Saviour himself, and not left to our option.
Yet there are some good men, who, through mistaken views, do
neglect it
With the history of Governor Shunk's religious views, and their
influence on his character, I am unacquainted, for he never fully
disclosed them. We have reason to believe, however, that his life

29
and actions, in public and in private, had been, for some lime, gov
erned habitually by a sense of duty to God, and of accountability
to Him. His last protracted illness -vvas endured with exemplary
patience and submission to the will of heaven. When it became
certain to himself that he must soon die, he evinced unusual calm
ness, confidence and hope. He distinctly intimated, and that more
than once, that the propitiatory sacrifice and perfect merits of our
Divine Redeemer, were the only grounds of his confidence and his
expectation. On one occasion, when the hope of his recovery
seemed a little revived, it was remarked to him, that it was best to
keep the end in view; "That," said he, with great earnestness, and
yet with his usual kindness of manner, "has been the habit of my
life ; I cannot make the effort to think and reflect now, as I could
wish, for it excites me too much, but I can pray, for habit has ren
dered it easy."
On another occasion, after conversing with him for some time, he
remarked with great solemnity, weighing as it were, his words,
and pondering on the import, " I do not know, for I am weak, and
my mind is weak, and if death should this moment approach, it
might not be as I now think ; but if I do not mistake myself, I
would rather go than not, if it be the will of God." He was asked if
this desire sprung from the confidence he exercised in the mercy of
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the hope of salvation
through him. He replied, " only so — only so. I have no other
ground on which to base my confidence." This was several days
before his decease. But a few hours before his death, he distinctly
remembered that conversation, and said in a broken whisper: "I feel
now just as I told you the other day; I desire to go."
To the pastor of the Lutheran church, he remarked, but a short
time before the last moment, in answer to his question, whether he
continued to feel the supports of religion: "I have great pain of
body, but great peace of mind." To Mrs. S. he said he had a
message for each of the family, but in attempting to speak it, the

30
words broke on his heart Thus full of affection and full of hope,
he fell asleep, "Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams,"
He was born, as we have seen, at the Trappe. There he had
spent his youthful days of toil. There he had enjoyed the warm
gushing sympathies of a mother's heart In that ancient house of
God he had sat, and listened, with solemn attention, to the holy man,
as he spoke of life, and death, and immortality, until his "heart
was made soft," and feelings of strange and sacred delight stole
over his mind. Around that ancient grave yard,
" Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap,"
he had often wandered in the stillness of the evening hour, and
gave himself up to solitary musing, until the unbidden tears dropped
from his cheek.
These fond recollections of his youth he had cherished through
life ; and now when the hand of death lay cold and chilly upon
him, these recollections awoke with freshness in his mind, and there
with kindred dust he desired that his might repose. Thither you
have borne his earthly remains. There you have laid them, to rest,
in hope,' until the morning of the resurrection.

S' ,* * '