William Campbell Preston. and Vice-Président by the people. Previous to that time the electors for these offices had been selected by the legislature. Mr. Pres ton contended that the law ought to be changed and made as it is at present, where the people themselves vote for the electors. Mr. Preston was a Whig in politics, and was at first a believer in nullification. On this latter question he modified his views very materially. He was a strong Union man, and as he grew older the more decided and out-spoken did he become against nul lification and secession ideas. Major James McD. Carrington, a member of the Wash ington City bar, and a nephew of Mr. Pres ton, writes : " I heard some expression from him myself of his intense devotion to the Union, and I have heard it said that he stated publicly in your State, shortly before his death, that he knew of no conceivable circumstances which could induce him to vote for a dissolution of the Union. If war must come, he advocated revolution rather than secession; in other words, it must be fought in the Union. But I suppose there are old citizens in South Carolina who re member his "Sentiments upon this subject." Says Governor Perry: " He was a warm partisan in politics, and a fierce Nullifier in the beginning of his political career. But he died a most devoted Union man. He had seen the folly of nullification, and he was opposed to secession. He began to re flect, in the latter part of his life, on the effects of disunion, and he foresaw the dread ful consequences of an attempt to break up a great and powerful government like that of the American Republic. His hope was, just before his death, that his own dear Vir ginia would, like a great seventy-four-gun ship, throw herself across the stream of dis union and stop the tide of disaffection which was rolling on from the South." But the fates had ordained it otherwise. South Carolina seceded, and her sister southern States followed in her footsteps. The war came, and the flower of southern
chivalry fell on the field of battle, wasted away on the desolate march, and drooped and died in northern prisons. Virginia was Mr. Preston's native State, and he loved her devotedly. Says Major Carrington : " It was his custom, during the period I speak of, to spend his winters in Columbia, and spend the rest of the year at the ville,residence Virginia.of my Her mother, home was in Charlottesnear the University of Virginia, and she was his elder sister, and these two things made her home a ver>' attractive place to him. He made himself exceedingly popular with the pro fessors of the University of Virginia, and appeared to fascinate the students, who crowded about him in numbers whenever an opportunity was offered." Mr. Preston was always popular with young men, and more especially still was he a favorite of young ladies, and he recipro cated their appreciation and affection in full measure. In speaking of his stay at the University of Edinburgh, and of the impression which he made there, Mr. Carrington says: It is a tradition that the professors of this institu tion, as well as Sir Walter Scott, with whom he had the honor of becoming quite inti mate, prophesied his success and brilliant career in this country." Mr. Preston knew Mr. Webster well, and, during the latter's stay in Columbia, had the pleasure of entertaining him at his home. While there as the guest of Mr. Preston, the students of the South Carolina College ser enaded him and called for a speech. Gov ernor Perry tells us that Mr. Webster's speech on that occasion was very brief and hardly respectful to the students. On the next day there was a large gathering of pro fessors, students and distinguished men in the college chapel, where Mr. Webster spoke again. Here I will quote from Governor Perry: "Governor Adams and myself, as trustees of the college, were sent to escort Mr. Webster and Colonel Preston to the
