Chapter XIV: Part 14

He said when Mr. Fillmore left the Presidency all was quiet. He had approved of the Compromise measures; and when Boston had rebelled against the fugitive-slave law, he declared he would enforce the law or burn the city, and it was enforced. We had extremists at both ends of the Union. Formerly, the Nashville Convention said the Union should be dissolved unless the Missouri Compromise line should be adopted. Now, the black Republicans said it should be dissolved unless it was restored.

Mr. Fillmore, in his message, said the existing laws were a finality on the subject of slavery--both the great parties said so in 1852, and agreed to abide by it. Did they do it? No; hence the troubles we now have. He had no doubt but that Mr. Pierce had acted honestly, but he had appointed freesoilers from the North and fire-eaters from the South, in order to reconcile all; but this had not been the result, and the country could only be saved by the honest men of both parties. He, therefore, advocated the principles of the American party--that Americans should rule America--that the influence of foreigners was great--that it gave the North a preponderating increase of population--that it ought to be checked, and that foreigners ought to remain here twenty-one years before voting, and that Catholics who owed allegiance to the Pope ought not to be allowed to hold office; that no one could insist that this was persecution; that the charge that it was was false and unfounded, and it was known to be so.

He then asked who was the founder of the American party. Said it was George Washington, and read from several of his letters to show it. He also read from a speech of Mr. Buchanan as to foreign influence, etc., and, after justifying the course of his party as to the Catholics, he closed, having spoken two hours and ten minutes.

Governor Bragg arose, and said: Two years ago this summer he closed the canvass with his then competitor. It had pleased a majority of the people of the State to elect him Governor. He had acted as such since the first of January, 1855. He had endeavored to discharge all his duties faithfully. The people, however, would be the judges of that. He would say, however, that he was not aware of any charges against him for not doing so; and if there was no just ground for complaint, then he submitted to all fair-minded men whether he had not now some right to ask at their hands a liberal and generous support in the present contest.

He said he concurred with Mr. Gilmer as to the beauty and fertility of their country, and as to what he had said in relation to its improvement, and hoped to see the day when its now comparatively hidden and locked up resources would be laid open and developed.

He said that he was surprised to hear his competitor to-day enter into the discussion of some matters which he had not supposed would be brought into this canvass, and he was still more surprised to see the manner in which he had treated them. His competitor complained that the _Standard_ had assailed him for his vote some years ago as to the distribution of the school fund. This was a mistake. The _Standard_ had never, to his knowledge referred to it at all. It may have been done in some other paper, but his competitor would find, as _he_ had done in a former contest, that it was useless to notice attacks of that kind. If he did, he would have his hands full. But, from the course of his competitor, he rather thought he was availing himself of this matter to get votes in this section. He had made an elaborate argument to show the gross injustice of the present mode of distributing the school-fund, and had undertaken to show that the Democratic party was responsible for it; that the original pledge for distributing the fund had been violated; that the West had not been true to her own interests, or she would have defeated Governor Reid; and he had made a strong appeal to the people here as a Western man.

Now, said Mr. Bragg, I claim not your support either as an Eastern man or a Western man, but as one who intends to discard all sectional questions, looking to the interests and wishes of the whole State. But Mr. Gilmer is in error as to one thing--the fund chiefly for common schools was not raised by Mr. Yancey's bill, but came from the General Government as part of the surplus revenue under General Jackson's administration. Nor did the Democrats of 1842 introduce the present mode of distribution by a repeal of any other law, but it was done before that time--it was not a party vote, but it was one about which there was difference of opinion and contest without the slightest regard to party. Time and again the matter was brought before the Legislature, but for several years past the question had ceased to be raised. It was considered as settled. In the last contest it was so considered between him and his competitor, and he regretted that Mr. Gilmer had deemed it proper to reopen it. It would do no good; it would again lead to sectional strife; it would retard the public improvements of the State, and nothing practical would come of it, because experience had shown that it could not be changed. It would even injure the common schools which were now doing well and improving under the efficient management of our State Superintendent. Governor Bragg said that he had no wish to conceal his own opinions on this subject. He was against disturbing the matter. He would say so in the West; he would say so in the East. And now, said he, turning to Mr. Gilmer, I want my competitor to state his position. He has said a great deal about the matter, but has not told you what he will recommend in case he should be elected.

(At first Mr. Gilmer declined to answer, but before the discussion closed he said that the opinions advanced by him were his _private_ opinions; but if elected Governor he would not recommend any change, but would acquiesce in the present law, whatever his own opinions might be.)

Then, said Governor Bragg, there is practically no difference between us. But my competitor makes a public argument in order to express his private opinions, and makes it in such a way as he thinks will get him votes here. I hope, said Governor Bragg, he will take the same course all over the State.

As to free suffrage, Governor Bragg said that his competitor professed to be a great free-suffrage man, but somehow always voted against it. Formerly, we were told that it was wrong to pass it by the Legislature; that it must be done by a convention. That was the objection two years ago. He had then told the people that it was idle to talk about a convention; that the action of the several Legislatures for years past had shown it to be so; that we must take things as they are, and act accordingly. Now he would remind the people of what he said, and would ask if it was not true, for, if they would examine the journals of the last General Assembly, they would find that the convention bill, when offered in the Senate, received the votes only of some sixteen out of the fifty members, and in the House of Commons never received, in any of the different shapes in which it was offered, more than forty out of one hundred and twenty members, thus showing, conclusively, that there was a large majority--two to one--against a convention in the Commons, in which house the West has a majority opposed to the call of a convention; whilst upon the passage, in the same House, of the free-suffrage bill, there were only fifteen votes against it, the members from Cherokee and most of the mountain counties who had voted for a convention voting for the bill. But his competitor, as already stated, had in every case voted against the bill, and says he is yet against it, unless an amendment offered by him, or some other, could be adopted; and, as that cannot be done now, the bill having passed through one Legislature, and to amend it would be to destroy it, of course his competitor was opposed to it. Governor Bragg said that the opponents of this measure were always finding some objection to it. First, it was to be done by an open convention, then by a restricted convention, and now it seems his competitor falls back upon an old objection always urged by those in favor of keeping things as they are, that there is danger that the landed interest would be burdened unduly with taxes. This was altogether chimerical--such had not been the case in other States. It was the largest and most powerful interest in the State, and members of the Assembly could not do such a thing and sustain themselves at home. Nor was it likely they ever would attempt it, inasmuch as they themselves must be landholders, and would suffer as well as other land proprietors. The thing was preposterous. Let the freemen of the State, then, be true to themselves, and the measure would be passed. But let them be on their guard. Every effort will be made by open enemies and pretended friends to defeat it.

As to the tempting bait held out to them of having cheap courts and trials of petty offenses before justices of the peace, and thus keeping such matters out of court, no one know better than Mr. Gilmer that the Legislature had power to do that without a convention; and if he thought it expedient, he ought to have done it when in the Legislature.

As to Mr. Gilmer's bank notions, in relation to which he wished to know Governor Bragg's opinion, he, Governor Bragg, stated he should have it whenever he would set them out with such plainness as to enable him to see what they were.

His competitor made brave promises, however, to the people that it would pay the interest on the State debt, and save them from taxation. He would say this--he did not believe that interest, debts, and taxes could be paid by any such legislative _hocus pocus_. As to small notes, the Governor said that the matter was not one of a party character; that he had no wish to follow Mr. Gilmer into that discussion, as it would consume all his time, and he much preferred to discuss what the Know-Nothing platform called the "Paramount Principles of Americanism"; and he would proceed to that after saying a word as to Mr. Gilmer's idea that our State bonds and the interest thereon should all be payable in North Carolina. Had he seen as much of this matter as I have done, said Governor Bragg, since I went into office, he would change his opinion. He said it would all be well enough to have our bonds paid here, if they could be sold here in sufficient quantities. But our public works would have stopped had they depended on sales in North Carolina, and our Treasurer and railroad presidents would tell him so; and moreover, that bonds payable here could not be sold in New York.

The Legislature had not taken the view of his competitor, and he thought they had acted wisely.

Governor Bragg said that he thought that the allusion of Mr. Gilmer to Mr. Fillmore and his execution of the fugitive-slave law was exceedingly unfortunate. In that case the negroes were allowed to be taken away from the United States authorities and carried off. In the case of Mr. Pierce, Anthony Burns, by the aid of the whole power of the Government was returned to his owner.

His competitor talked a great deal about the peace and quiet of Mr. Fillmore's administration, and charges Black Republicans and Democrats with causing all the excitement and danger of the existing troubles, and he stands upon a platform, said Governor Bragg, which denounces the administration for having recklessly and unwisely repealed the Missouri Compromise--a pretty platform for a Southern man to stand upon, especially when adopted in place of that of the year before. He read from the speech of Mr. Badger to show that all the Whig Senators from the South supported the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, except one, and that the measure was passed by Northern and Southern Democrats and Southern Whigs, and that Mr. Badger said it was right and proper that it should pass.

Governor Bragg then gave the history of the Missouri Compromise line--showed how unjust it was to the South originally, that the South had, however, shown every disposition to abide by it, and had time and again sought to have it extended over the new territory to the Pacific, while the North repudiated that line. The South was, therefore, not properly chargeable with any breach of faith, and was right to get rid of the odious act. Now, he said, there were questions of vital importance growing out of that matter, and he wished to know where our Know-Nothing opponents stood with regard to them. But no one could tell. What was Mr. Fillmore's opinion upon any one of these questions? Nobody knew. He had said nothing while at home, and at the last accounts, strange as it might seem to Know-Nothing ears, he was in the city of Rome partaking of the hospitalities of the Pope. When the matter is pressed, we are told that the party eschews all sectional questions, state and national, in order that the "Paramount Principles of Americanism" may have full play, thus raising the question only, who shall hold the offices of the country, and not, in what manner our government shall be administered. Can it be possible, said Governor Bragg, that the people will be thus humbugged and trifled with when the country is in danger?

Governor Bragg said he would then examine the claims of this new party. He went into a full examination of its principles; stated what had been its history North and South; what had been its fruits in different sections; how it sent nothing but abolitionists and freesoilers to Congress, and challenged his competitor to point to one solitary Northern national man of his party in either house of Congress; gave the history of the election of Speaker of the House of Representatives, and how not one of them voted for Aiken when the contest was between him and Banks, although five of them had voted for him the day before, including their candidate Fuller.

He then examined into its origin, and traced out the machinery of the whole thing; showed that it was a monstrous attempt to subvert the plan of government adopted by our fathers, and to substitute in its stead these worse than midnight Jacobin clubs. But I am unable to follow the Governor through this part of his speech without too much prolixity.

He exposed their constitutions, rituals, obligations and oaths, some of which he read. Said they had been hunted from their dark places in this State, and now profess to have done away with all this--how and in what way does not appear--while at the North these councils, as appears from their last national platform, are still kept up.

He concluded by saying that such a party did not deserve support of a free people, nor did he believe they would receive it. He was willing to go before the people of North Carolina on this subject, and should do so confident of success.

* * * * *

Mr. Cowper himself selected Governor Bragg's account of the discussion above given as illustrative of his judicial fairness of mind, and I have adopted it for all purposes. Of course there is nothing in it to show Bragg's strength of intellect. The discussion as reported is interesting, however, as a side-light on those times.

Bragg was essentially a lawyer. His practical sagacity and hard common sense, however, as well as his wide political reading, made him a success both in politics and law, a rare combination.

His speech in the Holden impeachment would give a better idea of his talents, but it is too long for the scope of this work; and all the facts and speeches of every trial should be published together in justice to the accused.

This sketch was written in 1891, and is here given in a slightly abbreviated form.

WILLIAM A. GRAHAM.

BY MONTFORD McGEHEE.

William Alexander Graham was born on the 5th day of September, 1804, in the county of Lincoln. He was fortunate alike in the race from which he sprang and in his own ancestry. The race was that which, by a change of residence from Scotland to Ireland, anterior to its immigration to this country, acquired, as it were, a double nationality and name, to wit: Scotch-Irish.

The ancestry of Mr. Graham were deeply imbued with the spirit of this people. His maternal grandfather, Major John Davidson, was one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration, and acted a conspicuous part in the Revolution. The name of his father, General Joseph Graham, is one of the best known in our Revolutionary annals. The biographical sketch incorporated into _Wheeler's History_ is a brief but noble record.

His mother was distinguished for her personal beauty--distinguished as well for her sense, piety and many amiable virtues. But death deprived him of her fostering care before he had attained his fourth year, and he was then consigned to the care of an elder sister. The tender affection and respect with which he always referred to this sister, attests how fully she discharged a mother's duty.

He received the rudiments of his education in the common schools of the country. He commenced his classical education in the academy at Statesville, then under the care of the Rev. Dr. Muchat, a scholar of good repute. Mr. Graham verified the apparent paradox of Wordsworth,

"The child is father of the man."

He was noted, from his earlier years, for his industry, his thirst for knowledge and his aptitude to learn. One who knew him well testifies that from his childhood he was no less remarkable for his high sense of truth and honor than for his exemption from the levities and vices common to youth. At this academy he applied himself to his studies with the most exemplary diligence. A classmate at that time says of him, "He was the only boy I ever knew who would spend his Saturdays in reviewing the studies of the week."

An incident which occurred about this time affords a striking proof of his early force of character. General Graham was a pioneer in a branch of industry yet but little developed in this State--the manufacture of iron. Upon his removal to Lincoln he established a furnace and forge, which, at the time now spoken of, had become quite extensive. From some cause the works were left without a superintendent. The General installed his son William, though then but a boy, and wholly without experience, at the head of the establishment; and the energy and judgment with which he conducted it, obtained his father's entire approval. He was next sent to the academy at Hillsborough.

From this academy he went to the University of the State, where he was matriculated in the summer of 1820. His course throughout his college life was admirable in every way. He appreciated the scheme of study there established, not only as the best discipline of the intellect, but as the best foundation for knowledge in its widest sense. He mastered his lessons so perfectly, that each lesson became a permanent addition to his stock of knowledge. The professors rarely failed to testify by a smile, or some other token, their approval of his proficiency. On one occasion, Professor Olmstead (who has achieved a wide reputation in the field of science) remarked to one of his classmates that his lecture on chemistry came back as perfectly from Mr. Graham as he had uttered it on the previous day.

Some thirty years after, the same professor in a letter to Mr. Graham (then Secretary of the Navy) uses this language: "It has often been a source of pleasing reflection to me, that I was permitted to bear some part in fitting you, in early life, for that elevated post of honor and usefulness to which Providence has conducted you."

His high sense of duty was manifested in his conscientious deportment under the peculiar form of government to which he was then subject. His observance of every law and usage of the college was punctilious; while, to the faculty, he was ever scrupulously and conspicuously respectful.

His extraordinary proficiency was purchased by no laborious drudgery. The secret of it was to be found in the precept which he acted upon, through life: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." His powers of concentration were great, his perceptions quick, his memory powerful, prompt, and assiduously improved. By the joint force of such faculties, he could accomplish much in little time. Hence, notwithstanding his exemplary attention to his college studies, he devoted much time to general reading. It was at this time, no doubt, that he laid up much of that large and varied stock of information upon which he drew, at pleasure, in after life.

Intent upon availing himself to the full, of every advantage afforded him, he applied himself assiduously to the duties of the Literary Society of which he was a member. He participated regularly in the debates and other exercises of that body. For all such he prepared himself with care; and it is asserted by the same authority, to which I have already referred--a most competent judge--that his compositions were of such excellence that, in a literary point of view, they would have challenged comparison with anything done by him in after life.

His engaging manners brought him into pleasant relations with all his fellow-students. He lived with them upon terms of the frankest and most familiar intercourse. In their most athletic sports he never participated, but he was a pleased spectator, and evinced by his manner a hearty sympathy with their enjoyments. His favorite exercise was walking, and those who knew him well will recollect that this continued to be his favorite recreation while health was spared him. With his friends and chosen companions he was cordial and easy, and always the life of the circle.

The class of which he was a member was graduated in 1824. It was the largest up to that time; and, for capacity and proficiency, esteemed the best. It was declared by Professors Olmstead and Mitchell, that Yale might well have been proud of such a class. It embraced many who afterward won high distinction in political and professional life.

No one could have availed himself to a greater extent than Mr. Graham did, of the opportunities presented in his collegiate career. "His college life, in all its duties and obligations," says the gentleman before quoted, "was an epitome of his career upon the stage of the world." He adds that on the day when he received his diploma, he could, with his usual habits of study, have filled any chair with honor to himself and acceptance to his class. Such is the emphatic testimony of one who himself graduated with high distinction in the same class. Might we not subjoin, building upon the above remark, that his career in after life was, in great part, the logical result of the discipline and training to which he submitted himself, so conscientiously, in his college life?

After graduation he made an excursion to some of the western States, which occupied a few months. While at Lexington, he heard Mr. Crittenden address the jury in a great slander or libel case. The speech, which was worthy of the great advocate's fame, made a profound impression upon Mr. Graham. It may have had some influence in determining his choice of a profession, or in fixing it, if already made. From this tour he returned in 1824, and entered upon the study of the law in the office of Judge Ruffin.

He obtained his County Court license in the summer of 1826. At August term of the court he appeared at the Orange bar. The rule then required, between the admission to practice in the County Court and the admission to practice in the Superior Court, a novitiate of one year. This period he spent in Hillsborough that he might continue to profit by the instruction of his learned preceptor. At the end of the year he received his Superior Court license. It was now a question where he should establish himself for the practice of his profession. The counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Lincoln were filled with his blood relations, connections and friends. They were among the most distinguished for their wealth, intelligence and Revolutionary service. Their combined influence would give him command of all the important business of those counties, and place him at the outset in the position of a leader of the bar. The prospect in Orange and the adjoining counties was widely different. In these latter counties he would have no adventitious advantages. The business of these counties, moreover, was engrossed by an able and a numerous bar. At the first court which he attended after he obtained his Superior Court license they mustered to the number of twenty-six. A large proportion of these were young men recently admitted to practice; but after deducting these, and many more of longer standing and respectable position, there still remained a bar which for learning, abilities and eloquence was never surpassed in this State. Of resident lawyers there were Thomas Ruffin, Archibald D. Murphy, Willie P. Mangum, Francis L. Hawks and Frederick Nash; of lawyers attending the court, from other counties, there were George E. Badger, William H. Haywood and Bartlett Yancey. What recollections of renown connected with the forum, the Senate, and the church flood the mind as we recall these names! Fain would I pause to contemplate the career of these illustrious men, by which the character of North Carolina was so much elevated in the consideration of the world, and so much of honor brought to the State. But other subjects press upon me--subjects of more immediate interest.

Notwithstanding this formidable competition--a competition which might well dismay one at the outset of professional life--Mr. Graham resolved to fix his residence at Hillsborough. Two reasons were assigned by him for this conclusion: first, an unwillingness to relinquish the foothold he had gained in the county courts of Orange, Granville and Guilford; second, a reluctance to sever the associations formed with his professional brethren at those courts. Another reason, quite as potent, probably, was a well-grounded confidence in his own abilities, and in his knowledge of his profession. Against such men he entered the lists, and against such he had to contend; not indeed all at the same time, but all within a period of two years. It may be mentioned as an instance of the vicissitudes of human life, that five years from the August of that year--1827--not one of those illustrious men remained at that bar.

His first case of importance in the Superior Court was one which, from peculiar causes, excited great local interest. It involved an intricate question of title to land. On the day of trial, the court room was crowded and the bar fully occupied by lawyers--many of them men of the highest professional eminence. When he came to address the jury, he spoke with modesty, but with ease and self-possession. His preparation of the case had been thorough, and the argument which he delivered is described as admirable, both as to matter and manner. When he closed Hon. William H. Haywood, who had then risen to a high position at the bar, turned to a distinguished gentleman, still living, of the same profession, and inquired who had prepared the argument which Mr. Graham had so handsomely delivered. The answer was, "It is all his own;" to which Mr. Haywood replied with the observation, "William Gaston could have done it no better."

Mr. Graham knew none of that weary probation which has been the lot of so many able men. His argument in the case just mentioned at once gave him a position of prominence. It was not long before he attained a place in the front rank of his profession. Here, with the large stores of professional knowledge which he had laid up, it was easy to sustain himself. His high mental qualifications, his habits of study, his perseverance, his unalterable faith in his cause, brought to him a constantly increasing business, and a constantly widening reputation. He was early, for so young a man, retained in the most important causes in the courts in which he practiced, and his associate counsel generally gave him the leading position in the trial.

In 1833 he was elected a member of the General Assembly from the town of Hillsborough. His first appearance on the floor has an interest from the relations subsequently existing between him and the distinguished man to whom the motion submitted by him had reference. He rose to move the sending of a message to the Senate to proceed to the election of a Governor of the State, and to put in nomination Governor Swain. A day or two after he had the satisfaction of reporting that that gentleman--who was ever afterward united to him in the closest bonds of friendship--had received a majority of votes, and of being named as first on the committee to inform him of his election. He took, from the beginning, an active part in the business of the House relating to banks, law amendments and education.

I record an incident which attests the high consideration which he had already acquired in the country, and the importance attached to his opinion. Judge Gaston had been elected in 1833 to a seat on the Supreme Court Bench by a majority of two-thirds of the General Assembly. He had been brought up in the Roman Catholic faith--the faith of his fathers--the faith in which he died. The thirty-second section of the old constitution declared incapable of holding office all those who "deny the truth of the Protestant religion." Some dissatisfaction had been expressed at his accepting a judicial office under a constitution containing this clause, which in the opinion of some, excluded him. For some time he did not deem it necessary to advert to the matter. In 1834--November 12--he addressed a letter to Mr. Graham, enclosing a written paper, in which he stated succinctly, but with great clearness and force, the reasoning by which his acceptance had been determined. In the conclusion of his letter he referred it to Mr. Graham's judgment, to determine what degree of publicity should be given to the paper. Whether it was ever published we do not know; but when we consider Judge Gaston's high station and great name in the country, and that the purity of that name was in a measure at stake, the incident must be regarded as a singular tribute to the character which Mr. Graham had thus early established. It is well known how Judge Gaston availed himself of his place in the Convention of 1835 to set forth to the world the reasons by which his decision had been influenced--reasons so cogent and conclusive as to satisfy every mind. It is known, too, that the object of the great speech delivered by him then--an object happily accomplished--was to bring about such a modification of the obnoxious clause as to deprive it of all sectarian intolerance.

Mr. Graham was again a member from Hillsborough in the year 1835. In the organization of the committees the post of chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary was assigned to him, and the journals bear testimony to the diligence with which its duties were discharged. It was through him, in his capacity of chairman, that the various reports of the commissioners to revise the statute laws of the State--the _Revised Code_ being then in progress--were submitted to the House.

From the abilities displayed and the high position held by him in the Legislature, we should naturally expect to find him in the Constitutional Convention of 1835. It has been well said that the county of Orange has been to North Carolina, what Virginia has been to the Union, the mother of statesmen. On this occasion, by one of those caprices which sometimes seize upon communities as well as individuals, the noble old county seemed to care little for her ancient renown. There seems to have been no action by the county to secure delegates worthy of her former reputation. We learn from the remarks of one of the delegates in the Convention, that there were ten candidates in the field, and that the successful candidates were returned by so small a vote as to call forth a taunt from a member of the Convention. In such a contest Mr. Graham had no desire to enter the field; indeed, whenever he offered himself for the suffrages of his countrymen, it was as the chosen champion of the principles of a great party.

He again represented the county of Orange in the Legislatures of 1838 and 1840, in both of which he was elected Speaker. This withdrew him from the arena of debate, and we learn little more of him from the journals of those sessions than the uniform punctuality and universal acceptability with which he discharged the duties of that high trust.

A revolution in the politics of the State brought about a vacancy, in 1840, in the representation from North Carolina in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Strange, under instructions, had resigned his seat; the term of the other Senator was near its end. There were thus two terms to be filled by the Legislature of 1841. Mr. Mangum was elected for the full term, Mr. Graham for the unexpired term. This election was considered by Mr. Graham as the most emphatic testimonial of the confidence and favor of the State which he received during his life. Mr. Mangum and he were residents of the same county, and of the many able men who might justly advance claims to the other seat Mr. Graham was the youngest. Certainly an election under such circumstances constituted a tribute of peculiar significance and value.

He was among the youngest members of the Senate when he took his seat; but he soon commanded the esteem and respect of the entire body. That, it has been truly said, was preëminently the age of great men in American parliamentary history, and of such he was regarded as the worthy compeer. "He never rose to speak," says a distinguished gentleman (Mr. Rayner), who was himself a member of Congress at that time, "that he did not receive the most respectful attention. When the Senate went into Committee of the Whole he was usually called upon to preside. Reports from him as chairman of a committee almost invariably secured the favorable consideration of the Senate." From the same authority we learn that the relations existing between him and Mr. Clay were of the most kindly and intimate character, and that Mr. Clay "regarded him as a most superior man, socially and intellectually."

The period during which Mr. Graham was in the Senate was one of the most stormy in our political annals. The Whig party had just achieved a great victory, and Harrison and Tyler had been elected by an immense majority. That party reckoned confidently that it would now be able to carry out those great principles of government, for which it had so long contended, and which had been so signally approved in the recent election. In the midst of these patriotic anticipations, General Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler succeeded to the Presidential chair. Mr. Tyler had adopted the platform of the Whig party, and in his address, upon assuming the duties of his high office, he did not intimate the least change of policy from that which his predecessor had announced in his inaugural. He had, moreover, retained the same constitutional advisers. The statesmen of the Whig party now set to work to redeem the pledges which had been made to the country. A great financial measure was passed; this was vetoed by the President. A second measure of the same kind, framed in conformity to the views indicated in his veto message, was passed, which was vetoed in like manner. A tariff bill was passed, but this shared the same fate. Efforts were made to pass these bills over the President's veto, but in every instance the veto was sustained by the opposite party. The result of these repeated disappointments was that all hope of united and efficient action in carrying out the great principles of the Whig party was finally abandoned.

The administration of Mr. Van Buren had largely exceeded the revenues. Provision for this deficiency had to be made by the incoming administration. To meet an emergency so pressing a bill was introduced, known as the "Loan Bill." It was strongly opposed, among others, by Mr. Calhoun, in a speech of characteristic force and compass. So far as the Whigs were concerned it was an appeal by the administration for aid, to a party which it had betrayed. Mr. Graham only recollected that the good of the country was involved, and gave it his support. "I will not," said he, "stop the action of the government by denying it the means of going on, no matter who may be in power." The speech which he delivered on this bill was eminently able and statesmanlike. He demonstrated the necessity of the measure; he traced out the cause of the deficiency, and pointed out the remedy. The subject has little interest to the general reader at this day, yet in that speech there are passages of such profound reflection and philosophic scope as will give it a value to the political student at all times.

When the Apportionment bill in 1842 was under consideration, very strong opposition, headed by Mr. Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Wright, of New York, was made to the districting clause. Mr. Graham, on June the 3d, addressed the Senate in support of the clause. In a calm, condensed, weighty and conclusive argument, he demonstrated that the district system of electing Representatives to Congress, was in conformity to the true theory of representative government, and was the one contemplated and expected by the framers of the government; that it was sanctioned by usage almost unanimous in the old States, and by the usage of two-thirds of the new; that the general ticket system was fraught with evils, public and private; nay, with dangers to the Union. There was a passage in that debate which so forcibly illustrates the high moral plane upon which he discussed public affairs that I cannot pass it by. It was objected by Mr. Woodbury, of New Hampshire, that if the act were passed by Congress, it had no means of enforcing it. He wished to know whether an armed force or a writ of mandamus would be sent to the State Legislatures to compel them to lay off the districts. In reply Mr. Graham showed that if, notwithstanding the law, a State should return members according to general ticket, the House of Representatives, as judge of the election of its members, could pronounce such election a nullity. "But the duties of the States under our Constitution," said he, "are not to be determined by their liability to punishment, but by the covenants into which they entered by that instrument. It is faith, honor, conscience, and not the 'hangman's whip,' on which, at last rest the blessings of this noblest human institution which has ever been devised for the security, the welfare and happiness of man." In this exclamation, he unconsciously announced those great principles by which his own conduct through life was regulated, and to whose slightest behest he ever yielded an unhesitating obedience.

A short time after--July 25, 1842--he received the following letter from Chancellor Kent: "I thank you for your speech on the districting clause of the Apportionment bill. I have read it carefully, and I deem it in every respect logical, conclusive, and a vindication of the power assumed by the bill, in language clear and specific, tempered with due moderation and firmness. The district system is essential to check and control the cunning machinery of faction."

After the expiration of his term--March 3, 1843--Mr. Graham resumed the practice of his profession.

In 1844 he was nominated by the Whig party of North Carolina for the office of Governor. He had not sought the nomination; nay, would have declined it if he could have done so consistently with his high conceptions of the duty of a citizen. In 1836 he had married the daughter of the late John Washington, Esq., of New Bern, a lady of rare beauty and accomplishments--a union which brought to him as much of happiness as it is the lot of man to know. From this union a young and growing family was gathering around him. His patrimony had not been large, and the requirements of his family demanded his constant professional exertions. He was now at the summit of his profession, and his emoluments would be limited only by the nature of the business in an agricultural State, where commerce existed to only a small extent, and manufactures were in their infancy. His attention had been much withdrawn from his profession during his senatorial career, and besides the expense and loss of time in a State canvass, he would, if elected, be entirely precluded from the exercise of his profession during his term of office. The salary of the office was small, and a residence in the capital as Chief Magistrate would render necessary an increased scale of expense. On the other hand were considerations of great weight. Letters came to him from many gentlemen of high standing in various parts of the State, pressing his acceptance by every consideration that could be addressed to an elevated mind. Moreover, he was not unmindful of the honors which had been conferred upon him, and not ungrateful. He held, too, that the circumstances must be very exceptional which could justify a citizen in withholding his services when called to a public station by the general voice of the people. To determine his duty cost him much anxious reflection; but the latter consideration proved decisive. The decision once made, he acted with his accustomed energy.

His nomination was hailed with satisfaction throughout the Union. Among other letters which he then received, giving expression to this feeling, was one from Mr. Clay. In conclusion he thus expressed himself: "Still, I should have preferred that you were in another situation, where the whole Union would have benefited by your services."

His opponent was Colonel Mike Hoke. He was born in the same county with Mr. Graham, and was nearly of the same age. He was a gentleman of fine person, of fine address, of considerable legislative experience, and of high position at the bar. The canvass was well contested on both sides; on the part of Mr. Graham it was conducted with surpassing ability. When it came to the vote he led his competitor by several thousand majority.

He was inaugurated on the 1st of January, 1845, the oaths of office being administered by Chief Justice Ruffin. The _Raleigh Register_ of that date remarks, that "the audience which witnessed the ceremony, for everything that could make the occasion imposing, has never been surpassed within our recollection. The lobbies and galleries were crowded with strangers and citizens, and a brilliant assemblage of ladies."

His first term was so acceptable that he was elected to the second by a largely increased vote. His two terms embrace that period, during which North Carolina made the greatest progress in all her interests. The messages of his very able predecessor, Governor Morehead, followed up by his own, drew the attention of the whole State to the subject of internal improvements, and a powerful impulse was given to that great interest.

In a letter, Mr. Webster writes as follows: "The tone which your message holds, in regard to the relations between the State Government and the General Government, is just, proper, dignified and constitutional, and the views which it presents on questions of internal policy, the development of resources, the improvement of markets, and the gradual advancement of industry and wealth, are such as belong to the age, and are important to our country in all its parts." His earnest recommendation of a geological survey elicited from Prof. Olmstead, a letter commending his views expressed in that regard, in which he said: "There is no State in the Union which would better reward the labor and expense of a geological survey than North Carolina."

In 1849 he delivered the address before the literary societies at Chapel Hill. His subject was a cursory view of the objects of liberal education. This address stands out in wide contrast to those which have been customary on such occasions, and is solid, sterling, practical. It is a vindication of the University curriculum.

Public honors have been coy to most men; it was the reverse in his case. They waited around him with perpetual solicitation. In 1849, Mr. Mangum, one of the confidential advisers of the President, wrote to Mr. Graham that he might make his election between the Mission to Russia and the Mission to Spain. Subsequently the Mission to Spain was tendered to and declined by him.

Upon the accession of Mr. Fillmore to the Presidency, a seat in the Cabinet was tendered to Mr. Graham. In the letter addressed to him by the President, informing him of his appointment, he said: "I trust that you will accept the office, and enter upon the discharge of its duties at the earliest day. I am sure that the appointment will be highly acceptable to the country, as I can assure you, your acceptance will be gratifying to me." In a letter couched in proper terms, dated July 25, he communicated his acceptance.

In a letter dated the 19th of February, 1851, Mr. Benton wrote as follows: "I have just read a second time, your report on the Coast Survey. I consider it one of the most perfect reports I ever read--a model of a business report, and one which should carry conviction to every candid, inquiring mind. I deem it one of the largest reforms, both in an economical and administrative point of view, which the state of our affairs admits of."

He resolved, being strongly supported by the President, to send an expedition to Japan and bring that empire within the pale and comity of civilized nations. The command was assigned to Commodore Perry. The event showed what statesmanlike sagacity was exercised in planning the expedition and in the selection of its leader. Everything that was contemplated was accomplished. The success of that expedition constitutes one of the principal claims of Mr. Fillmore's administration to the admiration of the country and of posterity. Its success constitutes, indeed, an era in the history of the world. Its results have been great and cannot but be enduring. It has placed our relations with Japan upon a just and honorable basis. It has given a new direction to much of the commerce of the world--pouring its fertilizing tide through the heart of the American continent. Its effects upon Japan are but beginning to be seen; yet already they exceed what would have been brought about in the ordinary course of affairs in a thousand years. No people have ever availed themselves of the light of a superior civilization as the Japanese have. In that light they have seen the unfitness of many of their old institutions and have abandoned them; they have seen the unfitness of their language for foreign intercourse, and are preparing to substitute the English language. The changes thus made are harbingers of progress which will justify the most lively anticipations for the future. The friends of humanity and religion, especially, hail the prospect with delight. They see in what has been already done, the prospect of an entire change in the institutions of that land. They hope, at no distant day, to see liberal institutions introduced there. They hope to see a universal recognition of popular rights, where the bonds of caste have been so inexorable; to see equal laws take the place of a despot's will, and to see the Christian religion again introduced, never more to be disturbed in its peaceful reign.

Another expedition was sent out in 1851 under the direction of the Navy Department. The object was the exploration of the valley of the Amazon in the interests of commerce. The instructions to Lieutenant Herndon--to whose charge the expedition was confided--contained in the letter of Mr. Graham, of February 15th, were full and particular. They embraced the position of the country--the navigability of its streams--its capacities for trade and commerce--and its future prospects. In February, 1854, the report was published by order of Congress. It contains the most ample information upon all the points embraced in the instructions. In the London _Westminster Review_ of that year, it was noticed with just credit to the author, and due recognition of the enlightened policy which projected the expedition.

A part of the triumph of the compromise of 1850 belongs to North Carolina. Her favorite statesman was then in the Cabinet, and shared in the counsels by which these results were brought about. During the progress of these measures he was in constant conference with their author, and to the opinion of none did their author pay greater deference.

His labors as Secretary of the Navy were brought to a sudden termination. The Whig party met in convention on the 16th of June, 1852, and put in nomination for the Presidency General Scott, and for the Vice-Presidency Mr. Graham. Mr. Graham's preference for the Presidency was Mr. Fillmore, and without a distinct declaration of principles, and an approval of the course of his administration, he would not have permitted his name to be placed on any other ticket. This declaration was made, and in terms as explicit as he could wish; with that declaration, it became a mere calculation of chances which was the candidate most acceptable to the country. Under these circumstances he accepted the nomination. Immediately on his acceptance, with a view as he expressed it, "to relieve the administration of any possible criticism or embarrassment on his account in the approaching canvass," he tendered his resignation. The President "appreciating the high sense of delicacy and propriety" which prompted this act, accepted his resignation with expressions of "unfeigned regret."

In Mr. Stephens' history of the United States, it is said that in accepting the nomination tendered him by the Whigs, General Scott "cautiously avoided endorsing that portion of the Whig platform which pledged the party to an acceptance of and acquiescence in the measures of 1850." If avoidance there was, it was because he deemed it unnecessary to pledge his faith to measures with which he was so intimately identified. He was acting Secretary of War during the pendency of these measures. "No one," says Mr. Graham in a letter to a friend, "more deeply felt the importance of the crisis, or cooperated with us more efficiently in procuring the passage of the compromise measure, or rejoiced more heartily in the settlement thereby made." With a soldier's sentiment of honor, General Scott rested on his record, which was open to all the world. But the charge of unfaithfulness to those measures was made against him, and urged with fatal effect. And so it came to pass that the two candidates who had exerted all their abilities, and used all their influence, official and other, to secure the passage of the compromise measures, were beaten upon the charge alleged against one of them of unfaithfulness to those measures.

After his retirement from the cabinet, and in the same year--1852--he delivered the sixth lecture in the course, before the Historical Society of New York, in Metropolitan Hall, in the city of New York. "The attendance," we are told in the _Evening Post_ of that date, "was exceedingly numerous." Ever anxious to exalt his State, and set her before the world in her true glory, his subject was taken from the history of North Carolina. It was the British invasion of North Carolina in 1780 and 1781.