try. It has sometimes been said that I am selfish, and only willing to work when I can lead; but I point you to my record of twenty years, during which I have given the strength of my manhood, the best years of my life, to the holy cause of Freedom, through evil report and through good report, taking no thought for the morrow, and never conferring with flesh and blood. It has likewise often been said that I am "cold-blooded," "unsympathizing," and "unsocial;" but this charge, however honestly believed, is refuted by my whole history as a public man. I have encountered, for a number of years past, an amount of political venom and personal vituperation which have rarely been equaled and never exceeded in partisan warfare; and I confess I have not loved very tenderly, or caressed very fondly, the political bloodhounds that have been leaping at my throat, or the small dogs that have been snapping at my heels. Probably I have been a little" unsympathizing" and "unsocial" toward them, but in repeated political conflicts I have successfully wrestled with all the leading public men of Eastern Indiana, either singly or in combination; and I was able to do this because in every battle I fought I intrenched myself more fully than ever in the hearts of the people, who recognized in me their friend. A “coldblooded" man could have had no such career, because the instinct of the people would disown and spurn him.

It is said that I am "quarrelsome," and some of our newspapers have paraded the names of sundry distinguished gentlemen in this section of our State with whom, it is said, I have quarreled during the past quarter of a century. But may I not suggest that at least two persons are required to carry on a quarrel? And may I not further venture to intimate the bare possibility that some of these gentlemen have quarreled with me? Is there any legal or moral presumption that in every case I originated these political strifes, which were never, in fact, personal quarrels ? Standing almost alone, as I have so often done, in proclaiming unpalatable doctrines, is it not somewhat reasonable to suppose that the attacking party has not always been myself? And furthermore, I beg my critics to remember, that if I did “quarrel,” it was for the truth, for principles now in the ascendant, and which to-day are openly espoused by the very men who "quarreled" with me years ago for advocating them. Am I not entitled to their forgiveness? Do they wish to continue the quarrel after the cause of quarrel has ceased?

It has been charged that I am" an uncompromising hater,"

and that I have sought "to crush out every man and every interest that has stood in my way." A proposition more remote from the truth could scarcely be expressed in words. What are the facts? Early in life I embraced some very decided political convictions. I believed in them absolutely, and therefore I clung to them with a tenacity quite surprising to politicians gifted with "the faculty of familiar adaptation." My opinions being exceedingly unpopular, I must either yield them, or encounter great odds, and the natural tyranny of numbers. I did not surrender, because it was morally impossible, and therefore, in self-defense, I had to return blow for blow. That was my sin. I would not yield. And could I be expected to practice the gentle graces and sweet amenities of social life, and of private friendship, in confronting the intolerant crusade of a powerful opposition? If I had yielded my ground for the sake of peace, I might have had peace, and with it the leisure to cultivate the spirit of conciliation and compliance, and improve my social habits, which it seems unfit me for legislation. Perhaps I could have mastered the unworthy arts by which public men very often win favor with the people, if I could only have seen fit to spurn the hard and rugged path I have pursued ; nor do I deny that conflicts and struggles impress the character with a certain sadness and sternness which somewhat mar the joy and beauty of life. It could not be otherwise; but to lose sight of those virtues of courage, steadfastness, and fidelity, through which a man is able to defy all opposition in the maintenance of the truth, and impute his constancy to a disposition to "crush out " his opponents, is certainly a very novel and peculiar method of dealing with human nature.

You, my friends, have understood me, and sustained me, through all these years. I have borrowed from you your strength, and your fidelity to freedom, and have given back to you the dedicated energy and zeal of one who thoroughly believed what he taught, and resolved, at whatever cost, to maintain it to the end. I have carried the same spirit into the new Fourth District, and whatever may betide my future political fortunes, I shall ever remember, with unfailing satisfaction and pride, the tie which has so long bound us together, cemented by time, and by multiplied. acts of mutual service and friendship.

RHODE

HOUSE

*OXFORD*

LIBRARY