Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 2.djvu/279

 HON. ONSLOW STEARNS.

��J 5 9

��ests, but extending to the most minute details of their management. He was never idle. No man was ever more painstaking and faithful in the discharge of his duties. His papers and figures were carried with him, and studied as he journeyed between his home in Concord and the railroad offices in Boston ; and when in Boston his labors almost always extended far into the hours of night. He lived in labor, and thought no plan complete till, by exe- cution, it had passed beyond his power to labor upon it. His knowledge of the practical management of railroads was complete and perfect to the small- est details ; and this, together with his unwearied industry, sound business judgment and foresight, and his knowl- edge and control of men, contributed to a success such as few railroad manag- ers have attained. At his death he was the oldest railroad president in continu- ous service in New England, having been president of the Northern Rail- road for twenty-seven years.

Although in no sense a politician, as has been stated, Mr. Stearns was a man of fixed political convictions, acting heartily with the Whig party from early life until the dissolution of the party, when he became a Republican. In 1862 he accepted the nomination of his party as candidate for State Senator in the Concord District and was elect- ed, serving upon the committees upon railroads, elections and military affairs. He was 're-elected the following year and was chosen President of the Senate, faithfully and acceptably discharging the duties of his responsible position. In legislation as in business life he was eminently a practical man. During his term of legislative service the war of the rebellion was in progress, and his efforts as a legislator, as well as a citizen, were freely and fully exerted in behalf of the Union cause. He was one of the prime movers in the formation of the New Hampshire Soldiers' Aid Society, an or- ganization which contributed largely to the encouragement of enlistments and the assistance of the needy families of soldiers in the field.

In 1864 Mr. Stearns was a delegate-

��at-large from New Hampshire in the Republican National Convention, and was one of the vice-presidents of that body. Many prominent Republicans and personal friends had for some time urged his candidacy for the Republi- can nomination for governor of the state, and in 1867 he received a large vote in the convention which nominated Gen. Harriman for that office. Soon after the convention he was besought by a number of his friends and political associates, who were dissatisfied with the action of the convention, to allow the use of his name as an independent candidate, but declined to accede to their wishes.

In the Republican State Convention of 1867 no name but that of Mr. Stearns was presented for the gubernatorial nomination, which was conferred upon him by acclamation, a circumstance of rare occurrence in the case of a first nomination. He was elected by a de- cided majority — over Gen. John Bedel, the Democratic candidate, and was re- nominated the following year. He sent a letter to the convention, declining the re-nomination, on account of the state of his health and the pressure of busi- ness cares, but the convention refused to accept the declination, and a com- mittee was appointed to wait upon him and urge its withdrawal, which was finally successful in its efforts. His re- election followed, and for another year he devoted no small share of his atten- tion to the interests of the state, notwith- standing the varied demands of the ex- tensive corporate interests under his management. To the financial affairs of the state his care was especially di- rected, and during his administration the state debt was reduced nearly one- third, while the state tax was also re- duced in still greater proportion. He also took a lively interest in the man- agement of the State Prison, and was instrumental in effecting great changes therein, securing more thorough disci- pline and putting the institution upon a paying basis, whereas it had long been run at a pecuniary loss to the state.

In the discharge of all his public duties, Mr. Stearns always sought to

�� �