The policy of the "Eagle" has been independently Democratic from the outset, a policy which has fostered, as it has been favored by, a singularly representative constituency. The paper is now controlled by the Eagle Association, of which Colonel William Hester is the president, William Van Anden Hester is secretary, and Harry S. Kingsley is treasurer. Its business management, like its editorial management,--if these may consistently be separated,--has been aggressive and liberal, and goes far toward explaining the present national reputation of the paper. [Illustration: FACSIMILE (same size) OF LETTER BY WALT WHITMAN IN POSSESSION OF CHARLES M. SKINNER, ESQ., BROOKLYN (Transcriber's note: Text of letter is in Footnote 24.)] Henry C. Murphy, who had, as we have seen, taken so important a part in the starting of the "Eagle," was a young Democrat of prominence in the county. Born in the village of Brooklyn, Murphy had been educated at Columbia College, where he distinguished himself as a writer as well as in general scholarship, and was admitted to the bar in 1833. During his student years, he had taken part in debates in the Young Men's Literary Association, which afterward became the Hamilton Literary Association, with Murphy as president. To this association belongs the honor of popularizing the lyceum lecture system, which afterward became so potent a factor in American civilization, and which in this city represented the beginning of the Brooklyn Lyceum and the Brooklyn Institute. In 1834 he was appointed assistant corporation counsel of the city, and in the following year he formed a legal partnership with the leading lawyer of the city, John A. Lott. This firm, which Judge Vanderbilt afterward joined, won great influence in the city, with whose early politics it was so closely connected. In 1842 Murphy was chosen Mayor of Brooklyn. He was then but thirty years of age. His administration was forcible throughout, and consistently resulted in his election to Congress, of which he was one of the youngest members. He was a candidate for reëlection, but was defeated by Henry L. Seaman. In the State Constitutional Convention of 1846, he was a delegate from Kings County, with Tunis G. Bergen and Conrad Schwackhammer, and in the autumn of the same year he was again elected to Congress by a large vote. Upon the election of Buchanan, Murphy was appointed Minister to the Hague. On his return to this country he was elected to the state Senate as an avowed champion of the Union cause. In the later political life of Brooklyn, Murphy took an active interest; and local enterprises, such as the bridge and various railroads, claimed his attention and support. He made important historical collections, wrote valuable contributions to local history, edited the "Journal" of Dankers and Sluyter, and was a leader in the establishment of the Long Island Historical Society.