learning, eloquence, and intellectual acumen amount to but little. Character is the great vitalizing force. A distinguished minister, who was a neighbor and an intimate friend of Mr. Hayne, speaks of him as follows : " The whole impression of his character, left after a long, close, intimate observation, is that he was the purest publie man I ever knew." It may be interesting to relate here the last interview between Mr. Hayne and Gen eral Jackson, the " Hero of Orleans," which took place at the "Hermitage" in 1837. It will be remembered that in the great nullification movement Calhoun and Hayne were the leaders among the people of Caro lina, and that at that time President Jackson threatened to hang Mr. Calhoun. No doubt he regarded Mr. Hayne also as an arch-traitor and a fellow-conspirator of Calhoun. But as the years had gone by, Jackson's heart had softened towards the Carolinians. It so happened that in the fall of 1837 Mr. Hayne paid a visit to Jackson at his home. The meeting between the two statesmen was a touching one. Grasping the hand of Mr. Hayne, Jackson, among other things, said : "I say it now, and say it with pleasure and in sincerity, that in that great record of your country which belongs to history your name will stand conspicuous. on the roll of her illustrious sons, as an able jurist, an elegant orator, a wise counsellor, a sagacious and honest statesman." The study of Mr. Hayne's life suggests one or two reflections. It was unfortunate that he did not have the advantages of a collegiate training. No doubt he keenly realized his deprivation in this respect. Clay suffered, too, in the same way. Cal houn and Webster were more fortunate; both of them were college-bred men. It seems to me that it was a mistake on the part of Mr. Hayne to accept the presi dency of a railroad after he retired from politics. He would have done more for the
world and for his own reputation if he had devoted his attention to some object more closely allied with his life-work than rail roading. What a contribution to the history of the American people and to its literature he might have made if he had written the reminiscences of his life! In this way he could have well discharged the debt which every man owes to his profession. Again, I would remark that the politicians and statesmen who were prominent in Mr. Hayne's day were of a high order. Many of them were well educated. Some of them were graduates of the finest colleges in this country, and others had gone abroad to finish their education. Webster was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and Cal houn of Yale, and, in fact, many of the public men of that time were college-bred men. In the second place, they made public life a profession. They studied the science of government and the history of nations. And then, too, the national questions of that day were peculiarly adapted to the develop ment of statesmanship. Our form of gov ernment was new, and to some extent an untried experiment. The Constitution had to be analyzed, and its various features examined and discussed. What is the best form of government, was not only a prac tical question, but it was a stimulating mental query. At the present day the great issues before the people are not so much questions rela tive to the form of government as was the case at that time. Now the monetary issue overshadows every other considera tion. Now it is not so much constitutional lawyers who are in demand, but men who are informed in banking and matters of finance. The currency question takes prec edence over everything else in the politics of our day. Abbeville, S. C.
