USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Rochester > History of the town of Rochester, New Hampshire, from 1722 to 1890, Vol. I > Part 38
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assurance that the law should be executed. The debate that fol- lowed was fierce and exciting, many senators participating. Mr. Hale said he thought "the President felt pretty sure he had made the administration ridiculous by his proclamation, and had sent a labored essay to vindicate what could not be vindicated." Hayden and Scott, the leaders in the rescue, were indicted and tried, but the jury failed to agree, notwithstanding the character of the testi- mony and the strong charge of the judge. Mr. Hale, who was leading counsel for the defense, made one of the most noted efforts of the times, addressed to the jury and the country. When the case of Anthony Burns came up in Boston, three years later, there was a still greater excitement. Theodore Parker, accidentally hearing of the arrest, with difficulty got access to the man, and with the aid of counsel procured a continuance that Burns might make defense. An immense meeting was held in Faneuil Hall to consider what the crisis required. A party who were too impa- tient to wait for the slower plans of the Anti-man-hunting League, battered down with a stick of timber the outer doors where Burns was confined. The garrison inside made a stand in the breach, and one of the marshal's assistants, James Batchelder, was killed. The noise drew the police to the scene, and a military company marching into the court-area as they were returning from target practice, being accidentally mistaken for a company of marines coming to strengthen the garrison, the attacking party did not feel strong enough to follow up their first success, and the rescue failed. The President ordered the Adjutant-General of the army to Boston, and the troops in New York were kept under orders to march upon call, in addition to other preparations to prevent a rescue.
Indictments were found against Theodore Parker, Wendell Phil- lips, Martin Stowell, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and others - some for murder, and others for assault and riot- mainly for the speeches they made at Faneuil Hall meeting. Mr. Hale was again secured as leading counsel for the defense, assisted by Charles M. Ellis, William L. Burt, John A. Andrew, and Henry F. Du- rant. The indictments broke down, and the parties were never brought to trial. Theodore Parker afterwards published the " Defense " he had prepared, and dedicated it to his lawyer, John P. Hale.
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From the time of his graduation Mr. Hale took great interest in political matters, and in 1832, two years after commencing the practice of law in Dover, was elected to the Legislature, at the age of twenty-six. Having identified himself with the Democratic party, he became one of its most able and eloquent supporters, and in 1843 was elected a representative to Congress on a general ticket with Edmund Burke, Moses Norris, Jr., James H. Johnson, and John R. Reding. On the assembling of Congress in December, an exciting debate arose on the report made by John Quincy Adams, chairman of the committee on rules, which left out the famous twenty-first rule, known as the Gag rule, that had been adopted in 1838 by a resolution introduced by Mr. Atherton of New Hampshire, which required that " every petition, memorial, resolution, proposition, or paper, touching, or relating in any way, or to any extent whatever, to slavery or the abolition thereof, shall, on presentation, without any further action thereon, be laid on the table, without being debated, printed, or referred." During the debate Mr. Hale, with Hamlin of Maine, and a few other Democrats, avowed their opposition to the longer suppression of the right of petition. The report was laid on the table, and the rule continued by a small majority. It had originally been adopted by a vote of about two to one. This was the beginning of Mr. Hale's anti-slavery action in Congress, which was destined to bring him so conspicuously before the country.
In the presidential campaign of 1844, Mr. Hale took an active part. He distinguished himself as a political speaker, and contrib- uted much to the success of his party. The question of the annexation of Texas had exercised a controlling interest in the South, from the necessity of obtaining more slave territory, if they would maintain their power, in view of the growing anti-slavery sentiment in the North, which was beginning to affect the action of Democrats. Mr. Clay had lost the State of New York, and with it the election, in consequence of his hesitating position of opposition to the measure, which sent enough Whig anti-slavery votes to Birney to have elected him. Mr. Hale was known to be opposed to annexation, as were many other New Hampshire Democrats ; but no opposition was made to his re-nomination to Congress, as fealty to that measure had not yet become a shiboleth of the party, as it did soon after. On the assembling of Congress.
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in December, 1844, the advocates of annexation at once entered upon the work for its consummation. President Tyler in his message called for immediate action, and during that month several schemes for annexation were submitted. In part to show the pro-slavery character of the movement, and to fix a western limit beyond which slavery should not go, Mr. Hale, on the 10th of January, moved a suspension of the rules to enable him to intro- duce a proposition to divide Texas into two parts by a line be- ginning at a point on the Gulf of Mexico, midway between the northern and southern boundaries, and running in a northwesterly direction. In the territory south and west of that line, it was provided that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude; and that the provision was to remain forever an invi- olable contract. The motion had a majority of eleven, but failed to receive the requisite two thirds. The necessities of the South now made it necessary to suppress all opposition to the scheme of annexation. The election had put the control of the government in the hands of its friends, and all its patronage was to be wielded to secure that result. The Legislature of New Hampshire was in session, as was then the custom every winter of the presidential year, to provide electors in case of failure to elect by the people, and resolutions were at once introduced and pushed through, favoring annexation, and instructing the delegation in Congress from the State to sustain it. "Obey or resign " had long been a Democratic doctrine in the State; and while most of the members might not have so understood it, the leaders were aiming at Mr. Hale, who had favored that doctrine. He met these resolutions with defiance. He stood by the record he had made against any further strengthening of the slave power, while mortified to see so many of his associates going down before it, among them the editor of the Democratic paper in his own town, who had expressed the desire that an impassable gulf might forever exist to prevent annexation, while another leading Democratic editor declared the whole scheme " black as ink, and bitter as hell." It was a great step to take, and a less daring spirit would not have ventured it. Poor in property, with a family to support -the most popular man in his party - with power to command and ability to adorn any position his ambition might seek, on the one side - with alienation of social and political friends, ostracism in business and politics
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by a party which for sixteen years had held unbroken sway and remorselessly cut down every man who dared to oppose its declared will, on the other - were the alternatives. Few men have shown such greatness of soul and loyalty to convictions under such temptations. While most men would have yielded, Mr. Hale did not falter, but at once wrote his celebrated letter to the people of New Hampshire against the action of the Legislature in its reso- lutions, in which, after setting forth the aims and purposes of annexation, and the reasons given by the advocates and supporters of the measure, he declared them to be "eminently calculated to provoke the scorn of earth and the judgment of heaven." He said he would never consent by any agency of his to place the country in the attitude of annexing a foreign nation for the avowed purpose of sustaining and perpetuating human slavery; and if they were favorable to such a measure, they must choose another representative to carry out their wishes.
The Democratic State Committee immediately issued a call for the re-assembling of the Democratic Convention at Concord on the 12th of February, 1845, and every Democratic paper which could be prevailed upon to do so, opened its battery of denunci- ation, calling upon the convention to rebuke and silence Mr. Hale. To show what efforts were made to crush him, it need only be said that such leaders of the party as Franklin Pierce, who had been his warm friend ever since they were fellow students in col- lege, went forth over the State to organize the opposition. At Dover he called in the leaders of the party, and the editor of the " Dover Gazette," who had taken such strong grounds against annexation, and under their influence the "Gazette" changed sides and went over to Mr. Hale's enemies. He then went to
Portsmouth and brought over the leaders there, with the exception of John L. Hayes, then clerk of the United States Court. The same result followed at Exeter, with the exception of Hon. Amos Tuck. In this way the convention was prepared to throw over- board Mr. Hale and put another name on the ticket in place of his. Expecting no other fate when he wrote his letter, Mr. Hale remained at his post in Congress and only assisted his friends from that point, making arrangements at the same time to enter upon the practice of law in New York city upon the close of his term, But resolute friends, who believed with him, rose up in all
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parts of the State to defeat the election of John Woodbury, who had been nominated in place of Mr. Hale. Prominent among these, in addition to those named above, were Nathaniel D. Wet- more of Rochester, John Dow of Epping, George G. Fogg, then of Gilmanton, James M. Gates of Claremont, James Peverly of Concord, John Brown of Ossipee, George W. Stevens of Meredith, John A. Rollins of Moultonborough, James W. James of Deerfield, N. P. Cram of Hampton Falls, and Samuel B. Parsons of Cole- brook, with others of like stamp, who organized the first successful revolt against the demands of the slave power, which, until then, had been invincible. Through their efforts, Woodbury, the nom- inee of the convention, failed to secure the majority over all others needed to elect him, and another election was called to fill the vacancy. Great excitement pervaded the State during the canvass, into which Mr. Hale entered with spirit, giving full play to all those characteristics which made him the foremost orator of the State before the people, as he had been before juries.
The canvass opened in Concord in June, on the week for the assembling of the Legislature, in the old North Church. To break the force and effect of Mr. Hale's speech there, the Democratic leaders determined that it should be answered upon the spot, and selected Franklin Pierce for the work. On his way up to the church, Mr. Hale saw no people in the streets, and he began to fear there might be a failure in the expected numbers in attendance, as there had been once before in the same place in 1840, when he and other leaders of the party were to address a mass meeting, but when he reached the old church he saw why the streets were vacant; the people had all gone early to be sure of getting in, and the house was full to overflowing. Aware that he was ad- dressing not only the citizens of Concord and adjoining towns, and members of the Legislature, but the religious, benevolent, and other organizations which always met in Concord on election week, he spoke with more than his usual calmness and dignity. He created a profound impression, and made all feel, whether agreeing with him or not, that he had acted from a high sense of public duty and conviction.
Mr. Pierce, who had few equals as a speaker, saw the marked effect of Mr. Hale's address, and spoke under great excitement. He was bitter and sarcastic in tone and matter, and domineering
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and arrogant in his manner, if not personally insulting. The convention was wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement when Mr. Hale rose to reply. He spoke briefly, but effectively, and closed by saying :-
"I expected to be called ambitious, to have my name cast out as evil, to be traduced and misrepresented. I have not been dis- appointed. But if things have come to this condition, that con- science and a sacred regard for truth and duty are to be publicly held up to ridicule, and scouted without rebuke, as has just been done here, it matters little whether we are annexed to Texas, or Texas is annexed to us. I may be permitted to say that the measure of my ambition will be full, if when my earthly career shall be finished, and my bones be laid beneath the soil of New Hampshire, when my wife and children shall repair to my grave to drop the tear of affection to my memory, they may read on my tombstone, 'He who lies beneath surrendered office, place, and power, rather than bow down and worship slavery.'"
The scene which followed can be imagined, but not described, as round after round of applause greeted this close. At the end of the canvass in September, with three candidates in the field, there was again no election. A second effort in November ended with a like result. No other attempt was made until the annual March election of 1846, when full tickets were placed in the field by the Democrats, Whigs, Free-Soilers, and Independent Demo- crats. The issue of no more slave territory was distinctly made, and a canvass such as the State had never known before, in which Mr. Hale took the leading part, resulted in a triumphant vindi- cation of his course, and the complete overthrow of the Demo- cratic party, which was beaten at all points. Mr. Hale was elected to the House from Dover, on the Independent ticket, and on the opening of the session was made Speaker of the House of Rep- resentatives, and during the session was elected United States senator for the full term of six years. It was on this occasion that John G. Whittier wrote that very gem of political squibs, beginning, " 'T is over, Moses !- all is lost !" During this session of the Legislature an incident took place which exhibited the independent spirit of the man. Dr. Low, a member from Dover, introduced resolutions upon the tariff, slavery, and annexation, taking the ultra-Whig view of the tariff question, and intended to
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bring Mr. Hale and his friends to their support as the condition upon which he could have the vote of a considerable portion of the Whig party. But instead of yielding his convictions for the consideration of their support, he and his friends declared they would submit to no shackles; they had fought successfully against the tyranny of one political organization, and no allurements of a senatorship should stifle their convictions and bind their judgment to the dictations of another. Much excitement followed, but the counsels of the liberal Whigs prevailed. The resolutions were not called up until after the senatorial election, when Mr. Hale left the speaker's chair, and offered amendments, which were adopted after a strong speech by him in their favor. He was supported by his old friend and instructor, Daniel M. Christie of Dover, also a member of the House, who had done much to quiet the opposition and induce it to vote for Mr. Hale.
The hearts of the friends of liberty all over the country were filled with joy at the auspicious result of this first victory over the slave power after repeated, prolonged, and excited struggles both before the people and at the polls. Mr. Hale entered the Senate in 1847, and for two years stood alone, with unfaltering courage, battling the aggressive measures of the slave power with surpassing eloquence, keen wit, unfailing good humor, and bound- less resources for any and every emergency. He drew the attention of the country, during this session, by the telling blows he struck for the great cause of human freedom, to which he dedicated all the noblest powers of his mature manhood. He stood fearless against every threat and all combinations. It was of his debates during his first senatorial term, after his return from Spain, broken in health, that Charles Sumner said to the writer : - " Poor Hale ! It is sad to see his manly form crippled and shrunken. He stood up bravely and alone before the rest of us got there to aid him, and said things on the spur of the moment, that will last and be remembered when the labored efforts of the rest of us are for- gotten." Chase of Ohio, a sturdy son of New Hampshire, came to the Senate in 1849 to stand beside him, and two years later, in 1851, Sumner of Massachusetts. They constituted a trio of great ability, but were treated as interlopers and refused positions on the committees of the Senate for the reason, as alleged by
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Bright of Indiana, that " they belonged to no healthy organization known to the country."
One of the first debates in which Mr. Hale distinguished him- self, after entering the Senate, was on the admission of Oregon, when he proposed to add the ordinance of 1787, excluding slavery, which drew on a fierce debate. When accused of provoking a " useless and pestiferous discussion," he told them with his accus- tomed good nature, that he was " willing to stand where the word of God and his conscience placed him, and there bid defiance to consequences."
Early in April, 1848, the year of popular upheavings and rev- olutions in Europe, President Polk sent a message to Congress announcing, in glowing terms, the uprising of the French people - the peaceful overthrow of the monarchy, and the establishment of a republic. Resolutions were introduced in the House of Rep- resentatives, tendering their warmest sympathy with the struggling patriots, and expressing the hope "that down-trodden humanity may succeed in breaking down all forms of tyranny and oppres- sion." Similar resolutions were introduced in the Senate. Speak- ing on the question in a sad strain Mr. Hale said : -
"I have sometimes thought, in dwelling upon the history of this republic, that I have seen indications, fearful and fatal, that we were departing from the faith of our fathers ; that instead of living true to the first principles of human liberty which we have proclaimed, we were cutting loose from them; that the illustration we were about to give of the capability of man for self-government was to be the same as that of all other nations that have gone before us; and that after our failure the hope of freedom would indeed be extinguished forever. But in the dawning of this revolution in France I behold the sun of hope again arise, his beams of golden light streaming along the eastern horizon. 3 I am now inspired by the hope that even if we fail here, if liberty should be driven from this, her chosen asylum, the divine principle would still live and would find a sanctuary among the people of another land ; and when our history shall have been written, and our tale told, with its sad moral of our faithlessness to liberty, - boasting of our love of freedom, while we listened unmoved to the clanking of chains and the wail of the bondmen, - even then, in a con-
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tinent of the old world, light would be seen breaking out of darkness, life out of death, and hope out of despair."
There was a municipal celebration of this event in Washington, with torchlight procession and other out-door demonstrations, the houses of the President and heads of the departments being illu- minated. During these demonstrations the schooner Pearl came to Washington loaded with wood, and when she left took away seventy-seven slaves. Such an exodus caused great commotion, and an armed steamer was sent in hot pursuit, which overtook the schooner at the mouth of the Potomac and brought her back with her ill-fated company. The greatest excitement prevailed, and out of it came a mob, which, after partially exhausting its fury, started for the office of the "National Era" to destroy it, but were frustrated in their purpose. In Congress the excitement was as fierce and intense as outside. In the House the debate was especially bitter. In the Senate Mr. Hale offered a resolution, copied from the laws of Maryland, providing that any property destroyed by riotous assemblages should " be paid for by any town or county in the district where it occurs." Mr. Calhoun was " amazed that even the senator from New Hampshire should have so little regard for the constitution of the country as to introduce such a bill as this without including in it the severest penalties against the atrocious act which had occasioned this excitement," and said he " would just as soon argue with a maniac from Bedlam, as with the senator from New Hampshire on the subject." Foote of Mississippi denounced the bill " as obviously intended to cover and protect negro stealing." Turning to Mr. Hale he said : - "I invite him to visit Mississippi, and will tell him beforehand, in all honesty, that he could not go ten miles into the interior before he would grace one of the tallest trees of the forest with a rope around his neck, with the approbation of every honest and patriotic citizen; and that, if necessary, I should myself assist in the operation." Jefferson Davis, and Butler of South Carolina, joined in the attack upon him in the same strain, while he stood alone. Mr. Hale explained his purpose in intro- ducing the resolution, and in replying to the assaults said : - " The notes of congratulation sent across the Atlantic to the people of France on their deliverance from thralldom have hardly ceased when the supremacy of law and the freedom of
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the press are threatened in the capital of the nation." Refer- ring to Foote's threatened reception in Mississippi, he invited the senator to visit "the dark corners of New Hampshire, where the people in that benighted region will be very happy to listen to his arguments and engage in the intellectual conflict with him in which the truth would be elicited." Turning to Calhoun, he said : - " It has long been held by you that your peculiar insti- tution is incompatible with the right of speech; but if it is also incompatible with the safeguards of the constitution being thrown around the property of the American citizen, let the country know it. If that is to be the principle of your action, let it be pro- claimed throughout the length and breadth of the land, that there is an institution so omnipotent, so almighty, that even the sacred rights of life and property must bow down before it. There could not be a better occasion than this to appeal to the country. Let the tocsin sound; let the word go forth." He further told Calhoun that it was "a novel mode of terminating a controversy by char- itably throwing the mantle of a maniac irresponsibility upon one's antagonist." Adjournment closed the discussion, and the Senate refused to take it up afterwards.
In December, 1850, Mr. Foote of Mississippi introduced a reso- lution declaring it to be the duty of Congress to provide terri- torial government for California, Deseret, and New Mexico. Mr. Hale offered an amendment, that the ordinance of 1787 should be applied. It was during the debate which followed that Mr. Web- ster made his 7th of March speech. During the discussion Mr. Hale occupied two days in an argument vindicating the measures and acts of the anti-slavery men. Replying to Mr. Webster, he said : - " Yet the senator declares he would not re-enact the laws of God. Well, sir, I would. When he tells me that the law of God is against slavery, it is a most potent argument why we should incorporate it in a territorial bill."
In closing he said :- " And firmly believing in the providence of God, we trust the day will dawn in this country when the word 'slavery' shall be a word without a meaning, when any section of the Union will join hands with another in spreading abroad the principles of humanity, philosophy, and Christianity, which shall elevate every son and daughter of the human race to that liberty for which they were created, and for which they were
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destined by God. These opinions, sir, we entertain, and these hopes we cherish; and we do not fear to avow them, here, now, always, and forever."
Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Hale presented petitions for the repeal of the fugitive slave act, one of which was referred to the judiciary committee. A debate sprang up on a motion for reconsideration, which gave rise to a spirited controversy. Butler of South Caro- lina declared he " was tired of casting impediments in the stream of anti-slavery agitation; they might as well attempt to put a maniac asleep by lullabies." Mr. Hale, in reply, said " agitation was the great element of life. It gave birth to the revolution and the constitution, and none but those who hug fatal errors have anything to fear from that life-giving element, which will impart its healing as did the waters at the beautiful gate of the temple, when the angel had gone down and stirred them. As for myself, I glory in the name of agitator."
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