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William H. Herndon, Jesse William Weik, Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Etiam in minimis major, The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln by William H. Herndon, for twenty years his friend and Jesse William Weik, Chapter 19. (search)
Oh, I see, said Lincoln; they have neither Governor nor Government. Well, you see Jim Lane; the secretary is his man, and he must hunt him up. Seward then left, under the impression, as I then thought, that Lincoln wanted to get rid of him and diplomacy at the same time. Several other persons were announced, but Lincoln notified them all that he was busy and could not see them. He was playful and sportive as a child, told me all sorts of anecdotes, dealing largely in stories about Charles James Fox, and enquired after several odd characters whom we both knew in Illinois. While thus engaged General James was announced. This officer had sent in word that he would leave town that evening, and must confer with the President before going. Well, as he is one of the fellows who make cannons, observed Lincoln, I suppose I must see him. Tell him when I get through with Whitney I'll see him. No more cards came up, and James left about five o'clock, declaring that the President was clo
Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 7. (ed. Frank Moore), chapter 48 (search)
olute step they confidently expected would procure the desired redress; but the advice of all the ablest statesmen at that age — of Chatham, of Camden, of Burke, of Fox, of Rockingham and others, was thrown away on the narrow-minded monarch and the bigoted ministry which then swayed the destinies of the British Empire. Still in hointimated his intention of going to war with the French. Republic. On moving the address in answer to the speech a memorable debate arose. On this occasion Charles James Fox delivered one of those powerful speeches which have made his name immortal — which have forever stamped him as the ablest of British debaters, and the first ilio! . . . The road of common-sense is simple, plain, and direct. That of pride and punctilio is as tangled as it is serpentine. In the impassioned language of Mr. Fox, I would ask, are we to pay in blood and treasure of the people for a punctilio? Shall we pursue the path of pride and punctilio, which is as tangled as it is ser
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Depew, Chauncey Mitchell, 1834- (search)
gerate his virtues? Listen to Guizot, the historian of civilization: Washington did the two greatest things which in politics it is permitted to man to attempt. He maintained by peace the independence of his country which he conquered by war. He founded a free government in the name of the principles of order and by reestablishing their sway. Hear Lord Erskine, the most famous of English advocates: You are the only being for whom I have an awful reverence. Remember the tribute of Charles James Fox, the greatest parliamentary orator who ever swayed the British House of Commons: Illustrious man, before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance. Contemplate the character of Lord Brougham, pre-eminent for two generations in every department of human activity and thought, and then impress upon the memories of your children his deliberate judgment: Until time shall be no more will a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and virtue be derived from the vene
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Gibbon, Edward 1737- (search)
e House of Commons, and at first took sides with the Americans, writing much in their favor. He finally became a firm supporter of the British ministry in their proceedings against the Americans, writing in their defence a pamphlet in the French language, when he was provided by them with a lucrative sinecure office worth $4,000 a year. His mouth (or, rather, pen) was thus stopped by the government favor. To this venality the following epigram alludes. It was written it is said, by Charles James Fox: King George, in a fright, lest Gibbon should write The story of Britain's disgrace, Thought no means more sure his pen to secure Than to give the historian a place. But his caution is vain, 'tis the curse of his reign That his projects should never succeed; Though he write not a line, yet a cause of Decline In the author's example we read. Edward Gibbon. On the downfall of the North administration, and the loss of his salary, Gibbon left England and went to live at Lausan
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Guilford, battle of. (search)
was Colonel Webster. That battle ended British domination in North Carolina. The army of Cornwallis was too much shattered for him to maintain the advantage he had gained. After issuing a proclamation boasting of his victory, calling upon the Tories to rally to his standard, and offering pardon to the rebels who should submit, he moved with his whole army towards Wilmington, near the seaboard. The news of the battle produced a profound sensation in England. Another such victory, said Charles J. Fox, in the House of Commons, will ruin the British army; and he moved, June 12, 1781, to recommend the ministers to conclude a peace with the Americans at once. William Pitt (son of the great Chatham) spoke of the war against the Americans with great severity. Recent type of gunboat (U. S. S. Bennington.) topographical engineers, July 7, 1838; engaged with Capt. Howard Stansbury in drawing maps of the Great Salt Lake region in 1849-51. He was author of A history of the Mormons of
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Parliament, English (search)
ty authorities expressing abhorrence of the measures in progress for the oppression of their fellow-subjects in the colonies, and entreating the King, as a first step towards the redress of grievances, to dismiss his present ministry. In these debates the speakers exhibited various phases of statesmanship, from the sagacious reasoner to the flippant optimist, who, believing in the omnipotence of Great Britain and the cowardice and weakness of the Americans, felt very little concern. Charles James Fox advised the administration to place the Americans where they stood in 1763, and to repeal every act passed since that time which affected either their freedom or their commerce. Lord North said if such a scheme should be effected there would be an end to the dispute. His plan was to send an armament to America, accompanied by commissioners to offer mercy upon a proper submission, for he believed the Americans were aiming at independence. This belief and its conclusion were denied by
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing), Quakers. (search)
sect Quakers. They were generally known by that name afterwards. They spread rapidly in England, and were severely persecuted by the Church and State. At one time there were 4,000 of them in loathsome prisons in England. The most prominent of Fox's disciples was William Penn, who did much to alleviate their sufferings. Many died in prison or from the effects of imprisonment. Grievous fines were imposed, a large portion of which went to informers. They were insulted by the lower classestter places they found persecutors. Those who first appeared in New England and endured persecution there were fanatical and aggressive, and were not true representatives of the sect in England. They were among the earliest of the disciples of Fox, whose enthusiasm led their judgment; and some of them were absolutely lunatics and utterly unlike the sober-minded, mildmannered members of that society to-day. They ran into the wildest extravagances of speech; openly reviling magistrates and m
Wendell Phillips, Theodore C. Pease, Speeches, Lectures and Letters of Wendell Phillips: Volume 1, chapter 16 (search)
ompare the last century with this, or the European with the Yankee. Every narrowing of the sphere of government proves growth in the people, and is the seed of further growth. Civilization dwarfs political machinery. Without doubt, the age of Fox and Pitt was one in which the prejudices of courts and the machinery of cabinets had large sway. But how absurd to say even of Pitt and Fox that they shaped the fate of England. The inventions of Watt and Arkwright set free millions of men for tFox that they shaped the fate of England. The inventions of Watt and Arkwright set free millions of men for the ranks of Wellington; the wealth they created clothed and fed those hosts; the trade they established necessitated the war, if it was at all or ever necessary. Berlin and Milan decrees would have smothered every man in England. The very goods they manufactured, shut out from the continent, would have crowded the inhabitants off their little island. It was land monopoly that declared war with France, and trade fought the battle. Napoleon was struck down by no eloquence of the House of Comm
Wendell Phillips, Theodore C. Pease, Speeches, Lectures and Letters of Wendell Phillips: Volume 1, Mobs and education. (search)
trials of struggling humanity, by the awful secrets of the prison-house where the sons of Freedom have been immured, by the noble heads which have been brought to the block, by the eloquent ruins of nations, they conjure us not to quench the light that is rising on the world. Greece cries to us by the convulsed lips of her poisoned, dying Demosthenes, and Rome pleads with us in the mute persuasion of her mangled Tully. Let us listen to the grave and weighty words of the nephew of Charles James Fox, Lord Holland, in his protest when British Tories tried to stop the discussion of Catholic Emancipation,--words of which Macaulay says, They state a chief article of the political creed of the Whigs with singular clearness, brevity, and force. We are, Lord Holland says, well aware that the privileges of the people, the rights of free discussion, and the spirit and letter of our popular institutions, must render--and they are intended to render--the continuance of an extensive griev
Wendell Phillips, Theodore C. Pease, Speeches, Lectures and Letters of Wendell Phillips: Volume 1, chapter 21 (search)
cter or principle, that two angry parties, each hopeless of success, contemptuously tolerate them as neutrals. Now I am not exaggerating the moment. I can parallel it entirely. It is the same position that England held in the times of Eldon and Fox, when Holcroft and Montgomery, the poet, Horne Tooke and Frost and Hardy, went into dungeons, under laws which Pitt executed and Burke praised,--times when Fox said he despaired of English liberty but for the power of insurrection,--times which SiFox said he despaired of English liberty but for the power of insurrection,--times which Sidney Smith said he remembered, when no man was entitled to an opinion who had not £ 8,000 a year. Why! there is no right — do I exaggerate when I say that there is no single right?-which government is scrupulous and finds itself able to protect, except the pretended right of a man to his slaves! Every other right has fallen now before the necessities of the hour. Understand me, I do not complain of this state of things; but it is momentous. I only ask you, that out of this peril you be su
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