.1 (i^ s^1 K E M A R K S Richard S, Spofford, h OF ne:\wburyport, At a meeting of the citizens of Massachusetts, called IN Washington, D. C, January 20, 1879, to take commemokative notice of the death of Hon. C'aleb Cfshing. A iew words will suffice to-night, my friends, to attest my sympathy with you, as citizens of Massachusetts, in con- templation of the mournful event which has assemhled us together, and my sense of pci'sonal hereavement in the death of a valued friend. On some other occasion, when the grateful task can he accomplished with more of delib- erate discrimination than now, when I, at any rate, shall be better j)repared to undertake it, it will be my dutiful en- deavor to commemorate in some fitting manner the fife and character of Mr. Gushing, as known and appreciated by me throughout a period of intimate association covering not less than a quarter of a century. To-night, however, in the full consciousness that this association, with its multi- plicity of cherished experiences and incidents, is forever ended, I am conscious of that degree of embarrassed feel- ing that will permit me to do little more than express my high appreciation of his character and public services, and. above all, my profound sense of those patriotic aspirations and motives !)}• which lie was uniformly governed. It lias been extremely grateful to me, as a friend and fellow-townsman, to observe with what demonstrations of respect, hoth of an ofKcial and unofticial character, the tidings of his decease have been received throughout the country. Notliing in this regard, I am glad to say, has been lacking which could evince the lofty estimate of his public and private character, and the general rec- ognition of his distinguished career. In that highest of our judicial tribunals, the Supreme Court of the TTnited States, the field in bygone years of so many of his foren- sic triumphs; by the Executive branch of the govern- ment, where he has left behind him an enduring record in the great office of Attorney-General, and one not less en- during in the Department of State ; by the Legislature of Massachusetts, so many times honored by his presence and made illustrious by his shining efforts; by the surviving veterans of the campaigns of Mexico, mindful of his mili- tar}' fame ; by the people of Xewburyport, whose attach- ment to liim, descending from father to son, through gener- ations, no vicissitude of time or fortune could alienate, and which he fervently reciprocated; and now here, where we, his fellow-citizens of Massachusetts, sojourners at the Capi- tal, are met together in the performance of this memorial service, — all that the most considerate and partial feeling could prompt has been worthily and graciously bestowed in every form of tributary honor to his memory. Thus, it may with truth l)c said, that if the hour of his death is to be considered unfortunate for the country which still lias need of those superb attainments and powers which made him second to none among statesmen and publicists, it has not been ino[»portune for his fame. jSTor, could it have been permitted to him, through some clairvoyance of the mind's vision, to ha\e foreseen what has occurred, would he have regretted, I believe, with physical powers yielding to the ii[)proaches of ago, tlie time of bis depart- ure. That so iUustrions a man should have been thus widely honored, is but a criterion of the country's grati- tude for arduous laboi's in more than one conspicuous sphere of pul>lic life, and for services not the less im- portant that, in many instances, they have been rendered without the incitemeut of contemporary fame or the pride and prestige of official station. Few, indeed, have brought to the service of the country abilities so distinguislied and diversitied as Mr. Gushing, and to none can be ascribed a more untiring zeal or a loftier patriotism. So constantly was he absorbed in pub- lic atfairs from youth to age, so preoccupied always with the toils, the studies, or the responsibilities of statesmanship, that he has appeared to me sometimes to be indifferent to — I should rather have said to be independent of — those solaces and charms of private life which are the customar}^ require- ments and support of men. Indeed, for him, childless aftd wifeless as he was, the sum and ultimate of life were found in the idea and name of country ; so that he at least could say, with peculiar emphasis, in the poet's words — "That dear name Comprisps liomo, kind kindred, fostering friends, . Protecting laws." ^or was his devotion in this respect prompted by inter- ested motives or a dishonorable ambition. So far from this, it will surprise man}' to know that it is only within a brief period that he has been relieved from embarrassment in his private affairs, and that he leaves behind him no large possessions, such as are the ordinary emolument of such labors as he endured. What is still more to his credit, be it said at this time, it concerned him little in what direc- tion the Avinds of popular favor were blowing, tlie monitors and masters of his life were his convictions of right and duty, under all circumstances whatsoever. Of the public men of America, living or departed, there IS not one who, in iny jn(liTi:nicnt, might with orreater justi- ticution than he have ai)phed to himself and his pubhe conduct through a long and eventful life language such as that im[)uted to Cicero, whom in many respects he re- sembled, and which a great cardinal once uttered in the parliament of Paris : "In difficillimis reipuhlica^ temporiinis urbem nunquara deserui, in prosperis nihil de publico delibavi, in desperatis nihil timui." "In the worst time of the Ivcpublic, I have never de- serted the State; in its prosperity, I have asked nothing for myself; and in its most adverse moments, I never lost hope." "When, in a later age, some great orator of the Republic — the Pericles of its meridian splendor, or, if that be inevi- table, the Demosthenes of its declining period — here in this grandest of Capitals, shall revert to our times and recount their history, few names upon the roll of our civic fame will seem to him and to those w'hom he addresses more illustrious than bis in honor of whom we are now assem- bled. The attritions of prejudice or passion, the misconceptions of ignorance, the blindness of Jealousy or envy, — these, for the time being, when political passions are dominant, and the rancor of faction malignant as now, may, in some quarters, obscure the fame of one who was ever too thought- less of its vindication; may seek even to detract from his personal merits and the value of his })ublic labors. But in the future, these, the mere fleeting shadows of the moment, will be swept away, and, gathering a steadfast brilliancy with advancing years, the fame of Caleb Cushing will have a secure [ilace and be proudly cherished in the hearts of liis countr3'men. Thus will our departed friend and fellow- citizen have achieved all that in human life is most honor- aide to men, the fitting reward of those unselfish toils whieli in tile high walks of public duty still make ambition virtue, — that ambition which was for hiin, and will be tor the great in every age, ■'Tlu; s))nr thnt tlu' clear j^piiit doth raise ** + *** To sconi ilcli<>ht.s and live laborious daj'p." By all it will then be clearly recognized that the true rank to be assigned to him is that of one among the greatest of statesmen, the most learned of lawyers, the most patriotic of citizens, the niost accomplished of men ; and that, oc- cupying this pre-eminent position, so great and valuable were his public services, it may truthfully be said that in his day and generation he was one of the pillars of the Republic. OF CONGRESS iill w^ CONGBESS