The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-05-24

were forsaking it, such as Stevens,
Ioombs of Georgia, Kerr of North
Carolina, and others, and that while
the fathers might stick to it their
sons were forsalling it, and spoke of
son OF Henry Clay and son of Daniel
Webster who had forsaken the party.
For moment Mr.. Vance forgot that
Mr.. Webster had other children than
daughters, and said, mfr. Avery, Web
ster has no SON" Mr.. Avery turned
upon him with triumph and said: us
1T possible, Mr.. Vance, you do not re-
member the Hon. Fletcher Webster?"
Vance remembered him then but too
well, but with wink at the crowd
and striking his nose with his fore
finger, he exclaimed to the crowd,
Noah Webster's son, the spelling
book mans son!" The crowd gave
shout but would never believe that Mr..
Avery was not trying to impose on
them. AS they came from the stand,
Avery said to him, Vance. that was
mean trick" Vance said, yes, I
know it was, but you had me in such
tight place ! had to get out somehow"
The speaker then said that he
doubted whether any man of his age
had ever made a greater impression in
so short time than Gov.Nance made at
a great mass meeting held by the mem
bers of the Wing and American par
ties in the summer of 1860 at Sails
bury. The ablest representatives of
the Union party in North Carolina
were there present. Such men as
Morehead, Graham, Badger, Worth,
Boyden and others. Mr.. Vance was
there, and not only did he electrify
the crowd by his appeal to the Union
sentiment, by his wit and rare humor.
so as to become the popular favorite
of the day, but at night, when there
was Il bon fire at every street corner,
he was compelled to speak the night
through by the sursing crowd, many
OF whom had come from long dis
tauces and were without accommodate
tions for the night, and were deter
mined to be amused or interested. Mr..
Badger, probably the finest logician
the State has ever produced and as
different as possible from Mr.. Vance
in his manner Of speaking, was won
derfuIly struck with the capacity of
the young man to amuse and instruct
a promiscuOus crowd, for he said to
his son-jn-law upon his return home
10 Raleigh. Il heard Zeb Vance at
Salisbury for the first time, and he is
just the greatest popular speaker that
ever was; the greatest that ever
was"
Mr.. Battle, in view Of the great inn
preston Vance made when occasion
called forth the best qualities of his
mind and heart, and in view of an
Grafton he heard from him to a pro-
miscuous crowd in Raleigh during the
campaign of 1864, when at one time
he had to attract to himself the cor
dial support of those who had been
original secessionists and destroy the
growing influence of his competitor,
". w. Holden, which was being Sc
cretlv eXerted for the termination of
the war by the action of the State in
dividually. asserted that he doubted
whether Henry Clay himself had a
greater capacity of swaying and in
| fiuencing his hearers than Gov Vance
| would have had had not his career as
statesman and as a popular speaker
been interrupted some years by the
! termination of the war and recon
| struction, Certainly no man in this
State has ever had a 1.-THE of the in
| Auence possessed by him in attract
| ing the people to him and making
| them to agree with him in opinion.
Mr.. Battle then spoke of Nance's
| short career and great popularity as a
soldier and his triumphant election as
Governor. The people &C the state
without regard to party utilization,
| turned to him as their leader in these
troublous times. How well he met
their expectations is a matter of his
/ tory. We need not repeat what Mr.,
| Battle said about his services in
clothing and feeding our soldiers, in
| supplying the people at home with
salt and other necessaries of life, and
| in upholding the dignity of his State
| - defending every citizen from inn
proper arrest by State or Confederate
| authority.
But he spoke with some feeling OF
GOV. Vance's humanity as a man, and
as Governor, in doing all he could TO
provide for the Federal prisoners at
| Salisbury at time when our own PEG
| pie were in great want of many of the
necessaries of life. 1t was hardly to
| be expected of one who made great
reputation for the zeal with which he
prosecuted the war after the State had
seeded, that he should stop to rem0n-
strate with the authorities at Rich
mond for not supplying our enemies
ia the prison at Salisbury with better
food and clothing, and he mentioned
the fact that Mr.. Stanton, at whose
instance Gov. Vance was probably ar
rested, and who, it was thought, was
seeking to have Nance's life ended
upon the gallows, upon examination
of Gov. Nance's letter book, in which
was contained his correspondence with
the President and War Department at
Richmond, was amazed to find how he
had been mistaken i'm the character Of