Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-10-15

Grafton Of Col E. ID Baker, OF san Fran-
cisco, over the Dead Body of senator Brod-
cttch.
CrrzENs or OALrFoRNA - A Senator lies dead
in our mijstl He wrapped IN bloody shrOud
and We, to whom his tolls and cares were given,
are about 60 bear him 20 the place appointed
for al the living. II is not fit that such man
should pass 10 the tomb, unheraldcdi It is not
fl that such life should steal unoticed to its
eloee; il is not Gt that such death should call
forth no rebuke. or be surrounded by no public
limentation. 1t is this conviction which impels
the gathering of this asscmbarc. We are here
Of every station aud pursuit every creed and
character, each in bis capacity of citizen to
swell the mOurniul tribute which the majesty
/ of the eople offers to the unreplying dead. -
| lie lies to day surrounded by little Of funeral
pomp. No banners drnop above the bier, no
melanohol music floats upon the reluctant air.
The hopes of high-hcatted friends droop Ike
fading flowers upon his breast and the strug'
Cling sigh cOmpels the tear in eyts that seldom
weep. Around him are those who have known
him best aud loved him longest who have
share the triumph and endured tho defeat 80
/ Near him are tue gsavest and noblest Of the
State, possessed by grief at once earnest aud
sincere; while beyond, the masses Of the peo-
pie that he loved, and for whom his life was
| given, gather like a thunder cloud Of swelling
/ -
and indignant gricl.
J In such presence, fellow citizens, let us
, liuger for a moment at the portals OF the tomo,
whose shadowy arches vibrate to the public
heart, to speak few words of the man, OF his
life, and OF his death. ..
MIR. Brodericl was born in the District oil 20
lumbia in 1919; he was of Irish descent and OF
obscure aud respectable parentage; he had llt'
tie Of early advantages, and never summoned TO
b; anil huI-bpu pduCat1Ou.--
His boyhood, as indeed his early manhood, was
passed in the city of New York, and the loss Of
his father, carly stimulated him to the efforts
which maintained his surviving mother and
brother and served also to fix and form his
character even in his boy hood. Ills love i'r
his mother was his first and most distinctive
trait of character and when his brother died an
early and sudden death, the shock gave serl~
Gus and reflective cast To his habits ana MS
thoughts, which marked them TO the the last
hour OF his life He was always filled with
pride, and energy, and ambitions his pride wGs
in the manliucss and lo'ce Of his character,
and no man had more reason. His energy was
manifest in the most resolute struggles with
proyerty aud obscurity, and his ambition impel.
led him to seek a foremost place in the great
race to honorable power.
Up to the time ofhs arrival in California his
life had been passed amid events incident to
such a character Fearless. self reliant, open
in his enmilies, warm in his friendships, wed
ded to his opinions, and marching directly to
his purpose through and over all opposition, hls
career was choquered with success and defeat.
But even in defeat his energies were strength
ened aud his character developed. When he
reached these shores, his keen observation
taught him at once that he trod broad field,
aud that higher care er was before him. He
had no false pride-sprung from people and
of race whose vocation was labor, he tulled
with his own hands, and sprang at a bound
from the work shop to the Legislative hall From
that hour there congregated around him and
against him the clements of success and defeat.
Strong friendships, bitter enmities, high pr5ise,
malignant caumnies, but he trod with free and
a proud step that onward path which has led
him to glory and the grave.
1t would be idle for me- in this hour, and in
this place, to speak of all that history wi h un-
mitigated praise it will be idle for his enemies
hereafter to deny his claim to noble vir tues and
| high purposes. When in the Legislature he
boldly denounced the special legislation, which
Is the C urse Of new country, aud he prove dhls
courage and his rectitude. When he opposed
the various and sometimes successful schemes
t. strike out the salutary provisions OF the Con
stltutOn which guarded free labor, he was true
to all the better instincts of his life. When
prompted by his ambition and the admiration OF
his friends he first sought seat in the Senate
OF the United States, he sought the highest of
all positions of legitimate effort and failed with
honor.
1t is my duty to say that, in my judgment,
when at a later period he sought TO anticipate
the Senatorial election, he committed an error
which think he lived to regret 1t would
have been a violation of the true principles Of
representative government, which no reason,
public or private, could justify, aud could never
have met the permanent approval OF good and
wise men, Yet, while | say this over his bier
let me remind you of the temptation to such an
error-ofthe plans and reasons which prompted
it--ofthe many good purposes it was intended
10 effect And if ambition, "the last infrmIty
ofnoble minds" led him for moment from the
better path, let me remind you how nObly hG
reganed it,
1t is impossible to speak, within the limits OF
this address, of the events of that session of the
Legislature at which he was elected to the Sen
ate oftho United States; but some things should
not he passed in silence here The contest be
tween himself aud the present Senator had been
bitter and personal lie had trumphed. lie
had been wonderfully sustained his friends
and stood conf ssedly "the first in honor and
tho first in place" lie yielded to an appoa
made to his magnanmty by his foe. If he judd
ed unwisely, he has paid tho forfeit well -
Never in the history of political warfare has any
public man been so pursued-neye er has mIlign
lty so exhausted itself.
Fellow citizens, the man that lies before you
was YOUR Senator. From the moment of hIt
election his character had been magned, hi,
motives attacked his coural impeachCd, his
patriotism assailed. 1thas been a system tend
ing TO one end And the end is here. What
was his crimel~ Review his history -considei
l.. ia tn ,I,. ,f,,.
and, before the grave encoses him forever, Judge
between him aud his enem es.
As man t. be judged in his private relations
who was his superiorl 1t was his boast, and
amid the general license of new country, il
was a proud one, that his most scrutiniznl
enemy could fix no single act of immortality
upon him. Temperate, decorous, self restrain
ed, he had passed through all the excitements
of California unstained. No man could charge
him with broken faith or violated trust. o
, habits simple and inexpensive, he had no lust o
gain. lie over reached no mans weakness il
a bargain, and withheld no mau his Just dues.
Never in the history OF the State has there beer
a citizen who has borne public relations more
stainless in all respects than he.
, But it is not by this standard that he is to b'
judged. lie was public man, and his memorl
demands Il public judgment What was hi
public crimel The answer is in his own words
"THEY HAVE KILLED NE BECAUSE WAS OPPOSED
TO THE EXTENSION OF SLAVERY AND CORRUPT
ADMINISTRATION" Fellow citizens. they are
remarkable words, uttered at a very remarka
bic moment; they involve the history Of his
; Senatorial career, and OF its sad and bloody
termination.
, When Mr. Broderick entered the. Senate, he
, had been elected at the beginning OF Presiden
al term as a friend ofthe President elect, hav
G ing undoubtedly been one of his most infiuentia