Oxford Democrat., 1909-08-31

CuaTdCIeT TOOltu III tuo pIiuCipioo w
truth and right. Public life is better,
private life is sweeter, because he lived.
It is better for us all that he lived, and
that we honor his memory as we do TO-
day.
Hon. Charles S. Hamlin of Boston
spoke as follows:
In the limited time allotted to me it
will be impossible to refer in detail to
the many distinguished services render.
ed the state and the nation by Hannibal
Hamlin, the hundredth anniversary of
whose birth we celebrate to-day. Such
reference, however, is not necessary for
the services be rendered form part,
and an important part, of our country's s
history and he who has read that history
must needs know that life.
To my mind, perhaps the most con-
spicuous trait of the man was his good
judgment and unerring common sense.
which, coupled with craftsmanship of
high order and lofty patriotism, have
projected his life into our country's his.
tory so that he stands forth not only a
great leader of men, but, as well wise
framer of laws, at time when leader
ship and legislative capacity was imper-
atively called for by the nation.
The period of time covered by his use
full life embraces the most critical period
of the history of our county, period
during which there was developed from
foundation we'll laid but not too secure,
an imposing structure of government ad-
mitted by all to be, both ideally and in
fact, the most successful Republic in the
worlds history.
In the building up of this structure
Hannibal Hamlin played an important
part, aud in dwelling briefly upon this
historical evolution | feel that am
thereby paying worthy tribute of re-
spect and admiration to him who did so
much to make it reality.
1t is difficult to grasp the marvellous
growth of our country since its founda-
tion. The early colonists, more or less
independent communities, soon found
that they must come together into some
form of union and there resulted the
confederation to resist the attacks Of
hostile Indians; then followed the irri-
tating differences with the mother coun-
try which brought forth the committees
of correspondence; the next step pro-
duced the continental congress which
proclaimed that great document, the
Declaration of Independence; then fol-
lowed the Articles of Confederation, and
lastly, as crowning result, our present
constitution.
We should never forget that under
that constitution the people of the
United States owe allegiance to no per.
sopal sovereign or ruler. They owe
allegiance to our government this
allegiance is two.fold,-to the govern
ment of the state as well az that of the
nation. There is, or should be, no con-
fict in this two.fold allegiance; it is
recognized and affirmed in the constitu-
ton of the United States.
At different periods of our national
life, however, popular attention has
been diverted from one of the dual sys.
TENS of government under which We
live and concentrated upon the other.
At the foundation of our government.
under the constitution, the national
| idea, of necessity, came to the front, for
a national government bad just been
created. The people of the sovereign
states surrendered with much reluctance
part Of their sovereign power to the
| new national government. Under the
Interpretation and guidance, however, of
those great leaders, Wilson, Marshall,
Webster, Hamlin and others, the growth
of the nation under the powers granted
by the people has been steady and sure
Hannibal Hamlin represented, perhaps
as well as any man in our history, those
who firmly believed in the preservation
Of the sovereign rights Of the individual
states which had not been transferred to
the national government. In fact hr
may be said to be one of the conspicu.
GUS leaders among those who were bred
under the inspiration of the states rights
doctrine. Under his leadership that
doctrine steadily developed. Side by
side with it, however, was the doctrine
of the other school which emphasized
and stood for the power of the national
government. While in theory, as have
stated, there was no necessary confic;
between the two, yet in practice the his.
tory of our country has been but a
record of the conflicts between these two
schools of political thought as recorded
in the legislation of congress and of the
states respectively. For many years in
fact the so.called states rights doctrine
marked the dividing line between the
two principal political parties.
The great political party, however, to
which Hannibal Hamlin then belonged
carried the states rights doctrine to
such extremes that statesmen began t.
perceive that the doctrine thus applied
might become, as it did become, incon
sistent with the perpetuity of our nation
al government. Out of this conflict be
tween states rights and national power
finally came the civil war from which
the national idea emerged triumphant
think it can be stated with confidence
that Hannibal Hamlin, to the time o
his death, never departed from those
fundamental ideas as to the rights of th'
individual states which he had imbibet
from early boyhood. The unreasonable
extreme application of these ideas, how
ever, became repellent to his keen intelli
gence and his broad craftsmanship an,
finally his conscience compelled him Il
leave the party which insisted upor
such application; yet he stood fast t.
the ideas themselves as an essential par
of the foundation of our great govern
ment, believing them in no degree in
consistent with the broadcast Nationa
development.
When we compare the period just fol
lowing the establishment of the Consti
tuition of the United States with moderl
times we realize how steadily the con
ception of National power has grown
At the beginning Of this period, in fac
up to and far beyond the time of tn
birth and early days of Hannibal Ham
lin, while the National Constitution wa
Loyalty accepted, yet the prevailing
theory seems to have been that th
United States Government was littl
more than confederation of States. A
the present time, however, we recogniz
that our National Constitution created
great Nation and that National unity an
power can exist without conflict with tn
rights Of the individual States, right