Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 2.djvu/11

 THE SENATE ANT) ITS PRESIDENTS— HON. DAVID H. BUFFUM.

���HON. DAVID H. BUFFUM.

��entire number, and Merrimack also fif- teen ; Hillsborough has furnished thir- teen, Grafton seven, Cheshire four, Carroll three, and Belknap and Coos two each, while Sullivan has furnished none. Of the fifteen from Rockingham, five each were furnished by Portsmouth and Exeter. Concord has supplied four, Manchester four and Nashua two, but Dover has never had a President of the Senate, nor has District No. Five in which it is embraced, including the main por- tion of Strafford County, as now consti- tuted, until the election of Hon. David H. Buff urn of Somersworth, the present year. While a large proportion and per- haps a majority of those who have held the office of President of the Senate have been members of the legal profession, the Senate has usually contained among its members a large comparative repre- sentation of the business men of the State. A few clergymen, and physicians — Rev. Abiel Foster, a distinguished pat- riot and member of the Continental Con- gress, and Josiah Bartlett and Joseph M. Harper, both subsequently members of

��Congress, the former a clergyman and the two latter physicians, being among the number — have held seats in this body, but it has generally numbered more busi- ness men— merchants, manufacturers, etc., than representatives of the professions. To this fact, perhaps, may be attributed in large degree, the practical and conser- vative tendency of the Senatorial body in the work of legislation.

The present Senate contains one phy- sician — Dr. Gallinger of Concord, (Dis- trict No. Four,) three lawyers — Messrs. Cogswell of Gilmanton (No. 6,) White of Peterborough, (No. 8,) and Weeks of Canaan. (No. 11,) one farmer — Mr. Phil- brick of Rye, (No. 1,) while the remain- ing seven are all business men, Messrs. Wheeler of Salem (No. 2,) Buflum of Somersworth (No. 5,) and Amidon of Hinsdale (No. 9,) being manufacturers, Mr. Slayton of Manchester (No. 3,) a merchant, Mr. Spalding of Nashua (No. 7,) a bank cashier, Mr. Shaw of Leba- non (No. 10,) a contractor, and Mr. Cummings of Lisbon (No. 12,) a mer- chant and manufacturer. The President,

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