RALEIGH — Senator Jesse Helms spoke to the North Carolina General Assembly just before noon Tuesday. It was the third time in as many months that someone of national stature addressed state legislators.

In March, President Bill Clinton spoke and the Reverend Billy Graham addressed the group earlier this month.

Helms' Tuesday speech was not like the political stump speeches he delivered on the campaign trail. This was more about his philosophy of life, and his life as a legislator.

Helms referred to his 24 for years representing the state as an experience unlike any other. He also talked about getting the country back onto what he called the "right moral track".

Helms also touched on a traditional theme of reducing big government