The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-03-01

taltons, As when young Charles Fox, In the days
against justice, against fis immemoual rights,
against his own convictions If, indeed, at that
period Fox had convictions. sDd, in the interest
tyrannfcai sovereign drove Wilkes from the seat
to which the electors OF Niddlesex had chosen
him and Installed Luttrell N defiance. not merely
of law bus Of public decency. For an achievement !
of that kind Garfield wss discEaI hed-disqualified
by the IextoTe of his mind, By the honesty of his
heart, by he conscience, and By every instinct
and aspiration Oi his nature.
The three most distinguished parliamentary
leaders hitherto developed in this country are
Mr.. Clay, Mr.. Douglas aud Mr.Thsddeus Stevens.
Each was a msa. OF consummate ability, of great
earnestness, of intense personality. differing
widely each nom the Others, and yet with a
signal trait in cOmmon-the pOwes to command.
IN the give ana take of daily discussion In the
of controlling and consolidating lt<tant and re-
fractOry followers: in the skill to overcome all
forms OF opposition and 70 meet with competency
and courage the varying phases of nnlOoked for
assault or unsuspeetcd detection. it would be
Gldicult To rank with these n fourth name in all
oar Congressional history. But of these Mr.. Clay
was the greatest. u would. perhaps, be impOs-
sible to find in the parliamentary annals of the
world a parallel 20 Mr.. Clay, in 1881. when at
sixty -four years of age he took the control Of the
Wing party from the President Who ha8 received
their sutfrages against the power of Webster in
the Cabinet against the elOquence of Choate IN
the Senate, against the HeTculean effers OF Caleb
Cushing aud Henry A. Wise In the House. In un-
shared leaderShip, in the pride and plentitude
of power ne hurled agSinst John Tyler wish deep
est seorn the mass OF that conquering
column which had swept over the land I'm 1870
and drove his Administration 10 seek shelter be-
hind the lines of mis- political foes Mr.. Douglas
achieved a victory scarcely less wonderful when,
in 1854, against the secret desires of a strong
Administration, against the wise counsel OF the
older chiefs. against the conservative instincts
forced reluctant Congress into a repeal Of the
Missouri compromise. Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens.
his contests from 1865 te 1865 actually advanced
his parliamentary Leadership until Congress tied
nj President governed
country by its own Will. leaving Ouly perfunc-
tory duties TO be discharged by the Executive.
With 2OO0.OOO of patronage In his hands at the
opening OF the contest. aided by the active force
OF Seward in the Cabinet and the moral power OF
Chase on the Bench, Andrew Johnson could not
command the support OF One-third in either
House against the Parliamentary uprising Of
which Thaddeus Stevens was the animating
spirit and the uuqueStiOued leader
From these three great men Garfield differed
radically, differed In the quality of his mind, in
temperament, ia the form aud phase of am bition.
He could not do what they did but he could do
what they could not, and in the breadth of his
Congressional work he left that which viii
loI ger exert a potential infusnce among men,
and which, measured by the severe tests OF post
humous criticism, will secure more enduring
Those unfamiliar with Garfeld's industry, and
ignorant of the details of his wOEk. may. in some
degree, measure them by the annals of Congress
No one of the generation Of public men to which
he belonged has contributed so much that viii be
valuable for future reference. His speeches are
we'll studied, carefully phrased, and inexhanStive
of the subject under consideration. COlected q
from the scattered pages OF ninety royal octave
volumes OF COngressiOn i Record, they would
present an Invaluable compendium of the politl-
cal history of the most important era through
which the National Government has ever passed.
When the history of this period shall be inn
partially written, when war legislation,
measures of reconstruction, protection OF
human human, rights. amendments 70 the Con
steps toward specie resumption, true theO
rieS Of revenue may be reviewed. unsur-
rounded BY prejudice and disconnected from par
usanship, the speeches of Garfield win be esti-
mated at their true value, and will be found TO
com prise a vast magazine of fact aud argument,
of clear analysis aud sound conclusion. Indeed.
ii no other authority were cassibe his speeches
in the House OF Representatives from December,
1868, 10 June, 1850, would give well-eOnnected
history and complete defense OF the important
legislation of the seventeen eFentful years that
Constitute his parliamentary life. Far beyond
tnat his speeches would be found TO forecast
many great measures yet 10 be eomple;ed-meas
ures which he knew were beyond the public
opinion OF the hOUr, but which he confidently be
lieved would secure popular approval within the
period Of his own lifetime, and by the aid of bis
own efforts.
Differing. as Garfield does, from the brilliant
parliamentary leaders, il is not easy to find his
counterpart anywhere in the record of American
public life. He perhaps more nearly resemble:
Mr.. Seward in his supreme faith In the alleOn
quering power OF principle. He had the love Oi
lea Grniug and the patient industry of inveStiga
ton 70 which John Quincy Adams owes his prom.
inence and his Presidency. lie had some OF
those ponderOus elements of mind which dis
tingnished Mr.. Webs er. and which, indeed, In
all our public life have left the great Massachu
sets Senator without an intellectual peer.
IN English Parliamentary history, as in oui
own the leaders in the House OF Commons pre-
sent points Of essential difference from
Garfield. But some of his meth
DDS recall the best features in the strong
independent course of Sir Robert Peel, and Strik-
ing resemblances are discernible in that most
promising of modern conservatives, VINO died toe
early for his country and his fame. the Lord
George Benunok; He had ali OF Burke's love foI
the sublime and the beautiful. with, possibly,
something of his supenlbundanee; and ia his
faith and his Inagnimity, in his power of state
ment, in his subtle analysis i'll his faultiess logic
in his love of literature. in his wealth and world
Of Illustration. one is reminded of that great En-
glish statesman of to-day, who, confronted with
obstacles that would daunt any but the daunt-
less. reviled by those whom he would relieve IS
bitterly as by those whose supposed rights he is
forced to invade. still labors with serene cour-
age for the ameliOration of Ireland, and for the
honor OF the English name.
Garheld's nomination TO the Presidency, while
not predicted or anticipated, was not surprise "a
the country. lis prominence IN Congress, hi.
solid qualities his wide reputation, strengthened
by his then recent election as Senator from ohio
kept him in the public eye a man occupying
the very highest rank among those entitled 10 bs
called statesmen. 1t was not mere chance thai
brought him this high honor. We must.v say:
Mr.. Emerson, reckon success constitutional
trait. II Erie Is in robust health and has slep
years old at his departure from Greenland, he viii
steer west aud his ship will reach New Found
land. But take Eric out and put in stronger anC
bolder msn ami the ships will sail 600 LOCO, 50
miles farther and reach Labrador and New Ene
land. There is no chance in results"
As candidate Garfield steadily grew in popu
| lar favor. He was met with storm of detraetiOI
az the very hour of his nomination, and it cOntin
ued with increasing volume and momentum uuti
the close OF his victorious campaign-
No mig ht nor greatness in mortality
Can censUre 'scape; backwOuEdlDg calumny
/ The whitest virtue strikes. What King so strong
Can tie the gall uD in the slanderous tongueI
Uncer it all he was calm and strong, and conf
dent: never lost his self possession, did unwiS
act. spoke no hasty or iil-considerec word. In
deed, nothing In his whole life IS more remarka
| BILE or more creditable than his bearing through
| those five full months of vituperatiOn-a pro
| lOnged agony of trial 10 sensitive man, con
| staIlt and cruel draft nDon the powers of mora
| endurance. The great mass of these unjust i'm
| putations passed unnotieed. and with the genera
debris OF the campaign tell into oblivion. But II
| a few instances the iron entered his soul and h
died with the injury unforgotten If not unfoi
given.
One aspect of Garield's candidacy was unprect
dented. Never before, in the history OF partisan
contests in this country, had a successful Pres
dental candidate spoken freely ON passing event
and current issues. To atte pit anything OF IN
kind seemed novel, rash, asd even desperate
The older class OF voters recalled the unfortunat
| Alabama letter, in which Mr. Clay was suppose
TO have signed his political death warrant. The
remembered also the hot tempered effusion b
which General Scott lost large share OF his popt
larity before his nomination, and the unfortunal
speeches which rapidly consumed the remainde
The younger voters had seen Mr.; Greeley in
addresses, preparing the pathway =, IL
/ his own defeat Unmindful of theS