History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 18

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

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State always careful and conservative in all its expenditures beheld with something like dismay this mountain of obligation, swollen into millions. It was almost impossible to get money for current ex- penses. A previous Legislature had authorized the issue of three and one-half millions of six per cent. State bonds, payable in currency ; only four hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars had been taken. Governor Smyth, in his first message, recommended the issue of bonds better calculated to meet the exi- gencies of the case, and that current expenses be pro- vided for by taxation. As a matter of interest to capitalists, he took care to set forth the resources of the State, its prudent habit in expenditures and the hostility to repudiation in every form, which our people had inherited from a frugal, patriotic and God- fearing ancestry. "We must," he said, " now observe the most rigid economy in expenditure, and bring the expenses to a peace basis as soon as possible. Our people are naturally economical, and hold sacred all pecuniary obligations." He compared, in a very effective manner, the agricultural products of a State which had hitherto borne the reputation of producing only men with those of some of the more fertile mem- bers of the Union, to our decided advantage. He called to mind the unrivaled water-power, with its. present and prospective improvement, and urged that attention to the latent wealth of the State which due regard to our prosperity demanded.

Besides these matters which had to do with the imme- diate restoration of State credit, he took advanced Re- publican ground in regard to our obligations to the freedmen and to the maintenance of the authority of the. national government. He indicated in a few words the fact that our indebtedness had its full compensation.

"From the outbreak of the Rebellion New Hamp- shire has stood firmly by the flag; and knowing what we do to-day of the scope and aim of the great con- spiracy and of the infamous means which brought. about its inception and urged on its progress, can any one regret that the State was so far true to her hon- ored name and her noble memories as to offer without stint of her name and means for the re-establishment of national authority ?"

In the first three months of his administration he raised over one million of dollars on favorable terms, a large amount of which was obtained in Manchester. From that time forward the financial affairs of the State received the most serupulous attention. In the haste and waste of war unavoidable confusion at times arose in accounts between the several States and the general government, and it was not only then impossible to pay our debts, but equally so to get our dues. Governor Smyth's large acquaintance with men gave him influence at headquarters, and he suf- fered no opportunity to pass to advocate the claims of his State. As will appear from the following extract from the Providence Journal, all States had not been so fortunate:

MANCHESTER.

"At the close of the war he (Governor Smyth) found the suspended and disallowed accounts of the State against the general government of over one million of dollars. These disallowances and suspen- sions were mainly in the expenditures growing out of earlier military operations previous to his accession to office. Governor Smyth did not busy himself to fix charges of petty larceny against one officer, or of wholesale robbery against others. He did not assume that every man who was charged with fitting out the first regiment sent from the State had stolen all that he could n't duplicate vouchers for on official paper. On the contrary, he urged upon the accounting offi- cers at Washington the impetuous zeal with which the State had responded to the call of the govern- ment ; he represented the impossibility of complete exactness in the accounts. Under such circumstances he exerted himself to obtain vouchers where his predecessor had omitted to secure them, and to ex- plain their absence when they could not be procured. . . In this way he saved hundreds of thousands of . dollars to the treasury of the State, and put no stain on its fair fame."

Among other things relating to the prosperity of the State, the Governor took up and advocated with zeal the restoration of the fisheries. He quoted the opinion of Agassiz and others, that our waters could be restocked at no great expense. In his second annual message he was able to state that the Legisla- ture of Massachusetts had been induced to move in the matter. On our own part, it was provided by law of June, 1865, that no dam or weir should be erected on the Connecticut or Merrimack Rivers, or upon the Pemigewasset, Ammonoosue, Winnipiseogee or Baker's Rivers, without suitable fishways below the bounda- ries of the State. In the following October the Gov- ernor announced, by proclamation, that the law, by its terms, was to be enforced. The attorneys of the several corporations concerned, however, on one pre- text or another, managed to delay the consummation of this useful act until a very recent period.

This first year of Governor Smyth's administration was a busy one. Our soldiers were returning from the war; it was the Governor's pride to receive them with something of the enthusiasm and warmth which he felt was their due. He urged that State aid should be extended to sick or disabled soldiers, and on this ground protested against the removal of the Webster Hospital, then maintained by the general govern- ment, at Manchester. Something of this effective service in behalf of the volunteers, no doubt, pointed him out as one peculiarly fitted to serve on the board of managers of the National Home for disabled vol- unteer soldiers, the establishment of which, on so grand a seale, rendered State aid unnecessary. To this important place he was appointed by vote of Congress in 1866. His associates were the President, Chief Justice and Secretary of War, ex-officio; Major- General B. F. Butler; Major-General John H. Mar-

tindale, Rochester, N. Y .; Hon. Louis B. Gunckel, Dayton, Ohio; General Thomas O. Osborn, Chicago, Ill .; Hon. Hugh L. Bond, Baltimore, Md .; Dr. Eras- tus B. Wolcott, Milwaukee, Wis .; Major-General John S. Cavender, St. Louis, Mo .; Major-General James S. Negley, Pittsburgh, Pa. Governor Smyth was one of the vice-presidents of the board. He was reappointed in 1872 for a second term of six years. Acting on his often-expressed idea that no man ought to take an office of the kind unless he was willing to devote to the discharge of his duties all the time and effort required, he has been a very efficient manager, traveling many hundred miles annually on visits of inspection at Dayton, Milwaukee, Hampton and Au- gusta, and to be present at meetings of the board in Washington, besides giving his personal attention to the admission of soldiers to the Eastern Branch, all this without other compensation than that which arises from a consciousness of duty done.

General B. F. Butler, in a letter written from Boston, said, not long since: "I know I shall echo the opinion of all his associates when I say Governor Smyth was one of the most valuable members of the board. His accurate business knowledge, the skill and ability displayed by him in adjusting complicated accounts, caused the board to put upon him more by far than his share of such work.

General Gunckel, of Dayton, Ohio, said: " Every one who visits these Homes recognizes the peculiar fitness of the selections made, especially for the Cen- tral and Northwestern Branches ; but few people even in Ohio and Wisconsin knew how largely this result, as well as the saving of thousands of dollars in the purchase, was due to the taste and judgment, the Yankee tact and shrewdness, of New Hampshire's ex- Governor. In the management and control of an institution caring for eight hundred disabled soldiers, and expending a million and a quarter annually, there was especial need of just such a man as Governor Smyth, and I do not exaggerate when I say that through the watchfulness and care, the courage and determination, of Governor Smyth, thousands, yes, tens of thousands, of dollars were saved to the govern- ment and people."

An extract from an address of Governor Smyth. at the Dayton Home, in 1868, shows somewhat of the spirit he brought to the discharge of his duties. It was on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the Veteran Soldiers' Chapel,-

"This little church which we quarry from this beautiful stone, and begin to build here to-day, is a token of allegiance, a signet of loyalty, both to the rightful authorities of the land and to the Supreme Ruler over all. The best and truest citizen, the world over, is he who first discharges his duty to his God, and under Him to the laws of the land. A memorial like this holds out no threat and con - veys no taunt to a vanquished foe; it says as it means, -peace to all who will have peace,-but as a symbol

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

of the highest authority, it also proclaims a law to be obeyed. Liberty without law is worse than worth- less, for it means the liberty of the mob and of riot, and by it the weak are oppressed and the poor made poorer yet. . But I hope that this building also will convey to you the idea that the four cold bare walls of an asylum is not all that the country owes or will give to its defenders. She recognizes, let us all hope and believe, the hand of an all-wise God in every act of this great drama, while com- pelled to take the sword to preserve a liberty unsul- lied by violence and law made with regard to the rights of every man, she offers to her citizens, every- where, a fireside safe from intruding wrong, and a worship and a Bible free to the humblest."

In September, 1865, the New England Agricultu- ral Society held its annual session in Concord. Gov- ernor Smyth delivered the address, and among other distinguished gentlemen present upon the platform were the late Governors Andrew, of Massachusetts, and Buckingham, of Connecticut. In his introductory remarks, Governor Smyth said: " I cannot elaim to teach you as a practical farmer, but I can claim to have made a constant endeavor, in my humble way, to keep alive agricultural enterprise and to stimulate agricultural investigation. It has always been my firm conviction that the safety of the State and the prosperity of the people require as a foundation an intelligent knowledge of agriculture; and while I have been obliged to admire the practical operations of others, and to search in fields not of my own for the results of well-managed experiments, I have learned to respect the great art which feeds and clothes us, and secures for us all the comfort and beauty of adorned and civilized life upon a subdued and cultivated earth." The address, as a whole, was received with very marked favor, and the volume of the "Society's Transactions " in which it was pub- lished met with a large sale.

In some remarks following, Governor Andrew took occasion to thank the speaker for his eloquent words, and called for cheers, first for " His Excel- leney, Governor Smyth, and next for Governor Smith's address." During this and the succeeding year he gave many brief talks at county and other fairs, always evincing the liveliest interest in the welfare of the State. At Milford, in the course of his remarks, he said: " I know it is often said that 'New Hampshire is a good State to emigrate from,' and perhaps it is generally believed that our young men can better their fortunes by turning their backs upon their mother State and seeking elsewhere for larger returns and richer rewards for their labors and enterprise. For one, Ido not share in this feeling. I believe that ours is not only a good State to be born in, but a good State to live in, and to die in, and that one great concern of the fathers and mothers should be to awaken in the hearts of their sons and daugh- ters a feeling of attachment and affection for, and

of pride and interest in, the homes of their childhood and the State of their fathers." In 1876 he deliy- ered the annual address at the Vermont State Fair, in St. Albans.

At the end of his first year his nomination for a second term followed as a matter of course. A Con- necticut paper, in advocating the election of General Hawley, said : "New Hampshire, in her State elec- tion of the 13th inst., has nobly led the way in re- electing her patriotic chief magistrate by so hand- some a majority, considerably larger than was given Mr. Lincoln in 1864;" and it also quoted, with marked approval, that passage in his message beginning "The question of negro suffrage is one of those de- fenses behind which slavery will yet entrench itself, and by which it will seek to regain some fragment of the power it has justly lost."

The second year of Governor Smyth's administra- tration was in all respects as satisfactory as the first. The State debt was funded at a lower rate of interest than was offered by the general government. The revision of the statutes, the reorganization of the militia, measures looking to the restoration of fish to our waters, and the publication of ancient State papers are among some of the matters of general interest. I have before me an autograph letter from the late Rev. Dr. Bouton, thanking the Governor in the most complimentary manner for the interest he had manifested in the preservation of these important papers.

One very pleasant incident of the year was the visit of scholars and teachers of the public schools of Manchester, on the Governor's invitation, to the State institutions at Concord. On two occasions dur- ing his occupancy of the Governor's chair he spoke at the dinner of the New England Society in New York, in brief but effective efforts, which were received with emphatic demonstrations of applause.

So successful was the administration that, contrary to precedent, many of the most infinential and re- spectable journals of the State, among which were the National Eagle, the Concord Statesman, the Dover Enquirer, the Portsmouth Journal and the Keene Senti- nel, advocated his nomination for a third term. The Governor, however, declined to be considered a candidate, and his letter to that effect was published in the Statesman in January, 1867. A brief extract or two from some of the papers of the day will serve to show the assumptions of this sketch, not unwar- ranted by public opinion :

Said the Boston Journal: "Governor Smyth's ad- ministration has been highly successful, not only in a financial point of view, which is demonstrated by statistics, but in all other respects." The Commercial Bulletin : " He has been as vigorous and careful of the interests of the people, as if those concerns were personal to himself, and successfully sought so to manage the financial affairs of the State that its credit stands as well as any other commonwealth."

MANCHESTER.

The Daily Monitor : "To-day Governor Smyth resigns his trust with the proud consciousness of leaving nothing uncertain or unsettled which diligence, busi- nes; tact and untiring zeal could close up and ar- range, nor has Governor Smyth's administration been merely a financial success ; he has neglected no single public interest; himself a practical example of all the virtues which constitute a good citizen, he has interested himself in every movement which looked to the welfare of the community and the promotion of industry, temperance and good morals among the people."

It is a significant fact that in a time of much party feeling the Governor was able to say, in his vale- dictory : " Whatever may have been the difference of opinion among us, there has been no factions opposi- tion from any source to measures necessary for the public good, but I have uniformly received the hearty co-operation of all parties in this difficult work." Only once during his two years' administra- tion did he consider it necessary to interpose his veto, and the House sustained him, one hundred and thirty- two to six. Another fact indicative of confidence in the executive was the appropriation, on motion of a distinguished political opponent, of fifteen hundred dollars to defray expenses incurred while on business for the State, and for which he had refused to take anything from the contingent fund. The appropria- tion was advocated by leading men of the opposition and unanimously voted. It was also declared by one of the journals "that no hostile criticism had been made from any source upon the conduct of affairs." It was extensively quoted, and, as far as I am aware, has never been contradicted.

Mr. Smyth now found it expedient to devote his time to the interest of the banking institutions of which mention has been made, and to his personal business affairs.

In 1876 he was an active member of the Constitu- tional Convention, when several important amend- ments were made to the State constitution, including the removal of the Religious Test Act.

One of his marked characteristics is an unwearied industry, and it seems to be the opinion that one who does much can always find time to do more. Among the appointments he still holds are the following : president and director of the Concord Railroad, trustee and treasurer of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, director and treasurer of the Manchester Horse Railroad, direc- tor of the National Agricultural Society, vice-presi- dent of the American Pomological Society, president of the Northern Telegraph Company, president of the Franklin Street Congregational Society, trustee and treasurer of the Northern Telegraph Company, president and manager of the First National Bank of Manchester, trustee and treasurer of the Merrimack River Savings-Bank. In 1866 the faculty of Dart- mouth College conferred upon him the degree of A.B.

In the spring of 1878 he was appointed by Presi- dent Hayes one of the commissioners on the part of the United States for New Hampshire to the Inter- national Exhibition at Paris. He left home, accom- panied by his wife, in April, and reached Paris, after a few days in London, early in May. On the 14th of that month they left Paris for an extended tour, visiting the principal points of interest in Egypt, the Holy Land, Turkey and Greece, returning, by way of Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Austria and Germany, to Paris in September. Some interesting extracts from private correspondence were published in the Mirror and Farmer, in the course of which the condition and work of the American Missions was spoken of. He was much impressed with the value of this work to the growing civilization of Eastern nations, and has frequently expressed his opinion to that effect in various addresses since his return.

Ex-Governor and Mrs. Smyth were the recipients of many attentions from ministers and consuls res- ident abroad, particularly at Constantinople and Athens. At Paris they were among the few invited guests at the dinner of the Stanley Club to General Grant, and were also present at the reception given by the American Legation to " General and Madam Grant." With a trio of other ex-Governors,-Haw- ley, Hoffman and Fenton,-he was made an honorary member of the Stanley Chub.

Soon after the return of Mr. and Mrs. Smyth from this foreign tour they visited Cuba and Mexico. The Mexican trip was exceptionally agreeable from the fact they were invited to join the party of Major- General Ord, and so were made guests of the repub- lic. A banquet was given their party at Vera Cruz, at which General Trevino, son-in-law of General Ord, and many distinguished officials were present. The trip to the city of Mexico by rail was accompanied by a gnard of honor, and they had every facility for see- ing all that was most desirable in the ancient capital of the Aztecs. Mrs. Smyth, particularly, was the re- cipient of many attentions from the courtly Mexican officers.

As souvenirs of this journey they brought home quaint specimens of Mexican manufacture,-onyx tables, feather-work, images of street occupations, etc., -to add to the interesting collection at the Willows.

In December, 1882, ex-Governor and Mrs. Smyth sailed again for Europe in the royal mail steamship "Servia," spent Christmas near London and the New Year's day in Paris. From Paris they journeyed leisurely through Switzerland in a season memorable for destructive floods in the valley of the Rhone, and went by the Mt. Cenis Tunnel to Turin and Genoa. From thence to Nice. Marseilles, and by the Gulf of Lyons across the Pyrenees to Barcelona, in Spain. In that country they spent some time, visiting Sara- gossa, Madrid, Toledo, Cordova, Grenada, Malaga, Seville and Gibraltar. From Gibraltar they crossed over to Tangiers, on the African coast, and returning,

HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

took ship for Malta and Alexandria. This latter city was half in ruins from the recent British bombard- ment. From Cairo they ascended the Nile to the first cataract, passing through Lower, Middle and Upper Egypt to Nubia, visiting on the way the old temples and tombs of Denderah, Luxor, Karnac, Thebes, Assouan and other famous places. Then, after visiting the battle-field at Tel-el-keber, they passed through the Suez Canal and landed at Jaffa, the ancient Joppa. After visiting the principal points of interest in the Holy Land,-Jerusalem, Jericho, the Jordan and the Dead Sea, etc.,-they went on, via Tyre and Sidon, to Beirut, Damascus and the ruins of Baalbec, Cyprus and Antioch. From thence by steamer along the coast of Asia Minor, touching at Troas, Smyrna, Ephesus and other places, they reached Constantinople. After an interesting stay of some days they crossed the Black Sea to Varna, and went through Bulgaria and Roumania to Bucharest. From thence, through Hungary, Austria, Bavaria and Germany, returning to Paris.

During this trip, as on other occasions, they re- ceived numerous attentions, and Governor Smyth had an interesting interview with the Khedive. They brought home many articles of value, curiosi- ties and special manufactures of the countries visited. On this occasion, also, the Governor made a successful ascent of the great pyramid and explored the labyrinth within. This occurred on the last day of his sixty- third year.

In February, after their return, Governor Smyth presided at a very large meeting in Smyth's Hall which was addressed by Hon. John E. Redmond, M. P. for Wexford, Ireland. He introduced the elo- quent " Home Ruler " in a brief speech, saying that he believed in "Your purpose to raise up the lowly and oppressed and weaken the bonds of the oppressor," and sharply arraigned England for her course in Ireland as well as in other lands, as he had observed it when abroad.

In September of the same year Mr. Smyth tend- ered a reception to the Hon. James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate for the Presidency. A dinner was given at the Willows, on Thursday, September 4th, when Mr. Blaine met some of the most distin- guished citizens of New Hampshire, and in the even- ing the house and spacious grounds were brilliantly illuminated and thrown open to visitors. A fine mil- itary band occupied a position on the lawn, and it was estimated that fully ten thousand people passed in to see the candidate.

career and success that no sketch of the life of one of the most eminent citizens of New Hampshire would be complete without mention of her.

Emily (Lane) Smyth was born in Candia, July 22, 1822, and was the daughter of John Lane and Nabby (Emerson) Lane and the granddaughter of Colonel Nathaniel Emerson, who fought under Stark at Bennington. Her father was a man of prominence in town. She was a near neighbor to her future husband, and was a bright and ready scholar in the schools of the district and in the town High School. Her school-days were completed at a young ladies' seminary in Charlestown, Mass., and she taught school for several terms thereafter in Candia, Chester and Manchester with marked success. She was mar- ried December 11, 1844, and brought to her new position some most admirable qualities. Her excel- lent good sense, intelligent comprehension of public affairs, vivacious manner, rare personal beauty and entire freedom from any affectation of pride gave her at once a popularity which, widened and extended as her husband's success introduced her into other circles. Receptions given by Governor Smyth at Concord, in which she was so conspicuously charm- ing, are still remembered as among the leading social events of the State, and she has entertained at her hospitable board some of the most distinguished peo- ple in the United States, including Chief Justice Chase, Chief Justice Waite and his family, President Hayes and wife, the wife and daughter of General and President Grant, Vice-Presidents Colfax and Ham- lin, General Chamberlain, of Maine; Henry Ward Beecher and wife, and General Butler has been a fre- quent guest. At home and at ease in the highest circles she was nowhere more delightful and more engaging than in the houses of her old neighbors, to whom she was a perpetual joy. Industrious and possessing great ability, she has accomplished much during her life-time that counts for truth and good- ness. Her ear was ever open to the call of distress, and she was one of the most efficient workers in the various benevolent organizations of our city and State. That the impression Mrs. Smyth made upon per- sons of both sexes and of all stations in life was no passing and ephemeral effect, is shown by the letters of a memorial volume printed for private circulation only, but which contains most remarkable testimony to her character and worth. Governor Smyth fully appreciated the worth of his helpful companion, and for nearly forty years their mutual devotion was a noble example of the beauty and sacredness of the marital relation. Her health had for the most part been so good, and her manner was always so hopeful and cheery that no immediate alarm was felt at her con- dition. A few weeks, however, developed fatal symptoms, and in spite of all that the best medical science of the country and the care of skillful nurses obsequies at the Franklin Street Church called out

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 18

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168