Speech of Mr. Hill, of New Hampshire, on Mr. Benton's Expunging Resolutions
(
This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Speech of Mr. Hill, of New Hampshire, on Mr. Benton's Expunging Resolutions (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Hill, of New Hampshire, on Mr....)
Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Hill, of New Hampshire, on Mr. Benton's Expunging Resolutions
I intend, in the remarks I have to make, to no tice the charge that the Operation commenced by an attempt on the part of the friends of the ad ministration to make the bank at Portsmouth a political bank; and the statement that the bank had taken no part in politics, i'he testimony on which the charge and disclaimer have been based, is the authority and word of the President of the bank. I Shall confront these statements generally, with other statements coming from the same quarter; and if I shall fail to prove by the President of the bank, that the President of the bank and the aforesaid Senator charged falsely when he charged the attempt to make the Branch Bank at Portsmouth apolitical engine ifl shall fail to demonstrate, on the authority of the President of the bank himself, that he had entered, with all the money of the bank, into the political arena, 1 will concede that the friends of the bank have not been quite as much in the wrong as the enemies of the bank have alleged.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Isaac Hill was an American politician and newspaper editor. He was a member of the New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives, served as the 16th Governor of New Hampshire, and founded the Farmers' Monthly Visitor.
Background
Isaac Hill was born on April 6, 1789 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. He was the eldest son of Isaac and Hannah (Russell) Hill, his family on both sides being of old colonial stock. As the family was impoverished in the depression following the Revolution and was handicapped still further by the insanity of his father, his mother, a woman of great courage and force of character, about 1798 purchased a small farm in Ashburnham where he spent the next four years.
Education
Lameness and a slight physique reduced Hill's usefulness on the farm and he was apprenticed in 1802 to Joseph Cushing, printer, at Amherst, New Hampshire. The change was advantageous, and he proved industrious.
Career
Before reaching his majority Hill moved to Concord, bought the press of the American Patriot, and on April 18, 1809, produced the first number of the New Hampshire Patriot, a publication destined to exert a profound influence on the politics of the state and the public careers of several of its leaders. His new venture seemed inauspiciously timed, for the Republicans were discredited by the Embargo policy and by the accompanying business depression, but within a few weeks it was apparent that a new power had appeared in New Hampshire politics.
Before long the Patriot was one of the most important journals in New England. The editor, who is said to have composed many of his articles while standing at the case, attracted the attention of party leaders throughout the country, the paper's circulation grew rapidly, and in addition Hill received tangible evidences of appreciation in the form of government printing and mail contracts.
In the meantime he had become an active participant in state politics, serving a term as representative, two as clerk of the Senate, and four (1820-1823, 1827-1828) as a member of the latter body. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 1828, but as an ardent supporter of Jackson he received in 1829 a recess appointment as second comptroller of the treasury. Closing out his interests in the Patriot, he served until April 1830, when the Senate refused confirmation of his appointment, greatly to the indignation of President Jackson and the satisfaction of former President Adams, who classed him as a profligate libeler.
Later in 1830 Hill was elected to the United States Senate for the six-year term beginning March 4, 1831. It was a triumph which was especially sweet to him in view of his rejection for the comptrollership a few months before. He held office until May 30, 1836, when he resigned to accept the governorship of New Hampshire.
In 1836 he was elected governor by a remarkably large majority, a performance repeated in the two following years.
After his retirement from the governorship he served, 1840-1841, as head of the Boston subtreasury but was removed with the incoming of the Harrison administration. In partnership with his sons he established another newspaper at Concord, Hill's New Hampshire Patriot, but this production failed to recapture some of the qualities that had made his earlier venture so successful. He had already established an agricultural journal, the Farmers' Monthly Visitor, maintaining his interest in this publication for the last fifteen years of his life. Hill's Patriot was merged with the original New Hampshire Patriot in 1847, and his newspaper career was over.
Hill was a shrewd and successful businessman and developed a successful publishing and bookselling business in addition to his newspaper ventures. He was also interested in various banking and manufacturing enterprises and accumulated a considerable estate. In his later years he was active in the promotion of agricultural improvements.
Hill was a member of the Democratic Party and supported the policies of President Andrew Jackson. Whether because of inherent democratic inclinations or as a reaction from seven years' work in the Federalist establishment at Amherst, where he assisted in the publication of the Farmer's Cabinet, Hill was a stalwart Jeffersonian.
Hill gave loyal support to the Madison administration, especially during the War of 1812, and denounced the Federalists with the scurrility which characterized the political journalism of the day.
Following the war he became an active participant in the Dartmouth College case, supporting the action of the state and fanning the flames of controversy until it assumed proportions which affected local politics for almost half a century. In the presidential contest of 1824 he was a supporter of Crawford and a vigorous opponent of the John Quincy Adams administration.
His official messages, much better than his Senate speeches, explain his political philosophy and his attitude on many concrete public issues. His message of June 3, 1836, was a distinct innovation in New Hampshire practice, offering, in place of the brief generalizations on state matters presented by former executives, a lengthy and vigorous commentary on the trend of national affairs in support of strict construction, rotation in office, economy, and democratic simplicity, and denouncing the tariff, the collection and disbursement of surplus revenue, the operations of the United States Bank, and the use of national funds for internal improvements.
He was an earnest advocate of the construction of railroads, though he was emphatic in his belief that railroads, canals, and all similar improvements should be left to private enterprise. He urged repeatedly that public provision be made for the adequate care of the insane, a matter then grossly neglected, and also deserves credit for his insistence on the importance of preserving the early records of New Hampshire.
While denouncing the Abolitionist agitation, he declared that mob law was still more dangerous and urged that there be no interference with the right of free speech and assembly.
Personality
Hill was never robust and in his last years suffered constantly from asthma. As a personal friend of President Jackson he attracted some attention but he was not an especially effective public speaker.
He was an omnivorous reader and more than thirty years later James Buchanan once remarked in the Senate that he had never known a man with a wider range of information on American affairs.
Connections
On February 2, 1814, Hill married Susanna Ayer of Concord. They had four children.