Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-11-27


enthusiasm. or uninteilIcent popular judge
.4cni in their favor. His influence was not
tat of the zealot. or the PARTY leader, or the
popular favurite : IT was not exertec through
p,iittc management, or by resiTtlnE To expe-
dents, it was not tie result Of personal favor
towards himself, hegettins disposition on
tie part Of Others crafty ms SIshes but
ii flowed from the broad practical good sense
and sJundncss Of his views, the amplitude
and clearness with which he developed them
the strength of reasoning and the earnest
faiihfiluess with which he maintained them,
his normal integrity, his conscientious up
Tightness, his uniaiiing purpose to be right
himself and to be fair and just towards those
who differed from and opposed him.
lie WAS neither a protector of new
schemes, nor an adyenturer 10 pursuit OF
novelties projected by Others and yet, with
reference to practical matter in hand, he was
as fruitful as be was skilllul and judicions IN
deyising feasible and Legitimate measures
and means for attaining desired results. lis
administration Of the public lands, hls con-
duct of the general Postofiice, his, conduct OF
the Kansas complication. his bill OF July
slst. 1861. his various suggestions Of altera-
ton and amendment in bills and resolutions
drawn up by Others. fully illustrate hiiA IN
these respects
His convictions and hi- conscience were 10
him higher law than the prerogatlVes ana
behests Of party, or the prudential cohsiueI4-
lions Of temporary policy. " hle ms party
utilization was matter Of conviction ana con-
science, he was not. by such athliauon, com
mitted t. all the detail Of party measures, IN
such a sense rs TO cause him TO refrain from
clndemning and danluucing what he deemed
wrong in principle, or Of public detriment
in results. In these characteristics lay the
secret of his great influence as Senator lie
was a virtuous, patriotic statesman
have thus cssaycd to set forth and Illus
trate as well as my inadequate ability would
enable me, having reference to the occasion,
and more at length than the patience OF ny
audience-perhaps than the prophecies Of
the occasion would iustify-thc qualities and
the character that in their public develop
meat, called forth from the ablest. the wisest
the most learned Of his surviving associates oi
the Senate the expression, already rcclted, by
Senator Anthony ; that also by ms colleague
our lamented Foot, viz that - few public
men have left more excellent ora more h,n-
orable record - also that by Senator Harris
Of New York, .. the Senate has indeed lost
one its ablest statesmen, one OF Its purest
patriots. In h1noring such man, we honor
ourselves. Nopurer patriot ever psrtlcipat-
81 in the council Of the nation No STAN
rests upon his houored name - also that by
Reverdy johnson Of Maryland d" The uni-
versal sentiment seemed 70 be that under the
guidance of such wisdom as his, all woald
be well that his exposition Of the policy
saited to the vital difficulties Of the hour
would be 50 clear and statesmanlike, as ma
terially To influence the deliberations of Con
gress, inform and satisfy the public Judgment.
and hasten their safe and speedy settle
nent :" also Of Mr.. Fessenden OF Maine {;
e. Among the distinguished men who during
the past ten years have occupied these seats'
I regard Senator Collamer as having no su-
perior. | veneratod and loved the man as
one regards an elder brother, upon whose SUI
perior knowledge. and wisdom. and unselhsh
singleness of heart, he feels he may, IN ali
emergencies. safely rely - also by Mr.. Dix
on Of Connecticut " The NestOr oil the
American Senate has been called from the
scene where his counsels have been 50 often
heard, and bis wisdom was 50 Justly honor
ci - also by Mr.. Riddle Of Delaware ;
- In the death Of Judge Collamer | think
Vermont has lost one Of her brightest Jewels,
the Senate one of its most courteous mem
iers, and the country one Of its greatest
statesmen. He was great in feeling, great in
thought, great in principle, and great in act
ion = also by Mr. Sumner - Since Henry
Cay left this chamber by the gate Of death.
NO senator has passed that way crowned with
the same honorable years as Mr.. Collamer
nor has any Senator passed that way whose
D, l. no
councils, unless we except Mr.. Douglass.
lie was our most venerable associate but
biz place here had not shrunk by time. He
was not so old that he was not often the life
Of the body - also by his successor IN The
vacated Senatorial chair " Sir, have never
known any man who came nearer attain
ing the full measure Of what | believe %
have been the great object Of my predeces-
sur, in the performance ofall the duties OF life
from the humblest to the highest, TO be "a
lust man before God and his fellow-men.
The testimonials, profered by those COM
missioned, as it were, 10 express the Nation :
thought, a. a perpetual memorial Of the ex-
allied worth Of the departed Senator. present
him as one of the most instructive and NOV
ing examples Of the power Of the moral VIZ
tues Of an upright life, as auxiliary to the
national endowments and the acquired facul-
ties of the mind, giving them increased etiec-
tiveness in achieving exalted fame by the
pursuit of noble ends
1t il evident. | think. that during his life
Judge Collamer's greatness was more dis
tinctly and expressly recognized abroad than
wilhin our own State. Many Of his fellow
citizens appreciated him fully and truly ;
but while the general public thought him 4
pretty smart and very likely man, think
that that public in its estimate of his real
merit and standing, as compared with the
known great men of the nation, by no means
came up TO many other sections of the coun-
try. In this respect he shared the conse-
qlences of having spent his life in the ser
vice Of small, inland State.
q" Whose lot and care
4 few paternal acres bound. -
wause population il more interested in. and
more apprcciatiye of, a moderate prosperity,
and mediocrity Of general intelligence, and
homespun domestic comfort, than the scenes
and actors in the worlds broad field Of bat
tie man who becomes great in Yer
mont is not made 50, To any great extent, by
the factions aid, either of pen or voice,
prompted by State pride, State ambition.
There is in it little of that faculty, and les
of the habit, 50 Characteristic Of some other
States. of making it known to the world that
all her men in Office are very great, faculty
and habit by which often very inconsider-
nhl, amount Of - the raw material is made
t. assume a very magnific and imposing fig
ure 10 all but those who know the subjects by
personal contact and discriminating in sight.
Often Nermonters do things on the public
stage that receive within the State but a
raising notice. but which. if done by citizens
Of some of the larger and more assuming of
the States. would awaken the entire press
and many yoluable tongues to the most swell
ing phrase Of b1astlul eulogium Often Yer
mont has had servants on the public stage,
who have acted their parts, and retired with
in the folds of the sable curtain, with but the
mute commentator implied in their being
elected to sustain such parts; but who, if
holding like posts as citizens Of the more i'm
portant States would be the quotation and
boast of a within the same, and trumpeted
aloud to the nations open ears.
We had a Chapman. who. in all the quail
itirs of a great judicial scholar and great Judge.
was not inferior To the illustrations Chief
Justice Parsons Of Massachusetts. We had "a
1rtnll~s nor stIbIh III Allt HAiAt tAlAllics ID
Chancellor Kent, of whom Chancellor Kent
himself said. that he had but one ifany equal
in New England, and that was Judge Story
We had Marsh, who, in the qualities OF
great lawyer, was the peer, as well as cotem-
porary of his cousin. Jeremiah Mason. W.
had a Phelps, who, in magnitude and power
of intellect, as manifested at the Bar and Ia
the Senate, was only second to Daniel Wei
ster.
We had a Colamer. who, for the general
and accurate knowledge that constitutes the
magazine of the Senatorial debater and the
statesman. was not second TO Benton, and
who. for his mastery Of American constitu-
tional law, after the demise of " the Great
Expounder. was regarded at Washington as
the foremost Of the Nation yet. how little
are those great Ncrmonters known and regard
ed in Vermont. as are the others have nam
al -, ..,,n,,arison in the States which ClOrv