of state troops, with which he remained until the expiration of their term of service. Whilst serving at Fort Moultrie, (under the command of Colonel William Drayton, of the regular army,) he delivered an address on the 4th July, 1812, to the officers and soldiers of that garrison. This was his first effort as an orator, but, young as he was, the patriotism of his sentiments, the classical purity of his style, and the decisive manifestations which he even then gave of the pos session of oratorical powers of a very high order, brought him prominently forward to the public view. Mr. HAYNE is now major-general of the South Carolina militia, to the improvement of which, in discipline and military science, he has very essentially contributed by his zealous devotion to his duties in every grade, from the lowest to the highest. He is universally acknowledged to be one of the most accomplished and popular officers that have ever exercised the elevated command which he now holds.

On receiving an honorable discharge from the service of the United States, Mr. HAYNE returned to Charleston, and immediately commenced the practice of the law. Having no patrimonial estate, he was, from the beginning, thrown entirely upon his own resources. Falling heir, however, in some degree, to the practice of Mr. Cheves, who had accepted a seat in congress, he was rapidly and eminently successful in his professional pursuits, and his practice continued regularly to increase up to the period of his final retirement from the bar. Before he had attained his twenty-second year, he found himself in possession of an income, which authorized him to incur the expenses of a family; and from that time, it is believed, his professional advancement and emoluments were not surpassed by those of any practitioner at the Charleston bar.

Mr. HAYNE was first elected a member of the legislature in October, 1814. This was the first general election which had occurred since he had attained his majority. And, as a very decisive evidence of the high stand which he even then occupied in public estimation, and of the abundant promise which he had even then given of future usefulness and distinction, it deserves to be mentioned that he was elected at the head of a list of thirty-one candidates, (most of them men of the highest character and talents,) and that he received on that occasion, probably, the largest amount of votes ever given to any individual in a contested election in the city of Charleston. For this very flattering, and in one so young, extraordinary success, Mr. HAYNE was no doubt much indebted to the firm and decided stand which he had taken in support of Mr. Madison's administration, and the war. Party spirit,

at that period, ran high. The city of Charleston was nearly equally divided in relation to the war, and upon all the other great questions which were then so warmly contested by the political parties of that day, Mr. HAYNE, upon all public occasions, avowed his opinions boldly, and displayed unusual zeal and energy in support of the principles he had espoused, and of the national character and honor. On the 4th of July, 1814, particularly, he delivered the annual oration as the organ of the democratic party, and of this performance it is certainly but justice to remark, that as none of the kind have ever been better composed, or more forcibly delivered, so not one, perhaps, has ever been attended with more triumphant effect upon the feelings and understandings of an audience, or upon the political fortunes of its author. It was towards the close of the same year in which that oration was delivered, that he was elected, as above mentioned, to the legislature of the state.

Mr. HAYNE was now in his proper element, a deliberative assembly. Upon taking his seat, he was chosen chairman of the military committee, then the most important in the house-and having at the same time received the appointment from the governor, of quarter-mastergeneral of the state, he acted a very conspicuous part, not only in preparing and arranging the military defences of the state, but in all the most important business of legislation, and especially in originating, advocating, or supporting all such measures as were best calculated to strengthen the arm of the federal government in the honorable contest in which it was then engaged.

After having served five years in the house of representatives, during which he had deservedly acquired the reputation of one of the principal debaters on the floor, Mr. HAYNE was unanimously chosen speaker of that body, and presided over its deliberations during the session of 1818. No stronger proof need be given than this, of the high estimation to which he had risen at the early age of twenty-seven. The occupancy of that chair, at such an age, is a compliment which has been awarded to him alone, nor is it more than common justice to say, that he proved himself worthy of the flattering distinction by his perfect acquaintance with, and prompt and exact discharge of, all its important duties, and by the general satisfaction which he gave in the impartiality of his conduct, and the amenity of his manners.

Of this satisfaction with his conduct as speaker, and of the rank which he held as a lawyer and an orator, a very honorable proof was quickly given, for at the close of the very first session of the legislature over which he had presided, he was unanimously elected to the

office of attorney-general of the state; an office not only highly important and responsible in itself, but one which had never been filled by any but the most eminent lawyers in the state. It may be proper also, here to state, that shortly after his election as attorney-general, Mr. HAYNE was offered the appointment, by President Monroe, of attorney of the United States for the district of South Carolina, which he declined.

Mr. HAYNE continued to serve as attorney-general for four years, at the expiration of which, in December, 1822, (having just then attained his thirty-first year,) he was chosen senator to congress for six years from the 4th of March, 1823. To this station he was reëlected in 1828, without opposition, for another period of six years.

The character and public services of General HAYNE, open a wide field; but our limits rather restrict us to an outline, than permit us to fill up and develop all the features of the picture.

As a lawyer, General HAYNE was deeply skilled in the principles of the science, and always happy and judicious in their application. His forensic displays exhibit great versatility of powers, and an admirable union of all the essential requisites of oratorical distinction. Comprehensive in his views, lucid in his arrangement, and possessed at the same time of the very happiest mode of public speaking, he was equally successful in convincing the understanding of the court, and in enlisting and controlling the feelings of the jury. Liberal in practice, and courteous in demeanor, he not only never took an unfair advantage of an opponent, but always extended the hand of kindness to those of the profession who required his aid. Of him it may be truly said, that as he had no superior in legal learning at the Charleston bar, so few approached him in eloquence, or in public estimation. No man was ever more popular in his profession, or more regretted, as the loss of a distinguished ornament, when he was removed to a higher sphere.

But it is as a statesman and an orator, that General HAYNE is best known to the Union at large; and it is to his displays and services in the senate of the United States, that he is principally indebted for the reputation which he now enjoys. Although scarcely of the constitutional age, when he first took his seat in the senate, he soon attained a very distinguished rank among the enlightened and experienced politicians who composed it. Amongst his first efforts, was his speech against the tariff of 1824, in which he exhibited the views of the state he represented, and forcibly exposed what he considered the impolitic and ruinous tendency of the restrictive system. He soon after ori

ginated and zealously supported a general bankrupt law, which, although it did not succeed, was not the less demanded by the necessities of the country, or the principles of justice. His speeches in reference to that bill have been justly and universally admired as very able arguments in reference to a great question of constitutional and mercantile law. As chairman of the naval committee of the senate, he deservedly obtained high commendation, both for his intimate knowledge of the wants and details of the navy, and for his patriotic devotion to its interests and honor. It is to him that the nation is indebted for the excellent law for the gradual improvement of the navy, and preservation of ship timber, and for several other acts which have tended greatly to increase its usefulness, perfect its discipline, and preserve its popularity. These were not, however, the only acts which he originated, or the only matters which engaged his attention as a senator. Few members of the senate were more attentive to business, or took a more active part in general legislation. But of all his displays in that body, none, perhaps, have been so universally or so highly admired, as his two speeches, and particularly the last, in the "great debate" upon Mr. Foot's resolution respecting the surveys of the public lands. As a constitutional argument, his second speech upon that occasion will rank with any ever delivered in the senate. Cogent and masterly in its reasoning-keen and delicate in its irony -pure, perspicuous, and elevated in its style, it exhibits," says a correspondent, "a profound knowledge of the true principles of our constitution, and of the relative rights and duties of the federal and state governments; exposes the fallacy and danger of constructive doctrines, and has already done much to bring the federal government back to its original limits and intentions, and to revive and reëstablish the principles of Jeffersonian democracy. As an effort of intellect, it will rank amongst the highest in the annals of American eloquence; and as a faithful exposition of the true structure and objects of the American confederacy, it will be regarded as a text book by the supporters of the sovereignty of the states in every section of the union."

66

History has already recorded the events of the latter part of the year 1832, and of the commencement of 1833. The opposition against the protective policy in South Carolina, which had for many years existed, had acquired such strength in the first mentioned year, that the legislature, assembled in special session, enacted a law, on the 26th of October, for the convocation of a convention of the people of the state, for the purpose of taking "into consideration the several acts of the congress of the United States, imposing duties on foreign im

ports, for the protection of domestic manufactures, or, for other unauthorized objects, to determine on the character thereof, and to devise the means of redress, &c." Of this convention Mr. HAYNE was elected a member from Charleston, the place of his residence, and when that body, on the 24th of November, adopted the celebrated ordinance of nullification, he voted with the majority. In December following, he was elected by the legislature, governor of the state, and was inaugurated on the 11th of that month, resigning his seat in the senate of the United States, which was filled by the election of Mr. Calhoun, who had vacated the post of vice-president. As governor of the state, Mr. HAYNE was very soon called upon to act. The proclamation of the president, issued on the 10th of December, in relation to the proceedings of South Carolina, reached Columbia in a very few days, and was met by a counter proclamation from governor HAYNE, expressed in terms of lofty defiance, on the 20th of the same month. The warlike aspect of these two documents, exhibiting on the one hand a determination to put down South Carolina by force, and on the other, a fixed resolution to resist unto death, very naturally excited an alarm for the safety of the Union, in all parts of the United States, which predisposed the majority of the people in favor of con ciliatory measures. In South Carolina, preparations of the most vigorous and efficient kind were every where made for the defence of the state, and in these arrangements the governor took an active and conspicuous part. The proceedings which took place in congress on the 2d of March, 1833, are too well known to need a recapitulation here. Suffice it to say that the simultaneous passage of a bill modifying the tariff, and of one designed to enforce the collection of the revenue, put an end to the apprehensions of an approaching conflict between the federal government and the state of South Carolina, which induced the convention, on the 15th of March, to enact an ordinance, repealing the previous one of the 24th of November. Of this convention, Governor HAYNE was elected president at its second session, which commenced on the 11th of March, and closed on the 18th; General Hamilton having previously resigned.

From this memorable epoch until the month of December, 1834, Governor HAYNE continued in the executive chair, though not without having subjects of exciting interest to demand his solicitude. The spirit of party in South Carolina, had not been appeased by the settlement of the dispute with the government at Washington. The predominant party were desirous of enforcing obedience to the state in all future conflicts, by demanding an oath of allegiance, whilst the mi