The North-Carolinian., 1854-01-28
1 Information DOLLlRg IN ADVANc


1ISsnAPnisAl sKRrcn.
-
of al the distingq S men of South Caro-
IN. there was no9 9uofc gifted than George
McDnffc. He w1k gtar of the frat mapn;-
Htude. Honest and siacere in all his ssctionsoa
profouud jurlSt---n statesman of the largest cx-5
perIeace he represented his State for many years
in the national councils with devotion that
endcared him to his constituents, and . ft,llncss
Of knowledge, thet placed hitI N the FIRST rank
|of legislators. His speeches, and his reports as
Chairman Of the e. 1snittee Of Ways and means.
not only estAkle I'd his reputation in America.
but in Eur6 ! he was hailed as the champion Of
free trade, and complimented by the statesmen
of England as one of the master spirits of the
age. His life, If written by . competent h1naa
would make . very 5Aterestin1 bioRsaphy. =
would exhibit q poor boy in the humble walks
of life, cnvironcd with difficulties, yet surmount-
ing those difficulties with iron will, that ulti-
mately elevated him to position that command
ed the profound respect and admiration of his
contemporaries. His career in Congress is too
generally known for to do more than give it
passing glance; and such was the estimation
in which he was held by General jackson that
notwithstanding the violence of the notification
controversy, the old President uniformly cx-
pressed the most aqectionatc regard for Nc
Dufie, saying repeatedly that if there was an
honest man alive, that man was George Nc
Duffie He was undoubtedly one of the most
intellectual men of the age; his mind was emf
nently logical and you shall try in vain to find
flaw in his arguments One might have differ
ed with him in the principles he expressed but to
grant his premises was to concede the argument.
His contests with Webster leave no doubt as to
the splendor of his intellect; his report the
United States Bank, was the ablest argument
ever made on that side of the question; and his
speeches on internal improvements, the tariff,
the removal of the deposites, and on the expe-
diency of amending the constitution, are all
mastery, and seem to exhaust those subjects.
When he rose to speak, there was always q
deathlikc silence i'll the House-you might have
heard pin drop. His burning enthusiasm, the
sparkling of his splendid grey eye the emplat-
held you captive, and step by step he hurried
you along with him, from point to point, until
you were subdued by the fascinating fervor of
his transcendcnt genius. Nor was he deficient
in sarcasm; his speeches in reply to the attacks
of that miserable compound of vulgarity aud
mpndence, Trstram Burgess, abound in wit
and humor His comparing General Jackson
to Jupiter TOnans, in which Jupiter is represen-
ted as scizng the arms of all the Gods, WELD
ing the powers of the Pantheon and giving the
| stamp of Fate was one of the happiest lustra-
tions of executive spoliation that has ever been
ffAatsd RX Sn5 " crater Ct aRA age or nation
His seat in the convention was to the left of
| the president, and in the vicinity of Major
Hamilton, the revolutionary veteran. You
could have recognized McDuffie at glance.
He was of the medium height, and dressed in a
claret colored coat that was much too large for
him; but his intellectual face attracted you at
once, especially when his splendid eye fired
by the excitement of discussion. His hair was
black and cut with mathematical precision
straight from temple to temple, and smoothed
down so to display the shape of his head,
| which was large and admirably formed. But
alas! there is hectic flush upon his pale cheek
you perceive that he is daily dying from the
| immedcable wound he received in his youth.
His hands trembling violently. He is up !!
| but his voice is clear and calm, his cnunciation
distinct, and his manner emphatic Uttering a
bold proposition, he pauses, and his eagle eye
glances round the assembly. All is hushed.-
| You might hear your heart beat. But now he
dashes into the argument and you see a:i intel
lectual warrior before you, brandishing the ar
NOR of thruth, and welding the hand of justice
/ for liberty and the rights of man. He speaks
like one inspred-his thoughts, words, and ac
tions, are sublime-and when he pauses as if tc
make mighter effort, you feel like one entranc
ed, and gaze with wonder at the man whose
magic mind and eloquence have bound you cap
tive to his triumphal ear.
/ McDaflie rose rapidly from obscurty to emf
lncncc dividing the future, in the opinion o
many with MIR Calhoun, who the first t
recognize and to foster the fortunes of the OF
lphan boy. He stepped at once to the head {
the bar and until his election to Congress, Ii
had no competitor in South Carolina law
yer. His practice was very lucrative, and pei
haps no lawyer ever acquired SO large fortun
in so short time. In his marriage, too h
was fortunate, leading to the altar one of til
wealthiest beauties of the land-a daughter
, Colonel Richard Singleton.
In his manners, McDufie had tire simplicit
; of child. We shall relate an instance whic
is characteristic of the man. Your Mr. M,
Duf6e is very singular personv said youn
, lady to on one occasion. How soy-'Wh.
e was at the Springs, a few months sine
!, and learning that the great Mr. McDnffie wa
in the house, / went into the corridor to catch
= glimpse of him, when who should approach III
but the great man himself, saying Miss -
s have lost my hat; won't you help me to hun
: for it?' OF course you did?' Yes replied th
lady, .and found it! And his appearance, o.
ordinary occasions, anything but d'sttnsn
We shall relate an anecdote that occurred oni
J, a few days before his election as Governor
e the State We were standing by his side III tn
House of Representatives, when member iron
! Charleston, Major John Huger, approachc.
Il McDufie and said, Give me that chair; wIsl
4 for Colonel Warren Certainly, Sir, replied
McDuffie and handed the chair to Major Hugcr
who took it to old Colonel Warren, requestip;
him to relieve himself from the pain of support
ling himself on his crutch, for the old hero ha
lost a leg at the battle of Savannah A gentle
man-we think it was Pickens Butler, the pre-
sent Senator in Congress-who witnessed tn
joo,--onco drew Major Huger aside saving