The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1872-05-29
"REMINISCENCES
PUBLlC,M MEN.
BY Ex-oovERNoR .. r. PERRY.
GcoNTrNuEp FROM LAST WEEK.
ALFRED HUaER.

This high.toned and noble gen.
tleman has been gathered to his
Fathers, full of years, and full of
honors. He was the last of that
old school of Carolina gentlemen,
which gave character and position
to the State, and made the term
=" "Carolinian" respected and re.
spectacle throughout the Union.
1t was the grand type of the Amer.
lean gentlemen. How cad the re.
Election, that all this honor and Clio.
ry has departed from our State,
and the high officials of South Car.
olina at home and abroad, are now
synonymous with rogue, traitor
and scoundrel. ra
Mr.. Hnger was Roman in
person and character, in heart and
intellect. He was tall, slender
and conrtly in his appearance,
with a striking face and semetricai
features. His head and face would
have adorned a Grecian or Roman
medal. In bis manners, lie was al.
ways grave and dignifed, vet cor.
dial, frank, and simple. For hon.
or, sincerity and probity of char
acter, no one of Ills illustrious com.
peers and associates in that proud
old school of Carolina gentlemen
in which lie was brought mp, could
surpass him. Higher praise no
one can bestow or desire. He was
a patriot iii every thought and feel
ing of his nature, and moreover,
ne was a hero by nature, and
would have died cheertully a mar.
tyr in defence OF his principles.
In the beginning of our politi,
cal excitement in 1880, Mr.. iu.
gers associates wero almost all of
theStates Rights party, and he h,m.
self was a States Rights man, and
died such. But when they adopted
the doctrine of Modification, he re.
garded them as taking a position
not warranted by States Rights in
the Constitution, or in the ature
OF our Federal compact. Long,
aad most assiduonsly did they
strive, by every means in their
power, to retain him in their ranks,
and make him a convert to their
new doctrine. He resisted boldly
and frankly, every effort they
made to win him over, and scorn
ed all their overtures of honor and
distinction. The, proposed to
make him Governor, as | have
heard him say. His little Parish,
which he represented in the Senate
for great many years, undertook
to instruct him, anil in case OF dis
obedience to those instructions, re.
quested him to resign his seat. and
let them elect some one who would
carry ont their political views. =
When / met him that fall I'm Co.
lumbia, he said to me, that he
would just as soon think of resign.
ing his commission as command.
ing General on the eve of a great
battle. 1as4 s5S,-r'l
Mr.. Huger was elected d mem
bcr of the State Convention in
1882, by the people of Spartan
burg District, although lie resided
in Charleston, and, perhaps, had
never been in the District in his
life. They knew that lie was a
Union man, and his high character
was a sufficient guarantee to them
Of his fidelity to his trust. A great
effort was made by the Union par.
ty to send to this convention wher.
ever they had majority, their pur.
est, ablest and best mon witlou
regard to their residence. Judge
Huger was elected In Horny Dis
trict Chief Justice O'Neall and
Judge Richardson were also elect.
ed in Spartanbnrg; Governor Mid.
dleton was elected in Gyeenville,
WHO had Just return 10 Charleston
from his Russian mission, after an
absence of fifteen or twenty years.
Mr.. Hager came to Columbia
when the convention assembled,
and the first word he said, to me
when We met in the streets, was |:
This is no place for us, we have
no business here, let them carry