OF ARTS AND SCIENCES : JUNE 9, 1868. 13 



he espoused the cause of the Union and the Constitution in the late civil 

 war. Although then approaching to the allotted age of man, his ardor, 

 energy, and zeal in the cause of his country, showed that patriotism 

 and love of liberty had not abated one jot or tittle of their original 

 vigor and fire within his breast. With true civic courage, in the ear- 

 lier days of Southern aggression, when resistance to the demands and 

 the power of slavery was not calculated to enlist popular favor, he had 

 stood forth as an earnest opponent of measures designed to abridge 

 the constitutional rights of the North, and to consolidate the power 

 of the national government in support and defence of slavery. By 

 speech and pen he resisted the annexation of Texas, the invasion of 

 Kansas, and the enforcement of the laws for the surrender of fugitive 

 slaves. "When the aggressive acts of the South culminated in treason, 

 he did not hesitate to accept the issue. Abhorrent to his kindly nature 

 as were the horrors of a civil war, he felt that they were to be 

 encountered fearlessly rather than to submit to a sacrifice of the rights 

 which constitutional liberty had secured to the people of the whole 

 country. From the breaking out of the war to its close, he was un- 

 tiring in his efforts, both public and private, to aid the cause of the 

 nation. Especially by his writings in 1862, on the subject of the re- 

 lations of England and the United States growing out of the civil war ; 

 in 1863, on the rights and duties of belligerents and neutrals with 

 special reference to the course pursued by England towards the United 

 States; and in 1865, in his views on reconstruction, — he contributed 

 largely to a correct understanding of the topics on which he treated, 

 and afforded striking proof of his ability to discuss grave questions of 

 international and constitutional law with originality, learning, and 

 vigor. 



It was Mr. Loring's supreme satisfaction to live to see the war 

 ended, slavery abolished, peace restored, and the reconstruction of the 

 Union in a fair way of being accomplished. It was also his grateful 

 privilege to obey the call of his Alma Mater in the summer of 1865, and 

 to preside over the commemorative festival of her sons in honor of 

 those who had given their lives as a sacrifice for their country, and to 

 welcome back those who had returned after brave and successful service 

 in the field. The grace and dignity and tenderness with which this 

 duty was performed by him will long live in the memory of those 

 whose privilege it was to participate in the interesting services of that 

 occasion. 



