The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-17

which I have advocated through a long lie
equality of man before his Creator" Let us trust
and believe that If the earnest and sincere
prayers of millions of poor, down.troddeu, aud
OPT ressed may smooth the path way of the
traveller on his journey from this world to the
bourne of all, his has been happy exit.
Speech of Hon, william ID. Kelley.
MIR. Speaker Thaddeus Stevens was Que
Of the most practical of men, though his
whole life was colored and Influence by "a
visior. Tmid men, and those who we're without
faith. called him dogmatiC and impTaCtiCaOle,
and others spoke of him as n theori3t who, to
crafty malignant or vndiCtlve spirit, urged
extreme measures regardless of the rights,
Interests, or sentiments of those they were to
affect They knew but little of the mau they
judged. How thoroughly practical he was is
attCsted by the fact that he earned by teaching
the rudlmentary branches the means to pro
cure bis collegiate training; that, having set
tied i'm a community in which hereditary wealth
was deemed a prerequisite TO respectable
position at the bar, he made no COnccalment
of his poverty, aud taught school while pre-
pairing for the practice OF the legal profession,
and the acknowledged leadership of the bar OF
q large section OF his adopted Stale; that he
commanded the confidence Of every Judge
before whom he appeared in his extended range
Of practice, and secured the atftctionate regard
of all his young professional brethren; by tue
frequency with which the people among whom
be settled, whether OF the York, the Adams,
or the Lancaster district, required him, at
whatever sacrifice Of prejudice on their part or
OF peCUniary interest on his, to represent them
IN the Legislatures of the State and nation and
conventions summoned for the consideration of
the gIavest topics; and, above all, by the COM
maudmg influence he exercised in every dellbg.
lative assembly OF which he was member.
heard prominent member OF the Thirty
Eighth Congress say of Mr.. Ste7ons:- Let him
20 in what direction he may, it is always to the
eXtreme,n implying way wardness and incon-
sstenCy, and in so far, misjudging him. lie
never labored in adverse directions. He come
tunes accepted and supported propositions
which were in general accord with his views,
but TO which he could not yield unqualified
assent, He did this, as be once said. 'because
Congress is composed OF men, and not Of
angels" He was incapable OF acting incon-
sistently upon measures involving general
principles. Against this reproaCh he was almost
dlvineiy panoplied. He bad in his boyhoo
more benehcent than the republic of Plato
or the Utopia of Sir Thomas More-a republic
in which every citizen might kuo v the ChaSteu-
ing influence of the family relations and the Joys
OF hone, and pursue the secrets of science and
the pleasures of literature: and believing, as he
continued to do, in the progress of our race
and the periecu6,hty OF our institutions, his
public life was devoted to the realization of
this, h. boyhood's beautiful dream. When he
dedicated himself 10 this work in which he
never ialtered, the southern boundary OF our
country was near the thrty-htst degree Of lati
tude, and the cour.e Of the Mississippi defined
its western limits; but he believed that the
inspiring truths expressed In the Declaration OF
independence, and embodied in our State and
governments on the continent.
At the time Ct his birth the mouth OF the
Mississippi and the shores of the Gulf OF Mexico
were uLder the dominion of foreign potentates.
He was, boNeNcr, old enough 10 understand and
remember the discussion that attended our first
acquisition OF territory-Jbe Louisiana pun chase
WHICH extended from the Gulf along the west
bank OF the Mississippi 10 the Lake of the
Woods; and though sometimes dIsapproving of
the means by which they were gained, he wei.
coined each of the several acquisitions OF terri
tory by which our country has come 10 stretch
from ocean to ocean, to have u lOUgcr and more
valuable coast line ou the Pacific than any
other nation, and to encirCle the Gulf from Cape
Sable 10 the Rio GlWdc. Every successive
acquisition confined ms faith and nerved his
purpose.
The theory of Mr.. Stevens ideal republic
awarded home and culture TO each industrious
citizen. With this generous theory slavery was
incompatible, and he was, co seQuently, the
sworn and unreleDting foe of that aCCursed
institution. He did not wage war upon slavery
because he envied the wealth and pO Wer OF the
MASTER He was wont to thank God for having
blest his youth with poverty, aud was ever
ready to confront the naughty master because
his great heart sympathized with the outraged
and helpless slave.
The severance of the Union would have dis.
PEELED Mr.. stevens faith III the Ultimate redemp-
tion of the laboring people of the world from
the ignorance and ill-pald toll to which they
have ever been subjected. The breaking out or
the Shareholders Rebellion seemed TO rejuvenate
H..
He was always in his seat; and when ses ions
were so fan protracted, as they sometimes were
during the Thirty seventh, Thirty-eighth, and
Thirty ninth Congresses, that daylight came
and dimmed the artificial light in this hall, the
old mans pungent wittlcsms would rouse many
of the younger members from drowslness and
prostIation. To maintain the Union he would
have exhausted the COunIy's resources in men
aud materials of war; and when the Rebellion
/ had been crushed he proposed measures that
had they been adopted, would have eradCated
its cause and rendered its recurrence Impos.
sibe.
He did not propose cOnfscation as punish
ment TO those whose great crime meCted IT. He
was incapable OF a vlnd,ctlve act He regarded
! the system of land monopoly which hal
prevailed in the South, as the essential support
! of slavery, and he would obliterdte it. He
! knew that the hebe leaders we're conquered
| but not subIued, and appTecittinR the power
! they derived iIOm the ownership OF the land on
! which the bouy OF the people were to LABOR and
| live, be would CepTYe them of that power. He
! knew that the labor OF the slave had given the
! land OF the South lis YaGe, aud he would re-
ward the freedman By giving him homestead
as "A slight return Tor the unreq IltGd work he
had done while Il slave
He knew that the loyal soldier had saved the
South to tue UniIn and reedom, and he would
invite him TO dwell under his Own vine in its
midst, and by his cOuI sels a>sisJ IN its tuture
government. He knew that Landed aristo 2racy
and lauOiesS class are alike dangerous in q
rcpDblc, aud by a siugle act OF justice he would
abolish b Ith, Such were the humane cOn~idera.
| tiOns u hlCh pTOmptCu him to propose and sup
| port measures winch the %ca& aud tme.serylng
| denounced as Easb and vlndlCtlVe.
The system OF labor for wages, as il is eXcln-
! pllhed III Great Britain and on the continent, is
! as inconsistent vita his ideal republic as
! slavery. Contemplating the cyerincreasiug
! volume OF pauperism in the British islands, the
! unnatural and excessive toll demanded from