Sentence:  Ezra Stiles Gannett , an honorable representative of the sanhedrin , <WSD>addressed</WSD> himself frankly to the issue in 1845 , insisting that Parker should not be persecuted or calumniated and that in this republic no power to restrain him by force could exist . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  address or apply oneself to something, direct one's efforts towards something, such as a question