Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1873 — WILLIAM H. SEWARD. [ARTICLE]

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

Memorial services tohonor of the late William H. Seward took place at Albany, N. Y., on the 18th of April and the occti •ion was observed as one or great solemnity by the State authorities and as a day of Summing by the people geherally. The oration before the Legislature was'delivered by the Hon. Charles Francis Adatns. From this address we make the following extracts: On this occasion it is not my design to follow the common course of a purely chronological narrative. That work has been already well done by others who have preceded ine. ft will suffice to state that Mr. Seward was bom with the century, and issued from the college at Schenectady at the age of nineteen. Three years, passed In the customary probation of a lawyer’s office, gave him his profession, and one year more found him married. From that moment he could hope, to enlarge the basis of his imperfect education only by snatching what he might but of the intervals of rest in a busy life. Hence it becomes proper to assume that, in the just sense of the word, Mr. Seward was never a learned man. In the ardor .with which he rushed into affairs, the wonder is that he acquired what he did. To his faculty of rapid digestion of what lie-could read, lie was indebted for the attainments he actually mastered. For it should be further remarked, that though he faithfully applied himself to his profession, it was not an occupation congenial to his taste. On the contrary, he held it in aversion. He felt in himself a capacity to play a noble part on the more spacious theater of State affairs. His aspiration was for the fame of a statesman, and in indulging this propensity lie committed no mistake. The chief characteristic of his mind was its breadth of view. In this sense he was a philosopher studying polities. He began by forming for himself a general idea of government, by which all questions of a practical nature that came up for consideration were to lie tested. This naturally led him to prefer the field of legislation to that of administration, though he proved equally skillful in both. Almost simultaneously with his marriage he appeared ready to launch into the political conflicts of the hour. Commencing in this small way lie rose by easy degrees inks the atmosphere of statesmanship. As the result of a season of political'chaos and dissension the Whig element rose as the antagonist of the Democratic party; In the quibbles over immaterial questions sight was lost of the policy which was secretly lalxtring for the extension of slave territory. Sucli being the state of things at the outset of Mr. Seward’s career, the first thing necessary for him to do was to choose his side. Under his father’s roof the influences naturally-carried ifim to sympathize with the old Jeffersonian party on tlie one. hand, while therelics of the slave system-remaining in the family as house servants—the. least repulsive form of that relation —seemed little likely to inspire in him much aversion to it on the other. Nevertheless, he early formed his conclusions adversely to the organization in New York professing to lie the "successors of the Jefferson school, and not less so to the perpetuation of slavery anywhere. On the oilier hand the selection of the-more* conservative side, which lie finally-made, was one not unat tended with difficulty. The idea of a popular form of government, which lie liad built up in his own mind, was one of the most expansive kind. In this he was conservative, that besought to change, only the better to expand on a wider scale. So far'as I can comprehend the true sense of the word democracy, 1 have never found my idea more broadly developed than by him. It is far more practical than anything ever taught by Jefferson, and throws into deep shadow the performances of most of his modern disciples. He soon became a representative of the younger, the ardent and tin- liberal division which favored a policy more in harmony with the nature of our institutions than suited the adherents to long-established ideas. Yet these were not long in finding out that lie was possessed of powers to direct the popular sense, which, on the whole, it was not expedient for them to neglect. Presently an occasion made him prominent in the Shite elections. The ineonsisteucy, which he could not fail trr expose, of the power of secret societies with popular institutions, as illustrated in the wellknown story of the abduction and death of Morgan, made him first a member of the Senate of this State, and afterward raised him to be the Governor for two terms. The sentiments of Mr. Seward on the subject of slavery had l»een early expressed. Previously to graduating at college lie had passed six months in' the State of Georgia, but lie seems not to have been converted by iris experience to any faith in the system. His first public demonstration was made in a Fourth of July oration, delivered at Auburn, when he was twenty-four years old. In this speech the deliberate claim of a right in the Federal government to emancipate slaves by legislation was not less remarkable than the miscalculation of the force of the passions which led the South, in the end, to the very step that brought on the predicted consequences. Yet in his conclusion he proved a prophet. But he then could little have foreseen tlie share he was to have in controlling tlie final convulsion. Mr. Seward terminated his career as a State golitician with a very elaborate exposition of is views of policy, presented with great ability. From this date ilr. Seward remained several years in private life, steadily pursuing his profession. The course of public- affairs had not proven propitious to his party. General Taylor was made President, and si- , multaneously Mr. Seward was for tlie first time transferred from tlie field of State to that of national affairs. He came into the Senate of the United States not to leave it for twelve years. He came under circumstances of no trifling embarrassment. The new President was at the time utterly unknown to the public men and especially to him. 1 am very sure that Mr. Seward felt for some time quite uncertain wliat the issue would be. Everything depended upon the natural powers of General Taylor to distinguish the true from the false path. Happily for Mr. Sew ard, he determined to be guided by his counsel. Then came the struggle with Mexico, and Mr. Seward and the President differed in their policy. The successive speeches—one on the Util of March, the next on the 3d of July, and the last on the 11th of September of the year ISso—displayed in the clearest light his whole policy on this vital subject. At the very outset lie* declared himself opposed to a compromise with slavery in any'and all the forms in which it had bc-eii proposed, and he followed up the words with a close argument against each of those forms. Then began the great reaction in the North and West. At last the election of ]Bs(i displayed the fact that parties had thrown off disguises and were placing themselves upon the real issues vital to the country. Although the Buchanan was made to succeed Franklin Pierce, the severity of the struggle indicated but too plainly the beginning of the end. From this moment the Republican - pai U became the true antagonist to that domination. Mr. Seward now, for the first time, enjoyed the —great advantage of being perfectly free from embarrassments springing out ot a union w ith paralyzing associates in the same party. He took the field with all his vigor, and the speeches which he made, both in the Senate and before the people, remain to testify to his powers and his success. The effects of the hew union, reinforced by the extreme policy adopted by the opposite side, were made perceptible In the steady increase of the minorities in both Houses of Congress. The opening of the Thirty-sixth Congress showed that in the popular branch the Republican party counted a plurality of the members. After a long-con-tinued struggle they succeeded in electing their Speaker. It looked as if the handwriting would soon be visible on the wail. Then came a moment when a candidate of the party, at. -.last thoroughly organized, was to Vie nominated for the Presidency of 1861. [Alluding to Mr. Seward’s failure to get the nomination for the Presidency by tlie., Chicago Convention in 1860, tlie orator said]: '/ ” ■ Placing myself in the attitude of Mr. Seward,, at the moment when the news of so strange a decision would reach his ears, I think I might, like Jacques in the play, have moralized for an instant upon man’s ingratitude. But Mr. Seward, when he beard of it, did not reason on this low level. That he deeply felt such a refusal to recognize the value of his long and earnest labors In a perilous cause I have every reason Jo helieve. I had been long watching his course with the deepest interest, ■ sometimes fearful lest he might tend towards the delusive ! track of expediency, at others impatient at his calmness in moments fit to call out the fire of “ Demosthenes, yet, on the whole, if I may be fco bold as to confess it, fastened to his footsteps bv the conviction that he alone of ail .others bad most marked himself os a disciple of the school in which I had teen bred myself. In this state of mind I had indulged a strong hope, not only that his splendid services would meet with a Just acknowledgment, but that his future guidance might, be depended on in the event of critical difficulties. Mr. Seward entered Into the canvass in behalf of his rival

with the utmost energy. 1 was, myself, a witness and companion through a large part of ids journey in the West. His speeches, made at almost every central point, indicate, nht simply tlie fertility of his powers, but the 1 fidelity to which lie applied tlicffi to tlie purpose in hand. They still remain with us to testify for him themselves. The election followed, making a new era in the history of this Republic. * The slave-holding power, which had governed for more than thirty years, liad at last ceased to control. * No sooner was the result known than South Carolina lifted the banner of secession, not having eliosen to wait for any assignable cause of grievance. Congress assembled at Washington to hold the last session under tlie Administration of Mr. Buchanan. Tied hand and foot by tlie conditions under which he had received his nomination four years before, his course had been faltering and uncertain, meriting praise neither for prudence nor patriotism. In the condition tilings were in at that moment, with a Cabinet divided, and both branches of the Legislature utterly without spirit to concert measures, tlie effect was equivalent to disintegration. Disaffection became rife everywhere south of Mason and Dixon’s line. And in tlie city of Washington itself it became difficult to'find among tlie residents persons wholly free from it. If such was the condition of the disaffected party, it was scarcely tetter with the loyal side. Tlie President elect/ wasstill at home in Illinois, giving no signs of life, and there was no one of tlie faithful men I vested with authority to speak or act in his •teinrff. That something ought to be done to keep the control of tlie Capital and bridge over tlie interval between tlie 4th of March in peace and quiet was manifest. In this emergency I have it in my power to .speak only of wliat" I know Mr. Sew’ard effected on his sole responsibility. Of his calmness in the midst of difficulty, (if his fertility in re-source,-of his courage in at once breaking up the remnants of party ties, and combining, as firmly as lie eould, trusty.men, whether in the Government, in tlie army, in tlie municipal boards or elsewhere, to seyure tlie policy of keeping everything steady, I liad abundant evidence. Tin- hearty co-operation of General Bcott, then Commander-m-Chief, although surrounded by less than even lukewarm assistants,. proved of tlie highest value. Tlie day is. perhaps, not yet come, if it ever does, when all the details of these operations w ill he disclosed. - But, if it should, it will only add one more to the many causes of gratitude due by the country to the memory of Mr. Seward. But out of all tlie sources of anxiety and distrust'heaped'tip in this most fearful interval, . that which appeared to many tlie most appalling was tlie fad that we were about to have for our guide through this perilous strife a person selected partly on account of the abwmee of positive qualities, so far as lie was kuown to the public. So it seemed absolutely indispensable on every account that not only ■ Mre-Seward- should ha ve, been -early ,secured- in a prominent post, Imt that liis advice, at least, should have teen asked in regard to tlie completion of tlie organization. The value of such counsel in securing harmony in policy is too well understood to need explanation. But Mr. Lincoln as yet knew little of all this, lienee it was at quite a late period of tlie session before lie liad disclosed Ills intention to place Sir. Sew ard in tlie most prominent place. So doubtful liad some of Mr. Seward’s friends teen made by this proceeding of tlie spirit of the President, that they were disposed to advise him not to assume any responsibiltty-uoder him

Let ine not be understood as desiring to say a word in a spirit of derogation from tlie memory of, Abraham Lincoln. He afterward proved liiinseif before tlie world a pure, brave, honest man; faithful to his arduous task, and laving down his life at the last as tlie penalty fur liis country’s safety. At tlie same time it is the duty of history, in dealing with all human action, to do strict justice in discriminating between persons, and by no means to award to one honors that clearly belong to another. Furthermore, he was quite deficient jn liis acquaintance with the character mid qualities of public 'men or their aptitude for the: positions to which lie assigned them. Indeed, lie never selected them solely by that standard. Admitting tliis to be an accurate statement, tlie difficulties in tlie way of Mr. Seward on liis assuming tlie duties of tlie Foreign Department may tic readily imagined. Tlie immediate reorganization of the service abroad was imperatively demanded at all points* It may he easily conceived wliat an effect could be produced in all quarters by the equivocal, half-hearted tone prevailing among the American agents themselves. Yet, assuming it to be indispensable that the foreign service should tie reorganized, a very grave difficulty forthwith presented itself. Tlie Republican party had been so generally in opposition that but few of its prominent members had had any advantages of experience in office. And, in tlie foreign service especially, experience is almost indispensable to usefulness. .Mr. Seward himself came iuto tlie State Department with no acquaintance with tile forms of business other than that obtained incidentally through his service in the Senate. He had not had the benefit of official presence abroad, an advantage by no means trifling ill conducting the foreign affairs. ThcUnarvrlous fertility of Sir. Sew ard’s pen spread itself at once over every important point Oil tlie globe, and the lofty firmness Of his tone infused a spirit of unity of action such as liad never been witnessed before. Tlie effect of this was that from a state of utter demoralization at the outset, the foreigiLseryieerapidjy became the most energetic and united organization thus far made abroad. The evidence of this-will- remain patent in the archives of tin* nation so long as they shall be suffered to endure, It may lie questioned whether any head of an executive department ever approached Mr. Sew ard in the extent and minuteuess of the instructions he was constantly issuing during tlie critical period of tlie war. While necessarily subject to imperfection, consequent upon the rapidity with which lie wrote, liis papers will occasion rather surprise at their general excellence than at any casual defects they may contain. Even in the darkest hours his clarion voice rang out more sharp and clear in full faith of the triumph of the great cause than even in the moment of its complete success. And” tlie consequence is that the fame of William H. Seward as" a sagacious statesman is more widely spread over every part of the globe than that of ally preceding statesman in our history.- - - ■ ■■;- _r_ * * * * * * * I am not going to touch upon tlie incidents of the great war. It is enough to say that Gettysburg and Vicksburg turned the. tide, and the Administration had nothing more to fear from popular distrust, Tlie election confirmed it in power’ and little was left to do but to heal tlie wounds inflicted and restore the blessed days of peace and prosperity. Scarcely had the necessary measures been matured, and fortune begun once more to smile, w hen the hand of the assassin, unerring in its instinctive sagacity, vented ail the rage of the bullied enemy upon the heads of the two individuals of all others who most distinctly symbolized the emancipation yf the slave and the doom of the master’s pride. Then followed a successor to the chair sadly wanting in the happiest qualities of his predecessor, but readily moulded to the very same policy which had beeu inaugurated byhim. In his earnestness to save it Mr. Seward subordinated himself just as before. ****** * in the spring of 1809 lie bid a last farewell to public life. The veteran who liad fought for the establishment of the great principles of liberty—clear of all hampering compromises, who bore on his front the gash he received because he had worked too well, a scar which would have made a life-long political fortune for any purely military man —w as permitted to repair in -silence to his home, now lonely from tlie loss of thoseVvholiad made it his delight, with fewer marks of recognition of his brilliant career than he would have had if lie had been the most insignificant of our Presidents. Such is one more example of the fate that awaits “those who hang qn princes’ favors,” w hether the sovereign lx- one, or he many. And,now liis native State, having bestowed on him all the honors within her gift during his life, with a natural pride in the career of so great a son, has sought outside her borders 'fofbflebTthehuffiWesr of ills disciples to cull a few fleeting flowers and place them on his grave. While Ido honor torthis manifestation on her part, 1 trust I may be pardoned fpr remembering that he did not save the State alone —he saved the Nation. Let me turn from this subject to the more agreeable task of pointing out to you some peculiar qualities of Mr. Seward," which merit ■close attention in any view-taken of his character. Of these the most marked was his indomitable courage. By *uperfieial observers among his cotemporaries, the breadth of his popular theory was set down as little more than the agitation not unusual with our ordina-ry-demagogues. Hence the prejudices more ot less imbibed by many of- his own party, and others who knew nothing of him personally. -Yet the fact is indisputable that very few- public men in our history can be -cited who have shown so much indifference in running directly counter to the popular passions when highly excited as he aid. And in such action rt is clear that be eohld have teen prompted by .no motive other thanythe highest of personal duty. i ’ T , -V

Hitherto I have treated only Jils public life., I now propose to touch on his professional career, to which, though not attractive to him, lit steadily adhered so long ns it was practicable. lin'd lie devoted himself to it exclusively 1 have not a shadow of doubt lie w-ould have attained a position of tlie very first rank. [The speaker here related the circumstances of the memorable defense of tlie friendless negro, William Freeman, charged with murder. Mr. Adams concluded by pronouncing a eulogy upon Mr. Beward’s oratory, and read an extract from tlie argument tefore tlie jury.] I pass from tliis illustration of the resolute will and courage of tlie man to another of wholly different and a still higher kind. I shall not w'eary your patience by going over tlie well-known details of the seizure by our gallant countryman, Admiral Wilkes, of the two rebel emissaries, Mason and Slidell, by forcibly taking them from a British passenger Steamer then on iicr way over tlie high sens to a British port. You can all remember how much delighted everybody was witli tlie news. Few stopped to think of tlie possible consequences as affecting the rights of neutral nations. Some erroneous precedents were published in the journals which quieted possible doubts. Admiral Wilkes immediately received tlie official approbation of tlie House of Representatives and the Secretary of. the Navy, and rose in a moment to tlie height of a popular hero. Crowded public meeiings everywhere joined in their acclamations, proudly exultant at the gallant deed. On the other hand, tlie effect of the violent proceeding, when divulged in Great Britain, no one had a better opportunity to understand than I myself. It was at once presumed to have been authorized by the Government, so that no course was left to_the. Ministry other tlmn to demand immediate satisfaction for the insult. War was considered as inevitable: hence provision was promptly made by many to remove American property out of tlie risk of confiscation. Tlie dock-yards resounded by night as Well as by day with the ring of the hammers, fitting out the largest iron-dads, and orders went forth to assemble tlie most available troops for immediate embarkation to the points in America closest upon our northern-border, A Cabinet ■ council was promptly assembled. Four dispatches were’drawn up on. the same day, the 30th of November, three of them addressed t«i the British Minister at Washington, Lord Lyons, and one to tlie Lords Commissioners of tlie Admiralty. Ail of them distinctly anticipated an immediate rupture and made provision for the event. Looking at these proceedings as calmly as I can from our present point of view, it seems impossible-for me to doutit that tlie issue of tliis peremptory demand lias been already prejudged tiy her Majesty’s Ministers. They did not themselves believe that tlie men would lie restored. Yet, had it been judged proper to await for a few days tlie reception of official intelligence,-then on its way from Washington, these gentlemen -would have learned from Mr, Seward that the act was without.authority,-and that the Government was ready to listen to any reasonable representations that might be forthcoming: It was the writing of that preliminary dispatch that saved tlie dignity of the country'. Mr. Seward could point to it to prove that his action, when finally taken, had not been prompted by intimidation. Tlie precipitate British course had betrayed tlie rudeness of distrust and nothing more. He had- been ready to hear and discuss tlie question impartially and solely on It'S merits. A war witli Great Britain to maintain an unsound principle, merely because the people made a hero of Admiral Wilkes, would probably have ended in a triumph of tlie rebellion and a permanent disruption of tlie Union. When the time came for the assembly of tlie Cabinet to decide upon an answer to Great Britain, not a sign liad been given by the President or any of the members favorable to concession, Mr. Seward, who had been charged with tlie official duty of furnishing tlie expected answer, assumed tlie responsibility of preparing liis able argument upon which a decision was predicated to surrender the men. Upon him would have rested the wffble weight of tlie popular indignation, had it proved formidable. If I have been rightly informed, when read, it met with but few comments and less approbation. On the other hand there was no resistance. Silence gave consent, It was the act of Mr. Seward, and liis name was to lie chiefly associated—with it, whether far good or for evil. That name will ever stand signed at the foot of the dispatch. In my firm belief that act saved tlie unity of tlie nation. It was like the fable of tlie Roman Curtius; who leaped into the foaming abyss which eould have been closed in no other way. Tlie people acquiesced rather than approved, and to tliis day they have never manifested any sign of gratitude whatever. In 1809 Mr. Seward returned home to Auburn, the wreck of his former self. The continuous conflicts of twenty years, and especially those of the last eight, with the assassin’s knife, had told heavily-on liis frame. That home, too, was no longer what it liad been, when tlie gifted partner of his life and a beloved daughter spread over it sunshine and joy, in peaceful times. Worst of all the symptoms of a subtle disease, creeping slowly from the extremities, came to warn him that repose would be synonymous with decay. Nothing daunted, lie determined to fight the enemy to tlie last. He undertook the laborious task of a journey round tlie globe. The turn of liis mind, ever indulging in wide speculation upon the objects presented to his observation, is as’clearly marked in tliis as it is in any of his earlier productions. lienee it is clear that however impaired may have been" his tenement of clay, tlie living principle within held out firmly to tlie last. And now- the chief part of my work is done. I have tried to test the statesman by the highest standard known to mankind. His career covers the whole of what I designated as tlie second period of our history, thaty ’pending which; the heaviest clog to freedom, a ■perilous legacy from our forefathers, was, after long and severe conflict; at last happily removed. In this trial’Mr. Seward played a great part. His mind, taking in the broadest view of practical popular government, never failed him in the useful application of his powers to tlie removal of all adventitious obstructions to its development. He was never a mere theorist or dreamer Of possibilities lie could not reach. lie speculated boldly, but lie was an actor all tlie while, and effected results. It is in tliis sense that I think my narrative lias established for him a just claim to the high position I assigned tohinrat iny outset. He may not, indeed,, rise to the full stature of tlie philosopher statesman, “equal to the present, reaching forward to the future,’’ never seen even m the palmy days of ancient Greece, or perhaps anywhere else, hut at least lie stands in the first rank of those admitted most nearly to approach it. Thus far I have considered him exclusively in his public life. The picture would scarcely seem complete if I omitted a word about him as a man like all the rest of us. By nature he can scarcely be said to have teen gifted with the advantage of an imposing presence, such as fell to the lqj of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Webster; Neither in face nor in figure would he have attracted particular notice, and both his voice and articulation-were little favorable to tlie power of liis elocution; yet he had in a remarkable degree the faculty of fixing the hearer’s attention—the surest test of oratorical superiority. His familiar conversation rarely kept in the dreary round of commonplace, and often struck into original and instructive paths. His personal address was easy and careless, sometimes rather Blunt. It lacked something of' the polish of the most refined society, but there w:as a simplicity and heartiness in his genial hours that often brought one close to him in a moment. At times, when in good spirits, there seemed a superabundant glee springing from his own thoughts, which spentJtself in laughter more robust than could be wholly accounted for by anything expressed. And yet it had a ' sympathetic power over the hearers almost irresistible. In his domestic relations he was pure and affectionate —ready to heed the monitions of a gifted and refined partner, and profit by her prudent counsel. To his intimate friends he was deeply attached. The line of great statesmen in Ameriek may or may not stretch out In yen bright track that-fires the western skies, to the crack of doom. But the memory of him who guided our course through the mos,t appalling tempest yet experienced in our annals can scarcely fail to confront aJJ future aspirants iu tlie samq honorable career, as an example w hich every one of them may imitate to his advantage, but which few can hope to be so fortunate as to excel.” ; Cost of Artesian Wells. —The Union Pacific Railroad Company have latelysunk six artesian wells on the elevated plains over which that road passes, 4,000 feet above the sea level. The deepest so, far is about 1,300 feet. A well of 1,000 feet in depth costs about $1,500. Several of these wells yield about 1,000 gallons per hour, sufficient for irrigating twenty acres of land, Others bring water to within ten or fifteen feet of the surface, and then pumps must be used. The flowing wells - are certain to be of immense benefit for agricultural purposes in the future.