Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-07-27

waose very presence III public assembly yTas
a call to order. In the daily routine of legisla-
tion he did not take an active part. He rather
summed clerical work, and consequently avoid
ee, as much as duty permitted, the labor
oi the committee room; but on every great cues
'ion that came up while he was member of
either house of Congress, he made great
speech; and when he had spoken there was very
nttle lelt for any one else to say on the same
sue oi the question. / remember on one occa
81 ln, after he had been defending ON broad mn.
ti"ilal grounds, the policy of aiT0rdiny a Inoder.
ate protection to our native industry, showing
that 1t was not merely a local but n national in.
tereSt, and seeking to establish this point hy n
great variety OF illustrations, equally novel and
ingenious, western member, who had hitherto
wh9liy dissented from this view Of the subject,
exclaimed that "he was fiS most ners,,asiye
speaker he had ever heard!"
but though abundantly able to have filed
prominent place among the distinguished active
statesmen OF the day, lie had little r5ndncsS G1y
poiiticai life, and no aptitude whatever TO- the
I""V-noor management; for the clcctioncerinp
icSerdemain; for the weariSome corrrSpon,l.,,co
Win local great men; and the heart breakinn
'trudgery otfranking cart loads Of speerI,cs mud
PuoHc documents to the four winds, which are
necessary at the present day to great success in
political career Still less adroit was he IN
| turning To some personal advantage whatever
loEic happens Tor the moment to attract uublic
a''eht'oh; nShinE With even freshly haited hook
III the tnrhiG waters Of an eplrneral pouulnritv
In reference to same nflhe arts hv which moliii.
cal advance Is sought and obtained, he once said
TO me, with that wGll-knOwn characteristic looL
I!I winch sadness and compassionate pleasantrv
we're about equally mingled: They did not do
such things III WashiugtOn'S day"
II ever there was truly diSintcrcSted patriot
SntuS Choate was that man. In his political
career there was no shade of srlljshnesS. Had
ne been willing to purchase advancement at Ih.
price often paid for it, there never wuS n mn.
| 'ncnt, from the time he first made himself fell
and known, that lie could not have commanded
anything which any party could bc$tuw. But
he desired none OF the rewards or h0nurs OF
success. On The contrary he, not only for his
| individual self, regarded uiEi &c asa hurden-au
obstacle III the way of cultivation Of his proi.s.
Slnnai and literary taSteS--but he held that of
necessity, and in consequence Of the strong ten.
'tency OF our parties to q sectional char
actei, conservative opiTiOuS, seeking Ia mode
rate between the extremes which a.ritate tin.
country. must of necessity hu in the minority.
that II was the ''IniSsun' q! .ncn who hold such
opinions, not to ill honorable aud lucrative
posts which are unav',i tahy nnnupolized t,v
active leaders, but to speak prudent words OF.
great occasions, which wnul,i command the re-
spect, 1t they did not enlist the syinp.thjes al
both the conflicting parties, aud inScnsihlv in-.
dnence the public mind. lie cOrnprehended
anu accepted the position; he knew that it was
nne liable to be misunderstood, and sure tn he
!Jusuled when the Interests aud passions of thu.
day are buried beneath the clods Of the valley
But this nSttacisin, to which his conservative
"PlnlHnS condemned him, produc.l not 81 shade
0 bitterness in his feelings His patriotism
was cheerful aS it was intense He rep.-rrd
our contcder#ted Republic, with its wonderful
adjustment of state aud federal orgnnizaliOn-
the states bearing the burden auCl descending to
the details of local administration, the general
government moulding the wliale into one general
nationality, and representing i; in the family OF
nations -HS the most wonderful phenomenon
IN the political history OF the world Too much
ot statesman to join the unrcAccting diSpar
agement with which other great iurils of uu.
tl"nal pohty are often spoken of in this country;
he yet considered the oldest, the wiSeSt aild
most successful Of them, the British COnstitu
t."n' as far less wonderful political system
than our contederated republic The territorial
extent of the country; the beautiful play into
each other OF its great coInmarCial, agricultural
and manufacturing interests; tie material pros
pcrltY, the advancement in arts and letters ami
manners already made; the capac;ty for further
hdcHnlte pr IgresS IN this vast theatre of action
IN which Providence has placed the Anglo
American race, stretchin- from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, from the Arctic circle to the troaics
were themes on which he dwclt as none but
he could dwell; and he believed that with pa
thence, with mutual torbeurauce, with willing
ness 10 thlhH that our brethren, however widely
we may differ from them, mag be as honest and
patriotic as ourselves, our common country
would eventually reach a height of prospesity
Of which the world as yet has seen no example.
With such gifts, such attantnents. aud such
a spirit, he placed himself as Il matter of course
not merely at tho head of the jursts an,l adyU.
Gates, but of the public speakers of the coun
try. After listening to him at the bar, in the
Senate, or upon the academic or popular plat.
form, You felt that you had heard the best that
could be said in either places That mastery
which he displayed at the forum aud in the de
Lucrative assembly WAS not less conspicuous in
every other form Of pnblic address As hap
pens in most cases of eminent iurists and
Statesmen, possessing brilliant imagination
and able to adOrn a severe course of reasoning
with the ch rms of glowing fancy or Il spark
ling style, it was sometimes said Of him, as it
WAS snitl before him of Burke and Erskine, of
Amcs and Pinkncy-that he was more of
rhetorician than logician, that he dealt in
words and figures of speech more than in facts
or arguments. These are the invidious com.
ments by which dull or pr"judiced men seek to
disparage those gifts which are furhcrest from
their own reach.
1t is, perhaps, by his discourscs on academi
cal and popular occasions that he is most extcn