Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1892-01-26
BRADBURY.
LIVING LINK THAT ALMOST
CONNECTS TWO CENTURIES.
A witness to the Progress and In
cidents of Nearly a Whole Cen
tury, and Active Participant in
Much That Has Made History.


tury, and Active Participant in
Much That Has Made History.
There is at present as guest at the
Battery Park hotel venerable gentle
man to whom, from his great age, the
prominence OF his public career, and
the full retention of his faculties, much |
OF deep interest is attached. This is cx-
James W. Bradbury, of Augusta,
Maine, who, for the enjoyment OF the
climate of this section, is here with sew
eral mem bers of his family, and who |
to make a soJourn of underlined
length.
THE CITIZEN called upon Mr.. Brad
bury, and enjoycd the pleasure OF long
conversation with him, III
which many OF the incidents of the past
history OF the country were recalled and
reviewed, some points of which is is pro-
posed to recall and present somewhat in
the order in which they were presented,
but without effort or intent to repro
duce them i'll the form or language OF the
narration.
From Experiment to Realization
MIR. Bradbury was born in Maine, the
state in which he has passed his long life, in
1900, the opening year of the
century whose close he has so
nearly reached, a witness to,
and participator in, those wonderful
changes which accompanied the progress
OF the country in its emergence from an
almost experimental and distrusted form
OF government, from relative poverty
and teebleness, from the contempt and
insults OF the nations beyond the sea,
from a narrow and restricted area OF
population, from the difficulties and tar
diness OF Accommodation, from an
era of primitive and unscientifc methods,
from period OF ignorance OF the now
recognized Indispensable aids of science,
up to its present preemnence among the
nations ot the cart h, rich great, powerful,
respected. All this MIR. Bradbury has
seen. What is history to us is living ex-
perience to him. This marvellous change,
his wonderful progress, this StupcndOus
development, MIR. Bradbury has had the
rare happiness of witnessing from its
birth aud accompanying 1t through its
int
and now, in the last decade of the CEN
tury, he has the almost unexamplcd hap
piness OF seeing prophecy fulfilled into
realization, and the widest dreams OF
the sanguIne fancy OF his youth become
the commonplace realities OF the days OF
his old age.
New England and Secession.
Mr.. Bradbury's earliest recollectluns of
public affairs relate to the war OF 1912.
He thinks that while the navy won dis.
tinguished honors, he army achieved
little glory except at the close of the
war when the victory at New Orleans
reinstated American military reputation
He refers somewhat humorously to the
precedence of New England in the prac.
teal application of the doctrine OF scces
sion. That section, in whose interests
chiefly the war was undertaken soon
became wearied with the sacrlhces in
volvcd. and somewhat seriously pro
posed to withdraw from the Union, sci
up for itself. and let the rest OF the coun
try fight out it's battles with Great
Britain. But apart from the somewhat
apocryphal schemes attributed to the no
torious Hartford dConvention, no practica
steps toward secession were taken excep
the decidedly disloyal action OF Massachu
sets in withdrawing erquota OF troops
from federal control, and refusing to le
them serve except under their own stat
officers Mr.. Bradbury says that Ion,
time afterwards Massachusetts pre-
sentcd her claims to congress for arrear
ages due her troops Tor services during
the war; and that body somewhat ma
liciously rejected the claims on tn
ground that Massachusetts had delib
erately taken a diSloyal attitude Atte
repeated renewals OF the claim, they wer
at length allowed on the appeal OF Ser
alor Jefferson Davis who argued, tha
though the state of Massachusetts d,
served the rebuke, her soldiers had iairl
and justly established their right to pay
and the bill tor reliet was then passed.
The Senate in I847.
Mr.. Bradbury, lawyer by profession
entered the senate of the United States i
lS47 and served one full term. His CO
league was Hannibal Hamlin, afte
wards vice-president OF the United State
and only recently dead. The body at tina
time was composed of men whose namt
mark that period with Sci
a,orial brilliancy never before or snl
TO- equalled. There was Clay, Webster an
= Calhoun, the immortal trio; there Wa
q Benton and Cass and Clayton and Ba,
ard; there was X. NJ. ]. HUI
Is ter and John Y. Mason of Virgini
T. Mangum and Badger OF North Carolin
n Hamilton Fish of New YORK, honest
9 John Davis OF Massachusetts, DaytC
n and Stockton OF New Jersey, Butler
II South Carolina, Berrien of Georgia, Sou
of Louisiana, Houston and Rusk
T. Texas. Ewing of Ohio, and others
almost equal note. Robert {. Winthrc
of Massachusetts was also part Ot Il
time contemporary with MIR. Bra
bury; and those, together Wi
:, Hamilton Fish and one other, are Il
only survivors OF that senate W hich act'
u" SO conspicuous part IN very pcrllo,
period OF American history.
The Clay Compromise.
For it was a period partly embrace
in the Mexican war, and extendiI
= through, and including, that violent az
tation which convulsed the count
when the results of that war were to
considered, in their relation to the col
position OF sectional differences. T
subjects involved were many, and incl
ded the most extreme antagonistIc vieN
: and principles, all having relation to t
question OF slavery. These were the a
mission OF California as a state, OF Ut
and New Mexico as territories, the S,
tlement OF the boundary lines bet we
the United States and Mexico, the rem
re ton of fugitive slaves, and perhaps u
ID or two others. There were embraced
i'd one bill known as the Omnibus bill, "b
- I.a ,l.,, it1ly,