The Portland daily press., 1893-02-01
MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS
Passed in Honor Of Mr.. Blaine by
the Maine Legislature.
ELOQUENT REMARKS BY SENATOR
sEIDERS, REPRESENTATIVE
MORRILL, AND OTHERS.


Introduce the Resolutions-They are
Seconded by Senators seiders, Wiggin,
Spofford and GrindIe, and Representa-
tives Morrill,, Dickey, Fairbanks, Scott,
sprague, Purington, Marston and Spill
lane.
AUGUSTA, January 31.-The Maine
legislature formally placed upon record
today, it's sorrow at the. death of James
G. Blaine, and its appreciation of his
greatness. Many Augusta people
thronged the Senate andHouse chambers
and listened to the speeches. The re-
marks were brief but they were full Of
sincere expressions of regret and regard.
After the morning hour in the Senate,
Mr.. Peakes introduced these resolutions:
Whereas In the mysterious orderings ofGods
providence the nation has been deprived OF one
Of its most distinguished citizens, whose la
mented death fills all hearts with sorrow;
And Whereas, We desire to express our ap-,
probation Of the great ability and our love ana
ceased statesman, be 1t.
ResoLved, That In the death of James G.
Blaine, the country has been deprived OF fear,
comprehensive policy, great executive ability
and tireless and patriotic deFotion to the nation,
al welfare, has made him known and respected
by all the world, as the pre-eminent man OF his
time, who commanded honor and respect for
this country among all the nations of the earth.
Resolved, That the State of Maine is peculiar
ly afflicted in the loss of this eminent and be-
loved citizen. whose recognized leadership in
public affairs has shed lustre on the common
wealth and placed it in the front rank in the
promotion OF the prosperity and glory OF the
natiOn-a man whose face was never turned
away in the hour of peril and whose honorable
achievements have added to its just renown
Resolved, That the citizens of the State of
Maine, in the death OF its distinguished son,
have lost one whose intercourse was always in
structive. helpful and kindly, whose generous
acts, and whose distinguished career and patri-
otto devotion to his country and his State,
future generations may well strive to emulate.
Resolved, That the sympathy and condol ence
of the legislature of Maine be extended to his
Sorrowing family, whose affection is so much
greater than ours and whose grief can only be
alleviated by Him whose sustaining arm can
best support them, in this honr of their irrepa-
rable loss.
Resolued. That a copy of these resolutions be
sent to the bereaved family and made part of
the records of this body.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Peakes's re-
marks, his motion that the resolutions be
adopted was seconded by Senators Spot
ford. Wiggin, Soldiers and Grindle in ap-
propriate words. Mr.. Seiders said:
Senator Scider's Address.
Mr.. President: shall be very brief in
my remarks on this occasion. for the
most eloquent speaker and the grandest
words, were they continued from the
rising to the setting of the sun, could not
fully cover the space which James G..
Blaine occupies in our history. Hence,
how foolish it is for me in the short time
which is allotted to me to try to do more
than express the feeling of my heart and
of this body in relation to his decease.
The public career of James e. Blaine,
extending through quite generation,
has been SO interviewer in our state and
national affairs that it has become a part
and parcel of their history. Strike him
out of the annals of our state and country
and their history would be forever in
complete.
He entered the arena of public life
when men with bated breath awaited the
shock and clash of contending armies;
when the final outcome and end of the
Civil War was shrouded in the murky
darkness of foreboding future; when
men took council of their fears, and
failed to recognize the overruhng of a
lust and wise God in our country's af-
fairs: when fear and hesitation rather
than bravery and progress were part of
the policy Of our national councils.
From the beginning to the close of his
public career he shone forth as a guiding
star, to which the eyes of his countrymen
were ever turned.
He took no backward step. His face
was ever set squarely to the front in the
march of progress, and only tue posi-
bilities of the future had any allurements
for him. He sought the prosperity of
our country in her future achievements,
and not in the mistakes and entangle-
ments of the past. How wisely and &C
curately he judged of the times and con-
ditions which surrounded him, the
whole country testifies today, in its
honor and admiration of him.
The immortal triumvirate, Webster,
Calhoun and Clay mark an epoch in our
country's history to which the student
of our national life and progress in
stlnctively turns as the great central
figures of that period, But James G.
Blaine stands out alone as the great cen
trail figure in that epoch of our country's
history which is measured by the period
of his public services. l do not mean
to tunderrate the able and brilliant
services rendered to our country by
scores of other patriots during the same
period of time. They were and are a
part of that epoch, but above them all
stands the Plumed Knight, knighted in
the hearts of his countrymen, the only
true knighthood ever conferred on men,
as the central figure around whom the
most stirring and far-reaching political
events in our land for the last quarter of
a century have clustered.
If the national historian seeks to give
to his readers the true history OF this
period of our country's life, he must in
corporate the acts and deeds OF James u.
Blaine therein to make it intelliglble to
the reader. His enemies, while they
have felt the weight OF his hand, have
paid glowing tribute to his ability,
sagacity and bravery as statesman;
His friends have paid more than equal
tribute to the same qualities, and have
cemented them with loving alteration,
and even when the approaching shadows
of dissolution lowered over him they
would in their devotion have crowned
him with the highest honor our country
is able to bestow on citizen, the Presi-
dency.
Tn MANY resnects Jamas G. R1ajne cas-