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. . . ' ' .... i . 3tsf t rSDHTIl tEVEirqtiliKR ' ,V H an. example to Jthe livjn and may j .1 i . iLie.th means of communicating anq The foUoVmfcuncrarOmitm, Jthpnpv IrXecpinff atfte.theiLsacred fire of yir ? WCTyrl ' ' ' .1 f t ' 1 I V. CVII oiii'tlift .,tVis.fuiiahed.by him For piftlica,. I t5M rtmuH3hi&& coosmoi w th&rest bcincr cqneiyejiittrd f s- temnOTS it jKt3edi1iT. the atitlior that the candid Veade will make all i-capr- We aUowances Itw'its inaccaracies v - ' y, ; " in n . . i "-.v , ( pi rDDJRS9KTWl ?6.n this occssidrr .vU)lfettVghtelt.'ataV(Sd, 6p press rac i'ne moumiui .uuiy wniqn -i we re asseijnliled toperformttithe ji re parabl e Jis je.'ve all sustai ne d , andjparticalarly-myself who am rtow caUexl uporfj with an; heart. torn Wiih grief tb 'speak of him who was not only Jhe. friend of human nature hut inyondet anbet: friend ; the oTO)wijchiI amicertain i felf-bv evety individcial in this nilmero'us aii 1 dience,T ana wnicn. i see .strongly ae-r ! nictecloh .'thie ifaces blmaRv : ail combine to oyerpp'wer, me with dif- PM&mjD mMytJmM re.procepa:io ciescrioe as laiimtnry. .vj- - v v j,s 1 can, tle cteer of glory. through WYTHE-v t T Ivhich this, exalted patriot, firm re.1 fideuce and regreUXi Hard indeed isHpurn your attention to the uncommon the .task to do- juMice to Vthcirftiiyvl 'patriotism, whjch was conspicuous Virtues of tme reat and; good man 11 for Whom4 we tnourri. r dread that II my ablOttesviil be found inadequate 11 to cms important unaenaKing ; and 1 wisti mos.t sincerely that some gentleman of sujp'erior eloquence hadl coniented. to commemorate, by-,a;iu-neraV "Eulogy, th' departed Patriot and 0 Sae, who was truly the -boast of Virginia.. .PartieiJlarljihbtild have beennapy rf somDWeF citi zen; who kneW him in his yoinjjer days, anil joins&his glorious labors at thQ V-Qinm.encement of out revolu tion, ha4lnpw endeavoured to des cribe his grat and meritorious pub lic s"crvic$s inHhos'e' days of difficulty and danger u Butit canntte. Most of the Herpes and Patriots of the Re volution are gone to their -"graves with glory, and Gebrge V J the v one of ihe oldest nd best of those vne rable fathers of their epijntry, has "now follbwed Washington, Frank lin, Samuel Adams, and maMy others, who are iftderd removed from this troublesome'- world, and at rest from their i labors, but whose fame" shall live forever in the hearts ! of their, fellow citizens. Under-these cii cum stances, the task devolves oh'ne. far inf"-ror to those immortal. worthies, to pay the last sad tribute of appliuse to their departed coadjutor and friend. ,1 am eoolnedi hbwever, to en gage in, this; ddficult enterprise by considering that although many of; the public: virtues ot the deceased were not personally known to me, vet some of them, and not the least inapprtant, have come within my own f ODseryation, ana mat i nave long been most intimately acquaint ed with those which adorn his private life. IHh ektraQidipafy goodness to me, that; kmdness which infuced .hitnj4afeBe.Jvhea- an uhfortiiriate ; orphan into his house, and Jo treat meas "a second father, afforded me peculiar opportunities of feeling and knowing it he '-god-like .spirit which animated the -bosom of him who now ; liescpli i airhisemible1 before us. The sacred ties of gratitude therefore hind iw not to permit the funefdl of my dear, my noble' benefactor, to be imatiendedjwith.an eulogy, expressed with truth ajid sinceritv , however imperfect in other respects. Indeed I atrs most encouraged on,t his; occa siytr by the iecUdln;aUith,plm, artless attjd Unadorned, isV all that is; n eedfu I in an atte m pt : to ce le bra t e a character noted ;fbr h$ plaiirhess ahd rtpubti(hsiricityT nothing-that can be said;'an; bngtjt-: hm." The'ulfcbleyrjof death" cannot be roused "by Uiq, voice of ho orj nor wakened4by the, Iamenta lions of thbswho survive.. peruaps "e hears not puf praise, or is so cn Sed by the bliss : he now enjoys as 1UJt rtgard it. . It might appear , lhcrefbre that funeraf Enmities fir . ncr serve &l icst as that thesoiils oFthe good If! Stratified: by knjng.the,manner in which, their mehiQriei arcregarrk jd in thiivorid ; that thy look down hinaxbserve - the sot-row of thai" .vpfirrls of a well-spent ' life ; y else wherefore ha3 heaven implanted in the breasts of men,;the desire of Jame in future, ages ; as an incentive ovirtuous;actions:?- I shall there- publican and honest man has passed. ru&iris'that the affection of you all for the dead, will incjuce you favor a- to'Vccept avell, rrteantthbugh feeble endea vor1; to pay 'the respect so e"minenty due' to his metnorj1 in callmcj to your recollection his virtues,-' my vown incrination ould induce me to begin' with those of-his private dife,' in which I confess my own heart is more particularly inter-! ested but as his public virtues were ! hf the greatest importance, not to a few nersoim nnlv. hut in all Ait. rioa, the superior dignity of the sub ject requires me to mention them in the first place. Of these, , Jet me during the whole course ot his long and useful life. The firs remarkable exam pie evincing the degree in which ne po3sessea mx cn vine virtue, was lis conduct at the commencement of the r Revolution In those i)eri ous days, when life, liberty and pro perty were placed at hazard ; whenj death and confiscation would huve been thp fute, if they had proved un successful, 'of those who opposed the yrant King of Great-Britain ; our venerable patriot, Mr. Wythe, was firm and undaunted, and zealously attached to the cause of his country At that -important time, when the greatest men America ever produced were chosen by her voice to save her from destruction, to whom did his fellowrcitizens look up as one of her deliverers ? To George Wythe to him whom we now with so much cause lament j for, alas 1 he can serve no longer those he so ten. derlv loved. He was one of that fa mous Congress, who assembled oh the 13th of May, 1TT5, and did not se parate until they had declared the In dependence of America. . He was one of those that sitrnedthat ever memorable declaration by which they pledged-" their Uvea,, theirybr- t ones', and their xacrcd honor to maintain and defend the violated rigb(S;Of their country. He was an actjixe useful, and respected mem hereof that body, the most enlight ened, patriotic an d heroic that per haps: ever existed' in the world, in es teeming and adrpiring whjch all na tions now concur. From the arduous arid important duties which he there exercised, he was called by his na tive state to perform' other-sltust' less interesting and necessary." Our countrymen were then attempting a new and hitherto untried experiment, of vast import .nee arid doubtful sue- cess : no less than the- political re generation of a great nation, the total a destruction of a mttnarchicarsystemj and the establishment of a republican its stead ; every thing then depend ed oitVn fusing into our laws that rer publican spirit which animated the people, and by the preservation of which alone, their liberty could be rsery,ed' arid ''perpetuated. It b.e came therefore necessary to new model our laws, and lay the founda tions of the temple of freedom firmly in the wisdom and justice of our in stil utioris s The persons appointed to execute. this great work, and ?hy whom it was accomplished were, Tho mas Jefferson, Edmund Pendleton, and, George Wythe : who, thbugK be considered as the chief ; lbr great and exalte as is the! me rit of Mr Jt ffcrsbri, iltjmust be confessed, that hie is in .tjTgreat measure indebted for it to George ,Wythehfs preccp-; tor andhis friend. --Between i these two extraordinarinen the - warmest .. . ... c ... . . friendship has ever xtstcd; and the President -oY tkeVtJnltcd ; States has always been proud to acknowledge himself the pupil of the wise and rnbdest Wythe.. By a" regolution' of Virginia; As&embiy dated the .5th of November, 1T86, thejthHc tlemen, I. Jiave: mentioned, were ap pointed revisors of the . laws, with powers to propose such-alterations as in their judgment should he deenii ed .necessary : A trust offprbdigious importance, qx which the future dcsV tiny oC Virginia depended ! 'And in what manner was it discharged"? In a manner more; glorious and more useful to the hum an race than the plrks of any other legislators, an cient v or modern. ' On the IVih of June 1779, the committee of revisors made their report, a, memorable mo nument ot indefatigable . industry . and attention, ais well '-as of wis-: dom, virtue, and ' Patriotism. In Irevie wing the laborsf th at commit- . tee, we find that they were the au thors of the act directing the course of descents, by which the odious and unequal doctrine of the right of pri mogeniture was abolished and an e- qual .distribution of the landed pro perty of persons dying intestate is made among their children, or other nearest relations i an act which, by introducing and supporting equality of property to a certain degree among the citizens of this comnionwealth, has produced, and will continueto produce, a more important and per manent effect in favor of freedom and republicanism, than .any other Cause whatsoever. The same com mittee, proposed the act for regulat ing conveyances, bywhich all estates in tail were converted into fees sim ple, and one of the most detestable contrivances of aristocracy to keep up inequality, and support proud and overbearing distinctions of particular families, was completely defeated. They also produced the deserved! celebrated act for the establishment of religious freedom, which I trust has released the people of Virginia from the danger of being ever sub jected to an ecclesiastical tyranny. perhaps the worst of all. As a proof however, that the proposal of that act d'1 not arise from a desire to subvert religion, but, on the con trary, to maintain it in purity and peace, they at the same time propo sed another, entitled an act to punish disturbers of religious worship and sabbath-breakers. Such were the most precious fruits of the appoint ment, of that truly republican and pa triotic committee. Other Important acts might also be mentioned, for in fact, the whole of our militia system as first.organiz ed, the original arrangement and -mode of proceeding in our courts of common law and chancerv, were all the work of that committee, were all illustrious examples of their in dustry and legislative skill : in which if some defects have, injihe course of I experience, been discovered, they are only proofs that ' no human perfor mance can be perfect. Yet the com mittee of revisors are not only enti tled to praise for the laws, of which they were instrumental in obtaining the establishment, but for several which they proposed without success. Among those may beK found a bill fir the more cener&l diffusion of knowledge, whiclv il'ths public spirit- of the General Assembly had been eauul to-nhat of its authors, would have enabled the chimren ot the poorest citizen in the community to stand an equal chance of acquiring science, honor and promotion, with those of the most wealthy. Anima ted hy motives of the same enlight ened 'nature; they proposed a bill for establishing a public library ano ther for amending the constitution of VVill am and Mary College, and pro- yidin more adequate revenues for lis support; ana iunusnea a nun, whichgave;hirth to our pcesentPerii-, tentiary system :. by ..a. bill for propor tioning crimes and "punishments in cases heretofore capital anii' a bill tor the employ mentj goye rn ment and sujpport, of , malefactors Condemned to: labor for thecommort wealth. We next find this excellent -Citi- zen inthe impottant-oifice of one of he three Jud ges bt the . Hi gh Couit ot Chancery ,v ana Aterwaras,oie Charicelicr of the state of Virgmia; His extraoiinaryalriotism and ,disi interestedness; wet e here rhost com- W pletely displayed. - He served m that most trouble som e 'and laborious of-. fice36fall in the gift of theommot wealth ot y lrgima, and perhaps pi t he United Spates, for many),ears With the small salary of S00. and, at last, with a salary somewhat larger ! but still very , inadequate. : , With that scarry "siipply? frpm his Country, he ived 'in thiaxpensiye cityecluded Vom alU Wbusines btit tha't of the public, to which he devoted all his time; unless when prevented by sickness ; and m that office he cont tinued till the day of his death, be cause he believed himself betterquaU neajtQseirye ms country in tiiat sta tion than in any other ; when, if he had been disposed to seek-for offices he might have obtained others ; far more easy and lucrative. Notwith standing, however, the toilsome du ties of that office, hr patriotism,'ever active and ardent, brought him for ward whenever he conceived his country s interest to require his as sistance. We behold Itim a mem ber of the convention which met in this city in the year 1788, to take under its consideration the proposed constitution of the; United States. Beit convinced that, he confedera tion was defectiye in the energy ne cessary to preserve the union, liberty arid general wejjare of America, he was a zealous advocate for the new constitution. In that apgust con vention, this venerable patriot, even then" 'Beginning to bow-yhder the weight of years, was seen to rise to advocate that constitution, and ex erted his Voice almost too feeble to be heard, in contending- for a system on the acceptance of which- he con Qeived the happiness of his dear bes loved country to depend, -Bu the most remarkable instance of his ge; nuine patriotism, to which I confess I am rendered most partial, perhaps, by my own experience of Us enect$, was his zeal for the education of youth. Harrassed as. he was with business ; enveloped with perplexing papers, and intricate suits in chancerv, he yet found time for many years, to keep a school for the instruction of a few young men at a time, always with very little, and . often demand ing nbcompensationi What a proo was this ot condescension, of pure patriotisnxand philanthropy ! With all this, his industry and ailentionto business was not diminished, but continued as incessant as ever. " O his indefatigable assiduity I was my- selUeven in his last sickness. When on rus; death bed, racked with asoni zing pains, I saw hi?n with a large oundle of papers, relative to an in junction in chmcery, lying by hjs oeabicie. tie toiu me he had ueeh stu dying them, ' and hoped to be better by the next day, that he might be nabled to hold the court again, and pronounce his decree in that cause ; lamenting with extreme concern the inconvenience, which of the delay of business occasioned, by his sick ness would be productive 10 per sons who had causes depending before him. At that moment, when death was visible in his face and in every liimb, he thought not of him self; he thought only of the public. Oh f where "shall t we find such ano ther Chancellor I The necessary consequence of his great, assiduity and attention to stu dy, was his extensive, various and profound learning ; his sound and excellent judgment. Others may indeed have excelled him In genius, but hp certainly never was surpassed m patriotism, learning and judg. ment. Another quality, too, demands our attention, the most illustrious perhaps in the bright constellation of his virtue; of which I have al ready adverted to several striking testimonials." Ever attached to the constitution of the United States, and to the principles of freedom, he was in every change of affairs always steadv and unshaken. His wind was not to be moved by the gusts of popular influence, nor by the stormy threats of tyranny. As in 1776, he was the enemy of the king of Great Britain, so in 1798 and 179 he was ari opponent of the administra tion, of John Adams, of alien and ; sedition Taws, ani standing armies. Al ways the friend. pf liberty and his mm cpuntr,twjcjehave J ''fieb-jjjf;-;' hb:vry: wifeaiel with veneration, iir that Yatijvy (pointing, jt, ting as PreSidsntofthe i ejiia ollee-of ekctprit and -yotifig t w): fbr a repajblrpWlPrew was it ery observable, thth,? iec yielded for moment to thearjt M partypji nor, ..permUi.n?y.. K& differeoce of cpimon VtQ firterl withes' pratnfrietsh truth dWbieh osttip itU'ltif i ackriowleSgSlLby rjapy qftjjisliT; MM cai opponents, io , wnonj-ru;rici theless. rernaired a friend in, pni? '4 life, to'thejast.. $; u 'wd 'r His impartiality as a' juge jUj) rigid attachment to what vaVitJoareci to fiimo beequi table, was. pot Igsa renarKapieJtnan pis otper, eirapr- dinaFyiailties. It ougjhit ' evevto: z Keree'pibilixdffbatfim : ne loved iusvcountry.so .pasioaiey and was so atleptiveMo. iisinteresti he yet lovedequitY still, ,piorejsJ:t ought tp be rtmembered, ithate yr; was the first judge who decided, .-( j gainst the.PuBlic . opinion, Athathej tiriusn, oeuts snouia ;ue rri?vcpverec at?d! that on several very, important; occasions he .enterdeCTejbtip;f, large sums of money against his na. , live state. Yet, to the ..jmmrlai honor of the people of yirgihiaf ,-he it said, those decisions of his diminish. vhis popularity, butrmaaj them; admire and respect jhimjtt? f; more thaa ever. Such then, were the puWiA;urte.;4 of this great man. His private Vit , . ' A tues were not less exemplaiy., . 'rj r? morig the most conspicuous tne)e- were his integrity and disinterested1 ness. Undoubtedly no afp.ot. evn the best of the worthies, of a0 . . cient Greece and Rome, ever cavriedV i. i those virtues to a greater hcijvt than he-did. Pla.n in his piaiiPcr f strictly temperate in. his- ufe, and y regardless of all piofits except sueh ; as were mad with honor and a gtod conscience, he furnished ap example , in the vigour of his youth (a i hay. t been told by some, whom JLarn haji',:. py to see present) of, a, truiychouest and upright lawyer a charact sup- ; posed by many (though I trppe ef- .. loneously) to' be very unCOnimoii No consideration could evev indii' r , him to swerve from the siraighlif?V of integrity, to YicUte justice,, or. , the laws of his country. Witli the. spirit of ,a philosopher jveveda ' lawyer. r, arid was indeed the brightest; ornament of the bar. With , thee virtues of a stern and rigid cast,, ic should moreover be known; .that thi . laborious student, this man of unde- ' viating integrity, this farm and in flexible republican possessed a heart overflowing with the milk of, human kindnesu.' A kinder never throbbed in the -bosom of a humari bei tg His son! was the seat of benevolence . and sensibility. From this, most amiable turn of mind proceeded his ever active charity and liberality, the gentleness and mildness of his tcir per, which was seldom irritated but. by zeal for - his country's good, his modest and unassumif.g def ortment, andun willingness to give pain toai v I niortal. KisCharity extend d to evtt y . human bemg, however low and hum ble Ids station ; for he, emphatically; was always striving to do good. Let,' the officers of his-cuifc- ihctnUe'.. men who h?d the pleasure of pltad- ; ing, and those who had causes de pending before him, leuall who were educated by him, and indeed all who knew him, bear witness to the sweet ness of his temper, "his benevolence and kind "deportmen. His unwiK lingness to give trouble arid pain'wa -apparent almost in his last agonies "Oh gentlemen i" said he scarce audibly, you are very good I am sorry you tak&so much trouble but all will be in vain 1" It may be i aid, indeed, that in one deplorable in stance, (which it strikes me with honor even to mention, his benevo lence was placed on an unworthv ob ject, and repaid with blaek ingrati tude. .. ";rt3v V-V, ' But let not the selfish "man deuuee from this Jreadf uleverrt &n argument against the indulgence .of charity, nor let the good man be discOjUragect. As no human being can be perfect, it is true perhaps, that the mildness and goodness of Mr. Wythe;as. sometimes carried .too-, fcov vBuVii" i 1 S 1 4 i 1- t I.!. fc. S - - - 1 - i -4.4. . .
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 30, 1806, edition 1
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