Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/550

 530 WEBSTER kinson of Philadelphia for the plaintiffs, and Mr. John Holmes of Maine and Attorney Gen- eral Wirt for the defendants, in error. Mr. Webster as junior counsel opened the case, and made a novel and exhaustive argument on the propositions that at common law colleges under ordinary circumstances are private elee- mosynary institutions, over which the state has no control except for acts in violation of their charters; and that within the meaning of the constitution of the United States the charter of such an institution is a contract which the legislature of a state cannot annul. The decision of the court was pronounced by Chief Justice Marshall, at the term for 1819, declaring the acts of the legislature of New Hampshire unconstitutional, and reversing the decision of the court below. By this decision the law of the land in reference to collegiate charters was firmly fixed. This case estab- lished Mr. Webster's reputation at the supreme court of the United States, and be was thence- forward retained in almost every considerable cause argued at Washington. It will be suf- ficient to name the cases of Gibbons and Ogden (the- great steamer monopoly case), the case of Ogden and Saunders (state insolvent laws), the Charles river bridge case, the Alabama bank case, the validity of Mr. Girard's will, the Rhode Island charter case, and the great India-rubber case argued before the circuit court of New Jersey in the last year of his life. In the trials of Goodridge at Newburyport, shortly after his removal to Boston, and the great cause eeUbre of Knapp at Saluin, Mr. Webster exhib- ited skill as a criminal lawyer which has never been surpassed. In 1820 Mr. Webster was a member of the Massachusetts convention to revise the constitution of that state after the separation of Maine. The principal subjects on which he spoke at length were oaths of office, the basis of senatorial representation, and the in- dependence of the judiciary. During its session ho pronounced, on Dec. 22, 1820, his celebra- ted discourse at Plymouth on the anniversary of the landing of the pilgrim fathers. This was the first of a series of performances, apart from the efforts of the senate and the bar, by which he placed himself at the head of Amer- ican orators. The other addresses of this class were his orations at the laying of the corner stone of the Bunker Hill monument in June, 1825, and at the completion of that structure in June, 1843 ; the eulogy on Adams and Jef- ferson in 1826; and his discourse on laying the corner stone of the extension of the capi- itol in 1851. In the autumn of 1822 he was elected to congress from Boston by a very large majority. Early in the session, commencing in December, 1823, he made his famous speech on the Greek revolution, a powerful remon- strance against the principles of the "holy alliance." The subject of the tariff was dis- cussed at this session, and Mr. Webster op- posed an extravagant increase of protective duties. As chairman of the judiciary commit- tee, he reported and carried through the house a complete revision of the criminal law of the United States. The second session of the 18th congress is memorable for the election of John Quincy Adams as president of the United States by the house of representatives. Mr. Webster, as long as he remained a member of the house, was the leader of the friends of the administration in that body, lie was reelect- ed in 1824. In 1827 he was elected by the legislature of Massachusetts to the senate of the United States to fill a vacancy, and retained his seat by reelection till 1841. The principal topic at the first session of the 20th congress was the revision of the tariff, with special ref- erence at first to protection of the woollen interest. Mr. Webster, in an elaborate argu- ment, showed that a moderate protective sys- tem had now become the settled policy of the country ; and that the capital invested in man- ufactures was far too considerable to be ex- posed to the caprices of the foreign market, fraudulent invoices, and the competition of foreign labor working on starvation wages. The first session of the 21st congress was sig- nalized by the famous debate on Foot's reso- lution relative to the survey of the public lands, which gradually assumed the character of partisan warfare, and mainly related to the newly promulgated doctrines of the school of Mr. Calhoun on the right of an individual state to nullify an act of congress. Two speeches were made by Mr. Webster, of which the sec- ond, pronounced on Jan. 26 and 27, 1830, is the most celebrated of his parliamentary ef- forts. His first speech was an entirely unpre- meditated reply to the first of Mr. Hayne, who endeavored in an elaborate argument to prove that New England had always pursued an un- friendly course toward the western states. Mr. Benton followed Mr. Webster, and Mr. Hayno then claimed the right of rejoinder. His sec- ond speech was still more strongly marked with bitterness toward the eastern states, and bordered on the offensive toward Mr. Web- ster. He also reaffirmed, with great emphasis, the doctrine of nullification. This speech oc- cupied a part of one day and the whole of the next. Mr. Webster began his reply the next day, and completed it the day after. He had a threefold task to perform : first, to repel the personalities toward himself which formed a very prominent part of Mr. Hayne's speech, and this was done by a few retaliatory strokes, in which the keenest sarcasm was so mingled with unaffected good humor and man- ly expostulation as to command the sympa- thy of the audience ; secondly, to vindicate the eastern states in general, and Massachu- setts in particular, which was done with the utmost spirit and effect ; and lastly, and what Mr. Webster deemed by far the most impor- tant object, to overthrow the doctrine of nulli- fication, as held and expounded by the South Carolina school. The senate chamber was crowded to its utmost capacity on both days,