Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Senator Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia: His Life, Speeches and Writings; Also Memorial Addresses of Eminent Citizens of Georgia, Senators and Representatives in the Congress of the United States
If in the selection I have included only those that were commendatory, it is because these only have stood the test of time and truth; and if in admiration of some act of wisdom or patriotism I have occasionally spoken words of praise, I hope it will be pardoned the son, and if unsupported by the facts will be attributed to filial affection and not discriminating judgment. In discussing some of the great questions of the past, I have occasionally given my own views, for which I am solely responsible. But after all, neither the Opinions of contemporaries, nor the pen of a biog rapher, although guided by filial devotion, can give so true and luminous conception of the man and the statesman as his own utterances. I have had great difficulty in collecting the speeches, and express in this place my obligation to T. H. Whitaker, of Troup County, and John L. Culver, of Hancock County, for valuable assistance in this direction. My father had one remarkable characteristic. He never preserved any of his speeches nor any criticism on his political course. His sole motive power was to serve his people. In his public work he lost sight of self. He was not a scrap book statesman. The accusation of enemies he did not care to remember. The kind words of friends he treasured in his heart. His fame he left en tirely to the future. Every speech of importance which was published will be found in this book. Few were revised or written by the author, and they appear just as they were reported at the time they were delivered. Aecom panying each speech there is given a brief narrative of the occasion of its delivery and the efiect produced at the time. The Notes on the Situation are given in full. They were written to meet a crisis in the South. The liberties and honor of the people were in peril. Constitutional Government was endangered. The crisis was met, the danger averted, but I believe the Notes will be found of permanent value. They will ever remain as models of invective against proposed wrong and of clear and powerful Con stitutional argument. With the earnest hope that the life of the father has not lost anything of its beauty and value by the presentation of the son, and trusting that the people of the South, in reading the works of the one, will be indulgent to the other, I present this volume to the public.
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