The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-10-14

ignison With eli that was great. aud beau:
39tf1l; end good: And In perSon he stood
Forth ;thel esHhod ifSenf ofsy,as |, OF
Effrge apa . imRoI lng hpk aranSe! y nasey aey
fand4 tha oomm3nd 9oHe swStAin kls
steady sses 4 y "a =
I Fellow. .citizenG it Ras kenaArksa By q
iphilosopher--yes, philosopher of
South Carolina-that It was not within
1.-THE power of man to approximate to the
aoouraoy with which the physical laws OF
God perform their functions. It may be
said that if an aCid and an alkali are
brought into sunion,. q. salt will ~ba the
inevitable result; but it has been said ip
referenco to humanity that there is no
man whose moral nature is so highly en-
dowed and 30 we'll developed, that, upon
his conduct, under all circumstances. you
can absolutely count. Allow me, fellow
citizens. to say that am not weak
enough, on this occasion. to attribute to
General Lee those qualities which would
make him approximate to divinity; but
this will say, that. when O man like
General Leo has lived, and when man
like General Lee is dead, we have evil
dence of the fact that we are, as human
beings, linked with that God who reigns
above; and if man ever lived, in this
country or in any other country, Gpon
whose conduct, under all circumstances,
you could count With, certainty I will
say that that, man is Robert s. Zee,
whose death we this day lament.
Fellow. citizens, General Lee was great
in victory, but he was greater, still in, de,
feats He wee lgraat when he lgdF the
charging columns of his army amid the
tangled wildsof the Wilderness. He was
great at tChickahominy. He was great on
the Rapidan. He, was great amid the
thunders Of Sharpsbufg. He was great
around Richmond, around Petersburg.
He was great in the moment of defeat at
Apprenticeship field that comes to us
to-day with its proud, though sad me-
hories. But, sir, in my Judgment, Gen.
Lee was greater than ever on the sublime
occasion of Gettysburg;- on that grand
day, when Spartan valor and Roman cou-
rage we're unavailih9, ahd the steadiness
of their foes caused the Southern troops
to return bafiled' from the heights of Get
tysburg. When our soldiers came
back from the fruitless charge dispirited
and despondept, then our great Gene
raj bore upon his ample shoulders the
weight of disaster and defent. Said he
to his children, as they passed him amid
! the roar of artillery and tho flash OF
steel, said he: 'Try it once more; it is
my fault that you have been beaten; it
lis my fault that victory does not this
day crown our standard"
Fellow citizens, am not right, when
I say that great, upon all occasions, he
was great in his modesty, great in his
sublime loyalty, great in the Christian
life he lived, great in the Christian death
he died.
He is gone, but there will be life to us
in his death if we shall initiate his vir-
tues, catch the spirit OF his patient wis
dom and from his dutiful career learn the
lesson of hope, faith and work.
Allow me. sir, to suggest for the con.
sideration of the meeting the following
resolutions:
WHEREAS, We have received with pro.
found emotion, the intelligence that
Gen. Robert e. Lee died in Virginia, on
yesterday, at 8. 80 q. NJ; and,
WHEREAS, We desire to place upon
record our appreciation of his character
and his services, and thus, in honoring
him, do honor to ourselves. Be it,
therefore,
Resolced. That we, the citizens of Co.
lambda, in this meeting Assem- 5led, unite
with our fellowcitizens, all through this
Southern land, in paying, this day, the
tribute Of honor and respect due TO the
memory of ROBERT EDMUND LEE.
Resolped, That, in the death of the
heroic leader OF the army of the Con
federate States, the Sonth has lost one
of her purest and wsest citizens, the
country one of its fairest ornaments, and
humanity bright and shining light.
Resolped, That South Carolina, this
day, sends to Virginia her sympathetic
greetings, and that, speaking from the
Capital. we do respectfully tender to the
family of the deceased, our coincidence
in their great apd irreparable loss.
COL Alexander c. Haskell then spoke
as follows:
Mr.. CHAIRMAN: rise to second the
resolutions. We do not. mir. Chairman,
meet here to indulge our own mourning.
We do not meet to attempt to eulogize
this great man, or add our needless tes-
timony to the imperishable record of his
world-spread fame. We meet, Mr.. Chair
man, to give ntterance, rs we'll as it may
come from our stifed hearts, of that
great debt Of gratitude which our coun-
try owes to General Robert F. lee We