of his friends. At the Harvard Law School he was librarian, and
graduated with prize honors for an essay on "The Introduction of the
Principles of Equity Jurisprudence into the Administration of the Common
Law." He developed an early taste for policies, and a desire to aid in
philanthropic movements. He delivered an address, in 1857, before the
Concord Female Benevolent Association, in the Unitarian church, which at
once proved him a clear and vigorous writer and thinker. The writer's
first recollection of him as a lawyer was in the management of an
election case before the state legislature, for the Republicans of
Moultonborough, when it seemed imprudent to employ one almost a boy to
manage a case such as was generally committed to lawyers of large
experience; but the result justified the selection. In June, 1859, he
was appointed, by Gov. Ichabod Goodwin, law reporter of the New
Hampshire supreme court, and published five volumes of the reports. He
entered the service of the Republican party with great earnestness at
its beginning, in 1856, and gave much of his time in the office of the
state committee, to assist the movement during its early campaigns,
becoming secretary first, and afterwards chairman in 1864 and 1865. The
election of 1863 took place during the darkest period of the war,
following the battle of Fredericksburg, when gloom and almost despair
overshadowed every town in the state. It was evident to all that a draft
was impending, and it seemed as though the ability of the towns and the
state had been exhausted, and no more money could be raised or
volunteers be found to enlist. All those opposed to the war were united
and active in the Democratic party, and were aided by those Republicans
who were alarmed by the burden of debt, and by those who would
compromise the safety of the Union sooner than expose themselves to be
drafted to save it. It was the most important political campaign ever
conducted in the state, and brought the executive ability of Mr.
Chandler prominently into view, and led to his future advancement. It
was the first campaign in which a woman took a leading part. Miss Anna
Dickinson was employed as one of the speakers in the canvass, and there
commenced her career on the platform. She had before often spoken in
anti-slavery meetings. President Lincoln watched this campaign more
closely, probably, than any other outside his own state. It was the
opening election of the year following a depressing defeat, and he felt
that to lose it at such a critical time would be as disastrous in its
effects upon the army and the country as the loss of a great battle. It
was his interest in this election which first brought Mr. Chandler to
his attention, and there is no doubt that he noted when, in the New
Hampshire Republican state convention, in 1864, Mr. Chandler offered the
following resolution, which was unanimously and by acclamation
adopted:--
"_Resolved_, That Abraham Lincoln, by the exercise, during the
severest and most dangerous crisis in the nation's history, of
unequaled sagacity and statesmanship, and that moderation and
prudence which experience has shown to be the highest wisdom; by
his spotless integrity of personal character, above reproach and
above suspicion; and by his slowly formed yet unalterable
determination that the triumph of the constitution and the Union
over secession and rebellion shall be the final triumph of
liberty throughout the nation,--has received and merited the
abiding confidence of the people to an extent never awarded any
other public man since Washington; that the best interests of
the country demand that the complete destruction of the
rebellion and the restoration of peace, prosperity, and the
Union, should be achieved under his administration of the
government; and that we therefore declare Abraham Lincoln to be
the people's choice for re-election to the presidency in 1864."
The adoption of the resolution, and the conduct of the canvass in the
spring of 1864 on the basis of Mr. Lincoln's renomination, resulted in a
very large Republican majority; and Mr. Chandler, who had been a member
of the legislature of 1862, and, at the age of twenty-seven, had been
elected speaker of the house of representatives, in 1863, was again
chosen speaker; and in August, 1864, presided over the legislature in
which occurred the eventful conflict and riotous disturbances over the
veto by Governor Gilmore of the bill allowing soldiers in the field the
right to vote. Mr. Chandler gained his earliest reputation for
persistency, coolness, and moral courage in this celebrated conflict, so
well remembered by the Republicans of the state.
In November, 1864, he was employed by the Navy Department as special
counsel to prosecute the Philadelphia navy-yard frauds, and on March 9,
1865, was appointed, by President Lincoln, the first solicitor and
judge-advocate-general of that department. On June 17, 1865, he was
appointed first assistant secretary of the treasury, with Secretary Hugh
McCulloch, and held the office over two years, resigning November 30,
1867. After his resignation, he practiced law in New Hampshire and in
Washington, and was solicitor of the National Life Insurance Company,
and counsel and one of the proprietors of the Washington-Market Company,
and engaged in some mining and railroad enterprises.
It has been at various times falsely charged that Mr. Chandler received
large fees for prosecuting cotton claims before the department in which
he had been an officer. This charge is entirely false. He has never
prosecuted, before any forum, any such claims, and the following letter
to him, written at a time when Hon. George G. Fogg made such charges
against him, proves the correctness of his conduct:--
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 25, 1868.
HON. HUGH MCCULLOCH, _Secretary of the Treasury_,--
MY DEAR SIR:--It has been stated in public prints and otherwise,
in a form designed to injure me, that since leaving the Treasury
Department I have taken employment against the government as
agent or attorney for cotton claims.
As you know that such statements are false, I desire that you
will be kind enough to inform me in writing of the understanding
that exists as to my relation to such cases.
Very truly yours,
WM. E. CHANDLER.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 28, 1868.
DEAR SIR:--Your favor of the 25th instant is received. It was
arranged between us, before you resigned your office of
Assistant Secretary, that you were not to act as counsel or
otherwise against the government in relation to cotton claims,
either at this department or before the court of claims. The
arrangement was entirely voluntary on your part, and was
considered prudent and judicious in view of your connection with
this class of claims in the department. I regarded it as a very
honorable one as far as you were concerned, as it was
unaccompanied by any retainer or employment of yourself as
counsel for the government in such cases, and was without any
assurance on my part, or, as I supposed, any expectation on
yours, that you should be so employed.
The understanding has not been, so far as I am advised, directly
or indirectly violated by you.
Very truly yours,
HUGH McCULLOCH, _Secretary_.
HON. WM. E. CHANDLER, Washington, D. C.
Mr. Chandler did not keep out of politics, but was elected as a
delegate-at-large from New Hampshire to the national convention of 1868,
and subsequently was chosen secretary of the national committee. He held
this position during President Grant's administrations, and devoted
himself to the successful conduct of the campaigns of 1868 and 1872. In
1876 he declined to occupy the position longer, but still contributed
much of his time to assist in the conduct of the canvass. He had, during
this time, become the owner of the largest interest in the _New
Hampshire Statesman_ and the _Monitor_, the leading weekly and daily
Republican papers in the state, at Concord, and he was elected, in
November, a member from Concord to the constitutional convention which
amended the constitution of the state.
After voting in Concord at the presidential election in 1876, Mr.
Chandler left for Washington, reaching the Fifth-Avenue Hotel, New York,
in the early hours of the morning. The other managers of the national
campaign had retired for the night, believing they were defeated; but,
coincident with Mr. Chandler's arrival, news reached the committee-rooms
that Oregon had been carried by the Republicans, which would elect Hayes
and Wheeler by one vote. Mr. Chandler at once comprehended the situation
and the points of danger, and, without waiting for consultation, sent
dispatches warning against defeat by fraud, to Oregon, Florida, South
Carolina, and Louisiana. At the urgent solicitation of prominent members
of the party, he was prevailed upon to start immediately for Florida, to
protect the interests of the Republican party. He there became counsel
for the Hayes electors before the canvassing board of the state, and it
is universally admitted, by Republicans and Democrats alike, that to him
more than to any other man is due the preservation to the Republicans of
the fruits of their victory in that state. When the contest was
transferred from the states to congress, and, finally, before the
electoral commission chosen to arbitrate and decide who had been elected
president, Mr. Chandler acted as counsel, and assisted in preparing the
case as presented to the commission.
In the report of the special committee sent by the senate to investigate
the election in Florida, made January 29, 1877, by Senator Sargent, of
California, is contained a full statement of what the committee
considered to be the law with reference to the conclusiveness of the
declaration by a state canvassing board of the vote of the state for
presidential electors, which was the earliest formal exposition of the
principles of law which were finally adopted by the commission. The
authorship of this statement is freely attributed by Mr. Sargent to Mr.
Chandler, and the points, briefly stated, are as follows:--
I. The canvassing board was created by competent legislative
authority, with jurisdiction to ascertain, declare, and certify,
in due form, the result of the election, and in this case it did
certify that the Hayes electors had been chosen by nine hundred
and thirty majority.
This declaration, having been made by a tribunal having
unquestioned jurisdiction over the subject-matter, is
conclusive, and it has not been and cannot be reviewed, revised,
or reversed, by any power anywhere existing.
II. It cannot be reversed by any authority proceeding from the
state Of Florida. It cannot be reversed by a recanvass of the
votes.
III. As the decision of the canvassing board, that the Hayes
electors were chosen, cannot be reversed by a recanvass, neither
can the title of the electors be impaired upon proceedings of
_quo warranto_.
IV. If the declaration of the result of the election of
presidential electors in Florida, made by the state tribunal
authorized by the legislature to make such declaration, cannot
be reversed by any authority proceeding from the state of
Florida, neither can it be reversed by congress. The
constitutional provision, section 1, article 2, is, "That each
state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof
shall direct, a number of electors equal," etc. It is not
pretended by anyone that the president of the senate, or
congress, in counting the electoral vote, can do more than
merely ascertain whether or not the electors have been appointed
within each state in the manner prescribed by the legislature
thereof; and in the present case, if congress shall find that
the result of the late election was ascertained and declared by
the proper tribunal, created for that purpose and authorized by
the legislature to make the declaration, that declaration and
decision by such tribunal having jurisdiction over the
subject-matter is final and conclusive upon congress, and cannot
be reviewed, revised, or reversed. It does appear that the
canvassing board of the state of Florida, duly authorized by the
legislature, canvassed the result of the election, and declared
and certified that the Hayes electors were chosen, which result
appearing to the governor of the state, he issued certificates
to the electors so declared chosen, and they proceeded to
perform their functions. Beyond this authorized decision and
declaration of the proper state tribunal, it is respectfully
submitted that neither the president of the senate nor congress
can go.
V. In stating this doctrine, that neither the president of the
senate nor congress has the right, in counting the electoral
vote from any state, to go beyond the decision of that tribunal
authorized by the state legislature to ascertain and declare the
result of the vote of the people of the state for electors, it
is not meant to assert that the president of the senate, or
congress, cannot go behind the mere ministerial certificate of
the governor. It is the duty of the executive to give a
certificate to the electors chosen in the manner the legislature
may have appointed, and declared to be so chosen by the tribunal
authorized by the legislature to make such declaration. But if
the governor is, by the state statute, not a member of such
tribunal, his certificate is as purely ministerial as that of
the clerk of a court certifying a copy of a judgment. It is a
valid certificate if it is in accordance with the facts
appearing upon the record. It is utterly invalid and worthless
if contrary to those facts. Therefore the president of the
senate, or congress, in canvassing the electoral votes, even
ministerially, and with no authority to go beyond the
declaration of the election made by the state tribunal
authorized to decide the result of the election, may look beyond
the mere ministerial certificate of the executive, who has been
authorized to decide nothing, and whose certificate is of no
value or binding force unless correctly and truthfully issued in
accordance with the legally declared election. This distinction,
which enables the president of the senate, or congress, to go
behind the mere ministerial certificate of the governor of the
state, but yet prohibits them from going behind the declaration
as to the result of the election duly made by the proper state
tribunal authorized to make such declaration, although
technical, is as clear and distinct, and founded upon principles
of law as sound and wise, as those which allow any tribunal to
go behind a clerk's merely ministerial certificate purporting to
verify the result of a verdict or judgment in court, without
allowing it to go beyond the true record of the verdict or
judgment itself.
After Mr. Hayes had been by the commission declared elected president,
when his administration surrendered the state governments of South
Carolina and Louisiana into the hands of the Democratic claimants, Mr.
Chandler vigorously opposed it, and criticised the surrender and the men
connected with it in most scathing terms, in letters published in the
winter of 1877-78. His fidelity to his convictions of duty was
conspicuous; and his courage and boldness in attacking the Hayes
administration gave him a lasting hold upon the confidence of the
country.
In 1880 he was elected at the head of the ticket of Blaine delegates
from New Hampshire to the Chicago convention, and was especially active
in the contests in the national committee prior to the convention, and
as a member of the committee on credentials, of which Senator Conger was
chairman, and which made the successful report in favor of district
representation. The following is an extract from the report of the
committee on credentials:--
This long current of precedents, and this universal custom of
the past, most conclusively establish the right of congressional
district representation. It is a question of substance and not
of form. Whether the delegates have come certified from separate
district conventions, or whether they have come from a state
convention where the district members thereof have selected
their district representatives, and formally reported them to
the state convention, and their election has been certified, for
brevity and convenience, only by the officers of the state
convention, district representation in fact has always been
allowed. The right of the congressional district to two members
residing within it and representing its sentiments, has been
treated as sacred, and your committee do not believe that it
should be now for the first time invaded with the approval of a
national convention.
Not only does the call for the convention, and the practice and
precedents of the party in one unbroken line, indicate and
secure the right of single district representation, but every
consideration of the reason of the practice tends to confirm its
wisdom. The purpose to be secured in nominating a President is
the selection of a candidate the most likely to be accepted by
the people; and the nearer we get to the popular feeling, in the
manner of selecting delegates, the wiser and safer will be our
nominations. If a state convention called to choose delegates to
a national convention can, by a bare majority, over-rule the
choices of the congressional districts and select delegates
residing within the districts who do not represent its
sentiments, they might as well he allowed to select all the
delegates from one congressional district. Residence within a
district, coupled with misrepresentation of its sentiments, is a
mockery. The delegates thus selected by a state convention will
not fairly represent the masses of the Republicans of the state,
but frequently will misrepresent them. Nominations made by
conventions of such delegates will not be so likely to be
ratified at the polls; and, in the opinion of the committee, it
is the duty of the convention emphatically to disapprove these
attempts to over-ride time-honored customs of the party, and to
vindicate the right of every congressional district to be
represented in a national convention by two delegates of its own
selection, and expressing its own sentiments.
When his favorite candidate was withdrawn in the convention, he
supported General Garfield, and during the campaign which resulted in
his election was a member of the national committee and served on the
executive committee.
On March 23, 1881, he was nominated, by President Garfield, as
solicitor-general in the Department of Justice; but his confirmation was
opposed by Attorney-General MacVeagh, and also by all the Democratic
senators, on account of his extreme radicalism on the southern question.
The Republicans, with Vice-President Arthur's vote, would have had one
majority; but the whole Democratic vote, the absence of the New York
senators, the abstention of Senator Mitchell, and the adverse vote of
Senator Cameron of Pennsylvania, caused his rejection, on May 20, by
five majority.
Mr. Chandler had been, in November, 1880, elected a member from Concord
in the state legislature, which assembled in June, 1881, and he took a
leading position. He favored stringent legislation against bribery at
elections, and against the issuing of free passes by railroads, and was
in favor of controlling by law the regulation of freight and fares upon
all railroads within the state. After the close of the session of the
legislature, when consolidation was effected between certain
Massachusetts and New Hampshire railroads without the consent of the
proper authorities, and against the law, he contended against their
action in the courts, in the press, and in all legitimate ways. Its
success would have placed the whole railroad interest in the lines
running through the center of the state and their branches under the
control of Massachusetts capital and Massachusetts corporations. His
legal positions have been sustained by the court, and the custody and
control of the roads ordered to be taken and exercised by their rightful
owners.
The latest honor conferred upon Mr. Chandler was his selection by
President Arthur as a member of his cabinet. He was nominated, April 7,
1882, for Secretary of the Navy, and confirmed April 12, by a vote of
twenty-eight to sixteen; he qualified and took possession of the office,
April 17, 1882.
In closing this sketch of a busy and useful life, I must add a few words
appreciative of the character of one whom as a boy and man I have known
for forty years. In his personal habits Mr. Chandler is above
reproach,--pure in speech as in action,--with a mind quick to perceive,
prompt to execute, and comprehensive in its scope. He is a man with
convictions and the courage to express and maintain them. He has never
sought advancement by flattery or pandering to prejudice. Those who know
him best have the most faith in his integrity. The best evidence of it
is the fact that in twenty-five years of aggressive political life,
while occupying positions of temptation, and criticising freely the
action of men who forgot their moral obligations or were shirking their
official duties to the detriment of the public good, no one of them has
been able to connect him with personal dishonesty, corrupt practice in
official life, or political treachery or double-dealing. His methods are
direct, positive, systematic, exact, and logical. The positions he has
held have all come to him in recognition of his ability and earnest
efforts in serving the cause he espouses.
Mr. Chandler has been twice married,--in 1859, to a daughter of Gov.
Joseph A. Gilmore, and in 1874, to a daughter of Hon. John P. Hale. He
has three sons,--Joseph Gilmore, born in 1860; William Dwight, in 1863;
and Lloyd Horwitz, in 1869. Mr. Chandler's father died in 1862. His
mother is still living in Concord. He has two brothers,--John K.
Chandler, formerly a merchant in Boston and the East Indies, now
residing on a farm in Canterbury, N. H.; and George H. Chandler, who was
first adjutant and afterwards major of the Ninth New Hampshire regiment,
and is now a lawyer in Baltimore. Mr. Chandler's father was a Whig, a
man of great intelligence and firmness of character. His mother is a
woman of equally positive traits, and has contributed much to the
formation of the character which has given success to her sons.
[Illustration: Wm. C. Clarke.]
HON. WILLIAM C. CLARKE.
Among the public men of New Hampshire who have lately passed away, none
was more widely known in the state, or more sincerely respected, than
Hon. WILLIAM COGSWELL CLARKE, of Manchester. He was born in Atkinson, N.
H., December 10, 1810, being the eldest son of Greenleaf and Julia
(Cogswell) Clarke. His father was a farmer and master-mason, the
constructor of many fine business buildings in the neighboring town of
Haverhill, Mass., and a highly esteemed citizen of Atkinson, where he
served as selectman and justice of the peace. He was descended from
Nathaniel Clarke, a merchant of Newbury, Mass., who died in 1690, and
from Capt. Edmund Greenleaf, of that place, an officer of repute in the
wars of the early colonists with the Indians. The wife of Greenleaf
Clarke was a daughter of Dr. William Cogswell, of Atkinson, who was a
surgeon in the Revolutionary army, and at one time chief of the Military
Hospital at West Point.
William C. Clarke pursued his early studies at Atkinson Academy, of
which his maternal grandfather was one of the founders, and then entered
Dartmouth College, at the age of eighteen years. He was graduated with
high honors in the class of 1832, which included Professors Noyes and
Sanborn, of Dartmouth, and the late Samuel H. Taylor, LL.D., the noted
instructor at Andover, Mass. Immediately becoming principal of Gilmanton
Academy, he held the position for one year, while beginning the study of
law. He continued his legal studies in the Harvard Law School, in the
office of Stephen Moody, at Gilmanton, and in that of Stephen C. Lyford,
at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia, N. H. On his admission to the bar, in
1836, he began practice in the latter town, and on the creation of
Belknap county, at the close of 1840, he was appointed county solicitor.
He held this position until the spring of 1844, when he removed to
Manchester, and continued the practice of his profession. Two years
later he was one of a committee of seven chosen by the town to petition
the legislature for a city charter, and at the first city election, in
August, 1846, was the Democratic candidate for mayor. There being two
other candidates, there was no choice, and he withdrew his name before
the second ballot, in September. In the same year, however, he consented
to act as chief engineer of the fire department of the young city, and
he retained this position till the close of 1848, having a number of
leading citizens as his assistants.