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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
ON THK
LIFE AND CHARACTER
OK
ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT
(LATE A SENATOR FROM GEORGIA)
DELIVERED IN THE
SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS, THIRD SESSION.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF COfN. GRESS.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. I89S .
GENERAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

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LIBRARY
201844

CONTENTS.

Page.
Proceedings in the Senate ______.._ __.__..______. ____ 5
Memorial address by Mr. GORDON ___ _______. _____________ ___ 20 Mr. HAWLEY__________.__.______________. 27 Mr. HILL______________________.________ - 41 Mr. MARTIN_____________.__________._______. 55 Mr. MORGAN _____ _____________________________ 30 Mr. PASCO___-__.___ ________. _.___________.. 46 Mr. TURPIE ..._____ ___._______.________. ___ 36 Mr. WALSH _.___.________________________ 60

Proceedings in the House _ _____. ___. ___ __________. __ 65

Memorial address by

Mr. BLAIR ______.______________________ 71

Mr. GROSVENOR__ ...____________._________ 89

Mr. HARRISON _. __ __. _____ __ _______ ___ 107

Mr. LAWSON ... ___._______ ___________ 75

Mr. LESTER _______:_____________ _____.____ 105

Mr.LIVINGS-TON______.__'_________. ______ 109

Mr. MADDOX ______ __ ____ ___ __ ________ 97

Mr. TATE _._______________ .___________ 84

\>

Mr. TURNER ___ _ _. ______________________ 68

Mr. WHEELER of Alabama __ __ .. __________ 82


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GENERAL ' "----- --

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA,

DEATH OF SENATOR COLQUITT.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE.

MARCH 26, 1894.

Rev. Isaac W. Canter, pastor of Mount Vernon Meth

odist Episcopal Church South, of Washington, D. C., made

the following prayer:

O Lord, we thank Thee for having preserved the lives

of these Thy servants and for the measure of health and

strength with which they are permitted to enter upon the

duties of this day. And we thank Thee for all the mercy

and grace Thou hast shown unto them in Christ Jesus our

Lord. Wilt Thou be very close to them this day, and give

them that wisdom which comes down from above, that in

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every thought and word and act they may glorify Thee;

that all things begun, continued, and ended in Thee may

be to Thy praise and to the magnifying of Thy name in

the earth. And we pray Thee, Father, that Thou wilt

continue to preserve them.

Wilt Thou bless especially the family of Thy servant who

was so recently a member of this body and who now lies

in the cold embrace of death. We thank Thee for all that

he was to his State and to his country and to this Sen

ate. Wilt Thou grant, O Lord, that the lesson which Thy

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Proceedings in the Senate.

providence would teach us by this death may not be lost,

and may we learn that death conies alike to all, to those

in high places as well as in low. And do Thou grant,

O Lord, to preserve the families of these Thy servants,

whether they be present or distant; and may nothing sad

or untoward therein cause any of these Thy servants to be

called from this place of trust and responsibility.

Bless the President of the United States and his Cabinet

and all men everywhere in public office. Hear us in these

our requests, pardon all our sins, and graciously accept us

now and evermore in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. President, it falls to my lot this morn ing to make the inexpressibly sad announcement of the death of my colleague and long loved and cherished friend, ALFRED H. COLQUITT, late Senator from Georgia.
Even if the circumstances around us permitted, I have no heart this morning to speak of his long and illustrious services to his State and the country. In the presence of this grief, so poignant to me, my thoughts turn to him this morning rather as the long-loved friend than as the brave soldier exhibiting a high order of courage and of patriot ism in two wars, or of the civilian holding for long series of years high political stations, every one of which he hon ored and adorned.
It may not be amiss, however, to say of him now that I have known him from my boyhood; that we were compan ions in arms; we were associates in business; we were neighbors and friends; we were political allies. In all these relations, for more than a third of a century, there

Proceedings in the Senate.

7

has never been one word of discord between us, never a veil that separated us, never a thought of distrust noth ing save the most trusting loyalty and deep, devoted, and brotherly attachment.
It may not be untimely to say further of him now that in every relation of life, whether as husband, or father, or son, or friend, or soldier, or citizen, he has been able and
earnest and faithful and true.
The three dread monosyllables, " He is dead," will soon
be written of others in this Chamber, and of most of us before many short years shall pass. If it shall be added
of us, as it can be of him, that in all the relations of life he was true; that above all and through all he kept his
armor as a Christian man bright and burnished, there will have been spoken over our dead bodies all that eulogy can pronounce.
Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the resolutions I send to the desk.
The VICE-PRESIDENT. The resolutions submitted by the Senator from Georgia will be read.
The resolutions were read, as follows:
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with great sorrow of the death of the Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia.
Resolved^ That a committee of ten Senators be appointed by the Vice-President to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased, which will take place in the Senate Chamber to-morrow, Tuesday, at 9 a. m., and that the Senate will attend the same.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect entertained by the Senate for his memory, his remains be removed from Washington to Macon, Ga., in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and attended by the committee, who shall have full power to carry this resolution into effect.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives and invite the House of Representatives to attend the funeral to-morrow, Tuesday, at the hour named, and to appoint a committee to act with the committee of the Senate.

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Proceedings in the Senate.

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The resolutions were considered by unanimous consent,

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and unanimously agreed to.

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The Vice-President appointed as the committee under

the second resolution Mr. Gordon, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Ran

som, Mr. Butler, Mr. Gray, Mr. Hoar, Mr. Proctor, Mr.

Carey, Mr. Perkins, and Mr. Alien.

Mr. JONES of Arkansas, from the Committee to Audit and

Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate, reported

the following resolution; and it was considered by unani

mous consent, and agreed to:

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Resolved, That the expenses incurred by the select committee appointed to

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take order for the funeral of the late Senator A. H. COLQUITT be paid from the

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contingent fund of the Senate.

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Mr. GOR" DON. Mr. President, I ask for the consideration

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of the resolutions I now send to the desk.

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The VICE-PRESIDENT. The resolutions will be read.

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The resolutions were read, as follows:

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Resolved, That invitations be extended to the President of the United States

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and the members of his Cabinet, the Chief Justice and .associate justices of the

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Supreme Court of the United States, the diplomatic corps, the Major-General

Commanding the Army, and the senior admiral of the Navy to attend the funeral

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of the Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia,

in the Senate Chamber, to-morrow, Tuesday, at 9 o'clock a. m.

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the Senate do now adjourn.

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the resolutions.
The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Tuesday, March 27, 1894, at 9 o'clock a. m. 't|i.

Proceedings in the Senate.

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MARCH 27, 1894.
A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. T. O. Towles, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House had on yesterday passed the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of .Georgia.
Resolved, That the Speaker of the House appoint a committee of nine mem bers, to act in conjunction with the committee appointed by the Senate to make the necessary arrangements and accompany the remains to the place of burial.
Resolved, That the House accept the invitation of the Senate to attend the funeral to-morrow, Tuesday, at 9 o'clock a. m., and that the Clerk of the House communicate these proceedings to the Senate.
Resolved, That as a further tribute and mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the House do now adjourn.
The message also announced that the Speaker had ap pointed Mr. Livingston, Mr. Holman, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Maddox, Mr; Cabaniss, Mr. McDannold, Mr. Cogswell, Mr. William A. Stone, and Mr. Powers as the committee to act in conjunction with the Senate committee to make the necessary arrangements and accompany the remains of the deceased Senator to the place of burial.
The casket containing the remains of the deceased Sen ator was brought into the Senate Chamber, having been preceded by the family and Mends of the deceased, and escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, the com mittee of arrangements of the two Houses, and pallbearers selected from the Capitol police.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives was given a seat at the right of the Vice-President, and the members of the House occupied the seats on the floor provided for them.
The Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, the members of the Cabinet,

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Proceedings in the Senate.

and the diplomatic corps entered the Senate Chamber and were respectively escorted to the seats assigned them on the floor.
The Chaplain, Rev. W. H. Milburn, D. D., recited sun dry passages from the Scriptures appropriate to the burial of the dead, followed by the fifteenth chapter of First Cor inthians, beginning at the twentieth verse. He then deliv ered the following sermon:
When a good man dies it seems as if a corner of the cur tain which hides the invisible and eternal world from our eyes were lifted and there streamed in upon us celestial light, which enables us to understand more clearly and wisely than we do ordinarily the purpose and meaning of this mortal life of ours these years that we spend in prep aration for that lofty, that eternal state to which we are all so fast pressing. And so as we come this morning into this Chamber to meditate upon the life and the passage hence of our beloved friend and brother, whose coffin is here before us and whose seat is draped in black, we may see that the end of life is character not position in the world, fame, fortune, what is called happiness, but the con quest of self, victory over temptation, mastery of the lower nature, and a grasp by conduct, by life, upon the things which are invisible, immortal, of God.
Our life at the longest is but short Three-score years and ten, looking back, finds the time brief. Four-score years after labor and sorrow, on casting the retrospective eye, sees only a narrow track. Pleasure, the possession of vast resources or of high position these do not and can not satisfy the highest and best part of our nature. That which gives contentment in age, in sickness, and upon the

Proceedings in the Senate.

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border of the other world is the sense of righteousness, of having done right in so far as we knew, in so far as we could the sense of generosity acquired, of magnanimity, of daring to do the thing which the conscience suggested and which God's Word taught; the daring to leave undone the thing that might be popular and call forth acclaim and admiration, but which the conscience and the Word of God forbade; the acquiring faith in the invisible, walking by another light than that of this world and by another eye . than that of sense, so that the invisible world comes clearly into one's ken, God Himself beholden by the pure in heart; a life full of kindliness, sweet thoughts, gentle feelings, forgiveness of injuries, daring to seem to the world even cowardly, misunderstood and misrepresented at times; with the diviner qualities in one's heart calumniated and vil ified because of their possession and our following their bent.
Misunderstood, therefore, yet daring to do the thing that is sweet and good and to forgive; cherishing no resent ment, putting all bitterness, malignity, and unkindness away against those that wrong us, pitying those that do wrong, and a heart full of charity, of the milk of human kindness a heart that expresses itself in the face, in the voice, and in the whole bearing, in the geniality, in the warmth of the cordial greeting, the sunshine of the life as it streams out in public affairs, in the social circle, and in the family, so that men take knowledge of one that he has learned of Jesus Christ, that his life is hid with him in God whether a man be rich or poor, learned or igno rant; whether his position be high or low, if he have ac quired these qualities and this experience, if he have this

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Proceedings in the Senate.

fiber and texture of character, he is the man by whose grave we can stand with composure; and the sense of sor row is overmastered by the sense of his great eternal gain, and of onr wealth in the possession of his influence and in the bequest which he has made us of character.
So, my brethren, as we stand in front of this coffined form to-day we feel that such a man has left us. We are paying the last offices. We call them sad offices. They are sad for ourselves but triumphant offices for him. We are standing by the bier of a man to whom the remarks which I have made apply, a man who has gained the conquest of the world by victory over himself, a simplehearted, reverent, humble-minded Christian man, walking in obedience to Christ, having communion and fellowship with the Father and with His Son, and enjoying in his experience and innermost life the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. And now, when his three score years and ten are almost accomplished, his Father and our Father, his God and our God, has called him to come up higher. This body of the flesh, from which he suffered through these lat ter months and years, we are about to deposit in the grave; but the man himself, the outer covering laid aside, the spiritual man, the man that gave that bodily form its dig nity, its strength, its pose, its grace, its charm the man himself is not dead.
Old superstitions linger; traditional thoughts and ideas concerning death still haunt the world. We speak of bury ing him. We are not burying him; we are burying the external covering of the man, the garment of the soul. God's son can not be buried. His only begotten Son en tered the tomb and rose therefrom to give us token and

Proceedings in the Senate.

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assurance that thenceforth all His servants and disciples living in His faith and in the communion of His sacra ments and of His church should rise immortal with Him. So as He is at the right hand of God He gathers His serv ants His brethren, as He deigns to call us around and near Him; and thus, with the eye of our untroubled faith to-day we behold our brother, the man whom we called Senator COLQUITT, God's redeemed son, going up into the glory of the Lord, with his opened eyes and ears and spiritual faculties enlarged, standing there in the company of the blood-washed, the redeemed, they that are clothed in white. "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
So, brethren, our sorrow is for ourselves. What seems the severing of the tie that bound us to our beloved friend is not a severing. The tie holds; the bond which nature gave still lasts. Wife, children, friends are all as dear to him at this moment and shall be through his endless being as they ever were on earth nay, dearer, sweeter.
It is sorrow for ourselves; and yet what unspeakable comfort, with the benediction of Almighty God, the assur ance of His Word, the comfort of His Spirit, our souls penetrated with His truth, and we strong in the faith, with confidence and trust in God. Shall we sorrow as those that have no hope? The unspeakable blessing of God is for everyone of us; for the wife, for the children. Oh, the loss is unutterable, and yet how great the gain! Let us not think of the dark side to-day, the grief and the pain. Let

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Proceedings in the Senate.

us think of the triumphant entry of our beloved brother into the Kingdom of God no longer of his pain, but of his victory and joy, crowned now with the Father's blessing, entering into the fellowship of that great company that no man can number; and we, with our eyes purged from tears and from the dust of the world, beholding him, shall not our hearts grow calm and strong and sweet for the offices and duties of daily life? Sad, sorrowful yes; but still with joy and peace and comfort, consolation inexpressible for everyone that will receive it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, my beloved sister; so, children almost like my own kith and kin, for he that has gone from us I have known since he was a college boy; we have been friends for nigh fifty years my beloved sister, children, so dear and pre cious, think of the release from physical infirmity and pain and distress. Think of the rapture which he feels to-day, gone to the presence of the Lord, with the open eye which reads as we can not read the meaning and purpose of life. You are dear to him as you ever were, and as I have hinted dearer yet, and shall be through the years that remain to you on earth, and then will be the happy meeting after the time here when it comes your turn and mine to pass hence the happy meeting. We are going home, going to those we have known and loved, to the hearthside, as we say, of our Father in that blessed clime and that blessed company. Not strangers. No; he will be there, and those whom we have known and loved with him, to welcome us to the other shore of the river.
So let us take heart of grace to-day, thanking God for His unspeakable gift in the redemption of the world by

Proceedings in the Senate.

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His Son Jesus Christ, bowing reverently to the behest of God, with resignation and submission accepting His will, and /eeling that He will care for and guide us and bring us at last to the Kingdom of everlasting life.
Oh, that the peace of God may enter into every heart here present, and that we may have higher and better views of life and clearer and better views of the Heavenly Kingdom so near at hand! Oh, that this may come to us, to make us wiser and better, and humbler and kindlier and sweeter men and women for the remainder of our time here!
Let us pray. Almighty and Eternal God, notwithstanding the tokens of darkness, the shadow of grief, the sense of pain and loss, we would come into Thy presence with thanksgiving and praise for the great things which Thou hast bestowed upon us light even in the darkness; comfort, peace, and benediction even in the loss and sorrow and pain. O Father, we pray Thee to let Thy heavenly grace come into the heart of the woman who hath stood by the side of our brother through all these checkered years, and to whom he was so sacred and so precious. Let Thy loving kindness come to cheer and comfort her and these chil dren. Be Thou their father. Lord God, grant that Thy Word may be fulfilled, that Thou wilt give Thine angels charge over them to keep them in all their ways. Let the home that seems desolate be sentineled and guarded by Thine angels. O Christ, who didst shed tears of sympathy with those that sorrowed with brokenness of heart, come Thou as the comforter and consolation of this widow and her children, and may they find strength for their needs in Thy grace

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Proceedings in the Senate.

and comfort. Bless them, O Father, with all good things

which Thou hast promised.

And let Thy heavenly benediction come upon the associ

ates of our brother, his fellow-Senators, and all connected

with the Government, who knew him so well through these

years. Lord God, incline their hearts unto Thy ways, that

they may walk in the path of righteousness and duty sup

ported by Thee, and at the end of this life of trial may they,

like our brother, come to the land of everlasting life.

Let Thy blessing be upon all who are here present, and

may this solemn reminder of our mortality and this glori

ous token of our immortality come home to us with per

sonal weight; and from this day forth may our lives be

simpler, truer, kindlier, nobler, and may our steps be in the

path of Christ's church, in the communion and fellowship

of the Father and the Son.

And now we commend us, with all for whom we should

pray, to Thine all-wise and all-merciful Providence. O

Lord God, guide us by Thy counsel and afterwards receive

us to Thyself, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Receive the benediction.

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep

your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God

and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of

God Almighty the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost

be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.

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The VICE-PRESIDENT. The committee of arrangements

will escort the remains of the deceased Senator from the

Chamber, accompanying the body to the Pennsylvania

Railroad depot and from thence to the place of burial in

the State of Georgia.

Proceedings in the Senate.

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The casket was borne from the Chamber, attended by the committee of arrangements and the family of the deceased Senator.
The invited guests having retired from the Chamber, Mr. HARRIS. Mr. President, I move that the Senate do now adjourn. The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned until Wednesday, March 28, 1894, at 12 o'clock meridian,
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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES.
JANUARY 8, 1895.
- Mr. GORDON. Mr. President, I submit the resolutions which I send to the desk and ask for their adoption.
The resolutions were considered by unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows:
Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow of the death of Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia.
Resolved, That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the business of the Senate be now suspended, to enable his associates to pay proper tribute of regard to his high character and distinguished public services.
Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the House of Representatives.
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Address ofMr. Gordon of Georgia.

ADDRESS OF MR. GORDON.
Mr. PRESIDENT: That character is strongest and best which, subjected to temptations, manfully resists and comes

through the furnace of trial with its fiber still strong- and its original purity still preserved in native simplicity and sweetness.
Tested by this standard, ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, of Georgia, was both strong and great. Subjected during his eventful life to quick and trying vicissitudes of fortune, and inheriting a name honored and beloved in his State and sec tion, he not only preserved his personal integrity and illus trious name untarnished, but increased their luster by a blameless life of long, devoted, and brilliant services to the church and society, to his people and country.
A brief reference to the illustrious father from whom he descended seems demanded in this connection.
Waiter T. Colquitt the father was one of the most brilliant Georgians of his day. He filled many stations of responsibility and trust and illustrated them all. As an advocate before a jury he had no superior and few peers. As a lawyer or political debater there was scarcely a limit to his mental activity, to his capacity for grasping facts, analyzing arguments, and forcing his convictions upon others. In the court-house legal technicalities and even venerated precedents -went down before his fiery eloquence, the impetuosity of his assaults, and the blighting effects of his withering sarcasm. His form and face, eye and voice,

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

21

all reflected the action of his brain and the rapture of his spirit; and when greatly aroused there was not an emotion or passion or sensibility that he did not touch and master. He was preacher, judge, general of militia, member of the House of Representatives, Senator. The versatility of his genius and the power of his endurance, both physical and mental, were almost phenomenal. It is a tradition of his early career that he united a couple in marriage, drilled his brigade of militia,-tried a man for his life, sentenced him to be hung, and preached a great sermon all on the same day.
ALFRED H. COLQUITT, my long-cherished friend and recent associate in this Chamber, whose death we mourn, was the eldest son of this remarkable man. The two, father and son, possessed traits and characteristics in com mon; but in many particulars they widely differed. Both were possessed of the keenest insight into human nature. Both were emphatically men of the people. Both had in them the martial instinct and spirit of command. Both were members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate. Both were devoted and prominent communicants of that widely influential, aggressive, and leading body of Christian workers, the Methodist Church; and both were accustomed, while engaged in other avocations, to minister at its altars and teach from its pulpits.
These two distinguished men differed widely, however, in the method and manner of presenting truth, whether from rostrum, hustings, or pulpit The elder as a public speaker was fervid, lucid, rapid, impetuous. The younger COLQUITT was perhaps less emotional, but more logical; less passionate, but more persuasive. The elder was more

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Address of Mr. Gordon of Georgia.

the natural orator than his gifted son, with a more intense nature and electric style. He was greatest when confront ing a multitude differing from him in opinion. On such occasions he was almost matchless. When in the whirl wind of political debate, his words came in a tempest of invective against supposed personal wrongs or injustice to his party and people. The younger COLQTJITT excelled, however, in the more orderly and logical, if not more force ful, presentation of his arguments and convictions, in the dignity of his bearing, in pathos and persuasive power, and in the enduring hold upon the hearts and control over the actions of men.
ALFRED H. COLQTJITT was surrounded in early manhood with all the temptations which accompany wealth. His large plantations yielded him a princely income, which enabled him to gratify every taste and to indulge in almost every luxury, yet his life and manners and bearing never lost that beautiful simplicity and winning modesty which are the most striking evidences of gentle natures and noble breeding. His hospitality, while almost boundless, was so cordial and dispensed with such grace and absence of osten tation as made restraint and embarrassment impossible, and gave to his guests the feeling of restful ease and the perfect freedom of home life. His roof furnished shelter to the suffering; his purse gave help to the needy; and when the revulsions incident to the civil war came upon him, as they came to all his people, he shared with them their distresses and poverty uncomplainingly and bravely.
Graduated from one of our leading institutions of learn ing, Princeton, the law became his chosen avocation, and he was admitted to full fellowship in the profession; and

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

23

although stirred by a laudable ambition to win fortune and fame at the bar, buoyant with life and hope and promise, yet when the call for volunteers came he laid ambition on patriotism's altar and followed the flag of his country in the war with Mexico.
With equal ardor, with the same spirit of self-sacrifice, with a Christian's faith and a patriot's consecration, he left family and the repose of his ideal Southern home to exchange the restful, peaceful, delightful pursuits of plan tation life for the turmoil, suffering, blood, and carnage of civil war. He was regimental, brigade, and division com mander. As a soldier he was faithful, conscientious, chiv alrous, and brave; and he crowned his honorable career in the field with the signal victory at Olustee, which will be forever associated with his name and memory.
In politics he was a Democrat and he held to his polit ical beliefs with a tenacity almost as strong as that with which he clung to his religious faith. While he was wise, cautious, able, and even adroit in the management of his political campaigns, none who knew him ever doubted the depth of his convictions, the loftiness of his aims, the truthfulness of his professions, nor the sincerity of his love for his people and country. Elected to Congress before he was thirty years of age, he refused a nomination for a sec ond term. After the war, with the laurels of Olustee on his brow and the lamentations of his people over buried hopes and lost fortunes filling the land, he turned a deaf ear to the allurements of political office, and, while freely and wisely counseling his party and contributing largely to its successes, he preferred for himself the less conspicuous but perhaps more patriotic r61e of laborer in the upbuilding

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Address ofMr. Gordon of Georgia.

of the religious, social, moral, and material interests of his section.
Whether as a constant and earnest laborer in the church, or as the champion on a thousand platforms throughout the Union of the cause of temperance, or as the president of the international Sunday School convention, represent ing eight millions of teachers and pupils of the whole of English-speaking Christendom, and embracing the power, piety, genius, and eloquence of the Christian church in nearly every quarter of the world, or as the chosen head of the great and almost vitally important organization of farm ers into the permanent agricultural society of the State on each and all of these elevated planes of labor his time and talents, his name, wide influence, and eloquence were freely, heroically, and loyally given for the good of his people and for the cause of humanity.
Finally, yielding to the logic of surrounding conditions, he accepted the nomination and was chosen governor of Georgia. Few men in any State have ever been called to meet and conquer greater trials in the executive chair. None, perhaps, has ever emerged from a more critical and stormy administration to meet the almost universal and enthusiastic approval of the people and to be transferred by their votes to the Senate as a complete and triumphant vindication.
With health impaired and disease making inroads in his vital powers and constitution, he nevertheless impressed his princely personality upon this august body; and in its debates, notably in the discussion of the great question of tariff reform, his insight into the very marrow of the sub ject, his wide research, his clear and vigorous logic, and his

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

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unfeigned solicitude for the masses of the American people will be read and regarded in the future as constituting one of the most lucid and valuable expositions of the problem contained in the records of Congress.
But Senator COLQUITT'S life as a man, a Christian, and a citizen; the noble and lofty attributes of character with which Heaven endowed him; his contempt for shams and pretense and affectation; the directness and plain honesty of his purposes; his fixedness and inflexible resolution when defending the right; his native modesty, his simplicity of manner, his sweetness of temper and unvarying courtesy; his ability to consort with ease and dignity and grace with the intellectual princes of earth, and yet to condescend to men of low estate and exert a wide and paternal influence in their upbuilding these, perhaps, will be cherished by those who knew him best and loved him most as less glit tering but more glorious even than his brilliant achieve ments as general, governor, and Senator.
I should feel that my analysis of this phase of his life was indeed incomplete if I should fail to illustrate it by reference to his relation to the colored race. Accustomed during a great portion of his life to command and control large bodies of slaves, always with kindness and justice, his care for them and his interest in their welfare were un abated when through their freedom his own fortunes were shattered. On the plantation, in the church, and in the schoolhouse his voice, his counsels, and his example were those of a friend, encouraging that lowly race to a higher life and to more earnest efforts in preparation for the ex alted duties of citizenship; and if his ascending spirit were cognizant of the benedictions which followed its flight, it

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Address ofMr. Gordon of Georgia.

thrilled with an additional joy at the tributes paid to his memory by the tears and lamentations of former slaves.
It is no exaggeration to say of him, Mr. President, that few men with a career so long and brilliant have lived a life so pnre and blameless and left a legacy so rich and inspiring to the young men of the country. He died as he had lived, beloved by his people and accepted of God. In the bosom of his native State we have laid him, and on his chosen hillside, where the music of Ocmulgee's waters and the weird songs of the pines will chant above him their everlasting anthem of praise and benediction.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

27

ADDRESS OF MR. HAWLEY.
Mr. PRESIDENT: I have listened with great interest to what has been said by the Senator from Georgia, and am abundantly satisfied with the justice he has done the char acter of his late distinguished colleague. But I am glad to add my mite to the testimony in this matter.
I suppose the suggestion that I should say something on this occasion arose from the fact that the late Senator COLQUITT and I were enemies, so to speak. Our acquaint ance and our friendship arose from the fact that we had met during the war in the bloodiest battle in which I par ticipated I do not know what his experience was a fight in the open pine woods of Florida, in February, 1864, in which from five to seven thousand men on each side were engaged, prolonged through a whole afternoon, and in which the losses upon the Union side were over one thou sand eight hundred out of about five thousand.
At one period in that battle Senator Coi,QUiTT and I were face to face, each commanding a brigade, and at that time each was in personal charge particularly of his own well-beloved regiment The firing was very severe and the battle was prolonged. Neither regiment ran away nor broke up in disorder.
:Some time after the war I met General COLQUIW, and, naturally enough, among the very first topics of our con versation was that battle. We exchanged reminiscences of

28

Address ofMr. Hawley of Connecticut.

various details the usual gossip which follows such an affair.
I remember, for example, asking particularly who that color bearer was in his line who was so enthusiastic in waving the battle flag of the Confederacy during the very hottest fighting, and was told that it was a member of the governor's own family, a near relative, who had taken the fallen standard into his own hands. For one reason and another we became very warm friends on my part because I learned to profoundly respect him. I met him in the year 1875 at Macon, in Georgia, where a number of gentle men, in accordance with a Georgia custom, were invited to come and address the multitude at the State fair grounds. Governor COLQUITT presided. Among the audience was a large number of his old brigade and of his old regiment I was appropriately presented, and most cordially received.' That visit tended to still further cement our friendship. .
I sincerely mourn his death. There have been compara tively few men whom I had better reason to respect. 1 think his was a very remarkable character. I know we say these things on every similar occasion, and they are often true, but they are especially so in this case. He had a very remarkable and varied experience that of a soldier in two wars, the Mexican war and the great war of the rebellion. He had been the governor of his State; he had been a Representative and a Senator in Congress; he was a famous orator in the political field; he was a famous preacher, and equally at home either at exhortations at country cross-roads or when addressing vast audiences in cities. He was as great as a preacher as he was as a lawyer or a statesman.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 29
No man in the world ever uttered a word of criticism upon the purity of his character, the elevation of his views, or upon his devotion and his courage.
We say requiescat in pace a great many times, but in this case we know, so far as we can know anything of the other world, that he is resting in peace.

3

Address ofMr. Morgan ofAlabama.

ADDRESS OF MR. MORGAN.

Mr. PRESIDENT: Until the Senator from Connecticut

arose I was not aware of the facts to which he has so feel

ingly and pathetically alluded, and I receive in his state

ment here a new view really of the heroism of the character

of our late colleague on this floor and also of the heroism of

my friend who has just taken his seat, and of the modesty

of both gentlemen in the manner in which they wore those

laurels of renown with which the country has so often re

warded them without specifically mentioning the events

with which they were connected.

Early in life ALFRED H. COLQUITT sincerely and joyfully

adopted Christianity as his foundation of the plan of life and

its precepts as the guide of his conduct. He did this with

a resolute purpose that is not* common with young men,

but is often abashed by the fashion of spending their youth

ful days in heedless or reckless gayety and frivolous waste of

their energies. He never departed from this high standard

with deliberate desertion. If he erred, he repented and re

turned to his faith, but would never abandon his principles.

In the joyous days of his youth this was his chief joy,

and it was full of gladness. The child was father to the

\

man, and his whole life was one of unusual peacefulness and quiet happiness. When responsibility to his fellows,

his family, his church, and his State settled upon him with

the earnest demands of active duties, he freely and without

hesitancy took up the burden, and with firm and agilfe step

he went forward in a clear and straight course that was

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

31

unmarked by deviation and was unattended with conscious fatigue.
As a representative lawmaker and political guide he was thoroughly understood and trusted by the people, and, with out special effort or any resort to questionable methods, he won their confidence and support, which never failed him in the highest stations to the hour of his death. He was very happy while laboring for them in this great field of usefulness.
When civil discord in our country darkened into war and blood was to be shed by the people from their own veins to quench the fires of political wrath, he voluntarily and without reserve offered himself as a sacrifice to his convictions of duty and entered the field, along with his brethren of the South, to serve as a soldier of the Con federate States. He was then a prominent officer of his church and a man of peace, but he regarded a call to this patriotic service, coming from the State of his nativity the object of his filial loyalty as the summons of impera tive duty.
He volunteered in the service of Georgia and the Con federate States, to fight as a soldier, in the same spirit of love and duty that inspired Caleb and David to fight for their people.
And as Judah was strengthened and encouraged to stand against the overwhelming numbers of invading armies at Bngedi by the voice of the inspired I^evite, when he said to them, u Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's," so was this true man and Christian joyfully obedient to what he believed was the will of God.

32

Address ofMr. Morgan ofAlabama.

Moved by a compelling conscience, lie girded his loins with the sword of battle, which were also girt with the sword of the Spirit, and he went ont to fight for his people. He saw the great multitude and engaged with them in the deadly breach of battle, and he was neither afraid nor dis mayed, for he counted his life as nothing when duty demanded its sacrifice.
In this long, arduous, and trying service as a soldier he held a position of honorable responsibility as a general of brigade in the army of the Confederate States. He was a gallant and intrepid soldier, often exposed to severe tests in battle, and he won for himself, both from his comrades and his commanders, that honorable distinction that the world holds at a priceless value. It can be justly said of him that he feared only the God of battles, to whom his spirit knelt continually in meek submission to His will.
He did not court a soldier's renown through desperate feats of arms, but it came to him as his due for faithful service and humane conduct-
There have been and there are many Christian soldiers who have shone forth in the brightest luster of arms and have left to their country undying fame, such as Havelock and Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Their lives were so ordered and were so manifestly governed by the rules of Christian faith and practice that their renown was in separably associated with the principles that controlled their inner lives and rendered more conspicuous their per sonal devotion to the purity of a Christian life. Senator COLQUITT was of this number.
For a number of years his seat in this Chamber was next to mine. I felt his influence for good, and admired his

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt.

33

quiet, dignified, and consistent demeanor as a Senator. While he was a cheerful, happy man and a most agreeable associate, he never descended to a remark or action that was unbecoming his professions or the proper dignity of a Senator.
Such examples are never lost upon observant men, nor are they ignored in our estimates of character.
His views of public policy and duty were as clearly defined and as firmly fixed as those of any man I have ever known, and he maintained them, as any man of con victions will, with earnest, active, and even combative resolution.
Hfe conscience was like a warrior in the field, always armed to hold and protect his chosen line of dutiful action, whether it is aggressive or defensive.
We seldom found any cause of difference in our opinions. He did not frequently take part in the current debates in the Senate. He preferred to study a question thoroughly and to speak upon it with deliberation. His speeches are essays that are well considered, clear, convincing, logical, and well supported with facts. There are few men who excelled him in the lucid presentation of the reasons that controlled his vote on questions of great importance.
On a question that arose as to the power and duty of Congress to regulate the observance of the Christian Sab bath at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago we differed, and debated the points of disagreement. In that debate his zeal for his early love the Church of Christ aroused him to eloquence such as is seldom heard in this Chamber.
In the current political parlance he was u a party man," in the sense of being steadfast and zealous in his support
S Mis 153 3

34

Address of Mr. Morgan of Alabama.

of the creed of the Democratic party and its well-estab lished lines of policy.
In this attitude he was firm and very strict, and he would not follow or keep in company with any man whose leadership was apart from this established course. The later days of his service in the Senate were not free from anxieties on this account, but they were not unhappy days, for he was sustained by a lifelong experience, by all the great precedents, and a consciousness of duty that was supreme.
The anxieties of patriotic men who are the trustees of high powers are more intensely active and more keenly felt for posterity than for their personal fortunes as they draw near to the close of life. Such anxieties are born of the love that such men bear toward others, and they are concentered upon posterity. However strong they may be, they do not create unhappiness, for they are nourished by love, which gives wings to all our hopes for those we care for.
Senator COLQUITT had long notice of his approaching death, and he thought of his State and her people when his voice in the Senate should be silenced. He loved them anxiously and well, and was always conscious of the responsive throb of their sympathy and affection.
The Senator from Georgia, now sleeping in the bosom of his native State, died in the assured confidence that the peo ple of Georgia in the generations to come, following his teaching and example as he followed our fathers, will be the preservers of their own liberties and will faithfully sup port the principles of their present free constitutional Gov ernment as the only means by which they can be forever maintained.

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt.

35

He felt a confident assurance, which brought him great comfort in his last days on earth, that their intelligence

and virtue would always lead them back to the doctrines and practices of the founders of our system of government when any pressure of untoward events may drive them from their course. The highest reward he wished them to bestow upon him was to treasure his memory in their affec tions and to say of him, u We knew and loved the good man and faithful public servant. He served his country well; he guided us safely through many great perils; he defended us in the forum and on the battlefield, and was kindly sympathetic with every human distress."
In the small estate he left there was not one dishonest dollar, but it had suffered almost to exhaustion, from the drafts of benevolence which he had honored.
He has a place of honor in the hearts of all Georgians, which is the pantheon for their distinguished dead. In the Senate their opinions are often quoted as high author ity on all American questions. Among these honored names is that of his father, who was the contemporary of Berrien, Troup, Crawford, Toombs, Forsyth, Cobb, and King, as his son was the compeer of Iverson, Hill, and Brown, whom he has joined on the other shore.
Our late colleague, of whom I am proud to speak as my friend, was fully worthy of the love and admiration which the country has gratefully bestowed upon him for his pure life, his firm devotion to principle, his faithful and diligent discharge of duties, and his wisdom, patience, and courage in the public service, for such is the honorable record of his life.

GENERAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY or GEORCI/

36

Address of Mr. Turpie of Indiana.

ADDRESS OF MR. TURPIE.
Mr. PRESIDENT: My acquaintance with ALFRED HOLT COLQCITT, the late Senator from Georgia, began in that ses sion of Congress which met in the month of December, 1887.
He was then to all appearances in his prime, a man of fine presence, of most attractive carriage and address, in full mental and physical vigor, one of the most courtly and accomplished members of this body one whom time had laden with many honors; as yet with no infirmities.
Modest in demeanor, very considerate of the opinions of others, with much of complaisance and courtesy in his treatment of political opponents, he was withal unwilling to compliment any man or measure by the slightest sur render of principle.
When in usual health he was known as one of the most constant and regular attendants upon the sittings of the Senate and of the committees to which he was assigned. He once told me that he thought punctuality was very nearly akin to patriotism, and although this may be re garded as a somewhat homely and unobtrusive trait of character, yet it denotes the man as one responsive even to the detail of the discharge of those duties which devolve upon a public representative.
Owing to a natural diffidence, which his friends often .strove to remove, he seldom addressed the Senate. As often as he participated in debate he was listened to with heedful interest His style, pervaded by the calm, quiet, ordered method of his thought and action, was terse,

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

37

direct, elegant replete with practical force and applica tion. The argument was a persuasive, persistent, and very lucid presentation of the right and truth of the proposition in question as he perceived them.
One of the best speeches made by him was delivered in the course of the discussion upon the revenue bill pending in the Fifty-first Congress. Those of us who heard it may especially recall the fine passage in which he described the decadence of agriculture in the group of States situate upon the northeast Atlantic coast the abandoned farms, the fields without crops or fences, the vacant waste of old homesteads, the destruction of rural life, with its former habits of self-reliance and independence, springing from the impact of that supple servitude engendered by the ma chinery of manufacture.
He quoted at large in this connection the letter of the poet Whittier, deploring these changes in the condition of his land and people, and longing for a restoration of the old ways and of the old life.
No one can read this passage without realizing that the orator had himself felt and seen the effects of the desola tion which he depicted; that he mentally compared the devastation of these ancient homes and homesteads, effaced by the lethal policy so earnestly denounced by him, as re sembling the havoc wrought by war among the fair valleys and uplands of his native State.
Whether in speech or action, in silence or repose, there was one thing which always accompanied the Senator from Georgia it was character; the immeasurable weight and worth of character a character ingrained, interfused with love of the truth, with purity, with probity. This added

38

Address of Mr. Turpie of Indianq,.

many a cubit to his stature, aud clothed him with a moral eminence far exceeding that of mere official position.
There has been no person in public station in this age whose life, without reference to its religious phases, ac corded so precisely with the 'famous lines of Horace:

Integer vitse scelerisque purus Non eget Maoris jaculis neque areu. Nee venenatis gravida sagittis
Fusee, pharetra.

He who is thus portrayed as "whole of life" by the poet must needs be an honest man, yet also more than this.

Honesty pays that which is due, discharges the trust committed to it with fidelity to the letter, keeps the prom ise made, violates no pledge or engagement. It would not lessen or disparage other claims or interests, but abates its own no pennyworth; it is in all things before the law .blameless.
Honor is not content with rendering measure for meas ure; it keeps no strict account with its benefactors or with those who have given it their trust and confidence; it as sumes and performs obligations not shown in the letter; it does more than repay; it awaits not request or demand, but anticipates hope and expectation; it is dissatisfied with the ideal of a life merely without offense; aspires and at tains to merit, essential, absolute; it metes unto those with whom it is concerned full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over in the generous profusion of the spirit.
Mr. COLQUITT was a man of honor. Nevertheless our departed friend and colleague had chosen for his guidance higher standards than these. He had set before himself a more lofty exemplar, that of the

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

39

Teacher and Master Divine, whose name he had so early professed, and in whose cause he labored to the last a most loyal servant. In ordinary intercourse, however, he was quite reticent upon these subjects.
Egotism in its religious form is now more tolerated than in any other. Taking no advantage of this partial bias, he had without doubt deliberately determined that a Chris tian life needed not the aid of clamorous self-assertion or laudation to commend it or to manifest its power, yet he was 110 hermit or anchorite; he mingled freely with all sorts and conditions of. men. He knew, as a looker on, the manifold ways and wiles of that which is called the world the tortuous paths of intrigue and finesse, the hid den things of dishonesty, of covin, and corruption his wisdom scanned and shunned them all.
It is not a matter of small moment, rather one worthy of particular note and mention, that with these singular endowments of mental and moral excellence he was a par tisan a partisan after the strictest sect with no sympathy for the sentiment that nonpartisanship is to be accounted a special merit or commendation.
A patriot, he had bravely and faithfully served his coun try in war against a foreign enemy and sat in the highest councils of his State and of the nation. Earnestly devoted to the Union of the States and to the welfare of their peo ple, he had convictions fixed, unchangeable, as to the means by which these beneficent ends were to be subserved and accomplished.
Political indifference or neutrality found no place in his catalogue of the virtues. He was rather disposed to treat such indifference in the same manner as that which declines

40

Address of Mr. Turpie of Indiana.

to note the distinction between right and wrong between good and evil.
One of my latest recollections of him is that of the steadfast attention which he gave, though much broken by infirmity, to the procedure and debate upon the meas ure for the repeal of the Federal election laws, and of one eager word uttered out of the valley of the shadow of death which encompassed him the resonant "aye" where with he answered the roll call upon the passage of the bill.
Not distrustful either of himself or fortune, our friend put neither to the utmost test Much admired and beloved by the great constituencies which honored him with their support, his ambition hardly matched the natural parts and qualities with which he was gifted.
Yet never did ambition compass a higher goal. With every step in the whole circuit of his vital course duty nobly done by the way, as the way lengthened, kept even pace.
In a pleasing retrospect of a career like this, as in its closing scene, we are reminded that the true past departs not; that which is best of it remains a lasting heritage.
If death have any sting,-the living may assuage it If the grave have aught of victory, the quick may share it in revering the memory, in following the footsteps of the just the just who lived, and yet shall live, by faith.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

41

ADDRESS OF MR. HILL.
Mr. PRESIDENT: An eminent man of letters once well said that the value of eulogy largely depends upon its truthfulness. It goes without saying that affection is apt to exaggerate the virtues of our friends and to minimize their faults, while animosity naturally blinds us to the graces of our enemies and magnifies their defects. It is indeed fortunate in this instance that the highest tribute which we can pay to the memory of our deceased associate is to speak of him accurately and as we knew him.
If I were asked to describe in a brief sentence his per sonal characteristics, I would answer by saying that he was "a gentleman of the old school." How often is this familiar expression sounded in our ears; how much is con veyed by it; what a graceful compliment it implies; what a splendid picture it quickly presents to our mind's eye; what an ideal character it unfolds, and what a noble career it emphasizes. " A gentleman of the old school!" It is true it is somewhat difficult exactly to define in words what is meant by this expression. It does not mean a man of extreme age, nor necessarily a man of olden times, although it must be confessed that this class is popularly believed to be fast passing away. Neither wealth, unusual learning, great physical strength, personal beauty, high social position, a long line of distinguished ancestry, nor brilliant deeds in war or peace are the attributes or accom paniments which pertain to this character. A dignified bearing, a courtly grace, uniform politeness, exceptionally genteel deportment, a high sense of honor, personal purity,

42

Address ofMr. Hill ofNew York.

genuine moral and physical courage, absolute integrity, a liberal education, and cultivated tastes these are the char acteristics of "a gentleman of the old school."
He has also been appropriately portrayed as a man of his word; one who is true to his friends and a terror to his ene mies; of pleasant address and courteous manners, gener ous impulses, lofty purposes, and chivalrous disposition; quick to resent an insult, but always ready to forgive an injury from a repentant enemy; sincere in his religious and political opinions, and firm "as the rock of ages" in his conscientious convictions of right and duty.
These qualities can not well be said to be capable of ac quirement, at least not easily; but they seem to be inborn with some men, natural or inherited; they are the exclu sive property of no sect, nationality, or section; they are found oftentimes in the homes of our busy cities and towns, but more usually away from the haunts of active business and among the quiet retreats of country life, where, upon landed estates and amid the free air of heaven, they are developed, expanded, and perfected.
"The old school'7 ' includes the old-fashioned men of the times, men whose wearing apparel the very cut of their clothes indicates largely their contempt for modern styles and modern ways, men who think and act conservatively upon every question, who quickly reject new-fangled notions and novel ideas of government and society, and cling tena ciously to the faith and principles of their fathers, and who believe in proving all things and holding fast to that which is good.
Senator COLQUITT unquestionably typified this class of men. He was primarily and essentially a man of sincerity.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

43

He was a statesman with a conscience. He thought in tensely and believed strongly. I^ight and frivolous things had no attractions for him; and, regarding life as a great unsolved and vexed problem requiring his conscientious study and reflection, he was always serious, always contem plative, always thoughtful.
Moderate in everything and personally temperate in his habits, he avoided and escaped those excesses which have wrecked and marred the lives of so many of our brilliant public men, and his correct and blameless life has fur nished a splendid example for the young men of to-day. Emphatically a man of the people, his sympathies were always with the humble, the poor, the wronged; and every genuine movement for the amelioration of mankind, every struggle for larger liberties for the masses, every effort to relieve the great public from the unjust burdens of govern ment, every contest against the forces of monopoly, and every endeavor to make life better and its aims higher found in him a conspicuous and earnest advocate.
His career was a most successful one. The very many exalted positions to which he was chosen, filling them all with credit and distinction; his long public service of more than a quarter of a century; the confidence of the people of his great State, which he always retained; the high regard in which he was held by his associates in this Senate; the splendid eulogies to which we have listened from the representatives of all parties recounting his vir tues and his deeds all these attest the greatness of the man and are the outward evidences of a successful life. He died, as he had lived, a Christian statesman, adored by his family, beloved by his friends, respected by his enemies.

44

Address ofMr. Hill ofNew York.

I use the word u enemies," which may seem harsh on an occasion like this, but what public man can be said to be without them? It has been truthfully asserted that as a general rule one whom everybody likes is a fool, and one whom everybody hates is a knave, but one with some bitter enemies to antagonize him and many earnest friends who admire him and would sacrifice themselves for him usually fulfills the highest standard and answers the full measure of a man.
We recognize the fact that life, especially public life, is a great battle, a continuous struggle; it has its ups and its downs, its victories and defeats, its pains and its pleasures; it creates enemies and it makes friends, it destroys and it ce ments friendships, it provokes denunciation on the one hand and eulogy on the other; and the scars and the wounds received are only evidence of the intensity of the conflict, the importance of the participants, and the courage and sacrifices of its true heroes. Senator COLQUITT, long a prominent actor in the great political field of our country, to escape the political animosities which political struggles inevitably engender, never wavered nor stooped nor faltered in the discharge of what he regarded as his duty. He was resolute, fearless, independent. He never

Crooked the pregnant hinges of the knee, Where thrift might follow fawning.

He neither yielded to blandishments on the one hand nor to intimidation on the other, but stood erect, manly, unmoved.
Mr. President, I speak thus warmly but truthfully of the distinguished dead because when living he was my personal as well as political friend. I knew him intimately, having

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

45

entertained him at my residence in the North, and I had accepted his own true Southern hospitality in distant Geor gia. I learned to regard him with affectionate interest, to appreciate his wise counsels, and to value his disinterested and unselfish friendship.
In a recent interparty contest in Georgia he especially manifested his preference and friendship for me, being prominent in the thickest of the fight, neither counting the chances of victory nor the risks of defeat, but, freely exer cising that right which every American citizen possesses of expressing and advocating his choice for public posi tion, he did the best he could and lost, and then accepted defeat without a murmur and patiently endured with his friends in Georgia and elsewhere the political ostracism which unfortunately followed.
He has departed; "peace to his memory;" but his fame will survive with those other heroes and eloquent men who have made Georgia's history illustrious Toombs, Hill, Stephens, Grady, and Brown. Indeed what a havoc has death recently made in Georgia's noble sons! Their fame, however, does not belong to Georgia nor to the South alone, but to the North as well, to the whole country, a happy, reunited, indivisible nation a Republic for which we trust we may never mourn, a Republic that will not die.

Address ofMr. Pasco ofFlorida.
ADDRESS OF MR. PASCO.
Mr. PRESIDENT: The name of ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT is very dear to the people of Florida. They loved and honored him in his lifetime; they sorrowed when he was smitten by the disease which enfeebled him and gradu ally wasted his vital powers; they mourned at his death, and I am acting in harmony with their wishes and desires in improving the opportunity which this occasion offers to unite with others of his former associates here in putting upon record the remembrance of his good deeds, his pure life, his great public services.
The esteem and regard in which our people held him date from a memorable period during the late war, a period of danger and peril, in which he acted a conspicuous and honorable part. A military expedition was sent from Hilton Head under General Seymour to move from Jackson ville toward the interior of the State with the expectation that, as the Confederate forces were few and scattered, Florida could be separated from the other Southern States and held permanently within the Federal lines. The Con federate troops were hastily collected together and met the advancing forces; word was sent to Georgia that assist ance and reenforcements were greatly needed. General COLQUITT responded promptly to the call, marched with several regiments of Georgians across from Quitman to the rendezvous near Lake City in time to participate in the battle fought in front of that place at Olustee or Ocean Pond, and was of essential service to General Finegan, who

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

47

commanded the little force of Floridians who had hastened to meet and resist General Seymour's army. The battle was a decisive one in favor of the Confederates, and the invading forces retreated and fell back to Jacksonville.
Deep gratitude was felt toward the brave Georgians who had come to the assistance of Florida in her hour of need, when anxiety, disturbance, and alarm were widespread throughout the threatened section. General COLQUITT was regarded and treated as a benefactor, and was hailed as * 4 the hero of Olustee.'' Time never diminished the warmth of these feelings of regard and devotion in the hearts of those who lived in those troublous times and who felt and believed that their homes were threatened; it confirmed and strengthened them; they have been inherited in the years that have since passed by the succeeding generation as they have listened at the armchair and at the fireside to the oft-told tale, as it has come from the lips of their seniors, of his timely coming, of their deliverance from danger, of his courage and renown.
The name of Colquitt has been prominent in the history of Georgia for two generations. Walter T. Colquitt, the father of our late associate, was a very distinguished law yer, and especially great in criminal cases. He was born December 27, 1799, graduated at Princeton in 1820, was judge of the superior court of his district, a State senator for three years, a Representative in Congress from 1839 to 1843, an<* then became a member of this body for a full term from 1843 to 1849- He died at Macon May 7, 1855. He was a man of positive convictions and high character. In his political faith he was an earnest Democrat, and was regarded as a leader of the Southern rights wing of that party.

48

Address ofMr. Pasco ofFlorida.

His son ALFRED was born April 24, 1824. He gradu ated at Princeton in the class of 1844, and afterwards studied law and settled at Macon. It was not long before war was declared with Mexico, and he went to that coun try with a Georgia regiment. Later on he served as a staff officer with the rank of major, and acted as aid to General Taylor. He was with that distinguished officer at Buena Vista, and greatly admired his courage and cool ness in the hour of danger. An old friend and associate of the Senator, who now holds an honorable position in Georgia, has told me recently that Senator COLQUITT gave him a vivid account of the battle of Buena Vista soon after his return from the war.
The day seemed lost, the overwhelming numbers of the enemy threatening defeat and disaster. General Taylor was urged to leave the field. But the sturdy old hero refused in the most earnest and emphatic manner to accept this advice. He declared that he would leave the field as a victor or be carried from it as a corpse. Instead of falling back he went forward into the fight, encouraging his men by his presence and example, and then commenced those brilliant movements which "turned the tide of battle and resulted in victory.
When the war closed General COLQUITT returned to his Georgia home, soon afterwards married, and settled down to the quiet life of a cotton planter. But he was not allowed to remain many years in retirement. The promi nence of his father as a party leader, his social standingand family connection, his military record in Mexico, all drew public attention toward him. His fine appearance, pleasant manners, and high intelligence soon made him a great favorite.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

49

The Democrats of the Second district called upon him to accept a nomination as their candidate for Representative in Congress. He was elected, and served for a single term, from 1853 to 1855, in the Thirty-third Congress, but de clined a reelection. He returned to his plantation home and kept out of active politics for several years, but the deep interest he had taken in public affairs never abated. He participated in the Presidential campaign of 1860 as a candidate for Presidential elector, and cast one of the votes of Georgia for Breckinridge and I^ane. He had the same convictions as to the interests and rights of his State and his section that his father had before him, and as the events transpired which led on to the late war he became convinced that secession was the remedy for the difficulties which surrounded the Southern people.
When the State convention was called to consider this question he was a member of it and served on the commit tee on foreign relations. He felt a profound interest in the proceedings of this body, and though he took but little part in the debates, he exercised a great influence in bring ing about the result which was reached. When the ordi nance of secession had been passed and Georgia had joined with her sister States of the South in the attempt to estab lish the Southern Confederacy and war became imminent, Mr. COLQUITT accepted the consequences which followed the action of his State and entered the Confederate army as a captain. His experience in Mexico was valuable to him, and he rose rapidly through the various grades of rank till he became a major-general. It is not my purpose to make further reference to his military career than I have already done. Suffice it to say that he was beloved by his
s MIS 153 4

50

Address ofMr. Pasco ofFlorida.

men, exhibited high qualities as a commander, and was generous in the hour of victory.
When the war closed General COLQUITT, like the other great Southern leaders, advised his followers to return to their homes and rebuild the industries which had fallen into neglect and decay during the four years of war, and manfully set them the example by his own conduct. Few men have since then done more to build up the material interests of Georgia and the South than he did in his life time. He returned to his plantation and undertook the raising of cotton under the new system of labor. Soon after he became a partner in a commission house in Savan nah, but gave very little personal attention to the business of the firm, for he devoted most of his time to his planting interests.
The commission house suffered from the same causes that others did in our section in the years that immediately followed the war the change in the labor system, the rapid and continuous decline in the price of cotton; the un certainties of business caused many failures, and the firm of which he was a member was among them. This failure swept away most of his property, but he bore the change in his circumstances with fortitude and resignation. He never lost his interest in public affairs, and concerned him self in the welfare of the people of Georgia and the advance ment of their material interests. He became a member of the State Agricultural Society of Georgia, and served for several years as its president.
He was an earnest member of the Methodist Church, a prominent supporter and advocate of the temperance cause, and aided in every good work for the promotion of the

Life ancTCharacter ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

51

well being of his countrymen. As a local preacher in his church and as a lecturer upon moral subjects he often occu pied the pulpit and the platform nqt only in Georgia, but in various parts of the country, as he became more widely known during the later years of his life.
In 1876 he came before the people as a candidate for gov ernor, and was elected by a majority of more than 75,000. At the end of a four-years term his name was again brought before the Democratic State convention in 1880. He was the strongest candidate, but the two-thirds rule prevailed, and after a long struggle the effort to make a nomination was given up, as no one could obtain the necessary vote. When the convention adjourned he submitted his case to the people. Hon. T. M. Norwood was the opposing candi date, and after a canvass which was full of interest and excitement, and which attracted attention far beyond the State lines of Georgia, Mr. COI,QUITT was elected by a majority of more than 54,000. A change in the State constitution had reduced the term to two years, and at the close of it he was elected to a seat in this body for six years from March 4, 1883, as the successor of Hon. Pope Barrow, who filled out the unexpired portion of the term of Hon. Benjamin H. Hill after his decease; in 1888 he was reelected, and was serving his second term when he died.
My personal acquaintance with Senator COLQUITT com menced when I first took my seat as a member of this body in December, 1887, and it ripened into a friendship, which continued to the close of his life. He was a kindhearted, lovable man, sincere in his convictions, earnest in his efforts to carry them into execution, faithful in the

discharge of his duties. But though earnest and positive,

52

Address ofMr. Pasco ofFlorida.

no bitter word or spiteful taunt ever fell from his lips in debate. He was courteous and affable to all, and the grace of his manner was such that he always received the same considerate treatment that he extended to others.
Mr. COLQUITT was a man of the people; .he knew their way of living, their lines of thought, their wants; his de sire was to make their lives more comfortable, to benefit their condition, to lessen their burdens, to improve their moral and spiritual welfare. He labored to these different ends wherever he could appropriately do so, whether from the platform or the pulpit, or the governor's chair, or his place in the Senate. The people of his native State fully believed that he was their friend and had entire confidence in him, and when he took a position in their behalf they were willing and ready to accept his conclusions as correct. He never went before them on a political issue without being sustained.
I passed through Georgia on a visit to my home not long after he and the partner of his life had been smitten at nearly the same time by the disease which in his case terminated fatally some months later, and there was a uni versal expression of sympathy and sorrow wherever I went at the double affliction sent upon the family. The end of his usefulness seemed to be near, and it was regarded as a public calamity. But his constitution did not entirely give way at this first attack; rest from the exacting demands of public duty partly restored his vigor, and he returned again to the scene of his former labors and usefulness. -
He hoped for a complete restoration to health, and for a time looked forward to'another term of Senatorial life.

His people rejoiced at these promising indications, and if

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

53

his hopes of restoration to health had been fulfilled the expressions of popular sentiment in his behalf were suffi ciently strong to show that they desired the further con tinuation of his services in the Senate. But the hopeful symptoms were not of long duration; we who were asso ciated with him here could see that notwithstanding the resolution with which he resisted the inroads of disease there was a gradual failure.
He could not be persuaded to take the rest which was needed, but was brought almost daily to the Capitol, and, though not always in his place in this Chamber, he was when absent generally near by in his committee room, where he could give some direction to business, and when an important vote was to be taken he endeavored to be here in time to discharge his duty. During these weary months of anxiety and suffering he was always cheerful, always spoke hopefully, and though I saw him and talked with him nearly every day that he came to the Capitol I never heard him speak in a complaining, fretful, or dis couraging tone.
While he clung tenaciously to life and its duties as long as possible, he fully understood his condition and knew that the summons to cross the dark river might come at any hour. But death had no terrors for him, and he looked forward calmly and serenely to the life beyond. The deep religious convictions which had influenced and governed his life sustained him as the last hour approached, and he feared no evil as he drew near the valley of the shadow of death. The final summons came on the morn ing of March 26, 1894, and his spirit returned to the God who gave it.

54

Address ofMr. Pasco ofFlorida.

Mr. COLQCITT was a man of well-rounded character and ability. Many have exhibited greater powers in particu lar lines of action, many have been more conspicuous for the possession of some special gift, but he sustained him self creditably among the men of his day and generation in every position in which he was placed. He met the duties and opportunities and responsibilities of life as they presented themselves, and was always equal to the occa sion. He made an honorable record as a soldier, was a strong, clear, and impressive speaker, an excellent adminis trative officer, a wise counselor, a judicious and patriotic legislator.
He was happy in his domestic relations, warm in his affections, constant in his friendships. The people with whom he associated felt that he had their interests at heart and looked up to him with regard and confidence. His name is written upon the hearts of his people and will brighten the pages of their history, and the life and record of this Christian soldier and statesman will be a noble example to place before the youth of succeeding generations.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 55
ADDRESS OF MR. MARTIN.
Mr. PRESIDENT: It was my good fortune to know much of the personal life and political career of the distinguished citizen in honor of whose memory the exercises of this hour are being held. Before I became a member of this body I had learned to regard him with affection and admira tion because of his acknowledged ability, the purity of his private life, and his perfect Christian character. My sub sequent association and acquaintance with him increased and intensified this admiration. Upon my entrance into this body he graciously extended to me a warm and gener ous welcome that caused me to regard him as a friend and companion of a lifetime.
The task of accurately painting the details of his beauti ful private life and his long, useful, and brilliant public career has been performed by the master hand of his col league and friend, the senior Senator from Georgia, and in a much more satisfactory manner than would be possible with me. Nevertheless, Mr. President, I can not permit the occasion to pass without contributing my modest leaf of laurel to his memory.
ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT was born in the heroic period of our national history, and at a time when honesty, sim plicity of life, and unselfish devotion to the public interests were accounted as commanding virtues and regarded as necessary qualifications in the public service and a guar anty for a successful public career. Senator COLQUITT inherited from the times in which he was born these

56

Address ofMr. Martin ofKansas.

homely and old-fashioned virtues, and in his subsequent career as a citizen, statesman, and soldier endeavored to illustrate their necessity, value, and beauty, and in this he was marvelously successful. In addition to the advantages of the time in which he was born and reared, he was born rich rich in intellectual gifts, rich in a moral nature to a remarkable degree.
His intellectual gifts were such as would, if properly cul tivated, have brought him success, distinction, and honors in any age, in any country, and among any people. They were a guaranty of success in any profession or business in life, and with him success was an assured fact from the beginning of his career, and this great moral nature shed its light and comforting influences all along the grand highway that he traveled from youth to old age, from the cradle to the grave, and it was of such a fixed nature that neither the perils of political strife nor the more dangerous environments of war could extinguish or impair it.
His faith in the right never faltered, and his devotion to truth and justice never wavered or ceased.
His public career was long, brilliant, and useful. At the age of twenty he was a college graduate; at twenty-one he was admitted to the practice of the law; at the age of twenty-eight he distinguished himself as a staff officer in the Mexican war, and at thirty-one he was a member of the national House of Representatives.
In the civil war he passed through all official grades from captain to major-general, and was esteemed and regarded as a brave and chivalrous soldier and generous foe. He was twice honored with an election as governor of his native State and twice to a seat in this bodv.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

57

Outside of these public duties he took a deep interest in the agricultural prosperity of Georgia, and was an ardent and earnest supporter and promoter of the religious and educational interests of her people, and amidst this multi tude of engagements he was the faithful champion of the Sabbath school and of temperance among his people.
This record, Mr. President, presents an unusually long and an unusually brilliant career, and indelibly imprints upon our national history the fact that ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT was one of our great men in the true sense of
the word; and when it is remembered that this long carteer
of unbroken success was never tarnished by a dishonest act, nor challenged by a doubtful propriety, it makes a record of which his countrymen of every faith and creed should be proud and which the citizens of his native State should cherish beyond measure.
Mr. President, his private life was a fitting supplement to a splendid political and military career. He was a believer in Christianity in the highest and best sense of that term, and exemplified its beauty, its value, and necessity in his daily life; and when the end of his long march toward eternity was reached, he found it his chief solace, and to him in passing the boundary line between the present and the great hereafter it was both " guide, philosopher, and friend."
Mr. President, this Christian gentleman, this honest states man, this chivalrous soldier may not have been always right, but he thought he was, and that is a just standard by which to measure genuine manhood and honest worth. He never cast a vote that he did not believe to be right; he never championed a cause that he did not believe

58

Address ofMr. Martin ofKansas.

to be just; he loved the weak, the defenseless and oppressed, and he heartily abhorred the oppressor. In the presence of sorrow and affliction he was as tender and as sympa thetic as a woman; confronting and opposing the wrong, battling against injustice and oppression, he was the incar nation of manly courage.
He was kind, gentle, and good. His own afflictions later in life intensified his sympathy for others, and this misfor tune neither soured his temper nor embittered his heart; but he remained patient, good, and sweet tempered, and when the messenger appointed to summon him beyond the confines of this world reached him he found him in this frame of mind, ready to answer with alacrity and cheerful ness the summons of the grim messenger into the presence of the great Master. With him all seasons were spring and the sky was perpetually cloudless.
This hour devoted to honoring the memory of such a man is time well spent. The good deeds and splendid services of our great men deeds and services that have reflected honor upon our country and brought peace, com fort, and happiness to the homes and firesides of its citi zens should be garnered and bound in immortal sheaves, to be read as examples and used as guides for the encour agement of those who come after the great actors have taken their departure.
Surely the life work of our departed friend will serve as an inspiration to the youth of our country to emulate his great example. Undoubtedly thousands of the young men of his own State have already profited by his experience, and the standard of manhood, citizenship, and moral char acter has been elevated by the example of his useful and beautiful life.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

59

Mr. President, the late Senator from Georgia has solved the greatest of all questions. He now understands the solemn and vague agency that we call death. He is now prepared to answer the mournful and unanswered inquiry of the ages past, "If a man die, shall he live again?" Who can doubt the answer of our deceased friend and associate to this great question, if it be true, and it undoubtedly is, that not one thing in all the universe can be resolved into a state of nothingness? Then it can not be true that death is the end and last of man, the highest and noblest of God's creation and in whose image he was made. Oh, no, President; ALFRED H. COLQUITT has only quietly passed onward in his eternal and triumphant march through the endless ages of the future, for he has obeyed the injunc tion of the poet
So live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

6o

Address ofMr. Walsh of Georgia.

ADDRESS OF MR. WALSH.
Mr. PRESIDENT: It is my mournful duty to bring these exercises to a close. I shall not attempt to sketch the life of the late Senator COLQUITT. That has been already done. I shall content myself with some brief remarks upon his character and services to his State and country.
I knew him well, and I respected him for his many ex cellent qualities of head and heart He was a man of gracious and noble presence. He had a brave and kind heart and a pure and noble spirit. He was a man of strong religious conviction. He did not believe that things hap pen by chance in this world. He believed that all things here are divinely ordained and governed. He believed that even in this life as a man sowed so should he reap. He was a man of faith and of works; and as he believed that faith and works are essential to eternal salvation, so did he believe that even in this life success is best attained by faith and good works and by devotion to principle.
Mr. President, for nearly three-quarters of a century the name of Colquitt has been a household word in Georgia. It has been prominently identified with the best manhood of that Commonwealth. Walter T. Colquitt, the father of the late Senator COLQUITT, was a man of eloquence and ability. He was a jurist and statesman. His character was grounded upon the rock of steadfast devotion to the cause of religion. He was an exemplar of the humanities and virtues that constitute the bulwark of our civilization

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

61

and that are the surest reliance of the perpetuity of our republican Government. When the fame of the great tri umvirate of America's statesmen filled the land he was a member of the United States Senate. I deal not in the

language of extravagant eulogium when I declare that Walter T. Colquitt was recognized as one of the most gifted of the public men of his day.
ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT followed in the footsteps of his illustrious father. He filled every office in the gift of his people with fidelity and ability. He was a statesman, a soldier, and a patriot, discharging every trust and every duty imposed upon him by his State and country. L/ike his father, he was possessed of fervent piety, and professed and practiced religion. He was filled with genuine char ity, and exemplified in word and act chat great right of reli gious freedom which is the birthright of every American citizen. In him was found an ardent defender of the prin ciples of civil and religious liberty upon which the fathers builded the most just and the most perfect Government ever devised by human wisdom.
In his young manhood he served his country in the Mexican war, and filled one term in the Representative branch of Congress. In the war between the States he fought for the independence of the Southern Confederacy, and gained merited distinction for his courage and devo tion to a cause that he believed to be right. He was one of the knightliest soldiers of that mighty host that chal lenged by its heroic deeds the admiration of the world and won the homage of mankind. In his chivalric nature there was no bitterness. When the end came that brought wreck and ruin to him and his people he walked in the

62

Address ofMr. Walsh of Georgia.

paths of peace, and by precept and example endeavored to build np the waste places and to turn the minds and hearts of his countrymen to the Government of their fathers, cherishing no animosities, but respecting and honoring* the brave and patriotic men who fought for the integrity of the Union.
He served six years as governor of Georgia. He was elected for two terms, each time by large majorities. He was a member of this body for over eleven years. When the final summons came Senator COLQUTTT died at his post of duty in the seventieth year of his age, having nearly rounded the span of life allotted to man.
As soldier, patriot, and statesman he illustrated his State and country. Full of years and of honors, he has been gathered to his Father's mansion, leaving behind him a record of duty nobly done. The people of his State honor his memory, and Georgia cherishes the shining virtues of her distinguished son.
It is fitting that the members of the Senate should eulo gize the character and services of Senator COLQUITT. He was an exemplar of those civic and heroic virtues from which patriotism draws its purest inspiration.
In honoring the dead of the South and the North whose deeds made their lives sublime the principles of republican government will be enshrined in the hearts of those who will cherish the priceless blessings of liberty.
Senator CoLQUiTT loved his whole country. With his last breath he invoked Divine blessings upon the Union of States that his fathers founded. In his invocation he voiced the patriotism of Georgia and of the South for the perpetuity of the Federal Government, which he would

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 63

have died to defend. This is the sentiment that animates

the people of the South. It rises above party and above

section. It is the message of peace and good will that the

patriot heart of the South sends to the patriot heart of the

North to advance and defend the honor and welfare of

our common country.

Mr. President, as a further mark of respect to the mem

ory of the late Senator COLQUITT, I move that the Senate'

do now adjourn.

*

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate adjourned

until Wednesday, January 9, 1895, at 12 o'clock meridian.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE.
MARCH 26, 1894.
A message from the Senate, communicated to the House
by Mr. Platt, one of its clerks, was laid before the House by
the Speaker, and read by the Clerk, as follows:
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATFS,
March 26,1894. Resolved, That the Senate has heard with great sorrow of the death of the Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia. Resolved, That a committee of ten Senators be appointed by the Vice-President to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased, which will take place in the Senate Chamber to-morrow, Tuesday, at 9 a. m., and that the Senate will attend the same. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect entertained by the Senate for his memory, his remains be removed from Washington to Macon, Ga., in charge of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and attended by the committee, who shall have full power to carry this resolution into effect. Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives, and invite the House of Representatives to attend the funeral to-morrow, Tuesday, at the hour named, and to appoint a committee to act with the committee of the Senate. Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the Senate do now adjourn. In compliance with the foregoing the Vice-President appointed as said com mittee Mr. Gordon, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Ransom, Mr. Butler, Mr. Gray, Mr. Hoar, Mr. Proctor, Mr. Carey, Mr. Perkins, and Mr. Alien.
Mr. TURNER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I offer the reso
lutions which I send to the desk.
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow the announcement of the death of Hon. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia.
Resolved, That the Speaker of the House appoint a committee of nine mem bers to act in conjunction with the committee appointed by the Senate to make the necessary arrangements and accompany the remains to the place of burial.
65 S Mis 153 5

66

Proceedings in the House.

Resolved, That the House accept the invitation of the Senate to attend the funeral to-morrow, Tuesday, at 9 o'clock a. m., and that the Oerk of the House communicate these proceedings to the Senate.
Resolved, That as a further tribute and mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the House do now adjourn.

Mr. TURNER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, without detain ing the House with any remarks on this sad occasion, I desire to give notice that at some time in the future the House will be asked to appoint a day on which the friends of the deceased may pay fitting tribute to his long and dis tinguished public services. I ask now the adoption of the resolutions.
The SPEAKER. The Chair will ask the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Turner] whether he has any suggestion to make as to the hour of meeting of the House to-morrow?
Mr. TURNER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have conferred with gentlemen of our delegation and with the Speaker as to the propriety of the House adjourning to meet to morrow morning at 9 o'clock. It has been suggested that perhaps as appropriate a proceeding as could be had would be that the members of the House assemble informally in the Senate Chamber at the hour named by the Senate for the funeral ceremonies.
The question being taken on agreeing to the resolutions submitted by Mr. Turner of Georgia, they were unani mously agreed to.
The Speaker announced the appointment of the follow ing-named members as the committee provided for by the resolutions: Mr. Livingston, Mr. Holman, Mr. Cabaniss, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Maddox, Mr. McDannold, Mr. Cogswell, Mr. William A. Stone, and Mr. Powers.
And then, in accordance with the resolution just adopted, the House adjourned until to-morrow at 12 o'clock meridian.

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES.
FEBRUARY 16, 1895. The SPEAKER (at 2 o'clock p. m.). The Clerk will report the special order. The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved^ That the third Saturday in February next, beginning at 2 o'clock p. m., be set apart for eulogies on the life of the Hon. ALFRED H. COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia.
Mr. TURNER of* Georgia. I offer the resolutions which I send to the desk.
The Clerk read as follows:
Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended that opportunity may be given for tribute to the memory of ALFRED H. COLQUITT, late a Senator from the State of Georgia.
Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a public servant, the House of Rep resentatives, at the conclusion of these memorial services, adjourn.
Resolved^ That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased.
The question being taken, the resolutions were unani mously adopted.
67
L

68

Address ofMr. Turner of Georgia.

ADDRESS OF MR. TURNER OF GEORGIA.
Mr. SPEAKER: ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT was born in Walton Connty, Ga., April 20, 1824; graduated at Princeton College in the class of 1844; studied law and was admit ted to the bar in 1845; served as a staff officer with the rank of major during the war with Mexico; was elected and served as a member of the Thirty-third Congress; was a member of the Georgia legislature in 1859; was a Presi dential elector for the State at large on the Breckinridge ticket in 1860; was a member of the secession convention of the State of Georgia; entered the Confederate army as captain; was subsequently chosen colonel of the Sixth Georgia Infantry; served as brigadier-general and was com missioned as a major-general; was elected governor of the State in 1876 and reelected to that office; at the expiration of his term as governor he was elected to the Senate of the United States for the term commencing March 4, 1883, and was reelected in 1888.
Such was his own account of his life. Though modest, it outlines a career of great distinction, beginning early and terminating only at his death. It omits any mention of his successes at college, his deeds of gallantry in two wars, and his great triumphs in his political campaigns, though sometimes hotly contested. Nor does this sketch contain even an allusion to his ministries in the pulpit and all the enterprises of the Methodist Church, though these pious offices were performed while he was governor and

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.
Senator. In one of his last speeches in the Senate he closed with the exclamation:
Righteousness exalteth a nation!
It is interesting to note how closely he followed the foot steps of his distinguished father, Walter T. Colquitt. The latter was also educated at Princeton College, was a lawyer of great reputation, a judge of the superior court, a general of militia, a member of the general assembly of the State, a Representative in Congress, a member of the Senate of the United States, and a minister of the Methodist Church. The careers of the father and son are so nearly identical that they form chapters in the same story. The line of the one's life seems to have been a prolongation of that of the other. Let us hope that the son of ALFRED H. COL QUITT may be worthy of his lineage and that an honorable name may become a part of the inheritance in this family.
I leave to others more intimately acquainted with Sena tor COLQUITT the highest office of a friend, an affectionate tribute to his private traits and virtues and a minute de tail of the elements of his character and conduct. His manhood began in affluence; he died poor. He had no ex travagant habits, and in a money-loving age he was content with a moderate living, and never repined over the great losses entailed by an unsuccessful war. The pathetic devo tion of his family during his long affliction was the fittest reward for his own generous solicitude as husband and father. He lived in an historic era, and in all its mighty movements he occupied leading positions. And amid them all, with their great anxieties and temptations, he seems to have cultivated that highest ideal of life, which covets

70

Address ofMr. Turner of Georgia.

public confidence for the opportunities it affords for useful ness and yet reverently worships God! We call our departed friend to witness that such a scheme of life is consistent with the loftiest courage in the hour of battle, the most enduring public favor, and the serene fortitude of a Chris tian in the article of death!

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

71

ADDRESS OF MR. BLAIR.
Mr. SPEAKER: It was my good fortune to be associated with Senator COLQUITT for about eight years in the other House of Congress, and although not intimately acquainted in a general sense, yet there was a consanguinity of views between us upon certain great lines of thought and action which gave me a feeling of nearness, and almost of kinship, which did not require frequent expression in order that both might understand its existence. I therefore drop my sprig of evergreen upon his grave to-day with the feeling that I too have lost a brother.
Others more familiar with the details of his record have already explained them, and in both of these great Halls of legislation have pronounced in fitting terms that eulogy which belongs to those whose illustrious lives deserve im mortality among their fellow-men. My tribute may well be brief, and such as o .:e gives spontaneously and aside as he moves silently in the procession to the tomb of the beloved.
Senator COLQUITT was a distinctively elevating force in the Senate and throughout the country. Modest and un pretending to the last degree, yet firm and full of assertion when important principles were involved, he was felt even though unheard, and when occasion imperatively demanded his voice would fill the Chamber like the tones of Paul at Mars Hill.
He seldom spoke at his best except upon some theme which aroused the moral and religious side of his nature, and then it was that his wonderful organization revealed

J2

Address ofMr. Blair ofNew Hampshire.

the full power of the physical, intellectual, and moral ele ments of human nature in combined and harmonious action. At such times he was eloquent in the highest sense, and his power over the Senate and over popular audiences was very great.
The inspiration of the occasion would overcome all reserve, and the great cause would seem to transform him into a superior being. While in the Senate he spoke repeat edly and with great power upon the evils of intemperance and in support of Sabbath observance, as well as upon education and kindred subjects, and I think it will be admitted that the influence he exerted in favor of these fun damental and everlasting human interests will constitute his chief, as they certainly will his undeniable, claim to the gratitude of posterity.
I well remember the unfailing support which the Sena tors from Georgia, the Empire State of the South, always gave to the education bill, and that Mr. COLQUITT was very anxious for its success. Few men more than he com prehended the calamity involved in its failure. Senator Brown also, one of the great statesmen of our generation, has placed on record speeches and sentiments upon the same vast theme which in coming time, when the events of our day can be faithfully written and their relative importance seen in just perspective, will embalm his mem ory in the gratitude of the ages.
Senator Brown was the great plebeian whose native force carried him to the summit of attainment and power among his fellow-men in the hard attrition and competition of free institutions.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

73

Senator COLQUITT was the son of wealth and social position, the representative of that great patrician ele ment which constituted the most remarkable aristocracy of history.
These men were the most perfectly connected and yet contrasted illustration that I have known in their harmo nious and full-orbed action as Senators of their State of the extraordinary manner in which our system of theoret ically free government blends the activities and interests of every grade and class of men into one grand unity of action, of progress, and of elevation to all.
This power of reconciling the warring classes and condi tions of men was the one thing lacking in the institutions of Greece and Rome, and those Republics fell.
But who shall pretend to say whether Franklin, the ple beian, or Jefferson, the patrician, contributed most to the foundation of American liberty? And it is because the principles which they promulgated and the institutions which embodied their teachings possess this power of drawing all men unto themselves that our Republic shall be everlasting.
I can never forget the last time I saw Senator COLQUITT. It was not long before his death. Stricken and disabled, he was making his way on the little vehicle which was used to enable him to move about in the open air and between his residence and the Senate. He was then on his way to the scene of duty. We had not met for a con siderable time, and then both were in full health and strength. little was said, but the interview was not in words only.

74

Address ofMr. Blair ofNew Hampshire.

I encouraged him with all the hopeful suggestions that I could think of, and he smiled and talked bravely of the restoration to come. But neither deceived the other, and those great eyes, blazing with a fixed and far-off penetra tion, showed clearly that the light of another world was painting its realities upon his sensitive spirit We knew that we had thought some thoughts and attempted some deeds together, and that an immortal sympathy was born of our association. But for this world we then knew that it was all over. He is the better off. Rest to his ashes! Everlasting bliss to his soul! Iet us take up our burden and move on.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 75
ADDRESS OF MR, LAWSON.
Mr. SPEAKER: I hope that someone more competent than myself to speak of the life and character of Senator COLQUITT will seize this opportunity to do so. I did not have the good fortune to enjoy an intimate and confidential acquaintanceship with him; we lived far apart, and our different lines of employment seldom brought us together. I was more intimately associated with him and had better opportunities to acquaint myself with his personal charac teristics during the last months of his life than ever before. During those few months I daily met with him and his amiable and excellent family, who had come here to min ister to the infirmities of his latter days.
But I, like every Georgian, could not fail to know of his public career as a soldier and statesman, and as a trusted and honored governor and Senator, strongly intrenched in the love and confidence of the people of Georgia, his native State.
Senator COLQUITT was ushered into life upon an ele vated plane. Few have been so fortunate in their birth as he. His father was a man of great distinction as an orator, lawyer, Senator of the United States, and last, but not least, as a minister of the gospel. In the traditions cherished by the old men of Georgia the fame of his father as a successful criminal lawyer and as a political debater on the hustings is not exceeded by that of any one of the great men who were his contemporaries. He is thought by many to have been the equal in many respects of

76

Address ofMr. Lawson of Georgia.

Toombs, Stephens, Johnson, and Cobb, who subsequently

attained to the zenith of their fame.

Senator COLQUITT, descended from such a father, and

inheriting many of his personal traits, it is said, was also

the recipient of a liberal education, having graduated from

Princeton, a college which at that period stood in the

front ranks of the institutions of learning and which

yet preserves a high reputation. After his graduation he

espoused the profession of the law, and no one probably

ever had spread out before him a future more fruitful of

splendid achievements and honorable successes.

Judging from his industry, singleness of purpose, and

consecration to duty, as manifested in his subsequent

career, we may assume that he would have become an

ornament to his profession had he submitted to its severe

exactions and worshiped at the shrine of Justice instead of

Mars. But the literature of Coke and Blackstone and the

search for dull and musty precedents could not enchain his

ardent temperament and martial spirit when the music of

drum and fife summoned patriots to arms.

Laying aside his law books and foregoing the laurels

to be won before courts and juries, he hurried to Mexico,

where the honor of his country and the chivalry of its

soldierv ^

were

to

be

sustained

and

illustrated

on

the

field

of

battle. Bravely and gallantly performing his part in this

arena and flushed with the victories that everywhere

crowned the American arms, at the close of the war he

returned to his native State, and instead of resuming his

chosen profession preferred rather the peaceful though no

less dignified occupation of farming.

Nothing recorded in ancient or modern history is com

parable to the ease and luxury enjoyed by a Southern

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

77

planter at that period. His happy condition elicited the envy of the world, an envy which many mistook for phi lanthropy. To be the proprietor of broad and fertile acres, cultivated by African slaves who never felt the severities of cold, hunger, and nakedness, as do many of the suffering poor of the present day, who gave themselves to the pleas ures of to-day without bestowing a thought on the needs of to-morrow, who never suffered the lack of any substan tial good, whose happiness and contentment were only surpassed by the bounteous hospitality that nourished them, and whose love and devotion to the master were only equaled by that of his children, was indeed a princely heritage.
Such was the happy fortune of Senator COLQUITT in his early manhood and until the suffrages of a free and confid ing constituency called him while yet a young man to rep resent them in the House of Representatives of the United States. Having honorably discharged the duties required in that station he, unlike the ambitious statesmen of the present day, declined to serve them longer, preferring the "quiet shades of a private life." Here in pastoral sim plicity and in the felicity of domestic and social virtues he spent the passing years until a strenuous call to a higher duty bade him renounce the pleasures of home and fire side to enter upon an arena of more arduous effort.
When he, in common with all Georgians, became con vinced that the Government of our fathers was about to be overthrown and the principles of liberty ingulfed in the mad tide of fanaticism then raging, and unhappily not entirely yet subsided, he yielded to the manly instincts of his nature and urged upon his countrymen the propriety

78

Address ofMr. Lawson of Georgia.

of a peaceable secession from those with whom they could not live in honorable equality and amity. The wisdom and rectitude of his conduct in this matter is left without further remark to the judgment of future generations and impartial history. His countrymen with one accord fol lowed his advice, and when it was perceived that the great questions then at issue must be submitted to the arbitra ment of arms he was among the first to enlist in a cause then supposed to be not only just but in accord with every principle of liberty and of a righteous self-defense.
Entering the Confederate army as a captain, he passed through all gradations successively until he reached the rank of majors-general, and in all gradations and at all times scrupulously performed all the duties of a soldier and a patriot. Of his military record it is unnecessary to say more. Suffice it that he never shrank from the hard ships of the camp nor shunned danger in the field, and that his skill in "plucking victory from defeat" was so conspicuously displayed on one occasion as to win for him the title of the "Hero of Olustee." His devotion never, wavered until the Confederacy ceased to be numbered among the nations of the earth; its prodigies of achieve ment availed not its triumph, but won for it an epitaph of lofty sentiment.

No nation e'er rose so white and fair, Nor fell so pure of crime.

Returning after defeat, he resumed his occupation of farming. But its former pleasures and happiness had van ished. The prosperity that rested on the blossoming fields and plenteous harvests of the South had departed. The silent specters of ruin and desolation mocked the eye on

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

79

every hand. Yet Senator COLQUITT, with the same hero ism that marked his military career, set abont the reha bilitation of his desolated country. His countrymen, recognizing liis zeal in the promotion of agriculture and confiding in his wisdom and fidelity, called him to the presidency of their State Agricultural Society. His field of usefulness was thus widened; his wise counsels, deriving authority and dignity from his official position, were more potential, whereby a braver and more intelligent spirit was infused into the community of planters. New life and hope sprang up, and under the auspices of that society the agriculture of Georgia has been advanced until it will compare favorably with any State in the Union.
From the head of that society Senator COLQUITT was elected to the chief magistracy of the State for two suc cessive terms the first term without opposition. In that great office, as everywhere, he held the confidence of the
*
people. They believed him to be honest, they knew he was loyal; and hence they trusted him. He did not disappoint them. Their interests were secure in his keeping. His administration of that high office was untarnished, and if he committed mistakes they were of the head and not of the heart. His purpose was always to do right.
At the close of his second term as governor he was elected to the Senate of the United States, and reelected at the expiration of his term. The people demanded his con tinual advancement in office, but no elevation of station ever raised him so high that he forgot them. It was in their service and during a session of the Congress that he suffered a stroke of paralysis that eventually removed him from the stage of action. But notwithstanding his disability, and

8o

Address ofMr. Lawson of Georgia.

though suffering intensely physically, he stood at the post of duty with unwavering fealty until death carried him hence. He died with his armor on, and truly it may be said of him, as of the heavenly orbs
The stars go down To rise on some fairer shore,
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown They shine for evermore.
Mr. Speaker, the life of such a man is a benediction to mankind. Reared in affluence, occupying by inheritance the highest social position, and through a long life the favored child of fortune, he was simple and unaffected in habits, courtly and gracious in manners, stainless in private life, robust in manly virtues, adorned with the Christian graces, lofty in his aspirations, and responsive to every duty. These accomplishments constituted the ideal man.
It is true that he was a politician. He had a profound knowledge of the people and their modes of thought, the subtle motives that influence them, and the agencies by which they are controlled. He saw from afar the coming changes in political sentiment and action, and thus was enabled to guide where he could not control the political activities of the people. He felt a deep and earnest sym pathy with the people and sincerely desired to promote every agency that would conduce to their advantage and improvement. In this he was perhaps as disinterested as the frailty of our nature will permit us to be.
He was also a partisan a true and loyal Democrat. He had a supreme conviction of the rectitude of its principles and of .the adaptation of those principles to every political exigency. He could not be neutral, nor was it possible to persuade him that any tenet in opposition to Democratic

Life and Character of Alfred Holt ColquitL

81

principles could be sound. He might tolerate, but could not sanction any principle of the opposition. For these reasons his party confided in and loved and honored him. No man could supplant him in their affections. To the last hour of his life they were as loyal to him as he was to them. The calamity that befell him overwhelmed them with grief, and for months prior to his demise they joyfully welcomed every rumor indicating the probable restoration of his health.
Senator COLQUITT espoused and daily exemplified the sublime doctrines of the Christian religion. They were an anchor to his faith, both sure and steadfast His pro fession was not put on for display; it was not a garment to be worn and laid aside at pleasure; it was the symbol of a deep and earnest conviction that had become ingrained and integrated with his character. He inculcated these doctrines from the rostrum and the pulpit, and illustrated them in his arduous efforts in aid and encouragement of every religious and educational movement.
In office Senator COLQUITT " pursued the noiseless tenor of his way." He did not court notoriety nor shun respon sibility, but was equal to the discharge of every duty. He may not have been the intellectual equal of some of his con temporaries, yet in sublime loyalty to duty, in undaunted moral and physical courage, and in full consecration to the interests of his people and country he had no superiors.
The memory of his beneficent deeds and noble achieve ments will be fondly cherished by the citizens of his native State, while his lofty character and enduring fame remain the heritage of mankind.
S Mis 153 6

82

Address of Mr. Wheeler of Alabama.

ADDRESS OF MR. WHEELER OF ALABAMA.
Mr. SPEAKER: The special details of the life and services of the eminent Senator whose memory we are here to-day to commemorate should be left to those of his State who have had the honor and privilege of a life-long association, and I shall only speak of him as he was known to the people of his neighboring States.
The distinguished Senator from Georgia, ALFRED HOLT CoLQTJiTT, was a great and a good man. In all the exi gencies of life he adorned and graced every position he was called upon to occupy. He was eminently one of those men who did his full duty in every activity in which it pleased God to place him.
When the shadow of death passed over his form there ended a blameless career, a life consecrated to the cause of Christianity, to the good of the people of his State and to the entire country. Whether bravely leading his soldiers to victory on the plains of Mexico or engaging in almost continuous battle as a major-general in the late war, he conducted himself with most admirable and untiring forti tude. As governor of the State he loved so well, or repre senting her people in this Hall of Congress of in the Senate Chamber of the United States, he was always the same, conscientious and devoted in the discharge of his every duty, and both by teaching and by example doing all in his

power to fill the fullest measure of his calling. As a general he successfully sought to inspire the brave
men he led to the exercise of the highest type of courage;

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt. 83
as a statesman he used the strongest efforts to add to the happiness and prosperity of his fellow-beings, and as a citi zen he exerted the great influence he possessed to create a religious and moral sentiment among those who had the good fortune to enjoy his association.
General COLQUITT possessed an abiding and unquestion ing faith in the immortality of the soul taught by the Christian religion, and believed that a life spent in elevat ing the moral character and promoting the happiness and welfare -of his fellow-beings would in the world to come realize the promises to the good and faithful servants of our Lord. To a man like this death could have no ter rors, but would come as the beginning of eternal happi ness. The grave could have no sting, but be the open door to a better, a perfect, and everlasting life.
His death is an irreparable loss to his devoted family, to his State, which loved and honored him, and to his entire country, which so sorely needs the services of such men as ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT.

Address ofMr. Tate of Georgia.
ADDRESS OF MR. TATE.
Mr. SPEAKER: The announcement made on the occasion of Abner's death, "Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?" could have been truthfully said of ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, late Senator from Georgia, when he died.
From young manhood Senator COLQUITT, by his noble traits of character, generous impulses, and acknowledged ability, caught the attention of the people and grew in their confidence and esteem to the day of his death. He was a born political leader. His political services to his State began in 1849 SLS assistant secretary of the State sen ate, and in 1853, wnen scarcely thirty years of age, he was elected a Representative in Congress. He was a member of the secession convention of his State, and was a member of the committee that drafted the ordinance of secession when Georgia seceded.
He was an officer with the rank of major in the Mexican war of 1845. When the war of 1861 broke out he organ ized the first regiment of Georgia troops. His war record was that of a fearless and brave officer who always marched at the head of his men. He won his most signal victory in Florida, which gave him a place among the leading generals of the Confederacy, and conferred upon him the title of " Hero of Olustee." As ALFRED H. COLQUITT was great in war, so he was great in peace, and great in the hearts of his countrymen. At the close of the war Senator COLQUITT returned to his farm.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 85

In 1876 he was nominated by his party for governor, and was elected by 77,854 majority. He administered the

affairs of his State as chief executive with ability, pru

dence, and economy.

It was during his administration that the constitutional

convention of 1877 was held* an(l the present constitution

of Georgia is the work of that convention.

About the close of his first term an attack was made on

him for having indorsed certain railroad bonds. It was this
criticism that brought from him the remarkable letter of

which the following is a part:

Nothing but a thorough sifting of my every motive and act in regard to these

bonds, as far as human insight and judgment can reach these, can satisfy ag

grieved honor or give such entire assurance to the people of Georgia as they have

a right to demand in the premises. To a man who values his good name far

more than his life, it would be an act of supremest injustice to deny the most

plenary vindication rendered in the most august and authoritative form known to

the law or to public opinion.

My denunciations of an awful and stupendous slander, forged and uttered to

dishonor me, will not be enough. The gemral assembly of this State is appealed

to for that justice which, while it will, I know full'well, exonerate me as a man,

will also vindicate the fair fame of Georgia assailed by cruel slanders on her chief

executive.

ALFRED H. COLQUITT.

An investigation by a joint committee of the house and

senate of Georgia followed, and Governor COLQUITT was

fully vindicated and exonerated.

Following soon upon this came the resignation from the United States Senate of the brilliant, chivalric, and patri

otic Gordon, and the appointment to the Senate by Gov ernor COLQUITT of that great and able statesman, Joseph

E. Brown.

The convention to nominate Governor COLQUITT's suc

cessor met in Atlanta on the 4th of August, 1880. This

convention lasted more than a week. During this time no

86

Address ofMr. Tate of Georgia.

candidate received the two-thirds vote necessary under the rules of that convention to nominate, although Governor COLQUITT lacked only a few votes of this two-thirds. After more than a week's balloting a resolution was adopted by the majority of that convention presenting Governor COLQUITT to the people of Georgia as the choice of the con vention. The minority presented Hon. T. M. Norwood; and then followed one of the bitterest political contests in the history of the State. During this contest Governor COLQUITT'S eloquent voice rang out in almost every county in the State, and he was reelected governor by more than 50,000 majority.
In 1883 Governor COLQUITT was elected to the United States Senate, and was reelected in 1889.
During his long political career he made an able and devoted representative of his State.
Few men possessed the magnetism of Senator Coi,QTJITT. A man of fine physique, handsome face, com manding presence, frank and cordial manners, he made a lasting impression upon every one he met, and no son of Georgia during his political career was more beloved and admired by his people and State. He was prominent in church as well as state; all over this broad land of ours he was noted for his piety and Christian character. He took a great interest in Sunday school work, in the temperance cause, and in everything that would tend to promote the spiritual welfare of his fellow-man. He wrought

\Yith human hands, the creed of creeds, Tn loveliness of perfect deeds.

His domestic life was an ideal one; surrounded by a devoted helpmate, who for years had shared the joys and

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 87
sorrows, the triumphs and trials, of her distinguished hus band, the lovely and accomplished daughters, who cared for, ministered to, and almost idolized their father it was indeed a model household. As a devoted husband, affec tionate father, and loyal friend Senator COLQUITT had no superiors, and to his only son he has left a heritage far more precious than gold an honored name and a spotless character.
His life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, " This was a man!"
Although stricken by disease, he remained at his post of duty; even when unable to walk he could be seen almost daily being wheeled in his invalid chair across the Cap itol grounds to and from the Senate Chamber. When his manly form was emaciated from excruciating suffering and he was almost a shadow of his former self, then his trust in his Heavenly Father was sublime! His faith never wavered. Like Job, he could exclaim, " Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." And when most men would have remained away, he, despite pain and suffering, dis charged the duties of his office almost to the very day of his death.
Sir, when the history of the times in which ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT lived is reviewed there will be no brighter page than that which records the brilliant career and emi nent services he rendered his State and country.
In the land he loved, 'neath the blue Southern skies he loved, under the sod he loved, in beautiful Rose Hill Cem etery, we have buried him. While he sleeps the sleep that knows no waking, his memory will be kept fresh

88

Address ofMr. Tate of Georgia.

by loving and loyal hearts, while his spirit rejoices with angels in the presence of his God.

Can that man be dead

Whose spiritual influence is upon his kind ?

i

He lives in glory; and his speaking dust

Has more of life than half its breathing molds.

;*
jt
!
\i \-
I!
:I

II

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

89

ADDRESS OF MR. GROSVENOR.
Mr. SPEAKER: It is a matter which has caused a great deal of comment in the North tnat the people of the South should have so persistently put forward for political prefer ment the men who fought against the Union in the great war of the rebellion. Common gratitude and common com radeship for the men who stood together in a great contest like that scarcely explains the steady persistence with which the people of the South have heaped honors almost exclu sively upon the men of the South who fought in that great war on their side. Because, notwithstanding the general principles of comradeship to which I have referred, there intervenes always the ambition of men to hold high office and to occupy the positions of leadership, which overcomes the sentiment of gratitude, and leads to division at least of the honors and emoluments of public favor.
And yet during all these years, now a period of a full average generation of men, we find the people of the South have made a record of unflinching loyalty to the men who fought for their cause, and have selected them for leader ship in peace and to receive the honors of civil life.
But when you come to make something more than a cursory and imperfect examination of the record it trans pires that there have been later events and more recent conditions which are more satisfactory in explaining the circumstances to which I have referred.
The men who in 1865, returning from the fruitless effort for Southern independence, laid hold upon the shattered

90

Address ofMr. Grosvenor of Ohio.

fragments of material things in the South and led in the first demonstrations of effort to retrieve the unfortunate past are the men, after all, to whom the loyalty and love of the people of the South have been manifested. It is a fact that the men who gathered together these broken frag ments and pushed forward on the line of rehabilitation were in large part the men who fought for the overthrow of the Union and the establishment of the Confederacy, for it is true, and has been over and over again admitted and never successfully denied, that in the great cotton States of the South there was but a vestige of loyalty to the Union when war was actually precipitated, and there was a great per centage of the men of that section who went with all the force of their abilities into the war of the rebellion. It was a popular demonstration. It may not have been the result of calm and deliberate judgment. It certainly was the out break of a fury of error. We have ceased to call the great rebellion a crime because it is not wise to promote and per petuate sectional strife, and we join heartily, we of the North, in declaring that no more shall

The war clouds sever, Nor the winding river be red,

and that we will from henceforth and forever, proud of our own loyalty to the Government, remindful of the men who stood on our side of the battle, waive all crimination and recrimination, and work together for the obliteration of the wounds of the past. Waiving nothing of our love for loyalty, yielding nothing of our denunciation for disloyalty in the abstract, we will nevertheless do what we can to obliterate all excepting the lessons of the past. Those we must cherish.

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt.

91

But what a task lay before the people of the South! The men of the North returned to their homes amid the acclaims of millions who joined to do them honor for hav ing stood by the Union; and the shouts of triumph,.the cheers for victory, were the sweetest notes of their recep tion. And they found no desolation of homes. There were hearts broken; there were dismembered families and ruined firesides, the homes of parents and children, wives, mothers, and sweethearts; but there was a restored country and the triumph of loyalty and the prosperity of material things.
How was it with the men of the South, conquered in battle? I can not discuss the why or the wherefore. I will not admit the Southern claim that it was because of numbers, nor will I taunt the Southern man with the claim so often put up that it was our superior fighting qualities; nor will I yet in this presence and in this connection proclaim that it was solely and alone the judg ment and wisdom of Almighty God arrayed on our side. I will not waive the honors due to my comrades for having earned the magnificent victory by ascribing it to the inev itable and overshadowing power of the Almighty. Driven to an expression upon that question, I would insist that the valor of my countrymen, the integrity of my comrades, had something to do with the victory, however much Divine Providence may have willed our success. The great work was not alone due to either influence.
But the returning Union man found his rooftree still over his head. He found the material prosperity of his section practically unimpaired, and in many instances enormously enhanced. He found the machinery of Government in

1

92

Address ofMr. Grosvenor of Ohio.

full operation, and no uncertainty as to the future status

of the citizen.

How was it with the Southern men? Thousands found

their homesteads gone. Tens of thousands found them

I

selves bankrupt and practically ruined. They found

anarchy instead of government. They found desolation

instead of prosperity. They found the civil government

destroyed. They found uncertainty everywhere. A few

of their leaders ran--fled from the country. They found a

condition, to summarize, without further detail, such as was

sufficient to overwhelm with despair the stoutest-hearted

men. The men who had with unparalleled chivalry fol

lowed the leadership of others into the rebellion stood

demanding that the leaders who had precipitated the rebel

lion should devise some means of extrication from the con

ditions that surrounded them. Those of us who were in

the South when the war had ended will join in saying that

the wisest statesman, the most courageous citizen, would

have been helpless to have attempted to devise a scheme

of extrication that would have merited and received the

approbation of any considerable number of the people. A

proud-spirited people had first to make its suggestion in

the light of its material overthrow upon the battlefield,

and then it had to hear from the victorious other side as to

what would be acceptable as terms of peace.

It may be said that the condition of war was one of

awful responsibility and awful perplexity; but I say that

the period of reconstruction was a period of greater per

plexity and greater uncertainty to the honest men of both

sides than was the condition of war. In war time we knew

what we were to do. We were to march and bivouac and

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 93
fight In reconstruction times the wisest did not know what to do. No rule of law hitherto decided applied to the questions of that hour or had wise application to the conditions surrounding us.
Had we been dealing with our enemies there would have been no trouble. The laws of war fixed the conditions. The conditions should be the will of the victor--the van quished not to be consulted. But they were not our enemies; they were our brethren. Our future was bound up in their future. If we were to prosper in the future they must prosper in the future; if they were to be crushed in tht future we were to suffer for that. I maintain that the great wisdom shown by the dominant party in this country in the treatment of these great questions is to-day, looking back on it in the light of all its imperfections, an exhibition of profound statesmanship.
But what of the men of the South ? They were driven to rebuild their destroyed homes, and to them was assigned the task of reconstructing State governments. Theirs to bring back into the symmetry of governmental organiza tion the fragments that they found around them. The leaders were to inspire hope, confidence, and patriotism in the minds of the overthrown. They were to teach the men who returned from the battlefields that despair was not the attitude commensurate with American character. They were to rally the great body of the people of the South to bring forth out of the ashes around them, phoenixlike, if possible, a new South and a new American form of government. How well they have done this time will tell.
There is one thing that they have 'done that we know now: they have organized the Southern section of the

94

Address ofMr. Grosvenor of Ohio.

United States to be loyal and true to the American flag-- loyal and faithful to the Constitution of the Union. Ready and willing, now and always, to protect and defend and vindicate the American flag. That they have accomplished this with the surrounding conditions is a testimonial to the character of the men who did it that my words can not improve upon.
Little wonder, then, it is that the people of the South idolize, not alone nor especially the men who led them in battle, but they idolize and worship the men who, out of the fire of battle, out of the smoke and carnage of war, came forth to gather up and lead the people of the South along the pathway they have traveled; and looking about them now upon the peaceful homes of the South, the ex altation of law and order and good government, the oblit eration of that blighting curse of slavery, the restitution of the law of the land, the erection of splendid educational institutions, the building up of industries, the growth of national pride and national loyalty, is it any wonder that the men of the South turn to the men who led them through' this Red Sea of trouble out into the Promised Land of happiness and prosperity?
ALFRED HOLT COLOUITT was one of these leaders. He had taken an active and brilliant share in the war for the overthrow of the Union. Misled as he was, his conduct upon the field of battle, in common with the brave men of his section, will ever be a monument to the success of the armies of the people of the North. When we applaud our own courage, our own chivalry, our own success, in the light of Gettysburg and Chickamauga and Vicksburg and Shiloh and Peach Tree Creek and Fort Fisher, we

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt.

95

eulogize the courage, the chivalry, and the devotion of Our enemies.
COLQUITT was a citizen soldier, but he believed in war as an arbitrator. He fought in the Mexican war, and shed luster upon the escutcheon of his native State. He foujght in the war of the rebellion, and sacrificed wealth, ease, and everything upon the altar of a mistaken loyalty to the South. He was one of the first to recognize surrounding conditions; and however heroic he may have been at Olustee, however gallant upon the battlefields of Mexico, his gallantry in those actions counts for little to me as com pared with the heroic efforts he made to restore good gov ernment to his State after the war. He was one of the gallant leaders of that return to good sense, good govern ment, and prosperity. He was one of the men who took hold of the burning brands and extinguished the flames. He was one of the men who rallied the insurgents from lethargy, from despair, from vindictiveness, and gathered them into organized bands of citizens returning to loyalty; doing the work of loyalists; laying their hands upon the structure they had sought to tear down to build it up; bringing the stones they had taken out of the temple, and replacing them therein; coming back with the flag they had sought to dishonor--bringing it back as the flag of their country. I accord to the dead Senator my meed of praise, and I wonder not that in the politics of his own great Kmpire State of the South he was more invincible than the greatest leader of the rebellion was invincible on the battlefield.
Men of the United States--my countrymen--over the bier of this dead statesman, this heroic insurgent in the hour

1
Address ofMr. Grosvenor of Ohio. of'rebellion, I stand to accord to his memory a word, a tribute of honest congratulation. In the South his mem ory will be ever endeared by all the phases of his life and all the epochs of his career; and in the North, drawing the. veil of oblivion upon the one epoch, his fame as an American citizen will be ever cherished as a part of the history of the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I join with the gallant sons of Georgia in dropping a tear of love and affection upon the new-made grave of ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT.

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt. 97
ADDRESS OF MR. MADDOX.
Mr. SPEAKER: I was appointed one of the committee to escort the remains of that great statesman, Senator ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, back to his native State, where he was so beloved and honored.
We arrived in Atlanta, Ga., just as the day was begin ning to dawn and the bright, red sun began to peep from behind the clouds, and it looked as if it was to do special honor to his memory. It was a beautiful morning, prom ising just the kind of day Senator COLQUITT would have chosen to shine on his fair, sunny Southland, of which he was so proud; and as the train rolled into Atlanta there was deathly silence in the special cars, for nearly all on board were wrapped in slumber; but pretty soon there was a stir in the cars, and the people began to gather around the depot to do honor to their distinguished dead. At 8 o'clock the remains were taken with loving hands and tear-dimmed eyes from the train, and, headed by the gov ernor and his staff, the procession moved off to the State capitol, where the body was to lie in state.
There never was in the history of the State such a funeral as this, where everybody was given holiday that they might do honor to the remains of her most distin guished son. Thousands of people came to get a last look at the face they loved and had honored in life and for whose death the whole State was weeping and mourning and would not be comforted. Would to God he could have risen from the dead and seen this picture! It would have
o
S Mis 153----7

98

Address ofMr. Maddox of Georgia.

made his bosom swell with pride to see and to know that his memory was so honored by his people, for whom and in whose service he had given the greater part of his life.
After the people had taken a look at him they would go into the legislative hall, where memorial services were being held. The galleries and hall were packed with people straining every nerve to catch each word that was said in eulogy of their great leader, and even standing room was hard to obtain. Many people in the audience recalled the time when he was a member of that body which holds its sessions in the hall where his body lay, and where his elo quent voice once rang out in the interest of his people. It was indeed a grand sight to witness this scene, and it is one that I will never forget. Would to God that I had the lan guage to describe it, but my feeble words can not give the estimation and high esteem in which he was held by his people.
After the memorial exercises were over he was borne with loving hands back to the depot and his remains were placed upon the train and carried to Macon,- where a more im pressive funeral never occurred. In that city he had spent some of the happiest years of his life from young man hood to old age and had grown to be one of Georgia's brightest stars, -whose fame was known over the entire country. In the quietude of the still afternoon, unmarred by a single cloud in the sky overhead, and everything in solemn accord with the sad occasion, the remains of Sena tor COLQUITT, under the shadow of a lone magnolia on the banks of the Ocmulgee, in the presence of a vast con course of Georgians, was tenderly laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery.

'* '*
?;V-
iV * '' *-..
-""-' *

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Co/qtittt. 99

The immortal spirit of ALFRED H. COLQUITT has gone to God, who gave, while what we call life has passed through the valley of Death, and awaits the resurrection morn.
It can .truthfully be said of him that a great man has fallen, but his good deeds will live after him as the great est monument that can be erected to his memory and for others to emulate.

There is no death; but angel forms Walk o'er the earth with silent tread;
They bear our best loved things away, And then we call them "dead."

*

.



Mr. Speaker, I incorporate as part of my remarks the ad

dresses made by our new governor, the chief justice, and Dr.

Candler, one of our most distinguished educators and min

isters, which will show the estimation in which Senator CoLQUiTT was held in his native State.

* ' ' ~ .. ' T . - *. *

<

'.

V ..;/., REMARKS OF GOVERNOR NORTHEN.

.-..''-''.."

-

.: ' .

Governor Northen said:

"We stand to-day at the end of a great and useful life.

" Men are great not so much because of what they do for themselves as be

cause of what they do for others.

"Senator COLQUITT was great because he was good. Senator COLQUITT'S life

was useful, because it was lived for humanity, for his country, and for God.

** How very solemn is death, how very still and quiet and silent is the grave!

. " All men must die. Whatever their condition, their influence, their position,

or power of their life, you and I and all men must die and leave behind either a

stainless record for love and peace or a wicked record for strife and for sin.

"To the pure and beautiful record of love and peace left to us by our distin

guished dead we have assembled to pay our final tribute before giving his body to

the silence of the tomb. . .

..

. " To do this it is fitting that the pastor of the church of which he was a devoted

and godly member, the mayor of the city of which he was an honored resi

dent, and the representatives of the Commonwealth whose highest honors he has

deservedly \yorn, should testify to his strong Christian . character, his usefulness

^^.^''Vj'v-^v-;*

.

100

Address ofMr. Maddox of Georgia.

as a rfrirfn, his splendid devotion to country as a patriot, and his distinguished

ability as a statesman.

-

-

*

"The circumstances of the occasion will not allow me more than a simple

of the fStrPMt^ of his character and the sentiment with which he was

regarded by his people.

.

"Visiting a distant Slate some years ago, a prominent officer of the Federal

Army said to me, *TeH me something of the public men of Georgia.' As I told

him of the record of this man and the reputation of that one, I finally readied

die name of our disri"g"*h*d beloved dead.

"He interrupted me to say that the first time he saw Senator COLQUITT was

upon the field of the battle in Mexico. ' I remember him,' he said, ' distinctly,

and can see him now, his handsome lace, his manly bearing, his soldierly devotion

to his dory. 1 have watched his long career, have been proud- of his great repu

tation, have admired his patriotism and devotion to his State; but I never think

of the grand man to-day without recollecting the handsome face and soldierly

bearing of the gallant young hero in the Mexican war.'

"I thought of the soldierly man as we followed his dead body,

silently behind him, and felt that not only we, but the people of the whole State

and of the entire South, were stricken with sorrow by the great loss, and that the

hearts of all his people were filled with sympathy for those who so dearly loved

him.

"But if I should attempt to speak at length of his character it is not of his sol

dierly bearing and handsome, calm face in the midst of danger that I would speak.

There was something in the life of the man that impressed me more.

.

When I first knew Senator CbujurrT there was no war, it was peace. I knew

him at his home. I knew him in his life among his neighbors, and what a splendid

example his life was to others.

"Just one imtanrr, When he was first chosen to the high position he held at

his death, he invited several neighbors, myself among the number, to his home

just before he left for Washington. The evening was pleasantly spent, and when

it was closed it was not in hilarious revelry, but the great man whom we honcr

to-day took from the table the word of God and read from it appropriate passages,

and then said: '.Let us pray.* And there in the presence of his neighbors, some

of whom were already distinguished in public life, this man of God got down on

his knees and invoked the blessing of Heaven upon his fellow-men and himself!

He was going forth and in new scenes, and would be subject to new temptations,

He prayed that God would keep him for Himself.

'

. "Now, if I had time to pay tribute to the dead, it would not be to the soldier,

the hero; it would not be to his commanding intellect, far-reaching, comprehen

sive, and strong; it would not be to his patriotism, that awakened the hearts of

his people to purer thoughts, higher aspirations, better life, and nobler purposes;

but it would be to his high Christian character, an example for all men, especially

for men in public life and in power.

"Thank God for the beautiful Christian life of our beloved dead!'"

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 101
REMARKS OF CHIEF JUSTICE BLECKLEY.
Chief Justice Bleckley followed Governor Northen, saying:
" When we gaze at death through our emotions and relate it in our thoughts to survivors and their bereavement, it suggests inexorable calamity, irreparable loss, and is always somber and sorrowful. But seen by the intellect, in the calm light and clear atmosphere of reason, and reacted in our thoughts to the departed, it often suggests gain and glory, and seems grand and beautiful. Thus may we look at it on the present occasion. For a few moments let our hearts be still, our eyes be dry; let our regrets be moderated and our sympathies restrained. Behold death as a beneficence, a benediction! There is no felicity greater, no fortune bet ter than to be old enough and good enough to die. This is the true end for all to aim at--for all to pursue from the beginning to the close of life. To be good and to become old in goodness is the interest, as well as the duty, of every man to whom the privilege of so doing is accorded. He who succeeds in this has true success, and needs no other, for in this everything worthy of permanent estima tion is comprehended. Whether his sphere of duty be high or low, wide or nar row, easy or difficult, he who fits himself to his place, fills it, meets its responsi bilities and discharges its obligations, persevering faithfully through the spring and summer and autumn of life, failing not till winter comes, is ready to die. Aud his death, viewed in the radiance that streams upon it from his finished life, is beautiful.
"Your own minds will make the right application of these remarks to the statesman, the soldier, the patriot, the citizen, the neighbor, the friend, the great Georgian whose ashes are now here to honor by their solemn presence for a few hours the capitol of his native State. With the waning of one more moon his years would have numbered three-score and ten; nor was he less mature in good ness than he was in age. He, if any man, was qualified to die and was eligible to that invisible convocation, the celestial senate, which no candidate can reach save by passing through the valley of the shadow of death."
REMARKS OF REV. DR. CANDLER.
After Chief Justice Bleckley had resumed his seat Rev. Warren A. Candler, president of Emory College, arose and spoke as follows:
"To-day we bury out of sight the mortal remains of a most extraordinary man. No common man could have achieved what Senator ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT has accomplished.
"For more than forty years his people have loved and trusted him, and now he falls to sleep the best beloved son of this Commonwealth. Once he declined office, but he was never defeated when he asked the sufirages of his countrymen.
" The people are good judges of men. The masses do not long continue to give their confidence to a man unable or unworthy to serve them. They may be capti vated for a day and gain favor when it is little deserved, but the reaction comes and they punish with distinctive indifference or scornful indignation the objects of their misplaced confidence. But this man they have honored with unwavering

102

Address of Mr. Maddox of Georgia.

trust for nearly fifty years. He was a very tribune of the people. Few men in our day have shown more ability to arouse the people and attach them to his fortunes.
" What did they find in him to enthrall so perfectly their admiration and love? " It was not by the captivating power of bold and original thinking. In church and state he took pride in standing for well-accepted doctrines, and he was the implacable foe of novelties. The old safeguards of constitutional liberty and the old Bible and the old-fashioned religion were dear to his brave heart. " He was intellectual, but the strength of his mind was put forth in the de fense of well-known truths rather than in the discovery of new principles. He ennobled even common-place truth with the royalty of his devotion and the dignity of his utterance. "At last had not this feature of his character much to do with his winning and holding the confidence of the people so long ? The masses very wisely trust with most assurance not the man whose mind puts forth new and subtle presentations or supposed truth, but the man to whom well-accepted principles are dear as life. The truth we really need to know is not so difficult of apprehension as many sup pose. We can always know what is right, and he is most worthy of trust to whom the homeliest virtues seem most sacred and heroic. As Emerson truly says, 6 The world is upheld by the veracity of such men. They make the earth whole some. They who live with them find life glad and nutritious/ "Such a man was the good man whom we mourn to-day. With Kingsley, he believed 'the first and last business of every human being, whatever his station, party, creed, capacity, tastes, or duties, is morality; virtue, virtue, always virtue. Nothing that man will ever invent will absolve him from the universal necessity of being good as God is good, righteous as God is righteous, holy as God is holy/ He elevated the tone of public life in this State during the days he went in and out before us. For this the people trusted him, and they were right. " For this further reason they loved him: He was rich in broad human sym pathies. He loved the common people with a true heart fervently. With him it was no affectation of demagogy, but the spontaneous affection of a noble sou! permeated by the spirit of the Divine Man of whom it was said 'the common people heard him gladly. 7 Descended from patrician stock, well educated at one of the richest universities of our country at a time when educated men were less common among us than now, early possessed of the leisure and comfort of a wealthy planter, had he been less great than he was he would have been more exclusive, despising, or coldly condescending to the people. But, great and true hearted as he was, he loved them, and bestowed all his rich gifts on efforts to serve them. None were beneath his brotherly kindness and tender consideration. The lowliest were his especial care. But yesterday a venerable minister gave me, in tearful accents, an account of how this princely man, away back in the fifties, walked as guide and friend among his slaves in Baker County teaching the word of God. " Much has been said in disparagement of the type of civilization which pre vailed in this section of our common country before the war. It was doubtless

Life and Character of Alfred Holt Colquitt. 103
open to fair criticism at many points. But when we see as the fruit of it such men as our lamented friend, knightly and Christian, in an unchivalric age, we can not justly refuse to acknowledge it had also many excellences.
"Although he adapted himself to the changed conditions of our times with graceful compliance and was the ardent friend of all true progress, he was never theless to the last a gentleman of the old school. And how admirable!
"< The elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, "This was a man." '
"Gentle and brave, humble and loving, daring and tender, he illustrated in public and in private life, in peace and in war, the noblest traits of mental and
moral worth. " It is but just to say that while he was not unknown to the masses of his
people before the war between the States he greatly endeared himself to them and increased his reputation with them by the brave part he bore in that contest. They could not count it a small or ignoble thing that, like the brave sons of Israel of whom Deborah said, he 'jeoparded his life in the high places* on their behalf and in support of their sentiments. The blood must first be corrupted in their veins before they can hold such services cheap or neglect to repay them with honor. That one should face death daily for four long years at the bidding of his people is no small thing, and the fidelity which has been tried so as by fire
may not be lightly esteemed. " It was therefore no strange thing that his people, when the war was over,
honored him with the highest trusts they had to give. Twice they called him to the office of governor, and twice they commissioned him to sit as Georgia's repre sentative in the highest council of the nation, if, indeed, I may not say of Chris tendom. And he never disappointed their confidence. Through weary months he had fought disease with one hand and served with efficiency his people with the other. His conflict and his constancy have been full of pathos. How ear nestly, how tirelessly, how carefully he toiled for them to the end, and amid his work laid down at last when he could go no further. And now that he has fallen asleep, how stainless is his record!
"He has lived during a time when vast fortunes have been easily acquired. He has been placed where a less scrupulous man would have grasped great wealth. But he died poor. I think he was a little proud of his poverty. The last time I saw him he told me with evident enjoyment of the jocose greeting of him by a Western Senator, who, meeting him a few years ago, at Hot Springs, Ark., grasped his hand cordially and said: ' I love to shake the hands of you oldfashioned Southern Senators. You are poor as church mice, and honest as the noonday.' I trust it is not improper to say I wish we may be always delivered from too thrifty statesmen.
"What a noble spectacle was there! An aged man who had spent upward of forty years in his country's service, now worn by disease and straitened in cir cumstances, but radiant with cheerful smiling, honor undisturbed by poverty, undismayed by disease, fearless in the face of death. Surely the powers of the

Address ofMr. Maddox of Georgia.
world to come had gotten bold of him and lifted him to a serene height of Chris tian repose, far above the influence of the powers of the world that now is. This was, indeed, his case, for after all we may say of his many excellences, his crown ing glory was his Christian faith and life. A distinguished jurist said to me yesterday, ' He seemed to be a Christian by nature/ He had no patience with a cap tious skepticism or a patronizing condescension toward the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him it was the holiest verity of life. In the storm of war and in the calm of peace he walked with God. Religion sat naturally upon him, as in charming humility and simplicity he walked among us. The simplest forms of faith were his especial delight. On one occasion I went with him to address a religious assembly. In the order of the exercises I spoke first. When I had fin ished my remarks, and just before he rose to address the meeting, the choir sang one of the sweetest hymns of Watts. It seemed to fill him with holy rapture. When he rose to speak his handsome face shone with supernatural brightness, his lustrous eyes were full of tears, and his utterance was choked with emotion as he said, impulsively: 'Oh, how I love that song. Many a time my mother has sung me to sleep with it when I was a child. And to-day, if I could hear her sing that song it would be a greater joy than if I could hear all the choirs of Heaven.'
"' Alas! and did my Saviour bleed, And did my Sovereign die!
Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I ?'
'' That was the song they sang. Because h is Saviour bled and gave Himself that we might live, this noble man has found at last an eternal home and the vanished hand for which he sighed and the sound of the voice that was hushed so long ago.
" When the inspired tinker of Bedford jail watched home his Christian soldier and saw him with them who walk in white within the gates of pearl, he said with a sob that cries even in the printed page the cry of the homesick 'which when I saw I wished I were among them.' Who among us to-day, after watching this grizzled old soldier home, as he has been fading away from us these months, does not feel as he goes within the gates and meets again the loved and the lost, ' I wish I were among them/ "

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colqiiitt. 105
ADDRESS OF MR. LESTER.
Mr. SPEAKER: We come at this hour to speak a word for our dead. No praise or censure can affect him in memory of whom we lift our voices to-day. The lesson of his life, like the lesson of the lives of all men, is for the living. Merely to have lived and to have died, to have moved through the short span of life, teaches nothing except that fact imprinted on the face of nature to be seen of all men that there is a life and a death. But good deeds and a life that exemplifies the virtuous qualities implanted by the Author of all good in the human mind make that val uable tribute to humanity that gives a life its value to the world, and gives good title to fame and immortality to which men aspire.
Born in the State of Georgia, on the aoth of April, 1824, ALFRED H. COLQUITT, after a lifetime spent upon her soil and in her service, died and was buried among his own people in April, 1894.
The environments of his birth and the circumstances of his childhood were such that he could and did imbibe those social and humanitarian qualities which adorn the neighbor and good citizen and contribute as well to the formation of personal and independent manhood. This character was his by inheritance and education.
In early manhood we find him where his country called him, a soldier fighting with patriotic fervor on the plains of Mexico, and while still young serving his State and country in the Halls of Congress.

io6

Address ofMr. Lester of Georgia.

With his State and his people in soul and sentiment in the great struggle in the war of secession, with much to lose and nothing to gain save to serve the right as he saw it, he met the issue with fortitude and courage, regarding wealth and life only proper sacrifices to his cause. First in the conflict and the last to leave it, as a soldier and as commander of soldiers his record was brilliant and without a blemish. The hard-fought fields of Virginia and the historic battle of Olustee are monuments of his well-earned fame.
Laying aside the implements of war, with nothing saved but honor, the citizen soldier resumed his civic duties with a perfect adjustment to the conditions.
His people called him to their service, and as chief mag istrate of his State he served her for a number of years, and was then delegated a Senator of the United States, where he ended his earthly career on the 6th of April, 1894.
He served his people. They honored him living and mourn him dead. In the pantheon devoted to illustrious memories we place his name.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 107
ADDRESS OF MR: HARRISON.
Mr. SPEAKER: While my physical condition seems to forbid that I should to-day undertake to make remarks on any subject, such was my admiration for the great Sen ator from Georgia that I feel impelled to say at least a few words of one who lived so well and died so nobly.
Born and raised in Georgia, I learned in rny boyhood days to honor the name of Colquitt. The name of Walter T. Colquitt I remember as a "household word." But AL FRED H. COLQUITT it was my privilege to know well. I knew him best as a soldier. During the siege at Charleston, S. C., I was temporarily under his command. On James Island and at Battery Wagner I have seen him when over eight hundred of the heaviest guns then known to the United States Army and Navy were scattering their deadly missiles over the heads of the Confederate forces. Often have I seen his person covered by the smoke and dust of exploding shells; and always when the sea breezes would drive the smoke away, Gen. ALFRED H. COLQUITT could be seen at his post of duty where the firing was heaviest, exhibiting to his devoted soldiers the fact that he asked of them the performance of no duty in which he himself did not personally and conspicuously engage. At the battle of Olustee, in Florida, which the distinguished Senator from Connecticut, General Hawley, ssid, in his speech in the Senate on the 8th of January last, " was the bloodiest battle in which he participated during the war," it was my priv ilege to command a brigade of Georgians, which, together

io8

Address ofMr. Harrison ofAlabama.

with CoLguiTT's brigade and a few detached regiments and batteries, constituted the Confederate forces engaged on that occasion. It was in February, 1864, in the open pine woods of Florida, that I saw General COLQUITT form his brigade and at its head move into action; and for six long hours, seated upon his "old gray," did he, with face to the foe, command and direct, the movements which resulted in a glorious victory to the Confederate arms.
During those "times which tried men's souls" I was much with General COLQTJITT, in camp as well as on the field. I then and there learned not only to admire and honor his gallantry as a soldier, but to love and esteem his beautiful Christian character and his devoted and lofty patriotism. A man of strong convictions, he had the cour age to carry them into execution. A constant follower of his great Redeemer, he so interwove the beautiful Chris tian graces into his character as to render gentle the heart of a soldier and to keep the statesman always a suppliant for Divine guidance and assistance.
Truly a great man has fallen; and Alabama, Georgia's eldest daughter, joins her mother in placing a sprig of acacia on his grave, and would urge the young men of our country to emulate his noble example.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. 109
ADDRESS OF MR. LIVINGSTON.
Mr. SPEAKER: It is to me a pleasing duty to join with my colleagues on this floor in paying this last tribute to Senator ALFRED H. COLQUITT, a noble man, with a noble ancestry. I became intimately acquainted with Senator COLQUITT soon after the close of the late war between the States, when Georgia was devastated, when poverty and disorder ruled throughout our section of the country. It was then I began to admire him and love him. He was a Georgian in every sense of the word; yet his heart was warm enough and his mind broad enough to take in all classes and all sections of this great country.
He was born, Mr. Speaker, in the county adjoining that in which I was born. He lived the greater part of his offi cial life in the Congressional district that I have the honor to represent. I was with him in every political campaign in which he was ever interested after the war. I was with him and for him in each and every one. I knew him, Mr. Speaker, in his private life--at his home, with his family, and with his friends. I knew him in the political caucus. I knew him on the hustings before the people. I knew him in his official life as governor of the State. I knew him before he was governor of Georgia, when he undertook to gather together and lift up, with the help of others, the remnants that were left in that downtrodden section of the country--the South, especially his own State--and under took after the issues of the war were past to revive and restore the prosperity and happiness of that people.

no

Address ofMr. Livingston of Georgia.

Senator COLQUITT, as has been well said, was one of the most remarkable politicians that this country ever pro duced--astute, far-seeing, and far-reaching in his compre hension of political events and their relation to the people and their effect upon the public. Never, perhaps, in his life was he defeated on a political issue when he was directly interested or when he directly controlled it He was a par tisan, as his father as well as his grandfather were before him--strictly a partisan; yet one thing could be said of him in his political relation with parties, that to perhaps the fullest possible extent he was pure in his politics. He was fair and considerate, honorable and just in his political measures and affiliations.
Mr. Speaker, he was very much endeared to the masses of the people of Georgia. No man has lived or died in that State who was nearer to the great heart of the peo ple of that Commonwealth than ALFRED H. COLQUITT. He was kind, he was liberal, he was sympathetic, he was obliging. His very nature warmed up to the demands of the common people. Every sympathy of his heart went out to the suffering, the poor, and the struggling masses of his State. While he was president of the State Agricul tural Society I was intimately associated with him, being an officer under him. And it was remarkable, Mr. Speaker, to see the interest he took in the development of the great agricultural interests of the South. It is remarkable how he could comprehend the details that entered into the reviv ing of that interest in Georgia. It was remarkable to see the personal sacrifices that he made in endeavoring to build up that section and put it once more upon a plane of pros perity and advancement.

Life and Character ofAlfred Holt Colquitt. in
As a citizen, Mr. Speaker, everybody respected him; and none bnt those who were jealous of his power and his greatness dared to criticise him.
His official life has been referred to by some of my colleagues. Everybody in Georgia and everybody in the broad Union, after be became a United States Senator, knew where to find ALFRED H. COLQUITT on any question that presented itself to his mind for a conclusion. And never once--I am proud to say it--either in State action or in his action at the other end of this Capitol, did he desert what he believed to be the true interests of the masses of this country. He was with the people and against the classes. He was for the people first, last, and all the time.
As a Christian gentleman he exercised a wonderful influ ence in my State, and indeed in this entire country-- indeed, sir, his name in that relation extended all over this world of ours. He is known to-day in China and Japan; he is reverenced and respected in England and Germany and France for the interest that he took in moral and reli gious reformations and enterprises. He was a man, Mr. Speaker, whom to know was to love. In his most inti mate and private relations--and that is where we can best judge of the true man--he was always ready to do the right thing and to battle against what he believed to be wrong.
He lived for those that loved him, For those that knew him true,
For heaven bright above him, And for the good he could do.
For the cause that needed assistance, For the wrongs that lacked resistance, For the future in the distance,
And for the good he could do.

H2

Address ofMr. Livingston of Georgia.

The SPEAKER. In accordance with the terms of the res olutions heretofore adopted, and as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Chair now declares the House adjourned until Monday next at 12 o'clock.

O