USA > West Virginia > Monongalia County > History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, from its first settlements to the present time; with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 16
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
On the subject of the provision relating to the debt of Virginia, he said that in the matter of assuming by the new State of a just and equitable proportion of it existing at the time of the ordinance of secession, "it was eminently right and proper"; that West Virginia would not deserve to be admitted into the Union on any other terms. "Any attempt to evade it would be dishonorable." He depre- cated any attempt to bring the issues of party politics into the arena in determining this great question before and by the people, as it was understood the opponents of the move- ment were seeking to do. In the spirit born of his native hills, and which seemed always ready to leap from his lips whenever the recollection of eastern domination rose up before him, he closed his exhaustive argument in this language :
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"Sir, I do feel that the long and chilly night of western destitu- tion and demoralization is passing away forever; and that a new era is dawning upon us-an era of light and life which shall quicken the long dormant energies of our people, reveal and develop the abounding treasures everywhere hidden beneath our mountains and valleys, attract labor and capital and skill from every quarter of the land, and elevate us to that condition of inoral, intellectual and physical prosperity and happiness which we have a right to enjoy. . Why should we hesitate to accept the great advantages before us? We have complied with every requisition of the law. We have fulfilled every constitutional obligation. And now wealth, and popular education, and material and moral progress and development, and political equality and prosperity in every department of political economy, so long withheld from us, are all within our grasp. The 'golden moment' has come at last. If we fail to improve it we shall deserve the degradation in which our folly will have forever involved us."
The convention accepted the amendment, and the people by a popular vote ratified it. The proclamation of Presi- dent Lincoln was the final act which admitted the people of West Virginia in their sovereign capacity into the Union of States; which admission dates from the 20th of June, 1863.
Whilst these things were taking place in Congress, Mr. Willey responded, as usual, to the demands upon him for popular addresses. On July 4, 1862, he addressed the 91st Pennsylvania Regiment at its encampment near Alexandria. He delivered an address at the forty-first anniversary of the Philadelphia Conference Missionary Society. On this occa- sion he gave utterance to this sentiment: "To my mind the most sublime object under heaven ever since the fall, we have in the conversion of a sinner." At another meeting in Philadelphia about the same period he electrified his audience by his glowing oratory as he pointed out the pow- erful influence of the Christian's Bible over men's minds in the righteous government of the world; and that through it the cause of justice and public liberty which the nation was struggling to promote must ultimately triumph, because it was just, and God would never desert the right. The chronicler of this meeting says that at this point "the en- thusiasm of the audience boiled over and found vent in
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fairly shouting "The Star Spangled Banner." In Decem- ber, 1862, he delivered a missionary speech in Brooklyn; and again at Wesley Chapel in Washington, on the 11th of January, 1863.
On the assembling of the first Legislature of West Vir- ginia, Mr. Willey was elected as one of its Senators in Congress, on the 4th day of August, 1863, on the first bal- lot, receiving fifty votes out of sixty-eight. As illustrating the delicacy of his views upon the appointment to such high and honorable trusts, it should be said that he remained away from the body during the pendency of the question and sedulously avoided any personal canvass as unbecoming. With his colleague, the Hon. P. G. Van Winkle, of Parkers- burg, he took his seat in the United States Senate, Monday, December 7th, 1863. On drawing the lot usual under such circumstances, Mr. Willey drew the short term of two years.
In January, 1864, Mr. Willey, by invitation, addressed a mass meeting at the Musical Fund Hall in Brooklyn on the occasion of the forty-fifth anniversary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His address was thus mentioned in the organ of the society :
"Hon. W. T. Willey, Senator from West Virginia, next addressed the vast audience on the material and moral result of the great Gospel Mission to man. His comparison of the different civiliza- tions with Christian civilivation was a triumphant vindication of the divine origin of Christianity, judging it by its fruits even in this world. It was not an unauthorized view of the Gospel Mission, but it was an unusual view, and one that required knowledge and power to bring it out clearly. His comparison of ancient and modern science, of ancient and modern literature, was as just as it was masterly. The whole address was a luminous com- mentary on the first of the passage, 'Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. '"
On the 22d of March, 1864, Mr. Willey made a speech in the Senate in favor of the constitutional amendment abol- ishing slavery. In entire harmony with his character he is always found upon the side of order and precedent. He argued for the passage of the amendment, because it then
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became a part of the organic law, which defied the turbu- Ience of the times or the sophistries of the demagogue. Nothing, he maintained, could justify a violent step outside of the obligations of the National Constitution :
" But, sir, all this does not absolve us from the obligations of the Constitution as it is. It is the law paramount ; and whatsoever may be our theoretical views respecting slavery, the guarantees of the Consti- tution must be observed while those guarantees remain a part of it. Slavery is an evil ; but a broken, demoralized Constitution would be a greater evil. It is for the integrity of the Constitution, to restore its power and authority, that I understand we are now waging this terrible war. Its prosecution can be justified on no other consideration; and we sball do well to take heed to the fact that civil war, beyond all other causes, is fruitful of pernicious and dangerous passions and antipathies, leading to a disregard of constitutional obligation. The sectional character of the rebellion adds another and still more malignant ele- ment to the inflammation of public sentiment ordinarily incident to revolts against the civil authority. And I think I utter no paradox when I say further, that the manifest justice of our cause constitutes in itself a source of danger. Justly exasperated at the wanton wickedness of the bad men who, in seeking to overthrow our wise and benignant Government, have plunged the country into all the sins and sorrows by which we are surrounded, we are liable to be transported by a just and patriotic indignation beyond the limits of a lawful resentment. And now"it is to be [feared that corrupt men, demagogues, unprincipled politicians, will be ready to avail themselves of this patriotic excite- ment, and under the cover and pretext of a holy zeal for the public good, seek to accomplish their own ambitious personal ends !in de- fiance of the law. It is in times like this when written organic laws become valuable. It was to meet such contingencies especially that our Constitution was ordained. In times of peace and harmony and prosperity, when there is little occasion or temptation to do wrong, but little restraint is required to prevent the commission of wrong.
"Now, therefore, has come the crisis when the value of our national Constitution is to be tested, and when the wisdom and foresight of its immortal framers are to be exemplified and consecrated in the successful application ofits powers and adaptations to the overthrow of its enemies and to the preservation of the public liberty. Now too, has arrived the hour in the history of the country when those who are intrusted with its destinies should rise to the full stature of a wise and lofty sites- manship. My humble abilities and limited experience may forbid me from any worthy participation either in its duties or its honors. But, sir, I think I can properly conceive of what an American Senator ought to be, and of what, when I look around upon this august body, I feel assured he will be, in this great national trial. He will rise above the prejudices and passions of the hour. He will be incapable of the motives of mere revenge or retaliation. No narrow sectional influen-
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ces will trammel his conduct. Fully instructed by the wisdom of the past, calmly meeting the exigences of the present, and profoundly com- prehending the behests of the future, he will march steadily forward to the accomplishment of the simple and only lawful purpose of the war- the suppression of the rebellion, the integrity of the Union, and the supremacy of the Constitution. No motive of unholy ambition will warp his purpose. No thirst for blood will taint the pure aspirations of his patriotic heart. No eagerness to inflict punishment beyond what is essential to enforce obedience to lawful authority will prompt his action or deform his policy. He will disregard the idle clamors of the mere partisan, and scorn the angry manaces of the political zealot. Recognizing the force of the maxim that 'law is reason without pas- sion,' he will be dispassionate in the administration of the law."
After declaring that such a course only could be success- ful, and that it would "add ten-fold to every blow struck by our armies," and "appall the guilty conscience of the States in rebellion," and unite and consolidate all the friends of the Union, he said :
"Mr. President, I commenced these remarks by saying that the question of African slavery could no longer be evaded, and that it ought now, if possible, to be finally adjusted. But how shall it be adjusted? In my opinion, the most effectual method of accomplishing this result is a vigorous prosecution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion. I do not mean to say that the extinction of slavery should constitute the motive of the war. No, sir. The purpose of the war is and should be now what it was declared to be in the beginning ; and that now, as then, 'Congress, banishing all feeling of mere passion and resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country ; that this war is not prosecuted on our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor for the purpose of over- throwing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of the States in rebellion, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired ; that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.'
" But while in the prosecution of the war for these justifiable ends no constitutional right of any individual or of any State should be re- nounced or infringed, yet if by the necessary and lawful exercise of the authority and power vested in or pertaining to those to whom the con- duct of the war properly belongs slavery shall be destroyed, and our beloved country be thus redeemed trom 'the everlasting curse of hu- man bondage,' it will be just cause of joy and gratitude to every patriot and Christian, and go far to indemnify our country and the human race for the sacrifices of treasure and blood made in the accomplishment of a result so beneficent. One thing is certain; the rapid and universal advance of our arms into the insurgent States, to which all are agreed,
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and for which all parties are urgent, must necessarily, less or more, obliterate slavery wherever they go. In proportion as we succeed in redeeming the insurgent States hom the thralidom of the rebellion, almost in the same proportion will they be released from the thralldom of slavery. My own State is an example. When the loyal sentiment was left free to act it abolished slavery. .
" Every great victory obtained in the field is of more practical value than a thousand proclamations of emancipation, and whole volumes of acts of confiscation. It is war, sir, stern war, and not words, which sball put down the rebellion; and in proportion as we successfully prosecute the war, and so put down the rebellion, iu the same propor- tion will slavery be put down. Its political power is even now forever annihilated. And sir, a few more victories will place slavery in a con- dition where it will be just and expedient to inaugurate the only wise and competent measure for its extinction. What is that measure ?
"The Committee on the Judiciary have reported a proposed amend- ment of the Constitution prohibiting slavery. This, in my opinion, is the true solution of the question. It is conclusive, it is final ; and, moreover, it conforms to the requirements of the Constitution. It works out this great result in the mode prescribed by the Constitu- tion. It accomplishes its purpose directly and lawfully, and thus avoids all those indirect, partial, and questionable, if not unlawful expedients which have been proposed. .
"Sir, I believe this amendment of our Constitution is demanded, either now or soon hereafter, by every principle of justice and by every consideration of expediency ; by the history of the past, by the woes of the present, and by the hopes of the future; by the blood of our fellow- citizens sacrificed on the altar of their country in defense of the Union ; by our defeats at Bull Run and at the Chickahominy ; by our victories at Antietam, at Gettysburg, and at Chattanpoga; by the millions of our national debt; by the burdens of Federal taxation ; by the genius of our American liberty ; by the spirit of our Christianity ; by our love of freedom ; by our hatred of tyranny, and by the voice of the people, which, in this instance, is the voice of God."
Of this effort Forney's Washington Chronicle said : "The speech of Senator Willey was indeed an effort of command- ing ability, and will long be remembered and profitably read by patriotic men." Mr. Willey voted for the amendment on its final passage.
In May, 1864, Mr. Willey addressed the Laymen's Con- vention, assembled at Philadelphia, for the purpose of con- sidering the propriety and expediency of admitting lay delegates into the legislative councils of the M. E. Church. Of this address The Methodist, of New York, said that "it was a notable feature of the convention." In September
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following he delivered the annual address before the Union and Philomathean societies of Waynesburg (Penn.) College. And during the same fall he canvassed a large part of the new State for the Republican Presidential ticket of Lincoln and Johnson.
January 31, 1865, he was again elected to the Senate; this time for six years; being the only person nominated in either branch of the Legislature, and receiving fifty-three out of sixty-nine votes.
The bill coming up on the 27th of June, 1866, to extend the right of suffrage to negroes in the District of Columbia, Mr. Willey offered an amendment confining the right to such as could read and who could write their names, and in support of his view made a speech which was published in pamphlet form. He took an active part in the gubernato- rial campaign that fall in this State, at which Gov. A. I. Boreman was again elected, having been previously chosen the first Governor of West Virginia. The following winter, in connection with the lamented President Garfield, he addressed, by special invitation, the meeting of the mana- gers and friends of "The Protestant Orphan Asylum," at the Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington.
In March, 1867, by invitation, he addressed the Sabbath- school Association of the Philadelphia. Conference at its anniversary, held at Harrisburg, on the subject of "The Relation of the Sabbath-school to the Welfare of the State."
The following year he threw himself with all his fervor into the presidential canvass which resulted in the first election of Gen. U. S. Grant. After this election he was suggested in several papers, among others by The Wheeling Intelligencer, as a proper person for a cabinet position.
Among other questions which excited great attention about this period, was that of compensation to southern loyalists for their private property taken for public use owing to the late rebellion. In March, 1870, Mr. Willey made a speech upon the subject, in favor of compensation.
In the spring of 1870, Mr. Willey introduced a bill into
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race that dangers were to be feared. Mr. Willey showed that there were 467,023 white voters, according to the cen- sus of 1860, who could neither read nor write. He thought the policy of American statesmen looked too much to the development of the exclusively materialistic-the physical resources of the nation. These, he said, were not the only, indeed not the principal, elements of national welfare. The true statesman and the wise political economist look more to the intellectual and moral. Here they find the only safe principles which must underlie all abiding national pros- perity and glory. Moreover, looking only to the develop- ment and advancement of material interests, it was demon- strated that the general education of the people would be the most efficient and reliable basis of success. A philo- sophic contemplation of the future of the country must inspire the gravest apprehensions in the mind of every thoughtful patriot. The territory of the Nation was ex- panding. Already every variety of climate, from the borders of the frigid zone almost to the tropic, was included in the realm. History, physiology, philosophy, admonished of the effects of climate on the character, habits, passions, if not indeed on the opinions of men. There was a vast diversity of economical interests that would be constantly engendering internal antagonisms of policy. Differences of race and language and the discords of heterogeneous civili- zation introduced by the large influx of foreign immigration, would multiply the disturbing influences likely to agitate the country. The European and African were already here, and Asia was beginning to pour her herds upon the Pacific Coast.
"By what agency can we hope to assimilate these diverse ele- ments of society so as to secure a harmonious political unity ? Our great and multiplying facilities for commercial and social inter- course will accomplish much in this direction ; but universal edu- cation will do more. Ignorance is always provincial ; intelligence is national. Ignorance is always sectional ; intelligence is catholic. Popular ignorance is the parent of local prejudices. It is inca- pable of an enlarged patriotism. It can not comprehend the 14
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general welfare. It will be in the future, as it has been in the past, the instrument of demagogues and disappointed ambition, to organize sectional hostility against the national Government. . . .
"What objection can there be to the application of the people's domain to the people's education ? In what manner could it be more beneficially used ? and for a purpose so vital to the public welfare why may we not resort to other sources for mneans, if it be necessary, to accomplish the object ? We do not hesitate to grant millions of the public lands for the construction of railways across the Western States and across the Continent. Abating the extravagance which sometimes, as I think, characterizes our liber- ality in this respect, tending to enrich private corporations and pamper great monopolies far above what is necessary to build these great works, no man rejoices more in their construction than I do. Let them be made. Let them bind the nation from ocean to ocean in the strong bonds of commercial interest and social inter- course. Let them utilize the immeasurable physical resources of the country, and speed our progress in all the departments of the material power and prosperity of the nation. But this is not enough. There remains a higher duty for us and a higher destiny for the people. If we would fill up the full measure of the National welfare, we must send the school-master along with the engineer ; we must encircle the continent with school-houses as well as rail- roads. Sir, there are richer mines in the intellect of the people than in the quartz mountains of California or the silver-bearing lodes of the Nevadas. The former must be developed as well as the latter, else our material wealth may become our greatest peril and the true grandeur and glory of the Republic will remain incomplete. And, therefore, I repeat the inquiry, why should we not set apart the proceeds of the sales of the public lands for the promotion of the people's education ?
"If it be alleged that the burden of the public debt would be increased by such an application of the land sales, let me answer that the greatest burden which the country carries to-day is the ignorance of so large a proportion of the people, involving so many disadvantages and so much detriment to the public welfare. Edu- cation is the most productive source of revenue. Intelligent indus- try is the most remunerative capital of any nation. It is the highest element of a prosperous political economy. Where do we find the most fruitful fields of our present immense national revenues ? I answer, on the barren soils and amid the inhospitable climate of the New England States. The reason of this is found in the effi- cient school system and consequent general intelligence of the peo- ple of those States.
"If any question should be raised as to the power of Congress to dispose of the proceeds of the sale of the public lands for the
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purposes indicated, I suppose it would be a sufficient answer to say that these lands belong to the whole people of the United States, and any use of them which would enure to the benefit of the whole people alike, would be more warrantable and far more equita- ble than the prevailing policy of surrendering them to private individuals and rich monopolies, oftentimes with little benefit to the public. ... Besides, what are the police powers of the nation ? May we not pass laws to preserve the peace, to maintain order, to enforce the laws, to prevent crime and immorality ? And then, there is the supreme law, the public safety. And is not universal education essential to these ends ? Can liberty endure without it ? Is it not indispensable to the life and perpetuity of the Nation? Does it not involve the supreme good of the Nation ?
This speech, which was, as we have said, the pioneer in this direction, attracted much attention from the thoughtful who heard and read it. The Boston Journal spoke of it at some length, concluding as follows: "When Mr. Willey concluded he received the hearty congratulations of Mr. Sumner and others, who had listened to him with evident interest and profit."
In July, 1870, Mr. Willey delivered the annual oration before the societies of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. This effort was most highly commended by several of the distinguished persons who were present. At the solicitation of the Central Executive Committe of the Republican party, he canvassed the State in the fall of this year. It was in this campaign that the political scale in West Virginia turned, which pending event Mr. Willey intimated to his political allies soon after he entered the field.
His Senatorial life ended March 3, 1871, his term expiring at 3 o'clock P. M. on that day. During Mr. Willey's Sena- torial career it can be said, in general terms, that he cordi- ally supported the general policy of the Republican party. Especially is this so on all questions relating to the sup- pression of the Rebellion. With him this was a duty pa- triotically and religiously paramount to all others. When the questions were simply of a judicial character, he voted against the majority if his judgment so dictated. The no-
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table instances in which he differed from his political friends in this class of cases, were on the resolution to ex- pel Senator Bright, of Indiana; and on the right of Senator Stockton, of New Jersey, to retain his seat. Whilst in the Senate he was a member of the Committee on Pensions; District of Columbia; Naval Affairs; on Claims; and for several years was chairman of the Committee on Patents and Patent Office. The standing of Mr. Willey among his fellow Senators was highly creditable to his State, and grati- fying to his sense of personal pride. His urbane manners made him a favorite with partisan friends and foes alike. His integrity of character won the esteem of all, for his views, however variant from others, were never expressed in a manner designed to evince any other than an honest purpose to arrive at the very truth. His scholarly acquire- ments and research made him early a man of mark in a body so remarkable for eminence in knowledge and learning. No better conception of his position can be advanced than that drawn by the skillful genius of one who was a member of the House of Representatives during the period of his senatorial life, who subsequently became a Senator and Cabinet minister, and whose career is a very important factor in the history of the Nation. In a conversation with the writer he remarked that Mr. Willey was a member of that small circle of persons who in every deliberative body are known and recognized as wise men; and are consulted in matters of great moment for their safe and discreet counsel.
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