Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 80 of those read), 1889

Worcester County has always been prominent in all measures tending to moral and social reform. Especiaily has it been so in everything calculated to extend and secure personal liberty to all of every color and condition in life. The man elsewhere claimed as a slave never failed to find freedom and protection here, and he who sought to establish ownership in the blood and lieart of man, to meet opposition and defeat.

In May, 1707, the town of Worcester instructed its representatives to the General Court of the Province, - "That you use your influence to obtain a law to put an end to that uncliristian and impolitic practice of making slaves in this Province;" and in

March, 1774, it instructed its representative, Joshua Bigelow, " to resist the most distant approaches to slavery." Other towns of the county gave similar instructions to their representatives. In 1773 the town of Leicester instructed its representative, - " To discountenance, in every suitable way, the holding of any of our fellow-creatures in a state of slavery." An eminent historical writer of New York has recently cited at some length the instructions of this town, and added - " It is much to be regretted that the General Court of Massachusetts did not pass some act against slavery and tlie slave-trade, embodying the wi.se suggestions of the men of Leicester."

Colored men from W^orcester County fought bravely for the liberty of the State, which" thus protected them, at Bunker Hill and in the trenches around Boston. In 1781 the final effort of slavery to maintain itself in Massachusetts was made in the county of Worcester. A colored man, too poor and humble to have even a well-defined and recognized Christian name, who was named in the proceedings as Quack, Quacko, Quork and Quorko Walker, was claimed as a slave by a respectable gentleman of Barre, named Nathaniel Jennison. He claimeil that Walker was born his slave, and belonged to him by inheritance. This claim was not agreeable to the good men of Barre, who were then fighting against Great Britain for their own liberty and that of all witliin the borders of their State. Walker was aided by the prominent men of the town in resisting the claim of Mr. Jennison. In tlie Court of Common Pleas, June term, 1781, Jennison brought suit again.st John and Seth Caldwell for enticing away his slave, Quork Walker. This court rendered a judgment in favor of the plaintifi-; but the Caldwells appealed the case to the Supreme Court, where the judgment of the inferior court was ultimately reversed. In the mean time the grand jury of the county found an indictment against Nathaniel Jennison for an assault on - Quack Walker in September, 1781. The defendant justified on the ground that the party assaulted was his property as a slave. The final hearing was had at the April term, 1783. Levi Lincoln, the elder, and Caleb Strong appeared for the prosecution, while the defendant was represented by John Sprague, of Lancaster, and William Stearns, of Worcester. Addressing the court, Mr. Lincoln said : " Is it not a law of nature that all men are equal and free? Is not the law of nature the law of God? Is not the law of God, then, against .slavery? If there is no law of man's establishing, then there is no difficulty in this case. If there is such a law, then the diificulty is to determine which law you ought to obey, and if you have the same view that I have of present and future things, you will obey the law of God." The court sustained the view of the learned and able counsel for the prosecution. Chief Justice Cushing, in pronouncing tlie opinion of the court, used the liillowing language: "In the opinion of the court our constitutional government, by which all of this Commonwealth have solemnly bound themselves, sets out with deciding that all men are born free and equal, and that every subject is entitled to liberty, and to have it guarded by the laws, as well as life and property, and, in short, it is totally repugnant to the idea of any being born slaves. This being the case, I think the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and constitution, and there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude by a rational creature, unless his liberty is forfeited by some criminal conduct or given up by personal consent and contract." With these words the chains, hitherto illegally fastened, fell from every human form within the Commonwealth. Massachusetts declared, by its highest authority, that no person ever had been, or could be, held in slavery under its laws. The "Higher Law " was proclaimed in April, 1783, in the Worcester Court House, by Levi Lincoln, the leader of the county bar, afterwards Jefterson's Attorney-General, in terms (|uite as bold and unmistakable as by William H. Seward, in the United States Senate, three-quarters of a century later, when summoning the North to its final battle against slavery. And the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth sustained the declaration by its authoritative and neverreversed judgment, .lennison was fined forty shillings and costs.

When the Constitution of the United States, adopted at Philadelphia in 1787, was submitted to the several States for ratification, the Massachusetts convention, held at Boston, January and February, 1788, only agreed to it by a slender majority. (Jne of the grounds of objection was its attitude towards slavery and the slave trade. The vote was taken by counties. Worcester County gave seven votes for its adoption and forty-three against it. This vote may fairly be regarded as in a considerable degree indicating the position of the county at that time on the question of slavery. This is not the place to dwell at any length upon that great, we may say that magnificent, measure which the government took at the outset, known as the ordinance of 1787. By it, the entire territory northwest of the Ohio River was made free soil forever, and slavery therein forever prohibited. The State of Virginia had a controlling voice in that decision ; and her leading statesmen - and the United States had none superior - gave full consent to that prohibition. But the needful labor of bringing the subject to the attention of Congress, of keeping it there, and of persistently urging action upon it, until action was had, was done largely l>y Massachusetts men, prominent among whom, and a leader of the very highest intelligence and sagacity, was General Rufus Putnam, of Rutland, Worcester County. He was foremost in settling Ohio with free colonists, as, in the final contest between the same great powers, Kansas was colonized under Worcester County influences.

Slavery, notwithstanding, grew and increased in aggression and menace. The admission of Missouri in 1821 as a slave State, and the adoption of the parallel of 361° as a line south of which slavery might have full control, furnished proof of the strength of the slave power, and inflicted severe disappointment upon the friends of a free republic. The North w.as advised to be content with its share of free territory, and an " era of good-feeling " was somewhat sharply inculcated. But it could not long endure. In 1830- 31 William Lloyd Garrison made the first challenge of slavery as a sin against God and man, the first uncompromising stand against its longer duration. " Immediate and unconditional emancipation," was his demand. He established The Liberator in Boston, and continued it without interruption until slavery was made unconstitutional and illegal in every part of the land. The conscience and religious feeling of the nation responded to his call ; if slowly, surely ; and the eff"ect8 of his demand were felt on all sides.

Worcester County gave an early response by subscribing largely to the Liberator, and engaging in anti-slavery labors therein suggested. Lecturers and distributors of anti-slavery literature went into every town, and found a hearing. Anti-slavery societies were formed in many towns. Under the leadership of Rev. George Allen, then of Shrewsbury, but for the greater part of his life of Worcester, a convention of ei^ghty ministers of the county was held in Worcester in 1838, which issued a decided declaration against slavery. Two county societies were formeil, called respectively the North and South Division Anti-Slavery Societies. In the records of the South Society its first-mentioned meeting bears date February 15, 1838, but evidently other meetings had preceded it. Its president was Thomas W. Ward, of Shrewsbury, with vice-presideuts in West Brookfield, Worcester, Millbury, Charlton, Uxbridge and Blackstone. Edward Earle, of Worcester, was secretary, Samuel H. Colton was treasurer, and George Allen, corresponding secretary. Other oflicers were Efiingham L. Capron, Ichabod Washburn, Samuel Waters, Adin Ballou and Jonathan P. Grosvenor. It hekl quarterly meetings, on Sundays and week-days, in churches, where it could, in public halls, where it

The most eminent lecturers spoke throughout the county, among whom were Abby Kelley, Lucy Stone and Stephen S. Foster, of its own residents.

The successive presidents after Mr. Ward were John M. Fiske, of West Brookfield ; Samuel May, of Leicester ; Effingham L. Capron, of Worcester ; and Josiah Henshaw, of West Brookfield. The names of two hundred and sixteen members are recorde<l.

Tne North Division did a similar work. Both societies were vigilant, persevering, sparing no party or sect which failed in duty to freedom, and ceased not from their work until the principles for which they were formed had been accepted by the country.

and had become embodied in the National Constitution. It is well to make mention here of these men and organizations, for they were the bold and uncompromising pioneers in the noble work which has resulted in making the whole country free.

Among the anti-slavery men and women of Worcester County, the name of Abby Kelley should have a prominent place. She was born in Pelham, Mass., in 1811; but her parents, descendants of Irish Quakers, removed to Worcester in her infancy. Her education was completed at the Friends' School in Providence, and she was a teacher for several years in- Worcester, Millbury and Lynn. She resigned a desirable place in Lynn in 1837 and gave up he)' cherished hopes of school work, and began lecturing upon the subject of slavery, being the first woman to address mixed audiences in favor of abolition. She was for more than twenty-five years the representative and the voice, to all she could reach, of the enslaved millions in our land. Her earnestness and persistence brought much censure upon her and even harsh accusations, in which churches and pulpits took part. She left her vindication to others, and went on undeterred in her work. In 184.5 she was married to Stephen S. Foster, a well-known antislavery speaker. They continued their work of lecturing until slavery was no more. Then they lived upon their farm, in Worcester, until Mr. Foster's death, in 1881. Mrs. Foster .survived him until January 14, 1887, when she died, honored and respected by all who knew her spirit and life, whether or not they fully agreed with all that she said and did. It was of her that James Russell Lowell wrote :

" No nobler gift »tf lieait anti brain, No life more white from spot or staiu, Was e'er on Freedom's altar laid Than her's - the simple Quaker maid."

Prominent among the clergymen of the county who were active in these preliminary anti-slavery movements were: Samuel May, of Leicester; George Allen, of Shrewsbury and Worcester; Elnathan Davis, of Ashburnham ; and George Trask, of Fitchburg. Mr. Allen was especially active with voice and pen, and Mr. May was one of the most valued contributors to the Liberator.

Almost, if not quite, the sole survivor of this determined and faithful band, his benignant presence still graces the home on Leicester Hill, whence, for more than fifty years, he has exerted an influence so pure and important.

Thus Worcester County was disciplined and prepared for the great part it was to play in the final disruption of the old parties, upon both of which slavery leaned; and the establishment of the new, pledged to its limitation, and, ultimately, its extinction. The annexation of Texas, followed immediately, as a consequence, by the war with Mexico, both measures prosecuted by the slave power, were the weights that broke the back of Northern endurance. To both the sentiment of Worcester County was firmly opposed. Not only the abolitionists, acknowledging fealty to no party, often to no sect or creed, attacked these demonstrations of the slave power with fiery and uncompromising invective, but the respectable, conservative leaders of the Whig party, attached to its principles and its great leaders, were excited to action. On May 6, 1844, a convention, called irrespective of parties, was held in Worcester to protest against the admission of Texas to the sisterhood of States. It was largely attended by representative men from all parts of the county. Hon. John W. Lincoln called it to order. Hon. Solomon Strong, of Leominster, was permanent president; Hon. Joseph Bowman of New Braintree, Rev. Dr. Nelson of Leicester, Hon. Isaac Davis of Worcester, Hon. James Draper of Spencer, Hon. Alexander De Witt of Oxford, and Haskell Powers, Esq., of Warren, were its vice-presidents; Rev. William P. Paine of Holden, William O. Bartlett and William B. Maxwell of Worcester, and Henry A. Delano of New Braintree, were secretaries ; Charles Allen of Worcester, Rev. John M. Fiske of New Braintree, John Brooks of Princeton, and Phineas Bemis of Dudley were the committee on resolutions.

The resolutions were reported by Charles Allen. They had no doubtful sound. They denounced the annexation of Texas as in the interest of slavery, and hostile to the principles and sentiments of the North. They were supported by Charles Allen in a speech, declared by the Spy " the most successful effort of his life." In the afternoon the discussion was continued, Hon. Emory Washburn, Rev. George Allen, S. m' Burnside, Esq., Rev. S. May, Hon. Abijah Bigelow and Governor Lincoln taking part. The resolutions were then unanimously adopted. Although the speeches were not reported, as in these days, it is impassible to believe, from the names of the disputants and the result, that there was any very declared and apparent division on the subject.

Notwithstanding all opposition, slavery triumphed in the admission of Texas, and in the acquisition of vast territory from Mexico, all of which it sought to control. Not content with this, it demanded a reversal of the old law of freedom and equal terms for slavery in all the territory of the United States. It was in possession of the Government at Washington. Both great parties were fastened to its car. Where was the voice sufliciently potent and the arm sufticiently strong to bid it halt and check its baleful progress? Both were to be found in Worcester County, as proved by the facts to which we now come.

The national election of 1848 approached. The anti-slavery element in the Whig party made a strong effort in Massachusetts to control it, and through its instrumentality to oppose the aggressions of slaverv. Those composing this element were styled " Conscience Whigs," in distinction from those who, while sharing in the common sentiment of the State, were averse to measures which might disrupt the party. Stephen C. Phillips, Charles Francis Adams, Charles Allen and Charles Sumner were among the leaders ot the " Conscience Whigs," and Robert C. Winthrop and Oeorge Ashmun were the leaders of the others, called " The Cotton Whigs." Daniel Webster, the great leader of the party, its Samson in strength and influence, hesitated between the two. Generally in the country towns the " Conscience " men prevailed, but in the State Conventions they were borne down l.y the superior weight and discipline of the "Cotton" men from the cities.

The National Whig Convention, for the nomination of President and Vice-President, was called at Philadelphia, JuneT, 1848. The Massachusetts State Whig Convention, to choose delegates-at-large to Philadelphia, was called at Springfield, September 1847. The primary caucus of the Whigs of Worcester was held on the evening of September 18th, at the Town-Hall. Chas. Allen presided. It selected fitteen delegates to the State Convention at Springfield, and fifteen delegates to the Worcester County Convention. At this caucus John Milton Earle, editor of the ,Sp!/, ottered a series of resolutions in line with the resolutions previouslv adopted at the Whig Conventions in Massachusetts in opposition to slavery extension, and representing the often-declared sentiments of the party. Gen. Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican War, was already named as the most available candidate for the Presidential nomination, and the leading Whigs of Worcester, devoted to the fortunes of Daniel Webster, feared the consequences, both to their favorite and their party, of an outspoken declaration on the subject of slavery.

They objected to Mr. Earle's resolutions as unnecessary and out of place in a primary caucus. They admitted their truth, but opposed the policy of their introduction. Col. John W. Lincoln, who had taken a prominent part in the Anti-Texas Convention of May, 1844, said that " actual and undisputed truth should 'not be spoken at all times." Hon. Rejoice Newton thought that " there was no need of incessant repetition of a string of truisms." John C. B. Davis, son of Senator John Davis, "saw no evidence that the whole South was leagued together in opposition to the North, as claimed by Mr. Earle." Mr. Earle mildly replied that these were " truths that bethought would bear and needed repetition at that time," but his resolutions were tabled. Of the thirty delegates chosen at this convention, but three afterwards followed Judge Allen into the Free-Soil movement. The others remained in the Whig party.

George Ashmun, of Springfield, presided over the State Convention, and Rufus Choate and Seth Sprague were chosen delegates-at-large to the National Convention.

Joseph Bell, of Boston, chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, reported a series of resolutions, the substance of which was the recommendation of Daniel

That the Wbifs of Massachusetts will 8up,.ort no man fnr the offlee of President or Vi<-e-Pro»i<lent of the Unite.l Stales b,.t snch as are known l.y their acts or dedan.,1 opinions to be opposed lo the extension of slavery.

It was opposed by Robert C. Winthrop as only a re-statement of the other resolutions, and unnecessary and impolitic. It was tabled, and the resolutions reported by the committee adopted.

April 22, 1848, the caucus of the Whigs of Worcester was held for the selection of delegates to the Fifth District convention, to be held in Worcester, April 27tb, to select the district delegates to the Philadelphia convention. Alexander H. Bullock, Henry Chapin, Edward W. Lincoln, John Milton Earle, George Hobbs and John Boyden were chosen delegates to the district convention. C. C. P. Hastings, of Mendon, presided over the district convention, and Henry A. Denny, of Leicester, was its secretary. The same struggle as at Springfield was here renewed, but with a different result. Charles Allen received twenty-eight votes as delegate, and Alexander H. Bullock twenty-one. Charles Allen was then unanimonsly nominated as delegate, and Alexander H. Bullock as substitute, and the following resolutions, presented by Freeman Walker, of North Brookfield, were unanimously adopted : ficw.foni That in addition to the former issues between the Whig Tarty and their opponents, we recognize as another and most important one o.ir uncompromising opposition to any further extension of slavery uver any territory of the United States, or to any legislation by the National Government the specific object of which is to sustain tlie institution of slavery.

HetoUcd, That in the opinion of this convention no candidate for the Presidency can receive the electoral vote of Massachusetts who is not publicly known to be opposed to the e.v-tonsion of slavery over territory now free.

The Whig National Convention of 1848 met at Philadelphia, June 7th. John M. Moorehead, of North Carolina, presided. The policy of non-committal on the slavery question, and of availability in the selection of candidates, prevailed. General Zachary Taylor was nominated for President on the fourth balli>t, and Millard Fillmore, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President on the second ballot, over Abbott Lawrence, of Massachusetts. No platform of principles was adopted.

When the result of the convention was manifest, Mr. Allen, of Massachusetts, arose to address the i convention. He spoke amid great confusion, and cries of " Sit down ! " " Order ! " " Knock him down ! " "Goon!" "Sit down!" " Let him go on ! " and cheers and hisses. He demanded to be heard, saying, " I doubt not but what a convention of free

Whigs will listen for a moment to the voice of a free Whig State, represented in that convention. That voice is from Massachusetts. I think I know something of the feelings of that State. I express for myself what I believe to be the sentiments of that State, and I say that we cannot consent that this shall go forth as the nnaninious voice of this convention. The Whig party of the North are not to be allowed to nominate their statesman. We declare the Whig party of the Union this day dissolved." Judge Allen's voice was here drowned by cheers and hisses and cries, "Let the North answer him!" "Let Massachusetts answer him I " " There is better Whigism there than that." Cries for " Choate," " Choate," " Choate," were heaid from all sides, and e.specially from Southern members.

Mr. Allen claimed the right to proceed, but the president ruled him out of order. Mr. Allen then moved to suspend the order of the day. The motion was lost by a large majority. He appealed from the decision of the chair and demanded to be heard on his appeal. Again he was ruled out of order. Mr. George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, got the floor. He withdrew the name of Mr. Winthrop as candidate for Vice-President in favor of Mr. Lawrence, and then referred to Mr. Allen as follows: "My colleague has stated that Massachusetts will repudiate the nomination. Such is not the case. My colleague has only expressed his own sentiments and not the sentiments of the Whigs of the ' Old Bay State.' " Mr. Lunt, of Newburyport, sought to appease the indignation of the Southern delegates. He said: "Mr. President, I liave listened with great pain, and sometimes I may say with indignation, to some of the sentiments spoken by my colleague of the Massachusetts delegation. 1 have chosen to aid in making this nomination, and intend to sustain it with my whole heart and soul. I would cheerfully sustain any other true Whig, as 1 believe the nominee to be. The gentleman spoke only for himself on this floor, and, sir, in some degree he will find that he speaks only for himself in Massachusetts. And, sir, although it is difticult to predict the result of an election, yet, in my estimation, the nominees of this convention will receive a decided majority of the votes of Massachusetts."

Mr. Wilson, of Natick, came powerfully to the aid of .ludge Allen, rejieating his declaration that he would not be bound by the action of the convention. June !)th the Daily Spy (for a few months issued under the name of the Daily Transcript) closes a noncommittal article on the nomination as follows: "By remaining true to our faith we .shall stand in a position when, at the earliest possible time, we can make our influence for good felt and appreciated, but if we desert it (the Whig party) where shall we go to,

June 12th the Spy admitted a communication outspoken in opposition to the nomination of Taylor, guarding its own position by the statement that " All the Whigs should have the opportunity of being heard. We have therefore admitted the following communication, and our columns are equally open to others, whatever their views, upon the subject."

June 14th the Spy said : " Greatly as we are disappointed and humiliated by the nomination (of Taylor and Fillmore), we shall not be driven thereby from our support of Whig principles. Whig measures and Whig men. We believe that General Taylor will be elected. If elected, it will be as the Whig nominee, and with such a union as may be maintained without any sacrifice of principles. The election of President will carry with it the election of members of Congre.ss. Opponents of slave extension and slave legislation have it in their power to give potency to their iirinciples in that election. If they are wise and prudent, will they not do so ? "

It copies, in the same issue, from an article of the day before in the \ew York Tribune, in the same tone, closing as follows: "If the developments of the next few days shall prove that the free States are now ripe for the uprising, which must come sooner or later, then we are ready. Our present impression is that the time has not quite arrived, but we shall see." No such lame and halting counsel as that of these papers thus expressed called into existence the party which led or caused " the ui)rising," before which the slave [jower, thus strongly entrenched in both Whig and Democratic parties, met its fate.

June Kith we find in the Spij a communication closing as follows : " Let every Whig be faithful. It is better for a starving man to eat half a loaf than to die, and so it is better to elect a Southern Whig than to submit to the destructive measures of a Northern Loco-foco, especially one pledged to continue, if elected, in the track of so honorable a predecessor as James K. Polk."

.Tune 12th George Ashmun published an eloquent appeal to the Whigs of Massachusetts to stand firm for Taylor and P'illmore and the Whig party, concluding with the famous words of Daniel Webster, " In the dark and troubled night that is upon us I see no star above the horizon promising light to guide us but the intelligent, patriotic United Whig party of the United States."

June 16th a great ratification meeting for the nomination of Taylor and Fillmore was held in Boston, and addressed by Rufus Choate, George Lunt and others.

Worcester County still kept silent. But in the Sp;, of .Tune 21st two notices appear in parallel cohlmiis, one, with no signature, reading thus: "The citizens of Worcester and vicinity, opposed to the nomination of Taylor and Cass, are invited to meet at City Hall Wednesday evening, June 21st, at 7.30, and make arrangements for the approaching convention to be held on the 2Sth inst.

Immediately following is the notice of a mass convention of Whigs, Democrats and Liberty men from all parts of the Commonwealth without distinction of partv, " to be held in the City Hall of Worcester on Thursday, June 28th, to unite in support of that sacred principle which will be violated by the election of either Cass or Taylor--freedom in free territories." This notice is also without signature. On the | opposite column is the notice of a meeting to ratify ' the nomination of Taylor and Fillmore to be held at the City Hall in Worcester, Saturday evening, June 24th, signed by one hundred and fifty of the leading citizens^of Worcester, whose names, until then, had represented the opinions and the policy of the city. The issue was joined.

Would Worcester sustain Charles Allen, its delegate to the Philadelphia convention, in his proud and defiant statement that the Whig party was dis- .solved? Cr would it follow the one hundred and fifty, to whom it had been accustomed to look for leadership and guidance, in sustaining that Whig ! party to which its allegiance had been so long and unwaveringly given? It was aided by no advice from the Daily Spy, which had always been the organ of the Whig majority. In its editorial column it refers its readers with absolute impartiality to the notices of the political meetings to be holden in the city. It advises all " to go and hear both sides, and then every man decide for himself, according to original principles, without reference to the course of others," and adds, " We truit that any attempt to browbeat or intimidate may be met as it deserves."

No meeting was ever more spontaneous in its character and action. It was really the idea of a halfdozen gentlemen, of whom Mr. H. H. Chamberlain was the chief. They postponed the call on account of the delay of Judge Allen on his journey home from Philadelphia. Whether he delayed for the purpose of waiting to know what would be the impression upon his district by his action at Philadelphia, or for what reason, is not known. He, however, came through New York, tarrying on his way and did not reach his h.mie until about ten days after the convention. Mr. Chamberlain immediately called upon him, to congratulate him upon his action in the convention. He also expressed his own desire, in which he doubted not that others concurred, to hear a report from Judge Allen as soon as convenient. The judge responded that he would speak if Mr. Chamberlain thought there would be any one to listen to him.

After consultations with the half-dozen gentlemen whom he represented, Mr. Chamberlain called again and formally invited Judge Allen to make a speech, although he said to him that perhaps they should think it best to have it delivered in a small 1 hall. Upon inquiry, however, it was decided to engage the City Hall, then the largest in the city. At the hour of the meeting Mr. Chamberlain waited upon Mr. Allen from his residence to the hall. As they approached the entrance he was surprised U> see a crowd about the door. His first thought was that so few had assembled that they had not thought it best to go in to take their seats, but were waiting, on the outside. But he soon found that the hall and stairways were densely packed, even back to the sidewalk and it was with difliculty that he was able to make a passage through by which he could conduct j Judge Allen to the speaker's stand.

An hour before it had not been known who would I preside over the meeting. The great men of the city ' were not there, nor in sympathy with it. The press ! had not advocated it. The clergymen were cold. The merchants and professional men passed it by. But the men from the shops, who were really rulers of the city then as they have been ever since, were there to express their sovereign will. They realized the importance of the crisis, and disregarding the wishes and advice of those to whom they had been accustomed to trust the management of their political interests, they had resolved to take matters into their own bands, and had come out to do their work themselves.

Careful perusal of the Daibi Spy of the next morning fails to discover any allusion ti> the proceedings ot that meeting; and yet of all meetings ever held in that ancient and famous building, this was the most important and the most lar-reaching in results. That night witnessed the birth of the Free J^oil party, which sprang full-armed from the brain and will of Charles Allen, ready to do battle for human freedom against AVhigs, Democrats and all other opponents.

The meeting was called to order by Oliver Harrington and was organized by the choice of Albert Tolman I as president and William A. Wallace as secretary. Albert Tolman was a representative mechanic, not ! then very widelv known, but thoroughly respected by all who did know him. William A. Wallace was in . the employ of the Spy.

none of those ever occupied so high a place as these comparatively humble men on that night, or did a deed so significant and I'ar-reaching in its meaning as did they.

Oliver Harrington, George W. Russell, Henry H. Chamberlain, Edward Southwick and Joseph Boyden were appointed a committee to nominate a list of names of persons to act as a Committee of Arrangements for the convention to be held at Worcester on the 2«th instant. A committee of thirty-two was nominated and appointed after this business. Hon. Charles Allen entered the hall, and the loud and long continued applause with which he was received by the assembled multitude indicated what was to be the verdict on his course. He was then in the prime of his manhood. He had broken away from the party which he had honored and which had honored him up to that time. He knew that he stood aloof from Governors and Senators, and from the leading citizens of Worcester, with whom he had always acted, but his hand was upon the heart of the Commonwealth, and its beatings responded firmly and truly to his touch. Until that night he had been a leading, but not indisputably the leading, member of the county bar. He had filled many places of trust, and always well, but many citizens of Worcester had filled higher as well. Others might equal or excel him in many respects, but no man ever had a more tearless courage or sublimer self-reliance. He did not stop to ask who or how many were with him. He spoke his own sentiments and convictions, and in doing so he spoke for the great majority of his city and county. He admitted in his speech that he did not expect to be sustained so completely." He had confidence in the integrity of the people of his district, and knew that some time he should come out all right. The people of his district did not allow him to remain long in ignorance of their position. \Vhere he was ready to lead, they were at once ready , to follow.

On June 23d the ,Sp>j gave an appreciative notice of the meeting, signed " William A. Wallace, Secretary." No comment was made in the editorial columns. It printed Judge Allen's speech in full, as it was reported by Dr. Stone, of Boston, one of the earliest and most accomplished of the stenographic reporters of the State.

It occupied nearly two hours in its delivery. In style it is a masterpiece. In its adaptation to the occasion of its delivery, in its power to produce the results desired by the speaker, it was scarcely, if ever, surpassed or equaled. He reviewed his life-long connection with the Whig party and the action at the convention in which he was selected delegate of this district in the National Convention. He referred to the resolutions of that convention as charging him to " vote for a candidate for President who should be in favor of preserving the territories of the United States free from the stain of Slavery." He said proudly and confidently: "I believe, gentlemen, it was a most deliberate and well considered act on the part of the District Convention, and I tielieve I was selected as the delegate because my sentiments were well known upon this subject. Had the convention intended to put forth principles upon which they did not mean to stand and abide, surely they would have sent some other man as their delegate, for they knew my opinions t<jo well. They have been too uniform upon the subject to leave a doubt that I would carry out these sentiments to the letter, and not only to the letter, liut in their spirit." He reviewed the circumstances in reference to Gen. Taylor's candidacy, and declared that the men of the South, in selecting bim as their candidate, knew well what they were doing, and that they would support him at the polls, and squarely and defiantly answered them for Ihe North in these uncompromising words: "We reject Gen. Taylor throughout the North and throughout the free States. We reject him, and mean to reject him, at the polls, because he is not known to be a Whig and because he is well understood to be hostile to the great principles of freedom." He disclosed to his constituents a little of the secret history of the nomination as follows : The inquiry was put around to the delegates of Massachusetts for the purpose of getting information "if Gen. Taylor is nominated will your District support him?" and when they came round to me I said, "No, gentlemen, my District will not support him." Up .starts pert Mr. Lunt, and .says: "There are men in your District who do not think as you do upon that subject." I said, " Sir, who said so ? I must know who takes that responsibility." "Governor Lincoln," was the reply. "Not by him only, but by others was it reported that there was a strong sentiment here for Gen. Taylor, and that the County ot Worcester would go strongly in his favor. Am I right, or was he?" >fo one present in that meeting will ever forget the proud and defiant face and form of Judge Allen as he uttered this challenge against the mau who held the first place in the respect and regard of the citizens of Worcester, and who was then occupying its mayor's chair in the first year of its existence as a city as the first and most popular citizen of the new-born municipality. The ring of Ivanhoe's spear-point upon the Templar's shield was not truer or bolder. No one present will forget the deafening shout with which the vast crowd endorsed the bold and self-reliant man who stood before them. Gathering boldness from his reception, he next referred to the great man who had so long been the leader and the idol of the Whigs in Massachusetts, Daniel Webster. He declared that Mr. Webster had been opposed to the nomination of Gen. Taylor, and said: "He was right, he was earnest in his' condemnation. May God grant, gentlemen, that he may continue so, and if His Providence prevented him from uttering sentiments which would do him no honor at Baltimore yesterday, may His Providence still watch over him. For I do not wish to see that strong man grinding in the prison-house of the Philistines. . . ." The immense applause showed that the mighty blow had stricken from its place the idol which so long had held the first place in the worship of that audience.

Governor Davis, then Senator of the United States, ex-Governor of the Commonwealth, was referred to as having written a cordial letter favoring General Taylor, and again Mr. Allen was cheered to the echo ; and then he clinched his charges. "If Governor Davis denies that I have spoken the truth of him, I will prove it. If Governor Lincoln denies that I have spoken the truth of him, I will prove it. Most of us have belonged to the Whig party. We have professed to be averse to the extension of slavery. The question is not here whether we would eradicate it where it exists, but we are opposed to its extension. Well, gentlemen, I did not eat my words at Philadelphia. Will you at the polls? When I declared that the Whig party was dissolved, I declared a fact. The undertaker may preserve the corpse for a little time, but it will soon be offensive to the smell and the sight, and must be removed from the sight of the

The truth of this prophecy has since been made manifest. General Taylor was elected at the polls, but it was the last victory of the Whig party, which then passed forever from the platform of action into the records of history, " dissolved" into thin air, " leaving not a rack behind."

Sure of the sympathy of the vast audience before him, he told them that they " must not believe all that they read in the newspapers. They will not see that this feeling of dissatisfaction exists throughout Massachusetts. It will be said in Bo.ston that there is no feeling in Worcester, except for Taylor. Not a man, except the crazy one that went to Philadelphia, opposes him, and papers will send the news to Ohio, and the Ohio newspapers will respond, but we shall have a voice from Ohio. There is one paper in Boston (the Whig) which will tell you what Massachusetts is doing and what Ohio is doing, and I hope the Massachuseth Spy will also tell the people. I hope our friend of the Spy will see that there is something more than a shower coming. I hope he will see that his true interest is in boldly speaking out his principles, and let him be the organ here of what is most emphatically the people's party, sprung from the people, sustained by the people, and he himself will be sustained also. But, gentlemen, organs we must have, and we cannot wait many days for them. We cannot wait and see our principles defamed and our men cut down without presses that will stand up and fearlessly vindicate the right, and receive communications without cutting off all that is valuable in them," and, turning to Mr. John Milton Earle, editor of the Spy, who was sitting in front of him, he added, " The ' 105 editor knows I do not wish to injure his paper, but help it, and I wish him to look on the faces of these men, and to let him know there are more of the same sort, and let him see that the line of duty and the line of safety coincide." He appealed to Massachusetts to act even if she acted alone, but he said " this agitation is more extensive than is supposed." He declared that a convention would be held in New York and also in Ohio. He said " most of the youug men of Worcester, who are accustomed to speak in political meetings, are on the wrong side of the question. We hope that they will soon be - and the elderly, too - on the right side. As they value their political safety, let them ground their arms, and, with penitent submission to the spirit of Liberty, let them go forth and show by acts that their repentance is sincere."

He hoped that "the young men who speak in Lyceums will take up the matter and send the young men of the city back with defeat when they go to preach their nauseous doctrine in the ears of the people of Worcester County. Let them meet them and refute them, and send them back ashamed of their work. When the fathers go to whom is given the charge of Worcester County I will endeavor to be there or to follow them." He closed by referring to Henry Wilson, a young man who had been a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention from Middlesex District, and whom he introduced to the meeting.

Henry Wilson, then known as the "Natick cobbler,"' arose in his seat to make his first of many speeches in the Worcester City Hall. Eough, awkward, enveloped from head to foot in a brown linen duster, he spoke a few eloquent words in support of his case and that of Judge Allen.

As he closed, an earnest form made its way to the desk, and with flashing eye and earnest voice uttered memoriter the immortal resolution : " Resolved, that Massachusetts wears no chains and spurns all bribes; that Massachusetts goes now and will ever go for free soil and free men, for free lips and a free press, for a free land and a free world."

This resolution, copied with the other resolutions adopted by the meeting, has since been claimed as written by another person. But no man present at that meeting will ever forget that its author was George Allen, brother of Charles Allen, the orator of the evening. It was adopted with shouts and the great meeting adjourned and its thousands poured out into the communities whence they came, devoted missionaries of the cause of free soil and free men.

The Free-Soil party was born that night in the City Hall of Worcester. Its author (?) was Charles Allen, and it was christened by his brother, George Allen', the veteran champion of anti-slavery in the

John S. C. Knowlton, the able Democratic editor of the Worcester Palladium, in his paper of November 8, 1848, referring to the great activity put forth by the Free-Soilers in the city and surrounding towns, wrote : " This is as it should be, for in Worcester County was the first organized resistance to the nomination of Zachary Taylor as the Whig candidate for President." The editor of the Palladium was correct. Others objected to the nomination and expostulated against it at Philadelphia, but Judge Allen threw down the gauntlet of uncompromising combat, and declared the great party dissolved. There were other anti-slavery champions and organizations engaged in movements, having for their object more or less extreme opposition to the aggressions of slavery, but these were of local or personal character.

In New Hampshire John P. Hale, ostracized by the Democratic party in 1844 because of his opposition to the annexation of Texas, had been waging, since then, a sturdy fight against that party in New Hampshire. Mr. Hale was a born politician. Deprived of his seat in Congress by the Democratic party of the State, of which he had been a prominent member, he immediately oflered himself as a candidate to the State Legislature, to which he was elected and from which he was sent in 1846 to the Senate of the United States. Never was there an abler, more eloquent and faithful defender of Northern principles. But he was not the man to found a party. Inflexibly true to his principles, he had not the same solemn and determined earnestness as had Allen, and Sumner, and Phillips, the anti-slavery leaders in Massachusetts. No man ever waged battle in the United States Senate against greater odds, or more bitter foes, or with greater personal success. He never hesitated to enter into such contests, from which he seldom came out second best, but he always fought where strife was thickest and blows the heaviest with a smile on his face and a jest on his lips. He will always be remembered as the great anti-slavery Senator who stood alone in the United States Senate for years, sustaining the struggle single-handed, until he had the satisfaction of finding himself in a majority in the Senate where he had so bravely and ably stood alone. But he was not the founder of the Free-Soil party, nor did it have its origin in New Hampshire.

In Ohio, since 1840, the Liberty men had mainl^fiined an organization of a few thousand voters. There was a strong anti-slavery feeling in Ohio. Salmon P. Chase, a man of great ability and equal ambition, had taken a position somewhat independent of party, always sustaining anti-slavery principles. He was a Democrat, and believed, though with many doubts, that through the agency of that party redemption from slavery would come at last, as did the Conscience Whig leaders in Massachusetts believe that it would come through the Whig party. Mr. Chase was undoubtedly ready to enter into a new party based on anti-slavery, but he did not organize that party. He waited for the movement in Massachusetts. In the fall of 1847 he attended the National Convention of Liberty Men, at BuSalo, to nominate candidates for

President and Vice-President, as the same party had done twice before. He opposed the nomination of candidates, on the ground that before the election of 1848 there would be a change in the aspect of political affairs, which would demand difl'erent action than that proposed by the Liberty party, of which he considered himself a member. The convention, however, did not act as advised, but proceeded to nominate John P. Hale for President, and Leicester King for Vice-President. These nominations were withdrawn after the Free Soil nominations were made in 1848. Mr. Chase was influential in issuing a call for a people's convention, to be holden on the 21st of June, 1848, at Columbus. This was the very day on which Judge Allen spoke in Worcester. This call was addressed to anti-slavery men, " To resist by all constitutional means the extension of slavery into territories hereafter acquired." It concludes: " We ask no man to leave his party, or surrender his party views, but we do ask every man who loves his country to be ready, if need be, to suspend for a time the ordinary party contentions, and unite in one manful, earnest, victorious eflfort for the holy cause of freedom, free territories and free labor. We, therefore, invite the electors of Ohio, friends of freedom, free territorias and free labor, without distinction, to meet in mass convention for the purpose of considering the political condition of our country, and taking such action as the exigencies of the time may require, and may God defend the right." In 1849 Mr. Chase was elected to the United States Senate by the Democratic party of Ohio, and stated that while he intended to act in opposition to all pro-slavery measures in all respects, he was a Democrat, and should act in other respects with the Democratic party. We do not find the source of the Free Soil movement in Ohio, nor was Mr. Chase its founder.

In New York there was a movement in the Democratic party in opposition to the election of Cass, the nominee for the Presidency of the Democratic Convention, but this movement was in obedience to the wishes of Martin Van Buren, to gratify his revenge upon the party which had displaced him as its leader and put General Cass in his place. One would smile now at the claim that the Free-Soil movement had its origin among the Barn-burners of New York, and that Martin Van Buren was its author and constructor.

When we come to Massachusetts we find that the Conscience Whigs were standing in order for the summons to organize against the victorious faction which had so thoroughly triumphed over thtm in the Philadelphia convention. The leaders had undoubtedly held consultations, accidental and informal, in Boston, and had proposed the calling of a mass convention, to be held in Worcester, somewhat similar to the mass convention held in Ohio under the auspices of Mr. Chase. Undoubtedly all these movements, more or less defined, nearly cotemporaneous in time, concurred in the great movement, which had its beginning in 1848, and continued until the great and final victory in the election of Lincoln in 1860.

As different explorers and geographers contend that the great Mississippi River has its origin in this or that lake, or mountain source, each jealous for his own locality, so the men of Ohio, and of New York, and of Boston even, may contend that the mighty party which conquered slavery and made the Republic free and undivided had its origin in Columbus, or Buffalo, or Boston, with this or that putative father or author. The facts prove that it had its origin in Worcester County, and that Charles Allen was its founder and leader.

The meeting of June 2Ut, at which Judge Allen's great speech was made, chose a committee of twentysix to take measures in regard to holding a mass convention in the city of Worcester. Charles Allen's name stands at the head of this committee. In the Spy of June 26th this committee issued its call. This call reads as follows :

" The undersigned, as a committee of a large and enthusiastic meeting of the citizens of Worcester and its vicinity, and in conformity to their instructions, do hereby earnestly call on the citizens of Massachusetts, without respect to party, to meet in this city, at the City Hall, on Wednesday, the 28th inst., at ten o'clock A.M., to express their sentiments and to adopt measures in favor of free territory and against all nominations for President of the United States of individuals who refuse to declare their opposition to the extension of slavery over the territory recently acquired, or which may hereafter be annexed to the Union."

On the evening of June 21at the first organization was effected, and the first act of this organization was the call for this mass convention, to be held at Worcester, June 28th. On that day the convention assembled, composed of earnest and determined men from every section of the Old Bay State. It was a solemn and eventful gathering. Most of these men had been members of the great Whig party, long paramount in Massachusetts, under the lead of the greatest of American statesmen, at least of that generation, Daniel Webster. They had broken away from their party. They had turned their backs upon their great leader, although they still vainly hoped that he might not array himself against them. They had undertaken to organize and build up a new party in opposition to the old parties, for the purpose of bringing the National Government into accord with the declarations upon which it was based, and with the principles and policy of the men who founded it. It was a great undertaking, and they were great men who entered upon it. On one of the most beautiful days of the beautiful month of June they gathered around the City Hall of Worcester some eight thousand strong. The meeting was organized in the morning in the City Hall. The venerable Samuel

Hoar was chosen its president ; vice-presidents and secretaries were chosen. But the hall was too small to accommodate the large and enthusiastic multitude. The meeting was adjourned, first to the Common, and thence, for the afternoon session, to the grove on the hill, near where the Normal School now stands.

Directly after its organization in the morning, Mr. Phillips, of Salem, chairman of the committee on resolutions, stated that the committee was ready to report in part, and reported the following resolution, which was adopted by acclamation :

Seaolved, That this convention tenders to Charles Allen and Henry Wilson the warmest thanks for the adelity, consistency, decision and boldness with which they performed their duty as delegates from Massachusetts to the National Whig Convention; that this convention hereby ratifies their acts, and assures them confidently that their services will be held in grateful and proud remembrance by the people of Massachusetts,

Charles Allen was then introduced amid cheers and plaudits. He declared that Taylorism was dead in Worcester County, and reaffirmed the statements which he had previously made respecting " the stupendous fraud of the Philadelphia convention." Hon. Henry Wilson then spoke with much animation, and was received with great applause. He closed with saying, " It was said that the Whig Party must be purified from abolitionism. I would like to see the Whig Party after such a separation." He did live to see the Whig party after the separation, and until it dwindled to an infinitesimal and imperceptible point.

Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield, spoke in a similar strain, and the old liberty editor, Joshua Leavitt, of Newton, followed him. In the afternoon Lewis b. Campbell, of Ohio, who had sided with Allen and Wilson in the Philadelphia Convention in a certain degree, made a speech. His speech was characterized by the engaging and pleasing eloquence for which Ohio was distinguished then, as well as now. He said he " did not come to the convention to identify himself with any political movement. He was going to return to Ohio and place in the hands of his constituents the glorious flag which they entrusted to him when he left the Miami, and he should then take his position, and it would be right." Had Mr. Campbell been more of a leader and less of an orator he might have attained a higher position and left a more positive record than he did.

Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, the fearless and uncompromising member of Congress who represented at that time more than any other one man the convictions of opponents of slavery, and their determinattion that it should be checked at once, briefly addressed the audience. In the evening the hall was again packed. Mr. Giddings concluded his speech. Mr. Lovejoy of

Cambridge, Charles Francis Adams of Boston, Charles Sumner of Boston, and E. Rock wood Hoar of Concord, addressed the convention, after which the Hutchinson family, the sweet singers of the anti-slavery cause, gave a song, and the convention adjourned. It selected a State central committee, of which Freeman Walker, of North Brookfield, and Alexander De Witt, of Oxford, were the members from Worcester County. The battle was set.

The Whigs accepted Judge Allen's challenge, and met in the Ciiy Hall Saturday evening, June 24th. Their leaders were there. Judge Barton presided over the meeting. It was not perfectly quiet or wholly satisfactory to those who called it. When Judge Barton had stated the charges made against the Whig party and summed them up, he addressed the audience: "Gentlemen of the Jury, what say you, was the Philadelphia Convention guilty or not guilty?" And the shout of "guilty!" from all parts of the hall was the quick and determined, though unwelcome, answer that was given him. The stately Governor Lincoln reminded the people of the object of the meeting, which was to ratify the Whig nominations, and intimated that any attempt to disturb it might cause future retaliation. He apologized for not making a speech then, but said he would do so upon some future occasion. He introduced to the audience General Leslie Coombs, of Kentucky, " The ever true friend and neighbor of Henry Clay." The audience could not be otherwise than in good humor with this witty and eloquent Western orator.

The chairman put the question on the adoption of the resolutions and unfortunately called for the noes, and was met with a thundering response. The meeting then adjourned amid cheers for Zach. Taylor drowned with cheers for Charles Allen.

The character of this meeting may be inferred from the comments found in the Palladium and the Spy. In the Palladium in was referred to as " a meeting called a ratification meeting. Had it not been so called it would have been thought to be anything else."

In the Spy the enthusiastic Wallace gave jubilant utterance to his feelings at the end of his report of the meeting: "God bless Old Massachusetts I Though the sky of freedom shall fall all around her she will not falter ; her invincible hearts will still hold it up, till other days and better times shall make her principles triumphant."

The Free Soil party, under the lead of Alexander De Witt of the State Committee, immediately proceeded to open and prosecute the county canvass. Meetings were called in all the towns, and even in the school districts of the town Freedom Clubs were organized. Seven hundred joined in Worcester at its firstmeeting.

Edward Hamilton was chosen its pre.'ident. He was of an old Worcester family, with physical and mental qualifications equal to any ptsition, but he early turned aside from the path of ambition, which he might have successfully followed, to gratify his great love of literature and art. His speech on assuming the presidency of the Freedom Club i-howed his power and capacity. Charles White, who afterwards developed into the ablest political organizer known in Worcester County, was on the executive committee of the Freedom Club.

The young men who were accustomed to speak in the lyceums responded to the call of Charles Allen, and the numerous meetings did not lack for speakers. Charles Allen spoke in the larger towns. Alexander De Witt, Amasa Walker, Dr. Darling, John W. Wetherell and William B. Maxwell, of Worcester, made numerous speeches'. Charles Sumner spoke in Fitchburg and Worcester. On the evening of November 4th he delivered a great oration in the City Hal], which may befoundinhis works - one of the long and illustrious series which placed his name at the head of the orators of freedom, and at the same time drew upon him the hatred of the slave-power, of which he became the victim. His eloquence was of a loftier and more labored strain than that of Charles Allen, but while its effect was great, none of his orations in Worcester equaled that delivered by Charles Allen on the night of June 21st.

The Whigs also held numerous meetings in the towns and in the city. Their orators were more cultured than those of the Free Soil party. Among them was Judge B. F. Thomas, gifted with a natural eloquence unequaled by any of his contemporaries, and Alexander H. Bullock, the grace and beauty of whose oratory is still the pride of the city and county ; but they were contending not in an intellectual and rhetorical struggle, but in a moral contest, in which the hearts of the people were against them.

On the evening of November 6th Daniel Webster, who, with broken heart and bowed head, obeyed the mandate of his old party, and, notwithstanding the wrongs which he had received from it, still helped its cause with his mighty eloquence, spoke in advocacy of the election of Taylor and Fillmore in the City Hall. The meeting was presided over by Gov. Lincoln. The audience was great, and listened to the declining statesman with respect and admiration mingled with sorrow and sympathy. But at the same hour thousands of the citizens of Worcester and adjoining towns filled the streets of the city with a procession, with bands, banners and torchlights, longer and more brilliant than the city had ever witnessed before. As at many other times and occasions, the torchlight procession was more impressive and effective than the speech of the statesman. The buildings were illuminated as it wound its way, amid cheers and applause, to its rendezvous at Lincoln Square, where all who could, found entrance to a building then re- cently erected, occupied partly as a station for the Nashua Railroad Company, but afterwards, and for many years, as the boot factory of Joseph Walker. There the popular young lawyer, Henry Chapm, who had recently come from Usbridge, made his maiden speech for Free Soil. He had been the chairman of the Whig County Committee, and was regarded as one of its most popular and promising

When some grumbler had published a criticism upon his conduct in not issuing an early call for a meeting of the Whig Committee, Mr. Chapm responded with a card in the paper that he would cal the meeting at a sufficiently early day, aud advised his dissatisfied friend to attend, as there would be plenty of vacancies on the committee, to some one of which he might possibly be elected. The Free Soilers the next year elected him by an overwhelming majority to fill the mayor's chair,

Charles Allen had been unanimously nominated tor Congress at the Free Soil Convention. Charles Hudson the conservative, experienced and able incumbent, had been renominated by the Whigs, and Isaac Davis was the candidate for the Democrats. The city of Worcester cast for Charles Allen 1489 votes, for Charles Hudson 589, for Isaac Davis 284. The entire district gave for Allen 6604 votes, for Hudson 4308, for Davis 3087. As a majority was requisite for election, it was not until the third trial, in January, that Allen was elected to fill the seat from which the worthy and highly respected Hudson was displaced. Of the fifty Free Soil Representatives elected to the Massachusetts Legislature, twenty were from Worcester County. Of the 38,133 votes given for the Free Soil candidate for President and Vice-President, Worcester County gave 8654 to 5990 given for Taylor and Fillmore. Such was the verdict that she rendered as between freedom and slavery. She fired the signal gun in 1848 of the great battle that ended at Appomattox in 1865.

She kept Charles Allen in Congress during two terms, which was as long as he was willing to remain, after which Alexander De Witt succeeded him. Excepting during the Know-Nothing frolic, she has remained true to the faith then adopted until the present. The Know-Nothing movement was really a part of the great revolution, having for its object, and ending in, the overthrow of slavery.

The men who took part in these early conflicts have, most of them, ceased from their earthly labors, but their works survive to vindicate their wisdom and faithfulness. If some of their names are preserved, and some of their deeds are commemorated in this brief sketch, written by one who began his political life in their ranks, and learned from them principles and practice which he has always endeavored to maintain, its purpose is abundantly fulfilled.