The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-08-18

Among ms college mates were Franklin Fierce,
now President of the United States, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, the biographer of the Nations
Chief and consul at Liverpool and Jonathan
Cilley-"poor Cllley :" as every reader CONVEX
SAINT with his sacrifice to the senseless and bar
barous duello while a member Of Congress,
will instinctively and sadly exclaim He
studied law ct Rochester and Dover in his ma
tive State, finishing his studies at the latter
place, in the Office Of Daniel NJ Christie, who,
if not the very ablest is certainly among the
ablest lawyers Of his State Young Hale soon
found himself in large and agreeable prsc.
tice, the more welcome because affording him
frequent opportunities for the display of de-
gree Of power before juries in criminal trials
which showed itself in the progress of the cele
brated Government cases in Boston, known as
the "Shadrach trials, +" to be of rare attainment
But he was not less successful in the depart
ment of civil law, especially when before the
jury where his remarkable keenness in dis
corning the points at issue and his adroitness
and promptitude in meeting them, Of which
We shall remark further in another connec-
ton, were early displayed to great advantage.
Among those with whom he occasionally met,
either as associstes or opponents, was Mr..
Pierce, who also has enjoyed "a fine reputation
MIR. Hale entered political life in 1892 as q
member of the New Hampshire House of Rep
resentatives. He was called into il by an indie
pendent Workingmen's movement an incident
which may be regarded as q presage of his fu.
ture services in the same direction, for his Con-
gressional speeches and votes will clearly ind-
cate that his fellow citizens did not mistake
their man in choosing him as the champion of
hair ta1 ,x,4a h. he
was selected as a member of the nominating
State Convention of the Democratic party, and
| thenceforward he became distinctively identi-
| ned with their organization. In 1884, though
only twenty-eight years Of age, he had already
attracted the attention of the then President
| General Jackson, in a way which induced his
appointment to the responsible poeition of u
| 5. District Attorney for New Hampshire. The
ever remarkable personal insight Of President
Jackson, in the selection, was fully justified in
the re-appointment of Mr.. Hale by President
Van Buren,
We find him again in Legislative life in SAB
| as the successful Democratic nominee to Con.
gress. He was elected by general ticket, and
| with him were returned Edmund Burke, since
Commissioner of Patents, Moses Norris, now a
Senator in Congress, and John R. Redding, re-
Gently appointed by President Pierce naval
storekeeper at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
II was during this Congress which commenced
its first session in December, lS43 that the
Texas struggle" commenced. Although this
presented an important crisis in the life of our
subject and fearful one one also in that Of
our great nation, and history of it would not
| be inappropriate here, we do not design to
| trouble the readers of the Physiological Jour.
nal with any detail of Mr.. Hale's acts in con.
| nection with it. Suffice it to say, that he ar
rayed himself among the opponents of Annex.
alton, as he had among the friends Of the free
dom Of petition, led by John Quincy Adams !;
and, in so doing, he placed himself in direct
antagonism to all his colleagues Liable AZ
he was to be misunderstood which is much
| more unfortunate generally than being misrep-
| resented, he Immediately addressed letter to
his constituents. In this he not only explain.
cd his own motives, but condemned, 10 effect
his own party, by denouncing the whole pro
ject as, in his opinion, "a scheme for strength
eung slavery by extending it into territory
from which it had been excluded by Mexican
laws" The language he used, and it's tone
were characteristic of the man, telling his con
stituents, al he did, in plain and unmistakabl
terms, that, if they wanted an agent to favo
the scheme, they would have to select som
other man. As consequence of this boil
step by MIR. Hale, Mr.. Pierce as Chairman
; Of the Democratic State Central Committee
called Convention of his party. The Con
venton met in February, 1S45, and passed re
solves denunciatory Of their "recreant rep
resentstive," as they depicted him. They re
considered his nomination for reelection, (prc.
viously made with unanimity) nominating
John Woodbury. in his stead. The eectora
rule in New Hampshire, at that time, required
a majority of oil the votes to elect Mr.. Hal,
ran as an independent Congressional candidate
with Wing candidate also in the field. Al
that, and three subsequent and successive
elections, there was no choice of Congressman
leaving the district unrepresented for whole
term, as the consequences At each trial biz
vote showed an increase of those who stood
| by him in his anti-annexation attitude. IL may
here be mentioned, as showing how the mar
was estimated Dat home" that il, in his owr
immediate town, his vote, which started there
at 473 in i843, remained at 472, only one less
in ls45, although an additional candidate was
thrown into the arena by tho Liberty party
in the person of the Hon Joseph Cilley, since
| member of the u s Senate. In 1876 he
was chosen member of the New Hampshire
House Of Representatives from Dover, and at
| once made Speaker Of that body. And then,
| and further, as if not satisfied with the clear
and emphatic approval of his immediate con-
stituents, signifed through the ballot-box, his
co-legisators transferred him from the Speak
ers chair Of their body to the floor Of the u. s,
Senate for six years term, dating from
March 4th, 1S47. On entering the Senate
Chamber, he found himself in the official com.
pany of no less than four members of that
body, who had boon pupils of the ancient acsd.
envy alluded TO above-viz Lewis Cas-, Daniel
Webster, Alpheus Felch, and J. A. Dix. Its vene.
rable principal, Dr. Abbott, used 10 say, with
evident sefsatisfaction, in connection with
this fact that he had five boys in the Senate,
and pretty good boys, too" 1t will be an illus
tration Of the personal qualities Of the actor
on the political stage, whom we have thus
glancingly followed through shifting scenes, to
state In the present connection, that at no one
point Of his career did the interest Of his legal
preceptor and friend, Mr. Christie, fail to mani
fest itself Having fostered him in the initia-
tive period Of his public history, as one who
was fully persuaded Of the rare value Of his
young charge, it was with unfeigned pleasure,
and sort Of co-partnership interest which
adverse circumstances had tended to intensity
rather than to relax, that he found himself, "a
follow-member, in opposition, where he could
render special service TO his quondam student
He was, accordingly, prompt to enter into and
promote the elevation Of Mr. Halo first TO the
Speakersbip Of the local Legislature, and next
TO the higher snd wider sphere in which our
sketch has just left him pinnacled 30 triumph.
antIy, under circumstances we'll calculated 10
make him realize emotions similar TO those
which the laurel crown awakened 10 Roman
bosoms under analogous circumstances This,
Of course, we have allowed ourselves TO throw
10, without regard 10 the right or the wrong Of
the attitudes which tho victor assumed, or the
purity or impurity Of the motives which nerved
him.
SO much for the legislatorial biography Of
Mr.. Hale, which closes with the termination
Of his Senatorial term on the Sd day Of March,
- a. II l. Al g.