Mr. RIDDLE. In sorrow for the necessity with pleasure for, the privilege which the sad necessit has created, Mr. President, 2nd the resolutions before us. Eulogyis not my forte. Obituaries are to me unpleasant. Eulogies I would not attempt; obituaries sometimes become an imperative duty. If perchance the one is blended with the other, itshows at least that the heart is holding such dominion over the mind as to impel utterance is honest sentiments. In the death of Jacoa COLLAMER, I think Vermont has lost one of her brightest jewels, the Senate one of its most courteous members, and the country one of its greatest statesmen. He was great in feeling, great in thought, great in principle, and great in action. The compeers of Calhoun, Cla, Webster, and Wright, by hisdemise are near y, if not entirely, extinct. Butfor the illumination of their minds, reflected by the archives of our country, we would be left comparatively in the dark to grapple with the ditheulties which surround us, hence the greater the loss. Would that he had lived to aid inthe great work of reconstruction which we are I hope, about to inaugurate. My lirst acquaintance with Mr. Counmm was in 1849 or 1850 when he was PostMGenl of the U.S., the duties of which Office be discharged with signal ability and General satisfaction. I do confess that the impressions which he made upon me at that time were different from those of later days when we became better acquainted and more intimate. He was a parent ly an austere man, but there was as litt e of harshness or rigidity in his composition as of any man who ever lived. Honesty, r dignity, and selfpossession, remineut characteristics of the man, natural y created such an impression, and especially upon a young man who differed with him materially upon most political questions, and who was predisposed to oppose is administration. This apparent aus terity in a measure separated us, but the union like the welded link in the chain, only united us more strongly when made. An epitome of his life I would gladly give you, but that has been furnished by his surviving and venerable colleague, It may,nevertheless, be proper for me to allude trust it will be considered modestly, to his deportment as a Senator, his position as a jurist, and his character as a statesman. Some men when they acquire the position of Senator, (I use the word “acquire” without wishing it to be liter ally applied to the deceased) seek popularity rather than labor to direct to proper channels the popularity which their good acts and position have created. This is the rock, marli) my word for it upon which GreatBritain is bound to split. In other words, some men embrace the “isms” of the dayI use the manufactured word “isms, ” not knowing any other so comprehensiverather than breast the storm which such “isms” naturally engender, and which must ultimately destroy every vestige of republican institutions if persevered in. Judge COLLAMER was not of this class; and in this respect he must have elevated himself in the estimation of the honorable men of Vermont. He believed, and I think correctly, that if our ship of State was to be stranded, it would be by fanaticism and the denial to the States of their reserve rights under the Federal constitution. His last speech before this body justifies me making such a declaration; but political expressions, or even expressions whiehlean that way, are not relevant to this occasion. I may, however, be permitted to add, that 5 his solid qualities as a man, and his evident desire to observe the rightas a guide in political matters, won for him man friends, even among those who, like myself, iffered from him essentially in the conclusions to which he arrived.” I have thus, Mr. President, merely briefly alluded to his views to show that a great man can, to a great extent, shake off the shackles of party, he sustained by an honest constituency, and shine out, in the estimation of an enlightened world, as a patriot and statesman. such was Judge COLLAMER. No Senator ever doubted his honest.; no Senator ever questioned his and when he arose to address you, Minrt. egrrietys;ident, he was recognized, as he should have been, over many ot us, in consequence of his age, experience, abilit, and acknowledged statesmanship. If this aacompliment, God grant his friends may duly appreciate it. I speak, sir peraps, apparently with too much feeling but it tortuiied I was his companion upon his return home after the adjournment of the last Congress. I may so. that during our last ourne I learned to now him better, and, if possi le, respect him more. I knew he was unfamiliar with selfishness. His laudable ambition was satiated. His country, with which I may sly he was born, was his adopted child. e had grown u with it. In boy good he fought its early batt es; in man hood he contended for its institutions; and in old age, when death was dawning upon him, he enunciated the noblest principles of his life, and the only principles which can save this GOVernment. Hleave to Senators and the countryBto judge what these principles are. before today I did not know Judge COLLAmms religious views. I knew he was spiritually inclined, and I believe no man can be great without such inclination. It is the gem troni which true greatness ows, cultivate itas you may. It enlarges the man, brightens the intellect, and gives true nobility to the soul. It is equally certain that many assume it for base and mercenary purposes, and they are the pests upon society; but judge COLLAMER, I may say, and let the remark not appear sacrilegious it assumed. He was honest enongh to admit his errors; bold enough to confront his enemies; conscientious enough to concede his faults; arid humble enough to pray to his God for forgiveness. During the journey to which I have alluded I advanced the idea that although man was mortal, government, the creature of man upon this eart, properly regulated, might become imimmortal; that morality and love for the neigh bor were the essential attributes of lasting power and sovereignty and that sovereignty maintained under such instincts would become 1 mortal. To this the judge partially dissentdd, but expressed a desire to read awork upon the subject a copy of which I sent him afew monthfl before e died. I He also expressed a desirc. to read the works ofEmanuel Swedenborg, whom he considered as one of the greatest men and writers of his age, but feeling as it were that his days were numbered, he said to me in a suppressed tone, ” It is too late to commence such an undertaking.” Thus we arted, and parted forever, unless to meet in the same mansion in another and better world. May the Green Mountain boys of Vermont decorate his grave with the verdure and natural ndeur of their hills; and may the constitutional principles which he enunciated and advocated e indelibly impressed upon their minds! I would want this, to use a paradox, be an unwritten inscription upon his tomb.