The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-31

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 The following 4s an address before the Peter Forney Chapter of the D. A. RI. and their friends at the carnegie Library delivered March 1s, by Hon. Thomas H. Clark:
 Alexander Hamilton bulks large in the history and literature of this country. His fane extends to Europe. Indeed. if the familiar saying Is sound one, that the Judgment of foreign countries is the judgment of posterity, then Hamilton has won secure rank, and this is high. Among the French TaIlyerand's praise Is well known. That compound of genius and dirt. knew Hamilton personally and Knowing all Of his European contemporaries of note solemnly declared that he considered Napoleon. Fox and Hamilton the three greatest men of his epoch. and if com pefled to make a choice he would un- heaitatfngly assign the first place to Hamilton. sIIe had divined Europe ralleyrand added. Guixot was of tho 0pfnion that there Is not in the con- sfitution of the United States an ele- ment of order, of force or of duration which he (7amilton), has not power fully contributed to introduce Into and caused to predominate" Across the channel eminent publlcists like Prof.
 
 hesitated to place Hamilton with Washington and above all. except Washington. among our great famil- i lars, the fathers" sof our country. With ourselves enthusiastic eulogy is common. Fisher Ames, himself bril- liant man. walled Hamilton's death in florid metaphor. Tt Is not as Apollo enchanting the shepherds with his Tyre. that we dep1ore him; 1t is as Hercules, treachously slain in the midst of his unfinished labors, leaving the world overrun with monsters" The his- torian. Hildreth, may be confi- dently looked to in general to strike severe note and yet Hildreth is able to record that Hamilton possessed with Washington the same rare and lofty qualities, the same 3ust balance of soul, with less indeed of Washing toms severe simplicity and awe-inspir- ing presence, but with raore of warmth, variety. ornament and force
 You now have, what I wished to give you, a full measure of my tenn erity in attacking Hamilton.
 Carlyle once confessed he had often felt tempted to take Washington down a peg. Must we not allow that is natural feeling and while we may be glad for his own sake that the old growler of Ecclefechan and Chelsea did not at tempt to execute his sinister design on Washington, ''our best great man and I think admit it is a relief to the aus terity of Washington, to reflect that as a youth he fought chickens, raced horses. dispensed liquors by the hogs head to accomplish his election to the House of Burgesses and later when he should have known better, if ever-I at the battle of Monmouth--as related by his step-son. custis, The swore like an angel from Heaven" paths may be be quite sure heard and gratefully relished by some of the ancestors Of my fair hearers.
 Give me leave. however, to aver that In attacking Hamilton. do it in no spirit of aetfaction for detraetion's sake. I acknowledge here alone an obedience to the historical conscience. We should try.r should we not to look at him at all men, without illusion? illusions are often pleasant we know, but they are never profitable. We should contend against them in giv- ing our admiration for our admira- tions are the bbest part of us. Tell me with whom you associate and will tell you what you are; tell me what you admire and will tell you what you would love to become. Even in the spirit of Sainte- Beuve's fine say Ing. We should have preferences, but no exclusfons,' if we are to preserve the most antmating quality of our admirations. the most elevasing, we nAOu4O try 10 JuukC dll things, all per sona. with sobriety and candor, keep Ing an eye on the object. I profess to have tried to look at our subject in this way. So regarding him l am constrained to attempt some abate- ment from the enormous pretensions commonly put forth in his behalf.
 Alexander Hamilton was born on January Il, 175T. in one of the British West Indies, the little island of Nevis. His mothers maiden name was Ra- chael Faucette. She was of French Huguenot extraction and had married at an early age, a Dane by the name of Levine. In those days less was known of incompatibility in temper as a ground for divorce, than we know in the blessed radiance of the tWen- tieth century's civilization. A divorce for this pair could not be had; a prop erty settlement was made and a sep aration followed At a later day, Mrs Levine in companionship with James Hamilton, a cadet of an old Scotch family, became the mother of Alex Rnder Hamilton. The truth of what Is here stated is vouched for in a way by Timothy Pickering, an intimate friend and admirer of Hamilton; by Gouverneur Morris, who alleges It's truth without question; by John Adams. and recently by Mrs. Gertrude Ather- ton.
 The questionable condition in which Hamilton himself and his descendants have left the story of his birth has been. we must suppose. the reason some negroes have lately felt privi- legged to claim him as belonging to khe black race. One of these. amongst the best known in this country, ad- vanced the claim in Carnegie Hall, N Y., few weeks ago. The calumny is