The times., 1901-05-26
An kr,crican DinIomnt.

A somewhat bulky volume just pub
lishe6 contains, as declared by the title
page, "Orations and Essays of Edward
John Phelps, Ii. D. The editor of the
collection is J. G. Mccullough, and there
is memoir by John ". Stewart The Sc
iections are made from those OratiOns and
writings OF Mr.. Phelps which most ef-
fectyely illustrate his character as diplo-
mat and statesman. and they cover a
wide range Of subjects, professional, lit
erary. and Biographical. Among them are
orations on the occasion Of the Benning
ton Centennial. on Chief Justice Marshall,
Samuel Prentiss, and Isaac Z. Redheld,
on international relations, the sovereignty
of the people. the Monroe Doctrine and
law as a profession. The essays selected
deal with the Constitution of the United
States. the choice of Presidential electors,
Bryce's American Commonwealth" the
f5ehring Sea controversy, and The Age
of Words" The book as whole can
not fail to be not only exceedingly inter-
estiBg, but extremely valuable to almost
anyone.
The work of Mr.. Phelps is never, from
first to last, mere eloquence. He does not
descend to the use of language once indi-
Gated by a cynical proyerb-monger; he
uses it not to cloak, but to express,
on occasion, the historian, the biographer,
or the philosopher.
In his address at Bennington he gives.
in few sentences, a vivid picture of the
early civilization of Vermont and ex-
plains the difference between this battle
and others fought by the organized Amer
tcan troops against the British. He says:
1T was. on our side the peoples
fight No Government directed or sup
piled it: no regular force was con-
cerned; ii was a part Of no organized
campaign New Hampshire sent her
hastily embodied militia. not the less
volunteers. In Vermont and Massa-
chusettS it was the spontaneous up
rising of rural and peace-lOying pop
ulation. TO resist invasion, to defend
their homes, to vindicate their right
OF sell government Lexington and
Bunker Hill were in this respect its
only parallels in the Revolutionary
war The situation of the in
habitants of the Hampshire Grants
was most critical Their whole from
tier was open to the incursions OF an
enemy whose allies were SavageS.
They had been totally neglected by
Congress; not a step had been taken
for their relief. Scattered sparSely
through the country upon their farms,
without any organized State govern
ment almost destitute OF the material
OF war, except the firearms in their 4
houses. they still had no thougnt of
flight or submission. They called upon
er, appointed by their convention, and |
not only appointed. but solemnly kept.
And then they called upon New Hamp-
shire and John Stark New Hamp-
shire. ablaze with patriotic feeling. is
sued instant orders Tor her militia to
march. Stark's reply was brief, for
he was not a man of words l am on
the way said he, with all the men l
can muster
Full Justice has been done, in his |
tory and tradition. TO the bravery and
III srsz~sc Of ToT7va arLy TrT%
great qualities as a general have not
been set forth as they deserve. No
better piece Of military work was seen
in the Revolution than he did in that
brief but sudden campaign. He con-
centrated the scattered militia at
Charleston with a rapiOlty that was
marvellous He was impeded by the /
want of the most necessary and or
binary supplies. Detained, he wrote,
for lack Of bullet molds: but one pair
in town: for they had their own bul-
lets TO cast: striving in vain 10 get
three or four field-pieces mounted; 1
the powder he had depended upon half
spoiled. Yet, receiving his orders on
the I'd of july, while the militia were
all at their homes, he marched with
the last of them from Charleston, on
the Sd of August. On the 1th he was
at Manchester, through the wilderness |
and across the Green Mountains, by |
incapable roads. ana without any ade-
quate transportation On the 9th ne
was at Bennington. with his own
forces and the Massachusetts, and Yer
mont men organized and in hand. On
the 18th he engaged the enemy on
the 18th the battle was fought If 1
there had been no battle at all, such
celerity and precision Of movement.
with an irregular force, in the face of
such difficulties, would alone have oeeh
generalship Of the highest order
II viii be seen from this that Mr..
Phelps was not without that true-bearted
appreciation of his own particular people
which is apt to be at the foundation of the
mans nature. To love all
men. or to understand humanity, one must
first love or understand ones own folk. It
Is also interesting TO note further on in his
address the statement that Vermont sent
thousand men, almost tenth
OF her whole population, to the civil war
II was not only the men Of Virginia and
Kentucky who were willing to die for a
cause which they believed TO be right and
II should be remembered that the farmers
Of Vermont had no trusty slaves or even
servauts 10 leave at home to take care Of
their plantations; the farms had to get or
as best they might while the master was
away.
In the address on Chief Justice Marshall
there is a paragraph which is Of especial
and Importance just at pres
ent. II Is this:
were mainly derived, Parliament is ON
nipotent. Il IS the tribunal charged
with the administration Of the unwrit- .
ten British constitution. Their action ,
in that sphere is final Any statute
they deem IL proper to pass is q valid
statute, and controls all rights, public
and private. The American Constitu-
ton Is based upon a different theory.
That difference, as IL seems to me. is
the distinguishing and almost the only
vital difference from the constitution
Of Great Britain. The mere machinery
of the administration OF the Govern
ment; the manner In which the Chief
Magistrate shall be elected; the term
of his office; the appointment of his
subordiua ates-these and other details
are subject TO change, as time and ex-
perience shall point out They are not
essential 10 our system II is not upon
these that republican government re-
poses. It Is, / say-and / repeat in or
der to emphasize more clearly the
proposition / desire TO present-it is
upon the entrusting to the judicial de-
partment OF the whole subject Of the
constitutional law, for all purposes. =
that our Government rests. While that q
stands and is maintained in it's purity :
this Constitution Will stand" ,
Holding these views, it is not strange
hat Mr.. Phelps advocated, IN more than
'ne Of these essays and addresses. the
evotion of the lawyer to Ideals To many :
'eople ii seems almost ridiculous that :
awyer should pretend to any such thing, :
ut this distinguished mer1.Der of the pro :
eec cfC Lrae