New-York tribune., 1880-02-15
ments the detection of his brilliant and darling as
sociate of day.


mind which were not unknown to his wealthy
friends. He was induced TO make q speech in sup
port of the hero of Buena Vista. but he took away
half the force of his advocacy by declaring that
- the nomination was not fit to be made" Inc
Whig State Committee. naturally anxious 10
print the speech rs campaign documehi' ana
equally anxious not TO print certain part OIL IT.
employed Mr. Peter Harvey to conduct negotia-
tions regarding prudent exclslon. III nay seem
remarkable that such overtures should have been
made TO so great man. and | anticipate an lndlg-
nant denial of the truth of the story from some un-
wise admirer of Mr. Webster As my Information
came directly from the gentleman who managed the
matter, await with less anxiety tie letter which
this paragraph will inevitably bring from Boston
If some of the abest Wings of Massachusetts, re-
pudated the nomination. some of the richest and,
among them, Mr.. Abbot Lawrence, gave IT an un-
qualified and, in one sense, / may cav generous
support He was sent as Minister to England after
the organization OF Tie new Administration, and
won us and himself great credit by the large
handed way in which he maintained the hospitalI-
ties of the legation. He brought back with Inn the
most thoroughly English manner which have ever
known an American TO acquire. l th0ught oi nm
continually when, years after. listened TO debate
and dull and stupid one il was, IN the House of
Commons. Mr. Lawrence did not drop his " Rs"; but
he higgled and hesitated and used his evc-glass ex
acty like First Lord of the Treasury While be had
been abroad the Free Sellers and Democrats OF the
State had concocted series of constitutional amend
ments, good, bad and Indifferent aud as there was
"a warm opposition to them on the part of tho Wigs
it was thought desirable that Mr.. Lawrence should
make speech against them. There was new ap-
portionment of the Representatives which was par
ticularly obnoxious; and when nr. Lawrence came
TO our town to speak, was astoniShed by Request
made by one of his friends that would prepare for
hls use "a brief abstract Of the most odious fea-
lures of the new plan. "O!" said. " Mr.. Lawrence
knows more about these maj ters than do Oa
the contrary" said the applicant, he knows moth
ing about them" So did the work as well as
cOuld but, alas when Mr.. Lawrence came to the
subject in his speech, the muddie which he
made of my figures enough TO throw
me into cold pcrspiration. 1t was evident
that he had couiided in my accuracy
to lamentable ex.ent-an honor which could
well have dispensed with. With his eye glass going
up and down, he read: "New-A hford-2O, 0G0
voters--nO twenty v0ters-no. twenty-five voters
one representative every other year-no every year,
eh?-Lowell-no Lawrence, eh i-larGe tOwn-three
represeutativeS-no, two representatives,. eh 7
What. fellow citizens could be more ouirageousT
should not so much have cared If the gallery had
rot been full of Free Soicrs gTinnIng feaIfully and
stamping ironically. When Mr., Lawrence came
from the platform, he asked not To report his
speech as he might wish to make it elsewhere
hastened to assure him. in tie most civil maDncr,
that had no such intention. venture to mention
the circumstances because this not the first in
stance For has il been the last in which have
known public speakers of large reputation TO en-
poy gentlemen Of the press in tie same way, and
often, am grieyed to add. 10 as Ittlc purpose
The coalition of hard hearted Democrats and of
sOft-hearted Free Solcrs for time gave TO the ut
terances of really honest men SAVIOR of insineerty
which did them, admit. substantial injustice
There was an undeniable aroma of plunder about
the partition of the ofices-he Goyernorship TO the
Democrats, the SenatOrshp to the other party
TINS place 10 Fugitive Slave Law man and that 10
one who held the enactment in horror. 1t was easy
to ridicule and denouuce such "a coalition, but 1t
was not easy TO arrest its progress For there was
an equally unnatural coalition upon the other
side of Hunker Wings and Hunker Democrats Of
such men a. Benjamin K. Cnrts and Benjamin r.
Hallett. The last named person was particularly
obnoxious on account Of his complete surrender OF
his early Auti-Slavery opinions upon the altar OF
party Hard words said of him, as Single
anecdote will show. One morning he met Mr. Ed
ward Sohler distinguished member OF the Boston
bar who asked him how he did Pretty we'll Nh
Sohierr answered Hallett, though people abusn
me and, in fact, they call me Judas lscarioi.'
Pretty bad" replied the Wit, but what do you
think Judas wonld say How do you think Judas
would like it ?" suppose the truth to be that the
coalition which ultimately resulted in entirely TAX
ing Massachusetts out of The hands of
the Wings, who had politically controlled
1t for 80 many years and by snch large
majOrities based upon the feeling that
anything was better than tame surrender TO the
professional UnCn-savcrs. When the law was
practically enforced in Boston, the citizens though
some Of them assisted III the oathsome work, were
Ceeply and profoundly mortified When the iuei-
tive slave, ,Simms claimed by Potter. OF Georgia.
lady of the most refined and conservative circles
annoyed by the tumult and ashamed Of the indig-
nifty offered to the city, exclaimed, " Pray, why
does not somebody kidnap Potter ~ But one OF
the angriest men in Boston was Mr.. Chief-Justice
| Wells. While the hearing in the SImnlss was
| going on the Court House was surrounded with
heavy chains to keep out the mob. Judges and Ia "
yers era led under themto their business Int Judge
Wells utterly refused to do So aud the officers were
compelled to raise them that the majesty of the
Massachusetts law ight pass INTO Massachusetts,
temple of justice without STOPPING to the evil
genius OF Slavery.
Unqnestionably at this time Massachusetts did
put herself in an attitude of positive and technical
ly treasonous hostility to the Federal Government.
Men of character and of the highest social position
did undoubtedly cOnntenance and counsel distinct
disobcdiencc. Yet what men they were! How
loyal they were to virtue and freedom and human
itv! How large they were, bow much larger they
seemed, surrounded by politicians who did not for
get to themselves while pleading the cause of
! the slave and prudenty blending political and pc
cuniary success! The Free Soil paxy of Massachu-
setts had several such members, eloquent learned,
utterly unsefsh and thoroughly in earnest
Among the foremost of those who denounced
the extradition of Simms was Horace
Mann Naturally he was as conservative as lie
was conscientious. To dsloyalty, to disorder, to