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 EULOGIES ' 
 
 DEATH OF im. WILLIAM S1YT£ 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 21, 1870. 
 
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 Mr. ALLISON. Mr. Speaker, it becomes 
 my painful duty to aiitiouace to the House the 
 death of ray. late colleague, Hon. William 
 Smyth, of the second district of Iowa. He 
 died on the 30th day of September last, at 
 his home in Iowa, after an illness of -several 
 weeks. Mr. Smyth was comparative!}^ a new 
 member in the House, having been first elected 
 to the present Congress, and therefore not so 
 well known here as in the State he represented 
 in part. His name is largely identified with 
 the growth and prosperity of that State. At 
 the early uge of twenty lie became a citizen of 
 what was then the Territory of lov.'a. Choos- 
 ing the law as a profession, he commenced the 
 practice at the town of Marion in 1847. He 
 was appointed the following year prosecuting 
 attorney, and v/as subsequently elected and 
 reelected continuously to the same ollice until 
 1853, v/hen he was appointed district judge 
 for the fourth district of Iowa, a position in 
 the State of high honor and great, responsi- 
 bility. This position he held until the spring 
 of 1857, T.'heu he resigned, and resumed the 
 practice of his chosen profession, which he 
 continued successfully until the summer of 
 1862, v/hen he entered the military service of 
 the United States as colonel of the thirty- first 
 regiment of Iow.a volunteer infantry. In the 
 mean time, in 1858, he was selected by the 
 Legislature of our State as chaiiman of a 
 commission to codify and revise the laws of 
 Iowa, this commission being the result of the 
 adoption of a new constitution in 1857. In 
 conjunction v,rith two other eminent lawyers, 
 he labored diligently on this work, making 
 a report to the Legislature, which, with a few 
 modification^ in the shape of legislative amend- 
 ments, is the rpvlsion of 1800. At tlie extra ses- 
 sion of the Legislature of 18G1 he was selected 
 as one of four to act in conjunction v.'ith Gov- 
 ernor Kirkwood in the management and direc- 
 tion of the v/ar and dt^/ense fund bonds of 
 tlie .State, an important and responsible trust. 
 He entered tlie Army in the fall of 18(i2, at tiie 
 most periions period of our struggle with the 
 great rebellion, and servd with distinction and 
 honor until the 15ih of December, 180-1, wlien, 
 by reason of impaired health and the consolida- 
 tion of lov/a regiments, he resigned, and again, 
 in the spring ol'18G5, resumed the practice of his 
 profession, and thus continued until elected to 
 the Forty-First Congress. Although his term 
 
 of service here was brief, he faithfully and intel- 
 ligently represented the sentiments of his con- 
 stituency, and in an eminent degree enjoyed 
 the confidence of his colleagues and associates 
 on this floor. He was nominated by acclama- 
 tion in hisdistrictfor reelection, and would have 
 been reelected had not death barred the way. 
 
 ColonelSMYTH was born in Ireland, ofScotch 
 parents, and at the early age of fifteen immi- 
 grated to this country to seek his fortune, with- 
 out means and without i'riends, excefftan elder 
 brother who had preceded him by a few years. 
 He was thus educated in the school of adversity, 
 and early learned to be self-reliant. By nature 
 endowed with a strong and clear intellect, his 
 early training, acting on these natural gifts, 
 admirably fitted him for the various positions 
 of honor and responsibility to which he was 
 chosen, and enabled him to bring to the dis- 
 charge of these varied trusts superior intelli- 
 gence, fidelity, industry, and zeal. 
 
 This brief notice of the many positions ■ '^ 
 held, beginning with his early youth and co.- 
 tinued almost without interruption througho it 
 his whole life, indicates the high estimate the 
 people of Iowa placed upon his ability and 
 worth. This confidence, so worthily bestowed, 
 continued to the day of his death. 
 
 He was struck down in the vigor of manhood 
 and at the period of his greatest usefulness, he 
 being only forty six years of age at the time of 
 his death. Choosing Iowa as his home, at the 
 beginning of his manhood life, when it con- 
 tained a population of only a few thousand, 
 he lived to see an intelligent Commonwealtli 
 of nearly twelve hundred thousand people; 
 and this people will remember him as one of 
 the distinguished men within her borders who 
 contributed largely to this growth and great- 
 ness. He was firm, strong, and ardent in his 
 opinions upon any subject in which he took 
 an interest. A de.scendant of the old Scotch 
 Covenanters, he inherited the firmness and 
 obstin.acy of the heroes of Bothweil Bridge in 
 the faith that seemed to him the true fiiith. , 
 
 In early life he allied himself to the Dem- 
 ocratic party, believing it to represent more 
 nearly than any other the liberty of the citizi-n, 
 as contrasted with the tyranny from which he 
 had fled in his boyhood. But when that great 
 party drifted, as he conceived, from its ancient 
 moorings into other waters he abandoned it, 
 and united with what was then the new K^'pub- 
 
■■'A 
 
 lieaii party, to wliich he faithfully adhered, 
 aiways5 advocating ilu- most advanced opinious 
 and radical view.s -.viiliia that orgaiiizaiion. 
 
 ill his luaiiners and bearing with his fellows 
 he wus ahviiys amiable, mild, and courteous, 
 seeining to reniember even to his enemies that 
 a ''soft, answer turnelh away wrath." In his 
 dealings with men, as with parties, he was hon 
 est. and eariiesr, ihinldng more of a good name 
 than greai riches. Faitbful to friends, he was 
 most beloved at his own home, where best 
 known, in his death Iowa has lost a faithful 
 public servant; and one of its safest and best 
 counselors. 
 
 1 1 was my fortune to know him intimately, 
 and all hough on one or two occasions we dif 
 fered seriously about matters of local concern, 
 our pleasant, personal relations were never dis- 
 turbed, and the more I knew of him the more 
 i-learned to esteem him. I visited him a week 
 before his death. Akhon.r^h at the time very 
 feeble, he exprew-scd a confident hope of meet- 
 ing his friends here at the beginning of the 
 jireseiir, session. 'Hie next day I heard his dis- 
 ease had taken a fresh hold on him, and then 
 came the sad news of his deatli. He retained 
 lip to the last moment, in full vigor, his mental 
 faculties, and when the last summons came he 
 departed, f.aving full hope of fruition in the 
 world to come. In his last moments he called 
 about him his little children, soon to become 
 orphans, and in substance admonished them 
 to deal justly v/ith all men; to "seek first the 
 kingdon'i of heaven and all other things would 
 be added unto them;" and then, bidding friends 
 and npig!'bors farewell, his soul departed in 
 peace. May our last end be like his. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the 
 following resolutions: 
 
 JleHi)lv<:d, That the House hears with profound 
 regrft, of ihodoath of William Smyth, member from 
 the seeonil district of lowii. 
 
 liesofv'd, 'i'lint, as a testimony of respect for the 
 memory of the deceased, thciaembers and oraeer.=i of 
 tljis House will wear the usual badge of mourning 
 lor tilii-tv <l;iv.-i. 
 
 li'ixolvii. That as a furthermark of respect for the 
 deceased ihe House do now adjourn. 
 
 Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, having been 
 •well acquainted with the deceased, and being 
 his Kucce«sor iti position here, it would seem 
 proper llint 1 should say a few words in response 
 to I lie resolution now i)e!bre the House. Yet 
 in making sucii remarks, involving the higher 
 aspiraiioMS of the mind and addressed to the 
 finer. leciings of the heart, i am very forcibly 
 reminded of the poverty and inaccuracy of 
 buMian language when applied to such asubject. 
 A few simple words, however, sometimes speak 
 volumes. 11. )w often have I heard members 
 of this body, on learning of the death of Colonel 
 Rmvtii, say, " I am sorry. He was a good man ; 
 he wus an honest man." This, sir, tells the 
 Btory ol liis whole life, fortlirongh all the busi- 
 iietis relations of life, and in the execution of 
 Jill ihe many trusts conferred on him by the 
 fcufK-age of the people, he has borne the same 
 unwy,vering love for honesty of purpose and 
 integrity of character. And it must be con 
 tesscd that his life was truly the life of a great 
 
 man, when we reflect that it was filled with 
 every-day acts of kindness and deeds of usf ful- 
 ness, and that each good deed adds to the 
 great sea#f life a wave of progress that shall 
 go forward through all the varied years of the 
 future and break at last in the beauty of holi- 
 ness on the shores of eternity. True greatness 
 does not consist in the ability to attract atten- 
 tion, any more than true statesmanship is it;di- 
 cated bv the ability to declaim, Uetice, when 
 faultfinders disparagingly said, " He made very 
 few speeches," his friends have referred to 
 the long record of his integrity, and then sug- 
 gestively pointed to the many rhetorical patriots 
 who fell by the wayside, or were carried by their 
 own impetuosity into the ranks of the enemy. 
 
 Colonel Smyth was not only a pioneer in the 
 westward mai-ch of civilization and empire, 
 but he was also a pioneer in the cause of lib- 
 erty and reform. On political questions he 
 was not a follower, but a leader ; and when a 
 new question arose he did not stop to weigh 
 and estimate the probabilities as to wh.ich side 
 would be immediately in the majority, but his 
 only inquiry was, "Which is right?" And 
 having determined which was right, he pursued 
 it unflinchingly through prosperity and through 
 adversity, believing what has been uttered by 
 the poet — 
 "Though the cause of evil prosper, yet 'tis Truth 
 
 alone is strong. 
 And albeit she wander outcast now, I see around 
 
 her throng 
 Troops of beautiful tall angels to ensuield her from 
 
 the wrong." 
 
 * * -J: ***:!=** * 
 
 "Though Truth be on the scaffold and Error on the 
 throne, , , , . , , 
 
 Yet that saafFold sways the future, and behma the 
 
 dim unknown 
 Standelli Ood within the shadow keeping wateu 
 
 above His own." 
 When, in a dark hour, the spirit of wrong and 
 oppression, assuming the diabolical form and 
 the black flag of treason, aimed its weapons of 
 destruction at the life of the nation, and opened 
 on the theater of the western continent, behind 
 the foot liglits of burning cities, before the 
 audience of nations, and around the very cradle 
 of liberty, that grand contest between right 
 and wrong which should determine the ques- 
 tion whether the American flag should stand 
 in its redeemed glory the bright emblem of 
 freedom, or whether it should sink with the 
 dying hope of republican liberty amid the 
 smoke and din and carnage of war, then did 
 Colonel William Smytu put on Ihe crowning 
 glory of his integrity and patriotism by draw- 
 ing his sword and risking his life in the cause 
 of truth, justice, and his country. He stood 
 firm amid the harrowing scenes and trying cir- 
 cumstances of deadly conflict ; and when at last 
 the glad cry of victory v/ent up from the war- 
 scatlied ranks of the Union, he revered the 
 sacrifices of the widow and orphan, Qiid with 
 them dropped tears of sympathy over the graves 
 of the fallen. But having come out of the con- 
 flict suffering under relentless disease, he has 
 at last fallen a sacrifice; to the cause of his 
 country, and has gone beyond the valley to 
 muster on fairer fields those of .his command 
 who preceded liiiu at the transfiguration ou 
 
Lookout mountain iind Mission;ii-y ridj;e. May 
 the peace of the riKliteous bf; his, and his sac- 
 rifice be hallowed in the inemosies ot'thn good 
 and the trne as lon^ as sacrilices are needed 
 i'or the redemption of man. 
 
 Mr. LOUGHRIDGE. Mr. Speaker, it is, 
 I believe, ihe lirst time in the history of the 
 Stale of iowatliat its delegaiion in this House 
 has been called upon to announce tlie death of 
 one of their number. And, sir, it is with feel- 
 ings of peculiar sadness that I now ji>in with my 
 colleagues in this last tribute to our deceased 
 colleague. 1 am not here, sir, to utter an empty, 
 formal, soulless panegyric. That were mock- 
 ery, ior I know full well that flattery irom the 
 mouth of the living cannot " soothe the dull, 
 cold ear of death." But I rise to speak the 
 words of truth concerning a departed friend, 
 ■uhose example I value and whose memory 1 
 cherish and revere. 
 
 Sir, in the death of Judge Smyth this House 
 has lost one of its most valuable members. 
 The State he so well represented has lost one 
 of its truest and best njen, and some of us 
 have lost a warm- hearted personal friend. My 
 persoiuil acquaintance with Judge Smyth 
 extended over a period of some fifteen years. 
 When I tirst met him lie was a judge upon the 
 bench in the State of lovvfa, and 1 a lawyer at 
 the bar. From that time till his death my 
 acquaintance with him was continuous and 
 intimate. I knew him well in different rela- 
 tions of public life, and I think 1 can truly say 
 that I have seldom known a public man of so 
 few faults and so many virtues. Modest and 
 unassuming, as true worth often is, he was not 
 taken bv the world for all that his merits and 
 his abiliiy deserved, and notie appreciated him 
 so highly as those who knew him best. 
 
 Tiie leading facisiu his biography hare been 
 alluded to in the eloquent remarks of my col- 
 leagues ; yet there are a few traits of his char- 
 acter to which 1 cannot refrain from alluding. 
 
 One was his untiring and indomitable per- 
 severance and tenacity of purpose — a trait of 
 character wliicli he possessed in a remarkable 
 degree, and which was doubtless one leading 
 cause of his success in life. When he formed 
 a purpose to accomplish any given end, while 
 other men may have had more power, yet no 
 mortal man could pursue that end with more 
 tenacity than he ; and although he could not 
 always succeed, yel it was certainly a hopeless 
 case v,-hen he abandoned the effort. 
 
 Another trait of character which distin- 
 guished the deceased — ami a noble one it is — 
 was the fidelity of his friendships, i do not 
 indorse the misanthropic sentiment of Gold- 
 smith, v/herein 1 think he does great injustice 
 to human nature when he says: 
 
 " And what ia friendship but a name, 
 A charm that lulls to sleep, 
 A f hade that follo-ws wenlth or f;irae. 
 But leaves the wretch to weep V" 
 
 No, sir, there is a true friendship; a friend- 
 shiji that will not fail in the hour of trial and of 
 want; a friendship that will not desert a friend 
 for sellish considerations or for personal prolit ; 
 
 a friendship that outlasts prosperity and grows 
 brighter and stronger in adversity. That kind 
 of a friend had he, who was fortutiate enougii to 
 be counted among the friei-ds of our deceased 
 colleague. 
 
 But, sir, over and above all, and constituting 
 the highest encomium upon the character of 
 the deceased, as it will upoti the character of 
 any man who possesses it, wjis his stern and 
 inflexible morality, and the [)uri:y of his char- 
 acter, exemplified as it was in his public and his 
 private life ; as the lawyer, the judge, the legis- 
 lator, and the private citiztMi. His principles 
 of lite were pure and fixed and his convictions 
 strong, and he was ready to peril all in their 
 defense; as conscientious and firm for the 
 right, as he understood the right, as that grand 
 Scotch race from which lie sprang. 1 have said 
 that this was the highestencomium which could 
 be pronounced upon any man, and I repeat it. 
 I would that 1 could speak it into the ear and 
 impress it upon the heart of every young man 
 in this broad land, that the grandest words that 
 can be spoken or written of any man after his 
 denth are, *• He was a good man." And, sir, 
 I deem it fit and proper here to say, standisig 
 in this council hall of the nation, that the 
 hope of the Kepublic is not so much in the 
 fame, the grandeur, the eloquence, and the 
 ability of its statesmen and its law makers, as 
 in their honesty of purpose, and their purit- 
 of character. 
 
 Mr. 'Speaker, the frequency with which we 
 are called upon to pay these last tributes of 
 respect to thoseof our number called hence by 
 the king of terrors ought to deeply im[)ress u.s 
 with the uncertainty of life, and the fleeting, 
 transitory character of all earthly things; and 
 that ''in the midst of life we are in death." 
 But a few weeks since, at the close of the lasc 
 session, ray colleague occupied his seat yondei, 
 in health and with as bright prospects for long 
 life as any of us. To day liis pale, ashy lips 
 are closed forever and sealed in death, and in 
 the cold and silent grave he sleeps the sleep 
 that knows no wakiiig this side the great resur- 
 rection morn, when you, sir, and 1, and all 
 of us will meet him face to face with the great 
 Judge of the universe. I trust, sir, that these 
 frequent admonitions, coming to us from these 
 vacant seats and opening graves of our col- 
 leagues, may not be lost upon us ; that we 
 may live more for eternity and less for time: 
 so that when death's gavel tells us that our 
 short hour of life is ended, we may have an 
 abundant entrance into a brighter and a better 
 world. 
 
 Mr. WILSON, of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, 
 death has indeed been busy in selecting his vic- 
 tims from this Congress. We have had in the 
 last year an unusual number of members who 
 have been gathered in the full tide of their use- 
 fulness to their home beyond the grave. Amid 
 i'.ll these I know of no one whose loss I 
 now more sadly feel than that of him v/hose 
 name has been mentioned in these resolutions. 
 Although my acquaintance with him dated only 
 
from the beginning of this Congress, yet we 
 were from neighboring States, representing 
 identical interests, serving on the same com- 
 mittee, sitting side by side through many long 
 meetings during the past two years; and more 
 than an ordinary intimacy grew up between 
 us, and I cannot forbear adding my testimony 
 to bis worth and to his high character, both as 
 a citizen and as a member of this body. 
 
 His quiet character and his modest demeanor 
 made him less known than his true worth should 
 have demanded. It required an intimate ac- 
 quaintance fully to appreciate the great and 
 good qualities of liis character. He was a man 
 who was truly industrious. He was always 
 present at t!ie meetings of committees. Every 
 day you would see him goiijg to the Depart- 
 ments, showing an nnusual attention to the 
 business of his constituents. He was earnest 
 rn(] honest in fulfilling the true duties of a Con- 
 gressman. Deeds instead of words marked 
 his career, both as a soldier and a statesman. 
 Action instead of oratory, result instead of pro- 
 fession, were the characteristics of his earnest, 
 working nature. 
 
 A western man in all his feelings, he was 
 thoroughly imbued with those large and lib- 
 eral views which have contributed so much to 
 the wondcrliil progress of the great valley ot 
 the Mississippi. And I feel that in losing him 
 we have lost a man who was truly valuable to 
 us, one of those frontiersmen who have con- 
 tributed so much to the rapid march of the star 
 of empire westward. Those of his own State 
 know him better tiian all others, and the testi- 
 mony which they give is one to which my brief 
 yet intimate acquaintance can add its unquali- 
 Led indorsement. 
 
 Leaving him but a few short months since, 
 apparently in the full enjoyment of health, it 
 is almost impossible that memory should so 
 quickly recognize the loss and the vacancy cre- 
 ated. I (ind myself, on entering our commit- 
 tee-room, involuntarily looking around to the 
 chair he occupied and wondering why he is not 
 still there. So suddenly has this taken place, 
 so frequent have been these warnings, that we 
 ought not merely to remember the past, but to 
 look to the future. Who can tell what one of 
 us may return after the coming short recess? 
 
 Who can tell what one will next be taken as a 
 victim of the fell destroyer? 
 
 Mr. Speaker, there are those who have 
 acquired more celebrity and who have had a 
 wider notoriety: but, after all, it is the quiet, 
 earnest, working men who are the most valua- 
 ble, not onlv to the community in which they 
 live, but to' the nation at large; and it was 
 the integrity and industry of Mr. Smyth which 
 made him a most valuable man, and which now 
 makes him a most deplorable loss to the coun- 
 try ; and yet we cannot but feel that he is gath- 
 ered from the trials and troubles of earth to 
 the heaven of rest in celestial fields; for li an 
 honest life, a fulfillment of duty to his tellow- 
 menand of obligation to his God, can deserve 
 the high rewards that are promised hereafter, 
 he is now certainly enjoying all that heart can 
 [ desire or hope expect. 
 
 ' Mr. JULIAN. Mr. Speaker, I only desire 
 to add a word to what has been so well said by 
 the collpaguos of the deceased. I kuow little 
 personally of the facts which make up his 
 biography, and which are so honorable to his 
 career as'a man and a public character, but it 
 affords me a real pleasure to be able to bear 
 witness to his uncommon personal worth and 
 integrity. From t,he beginning of the present 
 Congress to the close of the last session my 
 relauons with him were most intimate and 
 friendly. He served v/ith me on the same 
 commiUee, and during his brief service here 
 was called upon to face some of the chiet 
 temptations which make public life a constant 
 moral danger. His integrity was never found 
 wanting, and he discharged all his duties with 
 a fidelity and conscientiousness which did him 
 the highest honor. He proved by acts, speak- 
 inp- louder than any words, how possible it is 
 for an honest man to be a politician, and thus 
 to rebuke the too prevalent popular skepticism 
 in the virtue of public men. The example of 
 Mr. Smyth is worthy of all honor, and does 
 more than all else to reconcile bis family ana 
 friends to his untimely death in the midst ot 
 a most honorable and useful career. 
 
 The resolutions were agreed to ; and accord- 
 ingly (at two o'clock and ten minutes p. m.) 
 the House adjourned. 
 
 Printed at the Office of the Congressional Globe. 
 
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