The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-03-15


OF any man of my acquaintance. wa,
heard, saying, 'Mr. Speaker Every ev,
was turned to the thin form of NOR,
boy. The attention became Lrca,bIess
The house was enchained for a half a.
hour by q new speaker with new views
such as had not been discussed or hiuleC
at by others. When he sat down thor.
was burst of applause from q full pal
iefy, ana many Of us on the floor ioineC
In the chorus. The speech was eicctri
cal. tgare life to the debate. 1t aided
immensely in the passage of the bill fol
the survey Of the road and the appropri
alton for it. From that hour the spenke,
mas been man Of mark. Need / sa,
that man was Alexander II. Stephens. =
1t was during his service in the lcgisla,
ture that the friendship between himself
and General Toombs begun a relation a,
close as that which existed between David
and Jonathan.
:, In April, 1889, he WAS delegate to the
Southern Commercial Convention which
met in Charleston. In 1871 he declined
4 denomination for the legislature. In
| October. 1912, he was elected to the State
Senate by the wings. During this period
OF the history Of the State, the name of
MIR: Stephens is intimately connected
with Georgia politics as Intimately then
MS afterwards when his reputation became
national. He figured in every Conven.
ton and in every campaign.
SENT TO CONGRESS.
In 1913, a vacancy occurred in the
Georgia delegation in Congress by the
resignation Of the Hon. Mark a. Cooper
who had been nominated by the Demo.
Gratis az their candidate for Governor.
Hon. James II. Stark, of Butts county,
was nominated by the Democrats for this
vacancy, and Mr.. Stephens by the wings.
Crawford was the whig candidate for Gov
eTnor. The nomination, though un-
sought by Dir. Stephens, was accepted.
a very active campaign was opened.
| Walter }. ColquItt was then in the flower
OF his popularity-the best stump.speaker
the State had ever seen. lie was sup.
ported by Cooper and by Black. MIR.
Stephens encountered this solid array of
experience and cloqucnce aud bore Off
the honors. He was elected to Congress,
victory that was made joyess TO him,
soon after his election, by the loss of his
elder brother, Aaron Grier Stephens.
Mr.. Stephens proceeded to Washington.
but on the night Of his arrival was at.
tackled by severe illness. He soon recov.
cred, however, and was selected to argue
the question of the eligibility of the
Georgia delegation 10 their seats, the
point having been raised thai, they were
| disqualified because they had been elect
ed on the general ticket instead of BY dis
tricts.
During the exciting campaign of Clay
and Frelinghuysen, and in The discussion
of the annexation of Texas, the ques-
| tions growing out Of the Mexican war
aud the Oregon boundary, he was an &C.
tive participant. He was strongly oppos-
ed to President Polk's administration, and
never allowed an opportunity TO assault; it
to pass unimproved.
In 1916, while Mr.. Stephens was still
member of Congress, the arrangement
! between him aud Hon. Herschel V.
Johnston occurred. They we're warm
personal friends at college, and remained
SO for many wears. A cooiness sprang up
between them in 1874, both meeting sew
ersl times in discussion during tho Polk
and Clay campaign. In 1876, several
anonymous articles appeared in the Fed
eral Union, in which Mr.. Stephenss
speech on the Mexican war was severely
criticized. Mr.. Stephens applied to the
publishers of the paper for the name of
the author, and was informed that the
articles were from the pen Of Mr.. John
ston. Mr.. Stephens demanded retrac.
ton, and afterwards challenged his op-
ponent. Mr.. Johnston refused to accept
tue challenge, and the affair went no fur
ther.
BEFORE THE WAR CLOUD.
He continued in Congress until 1859,
when he determined to retire from pub.
lie life. On making known his inten.
tiou, very unusual compliment was paid
him in the offer of public dinner ten
dered by members OF both houses of
Congress, without distinction of party,
headed by the president Of the senate, in
his capacity of vice.president, as testi-
monial of personal esteem. Mr.. Ste.
phens was compelled to decline the honor
on the score of pressing business engage.
| ments. On his arrival home, his constit.
uents of the eighth district rendered
hiri dinner. His next entry into poll
tics was as an elector for Stephen A.
Doughlas, whose election to the presi-
| dency he most earnestly favored.
With the subsequent career of Mr..
Stephens-his patriotic and eloquent plea
for the union before Georgia had seeded,
his selection rs vice president of the
confederacy, his protests against what he
conceived to be the mistakes Of the
governments the readers of the Con-
stitution are familiar. They are also fa-
milar with his career since the war-his
election to Congress from the eighth dis
trict, and his successful campaign AS the
candidate of the Democratic party for
Governor of this State.
AFTER THE WAR.
1t was not only in politics that Mr..
Stephens served his people. He is the
author of the only adequate and complete
exposition and defense of the right of
secession ever made. He is also the
author of history Of the United
States which will rank among the best.
His fame belongs not to Georgia alone,
but to the whole country, and the exam
| ple of his life will serve to arm young
men. no matter how humble they may
be, with the highest ambition. is not
his SUCCESS as n politician and statesman
that exhaits his name in the public
mind. Throughout long and eventiul
career, he held fast to his integrity.
His life was purity itself. There is not
a blemish on his fame. He was true to
bis convictions and these convictions had
their basis in a mind deeply and unaffec-
tedly religious. No one can look on the
record of this great mans life without
beinp struck with wonder and astonish-
ment Coming from extreme poverty,