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Edward Lloyd (V)

The Governor

1779-1834

On the 22nd of July 1779, admidst the "storm and stress" of the revolutionary period was born Edward Lloyd, the fifth of his name, the future Governor of the yet infant State of Maryland, and the future senator of the yet embryonic Nation. Who shall say that science has ,contradicted the popular belief that character may be stamped by ante-natal influences? Who shall say that the time and circumstances of his birth, apart from hereditary bias, did not determine the original bent of the mind of Edward Lloyd (V) to politics, which inclination, intensified by his early environments, made him the statesman he afterwards became? He was the only son, in a family of seven children, of Edward Lloyd (IV) the Patriot, and Elizabeth Tayloe of Virginia. Of his early years and education little, or it may more properly be said, nothing is known. As his father was a member of the Executive Council of the State from 1777 to 1779, and for many years succeeding was holding other civil stations which required his very frequent if not his constant attendance at the seat of the State Government and as he with his family had his city house at the capital, then the centre of fashion and intelligence as well as political control or influence, it is possible that Edward Lloyd (V) was born at Annapolis, and was there educated. This is, however, merely conjectural. Wye House was always regarded as the home of the Lloyds wherever they may have been temporarily resident, and around it or within it cluster all the associations that are most tender and inspiring. It is believed that young Lloyd did not enjoy the advantages of a liberal education, but instruction in letters was received from private tutors. The death of his father, a man of culture, and appreciative of literature and learning, when he was but barely sixteen years of age, deprived him the corrective which paternal discipline would have given of the influences of a fond mother's indul- gence and of a large fortune's enervation. But although having neither the incentives of parental commands, nor the spurs of necessity to urge him to the labors of scholarship, he was possessed of a natural strength of understanding and an inborn grace of mind which stood in good stead of academic training; so that in subsequent life he betrayed no deficiency of intelligence upon all subjects claiming his attention, and he even cultivated belles-lettres as a source of enjoyment, when the ruder pleasures of the country gentleman of the day palled. His State papers while Governor and his speeches while Senator betray not only no deficiency in comprehensive intelligence, but no lack of literary ability. No tradition nor record informs us whether he was trained for either of the so-called learned professions. His career in life seems to have been predetermined by his circumstances; but he may have "read law," as many young men of fortune did either as a pastime, for accomplishment or, if we attribute to him a more serious purpose, for a preparation for the management of his estates to which he fell heir upon the death of his father in 1796. To no class of lay citizens was an acquaintance with legal principles more necessary than to the great planter such as Edward Lloyd (V), who, upon his domain and in the midst of his dependents, was required to act in the relation of legislator to frame laws for the government of his people, of judge to interpret those laws, and to determine as to their infraction, and of executive officer to enforce their obedience-all under the sovereignty of the State.

But young Lloyd was subjected to another form of education which suggested if it did not determine his career, and which prepared him for its pursuit when adopted-the career of the statesman. This was the education of his environments. Born amidst the commotion of the revolution, he first breathed an atmosphere laden with political vapors. His first mental pabulum may be said to have been the principles of the rights and liberties of the American colonies. As he grew older, when seated at his father's table, the resort of the most enlightened civilians of Maryland and Virginia, he heard discussed the fundamental doctrines of popular and constitutional government. During his frequent and protracted visits to the capital of the State he listened, at first with curiosity then with understanding, to the debates in the General Assem- bly, composed of capable men, upon matters of practical legislation necessary for the forming of the yet incomplete political organism. In the enthusiasm of youth he indulged in those visions of greatness and glory which the Federal constitution, whose adoption his father was active in promoting, evoked at the time and which have been more thanrealizedinthepresent. He joined in the general exultation, though scarcely knowing why, attending the inauguration of the new national government. Ambition was stirred within his breast when he saw how that honors and distinction were conferred upon those participating in the councils of the State and Nation to emulate their services. As he grew older and his mind matured he began to appreciate the meaning of those controversies, perhaps to participate in them, when occasion offered, which arose as to the construction or meaning of the constitu- tion and as to the expediences of different measures of public policy, and which resulted in the definition of those parties which have been maintained down to the present. In addition to those influences of a domestic character, so to speak, in educating him for the career of the statesman, ought to be mentioned those which were from a foreign source, the teaching of the French philosophers which was coloring political thought and the example of French revolutionists which was inspiring political action in America. Subjected to these impulses and incentives, gifted with a mind of conscious vigor demanding a worthy field for its exercise, and possessed of an ample fortune that relieved him from the labors and solicitudes of personal provision, it is not surprising that he should have adopted'a career that then, if not now, a gentleman might follow without compromise of dignity or character, the contests of which would bring pleasurable stimulus and success in which he might win coveted honors.

As initiative of this career, zealously and irreproachably pursued until declining health rendered it necessary that it should be abandoned, we find Mr. Lloyd, in 1800, when he had barely reached his majority, chosen to be one of the delegates from Talbot county to the General Assembly of Maryland, having for his associates in the same capacity Messrs. John Edmondson, Thomas Skinner Denny and William Rose. To the same position he was elected in each succeeding year until and including 1805, after which he was called to higher duties as a national legislator. During his term of service in the Assembly he had for his coadjutors, besides the gentlemen mentioned, Messrs. Nicholas Mar- tin, James Nabb, William Meluy, Perry Spencer, and Robert Henry Goldsborough. Of these Mr. John Edmondson and Mr. Robert H. Goldsborough were pronounced Federalists. The fact of their election indicates that the parties, the lines which had been clearly defined by the time Mr. Lloyd had entered public life, were pretty evenly balanced in Talbot county. He had espoused the side of the republicans with a youthful enthusiasm, as the Democrats of the day were called, although his wealth and social status were such that a more natural alliance would have been with the Federalists. But democracy was in his blood, derived from his ancestor, the founder of the family, who was a puritan and therefore favorable to popular government. This inherited leaven has not yet lost its potency, and the Lloyd of today adheres to the Democratic party, which claims to be, how little soever it may deserve the right to be so considered, the party of the people. In 1801, by the election of Mr. Jefferson, the Federal party lost its control of the general governments control which it never regained-though it long remained an active and intelligent opposition. During Mr. Lloyd's terms of service in the Legislature the measure which most deeply en- gaged the minds of the people of Maryland was one which was essentially democratic, namely, that of the removal of the limitations to the exercise of the suffrage. From the year 1797, at every succeeding session at- tempts were made to remove the constitutional restriction imposed by the thirty pounds electoral qualification; but although these measures had been begun and advanced by Federalists of the Assembly and opposed by Democrats, yet in as much as they had been defeated by the action of the Senate then composed chiefly if not wholly of members of the first named party, this party at last incurred the odium of being hostile to the extension of the franchise to the poor. In fact the weight of the opposi- tion to this measure came from the Federalists, who being mostly of the wealthy and educated class fancied danger to property and stability to goverranent in the endowment of the poor and ignorant with the privilege of voting. The ammunition used by the Republicans or Democrats in the battle of the parties during these years, and indeed long after, was largely compounded of jealousy of the rich and hatred of those whose culture and refinement withdrew them from familiar association with the rude and vulgar and who were therefore reproach- fully called aristocrats. Such mostly belonged to the opposite party. It was therefore a happy stroke of policy upon the part of the Republi- cans, when this question of universal suffrage was warmly discussed in this county, to nominate in 1800 a ticket upon which was placed one of the wealthiest men of Talbot, or of the State, Mr. Edward Lloyd, to whom an ochlocracy in government was as dangerous as plebeianism was repugnant in society. He became the most earnest of the cham- pions of free suffrage in the House, and the other delegates, or their suc- cessors followed deferentially or according to their nature and convictions. In 1802 the friends of this great measure, after being frequently foiled in their purposes, succeeded in securing its passage; and Mr. Lloyd is represented as having been selected as the most proper person, because of his large wealth and aristocratic associations and standing to present the resolution confirmatory of the act of 1801, which after its acceptance by the Senate, ratified and completed the adoption of the amendment to the constitution of Maryland that removed all restrictions upon the suffrage, except such as were imposed by race or condition of servitude. The active and prominent part taken by Col. Lloyd in securing this important modification of the fundamental law of the State gave him a popularity with the common people of his county such as had been enjoyed by no one previously and has been by none since, and rendered him almost invincible in any political contest. It is proper to say that there was still a property restriction upon the eligibility of persons elected to hold office, and that this restriction was removed in 1810, when Col. Edward Lloyd (V) was Governor, with his approbation of course.53 It may be well to note that the constitu- tional amendment which conferred the right of suffrage upon all white citizens of proper age, also placed the ballot in their hands, voting pre- viously having been viva voce. Among other measures of great public utility introduced to the Legislature during the time Mr. Lloyd held a seat in this body was that of a reform of the judicial system of the State. This measure was not a strictly party one, but in general it was advocated by the Democrats, while the opposition was drawn from among the Federalists chiefly. It is not known that Mr. Lloyd took any conspicuous part in the discussion of the policy of abolishing the General Court, and the division of the State into judicial districts; but he is believed to have voted for the Act of Assembly of 1804 which accomplished their results, and established that system which virtually exists to the present day.

In June 1804 at a meeting of a Convention of the delegates of the Democratic-Republican party at Denton in Caroline county, from the several counties, composing the 8th electoral district, Mr. Lloyd was placed in nomination for Elector of the President of the United States, but failed to secure a majority of the votes. Col. Perry Spencer of  Talbot, was chosen and subsequently elected, Nov. 12th, 1804, but Mr. Lloyd had previously been again chosen as Delegate to the General Assembly, an honor which was again conferred for the last time in 1805. Mr. Joseph H. Nicholson of Queen Anne's having been appointed a judge of the Court of Appeals of the State, under new arrangement, resigned his position in the House of Representatives of the United States and on the 27th Sept., 1806 an election was held of a person to take his place and fill out his unexpired term. This election resulted in the choosing of Mr. Lloyd, his competitor being Mr. James Brown of Queen Anne's county, who is represented to have been the nominee of a certain faction or party known by the name of Tertium Quids , or simply Quids. The result of this special election was ratified and confirmed at the regular election held Oct. 6th of the same year, when again Mr. Brown offered a very weak opposition, receiving in the county only 62 votes in a total poll of 1198. On the 3d of Dec. 1806, Mr. Lloyd appeared in the House and qualified. He was appointed a member of one of the Committees upon the President's (Jefferson) message, namely: that which should consider and report upon the question of the disposition of the surplus revenue of the Government. His first speech was made upon a resolution which had been offered, asking the President information respecting the so-called conspiracy of Aaron Burr, a matter which was arousing the greatest concern in the minds of the timid and credulous, and which was used by partisans for their own purposes. In this speech Mr. Lloyd expressed his incredulity oftheallegedconspiracy. Inthishedisplayedforsoyoungaman,excellent political judgment, as well as political honesty, for seeing the futility of the charges of treason, and the crafty purposes of those who promoted the accusation, he dared to separate himself from those with whom he was accustomed to act, and to assume an attitude of independence of his party. But he did not display equally good judgment when he was called upon to consider and act upon a yet more important subject, one which in most recent times convulsed the whole country and threat- ened its dissolution. In 1807 when a bill came before Congress, the purpose of which was to forbid the continuance of the African Slave trade, he was sufficiently perspicacious to discern in it the first step to- wards the abolition of slavery throughout the Union. His judgment being overborne either by his own personal interests or warped by the prevalent opinions of his own section, on the 26th of February in this year he cast his vote against the passage of this Act, thus placing him- self in hostility to a most humane as well as wise measure.

During the time of his service in Congress that subject which finally led to a war between the United States and Great Britain was receiving attention, the impressment of seamen and the privilege of search. Mr. Lloyd gave his support to those measures of the Government which were designed to assert the rights of neutrals and to resist the encroachments upon the commerce of thi-a nation. The feelings of irritation which had been aroused against the English by previous acts of aggression were intensified by the affair of the Chesapeake and the Leopard; and in this county there was a violent outbreak of indigna- tion. At a public meeting held at Easton July 21st, 1807, of the most respectable people, irrespective of party, Mr. Lloyd was one of a com- mittee appointed to prepare resolutions expressive of the sense of indignity and wrong which had been inflicted, in this case and others, and approval of the steps that had been taken by the public authorities. The resolutions presented by this committee were of the most pronounced, if not violent character, and though they may have embodied the sentiments of Mr. Lloyd they were hardly expressed in the measured language of statesmanship, which he would have employed. Military companies were organized throughout the county, in expectation of iinmedate war, of one of which, the " Talbot Patriot Troop " he was chosen the Captain. The cloud which was threatening blew over, but a few years later rose again to discharge itself in a storm of war. Capt. Lloyd on the 12th of Feb., 1812 was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 9th Regiment of Maryland Militia, and as such performed his part in the defence of the county from the forces of the enemy who were in possession of the bay, and making incursions along its shores.

At the expiration of his term in Congress, March 3d, 1808, Mr. Lloyd, having other aspirations declined re-election. At a Convention of the Democratic party of the 7th Congressional District, at this date, composed of Queen Anne's, Talbot and Caroline counties, Mr. John Brown of Nathan, a citizen of Queen Anne's, was nominated, and by a Convention of the Federal party Mr. Robert Henry Goldsborough of Talbot, was nominated, to be voted for as Congressman. The canvass which followed was very spirited, in which the retiring member took a very active part, addressing the people at public meetings, and otherwise throwing the weight of his great popularity and wealth in favor of Mr. Brown, but it is not believed that he gave countenance much less participated in the scurrility with which Mr. Goldsborough was assailed in the public prints during the campaign, and which was continued in pamphlets during the presidential campaign which followed. Mr. Brown was elected Oct. 3d in the District, though the county gave a small majority for Mr. Goldsborough. Mr. Lloyd also participated earnestly and actively in the contest for the Presidency in 1808, favoring Mr. Madison for that office, and was largely influential in securing the choice of Col. Perry Spencer of this county, as elector of the 8th electoral district over Mr. Robt. H. Goldsborough.

Governor Robert Wright having resigned, Mr. Edward Lloyd was at a special session of the Legislature, on the 5th of June, 1809 elected to fill out his unexpired term, with an expressed or implied promise that he would have the support of his party at the succeeding regular election. The political campaign in Talbot county, in the fall of this year was most hotly contested, and the Governor did not disdain to take a most active and conspicuous part in its conduct. He addressed the people at many places with that effective oratory which rendered him one of the most accomplished speakers upon the hustings the county has produced, and condescending, as he knew how, with seeming so to do, to familiar association with the electors at the public meetings, he won theirhearts as much by his gracious manners as by his impressive words.54 The result of the election held Oct. 2d was a triumphant success of the Democrats. At the regular meeting of the Legislature in November, he was on the 13th of that month chosen Governor,55 and he was the recipient of the saane honor on the 19th of November, 1810.56 No questions of State policy that need to be mentioned here, occupied the attention of the executive and the legislative branches of the Government of Maryland during the gubernatorial incumbency of Gov. Lloyd. In fact, State politics-were absorbed in national. The questions that were engaging the attention of both the governed and the governing were those connected with the foreign relations of the United States. These, during the Napoleonic wars had become exceedingly complicated through the action of the authorities of Great Britain and of France. It would be wholly out of place to go into any discussion of these questions, or to give even a recital of the events which gave origin to them. Readers are referred to books of national history for all that relates to the "Orders in Council," the "Berlin decree," the "rightsof neutrals,"the"Embargo,"the "impressment of seamen," &c., which finally led to the declaration of war in 1812. These great national questions were under discussion during Mr. Lloyd's terms of service as Governor, but he ranged himself upon the side of those who advocated armed resistance to the aggressions of England upon the rights of the American States. The rupture did not occur until he had ceased to occupy the gubernatorial chair, but he tent the weight of his personal and official influence to the party militant as opposed to the party of peaceful measures for the settlement of the matters in dispute. He was succeeded by Robert Bowie, Esq., who was elected Nov. 11th, 1811.

Before the expiration of Gov. Lloyd's term he was, on the 16th of Sept., 1811, chosen by the electoral college to be one of the State Sena- tors for the Eastern Shore, receiving 22 votes as against 18 for Federal competitor and neighbor, Mr. Robt. H. Goldsborough. There is good ground for believing that his decided opinions in favor of appealing to the arbitrament of war had much to do with determining this result. At least they did not injure him with his constituents.57  On the l9th of October, the Legislature assembled, and Governor Lloyd soon after taking his seat introduced into the Senate the following resolutions which were adopted:

Whereas, It is highly important at this eventful crisis in our foreign relations that the opinions and feelings of every section of the Union should be fairly expressed. Therefore we, the Legislature of Maryland do

Resolve, That in the opinion of this Legislature the measures of the administration with respect to Great Britain, have been honorable, impartial and just; that in their negotiations they have evinced every disposition to terminate our differences, on terms not incompatible with our national honor, and that they deserve the confidence and support of the nation.

Resolved, That the measures of Great Britain have been and still are distinctive of our best and dearest rights, and being inconsistent with justice, with reason and with law can be supported only by force. Therefore, if persisted in by force should be resisted.

Resolved, That the measures of the administration with respect to France we highly approve. They have been fully authorized by the law and by the fact.

Resolved, That the acts of unjustice and violence, committed on our neutral rights by France, have excited all that indignation which a lawless exercise of power could not fail to do; but having now ceased to violate our neutral rights, we trust that the period is not far distant when by the acts of ample justice, all cause of complaint will be removed.

Resolved, That the President's message, moderate, impartial and decisive deserves all our praise. It points out the best course to an honorable independence

Resolved, That the independence established by the aid and valor of our fathers will not tamely be yielded by their sons. The same spirit which led the Maryland regulars to battle, still exists in the State and waits for its country's call.58

We may readily believe that the action of the Maryland Legislature prompted by a person of such weight of character and influence as Gov. Lloyd, had its effect in the national councils, in overcoming that reluctance to engage in hostilities which sober people and the government had shown. The Federalists in Congress aided by many "peace" Democrats, who also had the countenance of the Executive, had been able for several years to avert war, for which many were clamorous; but when at last the time for a new presidential election approached, the exigencies of party, and the personal ambition of the President to be elected for a second term, demanded that diplomacy should end and militancy begin. War was accordingly, on the 18th of June, 1812, declared to exist between the United States and Great Britain. The number of those who condemned this war as useless has not diminished with time- but of this number Gov. Lloyd was not one. It had his hearty approbation, and we may readily believe that one whose property was so much exposed to destruction, was governed by no unworthy motive in his advocacy of warlike measures. During the continuance of his services, through a term of five years in the State Senate he gave a loyal support to the General Government in its efforts to maintain the rights and the honor of the country, and to the State authorities who were seeking to defend the borders of Maryland from destructive incursions of the enemy. Nor did he evade military duty, having been made a Colonel of Militia, by promotion from the Captaincy of a troop of horse, as before mentioned, and taking his part in guarding and defending his county during the presence of the enemy in the Chesapeake. It is proper to note here, that he was, while Senator from Talbot, elected President of the body of which he was so distinguished a member; but it is not necessary to say with what dignity and ability 'she function of this position were discharged by one so highly endowed by nature with these qualities as he. In the year 1812, Col. Lloyd, though defeated in his own county by Mr. Alemby Jump, was chosen to be one of the presidential electors, and cast his vote for Mr. Madison. In January, 1815, for what reason it is not apparent, he resigned his seat in the Senate of Maryland, and Mr. James Nabb, of Talbot county, was appointed in his stead; but in October of the same year he was chosen by the people of his county to be their delegate in the Lower House of Assembly, having for his associates Messrs. Solomon Dickinson, Daniel Martin and Joseph Kemp. In the following year he was a candidate for the same position, but was defeated, the Federalists electing Messrs. Edward N. Hambleton, John Seth, Robert Banning and Alexander Hands.

For several years Col. Lloyd seems to have held no political office, but during this time he was not an indifferent observer of political affairs nor inactive member of his party, which he was aiding by a participation in its councils, and by active efforts in its contests. Having filled every elective position of honor for which he was qualified and which he was willing to accept but one, it now became his worthy ambition to be chosen Senator of the United States, and towards that object his energies were directed. This ambition was gratified by his election, Dec. 18th, 1819, to a seat in the national senate, to succeed the Hon. Robert Henry Goldsborough, his personal friend but political rival, who term of office had expired on the 4th of March preceding. He had for his competitors the same gentleman and Mr. Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Congress was then in session, and on the 27th of the month he presented his credentials of election, and was duly qualified as Senator for Maryland, to serve until the 3rd of March, 1825. He had for his coadjutor the Hon. William Pinkney, who had been chosen at the same time with himself to fill out the unexpired term of the Hon. Alexander C. Hanson, deceased. Maryland was never more ably represented in the Senate than at this period. Whatever gives dignity and character to this august body was illustrated by those gentlemen of this State, who after having most honorably and efficiently filled other high and responsible positions of public trust, now appeared in its chamber. On the 30th Dec. he rose for the first time from his seat to present a petition of the manufacturers of cotton and woolen fabrics praying for protection from congress to these industries. If he favored the object of this petition, he subsequently changed his opinion upon this debatable question, for a few years later he opposed Mr. Clay's American system. Col. Lloyd was made, Jan. 4th, 1820, one of the standing committee for the District of Columbia. The subject then intently absorbing the attention not only of Congress, but of the whole country--one in its essentials forming ths basis of the division of parties for more than a generation following-was that of the admission into the Union of the territories of Maine and Missouri, as States of the Confederacy. The subject was presented in the form of a question whether both should be admitted by one bill, or whether they should be admitted by separate bills. It had been before the previous Congress, and might have been settled offhand at the last session, for the prepared- ness and competency of these territories for assuming the relation of States within the Union, were not questioned, and whether they should be admitted by one bill or by two bills was a matter of no importance in itself; but as it had become imbrangled with the momentous question of maintaining the balance of political power between the slave and the free States, and with the perpetuation and extension of the peculiarly southern institution of slavery, the discussion had been protracted and was becoming most violent and acrimonious. It was upon this subject he, on the 20th Feb. made his maiden speech in the Senate in reply to Mr. Rufus ffing, of New York, in which lie advocated the admission of the two new States at the same time, and opposed the admission of one without the other. He spoke not only with the deliberateness of political conviction, and a sense of the importance of the measure in its remote consequences, but with the zeal of a partizanship and the earnestness of personal interest. A few days after this he recorded his vote against an amendment to the bill which provided for the exclusion of slavery from the territories lying north of 36 degrees 30 minutes. He thus ranged himself on a line with the southern senators, who saw danger to their property and their party. We must not judge him with too great severity, because as one of the chosen crew of the ship of State, he was beguiled by the siren of slavery which drew so many upon the fatal rocks by her blandishments, and which came so near effecting our shipwreck. But on the final passage of that bill, which has acquired an historic celebrity, known as the Missouri Compromise, his name does not appear on record as having voted for or against it, though there is reasonable ground for the belief that notwithstanding his previous antagonism to some of its provisions he so far yielded to the spirit of compromise, which was prevalent, as to unite with his distinguished compatriot Pinkney in advocating or consenting to its passage. Col. Lloyd spoke, during the same session, in opposition to the passage of a general bankrupt law, expressing a doubt of its expediency if made applicable to all insolvent debtors; but declaring a willingness to vote for such a measure if it was confined in its scope to merchants and traders, and if it excluded the planters and farmers. He offered an amendmentembodying his views, but it was not adopted. During the remainder of the 16th Congress he seems not to have taken an Active part in the debates. In the 17th Congress he was again upon the Committee of the District. It devolved upon him formally to make known to the Senate the death of the Hon. William Pinkney, which was done on the 26th of February, 1822, in these few simple words, which contrast remarkably with the elaborate eulogiums which it is customary in these days to pronounce in Congress over dead mediocrity or insignificance.

Mr. President: It has become my painful duty to announce to the Senate the melancholy fact that my much esteemed and distinguished colleague is no more. An attempt to excite the sympathies of the Senate for a loss so great and so afflicting would betray a suspicion of their sensibility and would do injustice to the memory of him whose loss we must all sensibly deplore. This chamber, Sir, has been one of the fields of his fame. You have seen him in his strength. You have seen him the admiration of the Senate; the pride of his native State; the ornament of his country. He is no more. But for his friends and relatives there is consolation beyond the grave. I humbly and firmly trust that he now reposes in the bosom of his God.59

On the 10th of January he had introduced to the attention of the Senate a series of resolutions favoring the appropriation of public lands, for the purpose of education to those States that had not pre- viously received such an appropriation; and on the 28th of February and the Ist of March he addressed the Senate, sitting in Committee of the Whole, in advocacy of those resolutions. His speech was an extended effort, for upon the first day he spoke one hour and a half and upon the second day one hour. In the year 1824 we find, by the records of proceedings, that he took active part in opposition to the new tariff bill, the essential and distinctive feature of which was the protection of the manufacturing industries of the country from foreign competition by imposts upon imported goods. This bill embodied what is known as Mr. Clay's "American System," and its leading principle is yet in dispute among statesmen though Mr. Lloyd's position is ably defended now by the leading political economists of the world. He participated in the debates to which this bill gave origin, and voted against its adoption on its passage, believing, with all the southern senators, that it was sectional, unconstitutional and unjust. It passed however, but by very small majorities in each house.60 During the years 1823 and 1824, with the exception just noted, Mr. Lloyd appears to have taken little part in the debates, and in fact his name appears but infrequently in the reports of proceedings. It is probable he was much absent from his seat, owing to a painful malady with which he was afflicted and which soon after rendered his resignation obligatory.

It is in place here to refer to an episode of this period of his life, in which none of the passions which are engendered by political strife were aroused, but the most generous feelings of patriotism were awakened in his as in every bosom. In 1824 Gen. Lafayette being upon a visit to the United States, Gov. Sam'l Stevens, a native citizen of Talbot county, appointed Colonels Lloyd and Dickinson, also of this county, his aids in showing to the distinguished visitor the courtesies of the State of Maryland. Previous to the arrival of Lafayette in Maryland a public meeting of the citizens of Talbot had been held in Easton, at which a committee was appointed to draft resolutions of "respectful and becoming salutation," of which committee Gov. Lloyd was one. This committee discharged this duty, and the meeting appointed a deputation of Gen'l Perry Benson, the Hon. Ed. Lloyd and Robert H. Goldsborough, Esq., to wait on Gen'l Lafayette to present the address and resolutions and the congratulations of the freemen of Talbot. On the arrival of the State's distinguished guest at French Town, Gov. Lloyd as representative of the Governor was the first person to be presented to him, and to welcome him to Maryland. He then accompanied Lafayette to Fort McHenry, to present him to the Governor, who was awaiting his arrival. We may be sure, if the worthy Governor was at all deficient in his acquaintance with those forms of politeness- he was never deficient in those feelings which are the basis of a true courtesy-which the distinguished Frenchman was familiar with from his residence at the capital of the most polished people of Europe, Governor Lloyd was able to make all due compensation.

On the 25th of January, 1825, he was elected a second time Senator of the United States, receiving 54 votes while his competitor, the Hon. Ezekiel F. Chambers, received 34 votes. But he held his seat but a short time longer, for his malady continued and increased in violence, incapacitating him for the proper discharge of his duties as Senator. He therefore determined to resign, and this purpose was announced in the following letter of January, 1826:

To the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland:

Gentlemen: I have been prevented by severe and protracted indisposition from taking my seat in the Senate during the present session; and as I cannot now calculate on doing it for some weeks, and believing that in the interim questions may come before it important particularly to this State, I cannot reconcile it with my sense of duty, longer to retain the appointment. I must, therefore, request the Legislature to accept this my letter of resignation as Senator of the United States. Permit me to present to you, gentlemen, and through you to the Legislature the assurance of my high respect.
Ed. Lloyd

The Hon. Ezekiel F. Chambers was elected to fill his place, receiving 49 votes in the Legislature, while 34 votes were cast for Gen'l Philip Reed. The malady which frequently interrupted Col. Lloyd in the discharge of his duties while in the Senate and which finally enforced his resignation of his seat in that body, was the gout, attacks of which, painful and protracted, he had suffered from time to time. Notwithstanding his own active and temperate habits of life, paroxysms of the disease became so frequent and intense that he was ever afterwards prevented from participating actively in politics, and from assuming any public function. But having been honored with the possession of every office of honor within the gift of the people of his State, he may well have been content to retire to the seclusion of his home, and to the management of his fine estate, followed as he was by the respect of his fellow citizens for the purity of his character and by their gratitude for his services as a statesman incorruptible and capable.

Upon a survey of the career of Col. Edward Lloyd (V) the Governor and Senator, it becomes evident that he was a strict partizan, rarely or never separating himself from those with whom he early allied himself, the Republican-Democrats. In saying this there is no impeachment of the sincerity of his convictions and rectitude of his conduct, though he may recognize the danger to both of these, as well as the correctness of judgment upon political questions, of a too rigid fealty to party. In adopting the principles of Jefferson, as opposed to those of Hamilton, while following his hereditary impulses as the descendant of Edward Lloyd (1) the Puritan Republican, he was disregarding the instigations of caste or class, as a member of a well defined if not a legitimated aristocracy of birth and wealth. This implies honesty of conviction. But in condemning partizanship, it must not be forgotten that what is called "independence" has its dangers and its evils as well. The "independent" may be as abject in his devotion to protest against, as the most devoted worshipper of conformity to party rule. What is more, the calcitrating may be, often are, as corrupt in their motives a8 the most obedient to the party bit, or sensitive to the party whip. Governor Lloyd was a consistent Democrat, and if he made errors, they were those of the party, and these may be condoned by the good he and it had done and was doing for our political development down, at least, to the time when he ceased active cooperation with it in its purposes and policy. His life as a politician had ended before the days of Jacksonism, when the moral degradation of his party may be said to have begun. As the chieftain of this party in the county-a very different character then from the vulgar "boss" of the present-participating in all its contests as well as directing its conduct, he was always regarded by his enemies as a dangerous, but never as a faithless opponent, and by his followers as a wise but not a wily leader. Being without, as he was above the affectations of a spurious chivalry, he was nevertheless chivalrous, doing nothing unworthy of that character either in the coolness of council or in the ardor of battle. As evidence of this, it may be stated that his antagonists always spoke of him, arnidst their most violent denunciations of others, with reserve, and treated him with a respectful deference shown to no other person of the hostile party. Nor was this owing to his wealth and social station alone; but it was a spontaneous homage to his true nobility of character.61In the broader field of national politics he was not an inconspicuous figure. He was not forward to assume a leadership, yet he cannot be said to have been a servile follower of his party chieftains. To be sure he was a strict partizan, and though generally fighting in line, he was capable of independent action upon occasions. In the House and in the Senate he was not frequently heard upon the floor, but when he spoke, a credible tradition says, he was listened to with an attention which, not wholly due to the courtesy of those assemblies nor to their respect for his personal character, must have been secured by the weight of his arguments and his art in presenting them. Itmustberemembered too, that he spoke to men who were accustomed to listen to statesmen and orators having a world-wide celebrity, and therefore little patient of mediocrity. His speeches, as far as they have been preserved, show an absence of rhetorical fustian, so prevalent in his day, and the presence of a logical sobriety. If they may not be models of legislative oratory, they are certainly not examples of legislative bombast or triviality. But Governor Lloyd was most happy in his oratorical efforts upon the hustings, or, to use the American locution,"upon thestump." Here he is represented by those who remember to have heard him, to have been most effective. The habitual dignity of his bearing was so natural that it captivated rather than offended the "commonalty," as the plainer people were called at that day; and if he condescended he won all hearts, by his unaffected grace. His language without a tinge of vulgarity or coarseness was simple and temperate, but impressive and never diverted the mind frona the thought to the medium by which it was conveyed. He spoke with readiness and fluency, but without vehemence. His statements were clear and direct; his illustrations apt and original; his arguments ingenious and forcible, and all most easily comprehensible by ordinary capacities. Such being the characteristics of his oratory, he was always a welcome gpeaker at popular assemblies.

Traditions of the respectability attaching to the possession of official station, transmitted from times anterior to the Revolution, had not been entirely effaced by the appearance in those stations of persons whom it was impossible to respect; so that gentlemen of social standing and personal worth were in the early part of this century still covetous of decorations which though then growing pale yet shone with sufficient lustre to attract their gaze. The professional politician as he is now seen and known-one of the most noxious and offensive of the products of our democratic syiitem-was hardly recognized during the period covered by the public life of Gov. Lloyd. Politics were rather the amusement than the serious business of gentlemen of the generation to which he belonged. Not that men of his class were without political convic- tions which they were earnest enough to have realized in political practice; but their convictions were always coupled with a wish for the distinction conferred by official station and the gratifications at- tending party victory always uncertain enough to give zest to pursuit and men achieved without so much effort as flatters the victor into the belief that by his own strength he was winner. And these feelings, which a real solicitude for the public welfare may have concealed, even from the possessor, were controlling in drawing men of wealth, character and position from the ease and comfort of private life into the distractions and conflicts of politics. Politics, as before mentioned, was rather a diversion than a business, with men of wealth and leisure, so Gov. Lloyd amused himself with the pursuit of political honors, regardless of the emoluments of office which were never equal to his expenditures while in possession, but his more serious and absorbing avocations were those connected with his private interests--attention to the management of his large estate of land and negroes, and the promotion of speculative enterprises promising pecuniary returns- avocations that might be followed in connection with a proper discharge of public duties. In these employments he found occupation quite as congenial as the political honors; for he was but following inherited inclinations, the family having been as much characterized by business thrift as by ambitious aspirations. His forefathers had been planters and traders, and he derived from them an aptitude for the conduct of affairs. His agricultural operations were carried on upon a grand scale not wholly nor principally under a system of tenantry but by his own personal supervision and direction, through the intervention of overseers or farm managers. It was his custom when at home, however numerous may have been the company of visitors at Wye House, to give the whole morning of each day to the personal inspection of his many farina, to giving general, and not seldom specific direction as to the management of the crops and live stock, and to examine into the condition and conduct of his 'numerous slaves. In his day the culture of grain had entirely superseded the planting of tobacco, a product that only survived in the patches of the negroes. He became the greatest as well as the most successful wheat grower in Maryland. At a period when there was no government agency for the procuring of improved grains and the testing the adaptability of the different varieties to soils and climates; and when foreign as well as domestic intercommunication was not so frequent and direct as now, he as the wealthiest man of his county and neighborhood, and an enthusiastic farmer besides, interested himself and used his means to secure the best varieties of wheat and other cereals, and submitted them to trials under his immediate supervision, taking risks of failure that others could not prudently do. He was also deeply interested in the introduction of improved breeds of horses, horned cattle and sheep. It was through his instrumentality, in large measure, but not wholly, that some of the best blood of the English stables was infused into the country bred horses, giving origin to that hardy breed which distinguishes the county to the present day. In this he was seeking the gratification of one of his chief pleasures, that of racing, while he was looking also to pecuniary profit. He was also instrumental in introducing fine horned cattle, particularly the Durham stock, in or about the year 1823, thus anticipating a bucolic fashion by some years. Earlier than this, through his agency were brought in the breeds of fine wooled sheep, particularly the Merino-a breed which was for a long time highly approved of in this county, but has entirely disappeared, for what reason it is not known. Living before the days of that wonderful improvement in farm machinery of which we are now witnesses and beneficiaries he never- theless adapted all such implements of farm industry as mechanical ingenuity had then devised, often to his great loss. Gov. Lloyd was not one of those stationary or retrogressive farmers who saw in the negro a machine capable of perfornaing all that was demanded in farm operation--not one who took as little note of the sensibilities of his slaves as if they were things of springs and wheels, cogs and levers. On the contrary he was enlightened and progressive, allowing no improvement in the construction of farm implements-no new invention of farm ma- chinery to pass unnoticed and untried; and though probably no senti- mentalist he was not loath, from purely selfish motives, if from no other, to relieve his slaves from a portion of their burthens by throwing it upon insensate matter. He was one of the original members of the Maryland Agricultural Society, at its formation in 1813; and after its organization he was elected in June of the same year one of the Vice- Presidents of the General Society.62  As such he was ex officio President of the Eastern Shore branch of this Society, which still survives as a club of respectable gentlemen, known now as at first as the "Trustees of the Maryland Agricultural Society of the Eastern Shore." Gov. Lloyd was an occasional contributor to John S. Skinner's "American Farmer" of articles upon agriculture and the cognate arts.

As enthusiastic and diligent a farmer as was Gov. Lloyd, he was not so absorbed in agricultural pursuits as to be oblivious to the employment of capital and energy in other lines of industrial enterprise. He became in 1804 one of the original corporators in the Union Bank of Maryland, an institution still in existence, and in 1805, being a member of the Legislature, he introduced the bill for the incorporation of the Farmers' Bank of Maryland, of which institution the Bank at Easton, now known as the Easton National Bank, was at one time a branch. He became one of the largest subscribers to the capital stock of this branch bank, and was a member of the first Board of Directors, elected Aug. Sth, 1806. He continued to act as Director until 1808 when his duties, public and private, required him to decline further election. Being a public spirited citizen he took part in other enterprises for the advancement of the State and county and for his own emolument. He easily saw the great value of the coal lands of Western Maryland and became a purchaser of a large tract, what is now beginning to show the foresight of the original owner. It does not appear that he ever engaged in trade, as most of his ancestors had done, but it is to be noted that after the Revolutionary war, commerce was essentially changed in character, and planters could no longer be merchants and bankers. Gov. Lloyd's affairs seem to have been conducted with good judgment and prudence, and though exceedingly liberal in expenditure his fortune accumulated, so that he became the Wealthiest of the "Lloyds of Wye," transmitting to his -numerous children abundant means not only for the comforts but for the elegancies of life and for the due maintenance of the social position that had been so long enjoyed by the family.

His participation in politics and his consequent long sojourning in the State and National Capitials; his business engagements which fre- quently called him to the large commercial cities; his very pleasures and pastimes which were of such nature as drew him from home into the company of strangers, enlarged an acquaintance, which his family connections and associations already had made very extensive, with the wealthy, the intelligent, the refined and fashionable in all the seaboard States; and the courtesies and kindness which he was sure to receive wherever he went, were returned so abundantly as to show not only his appreciation of them but his hospitable disposition. Wye House, when the family was present was ahnost constantly filled with company who were entertained with an ease and an elegance to be met with in few houses in Maryland. Here were to be met at all times people belonging to the first circles of polite society and occasionally personages of the first distinction in public life, State and National.63  The morning as before mentioned, he was accustomed to devote to the inspection of his farms, riding or driving, accompanied by his servant, or to other business engagements. He returned at midday, and usually took a siesta, after which dinner was served and the remainder of the day was given up to his family and his guests. His table was always bountifully and even luxuriously spread, with the products mostly from his own estates, and its appointments were in a style of richness and elegance known to but few houses in Maryland, at that day. One of the forms of ostentation and a favorite one, which the wealth of our ancestors took was that of silver plate, and his board was garnished by massive services, transmitted by his predecessors to which additions were made by himself, that still adorn the table at Wye House, on occasion. With many old and trained domestic servants, his slaves, attendance was ready without the gaucheries of inexperience so common in country houses, and withal respectful and willing.- Gov. Lloyd was eminently companionable, cheerful in disposition, free in communica- tion, equable in temper, and elevated by a natural nobility as well as social station, he was free from the control of the mean or malignant passions. He was dignified in his bearing so as to repel familiarity, but eminently courteous and devoid of offensive hauteur. Though no outlaw to the ceremonial code of polite life-though not so unobservant of the etiquette of the day as to appear singular or agrestic in his manners, he was nevertheless inclined to disregard those forms and fashions which had not the sanction of good sense and of that true politeness which has its foundation in a sensibility to the pleasures of others and a desire to promote them. It was the rule of his household, never to be broken by any, to offend no one of the humbler walks by a show of supercilious superiority or exclusiveness, and he always insisted that his poorer and plainer neighbors, his tenants and people in his employ should receive such respectful treatment as should place them at ease and inflict no humiliation. His pleasures were those of the first gentlemen of his day, and though some of them, if indulged in now, would receive the condemnation of strict moralists, as, indeed, they did of the purists and humanitarians of his time, they were thought, nevertheless, to be at least pardonable in persons of his sphere. In early life he was fond of following the hounds, and we may suppose he may have indulged in the pleasure then rare, of deer stalking, as a deer park had been established by his father upon the Wye town farm, which he himself maintained for some years but at last abandoned on account of the difficulty of keeping the deer within their proper enclosure, and the consequent injury to the grain crops. He kept hounds and hunters, and was not unambitious of the honors of the chase. He 'was also in early life an enthusiastic cockfighter, and as such interested in procuring the finest breeds of game fowls; and though a cocking main was a great delight, the pit was soon abandoned more on account, perhaps of the objectionable company which assembled around it than from compunctions as to the barbarity of the sport. One of his favorite pastimes, when at home in winter, was fowling, opportunities for the indulgence of which was afforded by the Wye and Chester rivers and the Eastern Bay, then more frequented by flocks of wild ducks, geese and swan than at present. Fishing to which the adjacent waters invited- the employment of the idle and the recreation of the " contemplative man" as it has been called-did not suit his active temperament and habits, but occasionally for the diversion of his guests piscatorial excur- sions were made down the bay in his vessels. Some of these pleasures were abandoned as years advanced but the gratifications derived from horse-racing were indulged in as long as life and health permitted. His stables for a long time held some of the fleetest aniznals, and these were entered at the races held in various parts of the country. He was a member of Jockey Clubs, and won and lost his money with as much

equanimity as comported with a proper interest of the contests of the turf. It is not believed that gaming was practised by him except as an occasional pastime when at Annapolis or Washington, and then only in deference to custom. In his house it was unknown. Gov. Lloyd was emphatically a man of the world, and pretended not to enjoy indugence in the religious sentiment, a purely subjective pleasure; yet he would not allow that he had discarded the bonds of religious obligation and observation. He was not devout, but also he was not irreverent. His partialities were for the Protestant Episcopal Church, and to this communion he was nominally attached. He lived without being affected by it through that religious calenture which was set up in the minds of the people of Talbot by Methodism, a new form of the Puritanism, the first Lloyd of Wye professed. He was neither polemist nor enthusiast. Of politics as his greatest and most abiding pleasure, if as such it may be ranked, sufficient has been said already. Of the pleasures of the table he partook with the relish of a man of active habits and full vitality, demanding generous food and drink until warned by affliction to practice abstinence; but he was no epicure much less gourmand. His rich table was spread and his cellars emptied rather for others than himself. The gout with which he was long afflicted and which really shortened his life, after years of much suffering, was rather the vicarious punishment of the sins of his fathers than the natural retribution for his own offences against dietetic moderation.

By those who remember him, Gov. Lloyd is spoken of, with unan ity iin as a remarkably handsome man, of fine figure and pleasing countenance. He was above the medium height and well developed. His carriage was dignified without a trace of pomposity and graceful without the affectation of the fine manners which were the vogue of the day among people of fashion who took the effusive and demonstrative Frenchman as their model of behavior. His complexion was fair and ruddy, his hair in youth was light but became prematurely grey. His eyes were of deep blue and full of vivacity. His expression of countenance was that of intelligence and frankness-a true index of his character. His voice, pitched in a low tone, a true mark of breeding, was full and sonorous, and was sometimes, upon convivial occasions attuned in song. His enunciation was clear and distinct. There exists of him a minia- ture taken in his early life. Besides this there is a small portrait in oil by Boardley, painted from recollection, which is said to be very like him in the maturity of his powers. Of this there are several replicas in the possession of members of the family.

In his domestic relations of husband and father Gov. Lloyd was most happy, as he was most exemplary. Marrying the 30th of Nov. 1797, before he had come of age, Sally Scott, the daughter of Dr. James Murray of Annapolis, his infant son, Edward Lloyd (VI) was enabled to participate in celebrating his arrival at his majority by a show of drinking to his health. From this marriage came many children, some of whom still survive who cherish his memory as that of a most affectionate and indulgent father, while numerous descendants, in several generations, still bearing the impress of his strong personality, are proud and justly proud of an ancestor so eininent as he was for his talents and services and so admirable for the possession of those traits that best adorn human nature. Mrs. Lloyd long survived him, dying in 1854.64 There must be no omission here of reference to that other domestic relation that subsisted between Gov. Lloyd and his dependents or slaves, of whom he was owner of a great niimber-more in fact than he had personal knowledge of. Those of them who were of his immediate household, or living upon the Wye House plantation, and therefore in daily contact with him and his family were most devotedly at tached to him by reason of their experiencing nothing but kindness at his hands. One of the most touching scenes was witnessed when he took his departure from home upon his last journey in pursuit of health. His servants standing upon the banks of Wye, when he embarked bade him good-bye with sobs and groans more expressive than words, and watched with tearful eyes the receding vessel as it bore him away to return no more. His rule over them was mild and considerate, though necessarily rigid for the sake of discipline. His care of them was kindly ahnost to affectionateness, though ceaselessly watchful as was requisite. Their labors were not excessive. They were comfortably housed, fed and clad. They enjoyed as much freedom of action as comported with the state of servitude in which they lived. In short, slavery of this class of his servants was of the mildest and least objectionable character. Those of his slaves who were remote from his home upon distant plantations, under the care and control of overseers, often men of rude natures with whom cruelty and discipline were almost synonymous, may have suffered hardships and ill-treatment---doubtless they did in many instances. This was incident to their condition and circumstances, and hence the condemnation which must be placed upon the institution or system that made this possible or even irremediable. But from the known character of their owner there is reason to believe these hardships and this ill-treatment were without his sanction. They were deplorable but inevitable consequences of their condition, and may not be justly laid to the charge of a man whose compassionate feelings were even stronger than those of selfishness, and to whom cruelty was as revolting as it was profitless.  There was once at Wye House a slave, but not of its master, who has since acquired great notoriety, if it may not be said celebrity. He was the property of Capt. Anthony, the steward or bailiff of Gov. Lloyd, of doubtful parentage, but he afterwards assumed the name of Frederick Douglass. Escaping from bondage, years after, in 1845, he wrote or it was written for him, from materials furnished by himself, a book entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an African Slave, which has done much to originate and perpetuate a belief that barbarities were practiced upon the Lloyd estates. He exonerates Gov. Lloyd from complicity in these barbarities and placed them at the doors of his overseers. In his subsequent publications he speaks of him in terms of great admiration bordering upon veneration.65

After years of much acute suffering which the best medical art and the most tender care of an affectionate family could but partially assuage Governor Lloyd finally succumbed during a paroxysm of his disease on the 2nd of June, 1834, at the house of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Murray, in the city of Annapolis, whither he had repaired to place himself under the care of a physician of celebrity, with the ultimate purpose of going to some of the Virginia springs for the benefit of the waters. The announcement of his death at the early age of 54 years, when he should have been most capable of usefulness to his State and Country, was received, with unequivocal regret by every citizen of Maryland and with profound sorrow by his family and friends. His body was brought across the bay and interred in the family burial ground at Wye House, where a stone is erected to his memory bearing this simple inscription:

Here lieth interred the
remains of
Col. Edward Lloyd
who was bom the 22nd of July
1779
and departed this life
the 2nd of June 1834.

After the death of Governor Lloyd the journals of the State gave voice to the general sentiment of regret for his early death, as well as to the general admiration of his private character and public services. The language of high eulogium which was employed by the press was thought to be justly merited, more especially as his best and warmest commendation came from those who differed from him in politics. From such journals the following extracts are taken. The Easton Gazette of June 7th, 1834, said:

Died at Annapolis on Monday last, June 2nd, at the house of his brother-in-law, Henry H. Harwood, Esq.,66 the Hon. Edward Lloyd, of Wye House, in the 55th year of his age. He was an accomplished gentleman who had been called to fill several high stations both under the State and Federal government and was one of the most successful practical agriculturists of his time. The social world will extensively and deeply lament the loss of so distinguished a patron, whose elegant hospitality was so generally and liberally diffused; whilst the generous heart will mingle in condolence with the griefs of a charming family who are sorrowing under the awful bereavement. The remains were conveyed across the bay on the 3rd and were deposited on the 4th in the family sepulchral ground at Wye.

The Baltimore Republican , of the 4th of June, quoting from the Baltimore Patriot, said:

The deceased was a favorite son of his native State-he was elected when very young to the House of Delegates, and successively to all the highest stations under its government. He bore a conspicuous part on all political occasions of extraordinary interest, and was as remarkable for the munificence of his private hospitality as for his public spirit. There are few whose death will be heard of with more regret by the public and none could be more deeply lamented by those who knew his fine social qualities and personal accomplishments.

The Baltimore American said:

Died at Annapolis on Monday morning in the 55th year of his age the Hon. Edward Lloyd. The various important responsible situations to which the deceased has from time to time been called by his fellow citizens, and which from an early age till within a short period he has filled with distinguished ability, has made his name familiar with his countrymen, and every one sensible of the estimation in which he was held as a public man. He served first as a delegate to the General Assembly from Talbot county, and in succession a member of Congress, Governor of the State, State Senator, presiding officer of that body, and Senator of the United States. Declining health induced him ultimately to relinquish public honors that he might enjoy the endearments of his affectionate family. Alas! how brief and unstable is the tenure of all that earth can give to mortals. In the various private and domestic relations of life Col. Lloyd so discharged the duties of his station as to gather around him and to bind in the bonds of social affection a large circle of friends and admirers, and in public, the estimation placed by the people upon his services is best evinced by the frequent calls made upon him to fill the most elevated dignities. From his sound and discriminating mind and from his long -acquaintance with public affairs, he has possessed a great and leading influence in the councils of the State.
  1. The following extract from an article contained in the Republican Star of June 21st, 1803, written after the nomination of Messrs. Lloyd, Denny, Meluy and Rose for the House of Delegates. "While we have it in our power to lay before our readers this morning the result of the Democratic meeting in Talbot county, in the nomination of four persons as candidates for the next General Assembly, we cannot omit reminding them that the next election will be by ballot and that the 30 pounds qualification will not be necessary; so that those citizens whose virtues may entitle them to a free suffrage and who have hitherto been deprived of their vote by those who call themselves Federalists, can now vote for men who not only brought forward and procured a free suffrage but who will continue to surport the law-and be it known that the law would not have been enacted had there been a majority of Federalists in the Legislature of the State of Maryland."
  2. For this fraternizing with the people of his own party at a meeting held at Easton, Oct. 3d, in celebration of the success of the election, he was sourriously assailed by the Federal press of the State, in language too coarse for quotations.
  3. At this election Mr. Lloyd received 57; Mr. Charles Carroll of Carrollton 16; Mr. Levin Winder 5; Mr. Benjamin Stoddart 2 votes, and Mr. J. E. Howard 1 vote.
  4. The following taken from the Republican Star of Nov. 27th, 1810, may be more than curious and amusing, as illustrating the social manners and political senti- ment of the time: "Yesterday Gov. Lloyd took the oaths of office in the Senate Chamber both Houses attending. It was with sincere gratification we observed his Excellency, cloathed -in the manufactures of the State. It was a beautiful suit of green, in fineness, softness and texture equal to imported cloths. The wool was grown upon his own farm and was produced from merino blood, with which he has lately enriched the State. It is by these means alone that domestic manufacturers can be encouraged. The heads of departments by wearing those manufactures lend more than anything else to encourage them. Many persons with a foolish pride will not wear them because they are not exactly equal to foreign manufactures; but in this instance a specimen is exhibited in Maryland, equal to any from the other side of the Atlantic, which at once meets the objection originating from pride and vanity. With pleasure we state that this truly patriotic Governor to be a Republican, and before he obtained the wool of this superior quality, he had cloathed himself (during the last session) in inferior manufacture, which evinced his patriotism and desire to encourage America to shake off entirely her dependence upon foreign countries."
  5. These gentlemen of Talbot, all "War Democrats," were elected to the Legislature Oct. 2d, 1811: James Dorris, Samuel Tennant, James Wainwright and Samuel Stevens, Jr.
  6. I Quoted from Scharf's Hist. Md., Vol. 11, p. 62.
  7. Annals of Congress.
  8. Benton's Thirty Years in the U. S. Senate, Vol. 1, p. 34.
  9. This is exemplified by the manner in which he was spoken of in that coarse but curious, dramatic lampoon, called 'The Grand Caucus,' written by Dr. Ennalls Martin and printed in the old Maryland Herald of 1802. In this piece of broad humor and rough wit, all the notable Democrats of the county were unmercifully ridiculed, but nothing more gross was said of Col. Lloyd than to call him 'Lord Cock-de-doodle-do' and to represent him as being fond of game cocks and race horses-an impeachment to which he would most probably have plead guilty.
  10. It is probable he was connected with that other Agricultural Society, the first ever organized in this county, if not in the State, which was formed in the year 1805. But of this Society there is no extant record.
  11. Among others was the celebrated John Randolph of Roanoke, between whom and Mr. Lloyd as great an intimacy existed as the eccentricities of this famous man permitted any one to enjoy with him. Gov. Lloyd happened to be in Baltimore when his unhappy and invalid friend came to that city driven in his coach and four, and there they met for the last time. When Mr. Randolph arrived in Philadelphia for the purpose of embarking for Europe, hearing of the presence in that city of Mr. Edward Lloyd, Jr., (VI) he sent for him, but before Mr. Lloyd could reach the house this great genius had ceased to exist.
  12. The children of Gov. Lloyd were (1) Edward Lloyd sixth of the name. (2) Elizabeth Taylor Lloyd, who married Edward S. Winder, (3) James Murray Lloyd, (4) Sally Scott Lloyd, who married Com. Charles Lowndes of the U. S. Navy, (5) Ann Catherine Lloyd who married Admiral Franklin Buchanan of U. S. Navy, (6) Daniel Lloyd, the father of the present (1885) Governor of Maryland, and (7) Mary Ellen Lloyd, who married William Tilghman Goldsborough, late of Dorchester county.
  13. This subject of the relation of the Lloyds of Wye, who were representative of the class of slave-holders in Talbot county, to the "peculiar institution" will be treated of more fully in connection with the life of that Edward Lloyd who witnessed the overthrow of slavery, who was the greatest sufferer, pecuniarily, of any man in Maryland by the act of emancipation, and who has borne his losses with so great a fortitude and equanimity that they might, if anything could, command our admiration for a system that has bred such virtues in a vindicator or to speak more properly in a victim of its faults.
  14. This is erroneous. The place of his death is correctly stated above.