The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-05

great M~ississippian:
I'm nearly all Of Mr.. Davis's speeches
is recognized the peryasion of intellect
which IS preserved even in his most i'm
passionate passages. He goes to the very
foundations of Jurisprudence, illustrates by
historical example and throws upon his Ms
which is shed by diligent inquiry into
the abstract truths Of political and moral
out vehemence. classical elegance and a
luminous simplicity. are features IN DAVIS S
oratory which rendered him one OF the
most finished, logical. and effective of
contemnorary Ia Iiamentary spea kers. He
had less Of the characteristics Of Mirabeau
than Of the higher type Of eloQuence OF
were representatives and which is per
vaded by passion subordinated to the Sc
yerer tribunal Of intellect
His sensitiveness to personal and
official honor, and his exceeding con-
s~cientiousness in the discharge Of pub
lie duties, Weer among the chief char
acteriSticS OF this serious and stainless
man. Great politicians said Vol
taire, ought always to deceive the
people, But such was not the sacred
creed Of Jefferson Davis, who held that
public men should invariably and
scrupuiously be honest with the peo-
pie, having nc condolences from which
they are excluded and no policies In
which they were not invited to share.
Free from conscious sOphiStry and the
very SOU O1 Cd1OOI, he never sought
to conceal or obscure, but to make
the truth SO luminous that he who
ran could read. His own eloquent
Characterization Of President Franklin
Pearce might be fittingly applied to
Jefferson Davis himself: If treachery
had come near him it would nave
stood abashed in the presence of his
truth. his manliness and his confidfns
simplicity"
In official life, he knew no word but
duty. When in Congress, q rivers and
harbors bill was pending on one occa-
sion, and seeing that comb limitations had
been formed to secure certain local,
trivial appropriations, he opposed the
measure with characteristic v1gor. In
the course Of the debate he was asked
if he did not favor appropriations for
Mississippi; in spoons TO which he
retorted sharply and c%oncluded: Il
feel, sir, that I am incapable of sec
tional distinctions upon such a sub
ject. I abhor and reject all interested
combinations"
He was the very soul Of chivairy.
No plumed knight Of the Middle Ages
ever had higher regard for the virtue
Of woman or the integrity Of man or
the sacrednesS of a cause. Sensitive
to wrong, cherished above measu his
stainless honor, he never in the least
betrayed it nor allowed another to M
pugn it. Had he remained il the mill
l"A y z ~ l. 0odUA 1oL lkACti1 he
would have been on the tented field
what Sir Henry Havelock became to
the chivalry Of England.
His was q proud but noble and af-
f~ectionate nature. Some have thought
him a cold, austere, severe man, lack
ing In the gentler elements and sym
pathles of a generous sou. But nothing
could be farther from the fact. His
affections were most ardent, his
friendships partook Of the pathetic,
and the tenderness Of his heart often
dimmed his eyes with tears. AND he
was at all times most approachable.
No citizen was 50 poor, no soldier SO
NIB no man so obscure, as not to
have ready access to his presence and
sympathetic attention..
Mr.. Davis was a statesman. with
neither taste nor ability for mere poll
tlcal manipulation. He relied upon
high argument. and not political man |
agement, to achieve the great END. for |
which his party stood, and for which
ais young republic was called into
being. 1t was impossible for him to
resort to questionable methods and
dennagoglcal appeal in order to win
elections and carry out party or gov
policies.
He was a profound, philosophical
statesman, with a thoroughly trained
intellect and an exalted sense OF moral
responsibility Il his logical process.
he quite resembled the illustrious
John c. Calhoun, whose genius he
greatly admired and with whose p1li-
ucal creed he WaS in su bstantial ac-
core And when Mr.. Calhoun passed
away, amid the lamentations of the
whole nation, the great party he had
led with such contaminated skill turn
ed 1nstinctively to Jefferson Davis as
1~nconparably the ablest ~exD0nent Of
the basic principles for which they
feariessly stood. His superb and com
handing leadership INDICATED their
generous confidence and vastly en-
larsed the strength and measures Of
his national influence.
AS Secretary of War in the cabinet
of Pierce-and by common
consent he was the premier in that