The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-07-10
THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD.

Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, one of the
last of the "old guard" who rallied
around Lincoln to preserve the Union il
the hour of its peril, died on the ami
versary of the birth of that Nation July
4th in his home at Bangor, Maine, being
nearly 50 years old. His life covered
probably the longest period of service Of
any public man in our country, almost
fifty years. He was admitted to the bal
in 1888 and in 1886 became a member Of
the Legislature. That the length of his
career may be more plainly apparent, the
following facts may be cited:
He was a member of the Maine Legis.
lature when Andrew Jackson was Presi-
dent, and he was Minister to Spain when
Gen. Arthur was President. That is the
span of lifetime, and covers period in
which many men, brilliant in their days,
have been forgotten. When he first took
his seat in the United States Senate he
had for his associates Webster, Calhoun,
Douglass. Crittenden, johnson, Cass,
Benton, Jefferson Davis, John P. Hale,
William Allen, Tom Corwin, Daniel S.
Dickinson, John S. Dix and Sam Hous-
ton. He survived them all. In a sue
ceeding generation he sat beside Seward,
Chase, Fessenden, Sumner, Wilson, Sill
dell, Toombs, Wade and Andrew John
son. He survived them all, some by
many years. In generation still later
almost, when his own career had become
historic, he was in the Senate still, an
active colleague of Blaine, Edmunds,
Thurman and Bayard. He came of the
rugged old New England stock, from a
country which, according to his own
witty remark when twitted of its barren
soil, 'raises men,"
Though Democrat from his early
convictions, which were always positi re,
he held strong anti-slavery sentiments,
and in the stormy times of 1856 he
changed to the Republican party solely
on this account. He was elected vice
president on the Republican ticket with
Abraham Lincoln in his first term and
was one of the Presidents most trusted
counselors. He was probably the first
man to hear the Emancipation Procla-
nation read. A true patriot ever, his
ringing words toPresident johnson upon
resigning the collectorship of Boston
Port are worthy of preservation:
II do not fail to observe the movement
and efforts which have been made and
are now making to organize a party in
the country consisting almost exclusively
of those actively engaged in the late Re-
bellion and their allies, who sought by
other means to cripple and embarrass
the Government. This class of persons,
with small fraction of others, consti-
tute the organization. 1t proposes to
defeat and overthrow the Union Repub-
hcan party and to restore'to power, with
out sufficient guarantee for the future
and protection of men who have been
loyal, those who sought to destroy the
Government l gave all the influence / |
possessed to create and uphold the Union |
Republican party during the war, and
without the aid of which our Govern
ment would have been destroyed and the |
Rebellion success. With such party |
as has been organized for such purposes
| have no sympathy, nor can / acquiesce
in its measures by my silence"
1t was President Lincoln's desire that
he should be nominated to the Vice
Presidency for the second term. Had
this been done, the result upon the after
history of our country one can partially
imagine. Instead of the disgraceful inn
parchment of the President, instead of
the cowardly, half-hearted policy of the
Chief Executive, which seemed to almost
threaten continuation of the just-com-
pleted struggle, instead of all this, an
unfiinching patriot in the chair, the man
who knew the most of the deceased
Presidents plans and desires. Instead
OF the inefficient reconstruction plan, one
more liberal, broad-minded, coupled
with the firm hand of righteous author
ity, 1t is one of the ''might-have-beens''
which citizens may well ponder over and
from it draw lessons for future conduct.