Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-05-11
1i:prY.plprn CONGRESS- -ist res,ter.
sAruRpAr, MlY 8, lS's'

DECEASED Senator, relating the circumstances aI!end
ing the sudden death oil MIR. EE""s' "nu r'nS
sketch of his life. lie ssid that the arrows oil deh'h
baJ .,turad often of late among the nigh places oi
honor within bis own State. AT The conclusion Oh HIS
address hs offered The usual resolutions, requesting
the Senator's to wear Grape on the ieI Aih Ut ln"'S
days, and that the Senate attend ~ u"e al o
Mr. BENJAMIN followed 10 q strain OF eloquent en'"'
-, onJ rsf.rred IN the daaths OF Butler and Hamilton.
Mr.. Hale followed. saying that IL was NOT oiteh lHh'
be mingled his voice with those VINO uelVerea iune'
raj eulogies. Now, however, ne mus pay nig9 ~
hnts to Mr.. Evans, who had reminded him OF hls
;das, ~ a Roman Senator. Like a shock OF corn
fully ripe, he had been gathered from these scenes
and be sum- down to the grave full OF honors'
d" M Wilson followed. lie said his long associa'
fiona with the deceased in the committee room.
brought out those beautiful quan.es - ~ a ~.
character which ne coulu apP'e'"
in open Senate. -, cha ho,rf-.,
for the tuneral-2 o'clock. "
At two O'Clock the Senate was calleu poiueli anu
IN. President Of the United States ana us esolnet,
rho ;udpes of the Supreme Court ot the ohlted States,
n,.inbers of the House Of representatives, aud va.
rirus foreign ministers were received M! PROVIDED
with seats. The corpse WAS then brought I'd; ana al
for reading Of the Scriptures, an Impressive discourse
Gao nronoupced by Rev. DIR. Cuminins, pastor OF
Tr;nity Church, from Psul's Second Eplsile TO limo
INV 6rst chapter, and a part OF the ,ehth verse,
.Ghrist. who hath abolished death, ana nam Drought
life and immortality to light through tue uospeI.
AZ the conclusion Of the religious services 'he tune'
raj nroceeded to the place Of internlent, In coniorml-
~ with the programme prepared by inc committee OF
arrangements; and after the senators had returned te
tha;r Chamber, without transacting any business, the
' HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
IT.. uousa took a recess from II till | o'clock,
uhsn q message was received from the Senate an'
nouuciug the death Of Senator Evans OF south caro-
lima.
Mr.. Mcqueen delivered an appropriate eulogy on
= ...,at rnn nj fha haQEASAH- al.
ter which Mr. Bocock, at the request OF the South
Carolina delegation, bore his testimony to the virtues
of the honored dead.
Mr.. Bocock said: I rise to second the resolutions
which have just been offered, and TO bear my humble
testimony to the virtues and merits Of the honored
dead. | shall attempt no narration Of the particular
incidents in the life OF Judge Evans. That has already
been fully and ably done. ] shall speak OF his general
character, and Of some Of the Lessons which may be
deduced from his life and his death. | shall spesk OF
him in a spirit Of simplicity and sincerity; for such a
spirit best BELTS not only the sOlemnlty oil the occa'
siOp, but also the character OF the deceased. Ills
nature was free from extravaganza and excess. It's
elements were 30 evenly mixed up, and all were at
tempered with no iust and equsble a spirit, that the
contemplation of its outlines repels and reouKes every
disposition to exaggerailon.
am sure that | shall have the cordial assent OF
every man who knew him, when aay thai Julge
Evans WAS a good man. He had a just appreciation
of the obligations of Life. personal. social, ana pollti'
CHI, huu Ut SDuEl luiAuiuhy WV u''-"h'y """
charge them all; and this is the highest NEED OF
praise that can be bestowed on man. But no man IN
high position can be truly q good man without being
also To q considerable extent, a great man. FOR what
knowledge ID go important ~ a knowledge oi duly, ana
what achievement 90 worthy ~ its successful erior
mance1 Judge Evans's greatness was not the great
ness of excited effort, or Of snowy and striking action.
IL was the greatness Of doing well whatever clrcuIn
stances required at his hand. The calm dignity OF
conscious strength, a quick and a clear apprehension
Of right, u Judgment serene and unclouded amidst the
| most exciting events-these ara the leading sttri-
! butes of his character, these the solid elements OF his
| greatness. The thought has often struck me, how
ever fanciiul it may appear to others, that l dIscov'
| cred in his person a striking resemblance to the like
nesses which ] have seen OF one OF The greatest OF
the worthless of our early history-I allude to Benia.
min Franklin. However that may be, his character
WAS certainly fashioned after the sane Doric model.
| There WIS in both the same strong common sense,
| the same eminently practical turn oil mind, the came
! disposition to unobtrusive labor;the same comparative
| disregard OF external appearances and the mere con
ventionalities of life when in pursuit Of the real and
| the useful. And never was The great value of such
qualities, for SUCCESS in life, more fully illustrated and
clearly proven than in the case of Judge Evans.
Think, if you please, of u young man, OF 'npre
tending origin, of a very moderate share oi worldly
fortune, will no qualities to dazzle the world, or lead
captive the fancy of bis friends. Place him, then, III
a society where the constant cultivation OF high sen'
timents OF honor, Ct lineage, aud greatness have
| creRtHl q nAIlOUOl CtNhlltIs, WIN All tIS UilJ ePlN
| and chivalrous feeling of the days OF C~harlemasne'
| See him at first contending for a %fOotholdi then calmly
moving on amid the josting ihrong, and quietly
rising higher and higher in the scale of fortune and
of rank. See him first n successful lawyer, then Il
distinguished Judge, and finally behold him sitting
| amid the Senators of the Union, a joint representa-
| tive with one other of the sovereignty of his proud
| State, and the successor Of a Pinckney, a Hsyne, q
! McDufie, and a Calhoun. Behold this picture, and
! tell me il Won do not recognizes the presence of great
] would not be Understood rs intimating that Judge
Evans was not an accomplished speaker and an able
debater. lie apoke but seldom, II is true but in al
that he said there was a simplicity OF language, z
| clearness of statement, and sn unpretending force
of logic, that unerringly mark Il strong and vigoroni
mind. Those qualities he certainly had. But It wat
his striGt integrity of purpose, hs calm, unbiased
Judgment, and his strong common sense, that shont
most conspicuously as elensnts Of greatness in his
character. With all, he has left q fame oil which bis
| State may well be proud, which hs family aud
| frieud. may cherish with sacred affection, and
which mankind may emulate with profit.
As his life was, 90 il shall stand forever. His re-
| cord is made up; his account il closed, and now awaits
the impartial judgment Of his countrymen and Of pos.
terity. He himself is gone, and forever. He stands
now in an sssenolage more august than that OF seBa,
tore and cabinets, aud before q tribunal more just and
more certain in is decreee than the public opinion OF
CONTEMPORARIES or of ~posterity. And alas, how sud
den VIVA bis departure! In the morning he was en-
gagged in the quiet and faithful discharge Of his du'
ties in the afternoon he charmed the social circle
with the genial brightness of his friendly humor.-
in the evening q brief struggle with death, and
bis immortal spirit wings its flight upward from earth
forever.
Death snatched the casket, but the iswel is safe
from its grasp. This sudden demise of a member of
the Senate, 80 known, 80 honored, and soloved, brings
us, az it we're, face to face with death. We see its re
lentless hand stretched forth in our midst, we feel its
lev breath upon our cheek. Who lie ready to meet
its eucuunter7 If official position, or extensive use.
fulness, or great popularity would stay lts approach,
then Judge Evans would still live. 1t is well under.
stood, believe, that he intended, Mt the end OF his ex
isiing term of service in the Senate, to retire from
public life, and devote himself exclusively TO his pri-
vate affairs. and 10 a fuller preparation for that change
which, from his advanced age, he must have known
was not very far of.
But death would not stay it's hand. It preferred to
take him surrounded by all the trappings Of official
station, and at a time when he least expected the mp
proach. Who, then, determines TO be prepared for
death tomorrow How knows he that this day will
not cloae his career on earth!
Nothing could copaole for the suddennesso OF Judge
Evans' death but the excellence of his life. | have
said that he was q good man in the view that he in
quired into, and attempted to perform, all his oblga'
tons to hs fellow. man.
But l have reason to believe that, in a yet holier
and better sense, he was a good man, and that he IN
quired into. and attempted TO discharge his obliga-
tons TO his God alsO. IL this he true. then how i'm.
portsnt and valuable is the truth! Ills friends then,
may have hope in his death, and may cherisl me con
soling thought, that in this great change, what 10
them and the country ia a great loas ls TO him an ever
lasting gain.
Thus far have I spoken of the death Of Judge
Evans az an isolated circumstance.
desire now, as a Virginian, to consider 1t IN ano.
Their point of view. Within a few years Past, how
beautifully has devoted Carolina reaped OF the ''hsr-
vest of DEATH" Calhoun and Elmore and Butler
and Evans. of the Senate, all gone since J hrst enter
ed the halls Of Congress, and one also q member OF
the House, whose sudden and untimely death a gen.
erous people yet deeply mourn. ] allude to the Ia
meuted Brooks. These were the sons OF South Ca
rolina. Their first and highest allegiance was due to
her. But they were not all hers.
Their efforts were for tho good of every Southern
State, and for the advancement OF the entire country.
The whole civilized world ia filled with Their iabora.
We claim our share at least in this heritage OF Hr
row. And now while South Carolina add5 another to
the urns which she bears in her bosom, and bends
her head yet lower in grief, | claim in the name OF
her elder sister, Virginia, The bountitui mother Of
Stafos IN cyfunJ IN bar tbu hand Ot 6ymOatlV, and