quired by the emergencies of the State. Commerce ad 
were palsied, currency was wanting, confidence was pret 
and counsels were conflicting; these difficulties were Ye 
lants to the mind of Hamilton, whereupon he eenegiea” — 
Situation; for he proposed remedies, secured support, a an 
stored credit. Now, from his time to the present, in f 5 
and war, notwithstanding temporary embarrassments an a ‘ 
casional panics, the finances of the government ne pee 
sound, its obligations being accepted wherever offered; hae 5 
long line of honest and able secretaries who have adminis ie 
the treasury, Hamilton represents the first and greates 
nancier. 
His literary and scientific attainments were by no means 
limited, his knowledge being extensive and accurate, while 
he possessed a retentive memory, clear discrimination, and 
indomitable industry, he soon mastered the details of every 
branch of learning to which his attention was directed, mak- 
ing them his own. In his youth he spent only three years in 
Columbia College, whereupon, during this period, he rendered 
himself familiar with classical languages and learning, with 
general history, mathematics, exact sciences, and so on; in four 
short months, he acquired a competent knowledge of the dry, 
abstruse learning, both of the common and the statute law, 
and prepared himself for admission to the bar. His subse- 
quent and rapid rise to the first eminence in that profession 
among rivals and associates of the highest abilities, as soon 
as he devoted himself to his professional career, clearly evince 
low superior his legal gifts and attainments were. Had he 
lived, it is not improbable that he would have become one of 
the most celebrated and profound jurists of the land. His 
associates at the bar, usually so jealous of superior genius and 
of unusual success, regarded him with pride, rarely with envy. 
hus, he possessed the fullest confidence of the courts; in the 
trial causes and discussion of legal principles, it was truly 
said of him, by one eminently competent to judge, “that with- 
Out ever stoppin 
g or even hesitating, by a rapid and manly 
march, he led the listening judge and the fascinated juror, 
step by step, through a delightsome region, brightening as he 
advanced, till h 
is argument rose to demonstration, eloquence 
being rendered useless by conviction.” 
¢ was elected a member of the Continental Congress 
by the legislature of 
t New York, whereupon he was often the 
chairman of the committees which had charge of the subjects 
of the greatest importance. Here his modes of thinking im- 
parted to the proceedings of this body a new tone and char- 
acter, while his winning eloquence was the delight and wonder 
both of friend and foe. Concerning this state of affairs, Wash- 
ington says that no one exceeded him in probity and sterling 
