The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-17
ROBERT TOOMBS
By JOHN GOODE

sA-Ra@AtAA Aae&k Esh Aa#& 1tsf# E4aAAHAE- II EEF
h4Ch he snoutf ga f8r executive
c~lemeucy. and that ~ would Uy~ auA
die ~uure INSTRUCTED During tHe last
years 90 E.s lire "a w@s NGT rua.nfu u
pass th- summer months al the
Greeu-b-.vr White sulphur Snriuss
ana / have ofteu listened 20 Sim as az
gave his views aoout puoi!c msu Hna
public measures
Sitting beneath the petrfmousat "a :
r. that amous resort 3tth a trb~d
around him. especially Of Northern It's
teneTs. eagerly attending - every word
tAaf dropped from his lips. hc declared
that hs had no cpunfr, since tie sub
jugation ~ his beloved south. that Ae
feii a. an exile ia gne land % Sls ma
tlvity and IA the language OF tre bard
OF Erln. IA felt Ike exclaimine
The harp that once through Tera.s
halls
The soul of music shed.
Now lies as mute on Tara's walls
As though that sou We're dead
\ Lord, Life.
Not long prior to his death pubic
journal IN his State. said az him THE
PEOPLE OF Georgia never loved anv
man better than they loved General
Toombs. and the signs that his race
has been nearly run have awakened "A
tender interest in him and in all that
70 him pertains. He Is the most re-
maTkable man in many respects that
n" south has ever produced. and IL is
doubtful II the records of a icSdlser
life than his can be found in tie his
tory Of u Republic. He has never
moved as other men nor worked hv
ordinary methods. He has been king
ly in all his ways. lavish in all opin-
ions. d~isdaining all expedients or DELHI
Grafton. and moving TO his ambitions
with a princely assumption that has
never been gainsaid BY the people. and
seldom by circumstances"
He was earnest and Jealous in tho
cause OF the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite Of Freemasonry. OF which
he became a member OF the thirty
third. or highest degree. and from
1872 to 1880 he was an active mem
Der of the rite In the State of Georgia
After his death Albert Pike. the most
eminent Mason in this ountrv who
had known him long and intimately.
wrote Of him as follows: "A great man.
old and fun OF days. has been gather
ed lnto his fathers, a man Of trans
cendant ability. pre-eminently gifted
with logical faculty. of strong. clear in
~tellect. a great lover Of truth, and sin
gularly keen in distinguishing it from
the false; a man quick in determining,
reSOlute and adheriug TO and bold in
announcing his conclusions and con-
victiOns, an accomplished lawyer. an
ardent and impassioned orator, vehe-
ment and imDerious in debate; a {
dent who had accumulated great store
of knowledge of many kinds: a man
of antique greatness of soul, OF true
nobility of character. n of perfect in
tegrity, scorning concealment and de-
ceit and the raScalities of dialectics:
i'm petuouS, and sometimes in his ut
~terances, harsh, indiscreet and reck-
less. as if moved by passion and intol-
erance OF opinion; and yet. for all this
utward seeming, genial and generous,
most hospitable, kind-hearted. amia-
bic, forgiving; a man whom n could
not long be with without coming to
love him: a mar who, take him all in
all, had in his prime of life no equal
in intellect in the Southern States Of
the Union"
His Defiance to the Senate.
In his last address to the Senate MI.
ToOmbs was very defiant, and spoke as
follows:
' you will rot regard Confederate
obligations; you will not egard Con-
stitutional obligations; you Will not re-
gard your Oaths. What, then, am I
to do? Am / a free man? Is my State
a free State? We are free men; we
have rights; / have stated them. We
have wrongs: / have recOunted them.
I have demonstrated that the party
now coming into power has declared
US outlaws, and is determined to eX-
clude thousands of millions of our
property from + territories:
that it has declared us under the ban
of the Union. and out Of the protection
of the laws of the United States ev-
erywnere. Thoy have refused to pro-
tect us from invasion and insuTrec-
ton by the Federal power, and the
Constitution denies to US in the Union
the right to raise fleets or armies for
defense.
"All these charges 1 ave proven by
the record; and l put them before the
civilized world and demand the iudg-
ment of today, of tomorrow, Of dis
tant ages, n of heaven Itself upon
the justice OF these causes. am
content. whatever it be, to peril all in
so noble. so holy a cause. We lave aD-
pealed time and time again for these
constitutional rights; you have re-
fused them.
we appeal again. Restore us these
rights as we mad them, as our court
adjudges them to be. just as our peo-
pie nave said they are; redress these
fragrant rongs seen of all men. and
it will restore fraternity and peace
and unity to all of US. Refuse them.
n what then? We shall then ask
you: Let us depart in peace Refuse
that II % present us war. We
banners the glorious words. Liberty
and Equality, we Will trust to the
blood of the brave and the God of
battles for security and tranquility"
TOOmbs and stephens.
In a publication entitled Southern
Statesman of the Old Regime" in
which a very striking contrast is
drawn between two great Gecrgians-
Alexander H Stephens and Robert
Toombs-showing the predominant
characteristics Of each, the writer
says: AS to the actual eloduence
of the two men. It is hard to rea \ any
conclusion. Both could carry away
q jury or a crowd upon n hastings.
and the secret of their power lay not
50 much in the matter of their
speeches as in the way they delivered
them. Yet, never did two orators
present a greater contrast Toombs,
with his strength of body and voice
and impetuous force of conviction:
voice and calm responsiveness. They
may not have been as great orators as
their admirers have asserted, but the
fact remains that they exerted great
power over all sorts and conditions OF
men
In an address delivered by Colonel
Charles c. Jones. Jr., found in the
papers of the Southern Historical So
ciety, the orator says OF Mr.. loom s:
He was a mar OF marked physical
beauty, the dol OF a p~rincely people.
goIden-tongued and lio~n-hearted, the
blood of the Cavaliers flashing in his