The Nevada journal., 1859-09-30

ment, which no reason, public or pri
vate, could justify, and could never
have met the permanent approval of
good and wise men. Yet, while l
say this over his bier, let me remind
you Of the temptation to such an er-
ror of the plans and the reasons
which prompted it; of the many good
purposes it was intended to effect.
And if ambition, "the last infrmity of
noble minds" led him for a moment
from the better path. led me remind
you bow nob!y he regained 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 Senate
of the United States; but some things
should not be passed in silence here.
The contest between himself and the
present Senator had been bitter and
personal. He had triumphed. He
had been wonderfully sustained by
his friends, and stood confessedly
'the first in honor and the first IL
place." He yielded to an appeal
made to his magnanimity by his foe.
If he judged unwiselr, he has paid
the forfeit well. Never in the history
of political warfare has any public
man been so pursued; never has ma
lignity so exhausted itself
Fellow citizens, the man that lies
before you was your Senator. From
the moment of his election his char
acter has been maligned, his motives
attacked, his courage impeached, his
patriotism assailed, 1t has been a
system tending to one end. And the
end is here. What was his crime :
Review his history-consider his
public acts--weigh his private char
acter-and before the grave encloses
him forever, judge between him and
his enemies.
AS man to be judged in his pri-
vate relations, who was his superior ?
1t was his boast, and amid the gener-
al license of new country it was a
proud one, that his scrutinizing ene-
my could fix no single act of immo-
rality upon him. Temperate. deco
rous, self-restrained, he had passed
through ali the excitements of Cali
fornia unstained. Nc man could
charge him with broken faith or vio-
lated trust. Of habits simple and in
expensive, he had no lust of gain. He
overreached no mans weakness in a
bargain, and withheld no man Lis
just dues. Never in the history of
the State has there been citizen
who has borne pablo relations more
sainlessly in all respects than he.
But it is not by this standard that
he is to bejudged. He was public
man, and his memory demands pub
lie judgment. What was his public
crime ? The answer is in his own
words "I die because / ,cas opposed
TO a corrupt Administration. and the
ertension Of slarery." Fellow citi.
zcns, they are remarkable words, ut.
tered at very remarkable moment
they involved the history of his Sen.
atorial career, ard of its sad and
bloody termination.
} When Mr.. Broderick entered the
Senate. he had been elected at the
beginning of a Presidential term a;
a friend of the President elect, hav
ing undoubtedly been one of his mos
influential supporters. There were
unquestionably some things in the ex.
ercise of the appointing power which
he could have wished otherwise bu
he had every reason to remain will
! the Administration which could be
supposed to wei gh with a man i'll his
position. He had heartily maintain
ed the doctrine of Popular Sover,
eighty as set forth in the Cincinnati
Platform, and he never wavered il
its support till the day of his death.
But when, in his judgment, the Pres
: ident betrayed his obligations to the
party and the country; when. in the
whole series of acts in relation tt
: Kansas, he proved recreant to hi.
pledges and his Instructions wher
the whole power of the Administra'
r ton was brought to bear upon thc
legislative branch of the Government
in order to force slavery upon an un
willing people, then, in the high per
formancc of his duty as Senator, h,
rebuked the Administration by hi
voice and his vote, and stood by hii
principles. 1t is true. he adopted nj
halfway measures. He threw the
whole weight of his character into
the ranks of the opposition he en-
deavored to rouse the people to an in
dignant sense of the iniqnitous tyran
ny OF federal power, and. kindline
with the contest. became its ferces
and firmest opponent. Fellow-citi
zens, whatever may have been YOU
political predictions, it is impossible
to repress your admiration as you re,
view the conduct of the man who lie,
hushed in death before you. You
read in his history a glorious imita
tlon of the great popular leaders who
have opposed the despotic influence,
Of power in other lands, and in oul
own. When John Hampden died or
Chalgrove field, he sealed his devo.
ton to popular liberty with his blood
Tho a1oonanoo e Al