The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-02

jerseys foremost son, we can say, not without
emotion, it is no common chance that takes
away a noble mind.
"Some of you knew William Lewis Dayton
better than did. And am glad to give way
to another after brief and imperfect tribute
to New Jerseys dead | may be pardoned it,
in my brief tribute to the private worth and
public character of the deceased, dwell some-
what upon his record as a statesman. It
belongs not more to the State than it does to
the country; had almost said it belonged to
the world
"Almost all of us remember-for it seems
but yesterday-with what unanimity and
generous warmth Of feeling the bar of New
Jersey bade Mr.. Dayton God-speed as he pre-
pared for his journey to Europe; and with
what feelings of sadness and melancholy, fears
for the future of his country, he started for
the imperial court.
''No man ever represented America in 50
momentous a crisis Benjamin Franklin de-
clared that this Government was the first ever
framed upon the truths Of religion as a basis.
But, when he represented our halEgrown Re-
public the experiment against absolutism and
tyranny had not proved successful or per-
mauent
civilian L. Dayton, on the contrary, went
to France when an armed and formidable
power, with one hundred thousand men in the
field, menaced the very existence of this
ADSNN'AANNA
himself Louis Napoleon, the companion
Of such adventurers as Morny De
Maurepas, st. Arnaud, and others, who,
winning Paris by bayonets, after shed
ding the blood of thirty thousand freemen, was
of all men the one to sympathize with and to
recognize, as soon as he dared, a confederaoy
which was sought to be founded upon the
avowal that the Declaration of Independence
under which we had lived for eighty-eight
years, and grown great, and prosperous, and
happy, was a falacy and delusion. Here,
then, of all places was the position where Mr..
Dayten's fidelity to principle and his distin-
guished ability could shine with eminent and
original lustre, Some of his friends, in wri-
ting to him, said:-'This position affords little
opportunity for Distinction But Mr.. Presi-
dent this statement is a grave mistake; for
what position in the cabinet of Mr.. Lincoln or
as a Senator in Congress can give such
opportunity for distinction as a post
where, as the guardian of the republic it was
Mr.. DaytOn's privilege, by urbanity of dispo-
sition and by his Straightforward honesty of
character, to conciliate an unfriendly power
and to thwart the subtle inventions of his
country's enemies
''No, sir When the history of this just
but terrible struggle comes to be written, its
pages will gather lustre as they record the
patient vigilance he exercised, and the bold,
open, and determined warfare he made against
the subtle policy to which the court of st.
James and the Emperor of the French have
been so nearly committed. If opportunity
offered we would gladly go back, and pause in
admiration at the record he made while
Senator in Congress. In 1850, during the
memorable contest for compromise, Mr.. Clay,
Dayton if he would support the measure
in the event of the removal of an
objectionable fsNturo Asai,ast which Mr..
Dayton had protested. The ready answer
| 81 Nrin nf oprf hat
sure under any circumstances whatever,
because l believe it fraught with danger in
! the future In vain did the gallant Ken
tuckian say:-I go in for an honorable COM
| promise whenever it can be made. Life Itself
is but compromise between death and life,
| the struggle continuing throughout our whole
existence until the great destroyer finally tri-
umphs. All legislation, all government, all
society is formed upon the principle of mutual
concession, politeness, comfy, courtesy; upon
these everything is based.
"Pardon me, Mr.. President, for saying to
the Senate, that such fidelity, such straight
forward honesty and stability of purpose,
teach us who share in the control Of public
affairs that it is a public mans duty to
plant himself indOmitably on what he be-
HereS to be right, and bide his time in victory
or in defeat. Judge Dayton's character did
not need success for a stimulant. If his
! greatness could be reckoned in qualities, 1t
| COuSlhltu III he6uueSS VI III OOul-
age, and in openness of soul. As states
man, Mr.. Dayton was the equal of Southard,
the peer of Clay, and, unlike the sage of
! Marshfeld, he never made speech of which
he could regretfuly say in his last hours,
| ''It was the greatest mistake of my life." As
a lawyer, Judge Dayton ranks with Choate,
! and Adds Emmett and the accomplished
William Pinckney. He was, as these resOlu-
tions say, thorough lawyer, possessing
| mind enriched by varied experience and dis
| ciplined by the exercise of study.
"He was never a laborious student, but had
happily mind like that of Chief Justice Mar
shall, which discovered truth by intuition.
| When upon the Supreme Bench, Judge Mar
shall would say to one of his associates,
This is the law, please look upon the case
| which supports it, Whether in public or
private life, at the bar or upon the bench,
| in Congress or at his own freside, in
a foreign land, as gentleman and friend,
he charmed by his alfability and dig
nifty. He was a gentleman in Bishop
Doanes definition of that term, gentleman,
and those who have ever associated with him
in the circuits or before the Supreme Bench
will never forget his kindness of nature, his
sincerity, his geniality, and his sympathy. i.
"But, alas that man. with his power OF
thought the greatest in the universe, must
bow before the great destroyers. MANN
form and moving, how express and admirable
in action, like an angel in apprehension, ike
a god lis no stronger than the little child
when both go to take their places in the silent
halls of death. William L. Dayton is dead
New Jersey, from the fair hills of Sussex, from