USA > South Carolina > Charleston County > Charleston > History of the New England Society of Charleston, South Carolina, for One Hundred Years, 1819-1919 > Part 10
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in the highest degree but at once dignified by lofty and thrilling eloquence; affecting from the expression of generous sentiment and fraternal feeling, and enlivened with rare humor and sparkling wit; and further animated and cheered with music, both instrumental and vocal, from a band of skilful performers and from many and rich-toned voices mingling in concert and sweet concord with the soft notes of the piano. It was indeed a beautiful and grateful spectacle to witness the happy union of the generous sons of New Eng- land and their descendants, worthy sons of noble sires, with the warm-hearted children of the sunny South, in doing homage and honor to the genius, services, and worth of the great statesman of New England, the eminent diplomatist of the Republic, the 'conquerer of an honorable peace,' the illustrious and honored elder brother of our great American and republican family. The dis- tinguished guest was himself in the highest spirits and he diffused the happy, generous contagion to all around and manifested by his noble and crystal flow of eloquence and feeling and his fine play of keen or gentle humor that his heart was in the gladsome scene and that the delight, of which he was the fountain and infinite source to others,
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was reflected back in a copious and refreshing tide to his own bosom. While gazing on his noble form, his colossal proportions, and intellectual brow-almost a giant in body and quite a Titan in mind-we could not forbear the mental exclamation:
A combination and a form indeed,
Where every God did seem to set his seal, To give the world assurance of a man.
"After the luxuries of the feast, the cloth was removed for toast, speech, sentiment, and song."
Mr. Willington proposed as the principal toast of the occasion:
"South Carolina and Massachusetts: We rejoice upon the occasion which assembles together their distinguished men around the same festive board."
The eloquent responses followed. Benjamin Faneuil Hunt, Esq., spoke as follows:
"Mr. President: As our Society dispenses with the usual formalities of a set occasion and is determined to receive our guest as an old family friend and connection whom we have found jour- neying through the land of our adoption, I shall take leave to invite your attention to a few observations, after which I shall propose a toast.
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"Our experience authorizes us to assure him that he will return to his own New England farm more attached than ever to that Constitution which, we trust, is destined through all time to come to bind together all parts of our country in one great and glorious Republic, each state governing its own internal affairs, which practical experience enables it to do wisely, while the Federal government is left free to manage our national concerns.
"We hail with pleasure the interchange of unofficial and social intercourse by the statesmen of the different quarters of the country. It can- not fail to wear away that distrust which is prone to render strangers distant and suspicious and, I may add, selfish in their conduct of affairs.
"We believe that the more Americans see and know of each other at home, the more easily will they be convinced that, although their internal arrangements may differ, all can join in a cordial and hearty union as one great people-a mutual respect, reciprocal benefit, and social intercourse will every day diminish those causes of difference that sometimes mar the harmony of our councils. Each state will thus respect and regard the insti- tutions and social arrangements of every other
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and all combine to elevate and extend the honor and interest of our only Republic which in art and in arms maintains a proud equality among the nations of the earth.
"No states have more reason to entertain the most cordial relations than South Carolina and Massachusetts. When the port of Boston was shut and the stubborn spirit of her people rebuked and controlled by foreigners, South Carolina, dis- tant as she was from the scene of wrong and not necessarily included in its immediate effect, dis- dained to profit by the sufferings of a sister-colony but promptly made common cause with the Bay State and resolved to cheer her spirits and share her fortunes.
"The scenes of Lexington and Bunker Hill soon roused her kindred spirit into action-the military stores and forts were seized-South Carolina became a rebel colony and a British fleet entered Charleston harbor. If the sons of the Pilgrims fired the first morning gun of freedom's glorious day, Fort Moultrie thundered forth a gallant response and rendered immortal the ever- green Palmetto. The oppressor was taught that the good old thirteen, when right and liberty were at stake, were animated with one spirit, were true
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to their kindred blood. The sons of the wanderers of the Mayflower united with the descendant of the Huguenot in a firm phalanx and stood shoulder to shoulder during the dark and stormy days of the Revolution. Is it not fitting, then, that their posterity should hand down to unborn ages, un- impaired, that fraternal kindness which was born of a cominon conflict and a common triumph ?
"Fortune resolved to leave out no element essential to a perpetual and friendly union of the North and the South. The generous and high- souled chivalry that led South Carolina without hesitation to peril her own existence in a com- bined opposition to the oppression by which the legislation of the mother-country was seeking to humble and crush forever the unyielding spirit of New England was never to be forgotten; and when overwhelming military power had laid pros- trate the fortunes of the South and held her gallant spirits bound in inaction, in this dark hour of her fate the military spirit of a New England mechanic conceived the project to res- cue the South at every hazard, and gave pledge to Washington to do so or perish in the effort.
"Perilous as was the attempt, the commander- in-chief resolved to indulge the aspirations of his
.
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favorite general; and after a march which might be tracked by the bloody footsteps of his barefoot and almost naked followers, the troops of Greene were united with the followers of Sumter and Marion. Every gallant warrior of the South started at the beat of the drum and the blast of the clarion of the North. Conflict followed con- flict until, one by one, every post of the enemy from Ninety-Six to Charleston fell before their united valor. The tide of war was rolled back until at Yorktown the sword of the proud Corn- wallis was delivered to another son of New Eng- land, and Lincoln was accorded a noble retribu- tion for his gallant but unsuccessful defense of Charleston during its protracted siege.
"Every battlefield of our state contains beneath its sod the bones of New England men who fell in the defense of the South. Is it not right that the land, won by the united energies and sprinkled with the cominon blood of both, should remain forever one heritage-where the descendants of those who made it freedom's sacred soil may recognize, in its whole length and breadth, 'their own, their native land,' the land their fathers held by the glorious title of the sword ?
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"It is in this feeling that we hold every son of the South entitled to a home and welcome among the green hills and pure streams of New England. "The North and the South are but apartments in the house of our fathers, and long, long may their inmates live in harmony together in the ennobling relations of children of the cominon conquerors of a common country."
To Mr. Webster:
"You, sir, for the first time, look upon that sunny side of the national domain where we have planted our habitations and garnered up our hearts; here are our homes and our altars; here is the field of our labors; here are the laws and institutions which protect us; here, too, is to many the birthplace of their children and their own destined graves; here our first allegiance is due, which we feel is in all things consistent with fidelity to the great Republic of which our state is an integral portion. Neither have we forgotten the happy days of early life, those well-loved scenes of 'our childhood's home' !. Fidelity to the land of our adoption finds no guaranty in a renegade desertion of that of our birth; but we turn, with feelings of cherished veneration, to where our Pilgrim Fathers in sorrow and privation
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laid the deep foundations of a new empire based on the eternal principles of civil and religious liberty, and sustained by a general education and by public and private virtue. We hallow their memories and tread with reverence on their graves. Our filial piety is not abated by distance, and we hail the coming among us of a worthy son of New England as a messenger from our fatherland.
"We recognize in you one who has exhibited the influence of her institutions in a resplendent light. The son of a New England farmer, the pupil of the free schools and college of your native state, your own energies have placed you on an elevation at the bar, in the Senate, and in the Cabinet, where the civilized world can behold an orator, a jurist, and a statesman, who bears no adventitious title and yet is known and recognized by nature's own stamp of greatness.
"As a diplomatist, you have secured peace without any sacrifice of national honor, and may wear your civic crown as proudly as the victori- ous soldier does his plume. We shall record your visit in our archives as a part of our annals, and the recollection of it will always be among the most acceptable reminiscences in the history of our Society.
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"Mr. President and Gentlemen, I offer a toast:
"Our Guest: He has a heart big enough to comprehend his whole country, a head wise enough to discern her best interests. We cheer him on his way to view her in all her various aspects, well assured that the more he sees of her, the better he will like her."
Mr. Webster said, in substance, he was bound to say a few words in acknowledgment of the numerous kind things which had just been said of him, and the kind manner in which they had been received. In answer to the testimonials of respect and the high compliments so eloquently paid him by his New England friend, he must be permitted to say that it was to him a high source of gratification to find himself in the city of Charles- ton-the long renowned and hospitable city of the South-among those whom he regarded as fellow- countrymen and who regarded him as a fellow- countryman. The marks of respect and affection thus tendered him had penetrated his heart with the most grateful emotions. Colonel Hunt had been pleased, with great propriety and elegance, to refer to that great instrument of government, the Constitution, and to speak of it in terms
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THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
habitual to and expressive of the sentiment of all American bosoms. Whatever difference of opin- ion might exist with regard to some of its purposes, all agreed that it was the basis of our liberty, the cement of our union, and the source of our national prosperity and renown. True, the cardinal prin- ciple of that instrument and the interpretation of some of its provisions had, at times, led to agitating discussions and dangerous excitement, but all was now calm and repose, and be
All the clouds which lowered o'er our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Mr. Webster said that he took great pleasure in making the wise choice that the sons of New England around him had made in coming to this state. He trusted they were not very badly off at home, and they appeared to be exceedingly comfortable here. Since
The Winter's torrent and the mountain's roar
Did not bind them to their native mountains more,
they had not only acted wisely in coming hither but he really thought they could not have done better.
Where on this continent, he asked, was there a higher freedom of social enjoyment or a more
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ready extension of the relations of private friend- ship and the courtesies of refined society than in this city and state; and he could not forbear a tribute to the intelligence, enterprise, and hospi- tality of the citizens of Charleston, where the exiled and the oppressed of the earth and the victims of religious persecution-the Huguenot as well as the Pilgrim-had ever found a sanctuary, and a home; whither, as the name of this Hall instructed us, the enterprising North British merchant hied in the prosecution of business and for convivial enjoyment, and where that other people, the hap- less sons of Ireland, in our day the subjects of so much suffering and to whose relief the whole of our land, both North and South, was now hasten- ing with one heart and one purse, had also gathered as the home of the oppressed.
Colonel Hunt, said Mr. Webster, had been pleased, in referring to his public services, to dis- course of the agency he had exercised on questions connected with the preservation of the peace of the earth. Our true national policy was a policy of peace. He had not felt for many years that it was at all necessary for us to display any more prowess in arms to secure us an enduring national renown; there was no danger that we should be
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THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
underrated in the scale of nations by any defect in this particular. With these views he had, in his public course, directed his best efforts to pro- mote the peace of the world as best for the honor and prosperity of our land and in closest con- formity with the benign precepts of Christianity and the humane spirit of modern civilization.
He said he could bear testimony to the able and honorable bearings of the distinguished sons of South Carolina in the councils of the nation. On all the great questions of peace and war, and other questions of national interest that had been discussed in the halls of legislation, they had been arrayed on the side of the country, and a debt of gratitude was their due.
He descanted on the advantages to be derived from free intercourse between the inhabitants of the various sections of the Union and on the importance of mutual travel to enable us to see and know more of one another, and said that the more we saw and knew of each other, the higher would be our mutual appreciation, the greater would be our deference for each other's judgments and opinions, and that, by cultivating mutual feelings of kindness and courtesy, the stronger would be our ties of fraternal peace and concord,
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the stronger the great bond of union which bound us together as United States. He added that these reasons were especially applicable in this era of developments so favorable to transportation and conveyance, in which distance was now less measured by space than time.
Nobody, he added, would expect a speech from him at this social board-he had enough of speeches elsewhere-and it would be, in his judg- ment, to profane the occasion were he to inflict on the company a set discourse. Enough had been already said, and it only remained for him to tender his most earnest and cordial good wishes for the happiness and prosperity of the citizens of Charleston and the people of South Carolina.
Mr. Webster concluded with the following toast:
"The People of South Carolina: Distinguished for their hospitality and high social virtues as much as for the great names which, in past times and also in later times, they have given to the public service of the country."
Later in the evening Mr. Webster proposed a toast to
"The Memory of Robert Y. Hayne: A gentle- man of courteous and polished manners, of irre- proachable life, a lawyer of distinction and
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THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
eminence, a statesman of ability and talent, a highly favored son of his native state."
Another was proposed to
"Charleston: Our Adopted Home. Honored in the recollections and associations of the past and present, she ever delights to honor genius, talent, and worth."
Henry Bailey, Esq., being called for, said that in the absence of the excellent and accomplished chief magistrate of the city, who had been sud- denly called away from this assemblage by indis- position he had yielded to the request of some of his friends to undertake the grateful duty of responding to the sentiment which had just been uttered. He could not promise to perform it so gracefully as the gentleman on whom it would more appropriately have devolved, but he would yield to no one in the feelings of grateful pride which the sentiment itself and the cordial manner in which it had been received were so well calcu- lated to excite. As a native of Charleston, he could not but feel an honorable pride at her being supposed to merit the high compliment which had been expressed; and whether it were well merited or not, the kindness which dictated it could not fail to inspire a sentiment of profound gratitude
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for its expression. He therefore begged leave to return his sincere and hearty thanks for the honor which had been conferred on what was to him the home of his birth no less than of his affection.
Charleston has ever delighted, Mr. Bailey con- tinued, to do honor to genius, talent, and worth; but however honorable this was to the character of her citizens, it was no less the dictate of a sagacious policy than of a generous appreciation of whatever was noble and meritorious. It was akin to that wise policy which, from the founda- tion of the city, had opened wide the doors of hospitality to the stranger and offered a home to the wanderer. By this means our numbers had been enlarged and our wealth and resources greatly increased. Charleston indeed owed much to her adopted citizens, and he might take this occasion to say that to none was she more indebted than to those who came from the granite hills of New England. Our distinguished guest had re- marked that in looking around this festive board and observing the large number of New England men who had here found a happy home, the first impression made upon his mind was that they were a very happy set of men; he begged leave to
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THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
add that they were not more fortunate in finding a happy home here than Charleston was in the acquisition of so large a number of valuable citizens. It was not merely that their energy, enterprise, ability, and integrity contributed so much to the development of our resources and so greatly increased our stock of material, moral, and intellectual wealth, but there was something in the New England character that diffused itself wherever her sons planted their feet and stamped upon everything around them all the best charac- teristics of civilization. They were, in fact, the descendants and representatives of perhaps the best and noblest specimen of the Anglo-Saxon race a band of men nurtured by religious perse- cution and the severest sufferings into a hardy independence; and who, while they scorned sub- mission to tyranny of any sort, civil or religious, suffered no obstacles or difficulties to restrain their energy and enterprise.
They were the first to discern the true prin- ciples of civil and religious liberty, and the principles which they discovered have been nobly carried out by their descendants on this continent. The world owes to these men a debt which has not yet been paid or acknowledged; but we, and
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through us the rest of mankind, are now reaping the rich fruits of their labors. Their spirit has pervaded our land and given character to our institutions; and it is destined to carry to all parts of this continent a more beneficent civiliza- tion than the world has heretofore witnessed. Our Western wilderness is fast filling up, and wherever our people go they carry with them the Bible in one hand and the institutions of freedom which they owe to the old independents, in the other; and the result points to a destiny, the most glorious ever achieved by any country under the sun. In conclusion, Mr. Bailey offered the follow- ing sentiment:
"The Land of the Pilgrims: The cradle of the true principles of civil and religious liberty-the abode of all the sterner virtues that give dignity to humanity."
The health of "James L. Petigru, Esq., the able jurist, the accomplished advocate, the pride of our bar, and one of the dearest sons of South Carolina," was proposed. This toast was received with enthusiastic cheers and drew from Mr. Peti- gru the following response:
Mr. Petigru said that he would be over- whelmed by the consciousness of unmerited praise
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and covered with confusion if he were obliged to take into view the great disparity, the immense difference between his moderate pretensions, and the terms in which his honorable friend near him had ushered in his name. But he was relieved from much of this embarrassment because the flattering demonstrations with which his name had been received were properly a compliment to their illustrious guest and showed the degree in which they honored him by the "applause bestowed on me, not as an individual, but as a pupil and follower" of the school in which he, their guest, was a master and a leader. Although it was true that he could not boast one drop of English or New England blood, he was never less among strangers than when surrounded by the sons of the Pilgrims. And it appeared to him that the history and char- acter of New England had something that came home to the mind of everyone who sympathized with the progress of the human race, as a bond of interest and affectionate concern. It was in the New England communities, for the first time in modern ages, that feudalism was altogether rejected and society was organized on principles such as good and wise men had taught in moral and religious discourse, but which the wisest and
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best of them had rather wished than hoped to see in practice. The principles of social order exem- plified in the New England commonwealth were intimately connected with the progress of modern civilization, and it was unnecessary to follow the course of their development in the vast prosperity which those commonwealths had attained, and in the influence of their example on neighboring states and our distant people. But among the courses of their great success, perhaps the most prevalent was found in their steady attachment to the rules of civil right and invariable obedience to the authority of the laws. This rendered them the most conservative, as their institutions rendered them the most liberal, of men on the subject of government. Great must be the merits that would raise an individual to the first place, where all are pre-eminent. It was the policy of states to cherish their great men, and particularly those who surpassed their contem- poraries in those very branches in which they all excel. To such a name he wished to invoke their attention. He begged leave to call to their minds:
"The Memory of Joseph Storey: Who, by his contributions to the study of that science which
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teaches and secures the rights of men and is there- fore far more intimately than all others connected with the welfare of society, deserved to be remem- bered as an honor to his country and a benefactor of the human race."
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THE CIVIL WAR
Mr. Melville E. Stone, general manager of the Associated Press, was the orator at the annual festival of the New England Society, Decem- ber 22, 1908. Mr. Stone's address was of a reli- gious character and made a profound impression upon his auditors. After returning to New York, he said to a group of friends:
"I was very greatly impressed with the unique character of the New England Society at Charles- ton, and it certainly impressed me as one of the most remarkable organizations in America, in that it lived through the Civil War and main- tained its high reputation throughout, although located in the very birthplace of secession."
There were a number of New England societies in the South prior to the Civil War, but only one survived that unfortunate conflict, namely, the New England Society of Charleston.
In a study of the New England Society in its relations to the Civil War period, it is necessary to observe three distinct points: First, the senti- ment and opinion of the New Englanders in
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This contract our fathers made; under it our country has flourished beyond the most sanguine expectations of its founders. We must be con- tent with the Union as they organized it. The United States Legislature has no more authority beyond the enumerated powers expressed in the Constitution than with the affairs of Russia or England. Their jurisdiction is limited by the written charter under which they assemble-all is expressed, nothing implied. To attempt to usurp one jot beyond the letter is to abrogate the whole contract, and on their heads be the conse- quences. We ask nothing but the Constitution as it is written; beyond that, self-preservation, the honest pride of independence, forbids us to move an inch. Do those who prate of universal benevolence know that nothing is so pernicious as to desert plain, explicit, and conventional rules for the wild dictates of this undefined and imprac- ticable pretension of empires and fanatics? To abandon a well-tried and practical union for the imaginary boon which the fanaticism of the day promises its dupes, is wild and wicked. It is the disease of prosperity. It is the besetting sin of man never to be satisfied with the actual blessings of Providence, when most bountifully bestowed.
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