Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/172

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HAYNE
HAYNE

moned to join the royal army immediately. This, being in violation of the agreement that had been made, consequently released him from all his obligations to the British. He went to the American camp, and was commissioned colonel of a militia company. In July, 1781, he made an incursion to the Quarter House, a precinct within five miles of Charleston, and captured Gen. Andrew Williamson, a former patriot, who had gone over to the British service. It was feared that Williamson would be hanged as a traitor, and the British commandant at Charleston, Col. Nesbit Balfour, ordered out his entire force in pursuit. Hayne's party was surprised and scattered; he was captured, taken to Charleston, thrown into the provost's prison, and after a brief examination before a board of officers, without trial or examination of witnesses, was sentenced to be hanged by the joint orders of Col. Balfour and Lord Rawdon. Hayne protested against this summary proceeding, which was illegal whether he was regarded as a British subject or a prisoner who had broken his parole. The citizens of Charleston united in petitioning for his pardon, but the court was inexorable. A respite of forty-eight hours was allowed him in which to take leave of his orphan children, for his wife had lately died, and at the end of this time he was hanged. The conduct of Rawdon and Balfour excited the liveliest indignation among the Americans, and Gen. Greene issued a proclamation, on 26 Aug., announcing his determination to make reprisals. The matter was discussed with great ability in the British parliament, and, while both Rawdon and Balfour justified it, each attempted to attribute it to the agency of the other. Thirty-two years afterward Lord Rawdon, then the Earl of Moira, in a letter to Gen. Henry Lee, attempted to justify his conduct. His “Justification” was analyzed and criticised in “The Southern Review” for February, 1828, by Hayne's great-nephew, Robert Y. Hayne.—His great-nephew, Arthur Peronneau, senator, b. in Charleston, S. C., 12 March, 1790; d. there, 7 Jan., 1867, received a classical education and engaged in business. He joined the army in 1812, was 1st lieutenant at Sackett's Harbor, major of cavalry on the St. Lawrence, inspector-general in 1814, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for gallant conduct at the battle of New Orleans. He commanded the Tennessee volunteers during the Florida war, and retired in 1820. He then studied law in Pennsylvania, was admitted to the bar, and returning to South Carolina was a member of the state legislature, and a presidential elector on the Jackson and Calhoun ticket in 1828. He was U. S. naval agent for five years in the Mediterranean, and was offered and declined the mission to Belgium. In 1858 he was elected U. S. senator from South Carolina, as a state-rights Democrat, in place of Josiah J. Evans, deceased, serving from May, 1858, till January, 1859.—His brother, Robert Young, statesman, b. in St. Paul's parish, Colleton district, S. C., 10 Nov., 1791; d. in Asheville, N. C., 24 Sept., 1839. He was educated at Charleston, studied law, was admitted to the bar eight days before he had attained his majority, and began practice at Charleston. He served in the 3d South Carolina regiment during the war of 1812, and at its close resumed practice in Charleston. He was then elected to the legislature of the state, serving in 1814-'18, the last year as speaker. He was attorney-general of the state in 1818-'22, and in 1823 was elected a U. S. senator. Among the questions that came up for consideration during his term was that of protection to American industry. Mr. Hayne took an active part in the debates on the subject and vehemently opposed the protective system. When the tariff bill of 1829 was before the senate, he made an elaborate and powerful speech in which he asserted that congress had not the constitutional power to impose duties on imports for the purpose of protecting domestic manufactures. His opposition to the tariff of 1828 was equally bold and vigorous. In 1832 Henry Clay proposed a resolution in the senate declaring the expediency of repealing forthwith the duties on all imported articles which did not come in competition with American manufactures. Mr. Hayne met this proposition with prompt and vigorous resistance, and submitted an amendment to the effect that all the existing duties should be so reduced as to afford the revenue necessary to defray the actual expenses of the government. He supported this amendment in a speech of great power, but it was rejected, and the principles of Mr. Clay's resolution were embodied in a bill which was passed after full discussion. In this debate the doctrine of nullification was for the first time announced in congress; Mr. Hayne asserted the right of a state, under the Federal compact, to arrest the operation of a law adopted by congress, and sanctioned by the president, which she in convention should decide to be unconstitutional. This statement of the senator from South Carolina led to the great debate between Daniel Webster and Mr. Hayne, upon the principles of the constitution, the authority of the general government, and the rights of the states. In consequence of the adoption of the tariff bill of Mr. Clay, the legislature of South Carolina called a state convention, which met at Columbia, 24 Nov., 1832, and adopted an ordinance of nullification. In the following December, Mr. Hayne was elected governor of South Carolina, while Mr. Calhoun resigned the vice-presidency of the United States, and succeeded him in the senate. President Jackson, on 10 Dec., issued his proclamation denouncing the nullification ordinance, and the proceedings in the state of South Carolina. Gov. Hayne replied with a proclamation of defiance, and South Carolina prepared for armed resistance. At this critical hour, at the instance of Mr. Clay and President Jackson, a compromise was finally agreed on, which adjusted the system of collecting the revenue and lowered the import duties on certain articles of necessity and convenience. South Carolina called another convention, over which Gov. Hayne presided, and the ordinance of nullification was repealed. Gov. Hayne retired from the executive office in December, 1834, and in 1835-'7 was mayor of Charleston. He was president of the Cincinnati and Charleston railroad in 1836-'9, and was attending a railroad convention at the time of his death. He was a contributor to the “Southern Review.” See “Life and Speeches of Robert Y. Hayne” (1845).—Robert Young's nephew, Paul Hamilton, poet, b. in Charleston, S. C., 1 Jan., 1830; d. near Augusta, Ga., 6 July, 1886, was the only child of a naval officer, who died at sea when Paul was a