ADDRESSES ON THE DEATH OF HON. T. H. HICKS, DELIVERED IN THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ON WEDNESDAY, FEBIRUARY 15, 1865. WASH ING TON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1 865. 0j~t IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SATURDAY, February 25, 1865. Resolved, That five thousand copies of the eulogies on Senator HICKS, delivered in the Senate and House of Representatives, be printed for the use of thu, members of this House. ~-,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~aPOM jADDRESSES ON THE DEATI OF HON, T. HI. HICKS. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1865. Address of Mr. JOHNSON, of Maryland. Mr. PRESIDENT: It is my painful duty to announce to the Senate the death of my late colleague and friend, THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS. The sad event occurred at his lodgings in this city on Monday morning, the 13th instant, at seven o'clock. A few days of indisposition, so apparently slight as to give his friends no uneasiness, was, without any seeming premonition, followed on the Friday before his death by a sudden attack of paralysis, so severe that its fatal result was at once seen to be inevitable and near at hand. It rendered him speechless, but did not so affect his mlind but that he recognized the friends around him, and by whom, to the last, he was carefully and affectionately attended, until within a few hours of his decease. Governor HICKS (a title by which he is best known and will be ever gratefully remembered, not only by Maryland but by the nation) was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, on the 2d of September, 1798. His parents were highly respectable, but with a large family and limited I —"" — -—.^^^. --. —-------. 4 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. means they were unable to give their son a collegiate education. What he was taught was merely rudimental, and this was acquired in one of the common schools of the county. His father being a farmer, Governor HICKS assisted him in that occupation until his minority terminated, when he commenced a career of his own. With manners and disposition that were native to him, and well calculated to win esteem and confidence, he was at an early age made a constable of his county, an office humble but trustworthy, and discharged its duties so satisfactory that, in 1824, at the early age of twentysix, he was elected its sheriff, an office of high grade and of much importance and responsibility. This office also he conducted with an intelligence and integrity that commanded general approval, and gave him even a stronger hold on the popular judgment. Its term expired, he engaged in mercantile business in Vienna, a village in his county, and in this position his diligence and integrity were again exhibited. In 1836 he was elected a member of the electoral college which at that period appointed the senators of the State, and in the proceedings which ensued, and which for a time filled our citizens with solicitude, and attracted the attention of the whole country, he conducted himself with his accustomed discretion and firmness, and evinced his inherent love of law and order. He was at one time one of the governor's council, a station of the greatest trust and honor, and for several years was elected by the people of Dorchester a member of the house of delegates of the State; and on each occasion so dis— ~~u —----— ~~ —----------— ~ —-ja HON. T. H. HICKS. 5 charged his duties as to retain their confidence. In 1838 he was appointed by the governor register of wills of the county, and when the office was made elective by the people he was twice elected to it, and would have been a third time if he had not declined it. In this official and important trust he again displayed business capacity and perfect integrity. In 1849 and 1850, by the choice of his uniformly confiding constituents, he was elected to the constitutional convention of the State, and discharged its duties faithfully and with ability. He was afterward chosen by popular vote governor of the State, and held that station when the present rebellion commenced and until 1862. It is his official conduct in that office that has made his name so well and favorably known to every loyal man in the Union. During this period his responsibility was such as to task his firmness and his judgment, and to test his patriotism. They proved equal to the emergency. With a people whose feelings, from their locality and sameness of habits and institutions, were so well calculated to cause them to sympathize with our southern brethren, and who were sensitively alive to any interference with that particular institution they had known and possessed from the colonization of the States, and in which their pecuniary means were largely invested, with business and social relations closely binding them to the south, it was not surprising that they should for a time forget the paramount duty which they owed to the general government, or be blind to the consequences that were sure to follow an attempt to dissolve the - --------------- ---- ---------— i.,i-i~~i~~~ ~- ~ 6 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. Union which that government created, and was wisely designed, and endowed with powers amply adequate, if properly exerted, to preserve forever. In this interval of temporary forgetfulness an excitement amounting to madness threatened the State with a fraternal war, and with driving her into the rebellion, that would have made her soil the battle-ground of the strife which has deluged every seceding State in blood, and would certainly have involved her in ruin. Against every effort that ignorance or ambition could essay to effect the insane and wicked purpose, Governor HICKS interposed the whole power of his office, and succeeded in defeating it. Nor was this accomplished without personal peril. In April, 1861, when the blood of the loyal soldiers of Massachusetts was treasonably shed in the streets of our chief city, and its power for some days was wielded by men who, for the most part, were resolved on rushing the State into rebellion, it was obvious to those who witnessed the scenes of the day, and moved among the parties who engaged in them, that Governor HICKS was an object of such intense animosity that his safety was not assured. This is not the occasion to dwell on these events. It is consoling to her loyal sons, to whom the good name of the State and city is so dear, that they terminated without effecting their design; and gladly would they have them forever forgotten. In these trying moments the governor was true to his duty. Throughout his term of office he devoted himself with untiring industry and an ever-watchful patriotism, by every legal means, to crush out the spirit of secession and to retain the State in her Ib^j^^^^~^ —~, ~^^^^~^ ~p — r~aB ~ I-~~ sl HON. T. H. HICKS. 7 allegiance to the Union; and he succeeded. When he ceased to be her governor she was loyal in all the departments of her government, and the people, by a voice approaching unanimity, proclaimed their fixed resolve to stand by the Union, not only as a matter of almost holy duty, but as indispensable to their safety and prosperity; and so she and they have been ever since. It is not going too far to declare that this result is in a great measure to be referred to the conduct of Governor HICKS. Had he listened to those who counselled a different policy; had he lent the power of his office to accomplish their object; had he even failed to devote it entirely to their frustration, Maryland might this day have been a desert, and her name dishonored in the estimation of all good and wise men. To lose such a citizen at any time would be cause of general sorrow; to lose him now, before the rebellion is terminated, is to be the more lamented, even on his own account. Who can fail to regret that a public servant so faithful, so patriotic, and so efficient in his efforts to maintain the authority of the Union in his own State, had not been permitted to survive until that authority had been securely extended over every other State? Such was his own prayer. In an address to the people of the State, of the 7th of January, 1861, he said: "In the course of nature I cannot have long to live, and I fervently trust to be allowed to end my days a citizen of this glorious Union. But should I be compelled to witness the downfall of that government inherited from our fathers, established as it were by the special favor of God, I will at least have the consolation at my dying hour that I neither by word or deed assisted in hastening its disruption."? ~ ~ ~ah~YW2r~LMii~~l~t 8 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. His prayer was not granted; but his last days of intelligence on earth were cheered by the sanguine hope that the time was fast approaching when we should all be again citizens of that glorious Union; and if he apprehended that that hope might be defeated and the Union destroyed, he certainly had the consolation, so faithfully secured to himself, that no word or deed of his could have assisted or hastened the catastrophe. To this body it is unnecessary to say anything of his official conduct as one of its members. Ever courteous, kind, and attentive, he possessed the esteem and confidence of us all. Endowed with a sound judgment and animated by a fervent patriotism, he supported every measure that promised, in his opinion, to benefit the country in its existing emergency. In private life, too, he was always highly appreciated; and by those who knew him intimately loved as a brother. By the society of his county his loss especially will be long and keenly felt, and to his immediate family be irreparable. Their consolation will be in knowing that he leaves behind him an unstained name that will ever live and be honored, and that his last thoughts were devoted to that religious faith on which he relied with humble but Christian confidence for future happiness. I move the adoption of the following resolutions: Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire of showing every mark of respect to the memory of Hon. THOMAS HOLLIDAY IcKlis, deceased, a senator from the State of Maryland, will go into mourning for the residue of the present session by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. HON. T. H. HICKS. 9 Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate will attend the funeral of the deceased from the Senate chamber at two o'clock p. m. to-day, and that the committee of arrangements superintend the same. Ordered, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives. Address of Mr. HALE, of New I-amgnshire. Mr. PRESIDENT: One of the effects of that civil strife which now afflicts and rends our unhappy country is found in the indifference to human suffering, and to death itself, consequent upon the frequency and rapidity with which our daily narrative of blood presents to our view scenes of carnage and slaughter such as the history of the world has not hitherto disclosed. As the panorama moves on, we are only relieved from the contemplation of the mangled limbs and mutilated bodies of the dead and the dying by the appalling spectacle of our more unfortunate brethren languishing and dying in the hopeless and helpless condition of prisoners of war, where manhood is worn out, hope crushed, and life destroyed by the cruel and heartless privation of the necessary provision of that scanty supply of food and clothing by which human life can be sustained. It is a most melancholy and humiliating fact that pictures such as these, sketched from no creation of the imagination, but drawn in the crimson hues of the best blood of our bravest and best, and proclaimed to us on every breeze from the south in the agonizing cry of our 2 10 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. languishing brethren, re-echoed by the wail of the widow and the orphan in our midst, have failed to move our hearts as but a little while since they would have done, even had they been representations of what was occurring among strangers of another country, and we look upon them almost as the natural and necessary consequences of the war we are waging for our national life. To-day we are called upon to witness another phase of human experience by which it would seem that Divine Providence would try upon us the experiment of a more quiet, and, if it may be so expressed, a more unobtrusive exhibition of the frailty of life and the certainty of death than in the havoc and destruction of battle. Death has now come, not clothed in the pomp and circumstance of war, numbering his victims by hundreds and thousands; but in the peace, the quiet, and serenity of a sick chamber, an old man, full of years and of honors, has gone to his reward. But, although his years were not few, still they were not so many that friendship might not have reasonably hoped that they might have been extended yet longer, and he been permitted to have witnessed in the future history of his country, which he had loved and served so well, the fruits of his labors and sacrifices. When the history of our great struggle shall be written, when the story of the toils, the sufferings, the sacrifices, and the efforts by which our political salvation was attained shall be told, and impartial posterity shall inscribe on immortal tablets the illustrious names of those by whose clear sagacity, unshaken firmness, and y~~ ~y —— ~-~ —-------------— ~ —~ —---- HON. T. H. HICKS. 11 patriotic devotion to duty in a great crisis of our country's history, her integrity was preserved and her ultimate triumph secured, second to none on that proud roll of fame shall stand the name of THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, late governor of Maryland. The political and especially the geographical position of his State was such as to give pre-eminent consequence at that very critical period of our history to the course which she might take. The intense interest which was excited all over the country in regard to the position of affairs in Maryland cannot have escaped the recollection of those who hear me. The extremely doubtful character of her legislature, to say the least, and the position to which her people might be driven by popular appeals of disloyal men to her prejudices and her supposed interests, filled the hearts of patriots throughout the land with the most painful solicitude. Whatever may be thought now, it is not too much to say that at that time it was felt and feared that upon the decision which she might make between loyalty and treason, in no small degree depended the safety and salvation of the republic. In saying this, I entirely disclaim any impeachment of the loyalty and integrity of the great masses of the people of Iaryland. I have no doubt they are true and loyal now, and that they were so then; neither have I the slightest doubt that that was equally true then of the great body of the people in numbers of those States that now are, and for nearly four years have been, in open rebellion against the government of the country; but by the bold and decisive action of bad men, forgetting the claims of country, the obligations of loyalty, and the C. al......... 12 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. duty of patriotism, they were driven in an evil hour into the vortex of treason, the crime of rebellion, and the horrors of civil war. From such a state of things it was the good fortune of the people of Maryland to be saved in no small degree by the peculiar sagacity and devoted patriotism of her most excellent governor, whose death we are now called upon to deplore. It was most providential and fortunate, both for the State and the Union, that Maryland at that time had a governor fully equal to the emergencies of the hour. He saw and comprehended the danger from a distance, and although we may not all of us approve the wisdom of every step which he took and every measure which he recommended, yet no one, it is believed, will now doubt the unsullied integrity of his conduct, the purity of his motives, or the entire devotion of his patriotism. Like the prophet standing on Mount Carmel, he saw the cloud yet a great way off, while it was no bigger than a man's hand, and did not wait till its portentous blackness had shrouded the whole heavens in its gloom. Of him, and in reference to his conduct in that hour, it may with emphasis be said that "Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war." Such, in brief, was the course of our friend in that interesting and momentous period of our country. His must be an overweening ambition that will not be satisfied with such a record. 10La-,,..,u,^i_ _ i_ _ TION. T. H. HICKS. 13 Of the early history of Governor HICKS, of the discipline and experience which formed the character so admirably and exactly fitted for the extraordinary part which Providence assigned him to perform in the great drama of his country, I have no knowledge. My personal acquaintance with him commenced about the time of the beginning of those troubles which have culminated in the present civil war; and I hope I may be permitted, without the imputation of unwarrantable egotism, to add that that acquaintance originated in a request communicated to me by his direction on the occasion of a visit on his part to this city, that I would call and consult and confer with him on the engrossing questions of the day. That acquaintance thus commenced continued without interruption to the day of his death. When he was elected to this body, by the action of the Senate he was assigned to a place on the Committee on Naval Affairs, of which I was then chairman. Our intercourse from that circumstance became more intimate and familiar, and I will add that, in the course of a life now numbering many years, I have never met a more kind, genial, and courteous gentleman. No man more sincerely sympathized with that awakened philanthropy which seeks in overthrowing the rebellion also to destroy its cause, than he. But he entertained such a deep faith in the humanity and Christianity of his own people that he preferred to have the work done by them, unawed and uninfluenced by any outside interference. Still, I speak from perfect knowledge derived from frequent interviews and cong)~^^^^^ g —---— i —----- 14 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. versations with him, when I say that the abolition of African slavery had no more sincere supporter. Such was our friend. As death approached no retrospect of misspent time, of neglected opportunities for good, cast fearful shadows on the future, but with a consciousness that he had been permitted in the good providence of God to do something, yea much, for a great and good cause, to have his name written among the benefactors of his country, and by his influence to add strength to the cause of the weak, the oppressed, and the humble, at peace with the world, and, as we humbly and trustfully hope, with his God, he has gone to his rest. Acddress of Mr. WILLEY, of West Virginia. Mr. PRESIDENT: I had no personal acquaintance with Governor HICKS until he took his seat as a member of this body. But I had learned to honor and respect him before I knew him. During the session of the Virginia convention which passed the unfortunate ordinance which assumed to renounce the allegiance due from that State to the national government, the noble position maintained by Governor HICKS, as the chief magistrate of Maryland, won the confidence and admiration of the loyal people of Virginia. Especially did we of West Virginia feel grateful to him; for, if Maryland had seceded, it would, we well knew, have greatly increased our perils and embarrassed our efforts to preserve our integrity. 10p-Q —— ~s~~~ HON. T. H. HICKS. 15 I shall not, Mr. President, attempt to review the connexion of Governor HICKs with the events of that dark day in our country's history. The distinguished colleague of the deceased has appropriately and eloquently done so. Suffice it for me to say that the page on which those events shall be recorded will be illustrious in the history of Maryland, and will entitle the name of Governor HICKS to be honored and revered as long as that State or the nation endures. It has been my privilege to occupy a seat by the side of Governor HIcKs ever since he entered this hall. I had, therefore, an opportunity not only to witness his course in relation to public affairs, but also to observe more closely the spirit and principles, the heart and motive (so to speak) which seemed to prompt and control his conduct. And I declare to you, sir, that I never knew a man whose simplicity and singleness of purpose-whose evident sincerity, purity, and unselfishness of aim to promote the honor and welfare of his country, commanded more of my confidence and respect. I know not if he ever aspired to win the personal distinction and renown which men of great intellectual'parts sometimes seem to seek with an ardor hardly secondary to the promotion of the national welfare; but to me he ever appeared to forget himself in the higher and holier purpose of securing the public good. When he resumed his seat here in the earlier part of this session, the ravages of disease upon him were painfully apparent; and in conversation with him on different occasions, he more than intimated to me his presentiment that death was at his door. And, sir, you y~~ —^~~~io) —-------------------------- --------- n 16 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. will allow me to express my gratification that in his zeal for his country he did not forget his obligations to his Creator. And here, I think, we shall find the explanation of his singular conscientiousness in the discharge of his duty. He feared God; and therefore he was true to his country. Therefore it was that the hand so affectingly raised by him in the dying hour, in token of the favor and friendship of Heaven, refused, while strong with vigor of health and manhood, to strike at the life of the nation when surrounded by both friends and foes vehemently urging him to perpetrate the deed. Mr. President, I am a believer in the assertion that pure and practical Christianity is a political necessity under our form of government. I believe, that it is essential to the perpetuity of our free institutions. Christian morality is the only sure basis of our civil liberties; and I trust I may be pardoned for saying that the Christian statesman is the only safe guardian of the people's rights. Had the spirit and power of the gospel controlled the conduct of the eminent and highly accomplished men who occupied the seats immediately surrounding me in 1861, I feel assured that the horrors of the present civil war would never have cursed the land. I therefore think it is the highest tribute which could be paid to the memory of the deceased to say, here in this high place of the nation, that he was a conscientious, Christian statesman. The resolutions were unanimously adopted. (~~%;I —-------— ~~ —------------------— ~~~~~~~~~~~LO HON. T. H. HICKS. 17 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1865. A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. HICKEY, their chief clerk, in reference to the death of THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, a Senator from the State of Maryland. The message was read, as follows: Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire of showing every mark of respect to the memory of Hon. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, deceased, a Senator from the State of Maryland, will go into mourning for the residue of the present session, by the usual mode of wearing crape on the left arm. Resolved unanimously, That the members of the Senate will attend the funeral of the deceased from the Senate chamber at two o'clock p. m. to-day; and that the committee of arrangements superintend the same. Ordered, That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of Representatives, with the request that that House unite in the ceremonies of this occasion. Address of Mr. WEBSTER, of Maryland. Mr. SPEAKER: I desire to say, preceding my remarks on this sad occasion, that my colleague [Mr. DAVIS] is detained from the House by indisposition; otherwise he would take part in these proceedings. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my painful duty to announce to the House of Representatives the death of Hon. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, a Senator in Congress from 3 18 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. the State of Maryland. He died at the Metropolitan hotel, in this city, on Monday last, February 13, 1865. In the winter of 1864 Mr. HICKS received a severe injury to his left ankle, which, a few weeks later, compelled the amputation of his foot above the ankle joint. From the effects of this loss he never entirely recovered, and though he continued to attend to the laborious duties of his position, yet his friends perceived that much of his former physical vigor was gone, and that he was greatly overtaxing his strength. About two weeks before his death he ceased to occupy his seat in the Senate chamber, and a skilful physician was called to see him. His friends still believed that rest and quiet would restore to a considerable degree his strength, and fondly hoped that his life might be spared for many years to come. But on Friday morning last he was entirely prostrated by an attack of paralysis,, and though he maintained his consciousness until within a few hours of his death, yet all hope of his recovery was then abandoned. From this time he sank gradually until the hour of his dissolution, when calmly, without a struggle or a groan, his spirit passed from earth. It will be consoling to his afflicted children, who were unable to reach this city before his death, as well as his numberless friends, to know that loving hearts and skilful hands assiduously ministered to all his wants, and strove, as far as human agency could, to alleviate all his sufferings. Nor were the consolations of our holy religion wanting. An eminent divine and his personal friend (Rev. Dr. NADAL) piously attended at his bedside and pointed his thoughts "to the world HON. T. H. HICKS. 19 that is to come." To him my dying and lamented friend, even after the power of speech was gone, by hand upraised to heaven, and face glowing with celestial light, unmistakably declared his faith in a crucified Redeemer, and his implicit trust in His promises and atonement. Governor HICKS was born in Dorchester county, Maryland, September 2, 1798. His father was a respectable farmer, with limited means and a large family, able to give his son little advantages of education. As a boy, he attended the common country schools of the neighborhood, then even more indifferent than now. As a youth, he assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm; and when manhood came, he went forth from the paternal roof to struggle unaided against the rude buffetings of the world, and, by the fierce contests he thus waged with the pride and prejudices and position of those around him, to fit himself for that fiercer contest which he was long after to wage with the passions and prejudices of the enemies of his country. Shortly after arriving at his majority he was appointed a constable, and so diligently, so faithfully, and with such uprightness did he discharge the duties of this humble office, that in 1824, then in the twentysixth year of his age, he was elected sheriff of his native county, a position of importance and respectability, which he filled much to his own credit and to the entire satisfaction of the community. After this he was several times elected to the legislature of his State, and in 1836 was chosen a member of the senatorial electoral college of Maryland. He n~ ~.-~-~B~~~~~-dB~ILlsI 20 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. took a prominent part in the efforts to organize that body, which attracted so much attention throughout the country. Shortly afterward he was selected as one of the members of Governor Vezey's council, and in 1838 was appointed by that gentleman the register of wills for Dorchester county. This office, under the testamentary system of Maryland, one of great importance, he occupied for nearly twenty years, being reappointed by Governor Pratt in 1844, and elected by the people in 1850. Never did a faithful officer more ably discharge the responsible duties of this position. The widow and the orphan always found in him a friend, who spared no labor to protect their interests and defend them from injustice and wrong. He soon became perfectly familiar with the testamentary laws of the State, and so completely did the people of his county rely upon the wisdom of his official decisions, and the purity and fairness of his friendly counsels, that it was rare indeed that litigation grew out of his settlement of the estates of deceased persons. In 1850 he took part in the constitutional convention of Maryland, which framed the constitution of that date, and was known as a laborious and influential member of that body. His reputation had now extended over his entire State, and in 1857 he was elected governor of Maryland, and entered upon the discharge of the duties of this high office in January, 1858. For four years he occupied the gubernatorial chair. A few months after the conclusion of his term, in December, 1862, by the death of the late lamented James A. Pearce, a vacancy occurred from the State of Maryland in the Senate of n~~ HON. T. H. HICKS. 21 the United States. To this Governor BRADFORD, representing the wishes of the Union people of the State, appointed Governor HICKS, and a year later, on the assembling of the legislature, he was elected to fill the balance of the unexpired term ending March 4, 1867. This, in brief, is the history of my late lamented colleague. There is one portion of his life, however, that deserves, ay demands, at my hands more extended notice. It was during his term as governor of Maryland that the present wicked rebellion was inaugurated; and well was it for Maryland and her people, well was it for the capital of the nation, and the national honor, if not life, that THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS was then the governor of Maryland. Sir, as I sat in grief by his dying bedside, and saw " the strong man bowed," palsied with disease and helpless as an infant, in my inmost soul I thanked God that that divine visitation had not come while his hand yet held the helm of my native and beloved State. What scenes of anarchy, of confusion, of bloodshed, and desolation to her fair fields, would have followed, my heart sickens to contemplate. But his natural vigor was not then abated. The lessons of self-reliance which he had learned in his early and maturer manhood, that decision of character and firmness of purpose which had become a part of his nature, and above all his instinctive and unquenchable love of country-that country under whose benign institutions he had risen, and all others might rise, from the humblest walks of life-had fitted and prepared him to resist all efforts, coming from what quarter soever, which looked to a disruption of the Union and placing Maryland by yi~3l " I ar -' —r- ~r~~rarr~~l~~lp~~- "~~' —-— m Y_^^^^^r~~li~i~V 10^111 22 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. the side of her rebellious sisters. Any one who will recall the history of the four months which immediately preceded Mr. Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 will remember how repeated and persistent these efforts were. The plan of the original conspirators, as has since become apparent, was to unite, if possible, all the slaveholding States in one common movement, seize the capital and the public archives before the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, overthrow the government, establish a southern confederacy, and then admit such of the nonslaveholding States as might be willing to introduce the institutions of the south among them. It was essentially necessary to secure the co-operation of Maryland to succeed in these infamous purposes. The capital stood upon the ancient soil of that State, and according to the peculiar views of these conspirators, Maryland had the right, not only to sever her connexion with the Union, but also to reclaim her grant of the District of Columbia. This would have given them color of authority in holding on to the capital, establishing here the seat of their government, and demanding recognition from foreign powers. It was also of the first importance to these conspirators that their friends in Maryland should be organized and armed, ready for the emergency, that when the time for action came they might swoop down upon the capital before assistance could be obtained from the northern States. All this could only be done through the legislature of that State. Fortunately the sessions of the legislature were biennial. It had been in session the winter before, and would not again assemble until January, 1862. ~_.~_.. _____~_..~ _,_ _.~~ _____F —------------— II — R Isu —-ae~o HON. T. H. HICKS. 23 The great majority of this legislature was known to be in sympathy with the southern leaders. At its session in 1860 it had passed the most obnoxious law on the subject of slavery ever placed on the statute-books of Maryland. Contrary to the wishes of a great majority of the people, contrary to their practices from time immemorial, and contrary to their conscientious convictions of right, they enacted that thereafter no slaves should ever be emancipated by their owners in that State. More than this. Taking advantage of the excitement produced by John Brown's invasion of Virginia, they had appropriated $70,000 for the purchase of arms, and provided for their distribution throughout the State. I repeat, a great majority of this legislature was known to be in favor of Maryland taking her position with the other slaveholding States. In Maryland the governor has no power of veto, so that when assembled the legislature is entirely beyond his control; but he alone had the authority to assemble it in special session. It was then of the highest importance to the conspirators that he should exercise this authority. Soon after Mr. Lincoln's election in 1860, the public efforts to induce him to take this step began to be made. Some of the most prominent men in that part of the State in which Annapolis, the capital of the State, is situated, assembled in that city, and requested that this should be done. Governor HICKS emphatically declined. Public meetings were then called in those portions of the State where the slaveholding interest predominated, demanding the assembling of the legislature. Governor HICKS refused to notice their demands. ~~^^"~Ul~a~i~rr;~~C~P~~ai~lli~~~~~~li~ii VWW5n 24 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. Shortly afterward the president of the senate of Maryland and the speaker of the house of delegates, for themselves and in the name of their respective bodies, addressed him, urging that they should be convened. Governor HICKS stood like adamant, declaring that he saw no good reason for such action, and that Maryland was, and would be forever, for the Union. While thus beset at home, he was also approached from beyond the limits of the State. After the Congress assembled here in December, 1860, the leading southern men who had seats in these halls used all their efforts to inflame the minds of the people of Maryland to compel the governor to assemble the legislature. Commissioners were sent to him directly from the States of Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina. all urging that Maryland should move in the same column with them; but to no purpose. The polar star to Governor HICKs was his country, the union of these States. The waves of sectional strife rose higher and higher. State after State fell away from its allegiance. He stood firm. The day of the inauguration came. President Lincoln assumed the robes of office, and entered upon the discharge of the high duties of the Chief Magistrate of the United States. From many hearts in the loyal States, as well as from the loyal people of his own State, earnestly watching his course, and full of apprehension, there rose up the prayer, " God bless Governor HICKS." The capital was still in the hands of the friends of the Union. The noble ship which soon was to drive into the storm and tempest of civil war, which have not and shall not destroy her, then, indeed, had made her most _ HON. T. H. HICKS. 25 narrow escape from destruction on the hidden rocks of treachery and of treason. Sir, I doubt not that the impartial historian who shall hereafter write the story of the perils of the Republic will declare that the most critical period in its history was that which immediately preceded the inauguration of President Lincoln; that THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, by the blessing of God at that time the governor of Maryland, did more than any other man to save it from destruction. I am aware, sir, that, a few weeks later, when aln infuriated mob, excited by rebel emissaries, and armed, took possession of the city of Baltimore, murdering the soldiers of the United States passing through to the capital, and raising a great commotion throughout the State, Governor HICKS, having gone to that city to secure the peaceful passage through it of these troops, found himself in the power of this mob, and seemed to yield for a time in part to their demands. But never, even then, for a moment did he give up his devotion to his country, or counsel resistance to its laws. True, for a few days he besought the President not to pass troops through the State. This was done alone through apprehension that the scenes of that bloody day just passed would be re-enacted, while he was powerless to prevent it, and that his beloved State and city would be laid waste with fire and sword, destroying the innocent with the guilty. I confess he was in error. I may safely say that subsequent events convinced him that he was in error; but it was an error of judgment, only; and who is infallible? Never for the briefest space of time did he desire to aid the cause of the rebels, or 4 26 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. intend to do aught to injure his country, or resist its laws. It is true, too, that he then convened the legislature of Maryland; but this was done only after a revolutionary call for it to assemble in the city of Baltimore, similar to that which put the State of Texas into the attitude of rebellion, had been issued by one of the most influential members of the State legislature, Coleman Yellott, now in the rebel confederacy. Governor HICKS, to prevent this revolutionary session which would have taken place in Baltimore, then in the hands of the secessionists, convened the legislature at Frederick city, in the midst of a loyal population thoroughly roused, and with a local organized military force of nearly four hundred muskets. I have always thought that the assembling of the legislature at that time and under those circumstances was a wise exercise of executive authority. It at once produced quiet in Maryland. It gave time for many who had been swept away by the first fierce gust of passion to indulge in " the sober second thought," and to return to their allegiance. The legislature, too, was powerless for mischief. They dared not, even if they had desired, while the loyal citizens of western Maryland thronged in their halls, and scowled defiance in their faces, put the State of Maryland into an attitude of hostility to the general government. As my venerable colleague who sits behind me [Governor THOMAS] once said il this House, they would have been hurled from their windows upon the glistening bayonets below; and well they knew it. Within ten days after the massacre of the troops in Baltimore Governor HICKS was in cordial and earnest y ~~~~~c~a.~....~- ~.9..~,~l~~AiLRRC/I~~~~eV ~~uuI~.~~~~~.,sa ~, ~~ )dCIL~ HON. T. H. HICKS. 27 co-operation with the national authorities in this city, and a few days later issued his proclamation calling for four Maryland regiments to march to its defence. Mr. Speaker, however much others may have doubted or may now doubt the loyalty of Governor HICKS because of this one error during that terrible week, the Union-loving people of Maryland, who knew him well, never for one moment lost confidence in his patriotism. No man, since the days of the Revolution, has lived in Maryland, who has had so entirely the confidence and affection of the patriotic people of that State as Governor HICKS. They have loved him with a pure and an ardent affection. They have trusted him without an apprehension or a doubt. He was their pilot in the hour of deepest gloom and most threatening danger. They gathered around him as the exponent of their principles and the worthy representative of their love of country; and when the sad news went out from this city that he was no more, there were thousands of eyes in his native State, that had never seen him, dimmed with tears, and thousands of hearts filled with sorrow for his loss. And to-day the governor and legislature of his State, as well as the corporate authorities of its great metropolis, fully representing the people in their action, are here in the capitol of the nation to pay the last tribute of respect to his memory, not as a matter of form, not to join in an empty pageant, but as exhibiting the love and reverence of the entire people of the State for his character and their sincere sorrow for his death. With them I desire to pay my humble tribute to his worth, and to drop a sorrowing tear on his grave. ~ij~-~ IaB~~~ —— bB~-"~ ~^^^^ ~ ^^^^1~~PUI -i 28 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. A few words more in regard to the character of my colleague and I am done. Governor HICKS was entirely a self-made man. He toiled up the mountain-side unaided, and reached height after height through his own manly exertions; but never did he break the bond which bound him to the people on the plain. He was essentially a man of the people; of them and from them, his instincts, his sympathies, affections, were all with them, and his exertions and labors in their behalf. The poorest and most friendless boy received from him as kindly a welcome as the men who held the most influential and important stations. The last note that I ever received from him, only a few days before his death, was written to ask my aid for a poor man, a sailor disabled in the service of his country, and in which he regretted that his health would not permit him personally to render him such assistance as he desired. Governor HIcKS, from the character of his early pursuits, had no opportunity for cultivating a taste for books, and was consequently not a man of general reading or information; yet he possessed great natural sagacity, had a broad and well-balanced mind, and easily mastered any subject to which he turned his attention. He thoroughly understood the political history of the country. There was nothing narrow or illiberal in his character, and his catholic spirit showed itself in almost every action of his life. He was generous and sincere, quick to forgive, and never cherished resentments. Though his mind was not quick in its perceptions and conclusions, yet when he had reached such conclusions, he was as firm as a rock, fixed as the hills. No word of suspicion has HON. T. H. HICKS. 29 ever been breathed against his integrity. He was an honest man, " The noblest work of God." That, however, which has most distinguished him and endeared him to the people of Maryland was his unselfish and unyielding patriotism. In him was illustrated that patriotism which burned so purely in the hearts of the men of'76. There was no personal sacrifice which he deemed too great to be made for his country. This was particularly illustrated in his course on the question of emancipation. Though holding a considerable number of slaves at the breaking out of the rebellion, and entering into the war with the impression that it ought to be so conducted as not to interfere with slavery, yet when he became convinced, as he afterward did, that the most vulnerable point in the rebellion was slavery, and that if we would crush the rebellion we must strike at and crush slavery, he did not hesitate to favor this policy both by the general government and by his own State. A year ago he favored the constitutional amendment lately passed abolishing slavery throughout the United States, and was the earnest friend of immediate emancipation in Maryland, voting himself for the free constitution and urging others to unite with him in its support. But he has gone, never to return. To-day the grave will close on his mortal remains. For the monument which shall rise above his remains, he has prepared his own epitaph. Addressing the people of Maryland by 30 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. proclamation,in the midst of the dangers which encircled them in June, 1861, he said: "In the course of nature I cannot have long to live, and I fervently trust to be allowed to end my days a citizen of this glorious Union. But should I be compelled to witness the downfall of that government inherited from our fathers, established as it were by the special favor of God, I will at least have the consolation at my dying hour that I neither by word nor deed assisted in hastening its disruption." Sir, let this sublime paragraph be engraved on his tomb. It shall live when the marble shall have crumbled and mingled with his dust. And let us, the living, learn lessons of patriotism from his proud example, for though dead he yet liveth. I offer the following resolutions: Resolved, That this House has heard with deep sensibility the announcement of the death of Hon. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, a senator in Congress from the State of Maryland. Resolved, That as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, the members and officers of this House will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days. Resolved, That the proceedings of this House in relation to the death of Hon. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS be communicated to the family of the deceased by the Clerk. Resolved, That this House will, as a body, repair to the Senate chamber to attend the funeral of the deceased, and upon its return to the hall that the Speaker declare the House adjourned. Address of Mr. CRESWELL, of Maryland. Mr. SPEAKER: Duty imposes no unwilling task when it demands my humble tribute to the memory of the lamented deceased. The praises due to a long career of honor and usefulness are always freely lavished upon n_ ~~ ~-~ _..^.. -.^ ^ HON. T. H. HICIKS 31 the grave. The stranger, in seeking to give utterance only to his admiration for the public life and character of the dead, will be content with the employment of merely formal and conventional terms of respect. But the hand of affection, in its anxious desire to keep fresh and green a cherished memory, would fain pluck from heaven a sprig of the immortal amaranth, and plant it upon the grave where the loved one sleeps, in the hope, fond though vain, that even the tomb may be thus clothed with the freshness and the bloom of eternal beauty. My colleague, who has preceded me, has spoken of what Governor HICKS has accomplished for his State and country. It is eminently proper that the record of his public life should on this occasion be reviewed and commended. But mine is a more sacred office. I represent the county of his nativity, wherein he spent his long life, surrounded by the friends and associations of his youth. Among my constituents are those who were captivated by his generous heart long before the days of his political triumphs; those who regarded him, when living, with unselfish love, and who, now that death has stricken him down, will receive the sad tidings with tears of profound regret. It is my duty to attempt in some measure to soothe the grief and to mitigate the sorrow of his family and personal friends. I have not lknown Governor HIcKs as long as my friend who to-day has made the formal announcement of his decease. My personal acquaintance began late in the year 1861, but long before the day of his death, notwithstanding our disparity in years, his many generous (pi b]-~ — ~ —- ---— ~ —— ~I —----— ~ 9 32 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. qualities, combined with his fervent patriotism, had won my affection and sincere esteem. I am not ashamed to confess to the humblest of his friends that I, too, have wept over his unexpected and painful death. We who knew him well, who freely mingled with him in social intercourse, who think we understood his nature and fairly appreciated his faults as well as his virtues, are unwilling that posterity, in making an e:timate of the character of Governor HICKs, shall be confined to the dry details of the historian: " History preserves only the fleshless bones Of what we are, and by the mocking skull The would-be wise pretend to guess the features! Without the roundness and the glow of life How hideous is the skeleton! Without The colorings and humanities that clothe Our errors, the anatomists of schools Can make our memory hideous." THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS was no scholar, no orator. Notwithstanding the many disadvantages under which he labored, it is safe to say that no man has exerted a greater influence on the politics of Maryland, or has accomplished more for the good of his State and fellowcitizens in his day and generation, than he. He chose his party because of his approval of the principles which it proclaimed, and then gave it his entire and cordial support. A disciple of Henry Clay, he accepted the teachings of the Sage of Ashland as the axioms of his political creed. He was first a democrat of the old school, then a whig, then an American, and on the formation of the Union party he threw his whole soul into that movement and labored unceasingly to promote ^i^~^^^^oszrra~n~la~~aa~r ^^^^g HON. T. H. HICKS. 33 its success. To all the parties to which he was successively attached he rendered the most important services. He was always looked up to as a leader, and always did the work of a leader. Yet he was not a brilliant man in any respect. His great distinguishing mental characteristic was his intuitive knowledge of human nature, and his great capacity for the management of men. His mind was eminently practical, and he dealt with men and things as they were. He sometimes entered into public discussions on the hustings, and frequently exhibited great tact and astuteness in debate. He proclaimed his sentiments everywhere, and never ceased to inculcate what he believed to be the truth. But the great arena of his triumphs was the social circle. Wheresoever known, he had so completely the confidence of men of every position in life, high as well as low, that his views were often quoted as having the weight of authority. The people of his own county seemed to hang with pleasure on his words and to delight in paying him honor. His house at Appleby was open to all the world, and especially was it the refuge of the afflicted. He was the friend and counsellor of all in trouble. His purse was open to every meritorious demand for assistance. Although free from all ostentation, and for many years in receipt of a respectable income, his boundless charities and his disposition to aid others kept him continually in straitened circumstances. He was in truth the friend and benefactor of the poor, not only ministering to their wants, but ever lending them a willing sympathy. "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept." 5 34 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. Even his political enemies acknowledged his manifold and unwearied kindnesses, and his excellent qualities as a man and a neighbor. So clear and pure was he in all the relations of private life that even malice was compelled to bear witness to his exalted worth. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS was governor of his native State in the early stages of the rebellion. His management of State affairs during that period has been subjected to the severest scrutiny and to the most unfair criticism. It has been the habit to talk of him and his conduct as if he had nothing to do but to call his friends around him and summon the military of the State to the defence of the national capital. Alas! in that hour of sore trial his friends were beyond the sound of his voice, and the military were in arms against their country. Those who clustered about him to proffer advice were his life-long enemies. The host which gathered at his hotel was a hooting mob, yelling like demons and threatening to hang him to the nearest lamp-post. Blood had already been shed; treason was rife; civil war was flagrant. The dead of a sister State, foully slain by traitors in the streets of Baltimore, had been counted as the first mangled and blood-stained victims of rebellion. Secession was fully armed. Much of the machinery of government was in the hands of rebels. Everything was uncertain. Men in high places were no longer to be trusted. The Union sentiment was utterly without organization, and was taken totally by surprise. The governor stood alone among his foes. Then the tempters said to him, " Let us avoid bloodshed among Marylanders; let us prevent war in our streets; HON. T. H. HICKS. 35 let us have peace among ourselves." He cared not for himself, and they knew it; but they appealed to his love for his people, and exhorted him to quiet the excitement and prevent further strife and massacre. It was a time of great doubt and peril, such as comes but once in centuries. He postponed the demands of the national government until the loyal sentiment of the people should gain confidence and find its voice. Of all those who censure him, who would have done better Our sturdy old governor never for a single moment sympathized with treason in any form, or even doubted as to the plain path of duty. His was never the heart of a traitor. The best evidence of his fidelity may be found in the unwavering devotion of all his life. He had not a hope for himself, his children, his friends, or his country, that was not based upon the integrity and perpetuity of the Union. If it be true that the eye when glazing in death is endowed with prophetic vision, I doubt not that his dying moments were cheered by the joyful prospect, soon to be revealed to us, of peace and happiness won by valor and restored by victory. His days are numbered. The whole of his career is before the world. Men may now pass judgment upon another fellow-mortal who has gone from earth. If we approach his bier and look down upon the mortal remains of THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, and then recount the whole story of his life and death, we must in justice say, "Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail Or knock the breast; no weakness, no contempt, Dispraise, or blame; nothing but well and fair, And what may quiet us in a death so noble." 36 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. Address of Mr. SMITHERS, of Delaware. Mr. SPEAKER: A good man has been gathered unto his fathers, and it is meet that I should lay upon his bier a simple testimonial of respect and gratitude. Though it may not be permitted me to call him great, yet if incorruptible integrity, unostentatious piety, and unwavering devotion to his country be worthy to be imitated or admired, then may it be truly said that THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS has not lived in vain. Born with no accidental advantage of wealth, blessed with no culture of liberal education, he so demeaned himself in all the relations of life as to secure the affection and confidence of his fellow-men, who having committed to him the discharge of minor official duties, elevated him to the position of governor of Maryland; and in the darkest hour of the peril of the Republic he held in his hands the welfare of his native State. How well he executed his trust, how faithfully he administered his high office, the appreciation of the living manifests and the approval of posterity will attest. Had he yielded to the blandishments of base conspirators, had he blenched before the storm of indignation that assailed him, no human power could have averted from Maryland the miseries of civil strife. His fidelity baffled the designs of domestic traitors and checked the progress of rebellion; his temporizing policy held treason in suspense, and gave opportunity to the loyal north to rush to the succor of this threatened capital; and that Pn, _ HON. T. H. HICKS. 37 we sit here to-day, in this council chamber of the nation, is due, perhaps, under the favor of the Almighty, to the faithfulness of him whom we mourn. Over the grave of such a man it is pardonable to linger with unwonted regret; but while we pay this tribute of honor to his memory, let us rest in confidence that history will record his virtues, and in assurance that, after a well-spent life, he has calmly passed to the enjoyment of a Christian immortality. Address of Mr. KELLEY, of Pennsylvania. Mr. SPEAKER: It has, by their kindness, been my privilege to participate with some frequency in the protracted and sometimes intense struggle of the people of Maryland for the Union and freedom, and my State is largely indebted to the late Senator THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS. It has therefore been thought fitting that I should add my humble word to what has been so appropriately said on this occasion. In my many visits to Maryland during this trying period I became somewhat familiar with Senator, or Governor HICKS, as he was when I first knew him. I found him ever frank and courteous to his peers, and kind, kind but without condescension, to the young, the poor, and the humble. His intercourse with all was easy and natural, and his manners were but the fit expression of his manly nature. This is well attested by the constancy with which honors attended him. He Q ^ ^ -.^ ~ ^... ^ i,~.i~~~~~~~~~~~~i~~i~.i i i i~~~~~~~i ii i i ^~~~C 38 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. whose death we mourn, dying as a senator of the United States, was once a constable, and doubtless proud of the confidence in him exhibited by his fellow-citizens in electing him to this humble office; and from the day he entered upon its duties to the moment in which he breathed his last, and passed gladly to the bosom of his Maker, the badge of office attested how fully he enjoyed the confidence, the increasing confidence, of the people among whom he lived. It has been said, and I apprehend with perfect truth, that during this long career no man ever doubted his integrity. It seemed to me, sir, as I listened to the rapid sketch of his biography, that he was a chosen instrument in the hands of Providence for our good. The Almighty sees the end from the beginning. It is notso with men; and the wealthy, the powerful, the arrogant, and the aristocratic land and slave owners among whom this poor child was born did not foresee, when they gave him their confidence, and made him first constable, then sheriff, and then promoted him from stage to stage, that they were qualifying him to be the power to curb their aspirations and control the destiny of their descendants. They did not foresee that they were training in that honest farmer boy a man who, by his will, should contravene their ambitious purposes and determine whether the capital of the country should remain so, or become the capital of a foreign and despotic confederacy. Yet more potent than any hundreds of men was Governor HICKS in the decision of that question. It is said that he wavered about the time that that question was pending in nicest balance. No man will Ie'l HON. T. H. HICKS. 39 say that his loyalty yielded. The utmost that can be said is, that in a period of revolutionary excitement, when the armed men around him were all the foes of his cause, when those whom the people of his State had invested with power and indicated as his counsellors all entertained views different from his, and when those who loved the Union came to him with multiplied and diverse counsels, his judgment was for a moment bewildered. His instincts, his purposes, were ever true and patriotic. His caution, his courage, his will, his devotion to the cause, saved Maryland to the Union, in the crisis, and so secured the inauguration of the President of the country in its capital, and enabled the North to maintain him there without interval. In doing this he saved Maryland, Delaware, and southeastern Pennsylvania from becoming the Belgium of this terrible war; and his name will be dear to the future people of Pennsylvania and of Delaware, as it is to-day to those of his native State. I shall not attempt a sketch of his biography. I shall utter no formal words of eulogy. His life, his character, his deeds, are among the richest treasures of his native State. Let them be faithfully told. History has been to me through life valuable only as it gave me an insight into the characters and motives of its actors. Let Maryland tell with pride the story of THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS. Let her speak of his humble origin. Let her say that slavery denied him the advantages even of the cheap country school. And let her show how, in spite of all the curses inflicted on man by that institution, he became what he was; and she will not only illustrate the WrA_ I 0 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 40 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. beneficence of our republican institutions, but gladden the heart of many a poor father and mother and quicken the pulse and embolden the spirit ofthepoor and aspiring boy through countless generations. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS was a poor farmer's boy. He entered on his official career a constable. He died a senator; and a grateful nation mourns his death. I apprehend that rhetoric can add no force, and eulogy no power, to these brief words. The question was taken, and the resolutions were unanimously adopted. \Ya~i~Yps~s~m~LY Y;~~~il~IE~r~lrij~~~ m- i~~ r ~.~~ ^ ^ ^^^4^ ]~~diSiiY( HON. T. H. HICKS. 41 Sermon of the Rev. B. H. NADAI., of the Methodist Episcopal Church. And the King said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?-2 Samuel, iii, 38. THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS, recently governor of Maryland, and more recently a Senator of the United States, is no more. His earthly race of nearly threescore years and ten has come to an almost sudden end. The news of this sad event has, by this time, reached nearly every corner of the loyal States, and has carried sorrow to every loyal heart. But most of all will the grief of this event fall upon Maryland. Her heart will bleed, from the lowest point of her soil that touches the Chesapeake to the very peaks of the Alleghanies; and the Eastern and Western Shores shall interchange sorrowful greetings across the inland sea that divides them. The wealthy merchant, the cultured professional man, the retired scholar, and especially the sturdy yeoman, from whose class Governor HICKS sprung, will drop a tear, and utter words of fervent eulogy at the announcement of his death. We have read as our text, "A prince and a great man has fallen in Israel." Does any one doubt its appropriateness? We readily concede that Mr. HICKS was not born to greatness. No family made him; no college professors chiselled and moulded into form and polished into beauty and grace his youthful mind. Like the present Chief Magistrate of the country, he was born to rude fortunes. He inherited only the brawny soul and body with which to win his way in the coming struggle of life. When a poor man refuses to remain in the lot to which he is born, and by the force of his character comes to stand among the princes of the earth, and in his lofty position plays his part honorably, he is great. Thus was it with Governor HIcKs. He was the son of a plain farmer on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He had a common country school education, which in his day consisted wholly in reading, writing, and arithmetic, with a little geography, and no grammar. His occupation until he became a man was to work the farm on which 6 42 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. he was reared. He was not a genius. He did not achieve position and greatness by a single leap. From the fresh furrow to the seat of the governor, and to the chair of a United States senator, he took the graded path. He began in the a, b, c of office. From the humble position of constable, with growing influence, he proceeded to that of sheriff; thence to a place in the governor's council; next he was register of wills for his native county. In this position his reputation attained a breadth equal to that of the State, and after a long process of growth in public esteem and confidence, he was elected governor, and finally, as the just reward of services to which no price is equal, he became a member of the upper house of Congress; and to-day, in the presence of this august assemblage of the nation's chief men, in this hall of highest legislative dignity, with all the solemn pomp of a nation's grief, we pay homage to the man whose inheritance was poverty, whose only school-house was a cabin, and whose first office was that of constable. Only in our own nation, among all the peoples of the earth, could such a thing occur. The life of Governor HIcKs, out of the midst of these obsequies, speaks to every poor boy in the land of the noble possibilities of service and renown which may yet crown an industrious, honest, and patriotic life. It shows to men of the Old World that, while our youthful nation holds sacred law and order, it yet allows the freest play to individual enterprise; that it furnishes soil and atmosphere and market for every atom of talent springing up under whatever shade of obscurity. Those who knew our deceased friend best; those who were his neighbors and life-long friends, unite in testifying most lovingly to the excellence of his character, both in his private and public relations. Kind to all, reaching out a hand of sympathy, especially to the poor, dealing justly with every one, and mercifully with the needy, he drew men to him and held them as by hooks of steel. There was in him the rare union of a strength which was rather moral than intellectural, with a most winning gentleness. We have been informed, on the best authority, that while he was register of wills for his native county, a period of twenty years, or thereabouts, he managed the business of his office with such steady justice, with such complete knowledge of the law, with such tender consideration ELI.,,~~~~~~~.,~..~.~,^, n HON. T. H. HICKS. 43 for the interests of widows and orphans, as to establish a reputation for complete honesty, firmness, and gentleness, thus mixing in one character, and in one reputation, the most opposite virtues. When such a man refuses one a favor, the pain is the least possible and when he does a favor, the manner of it, the spirit of it, binds the favored party to him by the very heart-chords. It was our privilege to see the devotion of Governor HICKS'S personal friends at his bed-side, in the sickness which ended his life. With what solicitude, as of sons in the absence of a son, they watched; with what tender voices and eyes they spoke and looked; how they wept in the depth and reality of their grief! These, my friends, were people whose hearts the dying veteran had won by long years of intercourse or by acts of disinterested kindness. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how a plain man like THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS could have attained his eminent position in the world without just such traits as these, He had to impress men, not by resolving to do it, not by dazzling parts, but by the weight and excellence of his manhood. Happy is the man whose character, whose inmost and sole self, is his best talent; whose life, inner and outer, carries him, as it were, naturally, into the very hearts of his fellow-men. Such a man need not and will not trim his sails to meet the varying breath of popular applause; but, being in himself the type of all honest men, can afford to walk without looking behind him. And when the hour comes to die, standing up among his people, he can say with the ancient seer of Israel: "And now, behold, I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am; witness against me before the Lord, and before His anointed, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or whom have I oppressed, whom have I defrauded, or at whose hands have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore it you." In the pride and strength of life, especially of young life, we prefer to prevail by eloquence, by superior learning, or skill, or by some form of mental force. We wish to have ourselves to thank for our own success. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we would build our empire with the might of our own wisdom and the strength of our H~1 44 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. own hand; but when age and just views sober us, by showing us the littleness of the creature's force, and especially when death begins to drop its dark curtain between us and the painted world, we are compelled to feel that it were better to succeed by the aid of character, and as the servants and stewards of God, than by the proudest and profoundest human art. Nay, when the death that comes to us is even not our own, but another's; when the corpse lies in state at the end of a noble career, aye, or of an ignoble one; when, in such an hour of sepulchral darkness, the light of heaven sifts through the tight-woven tissues of our pride and ambition, we are made to feel the truth of the familiar couplet: A wit's a feather, and a chief's a rod, An honest man's the noblest work of God. And at least, for the moment of disenchantment, we conclude it were nobler and better to succeed in life by what we are, than by the highest earthly skill, or eloquence, or learning. The man whose remains lie before us owed nothing to learning; he owed nothing to the eloquence which stirs men's blood, or tickles their ears. In spite of the want of these, by the native force of sense, honesty, moderation, gentleness, and courage, he won men's hearts, subdued circumstances, achieved place, and did much, very much, towards controlling events. But to turn to the great epoch of Mr. HIcKs'S life, namely, the period of his special connexion with the history of the war: we have been strongly impressed with the wisdom and graciousness of Divine Providence in allowing his term of office to fall precisely where it did. Maryland has had governors under whose administration the rebellion would have met no ill greeting. It would be painful to speculate as to what would have been the result had Providence allowed treason to culminate a few years earlier. In that case, we might have had in Maryland a governor who would have forgotten his oath of paramount allegiance to the Union, who would have called the legislature of the State together at the instance of secession commissioners from Alabama and Mississippi, who would have been a timid or even a ready tool under the persuasions or the threats of virtual traitors; and before the blow was struck at Fort o) II —~~ll~mrab~-81 —su~~_n~II~L-~~IL —rm HON. T.. HICKS. 45 Sumter, the noble State might have been so committed to rebellion, and so completely interlaced with treason in the far south, that when the war came, she, and not Virginia, might have been the permanent battle-ground, the Golgotha of the rebellion. In that case her fields had now been bare, her acres fenceless, barnless, trampled, parched. Baltimore might have been at this hour a rebel stronghold. Jeff. Davis might have been at the White House, and the flag of treason might have been flaunted in the face of the Goddess of Liberty on the dome of this building. But, in the good providence of the God of our fathers, Maryland had a patriotic governor; a man without the instincts of aristocracy; a man of the people; a Unionist without an if; a man who did not balance the life of the nation against the iniquitous institution of slavery-who did not divide up and parcel out his patriotism between the different States, but merged it and them, or, rather, built them with it into the glorious fabric of the Union. And for'the demon of secession, with all its horrid solicitations, he had only the reply of an unfaltering and unalterable No! It was " no" to the southern commissioners; "no" to traitorous domestic aristocrats; "no" to slavery; "no" to the members of the legislature; "no" to the bloody mob of the dreadful 19th of April; "no" ever, and "no" to the end. If, for one moment, he seemed to falter, it was only a seeming, under duress, that, like the great oak bent by the storm, he might live to present an unblanched front to every succeeding storm of treason. What a noble sentiment, and how nobly uttered, was his reply to a certain conspirator who visited Annapolis to induce him to issue an untimely call of the old disloyal legislature. To the whole list of his arguments the governor returned a firm denial. The next resort was a threat; he was told that he had better consult his personal safety. "What?" said Mr. HIcKs, "do you mean to say my life is in danger if I refuse?" " Yes!" " Well," said the noble patriot, " if I had forty lives, I would lose them all rather than do an act against my convictions of right." Thus spoke, my brethren, not a Roman but a patriot's spirit, a Christian conscience, a soul firmly built on right. To that "No," persistently repeated until his native State is now free, Maryland owes a statue of marble or ^~H~~~ —- _ - ~n, --— ~ - - -~_ 46 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. bronze, and another more enduring than metal or stone-one of perennial, blessed, grateful remembrance, and in the golden age now so brightly dawning upon her she will pay it. As one of her sons, I feel my own instincts to be the voice of prophesy. But for each individual human being there is a higher and more enduring relation than that to the State; we mean his relation to God, the final judge of all. Mr. HIcKs became a professing Christian early in life, and, so far as we know, cherished his Christian convictions and maintained his Christian purity to the last. The testimony of those who knew him best represents him as pure and excellent in all the relations of life. On this point, however, I will confine myself to matters within my own knowledge. When Governor HIcKs arrived in Washington, during the present session of Congress, I waited on him, and, after friendly conversation, proposed to be his pastor during his stay among us. I understood him cordially to accept the proffer. I made several calls upon him before his sickness. On Saturday I learned that he had been stricken down with paralysis. I hastened to his room, where I found him most faithfully and affectionately attended by several of his personal friends. He was entirely speechless, but still clearly and keenly conscious. He recognized me at once, and, against my remonstrance, exerted himself to draw his right hand, which remained untouched by the paralysis, from under the bed-cover, for the customary greeting. I took a seat by his bed, and attempted to elicit his state of mind. His lips moved, but yielded only shapeless, inarticulate breath. I inquired whether he would have me pray. His lips again moved fruitlessly, but his look clearly answered "yes." The moment was deeply solemn; all hearts were affected. The prayer ended; though pained at the thought of demanding effort of any sort from him, I was still anxious to ascertain his state of mind, and said, " Governor, do you trust for salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, lift your hand." In an instant his hand went up with energy. This touched and animated all present. My position at the side of the dying man now became pleasant. He was evidently waiting for the consolations of religious ~81C-~~~^~~ym~~I ~ g-a~W HON. T. H. HICKS. 47 converse. I quoted numerous passages of Scripture; I recited several hymns, particularly the one commencing Jesus, thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; and that other, beginning There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel's veins; and, finally, that noble gospel lyric of Charles Wesley, opening with the stanzaJesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly, While the nearer waters roll, While the tempest still is high; Hide me, oh, my Saviour, hide,'Till the storm of life is past; Safe into the haven guide, Oh, receive my soul at last. These were the hymns in which, for years, he had been wont to express his faith in the blessed Saviour's atonement. As he listened, his face was overspread and made luminous by a smile; then through the sunshine came the grateful, happy tears, and his great frame, in spite of the living death of paralysis, quivered and shook with emotion. This was a scene to be long remembered by all who were present. Our patriot and Christian brother stood on the confines of eternity, about to enter the world of blessed spirits, and had paused to let us know how the way looked before him. We all wept. On another occasion, while talking with him, I said: "' Governor, you have borne an important part in the public service of the country, and the nation is grateful to you; it will remember you; but you no doubt feel that even such services are nothing for a poor sinner to rely on in approaching his God. Your trust is in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, is it not?" And he again answered with his uplifted hand. On Sunday morning, about ten o'clock, I was again with him, y ~~p~~~~~~~~ — IIIISj 48 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. and asked him: "Shall we join in prayer, this Sabbath morning, at your bedside?" Again he lifted his hand, and gazed reverently up toward heaven. On Sunday night, about ten o'clock, I was with him for the last time. His friends who had remained at his bedside during the day now supposed his consciousness to be gone. But they were mistaken. He recognized me immediately. "Governor," I said, " if you rest upon Christ as your Saviour, raise your hand." It was done instantly. Again, "If you feel assured that He will receive you to himself when you pass away, lift your hand." The hand was lifted once more, and waved back and forth as if in holy triumph. In half an hour from that time be became unconscious, and the next morning THOMAS HOLLIDAY HICKS passed into history, and, as we fully trust and believe, into the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We end where we began, and repeat, that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel-a great man grown up and out from the level of the people-great without the aid of adventitious circumstances-great upon the basis of moral character-great by being equal to the great emergencies of a great historic period-great, not because a great occasion made him so, but because his simple, truthful, honest, noble, incorruptible nature eminently fitted him to accept the occasion when it came, and to wield it with a strong and decided hand. But finally, let us pause and stand in awe before God's messenger, death. In the presence of that coffin " only God is great."