ngress, and served through the
whole period of the war and through one Congress after the war closed,
embracing one half of President Buchanan's administration, the whole of
Lincoln's, and one half of Johnson's. He served on the committees on the
Pacific Railroad, on the District of Columbia, and on naval affairs, of
which last important committee he was chairman during the two closing
years of the war. In this last position he won much reputation by his
mastery of information relating to naval affairs at home and abroad, and
by his thorough devotion to the interests of the American Navy. Mr. Rice
did not often partake in the general debates of Congress, but he had the
confidence of its members to an unusual degree, and the measures which
he presented were seldom successfully opposed. When occasion called,
however, he distinguished himself as a debater of first-class ability,
as was shown in his notable reply to the Honorable Henry Winter Davis,
of Maryland, one of the most brilliant speakers in Congress, in defence
of the navy, and especially of its administration during the war period.

Notwithstanding his arduous labors as chairman of the naval committee,
Mr. Rice's business habits and industry enabled him to attend faithfully
to the general interests of his constituents, and to many details of
public affairs which are often delegated to unofficial persons or are
altogether neglected. All of his large correspondence was written by
himself, and was promptly despatched. Governor Andrew used to say that
whenever he needed information from Washington, and prompt action, he
always wrote to the representative of the third district.

At home Mr. Rice has filled many positions of prominence in business
and social life. He was for some years president of the board of trade,
and of the National Sailors' Home. He was president of the great
Peace Jubilee, held in Boston in 1869, the most remarkable musical
entertainment ever held in America, embracing an orchestra of twelve
hundred instruments, and a chorus of twenty thousand voices. The opening
address of this jubilee was made by Mr. Rice. He was also the chairman
of the committee to procure the equestrian statue of Washington for the
Public Garden in Boston, and of the committee that erected the statue of
Charles Sumner. He delivered an appropriate address at the unveiling
of each of these works, and also at the unveiling of the statue of
Franklin, erected during his mayoralty