The Portland daily press., 1893-01-25
DANIEL WEBSTER.
DIR. blanchard Sixth Lecture On Ameri-
can History.

Rev. Dr.. Blanchard delivered the sixth
lecture of his course on American Ills
tory last evening inLthe vestry OF Con-
gress Square church. The lecture
divisions were, first-The Constitution
its greatness-Webster relations to it
its Websterian Interpretation gave men
the passion for Union which gave power
in the days of 1S61-1S65; third, the analy-
sis of his character, and lastly the i'm
measurable debt of America to the
defenders of the Constitution.
Under the first head, DIR. Blanchard
described the lack of the spirit of nation
ality in the colonies during the Revolu-
tionary war-the articles of Confedera-
tion-the need of Constitution which
should give power to the general govern
ment over the individual. No eulogy
can be too great for the work of the Con-
stitutional Convention. Webster's great
work was to make the people OF the
North believe that this great instrument
had made the people of the United
States nation and not federation, OF
nations. The Union was one and indl-
visible. In college Grafton, in multi
tudinous addresses, in his great reply to
Hayne, he taught men the love of country
fidelity to the constitution, as the bull
wark Of nationality, the necessity and
nobility of the union of states. The
school boy learned and recited passages
from his orations, artisans. farmers,
merchants, lawyers, professors, minis
tiers, reading these. believed IN national
ity-were fired with love of country
were ready to defend the Union when
secession raised its arm in 1861.
The story of his life was fully out
lined-his birth in Franklin, N. H., in
17S2-his early boyhood-his college lie
at Dartmouth teaching at Fryeburg,
Me.-his career at Portsmouth-his re-
moval to Boston-his life as Congress
man and Senator and Secretary OF state
his death at Marshfield in 1852.
The analysis of his character showed
his intellectual greatness. his passionless
Righteousness, his moral insufficiency, his
weakness of will. His brain was one OF
the largest ever known. Only two have
exceeded it, Cuvier's and the learned
bricklayer's. In memory, attention,
power of reasoning, he was marvelously
great. His righteousness was cold and
conservative. He could say great things
about God and immortality, but he did
not profoundly feel his obligations to his
Creator and his brother man. Thus
came his moral insufficiency. He could
owe much money without regret. He
was unwilling, in later life, to acknowl-
edge intellectual Indebtedness to others.
He lived too much in the senses. Great
er than Clay and Calhoun in Intellect, ne
was less than they in will. America
owes an immeasurable debt to him. He
was not among the greatest
statesmen. He was greatest
of her orators. His willingness
to yield to others on the question Of pro-
lection, his ambition to be President his
failure to represent the growing anu
slavery sentiment of the North, his gi-
gantic mistake in the speech Of March
Z. 1850, made him inferior as statesman
to others. But his burning love of coun-
try, his massive and glowing oratory
made him the great defender of the con-
stitution. He held back the clash of
arms till 1861. Then the North was
strong enough and educated enough. in
love Of Union and Liberty to make her
the victor over the South and Secession.
Grant and Lincoln owed much to Web
ster. America owes him an immeasure-
able debt.
The next lecture will be given on Feb
ruary 18th. The subject will be John
C. Calhoun-the Architect Of Secession. !"
DIR. Blanchard complimented Henry
Cabot Lodge on his history of Daniel
Webster. This book was his chief au-
thority in the preparation of his lecture.
Before beginning the lecture he paid a
tender tribute t. Bishop Phillips Brooks.