Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 6.djvu/51

 HON. WILLIAM E. CHANDLER.

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��his superior capabilities and his frank- ness and earnestness, together with his pleasant, graceful manners, won for him the love and esteem of his teach- ers and fellow-pupils. He also at- tended academies at Thetford, Vt., and Pembroke, N. H. He began the study of law in 1852, when he entered the office of Messrs. George & Webster and George & Foster, in Concord. He was graduated from the Harvard Law School as LL. B. in 1855, and before he had reached his majority was in the practice of law in his native city, where he was associated in busi- ness for a time with Francis B. Pea- body, Esq., now of Chicago.

Mr. Chandler's parents were emi- nently respectable persons, and did all they reasonably could for their chil- dren, but were not especially endowed with this world's goods, and William had his own way to fight. The narra- tive of his early struggles and triumphs at the bar would be interesting read- ing, and we hope to have it some clay from his own pointed, piquant pen. At Harvard Law School he was libra- rian, and he was graduated with prize honors for an essay entitled " The In- troduction of the Principles of Equity Jurisprudence into the Administration of the Common Law." This compo- sition is spoken of in high praise and as especially commendable to one so young. It displayed a power of thought, and a research and applica- tion far beyond his years. He has always expressed a deep interest in works of true philanthropy, and his benevolence and good will toward all men is something worthy of note. In 1857, he accepted an invitation to lecture before the Concord Female Benevolent Association, in the Unita- rian church, and he acquitted himself finely, and at once became known as a vigorous writer and an advanced, clear thinker. He took to politics as naturally as a fish takes to water, and he early took an active interest in the selection of candidates for public of- fice, and in the underlying principles of political parties. He was a shrewd

��organizer, and his faculty in this direc- tion was soon discovered and brought into useful service. In June, 1859, Gov. Ichabod Goodwin appointed him Law Reporter of the New Hamp- shire Supreme Court, and he pub- lished five volumes of the Reports, which contain much good law. In 1856, he associated himself with the Republican State Committee, being first Secretary, and afterward serving as Chairman. This was in 1864 and 1865. The election of 1863 took place during the darkest days of the war, following the battle of Fredericks- burg. It will be remembered as the most dubious and yet the most im- portant political canvass ever made in this state, and Mr. Chandler's execu- tive ability, and his wonderful power to marshal and control civic forces, were brought into the highest exercise. This remarkable campaign brought him into conspicuous public attention, and may be said to be the beginning of his especial prominence in state politics, and of his inestimable and untiring public services to his party. We are indebted to the recent excel- lent sketch of Mr. Chandler, by Hon. Jacob H. Ela, for much of the data herein contained.

Mr. Chandler, who had been a mem- ber of the legislature of 1862, and, at the age of twenty- seven, had been elected speaker of the house of repre- sentatives, in 1S63, was again chosen speaker ; and in August, 1864, presided over the legislature in which occurred the eventful conflict and riotous dis- turbances 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 em- ployed by the Navy Department as special counsel to prosecute the Phila- delphia navy-yard frauds, and on March 9, 1865, was appointed, by President Lincoln, the first solicitor

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