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 Comptroller's Office 
 
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 Cornell University Library 
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 1797 to 1897 : 
 
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 1924 032 545 380 
 

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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032545380 
 
1797 
 
 TO 
 1897 
 
 J H Century in the 
 Comptroller's 
 ©mce. 
 
 State of IFlew 15orh 
 
 ^ t3^ «^ 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES A. ROBERTS 
 COMPTROLLER 
 
 *S6 feS* «^ 
 
 ALBANY 
 
 JAMES B. LYON. PRINTER 
 
 1897 
 

A CENTURY 
 
 COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE. 
 
 ?N the 17th of February, 1897, 
 occurred the one hundredth 
 anniversary of the establish- 
 ment of the office of Comp- 
 troller of the State of New York. 
 
 The present incumbent of the office 
 trusts it will not be considered unwar- 
 ranted pride which has led him to collect 
 and transcribe, in honor of its one hun- 
 dredth birthday, such general facts relat- 
 ing more or less directly to the office, or 
 to the former incumbents thereof, as he 
 has gathered from unsystematic reading 
 and in the performance of his duties. 
 
 An office which has without scandal 
 managed the financial affairs of this great 
 State, and has otherwise borne a con- 
 3 
 
A Century in the 
 
 spicuous part in its government for a 
 century ; an office from the thirty incum- 
 bents of which have been chosen a Vice- 
 President and a President of the United 
 States, two United States Senators, four 
 Governors of the State, one Chief Jus- 
 tice and one Chief Judge of its Court of 
 Appeals — to say nothing of others who 
 have achieved distinction in less conspicu- 
 ous civil positions — would seem entitled 
 to something more than a passing notice 
 on its centennial anniversary. 
 
 The office, as created, and from time 
 to time enlarged, is a unique feature in 
 our State government. There are Audit- 
 ors in nearly all of the States of the 
 Union ; but the duties of Comptroller 
 are far broader, comprehending largely 
 the ordinary duties of a State Treasurer 
 as well as many others. There had been 
 Auditors in the Colony of New York from 
 1680 down to the time of its organization 
 as an independent State, and that office 
 was continued in the State until it was 
 merged in the office of Comptroller. 
 There have been Treasurers of New York 
 4 
 
vw^^u^^^^^irne<^ 
 
 1st COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 with varying duties from 1706 down to 
 the present time. From the time of the 
 organization of the State government the 
 ofifices of Treasurer and Auditor had not 
 been found to work harmoniously or 
 satisfactorily. Bills might be audited 
 which the Treasurer did not wish to pay, 
 and the Treasurer might wish to pay 
 bills which the Auditor would not pass, 
 so in a tentative, experimental way in 
 1797 the oiifice of Comptroller was created 
 to combine the power to audit and the 
 power to pay. The act creating it was 
 framed by Samuel Jones, a man of note 
 in his time (for whom Samuel Jones Til- 
 den, the distinguished Governor of this 
 State, was named), and on the 17th of 
 February, 1797, it became law by the 
 signature of that distinguished patriot, 
 Governor John Jay. 
 
 The appointment of Comptroller upon 
 the creation of the office fell to the 
 " Council of Appointment," as was the 
 case at that time with all State, county 
 and municipal officers, except the Gover- 
 nor, Lieutenant-Governor and members 
 5 
 
A Century in the 
 
 of the Legislature. The " Council of 
 Appointment " was an anomaly in gov- 
 ernment. The article (XXIII of the 
 Constitution of 1777) establishing this 
 " Council " was framed by three as pure, 
 patriotic and disinterested statesmen as 
 New York has ever produced, John Jay, 
 Robert R. Livingston and Gouverneur 
 Morris, and was designed to prevent a 
 dangerous centralization of power in the 
 hands of the Governor. It provided 
 " that all officers, other than those who 
 by this Constitution are directed to be 
 otherwise appointed, shall be appointed 
 in the manner following, to wit : The 
 Assembly shall once in every year openly 
 nominate and appoint one of the Sena- 
 tors from each great district " (then four 
 in number), " which Senators shall form 
 a council for the appointment of officers, 
 of which the Governor, for the time 
 being, or the Lieutenant-Governor, or 
 the President of the Senate (when they 
 shall respectively administer the govern- 
 ment), shall be president, and have a 
 casting vote, but no other vote." 
 6 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 Under the power thus conferred this 
 council appointed the heads of the vari- 
 ous State departments ; all Judges, as 
 well as Justices of the Peace, District At- 
 torneys, Sheriffs, County Clerks, Mayors, 
 and other ofificers throughout the entire 
 State. 
 
 The cautious and anxious gentlemen 
 who framed this provision in 1777 could 
 by no means have foreseen the disastrous 
 and disgraceful spoils system that grew 
 up under it. It remained in full effect 
 until a disgusted people abolished it by 
 an amendment to the Constitution in 
 1 82 1. At that time its power had so 
 grown that there were 6,663 civil and 
 8,287 military oiifices which it controlled. 
 The modern political boss must experi- 
 ence a feeling of profound regret as he 
 realizes that this rich harvest can no 
 longer be garnered by his sickle. 
 
 Chapter 21 of the Laws of 1797, which 
 created the office of State Comptroller, 
 provided, among other things, that " all 
 matters and things theretofore required 
 to be done by the Auditor of the State 
 7 
 
A Century hi the 
 
 should be done by the Comptroller, and 
 that the salary and wages of all legisla- 
 tive, executive, judicial and ministerial 
 officers of the government of this State, 
 and all moneys directed by law to be 
 paid to any other person, should be 
 paid by the Treasurer on the warrant of 
 the Comptroller ; " that the Comptroller 
 should keep an account between the 
 State and the Treasurer ; that he might 
 lend out moneys in the treasury not 
 otherwise appropriated, and that when 
 money was directed to be paid, and not 
 sufficient money in the treasury to satisfy 
 the same, he might " in the name, and 
 on behalf of the People of this State, 
 borrow a sum sufficient for that pur- 
 pose of a bank of New York, or bank of 
 Albany." 
 
 Thus the important powers which have 
 distinguished the Comptroller's office — 
 the power of audit ; to draw warrants for 
 all payments from the treasury ; to keep its 
 books of financial transactions ; to invest 
 its funds, and to borrow money — were 
 embodied in the first act. The powers 
 8 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 thus granted infringed so largely upon the 
 ordinary rights and duties of a Treasurer, 
 and so largely upon those which had 
 been theretofore exercised by the Treas- 
 urer of this State, that it is not strange 
 the then Treasurer, Gerardus Bancker, 
 who had held the office from April i, 
 1778, resigned in disgust. His feeling 
 was, as Lossing has stated in his " Em- 
 pire State," that the Comptroller was 
 made "the highest financial ofificer of 
 the State, and the Treasurer merely a 
 clerk to him." 
 
 The early history of the office is an 
 illustration of the cautious and doubtful 
 temper of the Legislatures of the time — 
 so unlike those of the present day. It is 
 a well-known fact that while the Legisla- 
 ture of the State met for the first time at 
 Albany, in the same year, 1797, in which 
 the office of Comptroller was created, it 
 was not then made a permanent location 
 for the Capitol ; and that city was main- 
 tained for upwards of twenty years as 
 the Capitol simply by the adjournment 
 of the Legislature at the end of each ses- 
 9 
 
A Ccntnry in the 
 
 sion to meet again at the city of Albany. 
 The original act creating the Comptrol- 
 ler's office provided that it should con- 
 tinue in force for a period of three years. 
 On the 28th day of February, 1800, eleven 
 days after the office had expired by limi- 
 tation, chapter 1 1 of that year went into 
 effect, which re-established the office for 
 another period of three years. Chapter 
 22 of the Laws of 1803 extended the 
 office, with the powers and duties then 
 prescribed by law, to February 28, 1805. 
 By chapter 60 of the Laws of 1805, passed 
 March 30th, the office was continued to 
 February 28, 1808, and the acts of the 
 then Comptroller, between the 28th day 
 of February, 1805, and the day when this 
 act went into effect, were ratified and 
 confirmed. On March 11, 1808, chapter 
 34 of that year was passed, which con- 
 tinued the office to February 28, 1812, 
 with a like confirmatory clause. The act 
 of February 28, 1812, at last made per- 
 manent the Comptroller's office, with the 
 powers theretofore conferred upon it. 
 By chapter 31 of the Laws of 1797 the 
 10 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 office of Comptroller was to be located 
 either in Albany or Watervliet. 
 
 The Council of Appointment chose for 
 the first Comptroller Samuel Jones, of 
 Oyster Bay, Queens county. This was 
 done by the casting vote of Governor 
 John Jay, the four senatorial members of 
 the council being a tie. He was a lawyer 
 of high standing at the time of his ap- 
 pointment, a Federalist in politics, and 
 had held with credit a number of civil 
 positions. In 1775 he had been a mem- 
 ber of the Provisional War Committee, 
 and had performed arduous services on 
 that committee. He was a member of 
 the convention that adopted the Federal 
 Constitution, and voted for it. He was 
 a delegate to the Continental Congress 
 in 1778; a Member of Assembly from 
 Queens county in 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789 
 and 1790; a State Senator from the 
 southern district from 1791 to 1799. 
 
 The honors which he had won and 
 
 worthily worn were supplemented in his 
 
 son who, as the Chancellor of this State 
 
 (succeeding Nathan Sanford and suc- 
 
 II 
 
A Century in the 
 
 ceeded by Reuben H. Walworth), and 
 as Chief Judge of the New York Superior 
 Court, won for himself enviable renown in 
 our legal annals. Comptroller Jones was 
 the author of the "Act for the amend- 
 ment of law and better advancement of 
 Justice," passed in 1789, which was a 
 valuable contribution and addition to 
 our law. He was also the author of many 
 other of the best statutes placed upon 
 our books in those early years. He was 
 distinguished throughout his career as an 
 upright and useful man, though he was 
 sometimes accused of a little uncertainty 
 in politics. He is said to have replied to 
 a question from Judge Spencer as to how 
 he managed to secure his elections from 
 Queens county whatever party might be 
 in the ascendant, that " If my troops will 
 not follow me, I follow my troops." 
 
 The Comptroller's salary was fixed by 
 the act at $3,0(X), and this was to include 
 all clerk hire and ordinary expenses con- 
 nected with the office. In 1800 the com- 
 pensation was reduced to $2,500, and in 
 consequence of this action Mr. Jones re- 
 12 
 
/f 3d COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 signed the office. He had faithfully per- 
 formed its duties, and his resignation 
 terminated his public career. 
 
 During his term, in 1799, the Legisla- 
 ture prohibited the payment of any 
 money from the treasury except upon the 
 warrant of the Comptroller, and required 
 all receipts to be countersigned by him, 
 and this has remained a part of the duties 
 of the Comptroller from that time to this. 
 
 On March 12, 1800, John V. Henry, an 
 eminent Albany lawyer and a Federalist, 
 was chosen Comptroller. There are some 
 still living who know, at least by oral tra- 
 dition, his great influence at the bar, and 
 Albanians have a just pride in his high 
 reputation. He was a member of the 
 convention called in 1801 principally to 
 settle the question whether the Governor 
 alone could nominate persons for appoint- 
 ment, or whether that power also lay in 
 the Senators composing the Council of 
 Appointment. He was a Member of As- 
 sembly from Albany county in 1800, 1801 
 and 1802. During his term, by chapter 
 61 of the Laws of 1801, the Comptroller 
 13 
 
A Century in the 
 
 was made ex-officio a member of the State 
 Board of Canvassers, and by chapter 69 
 of the same year he was made one of the 
 Commissioners of the Land Office. 
 
 In 1801 the Legislature also directed 
 the Comptroller to sell lands for the pay- 
 ment of taxes due to the State, and this 
 power, variously modified and enlarged, 
 still remains in him. Under it sales were 
 held in 1808, 1811, 1812, 1814, 1815, 1821, 
 1826, 1830, 1834, 1839, 1843, 1848, 1853, 
 1859, 1866, 1871, 1877, 1881, 1885, 1890 
 and 1895. 
 
 In 1800 the Legislature authorized the 
 Comptroller to settle the credits of the 
 State with the Secretary of the Treasury 
 of the United States. The moneys de- 
 rived from this source formed the basis 
 of the general fund. The Comptroller 
 was made the custodian of this fund 
 with power to invest it. The fund was 
 augmented from sales of land and other 
 sources until, in 18 14, it had reached the 
 sum of $4,396,943.97. The income of the 
 fund together with the salt and auction 
 duties, it was believed, in the early part 
 14 
 
4th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller's Office. 
 
 of the century, would be sufficient to 
 maintain the government. And from 
 1814 to 1842 no money was raised in this 
 State by direct taxation except during 
 the years in which the Erie and Cham- 
 plain canals were in process of construc- 
 tion. To avoid a direct tax, however, it 
 had been found necessary from time to 
 time, to draw on the principal of the 
 fund, and in 1834 it disappeared alto- 
 gether and with it the bright dream of 
 our forefathers of a commonwealth with- 
 out taxation. Before the adoption of the 
 Constitution of 1846 the fund had been 
 succeeded by a general fund debt of 
 $5,992,840.82. This was increased before 
 the breaking out of the Civil War to a 
 total of $6,505,684.37. This was the 
 high-water mark of the general fund debt 
 if we do not include in it the bounty 
 debt of 1865. The Constitution of 1846 
 made provision for a sinking fund to meet 
 this debt and its management and invest- 
 ment were intrusted to the Comptroller. 
 In this way the last of the debt was paid 
 in 1878. 
 
 IS 
 
A Century in the 
 
 Mr. Henry was removed from his office 
 August lo, 1801, by reason of political 
 changes in the Council of Appointment, 
 and he then and there renounced pol- 
 itics forever. At the time of his death, 
 in 1829, the leading Albany paper of the 
 period spoke of Mr. Henry as " the idol 
 of his friends ; the ornament of his native 
 city ; the pride of the bar ; the eloquent 
 defender of the oppressed." 
 
 Henry's successor in office was EHsha 
 Jenkins, a merchant and a Democrat (or 
 Republican as the party was then called) 
 of Hudson, who held the office from 
 August 10, 1 801, to March 26, 1806. Pre- 
 vious to his appointment as Comptroller 
 he had served as Member of Assembly 
 from Columbia county for the years 1795 
 to 1798. After his service as Comptrol- 
 ler he served three different periods as 
 Secretary of State, to wit : From March 
 16, 1806, to February 16, 1807; from 
 February i, 1808, to February i, 18 10, 
 and from February i, 181 1, to February 
 23, 1813. During his term as Comptrol- 
 ler there was a defalcation in the office 
 16 
 
(:2.-c^^t 
 
 Bth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 of Treasurer, then held by Robert Mc- 
 Clellan, and a more rigid system of test- 
 ing the correctness of accounts was 
 adopted, many features of which still 
 survive. There was not much legisla- 
 tion affecting the office passed during 
 the period of his incumbency ; but the 
 work of the office would seem to have 
 been done in a systematic and business- 
 like manner. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins was succeeded by Archi-, 
 bald Mclntyre, a Democrat of the Clin- 
 tonian order, of Albany, who, besides the 
 reputation of a most excellent officer, 
 has left behind him the record of a term 
 of service in the office longer than that 
 of any person who has filled it. He was 
 appointed on March 26, 1806, and con- 
 tinued in office until February 12, 1821. 
 He had previously served as Member of 
 Assembly from Montgomery county for 
 the years 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802 and 
 1804. The duties of the office had so 
 far increased in 181 1 as to render neces- 
 sary the services of a deputy, and by 
 chapter 78 his appointment was author- 
 17 
 
A Century in the 
 
 ized, with substantially the same limita- 
 tions which now exist. He cannot sign 
 warrants so long as the Comptroller is 
 within the State ; nor can he act on the 
 various boards. Comptroller Mclntyre in 
 1 8 17, under legislative authority, procured 
 the aggregate valuation of the real estate 
 in the several towns and wards of the State. 
 By chapter 262 of the Laws of 1817 the 
 Board of Commissioners of the Canal 
 Fund was created, and the Comptroller 
 made, ex-officio, a member of that board. 
 This act contained a curious provision to 
 the effect that a majority of the Commis- 
 sioners, with the Comptroller, constitutes 
 a quorum. No quorum of that board 
 has ever been possible without the pres- 
 ence of the Comptroller. 
 
 This board, from that time to 1848, re- 
 ceived and disbursed all canal moneys, 
 audited the canal accounts, and in general 
 transacted the financial business of the 
 canal department. In 1848 the canal 
 funds were turned over to the Treasurer 
 and made subject to the warrant of the 
 Canal Auditor. By his audit and war- 
 18 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 rant all accounts against the canals were 
 paid ; the management of the canal debt 
 and sinking fund remaining, as before, in 
 the Commissioners of the Canal Fund, 
 In 1883 the duties devolving upon the 
 Canal Auditor were transferred to the 
 Comptroller's ofifice. The majority of the 
 Commissioners of the Canal Fund signed 
 all checks on canal account prior to 1848. 
 Since 1883, the Commissioners of the 
 Canal Fund have had no duties to per- 
 form except to designate banks for the 
 deposit of canal funds, and, ordinarily, to 
 supervise the issuing of canal bonds. 
 
 The first canal debt bonds were issued 
 in 181 7 under legislative authority, and 
 their disposition and the management 
 of the sinking fund which was pro- 
 vided for their payment were put in the 
 hands of the Commissioners of the Canal 
 Fund. The amount of the debt that year 
 was $200,000. As the canal system was 
 extended, and later when the canals were 
 enlarged, this debt was from time to time 
 increased until in i860 it reached the sum 
 of $27,107,321.28. Fom that time it con- 
 19 
 
A Century in the 
 
 tinuously decreased through the pay- 
 ments to, and the application of, the 
 sinking fund, until on the ist day of 
 October, 1893, the last of this, the last 
 bonded debt of the State, was paid. 
 Something of financial history may be 
 learned from a study of the rates of in- 
 terest paid on these loans to the State. 
 On the loan of 1817 the rate of interest 
 was six per cent. From 1820 to 1830 
 the highest rate was six per cent and the 
 lowest, five. From 1830 to 1840 a rate 
 of five was sufficient. From 1840 to 
 1850 the rate advanced, the lowest being 
 six and the highest seven per cent, the 
 latter rate being in about 1842, the period 
 of uncertainty as to the State's financial 
 policy. From 1850 to i860 the rate 
 again fell to five and six per cent. In 
 1 861 a small loan was made at seven. 
 From 1870 to 1880 the rate was six per 
 cent. This was the last of the old canal 
 loan. By vote of the people in 1895 a 
 loan of $9,000,000 was authorized to be 
 used in the enlargement of the canals. 
 The amounts thus far borrowed under 
 
^ ^yfl^?^(y^ 
 
 eth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 that authority have been at the rate of 
 three per cent. 
 
 Perhaps the most notable circumstance 
 of Comptroller Mclntyre's term, and cer- 
 tainly one of the most notable in the 
 whole history of the office, was his con- 
 troversy with Daniel D. Tompkins. Dur- 
 ing, the War of 1812 Governor Tompkins 
 had been the agent both of the State and 
 of the National Government, and in this 
 dual capacity he had received and dis- 
 bursed very large sums of money. For 
 much of this money he had taken, or 
 could produce, no vouchers, and, conse- 
 quently, in 1 819 he stood upon the 
 Comptroller's books a debtor, if not a 
 defaulter, to the State in the large 
 amount of $120,000. He claimed, and 
 his friends claimed for him, that he had 
 honestly disbursed all the money that 
 he had received, and that the apparent 
 deficit was due to his acknowledged un- 
 business-like methods, and in his failure 
 to keep books of account, and to take 
 vouchers. He was then Vice-President 
 of the United States, and it was thought 
 
A Century in the 
 
 by the " Bucktail " Republicans that he 
 was the only man who, in the State elec- 
 tion of 1820, could beat Governor Clin- 
 ton for re-election. This unsettled bal- 
 ance, which had been standing for several 
 years on the books of the Comptroller, 
 was a serious obstacle to the execution 
 of their plan. Accordingly, the Legisla- 
 ture of 1 8 19 passed an act requiring the 
 Comptroller to settle the residue of the 
 accounts of Governor Tompkins, and in 
 the settlement to allow him the same 
 premium on the amount of money bor- 
 rowed by him " on his own responsibility " 
 as was allowed others for like service ; 
 and further requiring the Comptroller to 
 credit the Governor with sums paid by 
 him, legally, to any person, and to call 
 upon such persons to account for the 
 money. Contrary, it was said, to what 
 had been understood by those who had 
 been instrumental in passing the act of 
 1819, Vice-President Tompkins, instead 
 of presenting a claim for premium merely 
 sufficient to offset the claim of the State 
 against him, presented one for $250,000, 
 22 
 
^^V'^>^ 
 
 7th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 and supported this claim by opinions 
 both of experts and lawyers. This bill 
 furnishes a commentary on the credit of 
 the State in the perilous times of the War 
 of 1812, or perhaps upon the value of the 
 services of financial agents at that time. 
 The brokerage charged by Governor 
 Tompkins was at the rate of twenty-five 
 per cent. The Comptroller, feeling that 
 this was not the legislative intent, and 
 ever watchful as he was of the State's 
 interests, declined to allow the claim, on 
 the ground that the Governor had not 
 borrowed the money " on his own re- 
 sponsibility," but on the joint responsi- 
 bility of the State and himself. The 
 Comptroller offered to submit the sound- 
 ness of his position to the Judges of the 
 Supreme Court, and to join with the 
 Judges, if it was desired, the Chancellor 
 or the Attorney-General. But this Mr. 
 Tompkins declined on the ground that 
 all of these proposed referees were polit- 
 ically hostile to him. Correspondence 
 relating to the matter, and marked by 
 great bitterness of tone, took place 
 23 
 
A Century in the 
 
 between these eminent ofificials ; and in 
 this the Comptroller showed not only a 
 familiarity with accounts, but a facility 
 with the pen, which was a surprise to 
 those who had not known him inti- 
 mately. This matter occupied much of 
 the attention of the Legislature for two 
 years, and gave rise to protracted and 
 animated debates, and there is no doubt 
 that it entered largely into the defeat 
 of Governor Tompkins by Clinton in 
 1 820. The controversy was finally settled 
 under an act of the Legislature of 1820, 
 which directed the Comptroller to bal- 
 ance the accounts upon the filing of a 
 release from Governor Tompkins of all 
 his claims against the State. It had 
 required no small amount of courage for 
 Comptroller Mclntyre to engage in a 
 trial of strength with this idol of the 
 State. Daniel D. Tompkins was four 
 times elected Governor of the State, 
 and twice elected Vice-President. He 
 was a man of great personal magnetism ; 
 with large abilities, and he held a place 
 in the affections of the people of this 
 24 
 
8th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 State which has scarcely been equaled 
 by any of our citizens since his time. 
 
 At no time in the history of the State 
 has the Comptroller's ofifice been more 
 ably filled, and occupied a more promi- 
 nent position, than during the adminis- 
 tration of Archibald Mclntyre. He had 
 the unbounded confidence of all, and 
 although there were several Councils of 
 Appointment during his term of service 
 which were hostile to him, no one seems 
 to have thought of removing him. He 
 was regarded as a public servant whose 
 services could not well be spared to the 
 State. He was held in a measure respon- 
 sible for the defeat of Governor Tomp- 
 kins, and, although Clinton was elected, 
 the Legislature and the Council of Ap- 
 pointment were decidedly hostile both to 
 Clinton and to him, and on February 12, 
 1821, Mr. Mclntyre was removed, and 
 John Savage appointed in his place. His 
 removal would have created far greater 
 dissatisfaction than it did, although the 
 dissatisfaction was considerable, had not 
 his successor been a man of concededly 
 
A Century in the 
 
 great ability. Mr. Mclntyre was, the 
 year of his removal, nominated as the 
 Clintonian candidate for Senator from the 
 middle district, and, although strenuous 
 efforts were made to defeat him, he was 
 elected by a substantial majority. 
 
 In 1822 he was, with John B. Yates, 
 appointed agent for the State lotteries. 
 The Constitution of 1821 had forbidden 
 any further lotteries within the State, and 
 authorized the Legislature to pass laws 
 preventing the sale of tickets except in 
 the lotteries already established by law. 
 These were mostly instituted under the 
 law of 1814 for the purpose of aiding 
 literary institutions. By the act appoint- 
 ing him, the agents were invested with 
 sole authority to issue and sell all lottery 
 tickets which, for the future, were to be 
 issued to pay some hundreds of thousands 
 of dollars due various institutions. The 
 legislative intent was carried out by the 
 agents to the satisfaction of the benefici- 
 aries, and also with satisfactory pecuniary 
 results to the agents themselves. Upon 
 his retirement from his agency Mr. Mcln- 
 26 
 
ComptrolleH'' s Office. 
 
 tyre was able to withdraw both from poli- 
 tics and business. 
 
 One would hardly expect to find in the 
 books of account in the Comptroller's 
 office anything in the nature of a history 
 of morals, but the receipts from various 
 lotteries forms a no inconsiderable part 
 of the receipts of the State for a number 
 of years. This opens up a view which 
 almost shocks modern sensibility. Lot- 
 teries were not only authorized by the 
 State, but they were in the main devoted 
 to beneficent purposes. Union College 
 owes no inconsiderable part of her early 
 usefulness to money derived from State 
 lotteries. Indeed, the institution of 
 State lotteries in New York may almost 
 be attributed to the efforts of that 
 truly great and good man, the Rev. 
 Dr. Eliphalet Nott. The first moneys 
 ever appropriated by New York for the 
 purposes of free schools were raised by 
 lottery. 
 
 John Savage, of Salem, a lawyer, and a 
 Democrat of the " Bucktail " stamp, was 
 the fifth Comptroller, and at the time of 
 27 
 
A Century in the 
 
 his appointment he was not new to public 
 life. He had been district attorney of 
 the fourth district from 1806 to 1811, and 
 again from 1812 to 181 3 ; Member of As- 
 sembly from Washington county in 1814, 
 and Member of the Fourteenth and Fif- 
 teenth Congresses. He rounded out his 
 official career with eight years (from 1823 
 to 1831) of honored service as Chief 
 Justice of the Supreme Court. As a 
 public official it has been said that " he 
 exhibited candor, industry, caution and 
 excellent judgment." No higher quali- 
 ties can be given to any official. Later 
 in life the positions of Chancellor and 
 Treasurer of the United States were of- 
 fered to him but declined. During his 
 term of office there was no substantial 
 change or enlargement of the powers and 
 duties of the office, aside from the power 
 given to invest money belonging to the 
 common school fund. The common 
 school fund had its origin in 1805, and 
 was, as the determination for free schools 
 became more manifest, an application to 
 a school system of the Utopian vision of 
 28 
 
Bth COMPTROLLER 
 
Co?nptroller s Office. 
 
 the makers of the State, who sought to 
 pay all the expenses of maintaining the 
 government by interest from its invested 
 funds. The common school fund has, 
 unlike the general fund, steadily in- 
 creased. By the act of 1805 the proceeds 
 of the first 500,000 acres of vacant and 
 unappropriated land sold by the Sur- 
 veyor-General were appropriated as a 
 permanent fund for the support of com- 
 mon schools. Other sources of revenue 
 were from time to time turned into this 
 fund, until from its small beginning of 
 $58,757.24 in 1805, it has now productive 
 investments aggregating $4,448,140.77. 
 It is a noteworthy fact that no direct tax 
 for school purposes was laid by the State 
 until 1853, the interest of the fund alone 
 being appropriated. How small a portion 
 the income plays in maintaining the 
 schools of the State to-day can be seen in 
 the fact that the State for the year 1896 
 appropriated for educational purposes 
 $4,970,134.53, and this is not a quarter of 
 the amount expended in the State for the 
 purpose of free schools, when the local 
 29 
 
A Century in the 
 
 contributions are taken into account. 
 Judge Savage was the last Comptroller 
 who owed his selection to the Council of 
 Appointment. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention of 1821, 
 in deference to strong public demand, had 
 abolished that disgraceful anomaly, and 
 by section 6 of article 4 had provided that 
 "the Secretary of State, Comptroller, 
 Treasurer, Attorney-General, Surveyor- 
 General and Commissioner-General shall 
 be appointed as follows : The Senate 
 and Assembly shall each openly nomi- 
 nate one person for the said offices 
 respectively ; after which they shall 
 meet again, and if they shall agree in 
 their nominations the person so nomi- 
 nated shall be appointed to the office for 
 which he shall be nominated. If they 
 shall disagree, the appointment shall be 
 made by the joint ballot of the Senators 
 and Members of Assembly. The Secre- 
 tary of State, Comptroller,Treasurer, At- 
 torney-General, Surveyor-General and 
 Commissioner-General shall hold their of- 
 fice for three years, unless sooner removed 
 30 
 
S^L^ j^,4<^<j^^^ 
 
 10th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 by concurrent resolution of the Senate 
 and Assembly." 
 
 The Legislature, on the 13th day of 
 February, 1823, elected, in the manner 
 provided by law, William L. Marcy, a 
 lawyer and a Democrat, of Albany, to suc- 
 ceed Savage. There was a contest in the 
 caucus over his nomination, his opponent 
 being Genl. James Tallmadge, a man of 
 conspicuous ability and influence in the 
 Senate. The power of Mr. Van Buren, 
 however, turned the scale in Mr. Marcy's 
 favor. The only public position which he 
 had previously held was Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral, but from that time on his name is 
 closely linked with the history of the 
 State and Union. He was Comptroller 
 for six years, Judge of the Supreme Court 
 for two years, and United States Senator 
 for two years. He was three times elected 
 Governor, and defeated in his fourth run 
 for that office by William H. Seward. 
 He was appointed Secretary of War by 
 President Polk in 1845, and Secretary of 
 State by President Pierce in 1853. He 
 had for years, under Mr. Van Buren, been 
 31 
 
A Century in the 
 
 a leader of that most influential political 
 body which has become known to history 
 as the " Albany Regency." The remain- 
 ing members are understood to have been 
 at that time Silas Wright, Azariah C. 
 Flagg, Edwin Croswell, John A. Dix, 
 James Porter and Benjamin Knower. 
 The records of the State show that these 
 men, while building up a compact and 
 powerful political organization, did not 
 neglect their own personal and political 
 advancement. 
 
 One of the vouchers in the Comptrol- 
 ler's office played a prominent part in the 
 last of Mr. Marcy's gubernatorial cam- 
 paigns — a circumstance which, Thurlow 
 Weed says, Mr. Marcy pronounced the 
 most disagreeable of his entire public 
 career. While serving as Supreme Court 
 Judge, and on Circuit in Niagara county, 
 he included in his bill of expenses an item 
 as follows : " For mending my pantaloons, 
 50c." In the Seward campaign Thurlow 
 Weed, then the editor of the Albany 
 Evening Journal, learned of this fact and 
 published the story. It was taken up by 
 
'<^ (i^J^^^i-^^^CO 
 
 nth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 the press generally throughout the State, 
 and Mr. Marcy, with all his fine organiza- 
 tion and numberless friends, found him- 
 self for the time being, like Spain's chiv- 
 alry, "laughed away." 
 
 The item, however, exhibits the scrupu- 
 lous exactness of the man. Instead of 
 presenting the bill with an indefinite 
 amount of incidentals, he itemized it thus 
 particularly to his own disadvantage ; but, 
 as Mr. Weed afterward admitted, it was a 
 credit to his honesty. 
 
 It was during Mr. Marcy's term that 
 much of the work on the Erie canal was 
 done, and the careful scrutiny which the 
 bills for this work received was largely 
 instrumental in keeping the cost within 
 the estimates. He took ground as chief 
 financial officer of the State against the 
 construction of the Chenango and Gene- 
 see Valley canals, for the reason that 
 these canals would not, in his judgment, 
 pay the expenses of maintenance and the 
 interest on the debt which would be in- 
 curred in their construction. While 
 friends of the measures endeavored to 
 2,1 
 
A Century in the 
 
 convince the Legislature that the Comp- 
 troller was wrong in his calculation, the 
 result, when these works were finally com- 
 pleted, fully justified the Comptroller's 
 view. As Governor he made some friends, 
 and more enemies, by adhering to the 
 same careful course he had maintained as 
 Comptroller. In 1826 the Legislature 
 created the Canal Board, and the Comp- 
 troller was made ex-officio a member of it, 
 and he has continued to act as such mem- 
 ber down to the present. 
 
 On the 27th day of January, 1829, the 
 Legislature elected as the successor of 
 Mr. Marcy a man who, in his time, made 
 a great impression upon State and Na- 
 tional politics — Silas Wright, of Canton, 
 a lawyer and a Regency Democrat. 
 He had previously been Surrogate of St. 
 Lawrence county. State Senator from the 
 fourth district for the years 1824, 1825, 
 1826 and 1827, and a Member of the 
 Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses. 
 In the latter position he had achieved 
 considerable reputation. After his five 
 years' service as Comptroller he held with 
 34 
 
12th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller^ s Office. 
 
 high honor, for nearly twelve years, the 
 position of United States Senator. Dur- 
 ing the term of Mr. Van Buren as Presi- 
 dent he was considered to voice the ad- 
 ministration in his public utterances. He 
 served faithfully and intelligently upon 
 some of the most important committees. 
 He resigned to take the office of Gov- 
 ernor, which office he held in 1845 and 
 1846, and was defeated for re-election by 
 John Young in November, 1846. Mr. 
 Wright continued the careful and con- 
 servative policy of his predecessor as to 
 expenditures. He took strong ground 
 against the numerous and extensive raids 
 on the treasury which were then organ- 
 ized. His reports were always plain, 
 business-like papers, which set out in in- 
 telligible language the consequences of 
 the rapidly-increasing expenses. Mr. 
 Wright in many ways was a remarkable 
 man. The public positions which he held 
 were varied, and it was a great test of his 
 adaptability to be able to fill the duties 
 of these various positions with much 
 more than ordinary success. In 1831 the 
 35 
 
A Century in the 
 
 financial law of the State was revised, and 
 the provisions relating to the powers and 
 duties of the Comptroller were codified 
 and arranged. 
 
 Upon his election as United States 
 Senator Mr. Wright resigned and was 
 succeeded by Azariah C. Flagg, of Platts- 
 burgh, a lawyer and a Regency Democrat, 
 who was elected on January ii, 1834. 
 He had been a Member of Assembly from 
 Clinton county in 1823 and 1824, and held 
 the office of Secretary of State from 1826 
 to 1833. He had run counter to public 
 opinion in 1823 as the leader of the As- 
 sembly opposition to the Electoral law — 
 a law designed to give to the people di- 
 rectly the power of chosing the presiden- 
 tial electors, instead of leaving that power 
 vested in the Legislature, as had been the 
 law theretofore. The Albany Regency 
 had determined to prevent any change, 
 and succeeded in warding ofl legislative ac- 
 tion. The measure, however, met the cor- 
 dial approval of the people, and that fact, 
 together with the removal of Governor 
 Clinton as Canal Commissioner — a posi- 
 36 
 
ISth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller" s Office. 
 
 tion in which his uncompensated services 
 had been of the greatest value — swept 
 Clinton, whose political fortunes then 
 seemed at their lowest ebb, triumphantly 
 into the gubernatorial chair. But it was 
 a principle of the Albany Regency, and 
 of Martin Van Buren, then at its head, 
 never to forget a man who had fallen or 
 suffered in their service ; and it was in 
 reward for Mr. Flagg's unpopular opposi- 
 tion to the Electoral bill that in 1826 he 
 was chosen Secretary of State. Mr. 
 Flagg has the distinction of having served 
 longer as Comptroller than any other in- 
 cumbent of the ofifice, with the exception 
 of Archibald Mclntyre. He held the of- 
 fice from January 11, 1834, to February 4, 
 1839, ^""i again from February 7, 1842, to 
 November 7, 1847. During his first term 
 he was a member of the commission for the 
 erection of the State Hall, and that build- 
 ing still stands as a monument to the 
 Commission's good judgment in archi- 
 tecture, and in the adaptation of means 
 to an end. Upon the completion of the 
 State Hall the old State Hall, corner of 
 37 
 
A Century in the 
 
 Lodge and State streets, was sold by the 
 Commission. By chapters 2 and 150 of 
 the Laws of 1837 the Comptroller was 
 made the custodian of moneys received 
 from the United States, since known as 
 the United States Deposit Fund. Theo- 
 retically this money was not given to the 
 several States, but was to be subject to 
 repayment whenever called for. The Na- 
 tional Government will hardly, at this late 
 day, call for these moneys. If it did not 
 feel compelled to do so in the trying finan- 
 cial straits of the war it is not likely that it 
 will do so in times of peace. But these 
 moneys have always been kept as a sepa- 
 rate fund, substantially as required by the 
 act of 1837, and the principal, through all 
 changes of, and losses from, investment, 
 has been kept intact. 
 
 By chapter 260 of the Laws of 1838 
 the Comptroller, to guard against coun- 
 terfeiting, was authorized and required to 
 have engraved and printed in the best 
 manner, circulating notes to be issued to 
 the incorporated banks of the State, and 
 to countersign the same ; and a system 
 38 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 was inaugurated for the deposit of secu- 
 rities in the Comptroller's office which 
 should be a guaranty for the notes issued 
 by the banks — a system very similar to 
 that later adopted by the United States 
 for National banks. One feature which 
 would be regarded as a most unwise one 
 to-day formed a part of this plan ; the 
 banks were authorized to deposit one-half 
 the security in bonds and mortgages. 
 The bill also provided that banking asso- 
 ciations should file with the Comptroller 
 a semi-annual report of the transactions 
 of the bank. This was practically the 
 inauguration of the supervision of the 
 banks, which was later transferred to the 
 Banking Department. The Legislature 
 had, in 1829, at the time of the creation 
 of the safety fund, authorized the ap- 
 pointment of three Bank Commissioners, 
 whose duty it was to visit the banks, ex- 
 amine their condition, and report to the 
 Legislature. The office of Bank Commis- 
 sioner was abolished in 1843, ^"'^'^ the 
 power of supervision possessed by them 
 v/as then transferred to the Comptroller, 
 39 
 
A Century in the 
 
 and he continued to retain that power until 
 1851, when the Banking Department was 
 created. It was during Mr. Flagg's first 
 term that the great financial panic of 1837 
 took place, and the State's financial con- 
 dition at that time was not all that might 
 be desired. There was a large debt, 
 mostly incurred in the construction of 
 canals. The revenues had very much de- 
 creased, and a new way of raising funds 
 must be used to meet the liabilities of the 
 State and maintain her credit. Matters 
 financial in the State went from bad to 
 worse. In 1842, after long debate, the 
 Legislature passed an act authorizing the 
 laying of a tax of one mill upon every 
 dollar of real and personal property in 
 the State, and pledging the revenues of 
 the State for the payment of its liabili- 
 ties, and suspending all public work, ex- 
 cept where great loss would come to the 
 State by such suspension. In this man- 
 ner the credit of the State was made 
 secure and its obligations met. This act 
 was prepared and advocated by Mr. 
 Flagg. The significance of this legisla- 
 40 
 
'Jc^<y^^ 
 
 14th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 tion is found largely in the fact that from 
 1826 to 1842 no State tax for general 
 purposes had been required. 
 
 The long lease of power which the 
 Democrats had held in this State was 
 broken in the fall of 1838 by the com- 
 bined efforts of the Whigs and Anti- 
 Masons, and, accordingly, on the 4th of 
 January, 1839, ^"^^ ^l^gg was removed, 
 and Bates Cook, of Lewiston, a lawyer 
 and an Anti-Mason was chosen by the 
 Legislature in his place, Mr. Cook's only 
 previous official service of note had been 
 as Member of the Twenty-second Con- 
 gress. His appointment was largely due 
 to the influence and representations of 
 William H. Seward, then the Governor, 
 and Thurlow Weed. He had been asso- 
 ciated with these gentlemen in the prose- 
 cution of the abductors of William Mor- 
 gan, and, like Mr. Seward and Mr. Fill- 
 more, received his political start from 
 Anti-Masonic influence. Mr. Cook soon 
 had an opportunity to show Mr. Weed 
 his appreciation of the favor done him. 
 Chapter i of the Laws of 1840 authorized 
 41 
 
A Century in the 
 
 the Comptroller and Secretary of State 
 to enter into a contract with Thurlow 
 Weed to do the printing for the Legisla- 
 ture, executive offices and various boards, 
 at prices not exceeding ordinary prices in 
 Albany. 
 
 This seems to have been the first time 
 these officers were intrusted with this re- 
 sponsibility, and it was not until 1846 
 that the general power was definitely con- 
 ferred upon them. Subsequent legisla- 
 tion has added to the printing board then 
 created the Attorney-General, so far as 
 legislative printing is concerned ; but as 
 to department printing, the Secretary of 
 State and the Comptroller are still 
 clothed with the authority of letting the 
 contract. 
 
 By chapter 295 of the Laws of 1840 the 
 Comptroller was assigned quarters in the 
 State Hall, together with the other State 
 officers, and that building was made the 
 headquarters of the Canal Board, and 
 there both still remain, although the 
 Comptroller, from time to time, as the 
 needs have compelled, has taken to him- 
 42 
 
IBth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 self more rooms, so that his offices now oc- 
 cupy the entire first floor of the building. 
 
 On January 27, 1841, the Legislature 
 elected John A. Collier, of Binghamton, 
 a leading lawyer and an Anti-Mason, to 
 succeed Bates Cook. He had previously 
 served as District Attorney of Broome 
 county from June 11, 1818, to February 
 22, 1822, and had served his district in 
 the Twenty-second Congress. After his 
 retirement from the office of Comptroller 
 he was appointed, with Chancellor Wal- 
 worth, to codify the laws, but declined to 
 serve. This was a high tribute to his 
 ability. 
 
 During 1841 the Comptroller's office 
 was examined by a legislative commit- 
 tee, to ascertain if warrants had been 
 drawn in conformity with the law, and the 
 funds properly disbursed. The office was 
 found able to stand the fire of a rigid 
 investigation. 
 
 Mr. Collier had been a Federalist and a 
 
 Clintonian, but it was as an Anti-Mason 
 
 that he was elected both to Congress and 
 
 as Comptroller. He, too, was largely in- 
 
 43 
 
A Century in the 
 
 debted for his appointment as Comptrol- 
 ler to the potent influence of Thurlow 
 Weed. The administration was a short 
 but efificient one, and Mr. Collier proved 
 himself through life an able and discreet 
 man. 
 
 The Legislature, which for several years 
 had been Whig, in 1842 became Demo- 
 cratic, so that by concurrent resolution, 
 on February seventh they were enabled 
 to remove John A. Collier and re-appoint 
 Azariah C. Flagg. During his second 
 term Mr. Flagg performed the multiply- 
 ing duties of the office with his usual 
 fidelity, and to the satisfaction of the peo- 
 ple of the State. There seems to have 
 been no important enlargement of the 
 duties of the office during this period. 
 By various statutes, passed prior to the 
 Constitution of 1846, the State had 
 loaned its credit to a number of corpo- 
 rations, mostly railroad, until, in 1845, the 
 State debt thus incurred, called the " con- 
 tingent debt," amounted to $5,235,700. 
 Provision was made for a sinking fund, 
 and the management of this fund was 
 44 
 
leth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 placed with the Comptroller. Corpora- 
 tions have no souls, and, consequently, 
 we find that of the credit thus loaned 
 the State lost $3,665,700. From the ad- 
 ditions to and accumulations of the sink- 
 ing fund, the last of the contingent debt 
 was extinguished in 1877. 
 
 By chapter 350 of the Laws of 1847, 
 passed during his term, the Comptroller 
 was required to make a report of the fis- 
 cal year before the close of the calendar, 
 year, and to present the same to the 
 Legislature shortly after the commence- 
 ment of its session. 
 
 But at this point a new method of chos- 
 ing a Comptroller was introduced in the 
 organic law. Section i of article 5 of the 
 Constitution of 1846 provides that "The 
 Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer 
 and Attorney-General shall be chosen at 
 a general election, and shall hold their 
 offices for two years." The constitutional 
 provision was supplemented by chapter 
 240 of the Laws of 1846. The first man 
 elected by the people to the ofiice was 
 Millard Fillmore, of Buffalo, an able law- 
 45 
 
A Century in the 
 
 yer and a Whig. He had been a Member 
 of Assembly from Buffalo in 1829, 1830 
 and 1831, and a Member from his dis- 
 trict to the Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth, 
 Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Con- 
 gresses. During his term as Comptroller 
 he was nominated and elected Vice- 
 President on the ticket with Zachary 
 Taylor, and upon the latter's death, on 
 July 9, 1850, he succeeded to the Presi- 
 dency. As President he is, perhaps, more 
 distinguished as the signer of the " Fu- 
 gitive Slave Law " than for any other one 
 thing. He was elected Comptroller and 
 Vice-President as a Whig, but by the 
 signing of that obnoxious measure he 
 alienated very many of his old Whig 
 associates. He was, however, a clean, 
 able man. In politics he was thought by 
 many to have been a favorite of fortune. 
 Some one of his acquaintances is said to 
 have remarked, at the time of his elec- 
 tion as Vice-President, that he felt sorry 
 for General Taylor, because the General 
 never could live out his term against Fill- 
 more's luck. Mr. Fillmore resigned the 
 46 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 office of Comptroller on the 17th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1849, to assume the duties of Vice- 
 President. 
 
 The Legislature appointed Washington 
 Hunt, a lawyer of prominence and a 
 Whig, of Lockport, to succeed him. Mr. 
 Hunt had been County Judge of Niagara 
 county from 1836 to 1841, and had been 
 a member of the Twenty-eighth, Twenty- 
 ninth and Thirtieth Congresses. He was 
 nominated and elected Comptroller in the 
 fall of 1849. In 1850 he was elected 
 Governor over Horatio Seymour, but in 
 1852 he was in turn defeated in his run 
 for the second term by Seymour. He 
 made an excellent record as Governor 
 during the years 1851 and 1852. It was 
 upon Mr. Hunt's recommendation that 
 the duties of supervising and superintend- 
 ing the banking business of the State was 
 transferred to the Banking Department, 
 specially created for the purpose. He 
 felt that a greater burden of responsi- 
 bility was being imposed upon the office 
 of Comptroller than could be satisfacto- 
 rily sustained. This is one of the rare 
 47 
 
A Century in the 
 
 illustrations of a desire to surrender 
 power. But what relief was gained by 
 the transfer of the supervision of the 
 banks was replaced by the duty which 
 was imposed of superintending the busi- 
 ness of insurance in this State. 
 
 All insurance companies, prior to 1846, 
 had been incorporated by special acts, 
 but the Constitution of that year pro- 
 hibited the creation of such corporations, 
 except under general laws. In 1849 ^^^ 
 Legislature passed a general law for the 
 incorporation of insurance companies. 
 By the terms of the act the duty of or- 
 ganizing and regulating insurance com- 
 panies in this State, both domestic and 
 foreign, was conferred upon the Comp- 
 troller. This was the first State super- 
 vision of insurance. The duty remained 
 with the Comptroller until January i, 
 i860, when the act creating the Depart- 
 ment of Insurance went into effect. 
 
 The Comptroller's office feels proud of 
 
 its two healthy and useful children — the 
 
 Banking Department and the Insurance 
 
 Department, which have been efficiently 
 
 48 
 
nth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 serving the State and protecting the in- 
 terests of its citizens for many years, and 
 it ventures to believe that the early tui- 
 tion that they received from the parent 
 department helped to form their habits 
 and prepare them for their career. 
 
 Mr. Hunt resigned the Comptrollership 
 December i8, 1850, two weeks before he 
 was to enter upon his duties as Governor, 
 and Philo C. Fuller, a Whig, of Geneseo, 
 was appointed in his place. Mr. Fuller 
 had, in early life, been a clerk in the land 
 office of Mr. James Wadsvvorth. Thur- 
 low Weed met him at that time and rec- 
 ognized in him abilities of a high order* 
 It was probably at Mr. Weed's suggestion 
 that he first entered public life ; it was 
 certainly upon Mr. Weed's recommenda- 
 tion that he was appointed Comptroller. 
 It was one of the great secrets of Thur- 
 low Weed's long retention of political 
 power that whenever he saw capability 
 he sought, and, to use a ranchman's ex- 
 pression, " corralled it." Mr. Fuller was 
 Member of Assembly from Livingston 
 county in 1829 and 1830, State Senator 
 49 
 
A Century in the 
 
 in 1 83 1 and 1832, and Member of the 
 Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Con- 
 gresses. Later he moved to Michigan, 
 and, being elected to the Legislature, he 
 was chosen Speaker. He was appointed 
 Assistant Postmaster-General in the Har- 
 rison administration, but, being unwilling 
 to follow President Tyler into the Dem- 
 ocratic camp, he resigned, and returned 
 to New York. He performed the duties 
 of his office of Comptroller with ability, 
 although doubt of his capacity was felt 
 at the time of his appointment. 
 
 For the forty years from 1840 to 1880 
 the Comptroller's ofifice was one of diffi- 
 culty. During the first half of that period 
 there was seldom a year when the ex- 
 penditures did not exceed the appropri- 
 ations, and when the Comptroller was not 
 obliged to report a deficit at the end of 
 the year. There was also during that 
 same period a rapidly-increasing canal 
 debt, and the Comptroller was in duty 
 bound to find a market for bonds and the 
 means to meet the interest when it be- 
 came due. In the latter half of this pe- 
 50 
 
{/l(r6^,*/^:r^Jt/tvno^^^ 
 
 18th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 riod it was the Comptroller's duty to see 
 that the means were at hand to pay the 
 principal of this and other bonded debts, 
 and the increased expenditures caused by 
 the war. 
 
 Mr. Fuller was succeeded January i, 
 1852, by John C. Wright, a Democrat and 
 lawyer, of Schenectady. He had been 
 County Judge of Schoharie county from 
 1833 to 1838, and State Senator from the 
 third district in 1843, 1844, 1845 ^^d 1846. 
 He was an opponent of the Albany Re- 
 gency during his senatorial career. He 
 was a ready debater but of impulsive 
 temper, and at one time engaged in a per- 
 sonal rencounter with Colonel Young on 
 the floor of the Senate chamber. His 
 administration was unmarked by any pe- 
 culiar enlargement of the official power, 
 or by distinguished executive ability. 
 That things run so smoothly that no at- 
 tention is attracted is oftentimes strong 
 evidence of a successful working machin- 
 ery. By an act of the Legislature of 
 1 85 1 the Comptroller was authorized 
 to borrow three millions per year for 
 51 
 
A Century in the 
 
 three years for the completion of the 
 canal enlargement. 
 
 Mr. Wright served one term, and was 
 succeeded, January i, 1854, by James M. 
 Cook, a lawyer and a Whig, of Ballston. 
 Mr. Cook was a member of the Consti- 
 tutional Convention of 1846, Senator 
 from the thirteenth district for 1848, 1849, 
 1850 and i85i,and from the fifteenth dis- 
 trict in 1864 and 1865. He served as 
 State Treasurer during the years 1852 and 
 1853, and was Bank Superintendent from 
 January 30, 1856, to January 11, 1861. 
 He was thus continuously in the service 
 of the State from 1848 to 1861, a period 
 of thirteen years. In 1854 the Comp- 
 troller was authorized to appoint three 
 commissioners to investigate the State 
 prisons and report on their financial 
 condition, and also upon such laws as 
 they deemed proper for their better regu- 
 lation. Under this abuses were corrected, 
 and the Comptroller was given closer su- 
 pervision of the prisons. 
 
 For a short time in 1858 the Whig lead- 
 ers had under favorable consideration the 
 
 S2 
 
tQfh O.nMPTRni I FR -^ 
 
 19th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 nomination of Mr. Cook for Governor, 
 but circumstances forced a change, and 
 E. D. Morgan was nominated and elected. 
 
 On January i, 1856, Lorenzo Burrows, 
 a banker and an "American " or " Know 
 Nothing," of Albion, became Comptroller. 
 He had been a member of the Thirty- 
 first and Thirty-second Congresses. He 
 later served as Regent of the University by 
 appointment made February 17, 1858, and 
 in November, 1858, was one of the candi- 
 dates of the " American party " for Gover- 
 nor against E. D. Morgan. To the time of 
 his death, many years afterward, he never 
 failed to make at least one visit yearly to 
 the Comptroller's ol^ce, and always main- 
 tained a lively interest in its affairs. 
 
 After one term of service Mr. Burrows 
 was succeeded by Sanford E. Church, a 
 lawyer and a Democrat, also of Albion. 
 Mr. Church had been a Member of As- 
 sembly from Orleans county in 1842 ; 
 District Attorney of the same county 
 from 1846 to 1850; Lieutenant-Governor 
 from 1850 to 1854. He ran for re-election 
 as Comptroller in 1859 ^"^^ was defeated, 
 53 
 
A Century in the 
 
 and again in 1863 and was also defeated. 
 He was elected one of the Delegates-at- 
 Lai'ge to the Constitutional Convention in 
 1867, and was Chief Judge of the Court 
 of Appeals from May, 1870, to May 20, 
 1880, when he died. In all these various 
 positions Mr. Church showed a broad, 
 liberal spirit, and great mental force. 
 His reports as Comptroller are valuable 
 State papers, expressed in clear, strong 
 and forcible language. It is sufficient to 
 say of Judge Church, that, as Comptrol- 
 ler, he brought the same care, attention 
 and strong mental grasp to his duties that 
 afterward won for him eminence and 
 fame as Chief Judge of our highest court. 
 Robert Denniston, a gentleman farmer 
 and Republican, of Salisbury's Mills, be- 
 came Comptroller January i, i860, hav- 
 ing been elected at the November election 
 of 1859 over Sanford E. Church. He 
 had been Assemblyman from Orange 
 county in 1845, and Senator from the 
 second district in 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 
 1845, 1846 and 1847, and had been an 
 unsuccessful candidate against Mr. Church 
 54 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 for the office of Comptroller in Novem- 
 ber, 1857. He was thus Comptroller in 
 the first year of the war, at the inaugura- 
 tion of high taxes and the large expendi- 
 tures of that period. His administration 
 was wise and conservative. 
 
 On January i, 1862, Lucius Robinson, 
 an able lawyer of Elmira, assumed the 
 duties of the office. Mr. Robinson was a 
 Democrat, but at the breaking out of the 
 war he was strongly for the Union cause, 
 and it was on the Union ticket that he 
 was elected Comptroller, and he was re- 
 elected on the same ticket in 1863. At 
 the close of the war, he resumed his place 
 in the Democratic party, from which he 
 had never been fully estranged. He ran 
 as a Democrat against Thomas Hillhouse, 
 in 1865, and was beaten. He had been 
 District Attorney of Greene county from 
 1837 to 1839, ^"^^ Member of Assembly 
 from Chemung county in i860 and 1861. 
 He was re-elected Comptroller in Novem- 
 ber, 1863, and again in November, 1875. 
 He was a member of the Constitutional 
 Commission of 1872, Governor of this 
 55 
 
A Certtury in the 
 
 State for the years 1877, 1878 and 1879, 
 and defeated for re-election in November, 
 1879, by Alonzo B. Cornell. He was 
 Comptroller during the dark days of our 
 Civil War. At no period, however, of its 
 history was the work of the office more 
 carefully managed. For the six years from 
 i860 to 1866, the canal and general fund 
 debts were reduced $8,ooo,cxX). In the 
 four years of the war, the State expendi- 
 tures for arms, bounties, clothing, equip- 
 ments and various military purposes were 
 upwards of $20,000,000. To meet these 
 large and abnormal expenses, required 
 of the Comptroller resourceful ability. 
 When specie was at a high premium in 
 1863 and 1864, Mr. Robinson earnestly 
 recommended the payment of the State's 
 bonded debt, both principal and interest, 
 in specie. The Legislature, however, dis- 
 regarded the recommendation. There 
 was precedent in the office for such a 
 course. Comptroller Flagg, upon the 
 suspension of specie payment in 1837, 
 made good the difference between the 
 depreciated currency and coin. Comp- 
 56 
 
20th COMPTROUEH 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 troUer Allen followed the lead of Mr. 
 Robinson, and urged the payment of 
 these debts in coin. This was not done, 
 however, until 1870, when the State went 
 into the open market and bought coin to 
 pay the interest on its bonds, and con- 
 tinued this policy until the resumption of 
 specie payment in 1879. This course, 
 however, was not pursued with reference 
 to the bounty debt. In 1865, against the 
 advice and almost protest of the Comp- 
 troller, the Legislature assumed the 
 bounty debt of the various counties of 
 the State, and for that purpose it became 
 necessary for the State to issue its bonds 
 to the amount of $27,644,000. The act 
 authorizing the creation of the debt pro- 
 vided for a sinking fund, and the man- 
 aging of this fund and the issuing of the 
 bonds was given to the Comptroller. 
 This debt was extinguished year by year 
 until it disappeared from the Comp- 
 troller's books in 1877. It was during 
 Mr. Robinson's term, in 1863, that $66,000 
 were appropriated to purchase the lands 
 adjoining the then Capitol, and bounded 
 57 
 
A Century in the 
 
 by State, Hawk and Congress streets. 
 This was probably the first money ex- 
 pended on " That lofty pile where senates 
 dictate laws." 
 
 In 1862, the Legislature placed an item 
 in the appropriation bill which still re- 
 mains law. It provides that the Comp- 
 troller shall not draw his warrant, except 
 for salaries and regular expenses, until 
 the person entitled to the money shall 
 present a detailed account, verified by 
 affidavit as to services; and if for travel- 
 ing expenses, a detailed account specify- 
 ing the distance and places from and to 
 which, and receipted vouchers for all dis- 
 bursements. By chapter 419 of the Laws 
 of 1864, the officers of all hospitals, or- 
 phan asylums, benevolent associations, 
 educational and charitable institutions 
 were required to report to the Comp- 
 troller their financial condition, with their 
 receipts and disbursements. The Comp- 
 troller was, by concurrent resolution of 
 the Legislature, the same \oar appointed, 
 with the Governor and the Secretarj- of 
 State, to take action properly to receive 
 58 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 the returning veterans, and for the health 
 of the recruits. Mr. Robinson was a man 
 of great executive force, strict honesty, 
 and with the courage of his convictions. 
 He was succeeded by Thomas Hill- 
 house on the 1st of January, 1866, Mr. Hill- 
 house having been elected in November, 
 1865. He was a gentleman farmer and a 
 Republican from Geneva, and had been 
 Senator from the twenty-sixth district in 
 i860 and 1861, and Adjutant-General of 
 the State from August 19, 1861, to Janu- 
 ary I, 1863. He still survives as the hon- 
 ored president of the Metropolitan Trust 
 Company, of New York. Thurlow Weed 
 in his autobiography says : " For my di- 
 rect responsibility in the selection of 
 Bates Cook, John A. Collier, Millard Fill- 
 more, Washington Hunt, Philo C. Fuller, 
 James M. Cook, Robert Denniston and 
 Thomas Hillhouse, I look back with par- 
 donable pride, for in few ways could better 
 service have been rendered to the State 
 and people." Mr. Hillhouse certainly 
 deserved the confidence reposed in him. 
 He was careful, conservative and able. 
 59 
 
A Century in the 
 
 On January i, 1868, Mr. Hillhouse gave 
 way to William F. Allen, a distinguished 
 lawyer and a Democrat, of Oswego. Mr. 
 Allen served as Member of Assembly 
 from Oswego in 1843 ^"^^ 1844, and was 
 appointed United States District Attor- 
 ney in 1845, and was appointed Judge of 
 the Supreme Court in the fifth district in 
 1847, ^"^^ elected to the same position in 
 the fall election of 1855. He was re- 
 elected Comptroller in November, 1869, 
 but resigned June 14, 1870, to accept 
 an appointment as Judge of the Court of 
 Appeals. This latter place he held with 
 great distinction until his death, in June, 
 1878. In 1864 he was the slated Demo- 
 cratic candidate for Governor. Horatio 
 Seymour was then Governor, and Mr. 
 Allen's friends at least understood that 
 Mr. Seymour wished a renomination as a 
 compliment, but would decline. To their 
 consternation, however, Mr. Seymour 
 came before the convention, thanked its 
 members for the honor done him, and 
 accepted. It was during Mr. Allen's ad- 
 ministration that the Comptroller was 
 60 
 
c:p;^-^^<u^^ 
 
 2Ut COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 authorized to appoint an agent to exam- 
 ine into tlie reports submitted to him by 
 the various charitable institutions. By 
 chapter 281 of the Laws of 1870, the 
 Comptroller was made, ex-officio, a mem- 
 ber of the State Commission of Public 
 Charities. Judge Allen was distinguished 
 by talents of the highest order, and his 
 long public career was a useful one to the 
 State. 
 
 It is an interesting political fact that in 
 the campaign of 1869 Judge Allen had as 
 his opponent in the run for Comptroller 
 Horace Greeley. Mr. Greeley's election 
 was earnestly opposed by many of the lead- 
 ing Republicans of the State. A letter of 
 Thurlow Weed was made public, in which 
 he appealed very strongly to the people of 
 the State to vote against Mr. Greeley. He 
 based his opposition quite largely upon 
 the fact that Mr. Greeley's time would 
 have to be divided between his editorial 
 duties in New York and the Comptrol- 
 ler's office in Albany. He then went on 
 to say : " The office of Comptroller is 
 most laborious and responsible. I have 
 61 
 
A Century in the 
 
 known its incumbents for considerably 
 nnore than half a century. Anaong them 
 were Archibald Mclntyre, John Savage, 
 William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, Jr., Aza- 
 riah C. Flagg, John A. Collier, Washing- 
 ton Hunt, Philo A. Fuller, James M. 
 Cook, Thos. Hillhouse and others, distin- 
 guished for ability and industry, not one 
 of whom have attempted to attend to any 
 other business, and all of whom found 
 constant and full occupation, physical 
 and mental, in the discharge of their pub- 
 lic duties. Without regard to other rea- 
 sons for withholding my vote from Mr. 
 Greeley, I consider those which I have 
 stated sufficient. In his opponent, Wil- 
 liam F. Allen, I found a capable and en- 
 lightened man, with some experience, 
 much industry and peculiar fitness for the 
 duties of the office. I have known him 
 first, as an able and useful member of our 
 Legislature, and next as an eminently 
 upright judge." 
 
 Upon the resignation of Judge Allen, 
 Asher P. Nichols, a lawyer and Democrat, 
 of Buffalo, was appointed, and, in the fall 
 62 
 
^^^^^^r 
 
 22d COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 of the same year, 1870, he was elected to 
 fill the unexpired term. He had been 
 previously a State Senator from the 
 thirty-first district in 1868 and 1869. He 
 ran for the ofifice of Comptroller in 1871 
 and again in 1873, and was defeated both 
 times by Nelson K. Hopkins. Mr. Nichols 
 was a man of ability, who commanded 
 the highest respect of those who knew 
 him. He was distinguished somewhat 
 for an old-time formal courtesy of man- 
 ner. It is fair to Mr. Nichols to say that 
 the deficiency in the treasury which Mr. 
 Hopkins found upon his advent was not 
 due to him, or to lack of recommenda- 
 tions on his part, but rather to the at- 
 tempt of the Tweed regime in the Legis- 
 lature to make a tax rate that would 
 continue them in power. "Among the 
 faithless, faithful only he." 
 
 Mr. Hopkins was a lawyer and a Repub- 
 lican from Buffalo, and he entered upon 
 the discharge of the duties of the ofifice 
 on January i, 1872, and continued therein 
 for four years. This was the beginning 
 and the end of his career in State politics, 
 63 
 
A Century in the 
 
 but in those four years he left a record 
 of splendid and faithful work. He found 
 upon his entry into office that there had 
 been for several years a growing defi- 
 ciency in the general fund. In 1869 the 
 excess of appropriations over receipts 
 was $1,493,181.28; in 1870, $2,355,927.40; 
 in 1871, $2,748,595.56; in 1872, $1,785,- 
 762.97; in 1873, $254,253.53 ; making for 
 the five years an aggregate deficiency of 
 $8,637,720.74. 
 
 The money to the extent of this defi- 
 ciency had been supplied to the treasury 
 by using the moneys from the bounty debt 
 sinking fund. Heroic treatment was 
 necessary, so disregarding political effect 
 Mr. Hopkins advocated and secured the 
 adoption of the highest tax rate in the 
 history of the State, to wit, nine and 
 three-eighths mills on the dollar, and three 
 and one-half mills of this amount went to 
 make up the deficiency. In this way the 
 bounty debt sinking fund was again made 
 good. In 1873 the Comptroller was given 
 power to examine into the affairs of the 
 prisons, with the power of a court of record 
 64 
 
2Sd COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 to subpoena witnesses, etc., and the same 
 year he was authorized in person, or by 
 agent, to visit the various State institu- 
 tions and examine their books, papers 
 and vouchers, both of which powers are 
 still inherent in the Comptroller's office. 
 The same year he was authorized to set 
 aside cancellations of tax titles made by 
 him whenever it appeared that fraud, 
 misrepresentation or the suppression of a 
 fact, or a mistake of fact, had induced 
 the cancellation. This power, with slight 
 modification, still remains. 
 
 During Mr. Hopkins' four years of 
 service the bounty debt was reduced 
 $14,401,700, and he was able to congratu- 
 late the Legislature and the people of 
 the State at the close of his term on 
 the prospect of a substantial reduction 
 of tax. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1876, Lucius 
 Robinson again assumed the office of 
 Comptroller, which he held one year. 
 He had defeated in the election the 
 November preceding Francis E. Spinner, 
 whose services and signature are so well 
 65 
 
A Century in the 
 
 known as to make comment unnecessary. 
 His second administration of the office 
 was distinguished by the same care-taking 
 ability which was manifest in the first. 
 The reduction of the bounty debt and 
 other indebtedness of the State continued. 
 He was elected Governor in 1876. 
 
 The first official act of Governor Rob- 
 inson was the appointment of Frederic 
 P. Olcott, of Albany, as Comptroller. 
 It is a matter of secret political history 
 that Governor Tilden had desired to 
 appoint Daniel Magone to the office, and 
 that for that reason Mr. Robinson would 
 not resign until it was too late for Gov- 
 ernor Tilden to act. But he had to act 
 promptly, because, if no appointment 
 were made before the Legislature con- 
 vened, the power to fill the vacancy would 
 then be in that body. Governor Robin- 
 son improved the fleeting moment. Mr. 
 Olcott, as the head of the firm of F. P. 
 Olcott & Co., had been the State's agent 
 in transactions relating to the bounty 
 debt, and, to Mr. Robinson's mind, he 
 had exhibited abilities which would make 
 66 
 
/y^-.^^ 
 
 24th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 of him a valuable Comptroller. That the 
 Governor was not mistaken, Mr. Olcott's 
 career, both as Comptroller, and since his 
 retirement from that office, as president 
 of the Central Trust Company, abun- 
 dantly proves. He served out Mr. Rob- 
 inson's unexpired term, and was elected 
 in November, 1877, over C. V. R. Lud- 
 ington, but was defeated for re-election 
 in 1879 ^y James W. Wadsworth. This 
 was the only political office which he 
 ever held. Early in his term his atten- 
 tion was attracted to the abnormal quan- 
 tities of soft soap which one of the small 
 State charitable institutions was using, 
 and he became satisfied that " soft soap," 
 like Pickwick's " warming pan," was a cover 
 for something hidden. Among the vouch- 
 ers for May and June, 1875, were vouch- 
 ers for seventy-eight barrels of soft soap 
 at a cost of $350, which, at the same rate, 
 would make an aggregate of $3,100 per 
 year. The aggregate expenditure for 
 soft soap for the institution during the 
 six years ending June 30, 1876, had been 
 $3,963.60. An investigation was institu- 
 67 
 
A Century in the 
 
 ted at the Comptroller's request by the 
 State Board of Charities, and it was found 
 that " soft soap " in that instance meant 
 the laying out of roads and beautifying 
 grounds to an extent that the Comptrol- 
 ler's ofifice would not have paid. The 
 designing institution learned to its sur- 
 prise that the Comptroller could not 
 stand too much " soft soap." These reve- 
 lations led the Comptroller to ask the 
 Legislature for power to investigate 
 thoroughly all the charitable institu- 
 tions. This work was ably done by 
 Edgar K. Apgar, who made an admirable 
 report, and this report was the means of 
 establishing a more thorough and syste- 
 matic supervision of these institutions by 
 the Comptroller's department. In his 
 report, transmitted to the Legislature on 
 the 1st of January, 1878, Mr. Olcott 
 said : " Each of these institutions is now 
 separate and distinct from its fellows, and 
 each is governed by a local board of trus- 
 tees. It is evident, therefore, that there 
 is no general system governing all, but 
 each is a law unto itself. There is no 
 68 
 
2Bth COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 department of government which exer- 
 cises any supervision over their affairs or 
 that has more than a superficial knowl- 
 edge of the manner in which they are 
 conducted. * * * i would recom- 
 mend for your consideration the policy 
 of abolishing all local boards of trustees 
 and the erection of a system by which 
 the different institutions shall be man- 
 aged by one controlling power. As it is, 
 the "-esponsibility for losses and expen- 
 sive management is not centred in any 
 one." 
 
 On the 2d of May, 1878 (the good 
 faith of Olcott's work in handling the 
 bounty bonds having been called in ques- 
 tion), he sent a communication to the 
 Legislature which more than proved the 
 faithful and able manner in which he had 
 performed his duties in respect to these 
 bonds. The report was called out by a 
 resolution of the Senate. Some strongly 
 partisan members believed that they could 
 unearth thereby, if not crookedness, at 
 least large compensation for services per- 
 formed. The attempt failed signally. 
 69 
 
A Century in the 
 
 Mr. Olcott's administration of the office 
 ranks with the ablest. 
 
 James W. Wadworth, a gentleman 
 farmer and Republican, from Geneseo, 
 became Comptroller January, i, 1880, and 
 was one of the youngest men who have 
 held the office. He had as a boy served 
 with his father, the gallant and lamented 
 General James S. Wadsworth in the Civil 
 War. He was Member of Assembly from 
 Livingston county in 1878 and 1879, ^"^ 
 was distinguished in the latter year as 
 the only Republican in the Legislature 
 who would not vote for the return of 
 Roscoe Conkling to the United States 
 Senate, and that, too, notwithstanding 
 the fact that Mr. Conkling had been duly 
 nominated by a Republican caucus. Mr. 
 Conkling and he afterwards forgot differ- 
 ences and became quite warmly attached. 
 He ran again for Comptroller in 1885 but 
 was defeated. He has faithfully repre- 
 sented a discriminating constituency in 
 the Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth, Fifty- 
 second, Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Con- 
 gresses, and has been re-elected to the 
 70 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 Fifty-fifth. Mr. Wadsworth took great 
 interest in the affairs of the office during 
 his term, and his sterling integrity and 
 good judgment made him a most excel- 
 lent officer. In 1880, by chapter 100, the 
 Comptroller was authorized to issue 
 bonds in anticipation of the State tax, 
 payable on or before the fifteenth day of 
 May following, such bonds not to exceed 
 in amount one-half of such tax. It was 
 necessary for Mr. Wadsworth to inaugu- 
 rate the system of collecting taxes on 
 corporations. The original bill for that 
 purpose was passed in 1880. It has been 
 amended from time to time, but the whole 
 duty of enforcing it has remained in the 
 Comptroller. The number of corpora- 
 tions taxed in 1881 was 954, and the 
 amount collected $1,539,864.27 ; the num- 
 ber in 1886 was 1,249, ^"^ the amount 
 collected $1,239,864.16. In 1892 there 
 were 1,780 corporations paying, and the 
 amount collected was $1,430,719.86. In 
 1896 the number of corporations was 
 4,401, and the amount collected was 
 $2,165,610.12. The amount of capital 
 71 
 
A Century in the 
 
 represented by these 4,401 corporations is 
 believed to be fully %'j66,ooo,ooo 
 
 Mr. Wadsworth gave place on January 
 I, 1882, to Ira Davenport, a capitalist and 
 a Republican of Bath. Mr. Davenport 
 had represented the twenty-seventh dis- 
 trict in the State Senate in 1878, 1879, 
 1880 and 1 88 1, and was elected Comp- 
 troller over G. H. Lapham. He was de- 
 feated for re-election as Comptroller by 
 Alfred C. Chapin, November 6, 1883. In 
 1885, he received the Republican nomi- 
 nation for Governor, but was defeated by 
 David B. Hill. He was a member of the 
 Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses. On 
 March i, 1883, the duty of auditing the 
 canal accounts, after having been per- 
 formed for thirty-five years by a separate 
 officer — the Canal Auditor — was placed 
 in the Comptroller's office, where it still 
 remains. The confidence which the Re- 
 publican party had shown in Comptroller 
 Davenport was not misplaced. He was a 
 man of high character and attainments, 
 and performed the duties of the office of 
 Comptroller with success. 
 72 
 
2Blh COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 Alfred C. Chapin, a lawyer and a Demo- 
 crat, of Brooklyn, entered upon the dis- 
 charge of his duties January i, 1884. He 
 was Member of Assembly from the 
 eleventh Kings county district in 1882 
 a.nd 1883, and in the latter year was 
 chosen Speaker of that body. He was 
 re-elected Comptroller in 1885 over Mr. 
 Wadsworth. He has, since his service as 
 Comptroller, served four years as Mayor 
 of Brooklyn, from January i, 1888, to 
 January i, 1892, and is now about ending 
 a term as State Railroad Commissioner. 
 In 1 89 1, he was a prominent candidate for 
 Governor before the Democratic conven- 
 tion, but was beaten by Roswell P. Flower. 
 Mr. Chapin is an educated and cultivated 
 gentleman, and as Comptroller was not 
 afraid to run counter to established ideas. 
 He strongly recommended, in a special 
 message to the Legislature in 1885, ^^^ 
 subsequently in his annual reports, the 
 abolition of the common school fund, 
 and its transfer to the treasury. By chap- 
 ter 483 of the Laws of 1885, the Legisla- 
 ture laid a tax of five per cent upon col- 
 73 
 
A Century in the 
 
 lateral inheritances. This inaugurated a 
 system of taxing transfers at death, which 
 has come now to yield annually about 
 $2,000,000. The Comptroller was largely 
 intrusted with the duties of enforcing 
 this law. It was amended in 1891 by 
 making a tax of one per cent upon all 
 direct inheritances. In 1886, the Comp- 
 troller was authorized to approve the 
 bonds of banks designated as depositories 
 of the funds of State institutions. The 
 same year, the Comptroller was directed 
 to make assessments on the various com- 
 panies liable therefor to meet the expenses 
 of the Subway Commissions in the cities 
 of New York and Brooklyn — a duty 
 which still rests on the office. In 1887, 
 he was authorized to sell or exchange 
 detached lands in certain counties of the 
 Forest Preserve, upon the recommenda- 
 tion of the Forest Commission and the 
 Attorney-General, the purpose being to 
 consolidate the State's holding of lands 
 in the Adirondack Park. The same year 
 a ta.x was laid on racing associations for 
 the benefit of agricultural societies to 
 74 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 improve the breed of horses, etc., and 
 the collection of this tax has since re- 
 mained a part of the duty of the Comp- 
 troller, notwithstanding the various vicis- 
 situdes through which racing and pool 
 bills have passed. 
 
 At the November election, in 1887, Ed- 
 ward Wemple was elected Comptroller 
 over Jesse S. L'Amoreaux. Mr. Wemple 
 was a manufacturer and Democrat, resid- 
 ing at Fultonville. He was a Member of 
 Assembly from Montgomery county in 
 1877 and 1878, and a Member of the 
 Forty-eighth Congress, but was defeated 
 for re-election to that office by George 
 West. He served in the State Senate 
 from the eighteenth district in 1886 and 
 1887. He was re-elected Comptroller in 
 1889 over Martin W. Cooke. 
 
 In 1888 the Legislature passed an act 
 requiring the agent and warden of each 
 of the State prisons to file with the Comp- 
 troller a bond, approved by the Superin- 
 tendent of State Prisons and Comptrol- 
 ler, in a penalty of not less than $50,000, 
 to be fixed by the Comptroller. The 
 75 
 
A Century in the 
 
 same year the Legislature declared that 
 the Board of Claims should have no jur- 
 isdiction over private claims required to 
 be presented to the Comptroller for audit, 
 until after his action on the claim. It 
 further required all public officials and 
 other persons receiving or disbursing 
 moneys of the people of the State to de- 
 posit the same in some solvent bank or 
 banking institution, to be designated by 
 the Comptroller, and that every bank re- 
 ceiving such moneys should execute a 
 bond to the people, to be filed with and 
 approved by the Comptroller. By chap- 
 ter 586 of the Laws of the same year the 
 Comptroller, the Superintendent of State 
 Prisons, and the President of the State 
 Board of Charities, were constituted a 
 board to fix the prices of all goods manu- 
 factured in the penal institutions of the 
 State for the use of other State institu- 
 tions. All these provisions of law are 
 still in force, except that the board to fix 
 prices has been changed by the addition 
 of the State Prison Commission and Lu- 
 nacy Commission, and by omitting the 
 76 
 
27th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 President of the State Board of Charities. 
 In 1889 the right of the Comptroller to 
 supervise the financial affairs of the pris- 
 ons was enlarged, and the agent and war- 
 den required to make monthly reports of 
 receipts and expenditures to him. He 
 was also allowed to revise and readjust 
 the accounts theretofore settled under 
 the Corporation Tax Law. In 1890 he 
 was made a member of the " Board for 
 the Establishment of State Insane Asy- 
 lum Districts and other purposes," to- 
 gether with the State Commission in 
 Lunacy and President of the State Board 
 of Charities. In 1891 an act was passed 
 requiring all institutions re,ceiving moneys 
 from the State treasury for maintenance, 
 in full or in part, to deposit their funds 
 in some responsible bank or banking 
 house, to be designated by the Comp- 
 troller. He was also authorized to ap- 
 point commissioners to hear evidence and 
 take proofs on applications for cancella- 
 tion of title or redemption of lands. 
 
 On January i, 1892, Frank Campbell, a 
 banker and Democrat, of Bath, became 
 77 
 
A Century i>i the 
 
 Comptroller. He had been chosen in the 
 previous election over Arthur C. Wade. 
 He had held no office previous to that time. 
 He served one term, ran for re-election in 
 1893 and was defeated. He has held no 
 office since. By chapter 651 of the Laws 
 of 1892 the supervision of the funds de- 
 posited in court was transferred from the 
 General Term of the Supreme Court to 
 the Comptroller, and this work the Comp- 
 troller's office has since performed ; and 
 by chapter 681 of the Laws of the same 
 year he was required to approve all of- 
 ficial undertakings. 
 
 In 1892 the authority was given to the 
 Comptroller to license common carriers. 
 He was relieved from this duty by the 
 new Excise Law of 1896. By chapter 
 248 of the Laws of 1893 he, with the 
 Secretary of State and Treasurer, was 
 directed, before the first day of January 
 of each year, to designate the State 
 paper. The largest amount thus far 
 collected in any one year under the In- 
 heritance Tax Law was $3,071,687.09, in 
 1893, during Mr. Campbell's term. The 
 78 
 
^ /T^'Zrx^-T^.^yXf 
 
 28th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 amount collected under the Corporation 
 Tax Law was increased during his term. 
 On January i, 1894, James A. Roberts, 
 a lawyer and Republican, of Buffalo, 
 became Comptroller. He had served as 
 Member of Assembly from the third 
 district of Erie county in 1879, and from 
 the fourth district of the same county in 
 1880. He was unanimously renominated 
 from the fourth district in 1891, but de- 
 clined. He was re-elected Comptroller in 
 1895 over John B. Judson. In 1894 the 
 Comptroller was given power to appoint 
 appraisers in cases of tuberculosis and 
 glanders.. In the same year the chancery 
 fund, so called, which had been man- 
 aged by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals 
 after the abolition of the Court of Chan- 
 cery, was turned over to the Comptroller. 
 This fund, amounting to $169,935.52 in 
 securities and cash, besides real estate of 
 the possible value of $10,000, was the 
 residue and remainder of moneys that 
 had been deposited in the old Court of 
 Chancery and never called for. By a 
 rider on the appropriation bill of that 
 79 
 
A Century in the 
 
 year the superintendent or other man- 
 aging officer of each State charitable 
 institution or reformatory in the State 
 was required to estimate monthly, in 
 detail, the articles required by his insti- 
 tution for the ensuing month. The 
 expenditures Mere to be limited to the 
 estimates, and the treasurers were re- 
 quired to make monthly reports of their 
 expenditures. This inaugurated substan- 
 tially the same system, with reference 
 to the expenditures of other charitable 
 institutions, that was then used by the 
 Lunacy Commission with reference to 
 the hospitals. In 1895 this last provision 
 was made more definite and explicit. 
 The Comptroller was authorized the same 
 year to appoint a second deputy, who 
 was to have the same powers as the 
 Deputy Comptroller. Twice before in 
 the history of the office there had been 
 a second deputy, but, after the continu- 
 ance of the office for a few years, in each 
 case it had been abolished. Chapter 79 
 of the Laws of 1895 provided for the 
 issuing of canal bonds and created a sink- 
 80 
 
29th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 ing fund for their redemption. The isgUr 
 ing of the bonds and the care of the sink- 
 ing fund were intrusted to the Comp- 
 troller. The same year the trustees of 
 the Saratoga monument were authorized 
 to transfer the property held by them to 
 the State, and the Comptroller was made 
 custodian of the monument. 
 
 While in the hundred years there have 
 been thirty Comptrollers, there have been 
 but eleven Deputy Comptrollers. Upon 
 the passage of the act authorizing the ap- 
 pointment of a deputy, in i8il, Comp- 
 troller Mclntyre appointed John Ely, 
 Jr., and he held the position until 1822. 
 He was succeeded by Ephraim Starr, who 
 continued in the position until 1828. In 
 1828 Mr. Marcy appointed as deputy 
 Philip Phelps, and, with the exception of 
 two years, from February 28, 1840, to 
 February 28, 1 842, this being substantially 
 the administration of Bates Cook, when 
 the office was filled by W. W. Tredwell, 
 Mr. Phelps held the place until 1876, or 
 in all for forty-six years. It was long felt 
 that his services were indispensable, and 
 
A Century in the 
 
 while Comptrollers might come and 
 Comptrollers did go, the deputy seemed 
 likely to go on forever. It is related that 
 late in his official career he found himself 
 growing footsore and lame, and no longer 
 able to stand at his desk, as had been his 
 custom, and scarcely able to reach the 
 office, and there was talk of his resigna- 
 tion, and grave fears for the future finan- 
 ces of the State were expressed. In this 
 emergency an attentive clerk found that 
 the floor where the deputy had so long 
 stood had been worn away so that an ob- 
 durate nail protuded, and it was standing 
 upon this nail which had worked the woe. 
 One blow of the hammer saved the State. 
 Mr. Phelps was an able man, and his serv- 
 ices in the office made him invaluable to 
 the frequently-changing Comptrollers. 
 At his death high testimonies to his 
 worth and character were given by San- 
 ford E. Church, Thomas Hillhouse, Wm. 
 F. Allen, Robert H. Pruyn, John V. L. 
 Pruyn, and many others. A meeting of 
 State officers was held, at which Wm. 
 Dorsheimer, then Lieutenant-Governor, 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 presided, and resolutions expressing his 
 great worth and service were adopted. 
 It was well said that " no prospect of pe- 
 cuniary advantage could swerve him from 
 the strictest line of triith and justice." 
 
 Mr. Phelps was succeeded by Henry 
 Gallien, who worthily filled the office 
 from 187610 1884, when he died. Thomas 
 E. Benedict held the ofifice from 1884 to 
 1886. He has since been Deputy Secre- 
 tary of State and Public Printer at Wash- 
 ington, and in all positions has acquitted 
 himself as an able and upright man. 
 Charles R. Hall succeeded to the ofifice 
 for a little more than a year, and was him- 
 self succeeded by Zerah S. Westbrook, 
 who had the ofifice for four years, from 
 January i, 1888, to January i, 1892. Cal- 
 vin J. Huson was Deputy Comptroller 
 during Mr. Campbell's term. At the end 
 of his term he was succeeded by Colonel 
 William J. Morgan, who still holds the 
 office. 
 
 The custom seems to have grown up 
 in these degenerate times to make the 
 term of the deputy co-terminous with 
 83 
 
A Century in the 
 
 that of Comptroller. This is of doubtful 
 propriety. Too many men of tried integ- 
 rity, familiar with their duties, cannot be 
 retained in such an ofifice. But the dan- 
 ger which would naturally be expected 
 from a frequent change in both Comp- 
 troller and deputy has thus far been 
 avoided by the retention, through suc- 
 ceeding administrations, of some of the 
 most important clerks. Willis E. Merri- 
 man has now been in service in the Comp- 
 troller's office for thirty-one years, and, 
 having worked up from the lowest to the 
 highest service in the department, is fa- 
 miliar with all its details, and his services 
 have thus become indispensable. Upon 
 the creation of the office of Second 
 Deputy Comptroller, in 1895, he was ap- 
 pointed to that position, and he has since 
 discharged its duties with the fidelity and 
 intelligence with which eveiy Comptroller 
 for manyyears has found him fortunately 
 endowed. 
 
 No sketch of the office is complete 
 without mention of George H. Birchall. 
 He came into the office in 1883, at the 
 84 
 
CWvWi 
 
 i(i?crLe 
 
 30th COMPTROLLER 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 time of the abolition of the Canal Aud- 
 itor's office. He had served seventeen 
 years in the last-named office. He has 
 had charge of the canal accounts since 
 their transfer to the Comptroller's office, 
 and has rendered most efficient service. 
 Messrs. Williams and Bliss came into the 
 office in 1877, ^n<^ Mr. Graham in 1882. 
 Several employees have been in the de- 
 partment's service for six or eight years 
 or more, and no department of the State 
 government is better equipped with hon- 
 est, faithful, public servants than is the 
 Comptroller's office. 
 
 It can be seen from the foregoing that 
 the duties of the Comptroller's ofiF.ce are 
 varied and important. The boards of 
 which he is a member give some indi- 
 cation of this fact. He is ex-officio a 
 member of the State Board of Canvass- 
 ers ; of the Board of the Commission- 
 ers of the Land Office ; of the Board 
 of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund ; 
 of the Canal Board ; of the State Com- 
 missioners of Charities ; of the board 
 to fix prices for prison made products ; 
 85 
 
A Century in the 
 
 of the board for the establishment of 
 State insane asylum districts, etc.; of the 
 legislative printing board ; of the depart- 
 ment printing board, and one of the 
 officers to designate the State paper. He 
 manages the finances of the State so far 
 even as to supervise the expenditures of 
 the State institutions. He designates 
 the banks in which funds of all institu- 
 tions shall be deposited. He levies and 
 collects the tax on corporations ; super- 
 vises the collection of the transfer tax, 
 and sells the lands of delinquent taxpay- 
 ers in the counties in which are included 
 a part of the Forest Preserve. He audits 
 all accounts against the State ; acts as a 
 court in applications for cancellations of 
 tax deeds or sales, and in disputed corpo- 
 ration tax matters ; examines the court 
 and trust funds deposited with the treas- 
 urer of every county in the State, and 
 regulates the form of accounts and the 
 manner of their investment, and per- 
 forms many other less important duties 
 too numerous for mention. 
 
 Of the men who have held the office 
 86 
 
Deputy Comptroller, 46 Years, 
 
Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 of Comptroller nineteen were lawyers ; 
 three were gentlemen farmers ; three 
 bankers ; one a merchant ; one a manu- 
 facturer ; one a capitalist, and two were 
 business men. In politics two were 
 Federalists ; fifteen Democrats (includ- 
 ing under the word Democrats original 
 Republicans, whether Clintonians or 
 otherwise) ; four Whigs ; two Anti-Ma- 
 sons ; six Republicans, and one Ameri- 
 can or Know Nothing. 
 
 The total expenditures of the State 
 for each tenth year since the establish- 
 ment of the ofifice were as follows : 
 
 1797 $322,831 37 
 
 1807 425,689 69 
 
 1 81 7 1,296,590 88 
 
 1827 1,908,346 73 
 
 1837 4,926,449 04 
 
 1847 5,275,164 09 
 
 1857 10,176,939 70 
 
 1867 20,496,050 59 
 
 1877 *26,i86,744 70 
 
 1887 16,771,448 98 
 
 1897 26,510,425 -n 
 
 * Includes $10,453,805.95 bounty debt. 
 87 
 
A Century in the 
 
 Each of these would very nearly rep- 
 resent the average annual expenditures 
 for the decade which it ends. 
 
 The total expenditures of the National 
 Government for the year 1797 were 
 $8,625,877.37, and if we deduct from this 
 the amounts paid for interest, and pay- 
 ments upon the public debt, it leaves the 
 amount of ordinary expenditure but 
 $2,836,110.52. The ordinary expenditures 
 of the National Government did not 
 reach the amount expended in this State 
 for the year 1896 until the year 1847, if 
 we except the years 1813, 1814 and 181 5, 
 when the expenditures were abnormal 
 by reason of the War of 1812, and if we 
 except also the years 1837 ^^^^ 1838, and 
 in none of those excepted years did 
 the annual ordinary expenditures very 
 greatly exceed this State's expenditure 
 for 1896. 
 
 During the century, the State has 
 expended for lands, construction, enlarge- 
 ment or permanent improvement : 
 
 Of its five canals $74,347,000 00 
 
 Of its new Capitol 22,254,023 60 
 
 88 
 
2ci Deputy Comptroller 
 Connected with the office 31 years 
 
Comptroller s Office. 
 
 Of the twelve hospitals erected 
 
 by it $15,204,099 59 
 
 Of its seventeen other charitable 
 
 institutions 6,369,110 70 
 
 Of its forty-five armories and 
 
 arsenals 3.349.543 73 
 
 Of its three State prisons 4,528,058 65 
 
 Of its twelve normal schools . . . 1,826,350 06 
 
 Making a total expenditure for 
 those various purposes of . . . . $127,878,186 33 
 
 Far the greater part of this money has 
 been handled by, and drawn on the war- 
 rant of, the Comptroller, and no suspicion 
 has ever arisen that this duty was not 
 honestly performed. Nearly all of the 
 sinking funds of the various bonded debts 
 of the State have been managed by the 
 Comptrollers, who, in these 100 years, 
 have never been the occasion of the loss 
 of a single dollar. 
 
 Jenkins, in his political history of New 
 York, says that the Comptroller bears the 
 same relation to the State that the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury does to the National 
 Government, and this is largely true. I 
 cannot do better in closing this brief 
 89 
 
A Century in the Comptroller' s Office. 
 
 sketch of the Comptroller's office than 
 by quoting from Thurlow Weed's auto- 
 biography. His opportunities for, and 
 keenness of, observation make his state- 
 ment of peculiar value. He says: "It 
 seems proper to say, amid all the muta- 
 tions of party, and the liability under our 
 form of popular government to occasion- 
 ally find unworthy men elevated to high 
 places, our State has ever been singularly 
 fortunate in its highest financial officer. 
 We have had unfaithful men in almost 
 every other department of the State Gov- 
 ernment. We have had, in two or three 
 instances, comparatively weak men in the 
 office of Comptroller, but as a rule its 
 incumbents have been capable, firm and 
 incorruptible." 
 
 90