of the law. I could point to those who have occupied the highest
positions in the gift of the people, who have been the chief executives
of this great Nation, and who have stood in the halls of Congress, and
in the legislative halls of our various States, and in these important
positions have helped formulate the fundamental principles which to-day
govern us as a free people, and upon which the ark of our freedom rests.
I believe that while in the past opportunities have presented themselves
for lawyers in politics, yet no time was ever more favorable than now,
when it seems to me that the service of the Bar is required in helping
shape the policies and destinies of our country. We are confronted with
new conditions, with new propositions, and it seems to me that the man
who is learned in the law, who, as was once said of the great Peel, that
his entire course in life, in and out of the profession, was guided by
the desire to do right and justice, should aid in our adjustment to
these new conditions.

Professional men who are superior to the fascination of power, or the
charms of wealth, men who do not employ their power solely for
self-aggrandizement, but devote their energies in favor of the public
weal, are men who should be found in the councils of the State. Ours is
the country and this the occasion when patriotism and legal learning are
at a premium.

In the settling of the policy of the United States with reference to
territory recently acquired, lawyers are destined to play a leading
part. They are very well fitted to appreciate the fundamental principles
of a free government and of human liberty. It seems the patriotic duty
of the lawyer to give the country the benefit of his study and
experience, not as a mere politician, but as a high-minded and learned
statesman and citizen of our common country.