Part 6

At the termination of the war, he, in conjunction with Judge Law, was appointed to revise the judicial code of Connecticut, which duty was performed with great ability, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He was a member of the general convention that framed the federal constitution. From a manuscript found amongst his papers, it appears that this instrument of union received many of its original features from Mr. Sherman. To his conceptive mind and practical wisdom, we are much indebted for the towering greatness and unparalleled prosperity we so eminently enjoy, and which will endure so long as we are faithful to ourselves. With all the local and conflicting interests of the colonies spread open to his view, he was enabled to exercise a salutary influence in reconciling difficulties between the members, that, for a time, threatened to hurl back the elements of government into original chaos, and prostrate the fair fabric of liberty.

By examining the profound discussions, the variety of opinions, the multifarious interests, the intense anxiety, the agony of soul, and sacrifices of private views that characterized the formation of the federal constitution, we discover wisdom, discretion and patriotism of the purest, loftiest kind, shining in all the grandeur of bold relievo.

Based upon the declaration of rights, it forms a superstructure towering in sublimity above all others, radiating its heart-cheering influence over sixteen millions of freemen, revered at home, respected abroad, and without a rival in the annals of legislation.

Judge Sherman did much to remove the objections made against this important document by the people of his own and adjoining states. He showed them clearly, and convinced them fully, that to effect and perpetuate the union, private feeling and interest must yield to public policy and public good; and that each state should strive to produce an equilibrium in the government of the whole. The wisdom of the sages who framed, and by their continued exertion and salutary influence effected the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, deserves our admiration quite as much as when they guided our nation through the storms of the revolution. It is often easier to acquire a particular object than to properly enjoy and preserve it.

Judge Sherman was elected a member of the first congress under the new government, and resigned his judicial station that he might take a seat in that body. His influence had great weight in the national legislature. His exertions to promote the interests of his country were unremitting. Traces of his magnanimity and prophetic policy are upon the journals, and in many of the early laws of our country.

Upon many subjects members differed, and, in some instances, much warmth and acrimony were exhibited. On such occasions, Mr. Sherman was peculiarly happy in his exertions to produce reconciliation. He was emphatically a peace maker.

At the expiration of his representative term, he was elected to the United States Senate, of which he was a member when he closed his useful career, and bade a long adieu, a final farewell, to earth and its toils. He died on the 23d of July, 1793, in the full enjoyment of that religion he had honoured and practised in all the changing scenes of his eventful pilgrimage. He had lived the life of a good man, his closing scene was calm, happy, and serene. He could triumph over death and the grave, reaching forward to receive the enduring prize of immortal glory. He could approach the dread tribunal of the great Jehovah, smiling and smiled upon; and enter into pure and unalloyed bliss, lasting as the rolling ages of eternity.

Thus closed the valuable and useful life of Roger Sherman. He had been a faithful public servant nearly forty years. He had participated in all the trying scenes of the revolution; he had seen his country burst into being, a nation of freemen. He had aided in effecting a consolidation of the government; he had seen the dawnings of prosperity. In all the important measures of the state of his adoption, and of the American nation, he had taken an active and important part, from the commencement of the French war to the time of his death.

As a Christian, he was esteemed by all denominations, for his consistent piety and liberal charity. With him, sectarianism was not religion; for him it had no charms. His philanthropy was as broad as creation; it reached from earth to Heaven. He made himself acquainted with the abstrusest branches of theology, and was an esteemed correspondent of several celebrated divines.

In the history of Roger Sherman, we behold one of nature’s fairest sheets of purest white, covered with all the sublime delineations that dignify a man, and assimilate him to his Creator. His life was crowned with unfading laurels, plucked from the rich soil of genuine worth and substantial merit. No ephemeral flowers decked his venerable brow. A chaplet of amaranthine roses surmounts his well-earned fame. The mementos of his examples are a rich boon to posterity, and, whilst religion and social order survive, the virtues of this great and good man will shine in all the majesty of light. His private character was as pure as his public career was illustrious. He buried none of his talents; he fulfilled the design of his creation.

By his example it is plainly demonstrated, that man is the architect of his own fortune. By industry and perseverance, with the aid of books, now accessible to all, young apprentices and mechanics may surmount the Alpine summit of science, and take their stations, with superior advantages, by the side of those who have become enervated within the walls of a college. No one in our land of intelligence is excusable for growing up under the dark shades of ignorance. The sun of science has risen, and all who will, may bask in its genial rays. The field of knowledge and path to glory are open to all. The means of acquiring information are far superior to those enjoyed by Sherman and Franklin. Let their bright and shining examples be imitated by Columbia’s sons, and our happy republic will live for centuries. Let ignorance, corruption, and fanaticism predominate, and the fair fabric of our freedom, reared by the valour, and cemented by the blood of the revolutionary patriots, will tremble, totter, and fall. Chaos will mount the car of discord, sound the dread clarion of death, and LIBERTY will expire amidst the smoking ruins of her own citadel. Remember that “knowledge is power,” wealth “the sinews of power,” and that honesty, virtue, and integrity are the regulators of them both. Remember that intrigue, fanaticism, and faction may prostrate, at one bold stroke, the fairest, noblest work of years.

EDWARD RUTLEDGE.

The thrilling subject of American Independence is ever welcome to the patriot and philanthropist. The annual celebration of the event is calculated to perpetuate a kindred feeling and a kindred love of liberty. The time _may_ arrive when the _day_ may not be celebrated, but to the end of time the _event_, and the names of those who achieved it, will be handed down on the historic page with pride and veneration. The names of the Signers of the Declaration, like those of the twelve Apostles, are surrounded by a wreath of glory unfading and untarnished. Among them we find that of EDWARD RUTLEDGE, who was born in Charleston, S. C., in November, 1749. His father, Dr. John Rutledge, was a native of Ireland, who married Sarah Hert, a lady of high accomplishments, piety and good sense. Edward lost his father at an early age, and, like those of many great and good men, his mind was moulded by his mother. After passing through the usual routine of an education, he commenced the study of law with an elder brother, who stood high at the Charleston bar. Whilst he stored his mind with Coke and Bacon, he paid great attention to elocution. In 1769 he went to England, became a student at the temple, made himself familiar with the practice of courts, with the rules of parliament, with the policy, designs and feelings of the British ministry, and cultivated an acquaintance with the celebrated orators and statesmen Chatham, Mansfield and others. In 1773, he returned, richly laden with stock for future use. He commenced a successful practice, uniting an expressive countenance, a good voice, a rich imagination, elegance of action, an honourable mind, and a good heart, with strong native talent, improved by superior advantages and untiring industry.

He soon acquired a merited eminence as a bold, discreet and able advocate. He was peculiarly happy in his exertions excited by the spur of the moment, a talent always useful to a lawyer, and eminently useful to a statesman during a revolutionary struggle. His lamp was always trimmed and burning, and with true Irish zeal and eloquence, he was always ready to enter the arena where duty called him. He had a warm heart for the weak and oppressed.

It was self-evident that talents like his were well calculated to promote the cause of emancipation, and Mr. Rutledge was among the first selected members to the continental congress in 1774. This alone was sufficient to place him on the list of imperishable fame; for none but men of superior merit, known fortitude, and of pure patriotism, were selected to represent their country’s rights and repel a monarch’s wrongs. Such a man was Edward Rutledge. With the ardour of an Emmet, he united great prudence and discretion. By his open frankness of expression he incurred the displeasure of the crown adherents, but imparted the holy flame of patriotism to the friends of liberty in a pre-eminent degree.

With all his ardour and zeal he was a friend to order and opposed to mobocracy. He acted from enlightened and liberal principles, aiming to build every superstructure on the firm basis of reason and justice. To this nobleness of design, conceived and adhered to by all of the signers of the declaration, may be attributed the lofty dignity that pervaded that august body. Revolution is a tornado where prudence seldom enters to neutralize its baneful effects; but when such men as those who constituted the first American congress in Philadelphia combine, men who could command the whirlwind of passion, and conduct the lightning of revenge by the silken cords of reason, and the steel rods of unbending patriotism to a desired and useful destination, revolution is stripped of its bane and is crowned with unfading glory. Such were the signers of the declaration—such was the American revolution. We find Mr. Rutledge associated with several important committees of the continental congress, and among them he was appointed with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to meet Lord Howe, when he came clothed with authority to offer humiliating terms of peace. No three men could have been selected whose combined talents were better calculated to inspire awe and respect. They were received and treated with marked attention by his lordship, who became convinced, that under the direction of such spirits as these, the rebels would conquer or die. They detested his offers of pardon, for who had they injured? They disclaimed all right of the crown to their allegiance; it had been sacrificed at the shrine of an ambitious ministry. Freedom was their motto—Liberty their watchword, and their terms _Independence or death_. They had resolved “to do or die.”

As a sound, judicious and able statesman, Mr. Rutledge stood high; his brow was also decked by laurels in the field. He had long commanded a company in the ancient battalion of artillery. When the British landed at Port Royal in 1779, he led his company to the attack with the skill and courage of a veteran. At no battle during the revolution was more personal bravery displayed than at this, nor was the enemy, at any time, more chagrined at a total defeat by raw militia. It was a mystery to them to find in the same man, the statesman, the soldier and the hero. He was at a subsequent period elected colonel. During the investment of Charleston by the enemy in 1780, he was again in the field, but was unfortunately taken prisoner, sent to St. Augustine, and not exchanged for nearly a year. Before his return the dark clouds began to recede, and the horizon of liberty was slowly illuminated by the rays of hope.

He returned to his native state and aided in restoring the civil government that had been paralyzed by the cruel conquering arm of the crown. He was a member of the enraged assembly who met at Jacksonborough in 1782, and with his recent injuries and those of his friends bleeding fresh before him, he sanctioned the bill of pains and penalties, that, under other circumstances, would not have received his approval, and which, during the time it remained in force, he used every exertion to meliorate.

Among those who had been tortured by persecution was his venerable mother, who had been taken from her peaceful home in the country and confined in Charleston, then occupied by the British; a high compliment to her talents and patriotism, placing her on the list of fame with the matrons of Greece and Rome.

During the whole of the doubtful and protracted struggle of the revolution, Mr. Rutledge remained its steady and zealous advocate, and gave his best exertions in its behalf. After its termination, he again returned to the bosom of his friends and the labours of his profession. His private worth took deep root in the affections of the community, and he had the confidence and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.

In organizing the new government of his native state, he acted a useful and consistent part. Many difficulties were to be overcome, many clashing local interests to be reconciled, and many measures and laws adopted, to restore an equilibrium in private and public concerns. A great commotion existed between debtors and creditors; specie was out of the question; the paper currency was nearly annihilated, and many who felt that they had shaken off the British yoke, were about to fall into the hands of relentless creditors, who, when prompted by avarice, are as destitute of mercy as the pirate is of compassion. Instances are on record in our own country, (I blush as I write,) where some of those very veterans who bled for our boasted freedom, have been incarcerated in a prison by the cold inquisitorial creditor, for sums so trifling that shame would hide its face to name them.

In this dilemma, Mr. Rutledge was among those who proposed and passed a law, making property a lawful tender for debts; a law purely republican, but so obnoxious to avarice, that most men, who are aristocrats just in proportion to the amount of wealth they acquire above the wants of life, oppose it.

He also favoured the instalment law, and used his best exertions to meliorate the condition of the poor as well as the rich, by the enactment of laws based upon humanity and justice. He took an active part in most of the legislation of the state, and when the federal constitution was presented for consideration, he was, taking it as a whole, its warm and zealous advocate. Purely republican in principle, he was always opposed to slavery, deeming it a national curse. He was untiring in his labour—emphatically a working man. Dr. Ramsay remarks of him, “For the good obtained and the evil prevented, his memory will be long respected by his countrymen.”

As I have before remarked, he was a friend to order and law, and when any measure was consummated by legislative action, or by any public functionary duly authorized to act, he delighted in seeing it fulfilled to the letter. Although he was in feeling with the French when difficulties arose between them and England, he reprobated strongly the conduct of M. Genet and the French Directory. He was not a party man, but was always actuated by a sense of duty, and a pure desire for the prosperity of his country. His was the stern, unflinching moderation, calculated to awe a mob, paralyze a faction, and preserve, pure and undefiled, that lofty patriotism which commands esteem and respect.

In 1798 he was elected governor of his native state. Soon after, disease fastened its relentless hands upon him, and handed him over to the king of terrors in the mid career of his term. During the legislative session of 1800, his illness increased so rapidly that he felt an assurance that his dissolution was rapidly approaching, and was desirous of returning to Charleston, that he might yield up his breath where he first inhaled the atmosphere. The constitution required the presence of the governor during the sitting of the legislature, and so scrupulous was he to fulfil its letter, that he determined to remain unless both branches passed a resolution sanctioning his absence. The subject was submitted, but on some debate arising from the partisan feeling then prevalent, the application was immediately withdrawn, and he remained until the legislature adjourned. He was barely able to reach his home, when he laid down upon the bed of death and yielded to the only tyrant that could conquer his patriotic spirit, on the 23d of January, 1800. The same fortitude that had characterized his whole life, was strongly exhibited during his last illness, and did not forsake him in his dying hours. His loss was severely felt and deeply lamented by his mourning fellow-citizens. In the death of this good man, his native state lost one of its brightest ornaments, one of its noblest sons.

Governor Rutledge stood high as an orator. He appears to have understood well the machinery of human nature, and knew well when to address the _judgment_ and when the _passions_ of his audience. In exciting the sympathy of a jury, he had no equal at the Charleston bar. He also knew how, where, and when to be logical; and, what is all-important in every man, either in the public or private walks of life, he knew _how_, _when_, and _where_ to speak, and _what_ to say. His private worth and public services were highly honourable to himself, consoling to his friends and beneficial to his country. His usefulness only ended with his life; his fame is untarnished with error; his examples are worthy of imitation, and his life without a blank.

By his first wife, Harriet, daughter of Henry Middleton, one of his colleagues in congress, he had a son and daughter, the latter of whom remained in Charleston, the former, Major Henry M. Rutledge, became one of the pioneers of Tennessee. God grant that he may imitate the virtues of his venerable father, and fill the blank our country experienced in the death of the wise, the judicious, the benevolent, the philanthropic, the patriotic, and the high minded EDWARD RUTLEDGE.

THOMAS M’KEAN.

But few men have contributed more to fill the measure of the glory and prosperity of their country, than the subject of this brief sketch. He was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and born on the 19th day of March, 1734. He was the son of William M’Kean, who immigrated from Ireland when quite young. He placed Thomas, at an early age, under the tuition of the Rev. Francis Allison, then principal of one of the most celebrated Seminaries of the Province, and a gentleman of profound science and erudition. The talents of Thomas soon budded and blossomed like the early rose of spring. His mind was moulded for close application to study; his proficiency was truly gratifying to his teachers and friends, and gave high promise of unusual attainments. He became a thorough linguist, a practical mathematician, and a moral philosopher. He was a faithful student, and left the seminary, a finished scholar and an accomplished gentleman, esteemed and respected by his numerous acquaintances.

He then commenced the study of law under David Kinney, Esquire, at New Castle, Delaware. He explored the vast field of this science with astonishing and unusual success, and was admitted to the bar under the most favourable auspices. He commenced practice at the same place, and soon acquired a lucrative business and a proud reputation. He extended his operations into the province of his nativity, and was admitted in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in 1757. His strict attention to business and his superior legal acquirements, obtained for him an extensive and just celebrity. Although he had become the eloquent advocate and able lawyer, he was still a close and industrious student. He continued to add to his large stock of knowledge, with the same avidity and to greater advantage, than when he commenced his scientific career. He did not fall into the error that has prevented some lawyers of strong native talent from rising above mediocrity: _that when their practice begins their studies end_. This is a rock on which many have been shipwrecked in all the learned professions. The laws of nature demand a constant supply of food in the intellectual as well as in the physical world. The corroding rust of forgetfulness will mar the most brilliant acquirements, of literature, unless kept bright by use; and much study is requisite to keep pace with the march of mind and the ever varying changes in the field of science, constantly under the cultivation of the soaring intellect of man. It maybe said, that the grand basis of the law is as unchanging as the rock of adamant. To this I answer: its superstructure is an increasing labyrinth, and, unless the progress of the work is kept constantly in view, those who enter, strangers to its meanderings, will find themselves in a perplexing situation.

In 1762, Mr. M’Kean was elected a member of the Delaware assembly from New Castle county, and was continued in that station for eleven successive years, when he removed to the city of Philadelphia. So much attached to him were the people of that county, that they continued to elect him for six succeeding years after his removal, although he necessarily declined the honour of serving. He was claimed by Delaware and Pennsylvania as a favourite son of each, under the old regimen, and did, in fact, serve both after changing his residence, by being elected to the continental congress from the state of Delaware, being then Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, the former state claiming him, probably, because he still retained his mansion, furnished by himself, in New Castle, where his business frequently called him.

In 1779, he attempted to take final leave of his constituents in Delaware, and on that occasion, as a large meeting was convened for the purpose, made a most animating, patriotic and thrilling speech; portraying, in glowing colours, the bright prospects that were dawning upon the infant republic, and the certainty of being able to maintain the independence of the United States. After he retired, a committee waited upon him, with the novel request, that he would name seven gentlemen, suitable to be elected to the assembly. He desired them to report his thanks for the confidence they expressed in his judgment, and assured them there were not only _seven_ but _seventy_ then in the meeting, fully qualified to represent the people, and begged to be excused from _naming_ any gentlemen, lest he should give offence. A second time the committee called and insisted on the selection by him, with the full assurance that he would give no offence. He then named seven candidates, and had the gratification to learn that they were all elected. An unlimited confidence in his abilities and integrity, was strongly felt by his constituents, he continued to represent them in congress during the eventful period of the war.