WILLIAM A. GRAHAM. BY MONTFORD McGEHEE.

William Alexander Graham was born on the 5th day of September, 1804, in the county of Lincoln. He was fortunate alike in the race from which he sprang and in his own ancestry. The race was that which, by a change of residence from Scotland to Ireland, anterior to its immigration to this country, acquired, as it were, a double nationality and name, to wit: Scotch-Irish.

The ancestry of Mr. Graham were deeply imbued with the spirit of this people. His maternal grandfather, Major John Davidson, was one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration, and acted a conspicuous part in the Revolution. The name of his father, General Joseph Graham, is one of the best known in our Revolutionary annals. The biographical sketch incorporated into Wheeler's History is a brief but noble record.

His mother was distinguished for her personal beauty—distinguished as well for her sense, piety and many amiable virtues. But death deprived him of her fostering care before he had attained his fourth year, and he was then consigned to the care of an elder sister. The tender affection and respect with which he always referred to this sister, attests how fully she discharged a mother's duty.

He received the rudiments of his education in the common schools of the country. He commenced his classical education in the academy at Statesville, then under the care of the Rev. Dr. Muchat, a scholar of good repute. Mr. Graham verified the apparent paradox of Wordsworth,

"The child is father of the man."

He was noted, from his earlier years, for his industry, his thirst for knowledge and his aptitude to learn. One who knew him well testifies that from his childhood he was no less remarkable for his high sense of truth and honor than for his exemption from the levities and vices common to youth. At this academy he applied himself to his studies with the most exemplary diligence. A classmate at that time says of him, "He was the only boy I ever knew who would spend his Saturdays in reviewing the studies of the week."

An incident which occurred about this time affords a striking proof of his early force of character. General Graham was a pioneer in a branch of industry yet but little developed in this State—the manufacture of iron. Upon his removal to Lincoln he established a furnace and forge, which, at the time now spoken of, had become quite extensive. From some cause the works were left without a superintendent. The General installed his son William, though then but a boy, and wholly without experience, at the head of the establishment; and the energy and judgment with which he conducted it, obtained his father's entire approval. He was next sent to the academy at Hillsborough.

From this academy he went to the University of the State, where he was matriculated in the summer of 1820. His course throughout his college life was admirable in every way. He appreciated the scheme of study there established, not only as the best discipline of the intellect, but as the best foundation for knowledge in its widest sense. He mastered his lessons so perfectly, that each lesson became a permanent addition to his stock of knowledge. The professors rarely failed to testify by a smile, or some other token, their approval of his proficiency. On one occasion, Professor Olmstead (who has achieved a wide reputation in the field of science) remarked to one of his classmates that his lecture on chemistry came back as perfectly from Mr. Graham as he had uttered it on the previous day.

Some thirty years after, the same professor in a letter to Mr. Graham (then Secretary of the Navy) uses this language: "It has often been a source of pleasing reflection to me, that I was permitted to bear some part in fitting you, in early life, for that elevated post of honor and usefulness to which Providence has conducted you."

His high sense of duty was manifested in his conscientious deportment under the peculiar form of government to which he was then subject. His observance of every law and usage of the college was punctilious; while, to the faculty, he was ever scrupulously and conspicuously respectful.

His extraordinary proficiency was purchased by no laborious drudgery. The secret of it was to be found in the precept which he acted upon, through life: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." His powers of concentration were great, his perceptions quick, his memory powerful, prompt, and assiduously improved. By the joint force of such faculties, he could accomplish much in little time. Hence, notwithstanding his exemplary attention to his college studies, he devoted much time to general reading. It was at this time, no doubt, that he laid up much of that large and varied stock of information upon which he drew, at pleasure, in after life.

Intent upon availing himself to the full, of every advantage afforded him, he applied himself assiduously to the duties of the Literary Society of which he was a member. He participated regularly in the debates and other exercises of that body. For all such he prepared himself with care; and it is asserted by the same authority, to which I have already referred—a most competent judge—that his compositions were of such excellence that, in a literary point of view, they would have challenged comparison with anything done by him in after life.

His engaging manners brought him into pleasant relations with all his fellow-students. He lived with them upon terms of the frankest and most familiar intercourse. In their most athletic sports he never participated, but he was a pleased spectator, and evinced by his manner a hearty sympathy with their enjoyments. His favorite exercise was walking, and those who knew him well will recollect that this continued to be his favorite recreation while health was spared him. With his friends and chosen companions he was cordial and easy, and always the life of the circle.

The class of which he was a member was graduated in 1824. It was the largest up to that time; and, for capacity and proficiency, esteemed the best. It was declared by Professors Olmstead and Mitchell, that Yale might well have been proud of such a class. It embraced many who afterward won high distinction in political and professional life.

No one could have availed himself to a greater extent than Mr. Graham did, of the opportunities presented in his collegiate career. "His college life, in all its duties and obligations," says the gentleman before quoted, "was an epitome of his career upon the stage of the world." He adds that on the day when he received his diploma, he could, with his usual habits of study, have filled any chair with honor to himself and acceptance to his class. Such is the emphatic testimony of one who himself graduated with high distinction in the same class. Might we not subjoin, building upon the above remark, that his career in after life was, in great part, the logical result of the discipline and training to which he submitted himself, so conscientiously, in his college life?

After graduation he made an excursion to some of the western States, which occupied a few months. While at Lexington, he heard Mr. Crittenden address the jury in a great slander or libel case. The speech, which was worthy of the great advocate's fame, made a profound impression upon Mr. Graham. It may have had some influence in determining his choice of a profession, or in fixing it, if already made. From this tour he returned in 1824, and entered upon the study of the law in the office of Judge Ruffin.

He obtained his County Court license in the summer of 1826. At August term of the court he appeared at the Orange bar. The rule then required, between the admission to practice in the County Court and the admission to practice in the Superior Court, a novitiate of one year. This period he spent in Hillsborough that he might continue to profit by the instruction of his learned preceptor. At the end of the year he received his Superior Court license. It was now a question where he should establish himself for the practice of his profession. The counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Lincoln were filled with his blood relations, connections and friends. They were among the most distinguished for their wealth, intelligence and Revolutionary service. Their combined influence would give him command of all the important business of those counties, and place him at the outset in the position of a leader of the bar. The prospect in Orange and the adjoining counties was widely different. In these latter counties he would have no adventitious advantages. The business of these counties, moreover, was engrossed by an able and a numerous bar. At the first court which he attended after he obtained his Superior Court license they mustered to the number of twenty-six. A large proportion of these were young men recently admitted to practice; but after deducting these, and many more of longer standing and respectable position, there still remained a bar which for learning, abilities and eloquence was never surpassed in this State. Of resident lawyers there were Thomas Ruffin, Archibald D. Murphy, Willie P. Mangum, Francis L. Hawks and Frederick Nash; of lawyers attending the court, from other counties, there were George E. Badger, William H. Haywood and Bartlett Yancey. What recollections of renown connected with the forum, the Senate, and the church flood the mind as we recall these names! Fain would I pause to contemplate the career of these illustrious men, by which the character of North Carolina was so much elevated in the consideration of the world, and so much of honor brought to the State. But other subjects press upon me—subjects of more immediate interest.

Notwithstanding this formidable competition—a competition which might well dismay one at the outset of professional life—Mr. Graham resolved to fix his residence at Hillsborough. Two reasons were assigned by him for this conclusion: first, an unwillingness to relinquish the foothold he had gained in the county courts of Orange, Granville and Guilford; second, a reluctance to sever the associations formed with his professional brethren at those courts. Another reason, quite as potent, probably, was a well-grounded confidence in his own abilities, and in his knowledge of his profession. Against such men he entered the lists, and against such he had to contend; not indeed all at the same time, but all within a period of two years. It may be mentioned as an instance of the vicissitudes of human life, that five years from the August of that year—1827—not one of those illustrious men remained at that bar.

His first case of importance in the Superior Court was one which, from peculiar causes, excited great local interest. It involved an intricate question of title to land. On the day of trial, the court room was crowded and the bar fully occupied by lawyers—many of them men of the highest professional eminence. When he came to address the jury, he spoke with modesty, but with ease and self-possession. His preparation of the case had been thorough, and the argument which he delivered is described as admirable, both as to matter and manner. When he closed Hon. William H. Haywood, who had then risen to a high position at the bar, turned to a distinguished gentleman, still living, of the same profession, and inquired who had prepared the argument which Mr. Graham had so handsomely delivered. The answer was, "It is all his own;" to which Mr. Haywood replied with the observation, "William Gaston could have done it no better."

Mr. Graham knew none of that weary probation which has been the lot of so many able men. His argument in the case just mentioned at once gave him a position of prominence. It was not long before he attained a place in the front rank of his profession. Here, with the large stores of professional knowledge which he had laid up, it was easy to sustain himself. His high mental qualifications, his habits of study, his perseverance, his unalterable faith in his cause, brought to him a constantly increasing business, and a constantly widening reputation. He was early, for so young a man, retained in the most important causes in the courts in which he practiced, and his associate counsel generally gave him the leading position in the trial.

In 1833 he was elected a member of the General Assembly from the town of Hillsborough. His first appearance on the floor has an interest from the relations subsequently existing between him and the distinguished man to whom the motion submitted by him had reference. He rose to move the sending of a message to the Senate to proceed to the election of a Governor of the State, and to put in nomination Governor Swain. A day or two after he had the satisfaction of reporting that that gentleman—who was ever afterward united to him in the closest bonds of friendship—had received a majority of votes, and of being named as first on the committee to inform him of his election. He took, from the beginning, an active part in the business of the House relating to banks, law amendments and education.

I record an incident which attests the high consideration which he had already acquired in the country, and the importance attached to his opinion. Judge Gaston had been elected in 1833 to a seat on the Supreme Court Bench by a majority of two-thirds of the General Assembly. He had been brought up in the Roman Catholic faith—the faith of his fathers—the faith in which he died. The thirty-second section of the old constitution declared incapable of holding office all those who "deny the truth of the Protestant religion." Some dissatisfaction had been expressed at his accepting a judicial office under a constitution containing this clause, which in the opinion of some, excluded him. For some time he did not deem it necessary to advert to the matter. In 1834—November 12—he addressed a letter to Mr. Graham, enclosing a written paper, in which he stated succinctly, but with great clearness and force, the reasoning by which his acceptance had been determined. In the conclusion of his letter he referred it to Mr. Graham's judgment, to determine what degree of publicity should be given to the paper. Whether it was ever published we do not know; but when we consider Judge Gaston's high station and great name in the country, and that the purity of that name was in a measure at stake, the incident must be regarded as a singular tribute to the character which Mr. Graham had thus early established. It is well known how Judge Gaston availed himself of his place in the Convention of 1835 to set forth to the world the reasons by which his decision had been influenced—reasons so cogent and conclusive as to satisfy every mind. It is known, too, that the object of the great speech delivered by him then—an object happily accomplished—was to bring about such a modification of the obnoxious clause as to deprive it of all sectarian intolerance.

Mr. Graham was again a member from Hillsborough in the year 1835. In the organization of the committees the post of chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary was assigned to him, and the journals bear testimony to the diligence with which its duties were discharged. It was through him, in his capacity of chairman, that the various reports of the commissioners to revise the statute laws of the State—the Revised Code being then in progress—were submitted to the House.

From the abilities displayed and the high position held by him in the Legislature, we should naturally expect to find him in the Constitutional Convention of 1835. It has been well said that the county of Orange has been to North Carolina, what Virginia has been to the Union, the mother of statesmen. On this occasion, by one of those caprices which sometimes seize upon communities as well as individuals, the noble old county seemed to care little for her ancient renown. There seems to have been no action by the county to secure delegates worthy of her former reputation. We learn from the remarks of one of the delegates in the Convention, that there were ten candidates in the field, and that the successful candidates were returned by so small a vote as to call forth a taunt from a member of the Convention. In such a contest Mr. Graham had no desire to enter the field; indeed, whenever he offered himself for the suffrages of his countrymen, it was as the chosen champion of the principles of a great party.

He again represented the county of Orange in the Legislatures of 1838 and 1840, in both of which he was elected Speaker. This withdrew him from the arena of debate, and we learn little more of him from the journals of those sessions than the uniform punctuality and universal acceptability with which he discharged the duties of that high trust.

A revolution in the politics of the State brought about a vacancy, in 1840, in the representation from North Carolina in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Strange, under instructions, had resigned his seat; the term of the other Senator was near its end. There were thus two terms to be filled by the Legislature of 1841. Mr. Mangum was elected for the full term, Mr. Graham for the unexpired term. This election was considered by Mr. Graham as the most emphatic testimonial of the confidence and favor of the State which he received during his life. Mr. Mangum and he were residents of the same county, and of the many able men who might justly advance claims to the other seat Mr. Graham was the youngest. Certainly an election under such circumstances constituted a tribute of peculiar significance and value.

He was among the youngest members of the Senate when he took his seat; but he soon commanded the esteem and respect of the entire body. That, it has been truly said, was preëminently the age of great men in American parliamentary history, and of such he was regarded as the worthy compeer. "He never rose to speak," says a distinguished gentleman (Mr. Rayner), who was himself a member of Congress at that time, "that he did not receive the most respectful attention. When the Senate went into Committee of the Whole he was usually called upon to preside. Reports from him as chairman of a committee almost invariably secured the favorable consideration of the Senate." From the same authority we learn that the relations existing between him and Mr. Clay were of the most kindly and intimate character, and that Mr. Clay "regarded him as a most superior man, socially and intellectually."

The period during which Mr. Graham was in the Senate was one of the most stormy in our political annals. The Whig party had just achieved a great victory, and Harrison and Tyler had been elected by an immense majority. That party reckoned confidently that it would now be able to carry out those great principles of government, for which it had so long contended, and which had been so signally approved in the recent election. In the midst of these patriotic anticipations, General Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler succeeded to the Presidential chair. Mr. Tyler had adopted the platform of the Whig party, and in his address, upon assuming the duties of his high office, he did not intimate the least change of policy from that which his predecessor had announced in his inaugural. He had, moreover, retained the same constitutional advisers. The statesmen of the Whig party now set to work to redeem the pledges which had been made to the country. A great financial measure was passed; this was vetoed by the President. A second measure of the same kind, framed in conformity to the views indicated in his veto message, was passed, which was vetoed in like manner. A tariff bill was passed, but this shared the same fate. Efforts were made to pass these bills over the President's veto, but in every instance the veto was sustained by the opposite party. The result of these repeated disappointments was that all hope of united and efficient action in carrying out the great principles of the Whig party was finally abandoned.

The administration of Mr. Van Buren had largely exceeded the revenues. Provision for this deficiency had to be made by the incoming administration. To meet an emergency so pressing a bill was introduced, known as the "Loan Bill." It was strongly opposed, among others, by Mr. Calhoun, in a speech of characteristic force and compass. So far as the Whigs were concerned it was an appeal by the administration for aid, to a party which it had betrayed. Mr. Graham only recollected that the good of the country was involved, and gave it his support. "I will not," said he, "stop the action of the government by denying it the means of going on, no matter who may be in power." The speech which he delivered on this bill was eminently able and statesmanlike. He demonstrated the necessity of the measure; he traced out the cause of the deficiency, and pointed out the remedy. The subject has little interest to the general reader at this day, yet in that speech there are passages of such profound reflection and philosophic scope as will give it a value to the political student at all times.

When the Apportionment bill in 1842 was under consideration, very strong opposition, headed by Mr. Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Wright, of New York, was made to the districting clause. Mr. Graham, on June the 3d, addressed the Senate in support of the clause. In a calm, condensed, weighty and conclusive argument, he demonstrated that the district system of electing Representatives to Congress, was in conformity to the true theory of representative government, and was the one contemplated and expected by the framers of the government; that it was sanctioned by usage almost unanimous in the old States, and by the usage of two-thirds of the new; that the general ticket system was fraught with evils, public and private; nay, with dangers to the Union. There was a passage in that debate which so forcibly illustrates the high moral plane upon which he discussed public affairs that I cannot pass it by. It was objected by Mr. Woodbury, of New Hampshire, that if the act were passed by Congress, it had no means of enforcing it. He wished to know whether an armed force or a writ of mandamus would be sent to the State Legislatures to compel them to lay off the districts. In reply Mr. Graham showed that if, notwithstanding the law, a State should return members according to general ticket, the House of Representatives, as judge of the election of its members, could pronounce such election a nullity. "But the duties of the States under our Constitution," said he, "are not to be determined by their liability to punishment, but by the covenants into which they entered by that instrument. It is faith, honor, conscience, and not the 'hangman's whip,' on which, at last rest the blessings of this noblest human institution which has ever been devised for the security, the welfare and happiness of man." In this exclamation, he unconsciously announced those great principles by which his own conduct through life was regulated, and to whose slightest behest he ever yielded an unhesitating obedience.

A short time after—July 25, 1842—he received the following letter from Chancellor Kent: "I thank you for your speech on the districting clause of the Apportionment bill. I have read it carefully, and I deem it in every respect logical, conclusive, and a vindication of the power assumed by the bill, in language clear and specific, tempered with due moderation and firmness. The district system is essential to check and control the cunning machinery of faction."

After the expiration of his term—March 3, 1843—Mr. Graham resumed the practice of his profession.

In 1844 he was nominated by the Whig party of North Carolina for the office of Governor. He had not sought the nomination; nay, would have declined it if he could have done so consistently with his high conceptions of the duty of a citizen. In 1836 he had married the daughter of the late John Washington, Esq., of New Bern, a lady of rare beauty and accomplishments—a union which brought to him as much of happiness as it is the lot of man to know. From this union a young and growing family was gathering around him. His patrimony had not been large, and the requirements of his family demanded his constant professional exertions. He was now at the summit of his profession, and his emoluments would be limited only by the nature of the business in an agricultural State, where commerce existed to only a small extent, and manufactures were in their infancy. His attention had been much withdrawn from his profession during his senatorial career, and besides the expense and loss of time in a State canvass, he would, if elected, be entirely precluded from the exercise of his profession during his term of office. The salary of the office was small, and a residence in the capital as Chief Magistrate would render necessary an increased scale of expense. On the other hand were considerations of great weight. Letters came to him from many gentlemen of high standing in various parts of the State, pressing his acceptance by every consideration that could be addressed to an elevated mind. Moreover, he was not unmindful of the honors which had been conferred upon him, and not ungrateful. He held, too, that the circumstances must be very exceptional which could justify a citizen in withholding his services when called to a public station by the general voice of the people. To determine his duty cost him much anxious reflection; but the latter consideration proved decisive. The decision once made, he acted with his accustomed energy.

His nomination was hailed with satisfaction throughout the Union. Among other letters which he then received, giving expression to this feeling, was one from Mr. Clay. In conclusion he thus expressed himself: "Still, I should have preferred that you were in another situation, where the whole Union would have benefited by your services."

His opponent was Colonel Mike Hoke. He was born in the same county with Mr. Graham, and was nearly of the same age. He was a gentleman of fine person, of fine address, of considerable legislative experience, and of high position at the bar. The canvass was well contested on both sides; on the part of Mr. Graham it was conducted with surpassing ability. When it came to the vote he led his competitor by several thousand majority.

He was inaugurated on the 1st of January, 1845, the oaths of office being administered by Chief Justice Ruffin. The Raleigh Register of that date remarks, that "the audience which witnessed the ceremony, for everything that could make the occasion imposing, has never been surpassed within our recollection. The lobbies and galleries were crowded with strangers and citizens, and a brilliant assemblage of ladies."

His first term was so acceptable that he was elected to the second by a largely increased vote. His two terms embrace that period, during which North Carolina made the greatest progress in all her interests. The messages of his very able predecessor, Governor Morehead, followed up by his own, drew the attention of the whole State to the subject of internal improvements, and a powerful impulse was given to that great interest.

In a letter, Mr. Webster writes as follows: "The tone which your message holds, in regard to the relations between the State Government and the General Government, is just, proper, dignified and constitutional, and the views which it presents on questions of internal policy, the development of resources, the improvement of markets, and the gradual advancement of industry and wealth, are such as belong to the age, and are important to our country in all its parts." His earnest recommendation of a geological survey elicited from Prof. Olmstead, a letter commending his views expressed in that regard, in which he said: "There is no State in the Union which would better reward the labor and expense of a geological survey than North Carolina."

In 1849 he delivered the address before the literary societies at Chapel Hill. His subject was a cursory view of the objects of liberal education. This address stands out in wide contrast to those which have been customary on such occasions, and is solid, sterling, practical. It is a vindication of the University curriculum.

Public honors have been coy to most men; it was the reverse in his case. They waited around him with perpetual solicitation. In 1849, Mr. Mangum, one of the confidential advisers of the President, wrote to Mr. Graham that he might make his election between the Mission to Russia and the Mission to Spain. Subsequently the Mission to Spain was tendered to and declined by him.

Upon the accession of Mr. Fillmore to the Presidency, a seat in the Cabinet was tendered to Mr. Graham. In the letter addressed to him by the President, informing him of his appointment, he said: "I trust that you will accept the office, and enter upon the discharge of its duties at the earliest day. I am sure that the appointment will be highly acceptable to the country, as I can assure you, your acceptance will be gratifying to me." In a letter couched in proper terms, dated July 25, he communicated his acceptance.

In a letter dated the 19th of February, 1851, Mr. Benton wrote as follows: "I have just read a second time, your report on the Coast Survey. I consider it one of the most perfect reports I ever read—a model of a business report, and one which should carry conviction to every candid, inquiring mind. I deem it one of the largest reforms, both in an economical and administrative point of view, which the state of our affairs admits of."

He resolved, being strongly supported by the President, to send an expedition to Japan and bring that empire within the pale and comity of civilized nations. The command was assigned to Commodore Perry. The event showed what statesmanlike sagacity was exercised in planning the expedition and in the selection of its leader. Everything that was contemplated was accomplished. The success of that expedition constitutes one of the principal claims of Mr. Fillmore's administration to the admiration of the country and of posterity. Its success constitutes, indeed, an era in the history of the world. Its results have been great and cannot but be enduring. It has placed our relations with Japan upon a just and honorable basis. It has given a new direction to much of the commerce of the world—pouring its fertilizing tide through the heart of the American continent. Its effects upon Japan are but beginning to be seen; yet already they exceed what would have been brought about in the ordinary course of affairs in a thousand years. No people have ever availed themselves of the light of a superior civilization as the Japanese have. In that light they have seen the unfitness of many of their old institutions and have abandoned them; they have seen the unfitness of their language for foreign intercourse, and are preparing to substitute the English language. The changes thus made are harbingers of progress which will justify the most lively anticipations for the future. The friends of humanity and religion, especially, hail the prospect with delight. They see in what has been already done, the prospect of an entire change in the institutions of that land. They hope, at no distant day, to see liberal institutions introduced there. They hope to see a universal recognition of popular rights, where the bonds of caste have been so inexorable; to see equal laws take the place of a despot's will, and to see the Christian religion again introduced, never more to be disturbed in its peaceful reign.

Another expedition was sent out in 1851 under the direction of the Navy Department. The object was the exploration of the valley of the Amazon in the interests of commerce. The instructions to Lieutenant Herndon—to whose charge the expedition was confided—contained in the letter of Mr. Graham, of February 15th, were full and particular. They embraced the position of the country—the navigability of its streams—its capacities for trade and commerce—and its future prospects. In February, 1854, the report was published by order of Congress. It contains the most ample information upon all the points embraced in the instructions. In the London Westminster Review of that year, it was noticed with just credit to the author, and due recognition of the enlightened policy which projected the expedition.

A part of the triumph of the compromise of 1850 belongs to North Carolina. Her favorite statesman was then in the Cabinet, and shared in the counsels by which these results were brought about. During the progress of these measures he was in constant conference with their author, and to the opinion of none did their author pay greater deference.

His labors as Secretary of the Navy were brought to a sudden termination. The Whig party met in convention on the 16th of June, 1852, and put in nomination for the Presidency General Scott, and for the Vice-Presidency Mr. Graham. Mr. Graham's preference for the Presidency was Mr. Fillmore, and without a distinct declaration of principles, and an approval of the course of his administration, he would not have permitted his name to be placed on any other ticket. This declaration was made, and in terms as explicit as he could wish; with that declaration, it became a mere calculation of chances which was the candidate most acceptable to the country. Under these circumstances he accepted the nomination. Immediately on his acceptance, with a view as he expressed it, "to relieve the administration of any possible criticism or embarrassment on his account in the approaching canvass," he tendered his resignation. The President "appreciating the high sense of delicacy and propriety" which prompted this act, accepted his resignation with expressions of "unfeigned regret."

In Mr. Stephens' history of the United States, it is said that in accepting the nomination tendered him by the Whigs, General Scott "cautiously avoided endorsing that portion of the Whig platform which pledged the party to an acceptance of and acquiescence in the measures of 1850." If avoidance there was, it was because he deemed it unnecessary to pledge his faith to measures with which he was so intimately identified. He was acting Secretary of War during the pendency of these measures. "No one," says Mr. Graham in a letter to a friend, "more deeply felt the importance of the crisis, or cooperated with us more efficiently in procuring the passage of the compromise measure, or rejoiced more heartily in the settlement thereby made." With a soldier's sentiment of honor, General Scott rested on his record, which was open to all the world. But the charge of unfaithfulness to those measures was made against him, and urged with fatal effect. And so it came to pass that the two candidates who had exerted all their abilities, and used all their influence, official and other, to secure the passage of the compromise measures, were beaten upon the charge alleged against one of them of unfaithfulness to those measures.

After his retirement from the cabinet, and in the same year—1852—he delivered the sixth lecture in the course, before the Historical Society of New York, in Metropolitan Hall, in the city of New York. "The attendance," we are told in the Evening Post of that date, "was exceedingly numerous." Ever anxious to exalt his State, and set her before the world in her true glory, his subject was taken from the history of North Carolina. It was the British invasion of North Carolina in 1780 and 1781.

It is known what scant justice has been done to our State by the early historians of the country. This injustice Mr. Graham, as far as a lecture would admit, undertook to redress. Though his subject confined him to the events of less than two years, and took up the story five years after the first blood had been shed at Lexington, and four years after the Declaration of Independence, he presents a rapid and graphic sketch of what was done in North Carolina down to the year 1780. He depicts the advanced state of opinion in North Carolina before the war; he recounts the military expeditions sent out by her in support of the common cause; and shows that "from New York to Florida, inclusive, there were few battle-fields on which a portion of the troops engaged in defense of the liberties of the country were not hers." He then places before us in strong colors, the period just before Lord Cornwallis commenced his famous march—that period so justly designated as the dark days of the Revolution; when Georgia and South Carolina had been over-run and subjugated; when the army of the South had been nearly annihilated by the disastrous battle of Camden and the catastrophe of Fishing Creek. He relates the bold measures—measures which call to mind those of Rome, at similar crises of peril—with which the State of North Carolina prepared to meet the impending shock. He then enters upon a narrative of the different operations of the American and British armies under their respective commanders, Greene and Cornwallis, and a finer narrative it would be difficult to point out. A bare recital of the incidents of that campaign would not want interest in the hands of the dryest historian, but in this narrative it is brought before us in vivid colors. By his brief but striking delineation of the principal actors; by his rapid touches in which the relative state of the Whig and Tory population of that day is brought to view; by his sketches of the scenery of the Piedmont country—the theater of that campaign; by his notices of individual adventure; above all, by his masterly recital of the incidents of the retreat of General Greene and the pursuit of Lord Cornwallis—a retreat in which the hand of Providence seemed from time to time, so visibly interposed—the grand procession of events passes before us with the interest of an acted drama. We experience a feeling of deep relief, when at length, the army of Greene is placed in safety. After taking breath, which we had held as it were, during the quick succession of events in that celebrated retreat, we retrace our steps and the interest culminates in the battle of Guilford. "The philosophy of history," says Mr. Benton in his Thirty Years' View, "has not yet laid hold of the battle of Guilford; its consequences and events. That battle made the capture of Yorktown. The events are told in history, the connections and dependence in none." The future historian will find the task done to his hand in this lecture. Its decisive character is there appreciated and set forth.

The lecture closes with some reflections on the "Act of Pardon and Oblivion," passed by the Legislature, after the proclamation of peace, at its first session in 1783. "An act," says Mr. Graham, "of grace and magnanimity, worthy of the heroic, but Christian and forbearing spirit which had triumphed in the struggle just ended." The words have a peculiar and melancholy significance to us, who recollect how long after the war, he stood among us as an alien and a stranger, deprived of the commonest right of citizenship; and how by mistaken party spirit he was debarred the enjoyment of those senatorial honors, with which a grateful people would have cheered and crowned the evening of his life.

This lecture will, I think, be regarded as the maturest of his literary efforts. It presents the events of the time of which it treats in new combinations, and sheds upon them new lights from original investigations. The style is always clear, forcible and harmonious. Classic ornament is introduced to an extent rare for him; for though he retained his classical learning to the end of his life, his sense of fitness led him to employ very sparingly what any one might be disposed to attribute to ostentation. Altogether it is the most valuable contribution yet made to the history of North Carolina at that era. It sets the State in a juster light than anything on record. It particularly commends itself to all who cherish in their hearts the sacred flame of State love and State pride; to all who hold in honor the renown of their ancestry; to all who would catch

"Ennobling impulse from the past."

Mr. Graham was again a member of the Legislature in 1854-'55. The great question of that session was what was popularly known as "Free Suffrage." Its object was to abolish the property qualification for the Senate, and extend to every voter the same right of suffrage, whether for the Senate or the House. To this extension of suffrage per se he made no objection. He contended, however, that the constitution was based upon carefully adjusted compromises of conflicting interests, and that an amendment of the constitution confined to this single point—as it must necessarily be if carried out by the Legislative method—would disturb those compromises and thus destroy or greatly impair the harmony of that instrument. He, therefore, advocated the calling of a convention, that all the questions embraced in these compromises might be duly considered, and other parts re-adjusted to suit those which might be changed. These views were presented in a speech, memorable for its ability. In the former part he discusses the question at issue, and here will be found some of the finest examples of his skill as a dialectician; in the latter part he gave an exposition of the subject in all its constitutional bearings—an exposition learned, lucid and conclusive.

The administration of Mr. Buchanan drew to its close amidst signs ominous for the future tranquillity of the country. These signs awakened the fears of all who loved and valued the Union, and the trusted statesmen of the country made arrangements to meet for conference, and to give expression to their views. The executive committee of the Constitutional Union party determined early in January, 1860, to issue an address to the people of the United States upon the grave exigencies in national politics. A committee of seven, all men of the highest national distinction, among whom was Mr. Graham, was appointed to prepare the address. Mr. Crittenden notified him of his appointment in a letter of January 24th, and urged his attendance at the meeting of the committee. In his answer, Mr. Graham had left it doubtful whether the pressure of his engagements would permit his attendance, and requested that another might be appointed in his place. Accordingly Governor Morehead was appointed. But Mr. Crittenden wrote again, and to show the importance attached to his judgment and action, I subjoin an extract from his letter: "The crisis is important, and fills the public mind with expectation and anxiety. It is earnestly to be desired that the character of our convention should be conspicuous and equal to the occasion. We have good reason to feel assured of the attendance of many of the most eminent men of the country, and it is by the great weight of the moral and public character of its members that the convention must hope to obtain for its acts or counsels, whatever they may be, respect and influence with the people. We cannot do without your assistance and name. All the members of the committee, who were present when your letter was read, united in wishing me to write and to urge your coming to the convention. Your absence will be a positive weight against us."

A number of eminent statesmen, among whom was Mr. Graham, met in Washington City, in February, to consult together upon the dangers which menaced the country. The result was the convention which nominated the Constitutional Union ticket for the Presidency, in behalf of which he canvassed the State. Upon the election of Mr. Lincoln he made public addresses, and exhorted the people to yield due obedience to his office.

But the tempest had long been gathering, and was now ready to burst. No human power could avert it. The people of South Carolina, and of the other States of the far South, had been educated in the doctrine of secession, and there were few in those States who did not hold that doctrine as an undeniable article of political faith. The time was come when this doctrine was to be tested. The election of Mr. Lincoln constituted the cause in the minds of the people of South Carolina. On the 20th of December, 1860, that State held a convention, and declared her connection with the United States dissolved, and proceeded to put herself in an attitude to make good her declaration. In this action she was followed by States to the south of her, and on similar grounds.

The doctrine of secession met with little favor in North Carolina. As a right deduced from the Constitution, and to be exercised under its authority, it was believed by Mr. Graham, and the school of statesmen to which he belonged, to be without foundation. The Legislature of North Carolina directed the question of a convention to be submitted to the people. The question was discussed, in the light of recent events, by the press of the State, and numerous meetings of the people were held in every part. These meetings were addressed by our ablest men. Amongst these a monster meeting was held at Salisbury, which was addressed by Governor Morehead, Mr. Badger and Mr. Graham, who, as well for the exalted positions they had held as for their commanding abilities, were looked to for counsel in this emergency. The people at the polls pronounced with great unanimity against a convention.

But events were marching on with rapid strides. On the 13th of April, 1861, Sumter surrendered to Confederate guns. On the 15th, Mr. Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 troops. This call was made without authority, and was the first of that series of public measures culminating in the unauthorized suspension of the "Habeas Corpus Act" on the 10th of May, under the shock of which the public liberties of the North for a time went down.

By these events the aspect of things was wholly changed. The question of secession as a right, whether the election of Mr. Lincoln was a just cause for the exercise of that right or not, had drifted out of sight. War was inevitable. Virginia had followed the example of the Southern States, and North Carolina was now girdled with seceded States. All that was left her was a choice of sides. The language of Mr. Graham at this crisis was the language of all thoughtful men; nay, it was the language of the human heart. And looking back upon all that we have suffered—and there are none, even in the Northern States, but say we have suffered enough—if a similar conjuncture were to arise, the heart would speak out the same language again. Speaking the voice of the people of North Carolina, as he, from the high trusts confided to him in his past life, and from the confidence always reposed in him, was, more than any other, commissioned to do, in a public address at Hillsborough, in March, 1861, he expressed himself as follows:

"Ardent in their attachment to the Constitution and the Union, they had condemned separate State secession as rash and precipitate, and wanting in respect to the sister States of identical interests; and as long as there was hope of an adjustment of sectional differences, they were unwilling to part with the Government, and give success to the movement for its overthrow, which appeared on the part of some, at least, to be but the revelation of a long cherished design. But the President gives to the question new alternatives. These are, on the one hand, to join with him in a war of conquest, for it is nothing less, against our brethren of the seceding States—or, on the other, resistance to and throwing off the obligations of the Federal Constitution. Of the two, we do not hesitate to accept the latter. Blood is thicker than water. However widely we have differed from, and freely criticised, the course taken by these States, they are much more closely united with us, by the ties of kindred, affection, and a peculiar interest, which is denounced and warred upon at the North, without reference to any locality in our own section, than to any of the Northern States."

Under the influence of these counsels, so wisely and temperately expressed, a convention of the people of North Carolina, was called. On the 20th of May, a day memorable in the annals of the State and of the world, the convention passed the ordinance of secession.

For this ordinance the vote was unanimous. But though the vote indicated an entire unanimity among the members, it was unanimity only as to the end to be accomplished. The views of Mr. Graham, and the statesmen with whom he acted, had, in regard to secession as a constitutional remedy, undergone no change. To set forth their views, Mr. Badger offered a series of resolutions in the nature of a protestation—an exclusion of a conclusion. These resolutions asserted the right of revolution, and based the action of the convention on that ground; but the minds of men had been wrought to such a pitch of excitement that the distinction was unheeded, and the resolutions failed.

On the 20th of June the convention passed the ordinance by which the State of North Carolina became a member of the Confederacy. To this measure Mr. Graham offered a strong but fruitless opposition. In the perilous career upon which we were about to enter he was unwilling to surrender the sovereignty of the State into the hands of those whose rash counsels had, in the judgment of the people of North Carolina, precipitated the war. He wished the State to hold her destinies in her own hands, that she might act as exigencies might require. Those who realize the delusive views under which the government at Richmond acted during the last months of the war will see in this opinion another proof of his wise foresight.

The progress of the war which now broke out with such fury demonstrated that there were here, as at the North, those who conceived that the public peril had merged the constitution and the laws. Early in the session "an ordinance to define and punish sedition and to prevent the dangers which may arise from persons disaffected to the State," was introduced.

On the 7th of December Mr. Graham addressed the convention in opposition to this ordinance. The speech which he delivered on this occasion was, perhaps, the noblest effort of his life. It breathes the true spirit of American freedom. It is the product of a mind deeply imbued with the great principles of civil liberty, and which had devoutly meditated upon all those safeguards which the wisdom of successive generations had thrown around it. His wide acquaintance with history had made him familiar with every device by which liberty may be sapped and undermined; his exalted estimate of its value and dignity had developed this acquaintance into a special sense by which he could detect any design hostile to it, under any pretense or subterfuge, however specious or skillful.

From the beginning of the war the current of power set steadily from the Confederate States to the Confederate Government; and with each year of the war, the current flowed on with increasing tide. Within its just bounds, no man yielded a heartier allegiance to that government than Mr. Graham; but on the other hand, no man stood ready to oppose a firmer resistance when that government overstepped those bounds. The war had been begun and was then prosecuted for the maintenance of great principles, and it was his fixed purpose that civil liberty should not, at the South as at the North, be engulfed in its progress. In the year 1862 a minister of the gospel—a man of learning and of irreproachable character—was arrested in the county of Orange, under a military order, sent to Richmond, and cast into prison. He was not in the military service of the Confederate States, and therefore not amenable to military law. As a proceeding against a citizen, such an arrest, without charge made on oath and without warrant, was in violation of all law; while his deportation beyond the limits of the State, for trial by military tribunal, was in contempt of the dignity and sovereignty of the State. Mr. Graham, being then Senator from Orange, introduced a resolution demanding a return of the prisoner to the State, which was passed at once. On introducing the resolution, he expressed the opinion that the proceeding was without the sanction of the Confederate Executive, or of the Secretary of War. The sequel proved this supposition to be correct. The prisoner was sent back with a disavowal of any knowledge of the proceeding on the part of the President or the Secretary, until the confinement of the prisoner in the military prison at Richmond. The Secretary frankly admitted the erroneous nature of the arrest and imprisonment, and disclaimed all intention to interfere with the rightful jurisdiction of the State. On the 22d of January, 1863—upon the incoming of the message with the accompanying documents, touching the case—Mr. Graham paid a merited tribute to the enlightened comprehension of the relations existing between the Confederate Government and the States, evinced by these sentiments, and in the further remarks submitted by him, he took occasion to re-state the great principles of personal liberty—daily more and more endangered in the course of the war—and to impress them upon the public mind by apt comments upon the case to which the public attention was then so strongly directed. This was the first, and is believed to have been the last case, in which military power was used to override civil law.

In December, 1863, Mr. Graham was elected to the Confederate Senate by a majority of two-thirds of the Legislature. He took his seat in May, 1864. There was then need of the best counsel. The brilliant successes which had crowned our arms in the early years of the war, had been replaced by a succession of disasters. The battle of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg had brought us apparently to the brink of ruin. As the year 1864 rolled on, the prospect became darker and darker, and at the end of the year the situation was to the last degree critical. Our territory had been cut in twain, and we were beleaguered by land and by sea. Within the area which acknowledged the Confederate Government, there was great exhaustion of all kinds of military supplies, and a like exhaustion of all the elements for the support of human life. General Lee was only able to oppose the front of General Grant by extending his line until it was ready to snap from excessive tension. To strengthen his force from the white race was impossible; conscription there had reached its limit. General Sherman had swept through Georgia, and the broad track of desolation which he left behind him too truly told the story of our helplessness. It was known that each Confederate soldier was opposed by as many as five Federal soldiers; the former scantily fed, clothed and shod; the latter supplied with every comfort and many luxuries. (The odds were seven to one, says Stephens' History of the United States.) It was plain there was no longer any hope of a successful prosecution of the war. In the midst of a dense gloom which shrouded the country on every side, a ray of light dawned in the proposed peace conference at Hampton Roads. Mr. Graham had endeavored to reach this form of intercourse from the commencement of the session. He was not without hope of a peaceful termination of hostilities; not so much from his estimate of the statesmanship of President Davis and his Cabinet, as from the extremity of the case which left no other alternative. The conference took place on the 3rd of February, 1865. The terms offered by Mr. Lincoln were, that the seceded States should return to the Union under the Constitution, in the existing state of affairs, with slavery as it was, but liable to be abolished by an amendment to the Constitution. He pledged himself to the utmost exercise of the executive powers in behalf of the South. The demand of the Commissioners was for independence. There could be no middle ground, and the conference ended. Upon the return of the Commissioners, Mr. Davis and Mr. Benjamin made public speeches in Richmond, to fire the Southern heart anew; but the event proved how little sagacity they brought to the direction of affairs at that supreme hour. The speeches fell still-born. [French intervention in Mexico was the South's opportunity; Seward's object in the Hampton Roads Conference was to ascertain if Southern statesmanship knew how to play its advantage.—Ed.]

One principle had actuated Mr. Graham from the beginning of the war; to sustain the Government in its struggles for independence until it should be demonstrated that our resources were inadequate for that end; and when that should be seen and acknowledged, to seek, if possible, a peaceful solution. How well he sustained it is matter of history. He sustained it in every way in which his talents and his means could be made available. He sustained it by his counsels in the State and in the Confederate Government. He sustained it by blood more precious in his eyes than his own—all his sons, five in number, who had attained the age of eighteen, entered the army, and were in the army to the end.

The inadequacy of our resources, particularly of the population from which our soldiers were drawn, had now been demonstrated. It was known to Congress; it was admitted by General Lee in his proposition to conscribe slaves; it was proclaimed from the steps of the Capitol by Mr. Benjamin: "Unless the slaves are armed," he said, "the cause is lost." Every expedient had been tried; the extremest measures had been put in operation; "by means of conscription, impressment laws, and the suspension of the habeas corpus, the whole population, and all the resources of the country, had long before been placed at the command of the President for prosecution of the war." All had been found unavailing.

One resource, in the opinion of some, remained—the conscription of negroes. A bill for this purpose was introduced into Congress. It was opposed by Mr. Graham upon the ground that it was unconstitutional, as well as inexpedient and dangerous. His sagacious mind saw that this was a measure, not of safety, but a measure born of the wild promptings of despair. On the 21st of February it was indefinitely postponed, though it was subsequently taken up and passed.

If ever negotiation was to be resorted to, it was clear the time had come. We know but little of what passed in the Confederate Congress at that time. Its proceedings were had in secret session; nor is it now known whether the journals of the body escaped destruction. All that we know is derived from what was published by the members after the fall of the Confederate Government. Among these publications is a paper contributed by Mr. Oldham, then Senator from Texas, to DeBow's Review, in October, 1869, which gives us some information of the proceedings of the Senate at that time. A few days after the conference at Hampton Roads, he informs us, a committee consisting of Messrs. Orr, Graham and Johnson, was appointed to confer with the President, and ascertain what he proposed to do under the existing condition of affairs. In a few days they made a verbal report through Mr. Graham. "Among other things," I quote Mr. Oldham's words, "they stated that they had inquired of the President his views and opinions in regard to proposing to the United States to negotiate for peace upon the basis of the Confederacy returning to the Union, and that he had answered that he had no power to negotiate a treaty upon such a basis; that his authority to make treaties was derived from the Constitution, which he had sworn to support and that such a treaty would operate as an abrogation of the Constitution, and a dissolution of the government; that the States alone, each acting for itself, in its sovereign capacity, could make such a treaty. Mr. Graham said, he gave notice that he would, in a few days, introduce a resolution in favor of opening negotiations with the United States upon the basis of a return to the Union by the States of the Confederacy; that he did not give the notice at the instance or under the instruction of the committee, but upon his own responsibility. The notice was received in such a manner that he never offered his resolution."

I never saw the paper from which the foregoing quotation is made, and was a stranger to this passage of Mr. Graham's life until within the last forty days. I read it with a feeling of profound relief. I have ever regarded him from my earliest years, with the warmest admiration and the most affectionate respect; but his failure, as I thought, to take some action looking to peace after the Hampton Roads conference—when the plainest dictates of humanity so clearly demanded it—left upon my mind the painful impression that he had been wanting to himself in that, the most important, crisis of his life. There is a deep-seated conviction that the blood which was shed after that conference might have been saved. That the waste of the fruits of past centuries of toil—a waste which consigned so many of the present and future generations to want and misery—might have been avoided. It is with gratitude I reflect that not a tittle of responsibility for this bloodshed and waste lay at his door. And when the inevitable hour came to him, I doubt not the thought that he had done what he could to arrest a war attended with such terrible and useless sacrifice, was one of the sweetest reflections of his whole life.

Congress adjourned about the 16th day of March. Impressed with the imminence of the emergency, Mr. Graham stopped but one day at home—that day being the Sabbath—and on Monday proceeded to Raleigh to confer with the Governor. The conference was long and earnest. Mr. Graham laid before the Governor the views of the President, the state of the armies, and earnestly recommended that the Legislature should be convened. He sustained his advice by the opinion of General Lee, and that of many good and able men with whom he had been associated. He ended by telling him that Richmond would fall in less than thirty days, and that event would be followed probably by a rout or dispersion of General Lee's army for want of food, if for no other cause. The Governor was surprised by his statement of facts, and incredulous in some degree as to his conclusions. He agreed to consider the subject, and convened the Council on that day week. Hearing nothing of their action, in a few days Mr. Graham visited Raleigh again. The Governor informed him that on the day appointed, a bare quorum of the Council attended, and being equally divided, he had not summoned the Legislature. He said that Mr. Gilmer, with whom Mr. Graham had advised him to consult, had suggested to him to solicit an interview with General Sherman on the subject of peace. Mr. Graham remarked that if such an interview were held, Mr. Davis should be apprised of it. To this the Governor at once assented. Mr. Graham suggested further that if that course were taken, he (the Governor) should be in a condition to act independently of the President, and convene the Legislature. To this proposition the Governor manifested reluctance; but finally agreed to call the Council of State again. But while negotiation halted, the march of General Sherman's army decided events. In a few days no resource was left but an unconditional surrender. With the part borne by Mr. Graham at that trying time, a gifted authoress of North Carolina has made the public already familiar in the captivating pages of her work, The Last Ninety Days of the War.

There is no part of Mr. Graham's life in which the calm wisdom, for which he was so distinguished, shone more conspicuously than in the closing months of the civil war. When independence was demonstrated to be hopeless, he sought peace; but even then, only in channels admitted to be in accordance with the great principles of our government.

In his opinion, that peace ought to be sought by the State after the failure of the conference at Hampton Roads, he was sustained by our entire delegation in Congress, and a large proportion of the leading citizens of the State. Yet so anxious was he not only to avoid any appearance of conflict among the Confederate States, but to conform to all that the most punctilious deference for the Confederate Government might require, that he did not move in the matter until after a conference with the President, and then only in the track pointed out by him. The President disclaimed all power of making a treaty, which would abrogate the Government, and declared that the "States alone, each acting in its sovereign capacity, could make such a treaty." In the line of action here indicated the State could not be put in a false position; nay, her honor would be put beyond all cavil. It was known that we had no power to arrest General Sherman's march. General Johnston confronted him, and all felt convinced that whatever his great military genius could accomplish would be done. But it was also known that his gallant army was outnumbered six to one. A surrender in a few days would be inevitable. Burning capitals, desolated homes, famine and destruction of life, followed Sherman's march. Was it not worth the effort to put a stop to such frightful calamities? What Mr. Graham urged was that the people might be allowed to determine their fate for themselves. Such a course was in strict conformity to the fundamental principles of our Government. A convention of seven Governors had precipitated the war when peace counsels seemed to be in the ascendant. Was not Mr. Graham justified in the opinion that executive powers which had been so destructively exerted in the beginning, might be beneficently exerted in the end?

In an address delivered by Governor Vance before the Southern Historical Society, at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, August 18th, 1875, occurs the following statement:

"Soon after the failure of the Fortress Monroe or Hampton Roads conference, I was visited by Governor Graham (whose death we so recently deplore) who was then a Senator of the Confederate States. After giving all the particulars of that conference which had not appeared in the papers, and the prevailing impressions of congressional circles, about Richmond, etc., he informed me that a number of leading gentlemen there, despairing of obtaining peace through Mr. Davis, and believing the end inevitable and not distant, had requested him to visit me and urge me, as Governor of North Carolina, to take steps for making separate peace with Mr. Lincoln, and thus inaugurate the conclusion; that he agreed to lay their request before me without promising to add his personal advice thereto. I asked who those gentlemen were, and, with some reluctance, he gave me their names, chiefly Senators and Representatives in the Confederate Congress. I asked why these gentlemen did not begin negotiations in their own States with the enemy, and if they would come out in the papers with this request to me. He said they could not take the initiative, they were so surrounded at home, and so trammeled by pledges, etc., as to render it impossible! I declined the proposition of course."

It is with reluctance that I advert to this statement. Had it been given to the press with a sponsor less entitled to consideration, I should have been disposed to let it float with the tide. But it presents itself under imposing circumstances; it proceeds from one who, at the time referred to, was at, the head of the government in North Carolina; it is contained in an address made before a society whose object it is to preserve the memorials of that time. The statement thus passes into history. It will not be waived. It peremptorily challenges attention.

[Mr. McGehee here enters into a rather labored argument to show that Vance was mistaken; it would have been sufficient simply to have published Graham's letter to Swain, written shortly after the conversation, and therefore a better exponent of what actually took place. It appears that Graham as Confederate Senator had far better means of knowing the real condition of the Confederacy than Vance had, and he, doubtless, as was his duty, gave him the whole truth. Even without the vindication of his letter, I should be very slow to believe that he ever advised Vance on his own responsibility to undertake separate negotiations with the enemy. For the consideration of a matter so delicate, serious, and dangerous, doubtless, he, as well as Vance, would wish the assembled wisdom of the State. And what he really advised, as his letter shows, was to call the Legislature together, so that, in secret session, upon full information, it might consider if the State and the several States of the Confederacy should as States make any propositions to the enemy.—Ed.]

After the Hampton Roads conference he had no longer any hope of a peaceful solution through the action of President Davis; from thenceforth he turned his thoughts to the accomplishment of the same end through the action of the States. The subject is often recurred to, but not an intimation can be found of any plan, except that of the States acting in conjunction. Very soon united action on the part of all became an impossibility; conquering armies had dismembered the Confederacy—had left indeed but two States that could act in concert. But his plan still embraced these two. March 26th, he writes as follows to Governor Swain: "I went to Raleigh to have an interview with the Governor on the subject-matter referred to in your letter. The result was a convocation of the Council of State to assemble to-morrow. The Legislature of Virginia has taken a recess until the 29th instant, and I think it very important that that of North Carolina should be in session as early as possible. The war is now nearly reduced to a contest between these two States and the United States!" In his letter of the 8th of April, which contains, as I think has been shown, the true account of the interview between Mr. Graham and Governor Vance, Mr. Graham says: "I told him I should attend the session of the General Assembly, and, if desired, would address them in secret session; that I had confidential conversations with a committee of the Virginia Legislature, which had taken a recess for ten days, and that it was important to act in concert with that body."

The surrender left the State under the control of the Federal generals and under the military law. According to the theory of the administration, all civil government had ceased; all the offices were vacant. The government, for a time, was such as a conquering army administers in a subjugated country. At length, to inaugurate a civil government the precedent for the admission of territories was partially adopted. A provisional Governor was appointed with power to call a convention. In execution of his powers the Governor made appointments to the vacant offices and issued a call for a convention. Mr. Graham was nominated for the convention; but it being announced by the executive, that persons unpardoned would not be allowed to take their seats, he withdrew from the canvass.

A constitution—the old constitution with some alterations—was adopted. Mr. Graham opposed its ratification. From his action at this time many of his best friends dissented. They admitted with him that a convention called, not by the people, but by a power ab extra and under limitations of suffrage unknown to the constitution, was an anomaly in American institutions. But certain changes were regarded as inevitable after the war, and, if the administration, then wielding supreme power over us, should rest satisfied with the changes thus made, it was conceived by them to be the wiser course to raise no question as to the manner in which the convention was called. But in Mr. Graham's view many of the ablest men in the State concurred, and the constitution was defeated. Certainly it seems more in accordance with the spirit of a great patriot to make continual claim, even if ineffectual, in behalf of the principles of government established by our fathers. Any mitigation which an abandonment of those principles might have obtained would have been but temporary; the principles themselves were for all time.

The Reconstruction measures were now passed. The former government was swept away. The whole power over the question of suffrage, that question which lies at the foundation of all representative government, and which, under the old constitution belonged to the States, save that Congress might pass uniform naturalization laws, was assumed and exercised by Congress. Suffrage was adjusted upon a new basis; all the black race was enfranchised, and a large portion of the white race was disfranchised. Under this adjustment, a new convention was called, and a new constitution adopted, the constitution under which we now live.

These measures, so extreme in their nature, were regarded while they were yet in progress by a large part of our people with a feeling little short of consternation. The government seemed wholly changed; the constitution irrevocably wrenched, if not destroyed. A profound apathy fell upon the minds of the people. A vast number ceased to take any cognizance of public affairs. They seemed to regard them, as removed forever beyond their control. In this state of things a convention of the conservative party of North Carolina was called. It met on the 5th of February, 1868, in Tucker Hall, in the city of Raleigh, and was presided over by Mr. Graham, who made the principal speech of the occasion.

The effect of this speech cannot be estimated. It aroused the people from their despondency; it animated them to new efforts; it went further, it infused into them the spirit with which the speech itself was instinct. From that day the Conservative-Democratic party dates its existence in this State as a regularly organized party; within a short time thereafter it gained possession of the Legislature and has held it to the present time.

The Convention of 1865 had directed that the Legislature should be convened. An election was accordingly held and the Legislature met in the winter of that year. Mr. Graham was unanimously elected for the county of Orange, but, being unpardoned he did not offer to take his seat. It was the universal desire of the people that he should represent the State in the Senate of the United States, when restored to its old relations. It was felt that North Carolina had no one more competent to vindicate her action or represent her interests. It was felt that she had no one who, by his balanced judgment, his temperance of feeling, his urbane bearing, would do more to mitigate the asperities which had been provoked by civil strife. He was elected by a large majority. Upon his election he repaired to Washington and presented his credentials. They were laid upon the table. He presented to the Senate a manly and respectful memorial; but he was never permitted to take his seat. The spectacle presented by the exclusion from public affairs of a man of his antecedents, while so many who had an active agency in bringing on civil strife had been promoted to high station, arrested attention everywhere. Many of the most eminent men in the Northern States used their best efforts for the removal of his disabilities, without effect. Political persecution, set on foot by parties in his own State, pursued him until it was placed beyond all human probability that he should ever enjoy the honors for which the State had destined him. When that had become a certainty, to wit, in 1873, his disabilities were removed. What reflections arise, as we recur to this passage of his life! Mr. Graham had clung to the Constitution until the rising tide of secession had flowed around and completely insulated his State; to this ancient ark of our fathers he again clung when after the war the waves of political enthusiasm inundated the country and the constitution. Yet he was left stranded, while many of those who had fanned the tempests of both found secure anchorage. But we look beyond to-day. The things seen are temporal in more senses than one. The impartial tribunal of posterity rises up before us. Then, when the actors of to-day are weighed in even scales; when the influence of passion and prejudice is unknown, then will the consistent devotion to principle, by which his conduct was always actuated, receive its due meed of admiration and applause.

In the year 1875—upon the 4th of February—he presided over a meeting held in Charlotte to take steps for the proper celebration of the centennial of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Some writers of ability had seized upon that event, and in that spirit of historical skepticism so rife in our days, had undertaken, out of a few minor discrepancies, to deny the genuineness of the Declaration, or that any meeting was held on the 20th of May. Mr. Graham had been often solicited to place that event upon its proper basis. He had heard it often talked of at his father's fire-side; he knew all the traditions connected with it; he had known and talked with many of the subscribers of that declaration; he was well acquainted with public opinion regarding it, in that section where the event occurred, down to the date of its publication in 1820. For a long time motives of delicacy, growing out of his connection with some of the principal actors, restrained him. But at that time, all the actors had passed away; they could no longer be heard; and a just regard for their fame urged his acquiescence. He embodied his vindication in the form of an address which he delivered on this occasion. No fair synopsis of that address is possible; it is a solid, compact argument which would be greatly impaired by any attempt at abridgment. Let it suffice to say that the evidence is arrayed in the spirit of the philosophical historian, and with the skill of a lawyer. It will not put to silence the mere caviller; no amount of evidence will, on this or any other subject; but the candid inquirer will rise from its perusal with the conviction that few events in history rest upon a firmer foundation than the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

Mr. Graham left behind many literary essays, but none which were prompted by mere desire for literary distinction. His efforts of this kind were all the result of passing events; all the fruit of hours snatched from an absorbing profession. Yet if collected together they would form a considerable volume; and if we consider their contents they give a high idea of the intellect which could find its relaxation in such labors. The dominant feeling of his life was loyalty to the State and her institutions; hence the subjects usually selected by him were drawn from her history.

Among these was a lecture delivered at Greensboro, in 1860. The citizens of that section of country, of which Greensboro is the centre, contemplated the erection of a monument to commemorate the services of General Greene in the Revolutionary struggle. This lecture was delivered in aid of the enterprise, and embraced a life of Greene and a history of Revolutionary events in this State. A copy was solicited for publication, but from some cause it was never published. It remains in manuscript, full and entire, as if prepared for the press. Here may be mentioned two Memorial Addresses—the one upon the life and character of Hon. George E. Badger, and the other of Hon. Thomas Ruffin.

This record would be most imperfect did it fail to bring into the most prominent relief the services of Mr. Graham in his office of trustee of the University. He regarded the University as the best ornament of the State, and no one of all its sons nursed it with a more devoted or wiser care. He attended all its commencements, and was most active in watching over all its interests. No one labored with more zeal for its restoration to the control of the true sons of the State. For many years he was a member of the executive committee, and at the time of his death he was the chairman of that committee. It was to him, finally, that Governor Swain, in the last years of his successful administration, looked for direction and support in all its trials and embarrassments.

"It is not unusual for men of eminence," said Judge Story, "after having withdrawn from the bar to find it difficult, if not impracticable, to resume their former rank in business." Mr. Graham experienced no such difficulty. Though often called from his profession to public station, at the first court at which he appeared after his term of office expired, he was retained in all important causes, and business flowed in upon him thenceforth as if he had never been absent. In common with all the people of the South, his resources had been somewhat impaired by the war, and when civil government was restored he resumed the practice of his profession with more than his wonted ardor. He returned to all the courts of his former circuit, the business of which had greatly increased by the general settlement of all previous transactions which took place after the war. The business of the circuit and district courts—both of which he regularly attended—had been greatly enlarged by the new system of revenue laws and other changes introduced by the war, but, above all, by the bankrupt laws then recently enacted. These with appeals to the Supreme Court of the State, and appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States, increased his labors, protracted his absences from home, and left him few intervals for repose. It was felt by his friends that he was overtaxing his strength by these great exertions, but there was no abatement of his energies until about a year before his death. Symptoms then appeared which inspired deep apprehensions. It seemed but too certain that disease had fixed itself upon some of the great organs of life. He now gave up attendance upon courts, but still watched over the progress of his causes, and labored in the preparation of briefs—the causes themselves being argued by his son, Maj. Graham. He was preëminently a worker and he continued to work to the end. At length the symptoms became more distressing, and he repaired to Philadelphia to consult the eminent physicians of that city. The result confirmed the opinion before entertained that his malady was disease of the heart. Upon his return home he continued his labors in his office. It was only under physical exertion that his malady gave him trouble; when in repose he was capable of as great mental efforts as ever.

At this period of comparative inaction that fortunate destiny which presided over his life was constant to him still. The pain, which was incident to his malady, was only felt at intervals, and then was not severe. Apart from this, there was every possible compensation. Besides the department of professional labor still left to him, he had the boundless resources of literature, ancient and modern, which in the busiest periods of his life he had always cultivated and justly prized. Every day, moreover, brought to him in the visits of friends, or through the mails, in newspapers and letters, some new testimonial of esteem and regard, public or private. But above any and all of these, he could now enjoy without interruption those pleasures, in which, amidst his most brilliant successes, he ever found his chief happiness, the pleasures of home and its sweet endearments.

Mr. Graham had been nominated by acclamation by the people of Orange for the constitutional convention which sat in September, 1875, but the state of his health rendered it impossible for him to undergo the labors of the canvass. This was not needed on his own account, but his absence from the hustings was regretted on account of the convention cause. He published, however, a strong address to his constituents; which was widely circulated, and had an important influence on the result.

A meeting of the commissioners to determine the boundary between Virginia and Maryland had been arranged to take place at Saratoga Springs, in the State of New York, in the month of August, 1875. Thither Mr. Graham accordingly went, accompanied by Mrs. Graham and his youngest son. For many days he appeared to be in his usual health; but a great change was at hand. After an evening spent with his friends, whose society he enjoyed with more than his wonted zest, he retired a little beyond his accustomed hour. Soon after the symptoms of his disease recurred in aggravated form. Physicians were summoned who ministered promptly, but ineffectually. Meantime the news of his situation spread, and messages of inquiry and offers of personal services testified to the general and deep concern. But all that science and the most affectionate solicitude could suggest proved unavailing. He expired at 6 o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, the 11th of August, 1875.

It had long been believed, by those who knew him best, that Mr. Graham was at heart a Christian. It is with inexpressible gratification, I am able to add, that when approached on this subject during the last days of his life, he freely expressed his hope of salvation through our crucified Redeemer.

The intelligence of his death was transmitted by telegraph to every part of the country. All the great journals responded with leading articles expressive of the national bereavement. Numerous meetings were held—meetings of the bar, meetings of citizens, meetings of political opponents, for political enemies he had none—to give their estimate of the illustrious deceased, and to speak their sense of his loss. The States of Virginia and Maryland, with that high sense of delicacy which marks all their public acts, took care that the remains of one who had stood in such honored relations to each, should be conveyed with due honor across their bounds. At the borders of our State they were received by a committee appointed by the bar of Raleigh, by a committee appointed by the mayor and common council of that city, and by a committee from Hillsborough, and were conveyed by special train to Raleigh. There they were received by appointed committees—by the Raleigh Light Infantry, by the Raleigh Light Artillery (of both of which companies he was an honorary member), by the United States troops from Camp Russell, and accompanied by a great concourse of the citizens, conveyed to the capital. There the remains were deposited in the rotunda, which was draped in mourning for the occasion. Late in the afternoon of the same day they were conveyed with similar ceremonies to the central station. From thence, attended by the Raleigh companies, and by special guards of honor, appointed by cities and towns of the State, and by the family of the deceased, they were conveyed by special train to the station at Hillsborough. From thence they were escorted, with the addition of the whole population of the town, to his mansion, where they lay in state till the noon of Sunday, the 15th. At that hour they were conveyed to the Presbyterian Church, and, after appropriate funeral services, were interred with solemn ceremony, amid an immense concourse, gathered from many counties, in the graveyard of that church.

The place which will be awarded him in the rank of orators will not be the highest. Indeed at oratorical effects, purely as such, he never aimed. There is no doubt but that he might have employed the resources of oratory, other than the very highest, to a much greater extent than he did. All who have heard him in capital trials, and on other occasions when great interests were at stake, were persuaded that he possessed reserved resources of this kind to which he did not give play, and which he could have called into requisition at will. That he refrained was matter of deliberate judgment. He preferred to address himself to the understanding. He relied wholly upon argument, disdaining the adjuncts of mere rhetoric. He knew that the triumphs of reason are more durable than those which are the offspring of excited feeling. Reaction and change follow the latter; the former leave full, permanent conviction.

As a parliamentary speaker and as an advocate he stood in the first rank. His style was that which finds so much favor among eminent English statesmen, that style in which the results of thought and research are given with the warmth and ease of animated and unpremeditated conversation.

In addition to his high intellectual endowments, nature had to him been profuse in external gifts. In person he was the ideal of the patrician. His features, regular and classic in their outline, would have satisfied a sculptor. The habitual expression of his face was one of blended thought, refinement and quiet will. His form was noble and commanding; cast, indeed, in nature's finest mould. These advantages were set off by a dress always scrupulously neat, and sufficiently conformed to the prevailing mode to escape observation. The advantages, thus slightly touched upon, were singularly calculated to impress favorably the mind of any audience. If we add that he appeared before every audience with the prestige of a character, which calumny itself would own to be without a blemish, the causes of his uniform success are easy to discern.

He possessed in many respects the temperament of a great commander. As difficulties thickened around him his courage seemed to rise, and his resources to develop. No man ever fought a losing cause with more courage and constancy. When in important cases the tide of testimony unexpectedly turned and flowed dead against him there was nothing in his look or manner that betrayed the change. His attention would be redoubled, but in all else there was so much of calm composure that lookers-on, inattentive to the evidence, have left the court house under the impression that he would gain the cause. He preserved, under all circumstances in the trial of causes, the lofty tenor of his bearing. He was never betrayed into an altercation with witnesses. It may be that awe of his character, and a consciousness of his practiced sagacity and penetration constrained witnesses, when in his hands, to an unwonted utterance of the truth. This impression may have been assisted, and probably was, by the fairness and integrity observable in his whole bearing. But whatever the cause, it is certain he never resorted to boisterous tones or a browbeating manner. Equally removed was his manner from all the arts of cajolery. In his examination of the most refractory witness his mien was calm, his look observant and penetrating, his voice never or but slightly raised above its ordinary tone. In such a contest, the contest between acute, disciplined reason, and cunning or obstinate knavery, the victory was always on the side of the former.

In his moral constitution he was complete on every side. All his conduct in life was regulated not only by the highest sense of honor, but by the most scrupulous sense of duty. This supreme sense of duty in everything that he did, whether great or small, was his distinguishing characteristic. From his cradle to his grave not a shadow of a shade ever rested upon him. Esteeming a stainless character as the highest of all earthly possessions, he exercised the most scrupulous caution in his judgment of others. Few men were more often in the public arena. He took part in all the political canvasses of his time; in many of which partisan feeling was inflamed to the highest pitch. Yet he never assailed the motives of his opponent and never left any feeling of personal injury rankling in his bosom. He always contended for principle, and disdained to use any argument which reason would not sanction.

In debate he was a model of candor, and whoever might be his opponent he would always accept Mr. Graham's statement of his position. In all his intellectual conflicts, whether at the bar, on the hustings or in the Senate, under no provocation was he ever excited to an unseemly exhibition of temper. "Although," said a gentleman of high distinction, who knew him long and well (Hon. S. F. Phillips), "I have been present at the bar, and upon other public occasions when he must have been greatly tried, I have never seen his countenance degraded by an expression of passion. His look may at times have been stern and high, but at all times it could with advantage have been committed to marble or canvas."

It was the opinion of that eminent lawyer, Archibald Henderson, that public men should mingle much with the people—that there is to be found the true school of common sense. Either because he held the same opinion, but more probably from inclination, his intercourse with the people was constant and cordial. When in attendance on his courts it was his custom when the day was fine to repair, after the adjournment of court, to the portico of his hotel, or the lawn in front of it, and sit for an hour or two. This was often his custom after the evening meal, usually served in his circuit at hours primitively early. Here he became the centre of a group of citizens all of whom he received with courtesy. The talk on such occasions was free and general; and, whatever the topic, he listened to their views with attention, and in turn frankly gave his own. Thus his information in regard to all matters of general interest was minute and particular. It was thus, too, that he became informed as to the current opinion in regard to public men and public measures. This intimate knowledge of the people was one of the great sources of his strength; it rendered his judgment of the probable fate of State and national questions of great value. His judgment upon such matters, in the counties in which his circuit lay, was almost infallible.