1876. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-· HOUSE.'\ 243 

Mr. GAUSE. The great evil we suffer from, and of which we com- plain, is that we have not mail contracts enough. 

Mr. HOLMAN. And IteUmyfriend thatweha~eprovided$342,000 

for that purpose by the bill as it standB. 

Mr. GAUSE. Last year they reduced the contracts on our routes. 

Mr. HOLMAN. That is not the result of the appropriations. Somebody must determine where the postal service shall be put. 

Mr. GAUSE. The Postmaster-General has assured me, and I have no doubt many other gentlemen from the West and South, that it was utterly impossible for him to plaoo service on routes established in the 

West and South, because he had not money appropriated for that purpoe. 

.Mr. HOLMAN. The gentleman must see that the appropriations 

have been ample all the time. 

Mr. GAUSE. I have the assurance of the Postmaster-General to 

the effect I have stated. ~fr. HOLMAN. And if the House rejects this amendment there is 

still $342,000 for the increase of the service. 

Mr. GAUSE. If the appropriations have been sufficient and the 

Postmaster-General bas not placed service on the star lines, what bas 

become of them f 

Mr. HOLMAN. I am satisfied the Postmaster-General has only 

maintained reasonable economy in these expenditures. He cannot put 

service on every mail route. 

Mr. SCHLEICHER. Will the gentleman yield to me for only one minute t 

Mr. HOLMAN. Yes, sir. 

Mr. SCHLEICHER. I believe that there are many members of the 

House who do not understand to what year the gentleman from Indiana refers. This debate ranges over three years. For the present 

year the expenditure is unknown. The gentlemen refers to the last 

yea.r, pas ed in June last, and we are now discussing the appropriation for the year to begin June next. The allowance made for increased demand is 5 per cent. only for each year, but it must be borne 

in mind that the population of Texas, in addition to the natural increase, haa been very largely augmented by immigration. ~fr. HOLl\1A.N. We have only the expenditure for the year ending 

J nne 30, 1876. 

Mr. SCHLEICHER. The amount of increase is allowed only 5 per 

cent., when the increase in our population is larger than that. 

Mr. HOLMAN. I am always afraid when gentlemengetonstatistics 

and figures. 

Mr. SCHLEICHER. I am sure you are. Mr. HOLMAN. I only desire to add a word further upon ~his meas- ure. I wish to say to the g~ntleman from Michigan [Mr. Co:NGER] 

that the ground assumed last fall on the stump, that the attempt on the part of the Representatives of a majority of the people for re- trenchment and reform was but a spasmodic movement and purely 

political, has no foundation whatever. I think I can assure the gentleman from Michigan that there is a determin'ation, so far as this side 

of the House is concerned, without reference to political results, to 

restore if possible economy and integrity to the administration of the 

Government, conscious at the same time that the one method in which 

it can be a.ccomplisbed is by impressing on every department of the 

Government in the appropriation bills that retrenchment is demanded 

and must be bad. I wish him to understand that the movement is 

not spasmodic. 

The question was on the amendment reported from the Committee 

of the Whole on the state of the Union; and ~g put, there were- ayes 71, noes 45. 

Mr. HOLMAN. No quorum has voted. 

Mr. CLYMER. I call for the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

Mr. STONE. I move that the House do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; and accordingly (at four o'clock and 

thirty-five minutes p.m.) the House adjourned. 

PETITIONS. 

The following petitions were presented at the Clerk's desk under 

the rule, and referred as stated : By Mr. BANNING: The petition of William Moseley, late a hospital 

steward, United States Army, that the cause of his discharge from the 

service before the term of his enlistment expired be investigated, to 

the Committee on Military Affairs. 

By ~fr. FRYE: The petition of Z. James Belt, John B. Price, and 

other citizens of Wilmington, Delaware, for a commission of inquiry 

concerning the alcoholic liquor traffic, to the' Committee on the J ndiciary. 

Also, the petition of C. K. True, D. D., and other :Methodist Episcopal clergymen of the preachers' meeting of New York City, of similar import, to the sam~ committee. 

By Mr. ·MAISH: The petition of A. H. Jenks, of York, Pennsylvania, late a private in Company E, One hundred and thirty-sixth 

Regiment United States .Army, for a pension, to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. 

By Mr. MACKEY: The petition of Frederick Hoffman, late a private 

in Company H, Fourteenth Regiment United States Infantry, to be 

restored to the pension-rolls, to the same committee. 

By 1\fr. O'BRIEN: The petition of William T. 1\Ialsters, of Baltimore, Maryland, to have paid to him out of the Treasury 3,000 re- tained as fines for not completing the construction of the United States 

steamer Laurel within the time required by the contract, to the Committee of Ways and Means. 

By 1\fr. ROBBINS, of North Carolina: The petition of citizens of 

North Carolina, complaining of abuses by United States revenue offi- cers and asking a change in the revenue laws, to the same committee. 

By Mr. VAN VORHES: The petition of Catharine Sheets, of McConnelsville, Ohio, widow of Daniel Sheets, late captain Company C, 

Seventeenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a pension for 

herself and her minor son, Willie Sheets, to the Committee on Invalid 

Pensions . Also, the petition of Civilla Shaffer, who was the wife of Emery 

D. Whitehair, deceased, late a private in Company F, Third Regiment 

West Virginia Infantry, of Amos Whitehair and of the guardh'tn of 

Elisa J. Whitehair, that a pension be granted to said Amos and Elisa 

Whitehair from the date of the death of said Emery D. Whitehair 

until they arrive at the age of sixteen years, to the same committee. 

By Mr. WILLIAMS, of Delaware: The petition of Philip Henry, 

late a private Third Regiment Delaware Infantry, for a pension, to 

the Committee on Invalid Pensions. 

By Mr. WOOD, of New York: The petition of the National TemperanceSociety,(WilliamE.Dodge,president,J.N.Stearns,secretary,) 

that the Honse of Representatives concur in the passage of the Senate bill to provide for a commission of inquiry concerning the alcoholic liquor traffic, to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

SATURDAY, December 16, 1876. 

The House met at twelveo'clockm. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. 

I. L. TOWNSEND. 

The Journal of yesterday was read and approved. 

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE. 

A message from the Senate, by Mr. SYMPSON, one of its clerks, an- nounced that the Senate bad disagreed to the amendments of the House 

to the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. No. 4121)toprovide 

for the expenses of certain joint committees, asked a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and had appointed 

Mr. WINDoM, Mr. LOGAN, and Mr. DAVIS the conferees on the part of 

the Semtte. 

POST-OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL. 

The SPEAKER. The pending question at the adjournment yesterday was the post-office appropriation bill, which had been reported 

from the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union with an amendment, upon which the previous question was seconded and the 

yeas and nays ordered. 

The amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole was, in line 63 of the 

printed bill, to strike out "$6,000,000 "and to insert in lieu thereof" i(i,237,993 ;"so 

that the clause would read: 

For inland-mail transportation, namely: For transportation on star routes and by steamboats, and all other than railroad routes, $6,237,993. · 

The question was taken; and there were-yeas 101, nays 77, not 

voting 111 ; as follows: 

YEAS-Messrs. Adams, Ainsworth, Anderson, Ashe, Bauby, William H. Baker, 

Ballou, Banning, Bell, Blair, Bland, Bradford, Bradlex, Horatio C. Burchard, Cabell, 

John H. Caldwell, Campbell. Cannon, Carr, Caswell, Cate1 John :B. Clark, jr., of 

Missouri, Conger, Crounse, Culberson, Davis, Denison, Diorell, Durham, Eames, 

Egbert, Evans, Faulkner, Felton, Finley, Forney, Franklin, Gause, Glover, Goode, 

Hancock, Haralson, Benjamin "\V. Harris, Hartrldge, Hatcher, Haymond, Render. son, Hereford, 8-Qldsm.i.th W. Hewitt, Hill, Hyman, Frank Jones, Kasson, Kelley, 

Frank lin Landers, Levy, Lewis, Lord, Luttrell, Magoon, MacDougall, McCrary, McDill, McFarland, MillS, Monroe, Nort{)n, Oliver, William A. Phillips, Powell, 

Rea, Reagan, James B. Reilly, Rice, Riddle, William M. Robbins, Rusk, Sampson, 

Schleicher, SlemonS, Sparks, Stone, Swann, Terry, Thomas, Throckmorton, Van 

Vorhes, Robert :B. Vance, Waddell, Alexander S. Wallace, Walsh, G.WileyWells, Whitthorne, Willard, Andrew Williams, JeremiahN. Williams, William B. Williams, James Wilson, Alan Wood, jr., Fernando Wood, and Yeates-101. 

NAYS-Messrs. Atkins, John H. Bauley, jr., John H. Baker, Blount, :Boone, 

Bright, John Yonng Brown, Buckner, William P. Caldwell, Candler, Chittenden, 

John B. Clarke of Kentucky, Clymer, Cook, Cowan, Cutler, Fort, Foster, Frye, Fuller, Andrew H. Hamilt{)n, Robert Hamilt{)n, Henry R. Harris, John T. Earri, 

Hartzell, Holman, ~~khreys, Hunton, Hurd, Kehr, Knott, Lamar, Goorge M. 

Landers, Metcalfe, · · en, Morgan, Neal, Pierce, Piper, Poppleton, Potter, John 

Reilly, John Robbins, Savage, Seelye, Sheakley, Singleton, A. Herr Smith, William 

E. Smith, Southard, Spencer, Springer, Stant{)n, Stenger, Teese, Turney, John L. 

Vance, Wait, Waldron, Charles C. :B. Walker, Warner, Warren, Erastus Wells, 

Whitehouse, Whiting, Alpheus S. Williams, and James Willia.ms-77. 

NOT VOTING-Messrs. Abbott, George A. Bagley, Banks, Bass, Beebe, BlMk· 

burn, Bliss, William R. Brown, Samuel D. Burchard, Bnrleigh, Cason, Caulfield, 

Chapin, Cochrane, Collins Cox, Crapo, Danford, Darrall, Davy De Bolt, Dobbins, 

Douglas, Dunnell, Durand, Eden, Ellis, Flye, Freeman, Garfieid, Gibson, Goodin, 

Gunter, Hale, Hardenbergh, Harrison, Hathorn, Hays, Hendee, Henkle, AbramS. 

Hewitt, Hoar, Hoge, Hooker, Hopkins, Hoskins, House, Hubbell, Hunter, Hurlbut, 

Jenks, ThomasL. Jones, Joyce, Kimball, King, Lane, Lapham, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Le Moyne, Lynch, Lynde, Mackey, Maish, McMahon, Meade, Miller, 

Money, Morrison, Mutchler, Nash, New, 0'13rien, Odell, O'Neill, Packer, Page, Pavne, Phelps, John F. Philips, Plaisted, Platt, Pratt, Parman, Rainey, R{)berta, 

Robinson, Miles Ross, Sobieski Ross, Sayler, Scales, Schumaker, Sinnickson, 

Smalls, Strait, Stephens, St-evenson, Stowell, Tarbox, Thompson, Thornburgh, Mar-
244 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 16, 

tin I. Townsend, Wa.shington Townsend, Tucker, Tufts, Gilbert C. Walker, John 

w. Wall:we, Walling,Ward,Wa.tterson, Wheeler,White, Wigginton, Wike,Charles 

G. ~illiams, Willis, Wilshire, Benjamin Wilson, Woodburn, 1,Voodwortb, and 

Yonng-111. 

So the amendment was agreed to. 

During the roll-call the following announcements were made: 

Mr. SPENCER. I desire to say that my colleague, Mr. ELLIS, is 

detained from the House by illness. 

Mr. DAVY. I desire to state that I am paired upon this question 

with my colleague, Mr. WILLIS. I am not prepared to state that I am able to state how my colleague would vote if he were present, 

but I should vote ay. 

Mr. HOLMAN. On yesterday I called the attention of the Committee of the Whole to the fact that the amount appropriated by the 

second section of this bill to meet any deficiency in the revenues of 

the Post-Office Department might require to be changed in consequence 

of the action of the House. The House having agreed to the amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole, I ask unanimous 

consent that the second section of the bill be amended by increasing 

the sum therein mentioned by the amount of $237,993, that being the 

amount added to the bill by the adoption of the amendment. 

There was no objection, and it was so ordered. 

The bill, as amended, was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 

time; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time, and 

passed. 

Mr. HOLMAN moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the 

table. 

The latter motion was agreed to. 

LOUISIANA INVESTIGATION. 

The SPEAKER laid before the Honse the following: 

NEW ORLEANS, December 15, 1876. 

Ron. SAMuEL J. RA..NDALL, Speaker of t:he House, Washington, D. 0.: 

Every obstacle bas been and will be interposed to hinder this committee in the 

discharge of its duty. Republican witnesses have been threatened, and dare not testify without incurring the loss of position and personal danger. Production of 

papers and telejm~>ms is refused, it is believed, upon assurances of protection from 

Washington. Without the power of the House to enforce obedience to its process 

the committee cannot discharge its duties. The House should remain in session. 

Have just received the following: 

NEW YORK, December 15, 1876. 

Sir: Subpcenas have been served upon several of the employes company, direct" 

ing them to produce before the congressional committee of which you are chair· man all the messaaes in the possession of the company- sent and received by the 

persons named in t'be subpcenas during several months of the present year. I have 

delayed a. reply to these demands in the expectation that similar applications would 

be made by a committee of the Senate, also charged with the investigation of mat. ters connected with the presidential election and canvass in the several States, so that the action of the company, being the same in respect to the messages of both 

political parties, could not be attributed to a. desire to prejudice or promote the in· terests of either. No subpcenas have yet been served upon us by order of the Senate 

committee, and as further delay might appear to be a discourtesy to yourself and 

your committee, it does not seem proper to postpone further this answer. The subpcena.s were served before the investigation which the committee had been directed to make was begun, and b~.>fore evidence had been presented to the committee, either 

that the persons named in the snbJ>cena.s had sent any messages whatever, or that 

any mes ages sent by them related to the subject-matter of the investigation. 

It appears to h.we been assumed that persons holding high~fficial poSitions nnder 

the Federal and State governments, and others prominent in public affairs, were in 

the habit of sending messages by telegraph, and without attempting to a certain if 

any of these messages were material to the investigation, the officers and agents of 

thts company have been commanded to lay aside the busine sin which they are engaged to become spies and detectives upon and informers against the customers who have reposed in us the gravest confidences concerning ooth their official and 

their private affairs. I have never believed that the Congress of the United States, 

with this subject fairly before them, would permit committees to violat.e the 

secrecy of the telegraph in this manner, and it seems to me that the present is an opportunity which it would be nnwise to forego for obtaining a deci~ion directly from the representatives of the people. If the mes~~~es of persons connected with one political party are spread before the public, a liKe course will be taken in re- spect to those of the other party. Both parties, therefore, have the same interest 

in publishing to the world the secrets of the telegraph offices, o.- of preventing snch 

publicity. It has, therefore, been decided to decline very respectfully to permit the employes of this company to produce before any committee of either House of 

Congress messages sent or received by the representstives of either the democratic or the republican party, at least until after Congress shall have approved the sub· 

pcenas of the committees and direct that their demands be enforced. 

I am. with great respect, WILLIAM ORTON, 

P'Tesident. 

Hon. WILLI.AH R. :MORRISON, Okainnan, lfc., New Orleans, Louisiana. 

And have made this reply: 

Mr. ORTON, President,<&., New York: 

NEW ORLEANS, DecemJJer 15, 1876. 

I have nothing to do with your motives for refusing to obey the process of the 

Honse of Representatives. My duty will be performed by invoking ita aid to en· force such -process. Regretting your refusal of information necessary to ascertain 

the whole truth as ro the Louisiana election, 

I am, yours respectfully, W. :R. MORRISON. 

1\Ir. WOOD, of New York. In connection with this communication 

from Mr. MoRRISON, the chairman of the select committee now in 

Louisiana, I desire to submit a resolution for the consideration of the 

House. I will only say this, that I believe this House will not be slow 

to vindicate its rights and its prerogatives. I send to the Clerk's 

desk a resolution upon which I call the previous question. 

1\Ir. HOAR. I rise to a question of order. 

The SPEAKER. The gentleman will state his question of order. 

Mr. HOAR. My point of order is that this matter is not. properly 

before the House, that no committee can report by telegraph. 

Mr. WOOD, of New York. It is a question of privilege. 

Mr. HOAR. A.i3 I understand it, no committtee of this Honse is 

authorized to report by sending to the Speaker a telegraphic dispatch; 

and the Speaker has no right to lay such telegrams before the House 

and make them subjects for the consideration of the House to the 

exclusion of other business. In that respect the Chair has no right 

other than that of other members. 

The SPEAKER. The Chair will read from the Manual, page 136: 

Whenever the Speaker is of the opinion that a question of privilege is involved in 

any proposition, be must entertain 1t in preference to any other business. 

And lower down on the same page is an enumeration of the various 

questions of privilege, among which is this: 

Failure or refusal of a witness to appear before committees of the Honse, or re. fusal to testify. 

Mr. HOAR. My point of order is not yet apprehended by the Chair. 

It is not that the refusal of a witness to testify is not a matter of privilege; but it is that the Speaker is to rule as to what is a privileged 

question on proper communications made to this Honse by its mem- bers; and that a telegraphic dispatch sent by a particular member is 

not a proper mode of communicating to this House, and not the proper 

mode of submitting a report from a committee. 

The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman question the authenticity of 

the dispatch Y 

Mr. HOAR. I have no knowledge of the authenticity of the dispatch T 

The SPEAKER. The Chair believes that the communication comes through the ordinary telegraphic channel. 

Mr. LUTTRELL. Is not the telegram signed by the chairman of 

the committee T 

The SPEAKER. It is sent by him. 

1\Ir. HOAR. My point of order is that this purports to be a report 

of a commitee of a given state of facts, and that such report cannot 

be made to this House merely by sending a telegraphic dispatch to 

the Speaker. 

The SPEAKER. The Chair overrules the point of order. 

Mr. WOOD, of New York. I have sent the resolution to the 

Clerk's desk and call the previous question on it. 

Mr. WILSON, of Iowa. I reserve my right to object to the resolution until it is read. 

::hlr. CONGER. For myself and other gentlemen who were not 

present at the commencement of the reading of this communication, 

I would like very much that it be again read, or at least the first part 

of it. 

The SPEAKER. It will be again read if there be no objection. 

There was no objection, and the Clerk began the reading of the 

communication; but, before concluding, 

Mr. WOOD, of New York, said: I object to the further reading of 

this communication. Every member has not only heard it read here 

but has read it in the papers of to-day. 

Mr. KELLEY. I have neither heard it read, nor have I seen it in 

the papers. 

The SPEAKER. This paper can only be read again by unanimous 

consent if the gentleman from New York [Mr. WooD] objects. 

Mr. KELLEY. Is not objection too late, after the reading has been 

commenced! 

1\Ir. WOOD, of New York. At one o'clock there is a special order 

that will come before the House. 

1\Ir. HOAR. Of course the special order will be postponed if nec- essary. 

The SPEAKER. The Chair sees no difficulty in regard to that point. 

The Chair would rule that this, being a question of high privilege, 

would have to be disposed of. 

1\Ir. WOOD, of New York. Then I withdraw my objection to the 

second reading of these papers. 

The SPEAKER. Rule 141 in regard to the reading of papers provicles thatWhen the reading of a paper is ca.lled for, and the same is objected to by any member, it shall be determined by a. vote of the Honse. 

That is the rule. But in this case the Chair did ask unanimous 

consent for the second reading of these papers, and such consent was given. In the opinion of the Chair the papers ought to be read. 

The Clerk resumed and concluded the reading. 

Mr. FOSTER. Is the dispatch of Mr. MORRISON signed officially f 

The SPEAKER. The communication is addressed to the Chair as Speaker; and the Chair desires to say in reference to his ruling this 

morning that he finds upon examination that it is in harmony with the 

conduct of the House in the third session of the Thirty-third Congress 

in the case of W. B. Chace; in the third session of the Thirty-fourth Congress in the case of J. B. Simonton; in the first session of the 

Thirty-fifth Congress in the case of J. D. Williamson; in the same 

session in the cases of John W. Wolcott and Robert W. Latham; in 

the third session of the Fortieth Congress in the ca.ses of Henry Johnson, Florence Scannell, and John H. Bell; in the Forty-second Congress in the case of Joseph B. Stewart; in the second session of the 

Forty-third Congress in the case of Richard B. Irwin· and again in 

the last session of the present Congress in the case of Hallet Kilbourn. 

1\Ir. KASSON. , Will the Chair be good enough to say what point 
1876. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 245 

he regards as being supported by these precedents f Do they sustain 

the laying of a telegraphic dispatch before the Honse f 

The SPEAKER. They sustain the point that this is a question of 

privilege. 

Mr. KASSON. No point has been made on that. The point made was that this is a communication which does not purport to come from a committee, but is signed simply by a member of the Honse who 

is absent, and it comes in the form of a telegraphic dispatch instead 

of a formal communication. 

The SPEAKER. The communication is addressed to the Speaker 

of the Honse. 

Mr. KASSON. Undoubtedly; but the point was made that it was not a report of a committee; that it was a simple communication from a member and made by telegraph. · The SPEAKER. The Chair may be permitted to state a case. Suppose the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. KAssoN] while en route for this city 

to take his seat as a member of this House should be arrested in violation of the constitutional provision that Senators and Representatives f' shall in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace 

be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their 

respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same;" 

would not the Congress of the United States, upon the gentleman's 

telegraphic communication, have the right to take cognizance of his ar- rest a-s a violation of the privileges of the House ! 

Mr. KASSON. Yes, sir ; to institute inquiry as to the facts. 

The SPEAKER. Inquiry may be the purpose of the resolution of 

the gentleman from New York, [Mr. WooD,] which has not yet been 

read. The gentleman from Iowa [Mr. KAsSON] can of course reserve any point of order upon the resolution. 

Mr. KASSON. Yes, sir, all points of order are reserved. 

The SPEAKER. The Clerk will read the resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the communication presented by the Speaker fromHon. WILLIAM 

R. MORRISON, chairman of the select ~mmittee appointed to investigate certain matters relating to the late election in LOuisiana, be referred to the Committee on the .Judiciary, with instructions to report at the earliest J.>racticable moment what 

action thts House should take in the premises to enforce 1ts rightful authority, 

Mr. KASSON. :My only objection to the resolution is that it misrecites the dispatch, which is not signed "WILLIAM R. MoRRISON, 

chairman of the select committee." [Cries of "0 1" "0 l "] 

Mr. WOOD, of New York. All the world knows the fact of Mr. 

MORRISON's official position as chairman. 

Mr. KASSON. But this dispatch is not signed officially; and the 

difference is between the dispatch of a private member and that of 

the chairman of a committee. 

Mr. HOAR. As I ma~e the original point of order, I desire to say 

that it seems to me on reflection that the position of the Chair is entirely right . . The SPEAKER. The Chair is very happy to hear the gentleman 

say so, because he desires on all questions to .rule fairly and in strict 

accordance with parliamentary law. 

Mr. WOOD, of New York. I demand the previous question on the 

adoption of the resolution. 

The previous question was seconded and the main question ordered; 

and under the operation thereof the resolution was- adopted. 

Mr. WOOD, of New York, moved to reconsider the vote by which 

the resolution was adopted; and also moved that the motion to recon- sider be laid on the table. 

The latter motion wa..s agreed to. 

OBSEQUIES OF BON. MICHAEL C. KERR. 

Mr. HAMILTON, of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise for the purpose 

of submitting resolutions of respect to the memory of our late 

Speaker; and I ask that the resolution introduced by me, making 

these memorial services a special order for to-day at one o'clock, be 

read. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the special order for Saturday, December 16, atone o'clock, shall 

be the presentation of suitable resolutions on the death of Hon. M. C. KERR, 

Speaker of this Honse during its last session, and the expression by the members 

of the esteem in which he was held for his unblemished charoot~r, for his eminent 

services as a Representative, and for his ability and impartiality as a presiding officer. 

Mr. HAMILTON, of Indiana. MicHAEL C. KERR wa-s born at Titusville in the State of Pe,nnsylvania, arch 15, 1~27. When he was twenty-five years of age he entered upon the practice of the law in 

the city of New Albany, Indiana. At twenty-seven he was city attorney; at twenty-eight prosecuting attorney of Floyd County; at 

twenty-nine took his seat in the Legislature of Indiana ; at thirtyfive waa the official reporter of the supreme court of that State and 

edited five volumes of its reports; at thirty-seven was elected to the 

Thirty-ninth Congress of the United States and was afterward elected 

to the Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, and Forty-fourth. He died 

the Speaker of the House, at seven o'clock and thirty minutes p.m. on the 19th day of August, A. D., 1876, at Rockbridge Alum Springs, 

in the State of Virginia, at the age of forty-nine years, five months, 

and four days. 

Such is the brief record of one, who for twenty-two years, nearly a quarter of a century, had been selected by the people, among whom 

he lived, to hold important trusts. 

At each step of his career, he firmly established his footing, so that 

it was easy to ascend. Scarcely had he been ready to surre11der an office, when one more prominent was tendered him. So well did be 

discharge the duties assigned him, so exemplary wa-s his conduct that 

the people of his district delighted to honor him. His home was in a portion of the State, which was early settled, on the Ohio River, the 

highway of travel. He was surrounded by able men, yet he was se- lected to be the recipient of such honors, as the voters of his own and 

adjoining counties could bestow. When he was the democratic can- didate for Congress in 1872, for the State at large, he wa-s defeated by 

only 162 votes, while the other democratic candidates on the State 

ticket, wi~h the single exception of Thomas A. Hendricks for governor, were defeated by majorities ranging from 533 to 2,568. And in 

in the November election following, General Grant's majority was 22,507. Yet he wa..s not one, who could have been called a popular man. He wa-s not all things to all men. With a; will of iron, he never could have been bent from his convictions of duty. Place and power 

would have been too dearly bought by even the slightest concession. 

He obtained the offices, which he filled by the confidence, which was felt in his integrity, so convinced was every one, that, under no circumstances, would he ever sacrifice his personal purity, the people's interests, or his country's honor. In his campaigns he was ear- nest, but not impassioned. He appealed to the judgment, not to the 

prejudices of his audience. A candidate for the Fourty-fourth Congress, differing from the greater portion of his constituents, who were members of the same party, on the financial question, he would not 

compromise. He made his contest squarely on that issue. Though 

he did not carry his district by its full democratic strength, yet he was elected by a majority of over 1,500, many of those, who did not 

agree with him in his financial views, were so firmly convinced of his 

integrity and so proud of his record, that they cast their votes for 

him; and yet he was opposed by a man, who had achieved a State 

reputation and, who, up to that time, had stood among the foremost men of the democratic party in that portion of Indiana. 

:Mr. KERR took his seat, for the first time, in the Thirty-ninth Congress. He early obtained a prominent position and not only main 

tained it, but also advanced his reputation year by year. 

During the sessions when he stood upon the floor of the Hone, 

he was with the minority. It was in stormy periods; but even in the 

midst of debate he commanded the respect of all, and yet he was, at 

times, severe and denunciatory. 

As the presiding officer, he wa-s calm, dignified and impartial. 

What he might have been as the Speaker, had he been in perfect 

health, can be easily determined by what he was, when worn to a shadow, with disease preying upon his vitals and torture rending his 

frame. With the exception of a lack of breath and a countenance, 

which told of suffering, there wa-s nothing in his manner, as a presiding officer, of the invalid, whose life hung upon a thread; there was none of the irritability, which usually accompanies the disease 

that is incurable. 

:lt1r. KERR was a partisan-! mean by a "partisan" one, who does 

not swerve from the views and principles which are promulgated by 

those connected with him in a political organization, but on the con- trary, with unflinching tenacity, clings to them and advocates them ; ,carries out those measures, which advances them and endeavors with 

boldness and energy to place his pa.rtyin power-yet, as "The Speaker," he knew neither friend nor foe, he recognized only the individual 

rights of the members and parliamentary law. 

The moral power-unstained honor, true faith in pure motives, 

unswerving devotion to principle, unsullied patriotism-is, as the com- bination of genius and talent-or genius educated-in the mental or- ganization, an inherent characteristic, educated and increased by the man himself, which places him upon an elevation, from which it were not possible for him to descend. This power Mr. KERR possessed. 

During all .the years of his public service, not a breath of suspicion • was ever directed toward him until a baseless charge was brought to 

offset charges against other public men-a charge so unfounded and 

unsupported, that even his political opponents, blushed for their con- nection with it. His intense energy sustained him during that most 

extraordinary trial. When the accusation came, he asked no postponement on account of ill-health. Raising himself from what his 

friends knew to be his dying-bed, his strong will overcame his illness, 

put temporary life and vigor into his emaciated and tottering frame 

and bore him calm and dignified before the committee and his a"(}cuser 

where he demonstrated the utter falsity of the charge. 

When the negative man dies there is no muffied bell tolling in the 

heart of the people. 

He is like the worm, a part may be cut off and crushed, but each of 

the hundred other parts have a similar life, which still continues. 

But when the man of positive character-of high sense of public 

duty and a will to carry out at all hazards his convictions-is taken 

away, there is a feeling that a vacancy has been created which can- not be filled, not that a piece of the long body of humanity has been 

cut off and that the rest can crawl along as well without it. MICHAEL 

C. KERR could have led a forlorn hope. He could have breasted pop- ular opinions and gone to the stake a martyr to his principles. 

At any time the death of a pure man, an upri~ht statesman occa- sions a blank which it is difficult to fill. But m an age like this, 

when a deviation from public probity is looked upon as aslight affair, 

when public men who have soiled the~ hands oftentimes, instead of 
246 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 16, 

being denounced have been indorsed by the people, then the loss of a man, who has no defilement on his per on, nor a stain upon his garments, is irreparable. Years have passed, and years to come may sleep 

among the by-gones, and the student not be able to find a more perfect parallel to Andrew :Marvel, in his firmness and decision of character, and in his pure and lofty patriotism than is afforded by the 

life of MICHAEL C. KERR. 

Immaeulate, he stands out a tall palm tree in the moral desert of the 

age, gladdening the heart of humanity a cheering evidence that the 

wells of political probity·and public honesty have not all dried up. 

The distinguished member of this House from .Massa.chu etts, in the 

Senate Chamber arraigned the public men of the day for .their dishonesty and corruption. How gratifying it must be to an American, 

to turn from the picture he draws to the name ( n{)men clarum) of 

.MICHAEL C. KERR on the monument in a cemetery of the State, which 

has rea.aon to be proud of the example it has given to the country, of 

unimpeaehable integrity. 

The resistance Mr. KERR made to the advance of the disease which was to terminate his existence-the determination to occupy his place 

in this House in spite of the ravages made upon his system-the manner in which he endured physical and mental torture-wa-s mar- velous. He demonstrated that he had learnedLife's hardest lesson-without groan To suffer and endure. 

The final summons came. The response was not merely the calm 

"adsum" but also the ''semper parat·u.s" of the man who felt that his 

life had been unspotted, and who had used well the talent which had 

been intrusted to him. 

AsThe days lay down their brightness, And bathing in splendor die, 

so MICHAEL C. KERR went to his rest, surrounded by a halo of moral 

beauty, followed to the tomb by the regrets of the entire nation and 

left behind a name synonymous wHh public probity and public honor. 

He baa done the work of a true man; Crown h.i.t:nJ honor him, love him; 

Weep over him tears of woman ; Stoop manliest brows above him I 

Mr. KELLEY. The sudden death of a strong man in the vigor of 

early manhood fills his companions with awe and constrains the 

strongest and most youthful of them to pause and consider how frail 

may be his tenure of life . . We all remember the thrill that ran through the House when, near the close of the last session of Congress, the local telegraph brought us notice of the instant death of 

that magnificent specimen of manhood, Hon. E. Y. Parsons, of Kentucky, whose manly beauty had commanded our admiration, and 

whose conversation pregnant with intelligence, wit, and humor, had 

charmed some of us but a little hour before. 

The death of Hon. MICHAEL C. KERR was not sudden. We had all seen from day to day, or week to week, the fatal inroads disease was making on his always slender frame. In his case we saw how high 

purposei and overmastering will could hold death at bay; for common consent denied him three months of life from the day on which he 

entered upon his duties as Speaker of the House; yet it was not 

until after the close of an unusually long session that in the presence 

of his wife and only child, a son in whom he hoped his virtues would 

live, he welcomed death as release from pain, and with serene cour- age passed to the unknown. 

I first met Mr. KERR when he entered the Thirty-ninth Congress, 

but years elap ed before I came to know him intimately. Indeed, 

until we were associated on the Committee of Ways and Means of 

the Forty-second Congress I had felt that we should never know each 

other well. Starting n·om almost any given stand-point in the investigation of public questions, such were our instincts or had been our early training, that we traveled in diverging lines and rested in opposite conclusions. 

He seemed to me to have little special fitness for public life. He not 

only never attempted the arts of the demagogue, but loathed them in 

his inmost soul. Social life, other than the charmed circle which graced 

his home, seemed to offer him no attraction. His conversation was grave, and rarely, if ever, sparkled with wit or was softened by a stroke of humor. His tendencies were evidently not toward the ex- citement of public life. He loved his profession-the law-the labors 

of which were congenial to his tastes, and when he sought honor at the 

hands of his fellow-citizens it was in the line of that profes ion; thus 

though admitted to practice in 1852 he was elected city attorney by the people of New Albany in 1854; in the next year the citizens of 

Floyd County promoted him to the office of prosecuting attorney, and 

in 1862 the Legislature elected him reporter of the supreme court of 

Indiana, which office he :filled till elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress. The :fidelity and ability with which he performed the duties 

of this office is attested by the esteem in which the five volumes of 

reports that bear his name are held by the profession. During his 

service on the Committee of Ways and 1\Ieans the impression I ex- press was confirmed by the fact that he was ever ready, though his 

strength was even then much impaired by disease, to give special study 

to any question referred to the committee which involved legal intricacies or nice judicial consideration. I can recall several such cases, 

and remember that in reporting his judgment in each of them it was the jurist and not the politician who spoke. I am sure that all our colleagues on that committee will confirm my judgment on this point. 

Yet l\Ir. KERR was a man of positive political convictions and had 

the courage of his opinions, which, on the cardinal questions that 

divided parties during his service in Congress, were those of his 

party, and his fearless expressions of them won for him its confidence in a remarkable degree. So strong was his will and so absolute were his convictions, that it was impossible for him to trim or play the time-server. In none of his numerous speeches during t.he 

time Congre s was engJ.ged in the work of reconstruction can a sen- tence of don ble or doubtful meaning be found. 

On the question of the best method of raising revenue for the support of the Government and the extinguishment of the debt, he and 

I were in constant antagonism. He regarded duties imposed either 

incidentally or directly for the protection of capital ventured in manu- factures in the hope of developing our natural resources and establishing our commercial independence, as a violation of the Constitution and an injury to the consumer. He would, could he have found 

it practicable, have abolished all custom houses, and laboring to that 

end he steadily strove to reduce impost duties to the lowest possible 

rate and to limit their application to the smallest number of articles. 

Here, again, the integrity of his intellect and purposes were shown. 

He left it to others to prate of revenue reform w bile really intending 

the establishment of free traue and the overthrow of the protective 

system. He had faith in the intelligence of the people, and believed 

that he who discussed such questions was bound to state his faith 

with perfect clearness, and to submit to those he would influence the 

arguments on which it rested. 

He was a whole-hearted and courageous man,aud none could know 

him well, as I learned to do in the committee-room and during the 

last session of Congress when his sufferings frequently attracted me to his side, without :finding under his rigid exterior a gentleness of 

character and a depth of affection that was most winning. 

If truth is made apparent by the vigorous conflict of opinion, and 

if, as I believe, the grandest treasures of a republic are its men of 

manly purpose and dauntless will, our country suffered greatly in the 

early death of Mr. KERR; for while life and strength permitted, he was ever ready to discuss with absolute integrity of plll'pose and 

expression every question that concerned the welfare of the Republic. 

It must have been the strength of his convictions on political 

questions that tempted him to yield to the persuasive voice of friends 

and enter the arena of national politics, and I have often thought 

had it not been for the exciting labors into which he was thus drawn, 

his life would probably have been prolonged and his name filled an exalted place in the judicial records of his adopted State and the 

nation at large. 

Mr. HAYMOND. Mr. Speaker, we have assembled on an occasion 

of unusual solemnity. The late distinguished Speaker of the House 

of Representatives, Hon. MicHAEL C. KERR, is no more. He was stricken by the hand of death soon after the close of the first session 

of this Congress. He has passed away; hi mis ion on earth has 

ceased and his labors have been finished. We shall see his face and 

hear his voice no more, but his good name, his well-earned fame, and 

his noble qualities still live in the memory of all who knew him, and 

will not be soon forgotten. Universal sympathy wa-s extended to him 

during his protracted sufferings from mortal disease, and the whole 

country beheld with surprise and admiration the pertinacity and 

bravery exhibited by him in the discharge of the responsible and laborious duties of his office. A nation, without respect to party, mourns his untimely departure, and it becomes appropriately the duty of tho e who were his associates on this floor to render a heartfelt and formal 

tribute of respect to his memory. 

It is a charitable sentiment, at least, that no one should speak ill of 

the dead; that their errors, faults, and frailties, whatever they may 

have been, should be covered by the mantle of oblivion; but it does 

not follow from this that their virtues, their endearing qualities, their 

noble deeds and valuable services to the state should remain unre- corded and suffered to pass without appropriate notice and action on the part of their associates and survivors. These should be appropriately recorded and transmitted that the light which once shone and 

illumined the pathway of thouynds should not return to darkness. 

It is a duty devolving upon the living to perpetuate the memory of 

those who were good or great, who achieved distinction in some department or sphere o.£ life, who filled high positions with credit to 

themselves and benefit to their country, and who by their talents or genius have rendered valuable service to mankind. The character 

and personal history of such belong to the people, and should descend as a legacy to posterity. What is a country without a biography of 

its distinguished men and its public benefactors! What a blank would 

there have been in the history of Greece and Rome if there had been no biographical sketches or special mention made of their philosopher, poets, orators, statesmen, and heroes' It would have been a shadow without substance; a skeleton divested of those vital parts 

essential to form-life and beauty. The character of a nation and 

the criterion of its civilization may be judged by the intelligence, 

honesty, and purity of those who are appointed its rulers. It is our boast :to rejoice in the eminent qualities of the founders of this Re-
1.• 

1876. CONGRESSIONAL-RECORD..!.HOUSE. 247 

public. While the spirit of freedom pervades the minds of the .American people they cannot cease to hold in veneration the illustrious 

champions of independence. The names of Washington, Adams, 

Franklin, Jay and Hamilton, Marshall and Jefferson, will be handed 

down from generation to generation and sounded with praise while 

free institutions exist upon the earth. Those names will be transmitted as synonyms of great ideas-liberty and self-government. 

The duties and responsibilities of men never cease. Each generation at every stage of progress, will have new perplexities to encoun- ter, new labors to perform, and new difficulties to surmount. "Peace 

hath its victories no less renowned than war," and to the statesman 

of the present time there is open a wide and constantly expanding 

field of" usefulness, in which there is room for the exercise of disenterested patriotism, of the highest order of abilities, and of the most diversified and extensive knowledge. Hence w~e our Government en- dures new events will enter into its history and new actors from time 

to time will appear upon the political stage. Their names will de- serve to be honored for whatever valuable service they may render 

to the country, for their eminent qualities, and for their fidelity to the 

great principles of self-government. 

The name of the late Speaker deserves to be mentioned in honora1:>le 

connection with his departed and distinguished predecessors. I shall 

make but few allusions to his personal history, but leave this duty to 

those who have been longer and more intimately acquainted with him 

than myself; and what has been already said in this respect by others 

need not be repeated by me. No fulsome adulation can add anything 

to his well-earned reputation or to the perpetuity of his fame. I 

shall attempt nothing beyond what a brief personal acquaintance 

with him, the impressions formed of his character, and what may 

be inferred from his public acts, will justify me in stating. Though 

cut down in the prime of life, at that period when the mental faculties han just attained their full development, he had already achieved 

distinction in his own State for his public services and sterling a bill ty, 

and had also won for himself a national reputation as a legislator. 

Mr. KERR was endowed by nature with a strong and well-balanced 

intellect. It was of the synthetic order and peculiarly adapted to the 

investigation of subjects requiring the highest reasoning powers. 

Though an able and forcible speaker, he was not gifted with the 

commanding eloquence of a Clay or Webster, but as a practical 

statesman he evinced unusual sa~acity and a thorough comprehension 

of public affairs as well as of the tneory and powers ofthe Federal Government. With ample opportunities, health, and years, he would have 

ranked among the foremost ·state men the country has produced. His 

talents were of a high order, but he did not alone trust to natural en- dowments. His life from early age was that of an ardent and indefatigable student. His chief ambition was to acquire knowledge and 

gain mastery of whatever he undertook. His pecuniary circumstances in early life were very limited, but his ambition to obtain a good education, both literary and professional, was reached by his devotion to hard study and by his indomitable perseverance. A suc- cessful career of professional life opened before him. His talents and 

qualifications were duly appreciated. He had but fairly entered upon 

this course when he was called by the people to impo:rtant public trusts. 

As a member of the Legislature of Indiana, as a reporter of the 

supreme court of that State, as a Representative in Congress and 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, he discharged every duty 

with unswerving fidelity and with rare ability. In every capacity 

of public employment which he was elected to fill he exhibited the 

traits of honest.y, inflexible integrity, and a sacred regard for the inviolability of public trust. 

His honesty, purity of character, and integrity were unimpeachable and above suspicion. He never compromised his principles for 

the sake of expediency, but carried his convictions of justice, honor, 

and right into whatever he undertook. He guarded the public interests intrusted in his hands with thesamejealousy and care that he 

would his own private affairs. He occupied a position in .American 

politics similar to that attributed to Aristides, "surnamed the just," in 

the affairs of Athens. Like the great "commoner" Henry Clay, he 

'' u o uld 1·ather be 1'ig h t than President." 

A man's character is generally formed by himself. Adventitious 

circumstances may divert the mind into unexpected channels for a while, but when there is an inflexible purpose founded upon Hound 

convictions, the character of the man will be molded in accordance 

therewith. 

Mr. KERR shaped the course of his life in pursuance to a fixed purpose. 

The acquisition of knowledge was one of the chief objects of his life, 

and his assiduity and perseverance to obtain this end were seldom 

equaled. He had none of that ambition that would lead him to aspire 

to places of honor by any means that would conflict with his wellconfirmed notions of justice, morality, and integrity. He had no sec- tional ambition or animosity to gratify. His patriotism was of that 

character not bounded by State lines, but which comprehended the 

interests of the entire country. He was ever a champion of the great 

principles of self-government and constitutional liberty. He was ever jealous and watchful of all encroachments of power against the 

bulwark of freedom, the Federal Constitution. 

His recent services as Speaker of this House affords us a clear con- ception of his nature and the sublime traits of his character. In pur- suance to his convictions of duty, he essayed each day to preside over the deliberation~ of the House, and only retired from his post when 

his wearied and exhausted frame would no longer permit him to re- main. His indomitable will and wonderful energies supported him 

after it was apparent that his physical powers were unequal to the 

task. But hope seemed to cheer him on with its delusive promises. 

His mind was clear and unsubdued, while the earthly tabernacle was sinking from the consuming fires within. Summer came, arid its depressing heat, so overcame him that he was at length forced to abandon his post of duty, leave the city, and seek refuge in the salubri- ous atmosphere amid the mountains of Virginia. But the change 

produced only a temporary effect. His soul calmly resigned the tenement no longer fitted to retain it, and took its pea-ceful flight to that 

"house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." The death of 

such a man as the late Speaker, at this perplexing pe-riod of our history, is a national calamity. 

His broad patriotism, his unsullied integrity, and his unswerving 

fidelity to principle and justice, were such as commanded the respect 

of the whole country, and would have proved invaluable had he 

continued with us. The Commonwealth whose interests he has so faithfully guarded will long miss his services in the national councils, 

and mourn the loss of one of her brightest jewels. 

His life was gentle, and the elements 

So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up 

And say to all the world, This was a man. 

Mr. MONROE. Mr. Speaker, I was not favored with such a degree 

of intimacy with the late distinguished Speaker of this Honse as was enjoyed by many members, and hence may not present so accurate, 

and certainly cannot present so complete, a view of his character a-s could others. But such opportunity as I had to become acquainted 

with him greatly interested me, and it may not be amiss to state 

frankly just the impression which his qualities of mind and heart 

made upon me. 

In listening to him, whether in conversation or in debate, the first 

quality which arrested attention was his intellectual clearness. His 

thought came to him well defined and in a strong light. He had a certain, definite thing to say; he knew precisely what it was and what 

he wished to accomplish by saying it. \Vhat he clearly saw, he clearly 

communicated. The hearer could seldom be in doubt as to his mean- ing. He was called reticent. But until he could think and speak 

cle.arly, he had nothing to say. The habit of his mind could accept no other conditions of speech. In debate, his single aim was to be 

understood. No temptation to appear eloqu!3nt or sparkling could 

turn him aside from this end. His mind rejected ornament. Illustration by means of comparison and figures of speech, he did not much 

need. A severe simplicity and directness marked all his efforts. 

With this perspicuity of thought and expression, not unnaturally was associated a high degree of intellectual force. He had power of 

statement, felicity in arrangement, logical skill, and depth of conviction. These qualities gave great vi~or and effectiveness to his dis- course. His argument always lookea strong, if not impregnable, and 

he was always in earnest. One who differed from him and refused to 

accept his conclusions, was compelled to admit that they were urged 

with a certain convincing force which it was not easy to resist. 

To these intellectual qualities must qe added another which was largely moral-the judicial candor and fairness of his mind. This was not always very apparent upon first acquaintance. He exhibited a certain outward severity in debate which did not give promise of 

that capacity for impartial judgment which he really possessed. His 

sharp-cut sentences sometimes wounded the feelings and gave offense. 

But further acquaintance showed that this sternness was more of man- ner than of spirit. It was in great measure due to nervous conditions 

resulting from ill-health, and did injustice to his real character. One 

who approached him to call attention to new aspects of questions 

under discussion, found him not only an attentive listener but often 

willing to admit a measurable modification of his own views. His 

convictions, when clearly formed, were, no doubt, firmly held; but he 

antagonized principles rather than men, and respected the character 

and the argument of his opponent. This quality of judicial fairness 

became more apparent after his election to the office of Speaker. I 

think it must then have been evident to the whole Honse that it was 

his earnest desire to administer the duties of his high place with perfect impartiality. 

Closely allied to this quality of judicial candor was his undoubted 

goodness of heart. It must be admitted that this, also, was not always 

freely acknowledged at first. In the Forty-second Congress I some- times heard him spoken of as cold, reserved, and unsympathetic. But 

those who knew him well felt that this coldness was superficial. It 

sprung in part from a diffidence which was both genuine and creditable. The really modest estimate which he placed upon his own pow- ers and accomplishments, made him slow to engage the attention 

of others, except as duty demanded. His reserved manner grew, in 

part, also, out of the state of-his health. We sometimes forget, that 

that uninterrupted :flow of cordial feeling which is so charmingly ex- pressed in the manner of some men, is often as much the result of sound 

physical conditions as of sweetness of disposition. We should not 

mistake a bad digestion for a bad heart or confound a torpid liver 

with moral indifference to the happiness of others. .All who had admission to the inner circle of his friendships bear witness, that he was essentially warm-hearted, kindly, and affectionate, and that his attachments were as tenacious and enduring as they were disinterested 
248 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DEOEMBER 16, 

and cordial. That he deeply appreciated kindness and a just estimation from others, was especin,lly evident on one marked occasion, when 

several gentlemen had shown a friendly interest in his good name, 

upon this floor. With tears coursing down his cheeks he said to a distinguished member of this House, " Convey to those gentlemen the 

thanks of a dying man." It was done, and the message was received 

with a feeling almost as deep as that which prompted it. 

But, after all, the distinguished and crowning virtue of his character was his absolute integrity and uprightness. Of course I do not mean merely that he was honest and pure in all pecuniary affairs, but 

that he had a hearty love for truth and rectitude for their own sake 

and in all their applications. He had the keenest sense of honor and 

feared a stain upon his fame more than political defeat-more than 

death. A fact bearing upon this point I have from the best authority-that of his able successor in this place. The last time he was nominated for Congress it was well known that he was, in the phrase 

of the day, "a ha!'d-money man." But there were lMge numbers of 

" soft-money men" in his district, and b.is friends feared that the open 

advocacy of his views would greatly reduce his majority, if it did not 

result in his defeat. A committee waited upon him and suggested that 

it might be more prudent in his addresses to the people not to speak 

at length upon the importance of a return to specie payments. "Gentlemen," wa,s his reply," it would be better that I should be defeated, 

and that my party should be defeated in me, than that I should knowingly lead one man to vote for me under a delusion." 

To conclude, though often weak in body he was thoroughly strong 

and sound in all that constitutes a rational being-sound in mind, 

sound in heart, sound in character; and he died, as such a man might 

be expected to die, in the profession of that Christian faith whose 

mission it is to impart health and soundness to the race of man. To us it belongs to speak rather or character as it is revealed to us here than of the destiny which awaits it hereafter; but as I sat this 

morning pondering my sad and yet inspiring theme, there involuntarily recurred to me the well-known lines of that remarkable man of our time who has written the sweetest and most thoughtful me- morial poetry in all literature : 

And, doubtless, unto him is given A life that bears immortal fruit 

In such great offices as suit 

The full-grown energies of heaven. 

Mr. HOLMAN. Mr. Speaker, in the closing hour of the las tsession of Congress, as we were preparing to leave this Hall and return 

after a weary absence to the blessed shelter of our homes, in the midst 

of the tumult and excitement incident to that event, there was a pervading sentiment that we could not adjourn without expressing to 

MICHAEL C. KERR, the then honored Speaker of this House, then absent from the capital and seeking in the mountains of Virginia a re- invigoration of his failing powers, some words of sympathy; and we all remember how well the universal sentiment of this House was ex- pressed by the eloquent and kindly words of the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. BANKS.] This message of friendship and of generous sympathy ft·om his associates in a high public 

trust, from this House representing the views and guarding the fortunes of a great people, was the last utterance that fell upon his eM 

from the great theater on which his own high reputation had been 

achieved, and from which he had so recently withdrawn never toreturn. Who shall say how soothing and consoling this message was to our departed friend in that final vi cis itude of life I As it fell from 

the lips of his distinguished associate and friend, the gentleman from 

New York, [Mr. Cox,] who shall say how it buoyed up his drooping 

spirits! The sympathy of a nation, mingling with the love of wife 

and child and friends, closing the one life even while the new opened 

with glimpses of the infinite and the immortal! 

We had scarcely reached our homes when the announcement came, 

MICHAEL C. KERR is dead, and the heart of a great people uttered a sigh 

of regret. MICHAEL C. KERR had scarcely reached the prime of his 

manhood; he had been in public life for a compMatively brief period; 

and yet his natural abilities and attainments and the struggles of an honorable ambition had placed him in the foremost rank of the citi- zens of the Republic, while his just conceptions of public duty, his 

singleness of purpose to promote the general welfai"e in the employment of political power, and1 j:Lbove all, the severe and impartial integrity of his judgment in public affairs had secured to him respect 

and confidence of a great people. Surely his was a fortunate life ; 

fortunate for his country, of high honor for himself. 

Mr. KERR, with more than ordinary attainments in the general field 

of intellectual culture, had devoted his most valuable and maturer 

years to the learning connected with his public duties. His chief study was the science of government, the laws of political economy, and the 

principles of the social fabric of life in its relations to the State. He was not an enthusia t, but a severe and impartial seeker after truth. 

He was in no sense a. Utopian. His opinions were based on precedents and the teachings of history, and he questioned with imJ?artial 

purpose the institutions of government which have perished as well as those which have survi'\"ed for the just principles of political so- ciety and the true relations of the citizen to the state. His opinions were convictions, and he stood by them with unflinching courage. His 

temper was neither compromising or conciliatory; he sought to convince, not to persuade, and shrank from no contest where. his principles were involved. He had carefully studied the early history of theRepublic, and was thoroughly imbued with the spirit and the opinions of 

its founders. He esteemed the vigorous maintenance of constitutional limitations on delegated power the most perfect safeguard of 

public liberty that human intelligence could devise. His theories of 

the social compact limited the domain of government to the mainte- nance of public order and the administration of justice, leaving all else 

to the untrammeled enterprise of the citizen and the moral power that 

springs from self-reliance, enlightened conscience, and cultivated intelligence of the people. 

He was a true American, and gloried in the commanding influence 

of his country among the nations; and following the result of his deductions as to the just principles of government, as an outgrowth of 

the implied social compact, he believed in the fraternity of the na- tions, "tb·at the world of mankind should not be considered in fragments, but that all peoples were reciprocally dependent;" hence he 

insisted that the intercourse of the nations should be untrammeled, 

that true statesmanship would bring the cultivated world together, 

and t·hat commerce should be free. 

As a legislator Mr. KERR accepted the maxim "the world is governed too much." He abhored special and class legislation and every 

form of monopoly, demanding the just equality of all the citizens of 

the state. He held that a plain, simple government, with severe limitations on delegated powers, frugally administered, was the noblest 

outgrowth of the cultivated intelligence of our age. 

While neither impulsive nor an enthusiast, but cool, dispassionate, 

and logical in his mental organization, he was most earnest and 

devoted in his friendships, but a,sked nor gave quarter in conflicts 

of opinion. He was frank, ingenuous, and incapable of deception, a lover of truth and justice, controlled by a high sense of duty, even if time shall here and there demonstrate, as it reasonably may, the 

fallibility of his judgments, (and what perfection in judgment or attainments in statesmanship can escape this f) the records of Congre s will for all coming time bear testimony with what unswerving fidelity, 

in the light of his conscientious convictions be fulfilled his high trust as a representative of the people. He followed his principles without fear or hesitation to their logical results as a Representative on this floor. No fear of the consequences to himself deterred him. He 

yielded without reserve to the mastery of his convictions, and trusted 

to time and events to vindicate the integrity of his opinions. 

Mr. KERR wa.s not in the ordinary sense of the term an orator. He never seemed to speak with a view to rhetorical effect. He seldom if 

ever appealed to the passions or prejudices of his hearers ; yet he wa.s the master of a very high order of eloquence. He bad a complete 

mastery of the English language. His style of composition was elevated and elegant, compact, clear, and logical; his delivery at 

times fervid or impassioned and always cleM, distinct, and powerful. 

In the current debates on thls floor his distinct, concise, positive, and 

logical method of reasoning never failed to arrest the attention of the 

House. 

Mr. KERR wa,s not only an intellectual man, bnt his will was absolutely the master-a mastery that only death itself could snbdue. 

After his election as Speaker of this House, surrounded by embarrassment in arranging the details of organization, prostrated by a fatal 

malady, feeble and suffering, he applied himself to the task with un- faltering purpose. ·when he left this Hall never to return, with the 

hand of death upon him, the fortitude of his mind was unshaken. 

The fresh breezes of the mountains did not arrest the decay of nature, 

and with the fortitude of a. Christian and the composure of a sage, 

assured of an honorable remembrance by his country, he met the 

inevitable fateLike one who wraps the drapery of his conoh 

About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 

MICHAEL C. KERR is dead. The record of a good life is complete. 

May that record perpetuate his virtues and the services he has ren- dered to his country as long as time shall endure. 

Mr. BURCHARD, of illinois. 1\Ir. Speaker, although Death with 

busy kand has repeatedly snatched Senators and Representatives 

from the post of duty, never before has he stalked boldly into this 

Hall and taken away a Speaker of the House-its presiding officer 

and head. 

During this Congress the grim tyrant has nnmistakenly displayed 

his resistless power and remorseless will. When the Representatives 

assembled one year ago, at the commencement of the first regular 

session, the Capitol was draped in mourning. Henry Wilson, VicePresident of the United States, had been stricken and numbered with 

the dead. His mortal remains, with national honors, as became the 

office and the man, had been borne to their last resting-place in the 

bosom of the Commonwealth he so warmly loved and so long repre- sented. 

Again assembled, the somber emblems of sorrow that surround the 

vacant Speaker's seat and front the waiting Representatives anticipate the official announcement that MICHAEL C. KERR, the Speaker of the House, for the last time has presided over its deliberations. 

To-da.ywe banish the excitement of legislative debate and withdraw our thoughts from the great events and grave and momentous ques-
1876. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 249 

tiona of the hour, to bestow: the accustomed and merited honors and 

pay a grateful tribute to the memory of a friend and associate, a Representative of the people, and a presiding officer of the House. 

Rightly to estimate the public character and services of MICHAEL 

C. KERR, it must be considered in connection with the times in which 

be lived and the great questions in which he took a part. 

Mr. KERR entered congre!sional life in the closing scenes of a historic drama, played by real and living characters in successive acts, 

w1lich opened with legislative discussion, culminated in bloody strife1 and ended in the establishment of universal liberty and political 

equality throughout the nation. For nearly a century slavery, the 

evil genius of American institutions, presaged disaster and endangered the perpetuity of the Union. Its overthrow and utter annihilation was the grand historic event in the first century of the Republic. 

Its constitutional prohibition bad already been secured (and the last 

of the confederate forces had surrendered) when in December, 1865, 

Mr . .KERR became a member of the Thirty-ninth Congress as Representative from the State of Indiana. He, with the other statesmen of 

that Congress, was brought at once to consider what plan was safest 

and wisest for the restoration of the seceding States to their practical relations to the Union. Great constitutional and legal questions were involved. 

His mind, trained to habits of logical reasoning and judicial investigation, subjected everr m~asure to the closest scr?-tiny. He did not 

shrink from encountenng m debate upon these subJects the oldest and 

most experienced members of the House. By apt citation of precedent or authority in support of his views he at once took rank as an able 

debater and diligent student of constitutional law. . A strict constructionist in interpreting the grants of Federal power, 

be sharply criticised and earnestly opposed the policy and measures then adopted as the ba is of reconstruction in the seceding States. 

\Ve are perhaps too near and many of us have been too prominent act- ors to be able to pass unbia-sed judgment upon the results achieved or failures that may have ensued. If fears have not been realized, 

and evils predicted and objections urged have proved illusory, we cannot say that an oppo ition which secmes more deliberate consideration and seeks to point out supposed defects and injurious conse- quences is profitless . .My personal acquaintance with .Mr. KERR commenced in the Fortyfirst Congress, and by assignment to the same committee-duty in the :Forty-second Congress our personal association became frequent and 

intimate. In the daily discussions of great public interests and economic 

questions, for months under consideration in that Congress, no one who heard Mr. KERR in committee or on the floor will deny him honesty of purpose, fearlessness in the avowal of his convictions, and a9ility in presenting and explaining his conclusions. He rose above personal considerations. Friendship could not allure him to support a measure he disapproved. He despised all shams and pretenses. He was a stranger t.o deceit. He gave no comforting a snrances to a claimant with a hopeless ca.se. Special legislation was his aversion. 

He hated monopolies and congressionalfavoritism. His bold and manly course in avowing and advocating a financial policy at variance with 

the supposed current of popular opinion in his own State challenged 

the admiration and won the respect of even political opponents, as well as the thoughtful men of the country. It doubtless made him 

Speaker of this House. In that high position he did not disappoint 

tlle expectations of friends or the country. 

In his ruJings and decisions all acknowledged that he aimed to be, 

' as a worthy Speaker should, impartial, just, fair, and absolutely right. 

He presided with dignity, observing as well as exacting the courtesy 

due to members and to the Chair. 

Such was the record and impression made by the late Speaker ere declining strength compelled him to designate other occupants, and 

finally leave the Chair m order to seek restoration of failing health 

away from the exciting scenes of congressional life. 

The hopes and prayers of a devoted wife and loving son, the ministrations of watchful friends, were vain and futile. Amid the then 

incipient excitement and rising storm of political discussion and partisan passion incident to a presidential campaign, his peaceful spirit 

ueserted its earthly tenement and wa.s wafted to its eternal rest. 

Thus the all-conquerer, again exulting, reminds us of his resistless 

power. The law-maker is not beyond his mandate. The mighty and 

the lowly are alike subject to his will. But death triumphs only over man's mortal frame. Its material elements dissolve and commingle 

with their mother-earth. Dust returns to dust. But this is the limit 

to death's power. 

The man, his character and achievements still survive in memory, 

in influence, and far-reaching results. 

Great deeds, grand heroic words, and thoughts beautiful or sublime 

strike responsive chords and are re-echoed and reproduced in other 

sympathetic souls. They live and inspire, mold, guide, and sway 

present and future -generations. 

The manly form of :MICHAEL C. KERR will never again enter this 

Hall. He rests from his labors and conflicts. Triumphs and honors 

cannot allure him to earthly scenes. His mortal remains are moldering in the dust, but his lofty character, his exa:m,ple, and influence will live and remind us that manly 

sincerity, integrity, and honesty of purpose ennoble and exalt the pos- sessor more than high position and earthly honors. 

Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, the Representatives of thirty-seven independent States this day pause in their deliberations for the welfare 

of forty-five millions of people to offer to the memory of a great and 

good man the solemn anguish of a nation for its loss, and their sympathy with a family and a constituency in their bereavement. 

The lapse oftimewhich heals up the green and bleeding wounds of 

sorrow, and which makes .too often ceremonies like this the mere mockery of woe, has had no balm save that which preserves the rec ollection of our friend, no dew of refreshing save the sweet dew of 

his memory. 

It is eminently fitting that this House should place upon the tomb 

of its late presiding officer, and the third officer of the Government a civic crown! 

The catalogue of American representatives is a catalogue of mor- tality. Our political system has in it much of popular caprice, and more of providential vicissitude. Of tJ.tose that were here when I 

first entered this Hall but four or five remain. As I look about this 

Hall I perceive one and only one of my Ohio colleagues [Mr. W. S. 

Groesbeck] who was a member of the Thirty-fifth Congress; and he 

will share my thought and feeling. The first death which we were called upon to mourn was that of a beloved southern statesman and 

soldier, John A. Quitman. Subsequently and how frequently have 

others fallen! 

I feel aJmost isolated, standing between the many dead, who were friends, and the living who in a few years will be numbered with the 

dead; but in all these chances and changes of time it has been my 

lot to cheer and not to sadden. In the home and among kindred for 

two generations it was not for me to weep, but to dry the tear of 

others. When the great moan went np that Douglas wa-s indeed 

dead, and in that solemn hour for the country, I came forth to the 

stricken men who surrounded my Ohio home to hear the last telegraph-not to mourn but to comfort them with hope. In the dark 

hour when the country wa-s filled with battle-cries and blood, I lifted on high, not the wail of Jeremiah, but the joy of Isaiah-in the hope 

that soon the waste-places would be built up and the old leaf and 

bloom return with the spring. I tried to bring good tidings to bind 

up the broken-hearted, and to them that mourn in Zion-to give unto 

them beauty· for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of 

praise for the spirit of heaviness. 

On another and recent occasion, and as the shadows gathered over the Rockbridge Mountains, it was my place to give what of comfort 

I could, by fringing the cloud with golden hope to the stricken. But on this occasion it is my privilege and my infinite relief to mourn as one who ha.s not merely lost a friend, but as a citizen who has lost a compatriot, and, as a Representative, to deplore a brother who in this 

dire trial of our institutions is not with us to guide. 

It may not be out of place here to say that, in spite of marked 

contrasts of character, I shared with .Mr. KERR many of the burdens, 

studies, and sympathies of life. It was a sad pleasure to stand with him 

at the last, on the shore of that vast ocean which he knew that he must 

sail so soon. Racked with more than mortal anguish in his last sickness; harassed with a false accusation which touched the very heart 

and marrow of his character; his body shrinking and shrinking to 

the very imagery of death the skeleton ; yet his spirit was as calm as a still, sweet morning-as it rises above yonder azure mountains 

where he died, and his will a-s firm as their rocky base. Unappallecl 

by the terrors of the unknown world, he passed away out of the beautiful valley where be sojourned into the valley of the shadow. Naught 

remained but the mere phantom of a body. Tills was borne to his 

home in Indiana. The theme over his remains was well chosen : " A 

good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor 

rather than silver and gold." Until the la.st flower faded from tho 

earth around his home, loving crowds thronged to the cemetery, and 

everySabbathhis friends and constituents made their pilgrimages to 

lay, with their sympathy, immortelles upon his grave. 

He died at the Alum Springs, West Virginia. It is an old resort, an intervale of beauty, a charming little park sweetly em bosomed in the 

Blue Ridge; a lonely spot, with now and then a habitation, but with a bracing air, a splendid forest, and grand mountains. There is a primeval quietude there, almost a summer afternoon feeling, as if the lotus 

eaters of Tennyson had madeit aresort aloof from the cries of people 

that do come and go. The only noise is that of murmuring waters. It was amid these solemn silences that his last weeks and hours were pa.ssed. It was amid those remote and pleasant nooks of nature that 

God unloosed his weary star. His was no sudden call. All preparations, secular and spiritual, possible were made by his own direction. The silver cord was not cut hurriedly, nor the ~olden bowl 

broken in an instant. No holocaust of fire snapped his life's cord 

suddenly. The cord was gently untied; the golden bowl melted 

away as if it were a scarf of vapory amethyst, or rather as the light fades away from the firmament at the coming on of evening mild. 

Just as the sun went down, his spirit peacefully departed. The pearl 

dropped.from its wasted shell, as the sun passed behind the mountain. 

There he lay in the lap of a lovelier nature by stiller streams and 

fairer meadows than we are wont to fancy in some blest Arcady; but 

when death came it seemed to make the beauty of the mountains as barren as the desert; the flowers and leafage and rocks and hills 

lost their charm, the breeze its freshness, the song of birds its music, 

and the sweet shine of the sun was all joyless. 
250 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 16, 

Bot in the mountains did he feel his faith. 

.All things responsive to the writing there 

Breathed immortality, revolvin~ life, 

And greatne.ss still revolving-mfinite. 

There littleness was not; the leaat of things 

Seemed infinite. 

What was that faith Y I could not speak truly and say it was the 

accepted dogmas of any church. He could no more be a mystygogue 

than a demagogue. If he could not accept all that was written about 

the Saviour, he fully sanctioned and truly lived up to the code of 

morals which Christ gave. He believed an honest man to be the best 

Ch.rhitian. His plan of life was to get all the knowledge he could, 

and use it in doing all the good which he could. 

Though his life may have seemed to some reserved, yet his aus- terity was but the visor which concealed generosity, tenderness, and 

tru tfulness. He sympathized with all men, and only ;repelled those 

who were exacting and dishonest. His faith was in honest work. It 

was chara-cteristics like these that made his home a sacred spot, refined 

and beautiful, ennobled by delightful intimacies and old-fashioned 

hospitality. It is not a new standard by which he regulated his life. 

Laborare est m·are, is as old as the fathers of the church. That he 

made integrity his religion, work his orizon, and truth his idolatry, is 

only repeating the words of the wise and good of all ages. He 

wrought 

With human hands, the creed of creeds 

In loveliness of perfect deeda. 

To be kind to the widow and fatherless was one of its canons; and 

this man never in his profession would receive a reward for serving 

them I To be faithful to his public trust-and this man no more flinched from uttering unpopular, than worthy thoughts. Pericles 

in his la-st illness said: "No Athenian in consequence of any action of 

mine had ever put on mourning." Mr. KERR could truthfully say the same in a better sense. When I went at his request to Virginia and to his bedside, and aft.er 

delivering the messages from his friends here, I a-sked him if he were ready to meet the unseen world; with a glance of gentleness, and a pressure of my hand, he declared that he was ready. We talked of the 

mysterious realm. His faith was aqiding that in that_futnre there was reward for a just life here. As he said, half playfully, he stood 

upon his record. 

It was this pions probity which he impressed upon his people, upon 

Congress, upon his own life, and upon his son. It had its source in the 

heart as well as the head. This is especially observable in the care which he gave to his son's tuition, even to the last hours of his life. 

He seldom left his house on his return from his office. As has been so well said by his colleague, [Mr. IlAMILTON,] who offered these reso- lutions, he scarcely mingled with the masses of the people, even his· own constituents, but with kind cheerfulness was wont to retire to his 

home and library. There he studied his favorite authors, examined 

hi son in the studies of the day, and filled up each hour with some use- ful thought or exercise. The speech of Plato to the Athenians he ex- pre ed in his life: ''For the glory of parents is an excellent and an honorable treasure to their children, making up for the lack of pos- se ions and dignities." "Dos est rnagna parentiurn virtus." (Hor. Od., 

xxiv, lib. 3.) May I not read from the Chicago Times the record of 

his last advice to -his son to illustrate the paternal care and gentle 

worth of this our best representative manY 

A few day-s before his dea.th Mr. KERR had a conversation wit.h his son, in the course of which he said: "I have nothing to leave you, my son, except my good name. Guard it and your mother's honor, and live ~NJ I have lived." He further 

said: "Pay all my debts, if my estate will warrant it without leaving your mother 

penniless. Otherwise pay what you can, and then go to my creditors and tell them 

the truth, and pledge your honor to wipe out the indebtedness. 

The source of this man's power was not altogether intellectual; it was in the affections. What a void has been made in his western home! 

Who can tell the anguish of the bereaved I Even the delights of the 

old home in the West intensified it. "Sbe wa-s at home," writes the 

bereaved son of the widowed mother, "among friends; but she could 

not feel a.t home, for he was not there. Everything uggested father 

to her. Something would requicken her sorrow. The :finding of an old letter, the half-read book with the mark of leaving off, and all 

those thousand ever-recurring, inconsiderable reminders that keep 

the heart of sorrow painfully darkened by the sh..'tdow of him who has 

gone; these things lengthened out and intensified the grief till the 

burden became too hard to bear." For such human agony there is no compensation in the honors and preferments of our life. The cur- rent of domestic bliss which once flowed so calmly,re.flecting the very l1eavens on its mirrored bosom, when thus overshadowed-where is the 

a-dequate return in the plaudits and honors of men f To wait and wish, 

and to hear no step, no voice of husband and father; the olden aid 

which directed, supported, and comforted, gone; gone; no advent to 

glorify the gloom-this is to the overworn and wearied watcher what mere mechanism of tongue or pen cannot express. Expression only 

benumbs the soul of such griefs as these. Our tears freeze at the 

fountain, our sympathies die in the attempt to express them. 

Hist.ory and oratory have been spent in haranguing about the heroes 

of war. Military genius and renown have been themes of encomium 

to quicken patriotism aud endear private virtues. In the funeral ora- tions over the dead Greeks who fell in :fight, Mars alone received 

apotheosis. We have orations by Pericles, Lysias, and Plato preserved in the crystal beauty of Thucydides. All the muses and gra~es 

do obeisance to the solemn rapture of the eloquent hour when in 

graceful periods and imperishable language the orator came forth 

from the monument, ascended thA tribunal, and, with panegyric beyond the reach of modern art, displayed the virtues of the dea.d. But 

these eulogies were in praise only of martial glory. Only once do I 

recall the words of an inspired Greek, who forgetting for a moment the 

custom of the time, admonished the people "that the whole earth wa-s the sepulcher of renowned men," whether renowned for honorable ex- ertion in war or peace. It is the old vaunting story of the Bible even: "Saul ha.a slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands." The 

helmet, the plume, the spear, the sword, the onset-these are the themes 

of classic funeral eloquence. Men are prone to forget what has been 

done by the gifted and great whose associations were those of art, 

literature, benevolence, and science. We seldom remember long those 

whose lives were rounded with the humility of good deeds and gentle 

affections. Men rear monuments and arches to the captains of armies, 

rarely to the leaders of opinion. Few mounds of green turf remain to 

recall the great thoughts which lived in the heroic lives of such men as Plato, Newton, St. Xavier, Howard, or Cobden. Monuments to 

military men overshadow the little hillocks on whose breast tears 

fall andover whose dust blossoms cluster. Rome haa her arch to Titus, 

her column of Trajan. The grave of Agamemnon has been found and 

glorified by a German scholar; and the exhumed Atridre are more honored by emperors and kings than the blind bard who sung their 

praises along the blue Agean. 

But, thanks to a better civilization, even the successful general today must have something more than the brute instinct which led 

Pelissier to smoke the Kabyles in their caves. He niust ha-ve more than the engineering skill of Todleben and Von Moltke. He must 

have that knowledge of human nature by which to rule men, not 

merely in the ranks, but in the senate, in the forum, and among the masses. He must be, as was said of Wellington, something more than a commissary or clerk. He must minister to peaceful states; 

he must think like lightnin (J'' and strike with its vehelllence and fatality, for tranquil homes and human happiness in grea11 crises; he must 

have the gentle amenities of culture along with the heart of the hero. 

Above all, he must have inwoven like threads of light the patriotic 

devotion which sees in his country's flag a symbol of order and unity 

and in his country's civil glory his highest hope and inspiration. The 

legends and songs, flags and heraldry, with their beasts and boa-stings, 

show through all time that prowess in the encounter of body with 

body is the- barbaric yet almost universal code of honor. But when 

the sword of patriotism is jeweled in the hilt with civil virtues, then a Washington rescues the mere wager by battle from its irrational 

fame, and gives added glory to the gem and new splendora to the 

magisterial sword I 

May something, sir, be pardoned to the spirit of eulogy, when I say 

that these elements of true grandeur found a rare combination in 

MJCHAEL c. KERR. 

Patient in study, gentle yet :firm in his feelings and determinations, 

inspired with the courage of true patriotism, defying as he did the 

mob with the same energy with which he a;nalyzed a tariff or denounced an exacting monopoly-arranging, classifyin~, assimilating 

details for practical service,-making his conscience his religion-he 

stands, more than most of the men who have taken part in our coun- cils since the war, as an exemplar of intelligent and fearless; pure 

and gentle patriotic duty. Yet he was not all judgment, else he 

would not have been a patriot; he was not all pa-ssion, else he would 

not have been a statesman. In debate, as in private talk, he had at 

times great vehemence of manner and great intrepidity in action. 

He did not toss his thoughts about easily; he was at times timid in 

their utterance till thoroughly assured by patiently marshaling them; 

and then he was eloquent. Spurning traditions and legends, believing in no law not revocable; not anxious to force men to do what 

he thought was best for them ; with a noble rage at wrong and a disgust of parasites, he would add no largess to bad garns a.nd 

greeds, any more than he would allow wrong to breed fresh wrong. 

What were the meshes of old custom to his fresh inquiring mind Y 

While he never turned away from a new truth, while he had no re- spect for mere antiquity, while he would clear away the lush growth over our select shrines of duty, he revered the ancient ways of the 

Constitution and all its muniments with the ardor of a neophyte. 

Sensitive to every point of honor, he was not 'less careful of his own fame when assailed by perjury than of the financial and patriotic 

honor of his country. 

But, sir, while the contemplation of his character is no compensa- tion for his loss, it is not less instructive than proper for us to know 

the sources of that magic which won the support of his constituency 

and the preferments ·of this Congress. The secret of this talismanic 

power lay in the discipline of his mind. He was an example, by no means uncommon in this country, of one who was strengthened by 

wrestling with adversity. The first half of his life was a struggle 

with poverty, the last with disease. Rising above the trammels of 

early life he thought more of brain than of brawn. De iring a larger 

range of usefulness and ambitious of thorough education, he struggled out of difficulty into a profession where his naturally keen ana- lytic mind had full play. He was not only a good lawyer and advocate, but his mind had a judicial cast, which he would no doubt have 

illustrated in the chair had he lived, and for which rare trait he was 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 251 

selected as the reporter to the supreme court of Indiana. He believed He was a democrat on principles fixed by his studies and philo8-

in settled principles of authority, binding as firmly as the pagan ophy, I was about to say, by his religion. Yet (as has been truly 

gods were bound by the decree of fate. But while he loved law, said) he was averse to the rough encounters of the hustings. It was he loved liberty. He loved progress, as well as repose. As a Massa- difficult to induce him to speak outside of his neighborhood. Once in 

chusetta scholar has said," He loved them together," and because, New York he promised to talk for five minutes to my friends, but 

like the nitrogen and oxygen of the atmosphere, they give vitality when on his feet, and with an audience sympathizing with his free-· 

when combined in proper proportions. trade ideas, he held the audience for two hours in one great plea for 

To my mind he does not rate so highly as the lawyer, only because he his favorite liberalities of commerce, and against the mercenary in- was moreofthe scholar and the statesman. His pre-eminence in the last equalities of protection. These were his favorite themes to illustrate 

charactercamefromhisconstantpreparationin the :first. Everyspeech his general political ideas. They were to him an enthusiastic sentiof his was a study, a treatise. When he spoke on matters connected men t-his principle of action. He traveled abroad to study them. 

with the laws of wealth, trade, and currency, his lucid and cogent He came to Congress to give them vigor and effect. 

style was not more remarkable than his abundant information. He was averse to the crowd. When writing to him about my pl'o 

How was this preparation made Y He seldom read works of fiction ternp(Yte visit to the great exposition, he expressed his regret that he or frivolity. The weightier and more solid authors were to his taste did not see the grand engine and its wonderful ramifications of 

and preference. He never read but one or two novels, and those in the harnessed_ forces; but at the same time he said that he shrank from 

last of his life. George Eliot's Adam Bede attracted him because it such throngs like the sensitive plant before the human touch. Yet 

endeavored toi3olveproblems of social science. He seldom read poetry, his political thoughts were ever "broad, based npon the people's will." save Homer's lliad and Milton; though Shakespeare was always near His dissection of the questions growing out of reconstruction and the 

him, and the Bible frequently consulted. In this respect he was not southern ballot, which had been to him a special study, show the ulti-• unlike Tristem Burgess, the orator, of Rhode Island. He never inter- mate scorn of a mind utterly hating fraud, and the lofty patriot who 

tangled the roses of poetry with the bearded grain of his philosophy. reverenced all sections and respected all rights. It is said that the 

Still he was a great reader of books. His first act when he came to his · spectroscope reveals that there is a star which burns gold for its illuhome from the office wa-a to take up an unfinished book. He left a mination. By a wonderful coincidence it is the distant star Aide barlibrary of twenty-five hundred volumes, each bought one by one, read, an-far off in the group of Hyades-which the Rosicrucians, who 

marked, and digested. His library is full of standard works on po- sought to transmute all metals into gold, worshiped. That star was lit.ical economy, to which he always added more, almost until the day theirfateful genius for inspiration and alchemy. Not less precious to 

of his death. . him, than if it were a star of gold, wa.s each State, distinct in indi vidFor a man apparently so uncongenial and cold, the liberalities of his uality and like to each other in a common right, interest, and destiny, 

culture, taste, and logic are remarkable. He excluded no volume, whether shining near or afar! · however heterodox or orthodox, from his library or his mind. Jefferson 0, that God would raise up for our instruction and guidance other was his ideal of a statesman and Webster of an orator; pictures of men ofthesameexalted typeofAmericanmanhood-menasjust,other 

both hang in his library. His scrap-book' waa kept for the "best haters of corruption as earnest, other tribunes of the J,>eople as peerless 

thoughts" of the fathers, as he called them. No ethical or partisan and fearless, and other statesmen aa lofty and pure in patriotic devobias controlled his reason. You will see in his library Renan's Life tion! When, sir, I perceive the emblem of mourningovertheseathe 

of Jesus huddling close to .McCosh's Evidences of Christianity; so lately occupied, shrouding our ensign, the omen is sadly portentous 

Tyndall shakes hands with Paley; Draper's Religion and Science and painfully suggestive. Were he with us in this hour of our solici- stands by Buckle's History of Civilization; Barnes's Notes keep com- tude I know, sir, that he would not fail with courageous counsel. He• pany with Tom Paine; Jefferson and Madison are almost imbound would revive the heroism of that parliamentary band, before which 

with HamP-ton and Jay; Henry C. Cary lies between Wayland and royal prerogatives cowered-when before the privilege of the ComJohn Stuart Mill to bridge the abyss between free trade and protec- mons and its staunch Speakers, the bills of right of ·a free people were tion. Of his library, it may be said without exaggeration: made paramount to the thunders of the throne I 

Here all the rage of controversy ends 

And rival zealots rest like bosom friends; 

Socinians here with Calvinists abide 

And thin partitions angry chiefs divide; 

Here wily .Jesuits simple Quakers meet And Bellarmin baa rest at "Luther's feet. 

Friends and enemies were alike welcome to his mind, and he tested 

them all in the crucible of his reason. . Out of this abundant reading he was enabled by his method, his 

1·egnlarity and discipline, to evoke general thoughts for practical life. 

By his masculine understanding, steady perseverance, and unwearied 

resolution he rose above illness, professional avocations, and the local 

demands of his constituency to a higher plane than most statesmen. 

This element of persistency belonged to his natural traits of character. 

It was illustrated during his life. It waa illustrated in the chair in 

the struggle with disease, to fill his duty. It was illustrated in the 

Jast hours of his tenacious life, for his rea-son remained unimpaired 

to the end. 

I have said that his rea-son and conscience were his religion. It was his habit to submit everything to this test. He squared his life 

with scrupulous reason. No tempora,l interest of his own or that of his 

family swerved him from following this guiding element of his character. 

He was a scholar; he was a disciple of the positive philosophy, 

devoted to the tenets of Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, Compte, 

and Buckle. His political science was drawn, as mo.st political science 

is, from those of similar philosophic inclinations. Jere my Bentham was his teacher, consciously or nnconsciollBly. His ideas were not transcendental, but utilitarian. The bent of his mind was increased by his 

studies in this school of philosophy, but there was no unrea-soning 

skepticism in his character. 

Despite his unwillingness to believe in anything miraculous orimprobable, his heart was reverential before the great Omniscience. 

With him rea-son was the first born, and, though twin with faith, 

both inherited the blessing. If he had any bias in his mind it was toward reason, though his faith walked timidly hand in hand with it. 

It is said that the sun is reason, while faith is the lesser orb that shines 

by night; MICHAEL C. KERR made the great light to rule his busy 

day. How far the lesser ruled in the contemplations of the night only God knows. If faith shines only so long aa she reflects some faint 

illumination from the b1i.ghter orb what ca-suistry shall discard this 

man's religious nature from the shrine of a true religion. It is not necessary to renew the scenes of his death-bed here and now. Only this may be said, from competent medical authority, that rarely haB one of our race been gifted with such a tenacity of life. 

He lived after his pulse ceased to beat. This fact may serve some- what to account for the positiveness of his purposes in life and the 

positive philosophy to which his intellect inclined. 

His fame was not quenched by death, only his opportunity. It was said by Theodore Parker, of Samuel Adams, that he was not in one sense a Christian man, but one of Plutarch's men. So waa MICHAEL C. 

KERR. His human worth can only be reckoned by the gravity of his 

loss to us, in this perilous and anxious trial for the stability and genius 

of the Government. If liberty through his death has lost from this 

Hall of the people one of her purest devotees; if liberty, like Alger- non Sydney, must go to the scaffold, yet from the scaffold she will 

ascend to another sphere where there is a better code of justice and 

right; and there in that realm, who will give her less stinted and more welcome than the immortal spirit of MICHAEL C. KERR. 

Under such patriotic thoughts as were his, still surviving death, our country may cea-se from its passionate discord. Then peace will bind our States as sheaves are bound in the harvesting, season after season, 

till the latest generation. You, Mr. Speaker, and ye who are your 

brothers in these exalted trusts, yewho have the keeping of this bruised 

and broken land, can ye not all rise under the admonition of such a life as our late Speaker lived, into a higher sense of duty and a more self-sacrificing patriotism t Can we not encompass our beloved land 

around with a wall of fire that will not burn, but gnard f Shall we not do this before its grave yawns; that grave where there is no work, nor knowledge, nor device, nor wisdom Y Thus faithful unto death in our trusts, as he was, may we not have the promise of a crown of ever- lasting life which I trust in God he wears. [Applause on :floor and 

galleries.] 

Mr. CLYMER. 1\!r. Speaker, this Congress, from the hour of its 

meeting in December, Ul75, until the day o£ its adjournment in August, 1876, stood in the shadow of an impending calamity! A Speaker was elected who, by reason of hia long service, his large experience, and 

pre-eminent ability, was deemed worthy of the exalted station. He 

brought to the discharge of its duties a clear head, a sound heart, an impartial judgment, and a resolute will; but, sir, it was painfully evident to every one that a mortal and fast-consuming malady had possession of him. In the very hour of his triumph, when he had scaled 

the heights and reached the goal of his ambition; when there lay before bright prospects of future usefulness and still higher honor; when 

he had a right to feel that he was about to enjoy the full fruition of a laborious and well-spent life, he wa-s summoned to the dread conflict 

with the last enemy, one in which we must all engage and in which no mortal may triumph. For days and weeks and months we stood 

sad and helpless spectators of the fierce struggle. We well knew. it 

to be hopeless, and our sorrow waa scarcely lessened by our admiration 

for the heroic courage, tbe sublime fortitude, the dauntless spirit with 

which he marched forth to meet and embrace death. 

Mr. Speaker, it was not my good fortune, as it was yours and 

that of others·who hear me, to have served with him in former days, 

when he stood upon this floor the peer of any one in intellect anll 
252 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 16, 

ability; and therefore I leave it to those who have personal knowledge 

to speak of his merits and services as a legislator and statesman. My 

personal acquaintance with him began with the first session of this 

Congress. Under ordinary circumstances it would necessarily have 

been slight, but painful events, fresh in the recollection of all of us and of the whole country, placed me in such relations to him as to 

render it almost a duty, as it is a mournful satisfaction, to put on rec- ord my estimate of his character as a man. After years of public service, here and elsewhere, he stood at the 

threshold of the grave, comparatively poor in this world's goods, and, 

to his great honor be it spoken, rich in nothing save his good n~e, 

his character for spotless integrity, his unblemished reputation for 

purity in public and private life. These were his jewels; these were the treasures which he had garnered; these he valued more than 

houses and lands or all mere earthly possessions. But, sir, when weak 

and worn by disease, when even hope liad fled, when the dark shad- ows of death were closing about him, a base and cowardly attempt was made to rob him of his good name and send him to his grave disgraced 

and dishonored. It became my painful duty to inform him of the 

natm·e of the charge preferred against him. He met it with a philosophic composure and stern defiance which told of his conscious in- nocence. Courting the most searching investigation, he demanded to 

meet his base accuser face to face. For long and weary days the investigation proceeded. I will not attempt to describe the proud and 

defiant spirit with which he met and braved the terrible ordeal. So 

broken and disabled in body those who knew him best had grave fears 

that death would seal his lips before he could make reply; but the very 

exigency seemed to rekindle and vivify his expiring energies, to en- dow him with new and almost superhuman power. To him it was a struggle more grave and terrible than that which he had been making 

for prolonged existence: it was for untarnished reputation, for un- sullied honor. To the dying man these were dearer and far more precious than mere existence, for without them it would have been a curse. The hour of his triumphant vindication came, when in this 

Chamber each representative of the American people then present rose solemnly in his place and declared his profound conviction of his 

purity and innocence. Thus the dark cloud which threatened to ob- ·scure the brightness of his setting sun was rolled away, and able sed 

peace, a serene tranquillity came to the great heart of the dying 

Speaker. 

I may not lift the veil which rightfully separates his inner and 

private from his o1,1ter and public life, but it would be unjust to his 

memory did I fail to record his lively sense of this crowning act of 

kindne s and justice on the part of those whose good opinion was so dear to him. To his sensitive and dying ear it told of the ver- dict which after-times would render. It brought profound consolation to him, and thereafter he was fully prepared to say "Nuno dirnittis." · llis was a proud, sensitive, and imperious nature, ever shrinking 

from familiarity with the world, asking little of its sympathy and 

caring less for its applause. He chose to be judged by his acts rather 

than by professions. His convictions were deep and decided upon 

all questions, and he did not he itate to obey and follow them to their 

ultimate and logical results. He controlled and led his fellow-men 

by the beer force of his intellect rather than by the influence of his 

heart. He was always a teacher, a leader; never an imitator or servile 

follower. In amy era of our history he would have been a character 

of mark, his moral courage and his mental powers alike fitting him 

for the performance of duties of gravest moment. His death would 

have been a great public loss at any time; in this hour of doubt, un- certainty, and danger, it is next to irreparable, when we consider the 

character of the man, the dignity and power of his place, the hold 

he had upon the confidence of the people and the stern and unyielding fidelity with which he would have dared to perform his whole 

duty. · To-day, Indiana stands chief mourner for the son of her adoption, 

Jltl.ICHAEL C. KERR; close and next by her side stands Pennsylvania, on whose soil he was born and partly reared. She claims a sister's 

sacred right to mourn the loss of an honored child. My poor and 

broken utterances but feebly express her estimate of his worth, her 

profound regard for his memory f 

Mr. McCRARY. I esteem it a privilege as well as a dntyto offer on this occasion my humble tribute to the memory of our late lamented 

Speaker. I do: so not as a mere empty ceremony, but prompted by a profound respect for the great qualities of mind and heart which 

adorned his life, which sustained him in sickness and in death, and 

the memory of which will live long in the history of his country and 

in the hearts of his countrymen. I desire to speak a few words in re- membrance of his virtues in this place, which was the scene of so much .of his public career, and on this day, which our records are to 

dedicatesacredlytohis memory: because I knew him well and esteemed 

and honored him in life, while I deeply and earnestly lament his death. 

My personal acquaintance with Mr. KERR began in the Forty-first 

Congress, in which we served together on the Committee of Elections, 

and although it never ripened into confidential intimacy it was of 

that kind which enabled me, as I think, to form a just estimate of his 

character. His active participation in the proceedings of Congress, 

his prominent position among the leaders of his party, his fearless, 

bold, and outspoken action upon all public questions, brought him 

prominently before the House and the country, and his associates upon 

this floor, whether personally intimate with him or not, could not fail 

to know him as a Representative, to appreciate him as a man, and to 

realize his great power. He was a man of commanding ability. 

Toward the close of his life his powers were of course in some degree 

impaired by disease; and yet we all know how remarkably clear and 

vigorous were all his rulings as Speaker as well as his statement of 

the ground upon which he placed them. When in the full vigor of 

health, he was seldom matched and I think never overmatched in 

debat-e upon this floor. He was a careful student and thinker and 

though he spoke frequently it was never at random, but he always 

uttered what had been carefully matured and settled in his own mind. 

He was a profound lawyer, and in his own State as well as elsewhere 

he stood very high in the ranks of his profession. He was a man of 

intense convictions and always uttered what he thoroughly believed 

to be true and defended what he thoroughly believed to be right, while 

his denunciation of what he deemed false and wrong was always ear- nest and vigorous. To these rare qualities he added thorough hone ty 

and the utmost purity of life in all its relations, whether public or private. I may not from personal know ledge speak of the beauty and 

sweetness of his home-life and of his purely private and domestic re- lations, but these have been since his death, a-s they were in his life, 

the theme upon which those who were very near to him have most 

loved to dwell. 

It is praise, indeed, to say of one departed, " he was a good husband, a good father, and a good citizen," and when we may add "he was a true patriot, an able and faithful public servant, and a wise and sa- gacious statesman," the eulogy is complete. As a presidin~ officer our late Speaker was a model of dignity, urbanity t and impartiality. His course while in the chair wa-s such as not only to command "the re- spect but also to win the esteem and confidence of his political opponents, as well as his party associates. I take this occasion to bear 

willing and emphatic testimony to this fact. I refer to it with great 

plea-sure because in it I find an illustration of that devotion to duty 

and faithfulness to public trust which distinguished him and which 

must characterize the life of every really great man. Here is to be 

found one of the smest tests by which to discover a really lofty character. When such a character is called to a position where he is to decide questions arising between his fellow-men, he is sure to rise above 

every consideration_except those which concern justice and the law. 

Mr. KERR was an active participant in many exciting partisan con- tests upon this floor during his service here, and few men ever defended in debate their party or its principles with greater zeal and 

ability; but as Speaker he seemed to know no party. He took his 

great office with a firm resolve to administer it with perfect fidelity, 

to be absolutely faithful and just, and he kept that purpose to the end. 

I speak thus of the deceased Speaker with all the more pleasure 

because, while we were personal friends, we were political opponents, 

and I feel that on that account my poor words of eulogy would be 

very grateful to him if he could hear them, and that they may be a source of consolation to the bereaved ones he has left behind. It is 

according to the genius of our institutions that political differences 

should never engender personal animosities. The right of private 

judgment and of free speech is a right so sam·ed, and belongs so sa- credly to all, that we are bound to recognize it and respect it in our opponents if we would preserve it for ourselves. The great American 

principle of toleration lies at the foundation of our civil as well as our religious liberty; and that principle is obeyed in its true spirit 

only by those who have learned, not merely to tolerate an opponent, 

but to honor and respect an honest and manly adversary. Such an adversary was JltliCHAEL C. KERR; and as it was my pleasure while 

he lived upon all proper occasions to bear testimony to his exalted 

character, it is still my pleasure, now that he ha-s passed on into that 

higher and better life, to speak in praise of his many virtues and in 

honor of his memory. 

Mr. ATKINS. Mr. Speaker, at this stage of these memorial cere- monies I consult the emotions of my heart rather than the dictates 

of my judgment in attempting to speak on this mournful occasion. 

The fame and popularity of the distinguished dead, in the State of 

Tennessee, makes it meet that some one of her Representatives should 

pay a sincere tribute of respect to the memory of one who so largely 

commanded her admiration and esteem. 

Truly Tennessee gives utterance of her sorrow and sympathy with 

Indiana who keeps vestal watch over the ]J.onor of one of her favorite 

and most distinguished sons, and would remind her that she, too, yea, 

that a nation, claims the patrimony of his fame and in his death shares 

the spoliation and the loss. 

This mute assemblage, these gloomy faces, these pendant trappings 

of national sorrow, bespeak a more than ordinary occasion of sadness. 

It is the heartfelt lamentation of the American people, through their 

Representatives, over the loss of a wise statesman, a pure patriot, and an honest man; while it is a proper manifestation of the personal 

grief, mellowed a little by time, which pervades this entire Hall over this unusual if not alt-ogether unprecedented bereavement, in the 

death of its presiding officer. 

Already have we gazed with intense admiration upon the living portrait of this truly noble m&h, as it ha-s been faithfully drawn to-day 

by his colleagues and peers. Starting with the first buddings of character in infancy amid the sports and freaks of childhood until ruder 
1876. OONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. 253 

and stronger traits unfolded themselves, hardened by the iron touch 

of poverty, when at length he boldly entered the emnlous walks of a self-reliant manhood; winning this trophy, bearin~ off that honor, 

gaining this triumph, all the time assuming responsibilities and enlarging the scope of his duties and deepening the foundations of his popularity by the most devoted consecration to the public interests, until 

finally he aspir~d to the exalted and distinguished office of .Speaker 

of this House, and was fortunate enough to have the aspiration of his 

noble ambition crowned with bri11iant success. It is reserved, however, for the hand of affection to trace and gather 

up the incidents and events of his inward life and domestic feelings, 

which, inseparably interwoven, form the woof of his private history. 

These all will be laid away as golden treasures in memory's casket, 

which only is in the keeping of domestic love and filial devotion never again to meet with the world's harsh encounter. These tender aaso- ciat.ions let us leave inurned within thesacredchambersof inconsolable private grief; but of his outward life and public services we may 

speak, for they belong to the country and to society. 

Nor can we fairly forecast his true character even as a _public man without analyzing in some degree his elementary characteristics. 

Indomitable energy and unfla~ging perseverance, linked with an earnestness born of deep and abiding conviction, marked all of his 

efforts and enabled him almost invariably to succeed in whatever he 

undertook. With him action always followed conviction. Sprung 

from the ranks of the people, all of his sympathies and principles were in accord with them. He was truly a tribune of the people. Although 

devoted to party organization he never surrendered or sacrificed to 

partisan advantage any real or substantive right which belonged alike 

to all. He was a partisan, but his partisanship was used as a means for the accomplishment of just public undertakings, and not as an end 

in the abstract. Watching his career as a public man, he impressed me a.s an honest inquirer after truth. He had a simple, child-like faith 

in its omnipotence, and wherever its clarion notes sounded thitherward he bent his steps, and there planted the standard of his unswerv- ing fealty. Of course he conld not be other than reliable, conscientious, and consistent. His character panoplied with these noble 

principles, it was not astonishing that public sentiment of all parties, 

recently, should have rushed to his rescue, to ward off the poisoned 

javelins of calumny and detraction, before even the courts of justice or a committee of Congress were enabled to pronounce the decree of 

his complete vindication. His mind turned with instinctive horror 

from every appearance of indirection, deceit, or dishonorable action, 

sustaining with true courage whatever he believed to be right and 

opposing with his whole nature what he conceived to be wrong. 

Like Burke, he believed bad men capable of doing any evil, however 

dark and wicked; hence he had no intimate associations or personal 

relations only as acquaintance and time developed the character and 

justified the friendship. As a consequence his personal friendships were limited, strong, unchangeable, and unsuspecting. Such a man was worthy of being the leader of the people as he was unquestionably their advocate and defender. He did not feel that his official 

duties, exalted, responsible, and honorable as they were, made him an irresponsible ruler or constituted in him any superiority to his constituency. He ever bowed with graceful and patriotic submission to the 

adverse will of the majority when constitutionally expressed. These 

attachments to popular rights and his unfeigned profession of political faith and doctrine created within his manly bosom the broa~est 

and profoundest love of country. 

No statesman knew better than he the true nature of our Government, the genius of our free institutions, our past history, foreign 

and domestic relations, and the real temper and interests of the people. No one knew better than he that the truest and most steadfast 

friends of liberty are a frugal, intelligent, and virtuous rural popnlation. No one knew better than he from the pages of history tha.t 

avarice, vice, and national vanity, when once allowed to obtain a hold 

upon the rulers of a nation, smother the love of country and drive out 

those simple, manly virtues in the people, by long accustoming them 

to acts of usurpation and doubtful authority, until they finally cease to care to what power they owe allegiance-by what they are governed. 

These dangerous and insidious inroads, gradually made upon the rights 

of the masses and which so often have befallen free governments and 

caused their overthrow, ever caught the fire ofhisjealous eye and en- countered in their incipiency the whole weight of his uncompromising 

opposition. 

And thou in this shalt find thy monument, 

When tyrant's crests and tombs of bra,ss are spent., 

Clothed with the delicate trust by party suffraO'e of exercising 

magisterial authority over the Representatives of all the people, he never forgot that he best vindicated the honor and dignity of his high 

position by observing the utmost fairness in his rulings and maintaining toward all, without regard to partisan distinctions, perfect impartiality. As the mother of the Gracchi, when asked for her jewels, pointed 

to her sons, so do a free constituency regard the representative whose 

private life presents a stainless escutcheon, while the mirror of his 

public record reflects only the images of truth, virtue, and patriotism. 

While this matter-of-fact world excludes even the contemplation 

of the ideal and counts nothing worth save the practical and the true, 

yet where in all the land whose reputation of all of our public men for the last quarter of a century would furnish the artist a truer 

model or the poet a more perfect ideal of human virtue and wort.h 

than the moral and mental traits which made up the manly and no- ble character of MICHAEL C. KERR f 

Alas f he ha.s passed away, but his name is one of the household 

words of this Hall of Representatives, and will live with the truest 

and noblest who have worn its chief honors. 

To live with fame 

The gods allow to many, but to die 

With equal luster, is a blessing Heaven 

Selects from all her choicest boons of Fate, 

And with a sparing hand, on few bestows. 

Mr. HEREFORD. Mr. Speaker, if I had consulted my own wishes 

and inclinations I should have been silent during the present sad hom; 

bnt having been requested to join in the ceremonies of the occasion, 

with sadness of heart and trembling hand I lay my wreath upon his 

bier, humble though it be. 

I feel proud to be able to cla s myself as one of the earliest and 

warmest friends of the deceased; not only his friend, but advisor. For 

seveml years we served together in this House; during that time I 

watched his career; each day he grew upon me ; not only so, but he 

grew upon the country until he was called to fill yonder chair, now draped in mourning. He became the Speaker of the Forty-fourth 

Congress, filling, and filling worthily, the position held by such men as Muhlenberg, Clay, Stevenson, Polk, Winthrop, Linn Boyd, and 

BANKS. • 

MICHAEL C. KERR illustrated in his own person one of the excellences of our form of government, the possibility, ri<Tht, and power 

of any of its citizens to fill its highest, most honorabfe, and most re- sponsible positions, provided he deserved t.hem, deserved them by his 

ability, energy, and integrity. He was pre-eminently the architect of 

his own fortune. He had not the adventitious aid of family or fortune. 

But unaided and alone he climbed the ladder of fame until he had 

almost reached its topmost round. It may be truthfully said of him as waa said of Ari.stides and Cato, "that he advanced himself to great 

honor and dignity in the commonwealth by no other means than his own virtue and industry." The young men of our country have in 

him a bright examplar to cheer them on in their lonely struggles for 

place and position, and I only hope that like him they may never swerve from the path of high honor and unyielding integrity. In all 

his congressional career he labored most a siduously for his country 

and the Constitution; trnly could he adopt the language that Plutarch 

applied to himself: "This service, I say, is not jQ'I' rnyself; it is for my 

country. Among all his colleagues on this floor I knew no one who more fixedly and constantly made the Constitution his pol.H.r star. He 

kept his eye steadily upon it. When any question arose in ohr delil>-

erations upon which he was called to act, the first question he propounded to himself was "Is this mea-sure constitutional ¥" If not, he 

opposed it. 

With that as his chart and compass he felt confident of guiding the 

great ship of state safely through all storms, however high the billows 

might rise or however black and angry the clouds might become. He 

had a living and abiding faith that the billows would subside, the 

clouds pass away, the stars again shine out brightly, the night pass 

away, and the sun of the morrow rise brightly upon the vessel and 

its noble crew. . I ne-ver knew a man who had stronger qonvictions and clearer con- ceptions, and these convictions he followed most scrupulously to their 

logical resnlts without turning to the right or left, or stopping to see the result. The sordid, selfish arts of the demagogue or political 

trickster he utterly loathed. He adopted as his guide the following language of Aristotle : "Popular governments in which the con- stitution and laws are supreme afford no place for demagogues. 

Where, however, the laws are not sovereign, demagogues spring up." 

0, that in this centennial period, this our hour of peril, these lines 

and this sentiment were emblazoned upon the dome of this Capitol, 

written in letters of living light over the Speaker's chair, upon every 

public building and private house throughout our broad, beloved, and 

distracted land. I know of no public man of his day who more thoroughly demonstrated in his public life the sentj.ment of William Pitt, 

the Great Commoner of England, when he said: "I will not go to court 

if I may not bring the coMtitution with me." 

As a debater he had few equals on this floor or elsewhere; clear, 

concise, and logical, as a steady opponent of jobs, rings, subsidies; 

and partial legislation he yielded to nq one. Who of all his colleagues does not not recall that clear, ringing voice of his in clarion 

tones denouncing what he deemed corrupt and pernicious legislation T As a presiding officer, though emaciated and feeble physically, he gave evidence of being equal to any who had preceded him, 

always commanding the high respect, confidence, and admiration of 

the whole House irrespective of party. He had the high purpose, the firm resolve, and dauntless courage 

of a statesman of the highest order. With him the blandishments of 

power had no influence; he yielded neither to its behests nor was allured by its trappings. While he had the very highest respect for 

the voice of the people 00'/tBtitutWnally expressed, he heeded not the 

frowns of the infuriated mob goaded on by designing demagogues. 

He never crooked" the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may 

follow fawning." 
254 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE. DECEMBER 16, 

His aims were unselfish, his hands were clean, his life was pure and 

full of the tenderest affection for a noble and loving wife and a fond 

and obedient son. But he is no more. He has been called to his long home. His labor on earth are closed. His voice will no more be heard in these 

Halls. His last remains lie buried beneath the soil of his adopted 

State1 Indiana. No more shall we meet his tall, manly form and be 

perm1tted to grasp his unsoiled hand. He will no more go in and out 

before us. But may we all meet him again in that better land, on that "great day for which all other days were made, for which earth 

sprang from chaos, man from earth, and God from eternity." 

Mr. KNOTT. It may be considered a work of supererogation on my part, Mr. Speaker, to offer a single remark in addition to what has 

already been so eloquently said by other gentlemen on the present 

melancholy occasion, yet there are certain circumstances which will 

perhaps excuse me, if indeed they do not render it peculiarly appropriate that I should beg the brief indulgence of the House at this 

time, not for the vain purpose of attempting to express my own private grief for the death of our lamented Speaker-for at the tomb of a loved and honored friend the anguish of genuine friendship can find no voice-but that I may contribute my assistance, feeble as it may 

be, in crystallizing in the history of the country to whose service he 

dedicated the best years of his life some of the evidences of his merits 

derived from long and intimate personal association. 

It was in the midst of one of the most refined and cultivated com- munities in the district I now have the honor tO represent upon this 

floor that Mr. KERR first stepped upon the arena of active man- hood. It was at the beautiful little town of Bloomfield, in the State 

of Kentucky, that he laid the foundation of his subsequent career of usefulness and honor while engaged as a faithful, earnest, and 

efficient instructor of youth. There in the intervals of his ardu- ous duties as a teacher, which others might have devoted to idle- ness and pleasure, he mastered the fundamental principles of jurisprudence and political philosophy with which in after life, both as a lawyer and a statesman, he showed himself so remarkably familiar. ·fhere his indefatigable energy, his indomitable will, his unwearying 

industry, and, above all, his immaculate integrity are still held up for 

the emulation of the aspiring youth who in the face of penury and 

misfortune would achieve an honorable distinction among his fellow- men. There those striking traits of a manly character which distinguished him through life, and which have already been so happily portrayed by the eloquent gentlemen who have preceded me, won for him 

the confidence, the respect, and the affections of a large circle of warm- hearted, generous friends, who, sympathizing in all his laudable aspirations and proud of his well-earned success, delighted to do him honor 

when he had struggled far up the rugged steeps of a justly merited fame. 

Of his early fr1ends at Bloomfield he delighted to speak in terms 

of the most affectionate remembrance and I have heard him freq nently remark that the happiest, proudest moment of his life was when they welcomed him back in their midst after years of absence, 

to a ~and ovation to which they had invited him just after his last 

election to Congress. 

My own personal acquaintance with Mr. KERR began in July, 1867, 

when I met him for the first time on the floor of this House, a.s a member of the Fortieth Congress. A variety of circumstances soon brought us into frequent, intimat-e, and confidential intercourse with 

each other, and afforded me the most favorable opportunities of becoming familiarly acquainted with one of the most admirable characters with which I have ever come in contact; a character which 

perhaps but few have ever fully appreciated in all its excellence, be- cause but few have studied it from the same stand-point and under 

similar circumstances to those I was so fortunate as to enjoy. 

The most remarkable trait in that character, indeed the key to Mr. 

KERR's whole life, public and private, was his unswerving, unfaltering, inflexible fealty to Truth under all circumstances and upon all oc- casions whatever. In the light of that single fact, every act and utter- ance of his public and private career should be viewed. It was this 

that led him to act in everything upon the maxim of Aristotle, that incredulity is the source of all wisdom-to take nothing for granted, 

but to satisfy himself. by actual investigation of the real foundation as well as the ultimate conclusion of every proposition upon whatever 

subject that might be submitted to his mind. Hence resulted those 

habits of indefatigable labor, careful analysis, patient research, profound meditation, and deliberate utterance, for which he wa.s so distinguished. It was this same devotion to the truth as he understood it that gave him the reputation amon~ some who had not 

made a careful analysis of his character, of bemg unduly obstinate 

in the maintenance of his own opinions. His was truly a firmness 

that would have led him to a martyr's stake; but it was a firmness 

resulting from a conviction of duty and not from any mere false 

pride of opinion. It; wa.s this same fealty to truth that made him the 

very impersonation of personal honor and official integrity. Slow, 

and at times apparently timid in arriving at his conclusions, reaching 

them usually after patient and laborious investigation, and ever impelled by an inexorable sense of duty, none of the blandishments of 

flattery, no allurement of place, or power, or fame, no threat of defeat or unpopularity, no influence of mere private friendship could swerve him a hair's breadth from the right as he understood it, or deter 

him from the honest outspoken expression of his own tixed opinions. 

There wa.s but one possible way to move him, and that was to con- vince him of his error, and when convinced no one was ever more ready to confess or·retra.ct his mistake. It was this same fidelity to 

truth which infused into his oratory that peculiar fervor and energy 

of expression which frequently characteriZed it, not only in stating his 

deliberately conceived opinions, but when indulging, as he sometimes 

did, in flashes of fierce invective when his indignat10n'was arou ed by 

the detection of falsehood or hypocrisy, for whatever was false, or fraudulent, or in any wise deceptive, his innate love of truth led him 

to despise with an intensity almost beyond the reach of expression. 

And finally, sir, it was owing to his fealty to truth that some were led into the strangest of all possible misconceptions of his character. 

There w~re those who regarded him as a singularly cold, unfriendly 

mani while the truth waa a truer, warmer, tenderer heart, or one more loya to its friends never beat in human bosom. He scorned, from the 

very depths of his soul, the arts of flattery and dissimulation, and hatl 

the manly courage, so rare, so difficult to find, to remind his frientls 

plainly, candidly, and truthfully of their faults. 

But, sir, I will not abuse your patience by a further analysis of the 

character of our dead Speaker. It stands out amid those of his com- peers, a Doric column, symmetrical in its solidity1 beautiful in the 

utter absence of all meretricious ornament, and liDIDaculate in the 

material of which it was reared. Few like it illustrate the annals of our race. 

Mr. VANCE, of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, in rising to-day to give utter- ance to my feelings of personal bereavement, I feel-as one does not 

often feel on occasions of this character-that the loss of one is the 

loss of all. In giving this feeble token of my grief that we no longer 

have MICHAEL C."KE.&R of Indiana in our midst, I but utter what 

every patriotic citizen of his State and our country must feel: that our grief is no common grief; our loss, no common loss; and that it 

will be long ere the void made by the death of our lamented Speaker 

will again be filled by such a man as he. When a man by the reso- lute force of his own invincible character attains exalted station, and 

is charged with the performance of important public functions-and 

that, too, at a time when circumstances seem such that considerations 

of party fealty are likely to det.ermine the choice in favor of tho e who have earned recognition by partisan services, rather than that 

the prize should be adjudged to unostentatious merit-his removal by 

the hand of death is a circumstance so unfortunate a.s to arouse the 

sympathies of even the hardest of heart.s. To be denied the light of 

his counsel and the encouragement of his voice is a deprivation of no ordinary magnitude ; a national calamity that all must deplore. 

Although my acquaintance with the late Speaker was formed during the latter years of his life, yet familiarity with his many excellent 

qualities depended not upon the length of time one wa.s thrown in con- tact with him. To appreciate the manly, genial, and conciliatory 

turn of his mind, one has but to glance at his conduct during the or- ganization of the present House ; to know his worth and truly appreciate the most exalted phases of his character, one should be of the 

number of those who originally had some other preference for the 

Speakership. But from whatever stand-point one studies him, whether as a supporter or as an opponent, the honest observer must a-cknowledge the stability and rectitude of his character, the firmness of his 

purpose, and the geniality of his heart. The trying flame of physical 

suffering only seemed to bring forth more brilliantly the golden treas- ures of his judgment. With a rich and varied experience such as seems essential for a truthful knowledge of human nature, he was pla{led in the Speake1Js chair at a time when his public career was seemingly opening before him a wide field of usefulness. The sad story 

of his physical decline and untimely death are written in fudelible 

characters in the hearts of every one who during the la.st session saw the almost superhuman exertions he made to appear in the chair of the 

Honse and perform his trying duties-duties that, had he been in or- dinary health, would have weighed upon him as a straw upon the arm of a giant. 

Who, were the power granted him, would willingly enter into the 

secret thoughts of the strong man, struck with mortal disease, con- scious of his infirmity, aware of its nature, and knowing only too well 

its inevitable end f The evils of life tell all of us that there are callings among the occupations of men which bring those who assume their duties into contact with sickness and distress, to whom such 

sad stories are among the daily incidents of life. A cultivated mind, 

and the consciousness of ability to mitigate suffering and alleviate 

anxiety, may be some compensation for the strain to which human 

feeling is subjected; but who, I again a.sk, not of those professions, 

would willingly enter into the secret thoughts of one conscious of his 

rapidly approachin~ end, and share with the sufferer the terrible distress which must an e when he sees the dark, unknown future rapidly drawing upon him, soon doomed to separate him from the present, with all its cares, all its responsibilities 'I To one in robust health 

the thought even is replete with pain. How great, then, must have 

been the fortitude, the power of resisting sufferin~, and the ability to 

banish thought of seli in our late Speaker durmg all those long, 

weary days when, borne down by disease and racked with pain, he 

still persisted in performing the duties of his office? Nothing but an abiding sense of the importance of the task devolved upon him, 

and a deep consciousness that it was better for him to persevere and 

die in performance of his duty, rather than shrink from its execu-

. 
1876. CONGRESSION.A.L REOORD-HOUSE. 255 

tion, kept him at his post at a time when all were conscious that he was wearing away his life. At a time and under circumstances when 

almost any other man would have dismissed thought of public cares from his mind and devoted attention to himself, Mr. KERR knew no other course than that which inspired him to let all else go, and abide 

by the demands of that country to whose service he had already devoted many of the be t years of his life. The result we all know. 

Many men have fallen martyrs on the field of battle. To MICHAEL C. 

KERR it was reserved to offer his life and his all on the altar of his 

country, unanimated by the clamor of contest or the shock of battle- a martyr to conviction-one who died for his country in giving her 

those services she stood so much in need of. 

Mr.HAM.ILTON,of Indiana. Mr. PHILIPS, of Missouri, is absent by 

order of the House, but has left in manuscript remarks which I ask 

may be inserted in the RECORD as part of this day's proceedings. 

There was no objection. The following are the remarks prepared by 

1\Ir. Pm:LIPs, of Missouri. 

Mr. PHILIPS, of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the voice of Missouri 

ought not to be silent on an occasion like this. As a part of the Louisiana Territory acquired from France, Missouri was first under the 

pupilage of Governor Harrison, of Indiana. The civil polity of her 

local institutions was thus impressed upon the very childhood of Missouri. Her brave and hardy yeomanry came with those of Kentucky a the pioneers who penetrated the wilds of the western bank of .the 

Mississippi and hushed the shout of the red man, felled the forests, 

and blaz~d out the pathways for the coming legions of civilization. 

Allied by history and tradition, recounting the perils, privations, and 

achievements of a common ancestry, when Indiana presented the name of her distinguished citizen for the Speakership of this Congress Missouri had neither prejudice nor jealousy to overcome in yielding him 

her support. She has cause to mourn his loss, and lays claim to a share in the glory of his name and fame as a part of her rightful 

heritage. 

It is no purpose or province of mine to review his life. That office 

belongs to those who knew him best. Nor shall I offend his memory 

by fulsome eulop:y. Nothing could have been more distasteful to him 

when living. ' Paint me as I am," said Oliver Cromwell, while sitting to young Lely. "If you leave out the scars and wrinkles I will 

not pay you a shilling." Such would be the request of Mr. KERR, 

could he now speak to us. He was always averse to display. He despised shams of all sorts. 

His character was real. Mere idealism and speculation found no pla.ce 

in a mind occupied and surcharged with the realities of actual life. 

Rugged in thought and severe in habit, the world regarded him as austere and cold. Drawn into that iso1ation often unavoidable to the 

professional man and close student, he was esteemed unsocial. 

He was eminently a man of conviptions. He had no model. He 

investigated and thought for himself. He hung not in the midair of 

hesitancy or~oubt, but always reached a conclusion. He grappled 

with his subject and mastered it. Hence his convictions were not visionary or momentary. They were of the conscience acting through 

the judgment, and were abiding. He never yielded a principle for mere expediency. He never abandoned the right for success. He did . not believe with Shakespeare in applying "craft against vice;" but he 

believed rather with Hobbes, that craft is "crooked wisdom; a sign 

of pusillanimity." 1\I~re policy in affairs of state he regarded as too 

often the abandonment of the field of justice and patriotism for a triumph empty and short-lived. He carried no concealed dagger, 

and while he courted no unnecessary contests he shrank not from the 

open field and an equal sword. 

During the heated discussion had on this floor last session over the 

question of the surrender of Hallet Kilbourn to the District court, I 

met Speaker KERR near the door to the left of his chair and said to 

him: "What do you think of the policy of sending Kilbourn to the 

court and leaving the responsibility of the judgment of the court with 

the republican party f" With nervous emphasis he instantly replied: 

"It will not do at all. This matter involves one of the important 

constitutional prerogatives of this House. To yield it would be to 

place ourselves i.il the just contempt of the country and to confe~:~s our imbecility." 

We are told by naturalists that birds of paradise fly swiftest against 

the wind. While the contrary winds serve to display the brightness 

of their plumage, in drifting behind them their gorgeous train of 

feathers, they gather strength as their flisht is entangled with the 

gale. So, with some men, the stormy day 18 better for their mental 

qualities than the calm. 1\Ir. KERR's congressional career was amid scenes of almost revolutionary excitement; when political virtue and 

constitutional principles were subjected to unexampled tests. It was 

a time that tried men's souls, and how few withstood the test I It was the development of Mr. KERR. It aroused the latent fires of his 

soul, and with undaunted courage he stood in the forefront of the 

battle for constitutional liberty which he conceived to be imperiled. 

On the ramparts of the Constitution he stood the sleepless, intrepid 

sentinel. Like the chivalric Henry·V on the field of Agincourt, charg- ing the chafing, desperate Duke of Alenc;on, he led tne serried little 

band on this side of the House with a skill and courage that extorted 

applause from even those who were impaled by his unyielding lance. 

Mr. Speaker, the true heroes of this world are not always recognized. The devotion of the deluded fakirs as they mangle their 

bodies and practice all manner of austerities, the reckless daring of 

the fireman, the animal courage of the soldier, fail not to win the applause of the common herd of men. But there is a moral heroism of man in adhering to duty and the ri~ht, in breasting the storm of 

popular opiuion under circumstances of intimidation and temptation, 

of which the world takes little note, but is as grand and glorious as martyrdom itself. In the e days of moral cowardice, of mock joustings and tourney-loving masses of political ha.cks; of the men " of 

mint and anise and cumin;" of empiricism and social and political 

shoddyism, when counterfeit pretension pa ses for the pure coin of 

solid ·merit and brazen impudence challenges public confidence, and 

admiration even, such men as MICHAEL C. Krum, who lifted against 

these tawdry trappings of a vicious age the blazing buckler of a more heroic epoch, are a nation's glory and the people's hope. 

He was not what the world commonly calls a genius. Bnt if genius 

be defined the faculty of appreciation, he has claims to the coveted 

gift. He certainly appreciated "the eternal fitness of things." He 

spoke without ornamentation, directly to the pending issue, with a depth of earnestness and stre s of emphasis that convinced if it did 

not charm. He seems to have auopted the motto of Somers," Prodesse quam conspici." He never dropped the iron links of argument for 

the gossamer threads of rhetoric. If he failed in the glamour of an exuberant fancy, or seldom touched the deeper chords of impassioned 

eloquence, he at times glowed like the furnace in which the richer 

material is separated from the dross and better fitted for the uses of 

the world. If he wag imperious in opinion, he was not an unreason- ing dogmatist. If he was austere in manner and reserved in intercourse, he was no demagogue nor fawning sycophant. Idiosyncrasies 

and prejudices he may have had, but he never betrayed a. tmst, deceived or deserted a friend. 

1\Ir. KERR was a man of inexorable honesty. His active public life 

lay through a period of excessive vice, of shameless profligacy, and 

unblushing corruption; yet perhaps no man living or dead kept his 

official garments purer. No stain is on them. No unclean thing ever touched his ermine. No serpent's trail crossed his path. No cloud of 

dishonor shadows his grave. 

When amid the season just passed, of intense party rancor, there were found those who dared attempt . to asperse the unsullied name of this exalted citizen, the instinctive chivalry of the whole American people rebelled against the foul imputation. It was during this 

saddest hour of the night of his life I saw him most and learned the 

stuff he was made of. Prior to this his friends saw the danger to his 

life by his con tinned labor in the public service; but he seemed to 

have adopted the sentiment of the Roman patriot, Necesse ut eam n{)n 

ut vivam. When his integrity was assailed his determination was fixed to die with his harneSs on. What a spectacle that was ! Disease had marked him as a victim 

and had him in its toils. The angel of death had kissed his wan cheeks and left the hectic flush there: The voice, one utterance of 

which was once a command to silence and attention to listening Congresses and multitudes, was broken and gone. His palsied limbs re- fused longer to bear the burden of even his emaciated body. He was 'almost a disembodied spirit. There was left to him his indomitable 

will which seemed to refuse submission to the dominion of death. 

Sensible of his danger, and sensitive of his honor-the best legacy he 

had to bequeath to wife and child-yet conscious of his utter helplessness and dependence, he felt the breath of political intrigue and 

slander amid the very ice of death gathering on his face. 

"How living and how deep the wound" of such assault! 

Like a giant pricked and thrust by the barbed arrows of pigmies, 

he writhed, not afraid to die, but era ving only to live to see the hour 

of his vindication. That hour came even though the messenger of 

death waited without. 

With my good friend, the honorable member from Kentucky, [.Mr. 

BLACKBURN,] I called at his sick chamber to express my sympathy and 

offer my congratulations. It was our last interview. His eyes, in 

which the fues of genius yet gleamed as if inextinguishable, spoke 

the emotions of a heart too full for utterance. The long, earnest pres- sure of the hand once so warm, but now almost cold with the touch 

of death, I shall never forget. 

We, young and ardent, filled to overflowing with indignation at the 

wretch who had attempted to swear away the good name of this man, as basely as the two men of Belial swore away the life of Naboth, suggested that he be prosecuted and punished for peijury. With voice 

broken with intervals of difficult respiration he said, "0, no; that 

poor creature is unworthy of my hate. To his conscience and God 

we'll leave him. I am in no condition for further excitement. I would 

not disturb the good feeling and harmony in the House over my unan- imous vindication by pursuing the matter into the courts." 

What an illustration that was of his staid judgment, his lofty spirit, 

and undisturbed equipoise I On his tomb could be fitly written, as a 

trlbnte to the quality of his mind, Mens aequa in ardui-s. His star 

of life sunk ere yet it had reached its full promiseSnatched all too early from that august fame 

That on t.he serene heights of silvered age 

Waited with laureled hands. 

But though life was sweet and luring, yet he so died that nothing in his life "became him like the leaving it." 

In the old State of Virgiuia, the home and resting-place of his 

great political mentor, Thomas J e:fferson, under the ceaseless vigils 

of wife and son and the benisons of the whole Republic, he passed 

to the land beyond the sea. 
. 

256 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-. HOUSE. DEOEMBER 16, 

Mr. CARR. Mr. Speaker, standing within the saddening shadows 

which have fallen npon th:is floor n·om the broa~ wings of the angel 

of Death, who has so recently and so unwelcomely hovered over this 

' stately Hall, and amid the flood of silent sorrows which pour in upon us on this mournful occasion, it is with great depression of spirits 

that I essay a discharge of the solemn duty I, in common with you all, • owe the distinguished dead whose last funeral rites we perform to-day; 

but corning into this Hall as I do to fill the seat upon this floor made 

vacant by his untimely death, and from the large constituency which 

have so often loved to honor him while living, and who revere his 

memory when dead, it were eminently proper that I, in my own behalf and for them, should add my assent to and express our approval 

of the many eloquent but truthful eulogies that have been placed, 

like fragrant immortelles, upon the casket of his glorious memory. 

For the first time in the history of our Government has the organization of the House of Representatives been disturbed and its mem- bers saddened by the death of its presiding officer. Though often, far 

too often, the cold hand of that ever-unwelcome visitor has been laid 

upon the prominent of its honored members, for the first time has he 

stalked silently and remorselessly across this :floor, ascended to that 

exalted chair, and stricken with his chilling and killing blow the head 

of this great national council; and this fact should give a more serious 

current to our train of thought on this unusual occasion. 

1\IICHAEL C. KERR was a native of Titusville, Pennsylvania, where 

he was born on the 15th of March, 1827. His parents were people in 

moderate circumstances, and of that old, sturdy Pennsylvania stock, 

whose children may be found scattered in every section of the coun- try, giving life and vitality to every department of human enterprise. 

He wa chiefly self-educated, but studied at the Erie Academy, whence 

he was graduated at the age of eighteen. During his attendance at the 

academy,Mr. KERR became attached to Miss Coover, and immediately 

after his graduation married her. By teaching school :Mr. KERR earned 

themeanstodefray his expenses at the Louisville University, where he 

received the degree of bachelor of laws in 1851. In 1852 he removed to 

New Albany,Inrliana, and began the practice of law. Heearlydeveloped those traits of character which have since made him an enduring name among his countrymen. He was elected attorney of the city 

of his adoption, and in the performance of the duties intrusted to 

him he moat arduously devoted himself and attracted public attention 

to his abilities. At the end of one year's service he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county of Floyd, serving in that capacity 

but a single year, when, in 1856, he was nominated as a canrlidate 

for the Legislature, and in the October following was elected. It wa during this year that attention was first attracted to his powers as an orator. In 1862 he was elected reporter of the supreme court of 

Indiana, and while occupying the position he prepared five volumes 

of reports, which are regarded as the best of the ent4'e aeries issued 

from that court. 

The effectiveness of Mr. KERR on the hustings pointed to him as the 

leader of his party in the second congressional district of his adopted 

State, and on the 12th of ~ngllBt, 1864, the district congressional con- vention at Jeffersonville nominated him as the candidate of his party_ to represent the district in the Thirty-ninth Congress, and at the October election following he was elected by a large majority. Upon 

taking his seat in Congress he was assigned to two committees of the 

House-Private Land Claims and of Accounts-serving with faithfulness to the interests of the public. Again, in 1866, he was returned as a member of the Fortieth Congress, and served on the Committees 

of Elections, and Railways and Canals. In 1868 his constituents re- turned him as a member of the Forty-first Congress, in which he 

served as a member of the Civil Service Committee, and it was during this session that he first assumed a prominence among his colleagues. In 1870 the people of tpe second district declared him their 

choice, and he was elected by the usual majority. Upon takin~ his 

seat in the Forty-second Congress he was placed upon the Comnnttee 

of Ways and Means. During the two following, as in the preceding 

two years, he was frequently heard upon the :floor of Congress in the 

advocacy of sound and statesmanlike views upon the subjects of the 

currency and taxation, and in opposition to every species of monopoly. 

In 1872 Mr. KERR refused to enter the canvass for the nomination 

in his district. But at the meeting of the State convention he con- sented to accept the nomination for Congressman at large, but was defeated by Ron. Godlove S. Orth, by a majority of only 126 votes in 

the entire vote of the State ; but he was only two years out of the 

House, coming in again by a great majority in 1875, when, as all the 

country remembers, he was chosen to preside over the deliberations 

of the body of which he was conspictwusly and confessedly one of the 

ablest members. 

MICHAEL CRAWFORD KERR was no ordinary man, but one formed 

by his Creator to fill an important mission in the stirring events of his 

stewardship here, and to this end he was endowed with clear conceptions, sound judgment, and a will to dare and do that which his con- victions conceived to be right. But these convictions were never hastily nor recklessly formed. In the investigation of a subject brought 

before him for action, calmness and deliberation we1·e always invoked, 

and when thus a conclusion was reached no sophistry, no mercenary motives, no sinister influences could suffice to move or sway him; but 

there, like the coast-rock beating backward the surging waves of 

ocean, he stood, fixed and immovable; and if overpowered by superior forces, like the sturdy oak whose head iB bowed by the hurtling 

tempest, when the storm had pas ed he stood erect again, conscious 

of the correctness of his views. In that warfare which is ever being 

waged between the principles of right on the one hand and the errors of wrong on the other, he always stood the unyielding and aggressive 

champion of honor and rectitude, armed with a falchion whose very 

brightness dazzled and subdued. Nor did he wait to st1·ike until the 

command for the reserve t.o a~vance was passed to the rea1· of the 

grand army of noble intellects; but, spurred on by high impulses and 

nerved by exalted instincts, he stood in the foremost ranks with his armor ever on and his trenchant blade drawn from the scabbard. 

Though weak in physical powers * * * His mind 

Was formed to combat with his kind. 

Strona in his will, and of a mood 

Which ·~ainst the world in war had stood 

And penshed in the foremost rank 

With joy. 

It is not strange, therefore, that such a nature scorned to be led, but was proud to lead where honor and duty blazed the way. It was this 

which restrained him from yielding to the mistaken fancies or erring 

clamor of the masses. He was not 

* * * That soul 

Which creeps and winds beneath the mob's control; 

That courts the rabble's smile, the rabble's nod, 

And makes, like Egypt, every beast its god. 

When public sentiment was right he was foremost among its advocates, but when wrong, like another Socrates, he braced himself man- fully against the erring :flood. In this he w::tS truly a great man. The 

world hath need of all such noble natures which God hath bles edit 

with, and the loss of his self-sa,crificing patriotism, his ex:alte<.l precepts, and his noble example is irrepa1·able. When he fell the ranks 

of the gallant few with whom he fought and kept the faith lo t a power they could illy spare, and where he fell there was left a va- cancy in the ranks which all our prayers and tears for the regretted 

dead can never fill. . To this strong characteristic must be added the no less commendable trait of character which everywhere and at all times stamp him as a man pre-eminently honest and pure. De cended from an ancient 

Highland Scottish clan whose name he bore, he seemed to have inherited largely that sturdy, honest, and incorruptible nature which so distinguished the Wallace, the Dougla s, the Bruce, and the Roderick 

Dhu of those better days. This attribute so· in wrapped him like a robe as to shield him from the advances of the mercenary and corrupt. So 

strong, so marked was th:is phase of character that in a long and active 

public life, in which the bitter animo ities of rivals and political adversaries were often excited, but once was an a sault ever made upon 

it, and then the shafts aimed by envy and propelled by base design 

fell harmless at his feet, covering his accusers with confusion and 

shame. The attempt was as harmless as the casting of a toy-dart at 

the Colossus of Rhodes, and as futile as au attempt to darken the heav- ens with a miniature cloud of dust. The investigation, like the testing ordeal for the purer metals, left him the brighter for the friction 

and the more universally appreciated for the sear of national approval 

which it stamped upon h:is immortal memory. To lose a public man with two such rare and desirable traits of character in times like the e, 

when the fibers of our free institutions seem ready to burst asunder n·om the increasing strain produced by the degenerating tendencies 

of the age, adds a patriotic poignancy to our g~ief and an intensified 

depth to the shadows of a nation's sorrows, w.llich shall be lifted onlv 

when the sunlight of better days shall dispel the dangers which brooa over us like the menacing hand of a Nemesis. 

Bringing into his public life and places of trust such Spartan virtues, it is not surprising that he so rapidly ascended from the lowe t 

to the highest plane of prominence, and commanded at all times re- newed and increasing confidence, admiration, and preferment, until, 

caught up in the ready arms of an approving nation, he was seated in 

that exalted chair, once occupied by America's greatest and most distinguished statesmen: Trumbull, Macon, Dayton, Clay, and Polk-a 

place second only, to the highest honor and most precious gift in the 

power of this Republic to bestow. Here, while in that proud position, 

presiding over the councils of a great people, shaping the legislation 

of amightynation, in the :flood-tide of his prosperity and usefulne s, it 

pleased the mighty God who holds alike the destinies of nations and 

individuals in his omnicient hand to remove him from the fieid of 

his labor and place his ashes in that sacred urn, among that con tellation of statesmen whose names are inscribed in characters of never- fading li~ht upon the tablets of our history. It was a sad bereave- ment to nis affiicted friends ; it was a national misfortune, but we bow in meek submission to the decrees of that superior and divine 

wisdom which "doeth all thinO'S well." · It is not for me to extol the labors of the deceased while a member 

and officer of this House. That task were more fitly tlone and has 

been more ably performed by those of his eloquent colleagues who 

have preceded me, and whose. encomiums I shall bear with me to the 

bosom of his immediate constituency with a just pride and satisfaction. To be assured that throughout all his congressional career, and 

much of it embracing the darkest hours of this Republic, he occupied the high grounds of statesmanship and never for once descended to 

the level of the mere politician i that his utterances were ever for the 

needs of the whole country ana were never circumscribed by the demands of mere party; that his efforts were ever for the great good of 
• 

1876. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE. 257 

the many and lleYer to their exclusion, in the interests of the few, 

confirms the conceptions formed of him at home and makes universal 

the picture engraven upon the hearts of his own people. 

W bile the deceased stood thus distinguished from the masses of men in his public life, in his private virtues he was pre-eminently a roan- the highest and best type of man. While many of the most celebrated characters of history have had their glories dimmed with re- flections from dark spots upon their private lives, Mr. KERR was wholly free from any !Veat private fault whose presence detracted 

from the public esteem m which he was held. He was temperate aud 

sober, honest and upright, frugal and charitable, generous and just, 

conscientious and a Christian, a warm friend, a constant husband, and an affectionate father. He had his likes and dislikes1 bnt they were distrilmted by reason and controlled by causes. He had his partialities and his prejudices, but they were never wholly without foundation. He had his peculiarities, but they never approached distasteful eccentricities, and with all the details of ·character the aggregated 

whole rendered him a desirable neighbor, a useful citizen, and an es- teemed man. · We have inadvertently pronounced him dead. True we have. placed 

his mortal remains in the tomb of his fathers and his ashes are mingling with the dust from which they arose, but he is not dead. Such men never die. There has been a change, yet it bas been one in which 

but the grossness of earth-life has been swept away, leaving only 

the intellectual, the spiritual, and therefore the higher and purer life, 

to commune with us, t-each us, and lead us onwa.rd and upward. He 

lives in his work and example; nor will they die wholly until in the 

dim distance of future time the obliterating waves of oblivion shall 

submerge all that has been and now is, and the dark funeral pall 

shall be thrown over all the glories of the past and greatness of the 

present. 

A.s a proper closing of these solemn ceremonies, I now offer the 

following reRolutions, and move their adoption: 

Resolved, Tbat the sad announcement of tbe deat.h of MICHAEL C. KERR, late 

member from the State of Indiana, and Speaker of this Honse, is received by us in 

the deepest sorrow and profoundest re!ITet, and that in his untimely decease the 

llouse of Representatives of the Unitea States has lost an impartial, competent, and noble presiding officer, a faithful and patriotic member. . JleRolved, That in testimony of our respect for the memory of tho deceased 

Speaker, his chair be draped in mourning during the unfinished term of tho Forty. fourth Congress, and as a further evidence of o'ur continuing esteem for the dead, 

the officers and members of this House will wear the usual badge of mourning for 

tho sp:wo of thirty days. . .Resolved, That the Senate be informed of the death of the lat.o Speaker by forwarding to that body a copy of these resolutions, and tba.t the Clerk transmit a. copy of tho samo to the affiicted family of the illustrious dead. 

Resolved, That, as a further tribut-e of respect to tho departed officer, this House 

do now adjourn. 

'fhe question being taken on the resolutions, they were unaninlously 

adopted; and accordingly (at three o'clock and forty-five minutes p. 

m,) the House adjourned. 

PETITIONS. 

The following petitions were presented at the Clerk's desk under 

the rule, and referred as stated: 

By Mr. FELTON: The petition of 60 citizens of Polk and Haralson 

Counties, Georgia, for~ post-route from Rock Mart, Polk County, to 

Buchanan, via Tallapoosa copper mines in Haralson County, Georgia, 

to the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads. 

By Mr. RIPDLE: The petition of J.D., Bond & Brother, of David- son County, Tennessee, to be refunded $171.75 taxes ille~ally collected from them, to the Committee of Claims. 

By Mr. SHEAKLEY: The petition of William Spillon, late a private in Company A, Fourteenth Regiment New York Cavalry, for a pension, to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. 

IN SENATE. 

MONDAY, December 18, 1876. 

Prayer by the. Chaplain, Rev. BYRON SuNDERLAND, D. D. 

The J ourna:I of the proceedings of Friday last was read and ap- proved. 

PETITIONS AND l'I'IEMORIALS. 

Mr. CAMERON, of Pennsylvania, presented the petition of Job H. 

Jackson, Joseph G. Moore, and other citizens of Pennsylvania, praying for prohibitory legislation for the District of Columbia and the 

Territ.ories; the proh1bition of the foreign importation of alcoholic 

liquors; that total abstinence be made a condition of the civil, military, and naval service; and for a constitutional amendment to prohiiJit the traffic in alcoholic beverages throughout the national domain; which was referred to the Committee on Finance. 

He also presented the petition of William A. H. Allen, passed assistant cngi~eer United States Navy, praying to be allowed the increased 

pay of his grade from the date at which he completed his term of sea service aa required by law in his previous grade; which was referred 

to the Committee on Naval Affairs. 

Mr. DAWES presented the petition of the Methodist Episcopal church of Natick, :Massachusetts, signed by its pastor a"nd other offiV-17 

cera, praying for prohibitory legislation for the District of Columbia 

and the Territories; the prohibition of the foreign importation of alcoholic liquors; that total abstinence be made a condition of the civil, 

military, aud naval service; and for a constitutional amendment to 

prohibit the traffic in alcoholic beverages throughout the national domain; which was-refened to the.Committee on Finance. 

Mr. CRAGIN presented the petition of the Grand Lodge of the Good 

Templars of the State of New Hampshire, officially signed, representing 1,200 members, praying for prohibitory legislation for the District 

of Columbia and the Territories; the prohibition of the foreign importation of alcoholic liquors; that total abstinence be made a condition of the civil, military and naval service; and for a constitutional 

amendment to prohibit the traffic in alcoholic beverages thronghout 

the national domain; which was referred to the Committee on Finance. 

Mr. BOUTWELL presented the memorial of Messrs. Howes and 

Crowell, and 38 others, merchants and importers of Boston, Ma-ssachusetts, in favor of action upon the bill (H. R. No. 2685) for the distribution of the unappropriated moneys of the Geneva award; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. 

:Mr. BAYARD. I have received the petitions of certain Sons of Temperance, sent to me through A.M. Powell, of\Vashington, District of 

Columbia, to bo presented, praying that the National Government 

shall take cognizance of the trade in alcoholic liquor. I move the 

reference of the petitions to the Committee on Fina,uce. The motion was agreed to. 

REPORTS OF COMl\fiTTEES. 

Mr. CRAGIN, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. No. 152) relating to the promotion of commodores on the retired list of the Navy, reported it adversely, and. moved its 

indefinite postponement, a House bill of similar import having passecl 

at the la.at session of Congress ; and the motion was agreed to. 

He also, from the same committee, to whom was referred the bill 

(S. No. 771) regulating the accountability for clothing and other 

property in the Quartermaster's Department of the United States 

Marine Corps, reported adversely thereo~; and the bill wa.s postponed 

indefinitely. 

CONTESTED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. 

Mr. WRIGHT, agreeably to notice, introduced a bill (S. No. 10&2) 

to establish a court for the trial of contested elections in the offices 

of President and Vice-President of the United States; which was read twice by its title. 

Mr. WRIGHT. Mr. President, I shall not ask at this time a refer- ence of the bill. I have drawn it, I may be allowed to say, without 

consultation with any person. It embodies my views touching legislation as indicated by the title just read by the Secretary. I am not , so committed to its terms nor so wedded to its plans but that I shall 

be very cheerful indeed to receive any suggestions from others looking to its perfection. I at all times mistrust my judgment upon any 

matter and the correctness of my action, and I especially do so upon a question of this magnitude and this gravity. 

I may be allowed to say that I do not share the feelings of many who 

imagine that troubles and dangers arein advance of us. I have con- fidence that these feared troubles will vanish as we approach them. 

There may be threats and there may be turbulence, but in my judgment the Constitution and the law of the land will ride supreme over all of them. My confidence is in the practical common sense and 

patriotism of the people of this country. We have in this country 

almost a traditional love of peaceful political methods. 'Ve have in 

this country a traditional hatred of everything like license and violence. My confidence is that this traditional love of patriotic, peaceful methods, legal methods, and this hatred of vices and violence, will 

triumph. 

The bill that I have introduced is in thf!ldirectionindicated. It looks 

to a tribunal to settle the question a-s between contestants after the 

vote shall b~ declared. I belivewe have the power to thus legislate, 

and I believe that ala w can be pa.ased which will meet the great emer- gency. 

I a-sk that the bill whichihave introduced may lie on the table for 

the present, and shall ask that it be referred either to a select com- mittee, if such shall be raised, or to such other committee as I may 

indicate. I desire to say also that if a recess should take place I shall 

embrace the earliest opportunity after the convening of the Senate to 

present some views in favor of this measure. If no recess shall take 

place I shall probably ask the Senate to hear me some time next week. 

Several SENATORS. Let the bill be printed. · The PRESIDENT pro temp01·e. rhe bill will lie on the table and be 

printed. 

BILLS INTRODUCED. 

Mr. CHAFFEE asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, leave 

to introduce a bill (S. No. 1083) to amend an act entitled "A.n ·act 

granting the right of way thron7:h the public lands to the Denver and 

Rio Grande Railway Company,' approved June 8, 1872; which was read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Railroads, and 

ordered to be printed. 

Mr. WINDOM asked, and by unanimous consent obtained, lea.\e to 

introduce a bill (S. No. 1084) for the relief of John N. Hall; which was read twic~ by its title, referred to the Committee on Finance, and 

ordered to be printed.