Please handle this volume with care. The University of Connecticut Libraries, Storrs / hbl,stx E 415.9.W39A22 1877 . Selections from the newspaper arti 3 T1S3 DDSm7Efl M 4^- I—' N5 00 ^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/selectionsfromneOOweed SELEOTIOl^S FROM THE l^EWSPAPER ARTICLES Thuelow Weed. ALBANY: WEED, PAKSONS AND COMPANY, PRINTERS. 1877. ^15 PREFACE. These selections from articles written bj my grandfather at various times for the Newspaper Press have been reprinted without his knuwledge, and merely in the hope that in this form they inay prove an acceptable gift to him on New Year Day, 1878. Materials for such a volume have been faithfully gathered and preserved for many years by a devoted daughter ; but in the short time allotted for the preparation of the present work it has been found impossible to incorporate in it many important letters and editorials that are now conspicuously absent. The following pages, however, while they are not intended for general circulation*, may serve as reminiscences of an earnest, beneficent and honorable life. THURLOW WEED BARNES. TABLE OF OOISTTEI^TS. PAGE. First Agricultural Fair (Chenango County, 1818) 1 " My First Salmon " (Onondaga County, 1810) 6 Onondaga Reminiscences (Mickel's Furnace, 1812) 9 Newspaper Reminiscences (1812-1815) 11 A Veteran Legislator (S. G. Throop, 1818-1820) 16 Herkimer County Centennial Celebration (Reminiscences, 1813) 19 Letter to Chenango Telegraph (S. S. Randall, 1818) 23 Rochester Theatre (1826) 26 Letter to N. T. Typographical Association (1851) 27 Play Actors, etc., Fifty Years Ago 35 Gov. Clinton and Peter H. Livingstone (1817) 36 Edwin Croswell's Letter (Peter R. Livingstone, etc., 1817) 38 Surviving Members of Early Legislatures 39 Politicians of Long Ago (1818-1824) 43 Establishment of The Albany Evening Journal (1830) 47 " A Good Enough Morgan " (1826) 51 The Great " Webster Dinner " (1831) 61 Stage Coach Traveling Fifty Years Ago 73 Secret Political History (1839) 91 Valedictory {Albany Eveniny Journal, 1863) 95 Unwritten Chapter of History {N. Y. Herald, 1861) 98 Relief for Suffering Operatives in England (1862) 103 The " Trent " Difficulty {London Times, 1862) 104 Can King Cotton be Dethroned ? {London Obseroer, 1862) 108 Letter to Abraham Wakeman, Esq. (Presidential Election, 1864) 112 War Record of Es-Secretary Chase (1864) 121 Horace Greeley — A Congressional Candidate (1870) 125 Horace Greeley's Birthday (1870) 137 Diplomatic Incidents (1850-1861) 149 Queen Victoria and America (1861) 164 Lieiiteuant-General Winfield Scott (1814-1862) 170 The Late Sir Henry Holland 178 Presidential Campaign, 1872 180 Questions of the Day (1873) 184 The Financial Crisis (1873) 190 Legislative Purity (1826-1873) 192 vi Table of Contents. PAGE. Legislative Integrity (1873) 194 State Gubernatorial Canvass (1874) 197 A Centennial Celebration, Not an Exposition (1874) 201 Integrity of Past State Administrations (S. J. Tilden, 1874) 205 Temperance Agitations 209 Legislative Compliment to Mr. Weed (1824-1874) 212 Stolen Watch Recovered 215 Letter to V. W. Smith, Esq. (Political Review) 216 Andrew Johnson's Return to the U. S. Senate (1875) 229 Board of Emigration in N. Y. City 232 The Bible in the Public Schools 236 Religious Revivals — " Moody and Sankey " 237 Canal Frauds 241 The Political Situation in 1876 246 Letter to Albany Evening Journal (Political Situation, 1876) 247 Democratic State Ticl^et (1876) 252 Political Prospects (1876) _, 253 Non-partisan Government (1877) 256 Moses H. Grinnell, Esq 260 H. S. Sanf ord, Esq. (Minister to Belgium) 263 Newspaper Typography 266 Resumption of Specie Payments 267 The President's Manifesto (1874) 269 The Silver Controversy 371 Silver as Lawful Money 274 Ancient Use of Silver 278 The Silver Question 283 Unlimited Silver 289 Letter to N. Y. Press Association 296 SKETCHES AND LETTERS. PIEST AGEICULTUKAL FAIK IN CHEJSTANGO COUE'TT m 1819. Carbon Cliff, Rock Island County, Illinois, Septemhe?' 8th, 1869. Ed's Telegraph : — The following account of the first Agricultural Fair ever held in Chenango county, I find in a copy of "The Plough Boy'''' published at Albany, N". Y., September 25th, 1819, just half a century ago. The article was written by the Hon. Thuiiow Weed, and I presume will be read with much interest by the friends and descendants of those who took a prominent part in the agricultural matters at that early day. Toui-s Truly, Sara S. Thomas. TARMERS' HOLIDAY. [From the Republican Agriculturist, Norwich, Chenango Co., Sept. 23, 1819.] The first Cattle Show and Fair of the Chenango County Agricultural Society was holden in this village on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week ; and the prediction we made a short time since, that the 22d and 23d of September would be " proud days for Chenango " was most fully and amply verified. The weather was extremely beautiful and lent much interest to the occasion. We have only room this week for a brief description. 2 Selections from the Newspaper First Day — Tuesday. The animals, manufactures, and other productions offered for premimn were entered and classed in the forenoon — at one o'clock the Society sat down to a good home-spun dinner — at two the Viewing Committee commenced their duties which occupied the remainder of the day. Second Day — Wednesday. At ten the procession formed under the direction of Col. Pike, marshal of the day, assisted by Brigade Quarter-Master Morgan, and moved through the principal streets, around the public square to the Presbyterian meeting houses in the follow- ing order : — Citizens and Spectators. A plough, drawn by the first best Gelding horse and held by the Chairman of the Committee on Tillage. American Standard, with appropriate emblems. Members of the Society. President of the Society and the Rev. Clergy. The exer- cises in the church commenced by a national air from the choir, and the Rev. Mr. Clark, at its conclusion, made an ani- mated, feeling, and most appropriate prayer. The President of the institution, Mr. Uri Tracj-, pronounced a plain, intelli- gent, and truly useful address. The following premiums were then proclaimed by the President and presented by the Mar- shal. (9??/ Manufactures. For the best piece of fulled cloth, five dollars, to Mrs, Eliza- beth Brown ; second best, four dollars, to Thomas Brown ; third best, three dollars. Miss Polly Garnsey. Por the best piece of woman's pressed flannel, six dollars, to Mrs. Fanny Ransford ; second best flannel, five dollars, to Mrs, Elizabeth Brown ; third best flannel, four dollars, to Mrs. Phelinda Kent ; fourth best flannel, three dollars, to Mrs. Fanny Ransford. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 3 For the best piece of flannel, three dollars, to Miss Priscilla Welling. For the best piece of table linen, four dollars, to Miss Poll}^ Garnsej ; second best table linen, three dollars, to Miss Phe- linda Kent ; third best table linen, two dollars, to Mrs. North. For the best piece of linen shirting, six dollars, to Miss Har- riet Bennet; second best piece of shirting, five dollars, to Thomas W. Randall. For the best cheese, five dollars, to Mark Patterson ; second best cheese, four dollars, to Samuel Cole ; third best cheese, three dollars, to Phelinda Kent. For the best fanning mill, four dollars, to John Bowing. For the best plough, six dollars, to Joel Hendrick. On Domestic Animals. For the best stud horse kept in the county, ten dollars, to Giles Briggs ; second best stud horse, five dollars, to Thomas North. For the best breeding mare and colt, five dollars, to John Harris ; second best mare and colt, four dollars, to Stephen Medbmy. For the best gelding horse, five dollars, to Haskel Eansford ; second best horse, four dollars, to Truman Enos ; third best horse, two dollars, to John Harris. For the best yoke of oxen, ten dollars, to Hascal Pansford ; second best yoke, eight dollars, to Edmond G. Perlee ; third best yoke, six dollars, to Samuel Kent. For the best milch cow, eight dollars, to Ira Noble ; second best cow, six dollars, to Henry Yan DerLyn ; third best cow, four dollars, to Penuel Jewel. For the best pair of three year old steers, six dollars, to Hascal Pansf ord ; second best pair of three year old steers, five dollars, to Hascal Ransford ; third best pair of three year old steers, three dollars, to Hascal Ransford. For the best pair of two year old steers, four dollars, to John Pellet ; second best two year old steers, three dollars, to Isaac S. Bockee ; third best two year old steers, two dollars, to Isaac S. Bockee. 4: Selections fkom the Newspaper For the best three year old heifer, five dollars, to Peter B. Garnsey ; second best heifer, four dollars, to James Thompson ; third best heifer, three dollars, to H. Ransford. For the best bull calf, five dollars, to Philander Raymond ; second best calf, three dollars, to Joel Thomson ; third best calf, two dollars, to John Randall. For the best ram, five dollars, to Asa Pellet ; second best ram, four dollars, to Ephraim Wells ; third best ram, three dol- lars, to Hezekiah Brown. For the best hog, four dollars, to Obadiah German ; and for the four best pigs, four dollars, to Hezekiah Brown. The premiums offered on agricultural productions could not be awarded, in consequence of the impracticability of candi- dates ascertaining the character and quantity of their crops at so early a period of the season. The Society meets again for that purpose in March next. After the premiums were awarded and thanks returned to the Throne of Grace, the procession again formed in the same order, returned to Mr. Steere's and partook of a second " holi- day dinner." One hundred and sixteen animals were offered for pre- miums, and many more were driven in for exhibition, and although premiums could not be awarded on all, yet their numbers and appearance enhanced the pleasures of the Fair, and reflected great credit on the praiseworthy emulation of their owners. The calves offered by Messrs. Randall, Ray- mond, Thompson and others, excited the most lively interest. They were of the first order. That of Mr. Randall, which was but eleven months old, was much larger than the ordinary two years old, and that of Mr. Raymond, only six months old, larger than a yearling. Judge Gary's was but about four months old, and quite as large as the common yearlings. Indeed, most of the young cattle were Highly creditable to the county — and this fact is the strongest and most conclusive comment on the utility of the Society. Hezekiah Brown exhibited a lot of pigs, which attracted the attention of every eye. They were a pleasing sight, consist- ing of a sow with two litters of pigs, nine in each litter, Articles of Thuelow Weed. 5 all looking so exactly alike that it was impossible to dis- tinguish them. The first nine were but six months, and tlie others two weeks old. Good judges give it as their opinion that the nine eldest would average one hundred and fifty pounds each. We know of no better way of getting at the interest which this group excited than to state the fact that Mr. Brown was twice offered, and refused one hundi'ed dollars for them. General German exhibited a fine healthy shoat, which had gained one pound a day since its birth. Among the vegetable productions, three mammoth squashes were exhibited. Two of which, the one weighing seventy and the other seventy-two pounds, were raised by Stephen Hopkins, the third one, we believe, was raised in liiew Berlin. A beautiful water-melon weighing twenty-one and one-half pounds was exhibited by Asa Pellett. Chester Hammond, of Smyrna, exhibited a number of the celebrated Ruta Baga or Swedish turnips, weighing from nine to ten pounds each. — Mr. H. is cultivating an acre of this valuable root, which promises to yield a large and excellent crop. It would be great injustice to omit the mention of some articles of domestic manufacture. The woolen cloth exhibited by Mrs. Brown ; the shirting by Mrs. Bennet, and the table linen by Miss Garnsey, both for beauty and value would do no discredit to a Manchester or Birmingham manufactory. The woolen cloth of Thomas Brown, the pressed flannel of Mrs. Ransford, and the table linen of Mrs. ISTorth were all val- uable specimens of industry and genius. The Yiewing Com- mittee spoke in the most flattering terms of the success of manufacturing candidates. The Marshal of the day. Col. Pike, is entitled to much praise for the interest he manifested in rendering the proces- sion and other ceremonies appropriate and pleasing. The liberality of Mr. Steere merits particular notice. This gentleman went to the voluntary expense of fitting up the pens and yards. — He also prepared an excellent dinner for the Society each day, only requiring thirty cents per meal. 6 Selections from the Newspaper IV e are all well assured that the most sanguine expectations of the warmest friends of the institution were more than real- ized. For the first, its essay was brilliant beyond all calcula- tion. — The friends of the Society were strengthened, the wavering confirmed, the skeptic converted, and its enemies, if indeed it had any, abashed and confounded. It is Avith the most heartfelt satisfaction we state that it received an acces- sion of eighty new members during the days of the Fair. "When one looks forward to the boundless benefits which are to flow from this most exalted institution, he is lost in ecstacies ; and while his view is extending over this wide-spreading scene of joy and usefulness, every other object cowers into insignificance. Farmers of Chenango, the field of plenty and abundance invites you to its bosom — the storehouse of virtue and happi- ness is extended to your reach — the path of glory is budding and blossoming under your feet — pursue it with diligence and zeal — peace and content will accompany you to the verge of this world, when you will go down to the grave as a shock of corn " fully ripe " but at the heavenly harvest a germ will ascend upward to the presence of our God, ripen into perfec- tion, and be inducted to the ambrosial arbors of paradise. " MY FIEST SALMON." A. D. 1810. THTJKLOW WEED S CAPTURE OF A SALMON W^HEN A BOY. To the Editor of the JST. Y. TriUme : Sir : Mr. Dawson of the Albany Evening Journal^ who, accompanied by Collector Arthur, an equally enthusiastic ang- ler, has just returned from a salmon fishing excursion upon a Nova Scotia river high up in the Northern latitudes, is giving Akticles of Thuelow Weed. . 7 the readers of that journal, letters wliich enable them to share imaginatively in the toils and the rewards of a most interesting expedition. Mr. Dawson's reputation for trout fishing was well established, but this was his first visit to rivers in which the salmon " most do congregate." Gen. Arthur, I believe, had been a fisher of salmon on former occasions. I cannot err, I think, in saying that Mr. Dawson's vivid and glowing- description of the capture of his " first salmon " is quite worthy of a place in the columns. of the Tribune. The slight twitch I felt as the fly slipped from the mouth of the fish operated like the sound of a trumpet. Every nerve tingled, and the blood leaped through my veins as if every drop was an electric battery. In a very few moments, how- ever, I was myself again. I had marked the spot where the fish had risen, had gathered up my line for another cast, had dropped the fiy, like a snowfiake, just where I desired it to rest, when, like a flash, the same enormous head appeared, the same open jaws revealed themselves, a swirl and a leap and a strike followed, and my first salmon was hooked with a thud, which told me as plainly as if the operation had transpired within the range of my vision, that if I lost him it would be my own fault. When thus assured, there was excitement but no flurry. My nerves thrilled, and every muscle assumed the tension of well-tempered steel, but I realized the full sublimity of the occasion, and a sort of majestic calmness took the place of the stupid inaction which followed the first apparition. My untested rod bent under the pressure in a graceful curve ; my reel clicked out a livelier melody than ever emanated from harp or hautboy as the astonished fish made his first dash ; the tensioned line emitted seolian music as it stretched and stiff- ened under the strain to which it was subjected, and for fifty minutes there was such giving and taking, such sulking and rushing, such leaping and tearing, such hoping and fearing, as would have " injected life into the ribs of death ; " made an anchorite dance in very ecstacy, and caused any true angler to believe that his heart was a kettle drum, every sinew a jews- harp, and the whole framework of his excited nerves a full band of music. And during all this time my canoe rendered eflicient service in keeping even pace with the eccentric move- ments of the struggling lish. " Hold him head up, if possi- ble," was the counsel given me, and " make him work for every inch of line." Whether, therefore, he took fifty yards or a foot, I tried to make hiin pull for it," and then to regain whatever was taken as soon as possible. The result was an in- cessant clicking of the reel, either in paying out or in taking 8 Selections fkom the ISTewspapee in, with an occasional iluny and leap which could have been no more prevented than the onrushing of a locomotive. Any attempt to have suddenly checked him by making adequate resistance, would have made leader, line or rod a wreck in an instant. All that it was proper or safe to do was to give to each just the amount of strain and pressure it could bear with safety — not an ounce more nor an ounce less ; and I believe that I measured the pressure so exactly that the strain upon my rod did not vary Kalf an ounce from the first to the last of the struggle. Toward the close of the fight, when it was evident that the " j^& ^^® ^^P " ^^^ I f®^^ myseK master of the situation, I took my stand upon a projecting point in the river, where the water was shallow and where the most favorable opportunity possible was afforded the gaffer to give the struggling fish the final death thrust, and so end the battle. It was skillfully done. The first plunge of the gaff brought him to the green sward, and there lay out before me, in all his silver beauty and magnificent proportions, my first sahnon. He weighed thirty pounds, plump ; measured nearly four feet in length ; was killed m fifty minutes, and afforded me more pleasure than any event since — well, say since Lee surrendered. It is said that when the good old Dr. Bethune landed his first salmon, " he caressed it as fondly as he ever caressed his first born." I could only stand over mine in speechless admiration and delight — pant- ing with fatigue, trembling in very ecstacy, and exclaiming with good old Sir Izaak : " As Dr. Boteler said of strawber- ries, ' Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did ; ' and so, if I may judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling." This victory was a surfeit for the morning. With other fish in full view, ready to give me a repetition of the grand sport I had already experienced, I made no other cast, and retired perfectly contented. The beautiful fish was laid down lov- ingly in the bottom of the canoe and borne in triumph to camp, where fish and fisher were given such hearty welcome amid such hilarious enthusiasm as was befitting " the cause and the occasion." " In the afternoon of the same day I killed a twenty- three pound salmon in the same pool in twenty minutes — having, I was sorry to learn on getting back to camp, monopolized the luck of the day, no other member of the party having had so much as a rise." I had no thought of adding a word to the foregoing, but it has reminded me of the killing of my " first salmon," an account of which, though it will be but a tame affair after read- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 9 ing Mr. Dawson's thrilling extract, maj be found to possess some historical interest. In the Spring of I8IO5 with two other boys, I was walking of a pleasant evening in the vicinity of the Onondaga Creek, a mile and a half south of the site of the present city of Syra- cuse, then a tangled swamp, inhabited mainly by frogs, watei"- snakes, and owls. Upon the creek stood Wood's mill, below which for several rods were rifts. Our attention and sur^Drise were excited by seeing bright lights moving, as we supposed, along the banks of the creek. On approaching, however, we discovered Onondaga Indians with pine knot torches and clubs killing salmon, whose fins and backs were seen as they were ascending the creek in shallow water over the rifts. The Indi- ans good naturedly lent us clubs and gave us the benefit of their torches, until each had captured a salmon, with which we departed for our homes in jubilant spirits. Most of the in- habitants of Syracuse will find it hard to believe that salmon were ever taken south of that city. And yet such is the fact? for which my friend Philo D. Mickels, recently deceased, would have vouched, as he was one of my companions on that occa- sion. T. W. ]^EW ToRK, August 22, 1874. ONOOT)AGA EEMmiSCEI^CES. A. D. 1812. [Prom the Syracuse Journal.] TWO LETTERS EROM THURLOW WEED OLD TIMES EST ONOKDAGA COUNTY. The following letters, written by Hon. Thurlow Weed to Hon. Lewis T. Redfield, of this city, contain several reminis- cences which will interest many readers : JSTew York, April 26, 18T4. Dear Mr. Redfield — I thank you for sending me the obitu- ary notices of my old friend Mickels, who was, I think, the last 2 10 Selections from the I^ewspapee survivor of mj early Onondaga acquaintances. I worked in Miclvels' farnace when cannon-balls were being cast for the Government in 1812. The "old Dinah" who attended Mr. Mickels' funeral, was not, as described in the obituary, a " squaw," but an unmistakable African slave. " Dinah" was Mr. Mickels' cook. Some twenty furnace men were regaled regularly at a long table, in a longer kitchen, with fried fat pork for breakfast, boiled fat pork for dinner, with mush and milk for supper. " Dinah" officiated as cook and waitress. Although sixty years have passed, I have a distinct remem- brance of her shining black face, her thick lips and woolly head. It was said, with how much truth I cannot say, that the Secretary of the IN^avy ordered Captain Woolsey, with the United States brig Oneida, to proceed through Oswego river to Onondaga lake to receive the shot made for the Government from Mickels' furnace. Yery truly yours, Thuelow Weed. This was literally true. Judge Forman showed me at the time the letter of Secretary Armstrong, notifying the Judge that he had given such an order. It was noticed in many papers of the day, and created much mirth at the expense of the worthy Secretary of War. L. T. R. New Toek, Deo. 17, 187-1. My Deae Sie — Your long and interesting letter, together with a copy of the Lynx came by the same mail, and were most welcome. I remember Capt. Thadcleus Patchin, the worthy blacksmith, who lived about midway between Adams' stage house and Hawley's store. He used to come, with his leather apron, to the Lynx office, on publication days, and wait for an early copy. I remember all the old inhabitants named in your letter. I remember also an exciting interview between Mr. Fay and Reuben Humphrey, on his way back from Albany, when Gov. Tompkins prorogued the Legislature. The Senator warmly denounced the Governor, while Mr. Fay with equal warmth, but with harder words, defended the prorogation. Akticdes of Thuklow Weed. 11 The late Oliver R. Strong then lived on the West Hill, and was constable of the town of Onondaga. I am greatly obliged to you for a copy of the Lynx, which, after I have looked it carefully over, shall be returned to you, even if I fail to get another. I intend to give my file of the Onondaga {Manlius) JRepublican to your Historical Associa- tion. Yery truly yours, Thurlow Weed. NEWSPAPER REMINISCENCES. A. D. 1812-1818. THE LATE AZARIAH C. ELAGG AND THE EARLY NEWSPAPER PRESS. A TRIBUTE BY THURLOW WEED. To the Editor of the ]V. Y. Trihune : Sir : Mayor Havemeyer's comprehensive, appropriate and very just tribute to the character and services of Mr. Flagg, turned my thoughts back to the period of his usefulness, and to the men with whom he was associated in the public service, nearly all of whom preceded him to their final rest. Of the members of the Legislature of 1823, in which Mr. Flagg first served, Samuel L. Edwards of Onondaga county is, I believe, the only survivor. Of the more memorable Legislature of 1824 there are three surviving members of the Assembly, and one, of the Senate. That Senator, the Hon. Heman J. Red- field of Batavia, now 84 or 85 years of age, but in good health and with unimpaired faculties, attended the funeral of Mr. Flagg, his early and lifelong political and personal friend. Mr. Red- field was Collector of the Port of New York while Mr. Flagg was its City Comptroller. Among the statesmen with whom Mr. Flagg affiliated more closely than with his other contempo- raries was Michael Hofi'man. Two of the three surviving members of the Assembly of 1824 were, like Mr. Flagg, printers. It singularly happened 12 Selections feom the I^ewspaper that four printers and editors of newspapers were elected to that House of Assembly, viz. : Mr. Flagg of The Plattsburg Republican^ John F. Hubbard of The Norwich Journal. Oran FoUett of The Batavia Advocate, and Isaac Riggs of The Schenectady Cabinet, the three first belonging to the " Buck- tail," and the latter to the " Clintonian " party. Mr. Hubbard still resides at ^Norwich, where I visited him two years ago. Mr. Follett is a resident of Sandusky, Ohio. Gen. Christo- pher P. Bellinger, of Herkimer, is the other surviving member. I attended the three sessions of that Legislature by which Presidential Electors were chosen, as an ardent supporter of John Quincy Adams, becoming not only acquainted, but inti- mate, through all subsequent years, with its distinguished members. James Talbnadge and Henry "Wheaton were elo- quent and impressive in debate. Mr. Flagg was clear and forcible as a speaker, and influential in council. James Mul- lett, though seldom taking part in debate, was earnest and eloquent. He closed his useful life as Judge of the Eighth Circuit, leaving the ermine which graced his shoulders, all the brighter for having been worn by a man of judicial wisdom and integrity. Those now connected with the newspaper press will per- haps be interested in comparing its condition when Mr. Flagg entered the field, with the present state of journalism. In 1812, about the time that Mr. Flagg established The Platts- burg Republican, I was an apprentice in the olfice of The Lynx at Onondaga Hollow. We received in " exchange " nearly all the newspapers published in this State, each of which, in complexion and typography, was as familiar as the faces of many intimate friends. I kept files of them, some of which are still in my possession. In this city, The Gazette, published by Lang <&, Turner, and The Mercantile Adiiertiser, by Mr. But- ler, comprised the list of morning daily papers ; while The Com- mercial Advertiser, The Evening Post, and The Columbian, completed the list of evening journals. Of these, all but the Columbian were Federal papers. A son of Mr. Holt, editor and publisher of The Columbian, now residing in Brooklyn, so strongly resembles his father in form, face, and manner, that I never see the former without being startled with the Articles of Thuelow Weed. 13 impression that the one who has been dead nearly half a cen- tury stands before me. There was no newspaper then published either on Long Island or in Westchester county. The Orange County Patriot^ then published at Goshen, was printed on a sheet as yellow as the bills of what was then known as the " Butter Bank." There was a paper at ISTewburo;, published by Ward M. Gazly. The Journal ( Federal ) and a Eepublican paper, the name of which I cannot remember, were published at Poughkeepsie. The Pleheian was published at Kingston by Jesse Buel, who, in 1814, established The Albany Argtis. The Recorder, by Mackay Croswell ( father of Edwin Croswell), was published at Catskill. The Bee, a Republican paper, was published at Hudson, Its Federal rival. The Balance, by Harry Croswell, had recently been discontinued. The Register, by Solomon Southwick, and The Gazette, by Websters & Skinners, were organs, respectively, of the Federal and Repub- lican parties. Rensselaer county had two newspapers. The Northern Budget (Republican), by Francis Adincourt, at Troy, and The Gazette (Federal ), by Tracy & Bliss, at Lansing- burgh. There was a Republican paper at Ballston Spa, whose mineral spring attracted a few visitors in the Summer season. Saratoga and its healthy and delicious Congress spring water was then of little or no account. There was a Federal paper published at Salem, Washington Co. At Johnstown, Montgom- ery Co., there was a Federal and a Republican paper. The American was published at Herkimer by Henry Prentiss, who was succeeded, in 1813, by the late William L. Stone, who was subsequently distinguished as editor of Tfie Hudson Whig, The Hartford Mirror, The Albany Daily Advertiser, and finally, until the close of his life, of The New York Commercial Advertiser. The Otsego Herald, by Judge Phinney, and The Federalist, by Col. J. H. Prentiss, were published at Coopers- town. I believe that the late James Percival then published a paper in Chenango Co. At Utiea, The Columbian Gazette, by Thomas Walker, and The Utica Herald, by Ira Merrill^ were published. In the counties north of Oneida there were no newspapers. At Cazenovia, Oran E. Baker published The Pilot. At Manlius, Onondaga county, Leonard Kellogg pub- 14 Selections from the 1*^ewspapee lislied The Times, while at Onondaga Hollow Thomas Chitten- den Fay published The Lynx^the former intensely Federal and the latter vehemently Republican. The Lynx, established in 1811, collapsed in 1812. That publication was succeeded in ISll by The Onondaga Register, with the now venerable Lewis H. Redlield, who has just completed his 80th year, as proprietor and editor. The now large, enterprising and intel- ligent City of Syracuse had then no existence in name or in fact. There was.a waspish Federal paper published at Auburn by H. and J. H. Pace. Eoyal T. Chamberlain established The Tocsin, a Republican paper, at Spring Mills, Caynga County, in the Summer of 1812. The Gazette, a Federal paper, was published at Geneva by James Bogart. The Hej^osi- tory (Federal ), by James D. Bemis, and The Messenger (Re- publican), by John A. Stevens, were published at Canandaigua The late John C. Spencer, then a young lawyer of Canandai- gua, wrote all the editorials for The Messenger. There was a paper at Batavia, The Cornucojoia, bnt whether published by Mr. Blodget or Mr. Seaver ( father of my friend William A. Seaver of the Adriatic Insnrance Company, who does the " Drawer " and the " Personals " for Harpers' periodicals), I cannot remember. The brothers Salisbury published a .Fede- ral paper at Buffalo. The cities and villages of Rochester. Waterloo, Palmyra, Lyons, Albion, Lockport, etc., were not then even dreamed of ; nor had the counties of Oswego, Wayne, Monroe, Orleans, ITiagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Livingston, Tompkins, Chemung, Yates, or Schuyler, been erected. The above list comprises all or nearly all of the newspapers published in ISTew York sixty-one years ago. They were circulated through the sparsely populated towns in the various counties by post-riders, who received in their one-horse wagons quarterly or half-yearly agricnltnral products in pay- ment. Pictorial embellishments were then in their rudest infancy. The spelling-book was illnstrated by a " Rnde Boy Stealing Apples," a fox looking philosophically at bunches of " Grapes " which were supposed to be "sour" because they were beyond his reach, and a suspicious rat looking at a meal tub nnder which Grimalkin was concealed. The newspapers w^ere still Akticles of Thurlow Weed. 15 more scantily supplied with illustrations. For many years they contained a standing advertisement, extolling the virtues of Dr. Somebody's "Vegetable Detergent," a sovereign remedy for consumption, graced with a sorry looking " Good Samari- tan." The ISTew York City papers contained for several years an advertisement of Dr. Home, to which attention was attracted by a pestle and mortar, in which his infallible reme- dies were compounded. Runaway apprentices and slaves were expected to be identified by a small cut representing the fugi- tive in full retreat, with a stick, to which was attached a hand- kerchief containing his scanty wardrobe, over his shoulder. These, with small cuts of ships and houses for such advertise- ments, then constituted the whole pictorial stock in trade of the newspaper j^ress. There were no periodical publications in the State in 1812. IS^or do I remember a literary or miscellaneous magazine except The Museum^ j^ublished in this city by James Oram. A republication of The Ed'inljurgh and other Quarterly Ee- A'iews by Kirk & Mercian, commenced in this city soon after the war of 1812. There were then but few book printers, and they were mostly employed in the publication of Dil- worth's and Webster's Spelling Books, The Columbian Orator, Beauties oJ^' the Bible, English Eeader and othel* standard or popular school books. I was personally acquainted with almost all the editors of the journals I have named, and worked as an apprentice or journeyman, between the years 1808 and 1818j in the ofiices of The Catshill Recorder, The Albany Register and Gazette, The IleTkimer American, The Otsego Herald, The Coojperstown Federalist, The Columhian Gazette, The Cazenovia Pilot, The Manlius Times, The Onondaga Lynx, The Cayuga Patriot {or Rej)id)lican), The Cayuga Toc- sin and 7'he Ontario Repository. Of the names of the newspapers I have mentioned the following only remain unchanged : The New York Commercicd Advertiser and The Evening Post, The Catskill Recorder, and The North- ern Budget. Of their publishers and editors, Mr. Flagg was the last survivor. Mr. Keclfield now becomes Father of the I^ewspaper Press of our State. I might perhaps technically claim seniority, for when in September, 1812, the proprietor of 16 Selections from the Kewspapee The Lynx abruptly departed for parts unknown, the paper (half sheet) was continued for a month — so that several mort- gage advertisements might run out — with my name at the head of its lirst column as printer and publisher. Clark's History of Onon'daga County, speaking of the es- tablishment of The Lynx, says : It was in this office that the editor of The Albany Evening Journal made his debut in the art of - arts. Mr. Weed, in the short space of twenty months, became devil, printer, journey- man, editor and proprietor of the memorable Lynx. I did not, however, become the actual publisher and editor of a paper until 1818. Although I have files of the journals with which I was connected for more than half a century. The Lynx is not among them. I should greatly like therefore to exchange a $10 greenback for a copy of that paper, and shall feel obliged to the Syracuse journals if they will say so, that peradventure a copy may turn up among the old settlers of the county. ' T. W. I^Ew YoEK, Dec. 3, 1873. A YETERAK LEGISLATOR. [From the New York Daily Tribune, March "i, 1874.] THUELOW WEED S DISCOVERT A LETTER FROM THE HON. S. G. THROOP, A MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY EN" 1818 REMINIS- CENCES OF THE NOTED LEGISLATORS OF THAT TIME. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune. Sir : Even at the risk of wearying your readers in the pursuit of the oldest surviving member of the ]N"ew York Legislature, I venture to ask for one more hearing. As anticipated in my last communication, a legislative " Eip Yan "Winkle " has " turned up ! " The veteran, as will be seen by his cordial and kindly letter, has long been a resident of a sister State : Articles of Thurlow Weed. 17 Stroudsburg-, Penn., February 25, 1874. My Old Friend: Happening to notice in the Tribune of February 21 a controversy between yourself and E. T. Foote, of ISTew Haven, as to the " oldest living members of the ]^ew York Legislature," I thought ~I would correct you both by informing you of what you will readily recollect — that in 1817 I was elected a member of the Legislatm'e from Chenango county, and served in the session of 1818. My colleagues were Perez Randall, of ISTorwich, and Tilly Lynch, of Sherburne, both now deceased. In your paper I know some of my " brilliant " efforts made their appearance. I was then twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, being the youngest member of the House, and am now 84 — God save the mark ! I have not had the pleasure of reading your interesting letter of reminiscences of the ISTew York Legislature, and would be pleased to have you send me a copy if in print. I have written you this missive for the sake of historical accuracy, and not from any personal ambition for notoriety. I removed to this county some seven years since, from Honesdale, Wayne county, and was shortly afterward appointed one of the Judges of Monroe county, from which you will per- ceive I still retain my ancient political predilections. I will simply add that it gives me some pleasure to assist you in unhorsing your rival (Foote) in his ambitious pretensions to distinction in longevity. Your old Chenango friend, ( S. G. Throop. The Hon. Thurlow Weed. Losing sight for many years of this old friend, I assumed that he had journeyed to " that far country from whose bourne no traveler returns." I remember Simon Gager Throop, not only as a member of the Legislature of 1818, but as a rising member of the Chenango bar, residing at Oxford, with James Clapp arid Henry Yanderlyn as professii)nal cotemporaries, all young men of remarkable ability. Clapp and Throop were popular advocates, Yanderlyn sententious and epigrammatic. One of the " brilliant efforts " referred to by Mr. Throop was his stirring and eloquent apostrophe in the Assembly to the portrait of Washington suspended behind the Speaker's chair, invoking the spirit of " the Father of his Country " to impart his wisdom and patriotism for their guidance in reference to the important measures then under consideration. That apos- trophe, I doubt not, is remembered by my friend and neighbor^ 3 18 Selections fkom the IN'ewspapee Judge Michael Ulshoeffer, who was also a member of the Assembly in 1818, and with whom I often gossip about men and things in the olden time. I remember also in the Assembly of 1820, when Mr. Ulshoef- f er, then youthful and handsome, had made an animated speech upon the impeachment of Judge Yan 'Ness,, Elisha Williams in reply, after complimenting " his eloquent young friend from ISTew York," added, that " when Time, with its mellowing influences, shall have touched and tinged his graceful whiskers and clipped the wings of his exuberant imagination, he will learn, if not to construe more charitably, at least to accept less readily, unproven accusations against eminent citizens." The Mr. Randall referred to as a colleague of Mr. Throop, was also one of my cherished friends, and father of Samuel S. Randall, so long and usefully connected with our public schools. The letter of Dr. Elial T. Foote, in yesterday's Trihtcne, freshens old legislative memories. The Assembly of 1820 was indeed distinguished by the presence of an unusually large number of eminent men. I doubt whether before or since, as many truly gifted men have been seen and heard in that hall. I have a distinct remembrance of the impeachment trial of Judge William W. Yan ISTess. I listened as Dr. T. did, with admiring interest to Thomas Addis Emmett, of whose character and eloquence I entertained a high opinion. But I was much more intensely interested by the close and logical argument and the impressive eloquence of the reply, from an advocate till then unknown to me. That advocate was John Duer, whose hne person, courtly manner, clear voice, and distinct enuncia- tion took the House by surprise, charming its attention from the beginning to the end of his great speech. Mr. Duer took his position near the north fireplace, leaning his shoulders dur- ing most of the time against a map suspended on the wall. His gesticulation was quiet but effective. Al^le as was the effort of Mr. Emmett, I then thought and think yet that the speech of Mr. Duer was still more able and certainly more telhng. T. W. ]^Ew YoKK, March 5, 1871. Akticles of Thuklow Weed. 19 HERKIMER COUI^TY CEInTTENKIAL CELEBRA- TION. [From the Herkimer Democrat and Gazette, July 13, 1876.] The following interesting letter from Hon. Tbnrlow Weed was read at tlie*~recent county Centennial Celebration : ]N"ew York, Jxine 10, 1876. Gentlemen : For an invita|;ion to attend the centennial cele- bration of American independence iX Herkimer, please accept my thanks. It would afford me great pleasure to be with you, and if I had not kindred duties to discharge here I should make an effort to revisit scenes with which I was familiar more than sixty years ago. I have a vivid recoUeciion of Herkimer and its citizens, and these remembrances are all pleasant ones. Its then quiet but prosperous village was located in a broad, fertile valley, and was surrounded by verdant and picturesque hills. The character and habits of the inhab- itants were primitive. Of " progress and improvement " noth- ing was known. There were then no patent plowing, mowing or reaping machines. The only labor-saving machine I remem- ber was a patent wash-board, introduced by the late distin- guished lawyer and philanthropist, Alvan Steward, who relied upon the sale of rights to pay his expenses as a law student in the office of Jabez Fox. Then neither canals, railroads nor tel- egraphs had been thought of. Produce and merchandise were moved either in what were known as Pennsylvania wagons with six horses, or by Durham boats, propelled upon the Mohawk river by setting poles at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles a day. The number of passengers then traveling from Albany westward may be estimated by the fact that all were accommodated in ,a daily stage wagon, which did not travel nights, and yet, with this slowness of speed everybody was satisfied. In one respect, a visit to Herkimer would bring sad reflec- tions. Few, if any, of the friends whom I knew in 1813 would be there to greet me. I am not sure but the widely 20 Selections fkom the ]^ewspapeb known and greatly respected Francis E. Spinner is the only- survivor now residing at Herkimer. He was then a school boy, whose remarkable intelligence jvistified anticipations of the life of usefulness which have been fully realized. The vener- able George Petrie, then a clerk in the store of Philo M. Hackley, is now a resident of "Washington. The citizens of Herkimer were a harmonious community. I remember no discords except such as the annual elections pro- duced, and these occasioned no permanent ill-will. The elec- tion in April, 1813, was an Unusually exciting one. Federal- ists had for several years/ been in the ascendancy, but on account of their oppositioji to the war they were losing ground. At the polls an angry political dispute between Philo M. Hackley, a Federalist, and Aaron Hackley, a Republican, devotedly attached brothers, both strong athletic men, would have culminated in a personal combat but for the prompt interposition of a dozen friends. Later in the day a political discussion between Colonel Bellinger, a Pepublican, and Judge Weaver, a Federalist, drew a crowd, and in the end excited much merriment. As the disputants grew warm, crimination and epithets were exchanged. To the judge's accusation of " French Jacobin," the Colonel retorted that of " British Tory." In his exasperation Judge Weaver raised his long walking staff menacingly, when friends interposed and pre- vented a combat. These old gentlemen were neighbors and friends, owning adjacent farms of great fertility and beauty, reaching from their dwellings to the river. An hour after- ward they shook hands, and expressed mutual regrets at having lost their temper. " I did not mind," said Judge Weaver, " being called a British Tory, but you ought not to have said that I rejoiced when Oxenburgh was taken. I couldn't stand that." Michael Hoffman, who became distinguished for his talents and integrity in various high public positions, commenced life at Herkimer in 1813 as a physician. One day's experience, however, disgusted him with the medical profession. Consid- ering the time given to the study of that profession as so much labor lost, he entered himself as a student at law, and when admitted to practice no one doubted that his second choice Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 21 ought to have been his first. I then became intimate with Mr. Hoffman, and although in 1819 we separated politically, our personal relations were never disturbed. I worked in the ofiice of the Herkimer American, of Avhich journal William L. Stone had become editor. He was the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, and was educated in the Connec- ticut school of federalism. He was an easy, fluent writer, and though an amiable man, could not tolerate republicanism. At first he was annoyed at the idea of having a Republican in his ofiice, but he needed my services, and soon became my friend, and remained so through life. He subsequently became editor of the Hudson Whig, Hartford Mirror, Albany Daily Adver- tiser and jS^ew York Commercial Advertiser, always dis- tinguished for his fidelity to principles, his inflexible integrity and the purity of his life. Theodore S. Faxton, formerly mayor of Utica, who now in tlie placid evening of life is endearing himself to that city by erecting and endowing homes and hospitals, was then a stage driver, sometimes between Utica and Herkimer, and at others between East Canada Creek and Herkimer, always stopping at Wiii ting's Tavern, where we becain^e intimate. His intelli: gence, sobriety, and especially his desire to improve his very limited education, were unmistakable indications of the for- tune and fame that awaited him. Stephen Dexter, for- more than thirty years a well-known, thrifty and much-respected livery stable keeper at Saratoga Springs, rose from a stable boy at Herkimer to the dignity of a stage driver under the auspices of Mr. Faxton. In October, 1814, General Haile's brigade of militia was called into the service. Although, on account of age, not subject to mili- tary duty, I offered my services (against the remonstrances of my employer) to Captain Bellino;er, and was accepted as a volunteer. I had served two short campaigns in 1813, from TJtica, and on account of such experience was made a " lunch corporal." That, however, was only the first step, for on our first day's march, while eating our dinner ration under a two- prong pine tree in the town of Schuyler (which I saw standing forty years afterward), Quarter-master Greorge Petrie filled the 22 Selections from the Newspapek measure of my ambition and happiness by handing me a war- rant, of which the following is a copy : To Thuklow Weed, , Greeting: We, reposing special trust and confidence in your patriotism, valor and good conduct, do hereby constitute and appoint you quarter-master sergeant of the 40th Regiment, IST. Y. S. militia under my command, You are, therefore, carefull}^ and diligently to discharge the duty of quarter-master sergeant of said regiment. And you are required strictly to obey your superior officers, and all ofii- cers and soldiers under your command are hereby required to obey you as such quarter-master sergeant, for which this shall be yom- sufiicient warrant. Griven under my hand and seal, this fifth day of October, 1814. Majok Jacob P. Webek, Commandant. This promotion was a surprise and a gratification. I not only discharged the duties of quarter-master's sergeant satisfac- torily, but was, during a part of the campaign, acting sergeant major. Colonel Matthew Myers, a fine looking officer and accomplished gentleman, did not go to the " lines " with us, the command of the regiment for that season devolving upon Major Weber, who did not take kindly to the service, as it de- prived him of many home comforts. The deprivation which he most regretted was the loss of " spoon victuals." - On one occasion, when the British fleet appeared off the mouth of Sackett's Harbor and the troops were in line to repel the invaders, the major said to me : " I don't care so much about myself, but if any thing happens to me my wife will feel so bad ; but you tell them all at home that I did my duty." The major, however, after three months' service, was mustered out and returned to his pleasant home. I believe that my friend Dr. Horace Manly of Fairfield, who was the surgeon of our regiment, is still living. But I will not weary you with reminiscences which, how- ever pleasant to myself, cannot be expected to possess much interest for the present generation. Yery truly yours, Thuklow Weed. Akticles of Thuklow Weed, 23 LETTEE FROM THUKLOW WEED — INCIDENTS, 1S18-1819. Wednesday, March 6, 1872. To the Editors of the Chenango Telegraph : I am reading with much interest the vahiable and fascinating letters in your Telegraph,\\viiiQn by my old and cherished friend, Samuel S. Randall. These reminiscences bring back scenes, incidents, and personages with which and with whom, more than fifty years ago, I was associated. These localities and individuals return after an interv^al of more than half a century with a distinctness and freshness which did not seem possible. The individuals, the dwelling-houses, etc., etc., described in 'his last letter, are as familiar to my memory as they were to my eye and ear when I was walking and talking with those who now rest in the village cemetery ; for of all the adult acquaintances then residing iu that part of the village referred to, Benjamin Chapman, a much valued friend, as far as I can learn, is tjlie only survivor. Mr. Randall himself, now in his sixty-fourth or sixty-fifth year, was then a bright boy of ten or " eleven, furnishing unmistakable promise of a career of intel- lectual usefulness. He was a precocious printer and editor. I still retain a copy of the Journal, which he printed (with his pen), and edited in 1819. Mr^ Randall's father (Perez Ran- ,dall) was the village JPostmaster, and in 1818, a member of the Legislature. - Although a political opponent, Perez Ran- dall was my warm personal friend. Mr. Randall resided with his father-in-law, Mr. Edmunds, who charged himself especially with the guardianship of his youthful grandson, S. S. Randall. I was amused in observing that, growing up as he did under the immediate eye and care of his father and grandfather, the youth accepted the political teachings of the latter. Party feeling between " Bucktails " and " Clintonians " was intense and exciting. Mr. Randall was a " Bucktail " and Mr. Edmunds a " Clintonian." I was then much attached to the boy Randall, who, some twenty years afterward, it was my 24 Selections from the IS^ewspapee privilege and pleasure to suggest as State Superintendent of common schools, to which office he was elected with great unanimity by the Legislature, and in which he served usefully and honorably until he was superseded by Mr. Rice through a secret organization of " Choctaw Know-Xothings." The secret was so well kept that up to the hour that Mr. Rice received a Legislative caucus nomination it was not known that there would be any candidate opposed to Mr. Randall. The same Mr. Rice, years afterward, became the financial manager of the recently exploded " Gruardian Savings Bank." But I am wandering from the point which induced me to address a brief letter to you. Mr. Randall, among his admira- ble photographs of village celebrities, introduced that of " Uncle Josh Aldrich," with a single omission, viz., the six-foot staff, his invariable accompaniment. Joshua Aldrich was a tavern, or rather a store oracle, for he was an habitual lounger in the stores of Benjamin Chapman and John ]N^oyes, Jr., where he held forth to village idlers as dogmatically as the Host of the " Maypole " in Barnaby Rudge discoursed to his village guests. Aldrich, like other oracles, was impatient of contradiction, and if pushed into a corner, as he sometimes was, by an opponent, he would, striking his long staff vehemently on the floor, end all controversy by exclaiming, " who steals my furse steals trash, as Robert Boyle saysT On one of these occasions, Mr. Chapman quietly observed that Mr. Aldrich had mistaken the authorship of the passage quoted, adding that it was written by Shakespeare. " Uncle Josh " stoutly denied this, saying that he would furnish proof of the correctness of his assertion. On the following day, at the usual hour, " Uncle Josh " appeared, and after waiting till his accustomed auditors arrived he produced the works of Robert Boyle in a small volume, and pointing to its title page asked Mr. Chapman and the lookers on to read for themselves, himself exclaiming, in an ecstacy of pride, " who steals my purse steals trash." The merchant adverted to the circumstance that Boyle had borrowed the line which adorned the title page of Bojde's volume, from Shakes- peare ; giving that author credit was " labor lost," that was far beyond " Uncle Josh's " comprehension, for his literary reading began and ended with Robert Boyle. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 25 Among the village idlers of that da}^ was one by the name, if I remember right, of Jesse or Joseph Brown. He was especially addicted to politics. When Daniel D. Tompkins was running against DeWitt Clinton for Governor, animated,- if not angry disputes, were frequent, and especially so in the stores before mentioned. Brown, an ardent and loquacious Clintonian, engaged in high debate with an equally zealous " Bucktail," whose name, if - my memory serves, was Snow. Brown expatiated upon the talent and genius of Clinton, Snow in reply extolled Tompkins for his patriotic services during the war, who, he said, after borrowing all the money the banks would lend, spent his own fortune in furnishing clothes and food for the 'soldiers who were fighting the British. " You," said Snow, " talk about Clinton's great talent, but I want to know what he has done for his country ? " "I am ready," responded Brown, " to meet you on that point ; if you want to know what Governor Clinton has done for his country I advise you to look at his future oonductr This caused a laugh at the expense both of Mr. Clinton and his admirer. If, as is said, "he that causes two blades of grass to grow where but bne grew previously," has been regarded as a public benefactor, upon the same principle he who causes a " blade of asparagus to grow where none -grew before, may be held as doubly a benefactor. Perhaps your readers may be amused to learn when and by whom the first blade of asparagus was raised in Norwich. Emmons, a slight, pale, amia- ble, and almost briefless lawyer, whose ofiice was situated mid- way between Garlics' and Gates' tavern, came from Dutchess county. The grief of his life during the vegetable season was that no asparagus was grown in ]^orwich. Indeed, but few of the villagers had ever heard of that delicacy. Mr. Emmons determined to retrieve in this respect the character of the vil- lage by himself becoming grower. A plot in Mr. Gates' garden was selected for an asparagus bed, which, when the season arrived, was carefully prepared by Mr. Emmons, who weeded and watched it with diligent care and parental solicitude. In , the fullness of time, the much talked of esculent was pro- nounced fit to cut. This was done in the presence of several invited guests, who, after it had been prepared for the table, ■4 26 Selections fkom the JSTewspaper under Mr. E.'s personal superintendence, shared the delicacy with its radiantly happy producer ; thus asparagus was first introduced to your citizens. JSTow, I suppose every garden in the village rejoices in its bed of asparagus. Truly yours, Thurlow Weed. AN mTERESTING I^STRUMEJSTT. A. D. 1826. [Evening Express, Rochester, N. Y., January 7, 1874.] Rochester in 1826. In looking over a collection of old MSS. and papers, Col. Angle recently brought to light a partly-printed, partly- written instrument, considerably yellowed by age, and bearing signa- tures of residents of Rochester, well known and prominent at the date of the paper, and one of them now having a more than national reputation. The term of the principal paper is as follows : This certifies that Thurlow Weed is entitled to two shares of stock in the new Rochester Theatre, having, on the first day of July last, completed the payment of twenty-five dollars upon each share, to draw interest from said day. H. A. Williams, By his Attorney, R. C. Jones. Rochester, October 3, 1826. Upon the outside of this certificate is the following assign- ment : " For the consideration of the sum of fifty dollars, to me in hand paid, I do hereby assign, transfer and set over to Richard C. Jones, all my right, title and interest in and to the within stock. " 1826, Octoler 19. ' Thurlow Weed." The "ISTew Rochester Theatre," for which this stock was issued, was built on State street, about opposite Market street. Abticles of Thuklow Weed. 27 It was a frame building, painted yellow, and quite an extensive affair for a village of some six thousand population. In that theatre the elder Kean trod the boards, and the most noted actors at that time in our own country. Subsequently it was .purchased by Joseph Christopher, who converted it into a livery stable, and to such use it was diverted until replaced by the substantial brick structure now standing there. At the date of this paper, Thurlow Weed was editing the ^'■Rochester Telegrajjh,^'' published daily by Messrs. NYeed & Marti-n. O'Eeilly's history says that the publication of a daily newspaper, in " a place that was suddenly emerging from tlie woods, occasioned much remark, not only through the United States, but in Europe. It contributed essentially to render the importance of the place well and quickly known ; as the fact that business and prospects were deemed sufficiently encourag- ing to justify the enterprise was in itself a strong- practical argument respecting the growing value of the then village of Rochester." Mr. Weed was elected to the Legislature, and re-elected. He then removed to Albany and became editor of the Evening Journal of that city. THURLOW WEED. A. D. 1851- [The Old Settler, Keeseville, Ohio, 1851.] We have opposed Mr. Weed politically for twenty-five years. Still, we never could help liking the man. We certainly did consider him unscrupulous of the means of accomplishing his ends, and reckless of the appliances. But we felt as though we could pardon something to the spirit of liberty. His patri- otism is unbounded. That was well attested in the last war with England. He then slung his knapsack, shouldered his musket, and marched to the tented field, to repel a foreign foe. 28 Selections feom the ISTewspapee As an editor, lie always espouses the cause of the weak and down trodden. His charity and liberality are as broad and deep as his patriotism. Above all, with the craft, he cannot do too much for a practical printer. And from his present eleva- tion as the conductor of the leading paper of his party, and of immense influence, he has never ceased to regard with com- placency the ladder by which he ascended. The following letter to the Kew York Typographical Society is interesting, not only to the profession, but to all classes, as showing the rapid advance made in the life-time of the writer, in the " Art Preservative of all Arts," which has no more than kept pace with every other improvement in the Empire State, and throughout our broad domain : Typogkaphical Reminiscences. Albany, January 12, 1851. Gentlemen : — When your Association honored me, two years ago, with an invitation to speak to the printers of the city of I^ew York, I regretted, almost for the first time in my life, that this gift, " to speak in public on the stage," had been denied me. Indeed, my solicitude to be with you in celebrat- ing the birthday of the immortal Franklin, was so keen, that could I have relied, as did a gentleman similarly situated, on a friend to speak for me, I should have taken a seat at your table. But fearing that I might be less fortunate than Baalam, my valor took counsel of discretion. But though I cannot speak them, allow me to express in this form, my grateful thanks for your present kind remembrance of me. It is now forty years since I was apprenticed to the " Art Preservative of all Arts." I had aspired to this dignity four years earlier, but after officiating as " carrier " for a few weeks, in the ofiice of Mackey Croswell, of Catskill, my hopes were disappointed by the removal of my parents from that village to a then remote county. But in December, 1811, when " Thomas Chittenden Fay " established " The Lynx " in Onon- daga Hollow, the cherished desire of my heart was gratified. According to the accounts of my master, I was then a ^^r^ verdant youth. And this, so far as my recollection serves in Articles of Thuklow Weed. 29 recalling the modes of instruction resorted to, must have been true ; for he not unf requently proposed to get ideas into my head with the "mallet," and on one occasion I only evaded a well-aimed experiment in the same direction with the " sheep- foot," by an "Artful Dodge." For this kind of discipline there were provocations. I remember one : An obituary notice of the death of the accomplished lady of a then youthful and promising but now venerable and eminent clergyman (the Rev. Derick C. Lansing), was handed in just before the 23aper was going to press. In setting^ it up, the word " consort " occur- red. It was new, and did not strike me as conveying the ap- propriate idea ; and^ instead of referring to the dictionary, I substituted the word " comfort," so that the deceased was thus made the " comfort " rather than the " consort ". of the be- reaved husband ! The paper was thus worked off, and sent about the village ; and \vhile felicitating myself upon an intel- lectual achievement, the blunder was discovered by Mr. Brown, a one-eyed shoemaker, and my ears yet tingle with the boxing my stupiditv cost them. Ill 1811, there were but thirty -four newspapers in this State. With their names, appearance, complexion, cuts, etc., I was as familiar as I now am with the faces around my own fireside. The paper on which they were printed, in texture, and hue, re- sembled ordinary wrapping paper, and the type, in most cases, were worn well down toward the " first nick." The " New York ColionMan^^ was printed on a sheet as blue as indigo, while the " Huc^son Bee " rejoiced in colors as yellow as " Mrs Skewton's " bed curtains. The only survivors of the editors or proprietors of that period, whom I now remember, are Mr. Holt, of The Colum- 'hian, Mr. E. W. Skinner, of I%e Albany Gazette, Mr. Corn- stock, of The BaUston Spa Gazette, Ex-Comptroller Flagg, of The Plattsburgh Bepublican, Mr. Mix, of The Johnstoion Re- pxiblican, Col. Prentiss, of The Cooperstown Federalist, Mr. Walker, of The Columbian Gazette, Mr. Bogart, of The Geneva Gazette, and Mr. Fairchild, now of Cazenovla. My friend Fra.ncis Hall, the worthy senior proprietor of The ComrnerGial Advertiser had not then, I believe, become associated with the late Mr. Lewis. 30 Selections from the JNewspaper Progress and mechanism have divested our art of much of its interest, I have never been able to look with complacency upon these innovations ; and if our great exemplar, Franklin, could revisit earth, his spirit would grieve at the vandalism which has robbed " press work " of all its intellectuality. Benjamin Franklin, though a good " compositor," w^as a good " pressman " also, and worked as such, from choice, while a journeyman. But now only one branch of our trade is taught to apprenti- ces. A printer is now no longer connected with the " press- room." The printer of the present day is a stranger to its healthful toil, its rich humors, its merry laughs, its habitual jests, and, I am constrained to remember, its too frequent rev- elries. The customs of the press-room, along with its labors, are all obsolete. Who, of the present generation of printers, knows any thing of the mystic and magic power ol signature " O ! " And how can a boy make a good printer whose initi- atory steps were not taken in. treading a pelt f AVho has for- gotten, or can forget, the weariness of that tread-mill ? I remember with gratitude the in^^ention which gave us dressed deer-skins instead of green pelts for halls ! Railroads, steamboats, canal boats, etc., have had their share, too, in plucking flowers from our path. The journeyman printer, like the hatter, and shoemaker, used to go on his " tramps." These were delightful peregrinations. I have traveled on foot, from Onondaga to Auburn, from Auburn to Utica, from Utica to Herkimer, thence to Cooperstown, thence to Albany, thence again to Utica, etc., working a few months, or weeks, as chanced, in each place. Time has wrought great changes, and nowhere else with such a legible hand as in your city. I obtained a " situation " there in June, 1815. It seems that but a night had intervened, and that all I now see, in waking, of grandem' and magnifi- cence ; of a wilderness of dwellings and forests of masts, is the work of enchantment. My first employers there were Messrs. Yan Winkle & Wis- ley, whose ofiice was in Greenwich street, a few doors below Courtland. I was at press on " Gobbet's Register," that great English radical and reformer then having an office in Wall Articles of Thtjelow Weed. 31 street. Anxious to see " William Cobbet," of whom I liacl read and heard so much, I obtained permission to take a "proof-sheet" to him. In 1843, I saw the same man, in all but the power of speech, with the identical gray coat, in Madame Tussaud's collection of wax figures in London ! Through the aid of the late Samuel H. Davis, one of the best printers I ever knew, and mj cherished friend through life, I soon got a better situation at Daniel Fanshaw's, in Cliff street. Mr. Fanshaw had the printing of the Bible and Tract Societies. This gave constant but hard work, for Mr. F. required " eleven quire tokens " of us. I worked subsequently at the office of Samuel Wood & Sons, George Long, Jonathan Seymour, William A. Mercein, and, for a short time, upon the " Cou7ner,^^ published by the late Barent Gardiner. Upon the years of my life which glided away as a journey- man printer in ISTew York, I look back with unmingled grati- fication. It was a period of high, healthy, buoyant spirits and fresh enjoyment. I was never for a day out of work ; and with a hard}^^ frame and a willing hand, I was enabled from my wages, to gratify every rational wish. Few journeymen made a larger figure in the " bill book " of a Saturday night than myself ; btit I was indebted for much of this to the driving, indomitable industry of my " press partners." In this respect I was peculiarly fortunate, having for partners, successively, William E. Dean, now an enterpris- ing and worthy law book publisher ; James Hai-per (of the house of Harper & Brothers) ; JSTicholas B, Penfold, and the late Thomas Kennedy, who were proverbially the greatest workers in the city. Often when, of a pleasant afternoon, I sug- gested a walk on the battery, my partners, instead of allowing me to Gcqj the halls, would insist on " breaking the ba,ck of the thirteenth token," which being done, would suggest an argu- ment for finishing the thirteenth token the next day. But all this told in our favor on Saturday, when, instead of a dead horse, we had a live one in stable, and when I was sure to treat myself with a pit ticket in the Park Theatre, then in its palmiest days, for its boards were graced by the talents and genius of Hilson, Hop Robinson, Mi's. Darley, Miss Johnson, etc., etc. Then every face habitually in the boxes was familiar to 32 Selections fkom the JSTewspapek my eye. But here, again, time, with its merciless scythe, has " cut down both great and small." On a more recent occasion, when all the play-going people were attracted, the only persons always present thirty-five years ago, were Philip Hone, Mor- decai M. Koah, and Jacob Hays. Let me give yon a practical idea of what printing was in ISTew York in 1816. Messrs. Kirk & Mercein, booksellers, received an early copy of Moore's Lalla Eookh. They deter- mined to astonish the public with a hastened edition. The copy was sent to W. A. Mercein, in Gold street, where I was at press. All the force attainable was in request. Comj^osi- tors, pressmen, folders, binders, etc., etc., worked day and night, and the American edition was for sale in a fortnight ! The Harpers would now throw the same work off in thirty- six hours. Again. In' 181Y, I worked on the " Courier^ Those who remember the proprietor and editor, Mr. Gardiner, need not be told that his education, as a financier, had been sadly neg- lected. He could not afford to keep a news boat, as Long & Turner, of the Gazette, and Mr. Butler, of the Mercantile Advertiser, did. And yet he must have the " marine list," which was obtained in this wise : Every half hour after dark, until 11 o'clock, a boy, in the Courier office, was dispatched to the Gazette office, who " cribbed," and brought back — in his memory — all the arrivals, consignees, etc., etc. This incident will enable you to contrast the commerce of N^ew York, in 1817, with its " ship news " of 1851. "When I first worked in ISTew York, the late Mr. Eoger Prout was the only ink manufacturer in the State. Soon after- ward, two very worthy journeyman printers, Messrs. Mather & Donnington, established themselves in the business. They were of course poor, and had to contend against an old manu- facturer with capital, by whom they were regarded as intruders. The employers, generally, took part with Mr. Prout, while the sympathies of the journeymen were with his rivals. We believed that our friends were oppressed, and it was soon found impossible to do " good work" with Prout's ink. In spite of our best efforts, " Picks," " Monks " and " Friars " marred the beauty of each impresssion. This soon compelled the employ- Aeticles of Thuhlow Weed. S'6 ers to patronize Mather & Doiinington, whose ink worked to a tiharm ! In looking back upon this warfare, I am not sure that Front's ink received fair play ; but, fortunately, the business increased so rapidly, that both found abundant employment. Mr. Prout died rich ; and Mr. Mather, who-, as a printer, a man, and a christian, is an honor to all his professions, is now the best and most extensive ink manufacturer in America. I was a member of the " ISTew York Typographical Society," when Peter Force, Adoniram Chandler, C. S. Bellamy, Thomas Kennedy, James Anderson, etc., were its officers. My certifi- cate of membership, appropriately framed, is a cherished me- morial. I esteem it a high honor to have enjoyed, in addition to the journeymen I have already named, the friendship of Mr. O'^Teil, James gmith, Nicholas B. Fenfold, Horace Clark, Peter Cole, etc., etc. By the way, my first experience in legislation grew out of relation to the ]^ew York Typograj)hical Society. When, in 1816, it was determined to apply for an- Act of Incorporation, the circumstance of my having worked in Albany induced the Society to select me as its agent to obtain the charter. Early in the Spring of that year I came up in a sloop com- manded by my present friend, Capt. George Monteath, trem- blingly alive to the responsibilities of my mission. The ses- sion was" approaching its close. Legislation was not then, as it now is, easily to be " entreated " of by working men. Senators and Assemblymen then wore boots with tassels, shirts with ruffles, and " gloves of kid." After two repulses from mem- bers who doubted the necessity of incorporating journeymen, I , summoned courage enough to call on the late Hon. Cadwal- lader' D. Golden, then a Senator, who received me kindly, took an interest in the application, which was successful, and I returned to the city rejoicing, with a copy of the charter in my pocket. It was my good fortune, as a journeyman, to find in employ- ei"s, almost invariable kindness. I remember them all with sincere regard, and several with affection and gratitude. Jona- .than Seymour was an honor to his race. William A. Mercein was a most amiable man. The now venerable Thomas Walker, of Utica, for some thirty years publisher of the " Columbian 5 34 Selections feom the jSTewspapee Gazette^'' and nearly or quite as long, an upright magistrate, has not outlived his enemies, for he never had one. Col. Wil- liam L. Stone, always proud of his profession, was an estima- ble and guileless man. In Everard Peck, of Rochester, for whom I worked after a wife and children were upon my hands (that wife, Grod bless her, always doing more than her share for the support of all), and to whose office I seemed to have been proyidentially attracted, I found that friend who " sticketh closer than a brother." I rejoice that the memory of Franklin is cherished by print- ers. ]^o page of history is adorned by a brighter name. His precepts and examples — both eminently wise and good — have exerted a salutary and living influence over the civilized world. But to printers, especially, have his teachings been profitable. Stimulated by his virtues, and emulous of his fame, printers have since risen to high and enviable stations. There is no man, I venture to say, who has the slightest intellectual relation to our craft, who has not been rendered wiser, better, and happier, by reading the life of Benjamin Franklin. And many a printer's devil, who, but for his famil- iarity with the history of Franklin, would have groveled through life, has risen to eminence. Every State in the Union has furnished gratifying illustrations of this fact. An eloquent and independent member of the present Congress was, twenty- three years ago, my apprentice. But it is time to arrest this garrulous pen. I sat down merely to write my thanks for the honor which your invitation confers. Instead, however, of regarding the maxim which teaches that brevity, on social occasions, is " the soul of wit," old memories have kept me wasting ink and paper these two hours. But the horse led to water will drink or not as he pleases, and you have this advantage over me. Letters, like petitions, can be referred, or laid on the table — -without read- ing. I am, very truly. Your Typographical Brother, Thuklow Weed. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 35 To W. L. S. Harrison, etc., Committee : If sentiments register with your proceedings, I beg to sub- mit the following : " The Journeymen Printers of the City of New York — May full eases and fat takes brighten their toil, while 'proofs of friendship, and tokens of affection sweeten their repose." imiO]^ SQUAKE THE ATEE— SPECIAL. A. D. 1875. The management are permitted to publish the following let- ter from the veteran journalist, Mr. Thurlow Weed, in regard to Messrs. D'Enneiy & Plouvier's truly wonderful play, " One Hundred Tears Old," now running at this theatre : "& To the Managers of the Union Square Theatre : GrENTLEMEN t By your polite " enforcement " I found myself seated in the Union Square Theatre on Monday evening. For that courtesy I owe you more than simple thanks. In looking about me I found no other head frosted like my own. Hence, with the remembrance that my play-going days have been over nearly twenty years, came a feeling that I was out of place. But a few minutes served to charm me back to the palmy days of the Park Theatre, when, half a century ago, there was so much happiness in seeing Mrs. Darley, Mrs. Barnes, Mrs. Wheatley, Miss Holman, Miss Johnson, and others acting with Cooper, Simpson, Barnes, Placide, Booth, and Keene. But I found brief time to dwell upon the past, for in the present all the old dramatic interest returned. The play of " One Hundred Years Old " is not simply admirable, but as nearly faultless as any representation I had ever seen. It would have " dra^^^l " and " brought down " full houses in the best days of the drama. In conception and language the piece is natural and chaste, while its absorbing interest is preserved throughout ; so. too, is its artistic effect. Several of the scenes and views are very beautiful and the actors seemed imbued with the spirit of the author. Harry Placide himself could not have given a truer counterfeit presentment of a man " One Hundred Years Old " than is found in your Mark Smith. ******* Yery truly yours, Tsijelow Weed. 3(3 Selections fkom the JS^ewspapee AK EXTEACT FKOM ME. WEED'S AUTOBIOG- EAPHT. [From the N. Y. Times, August, 1868.] The autobiography of Mr. Thurlow Weed, of which the public have heard rumors from time to time, we are pleased to learn, is progressing as rapidly as Mr. Weed's health will per- mit. It promises to be one of the most interesting autobiog- raphies ever published in this country, with the single excep- tion of Franklin's, and, on the historical side, will have greatly the advantage of that precious fragment. Its publication may not be immediately looked for, but we have had the advantage of reading some portions of it, and have received permission to publish the account of an incident which will be found equally curious and interesting to readers whose recollections extend over a period of half a century, as well as to the younger gen- eration. The following is the extract : In 1817 there was a disastrous split in the Eepublican party of this State, Governor Clinton heading one faction, and Mr. Yan Buren the other. A political and personal warfare of unusual virulence characterized the campaign of that year. Mr. Clinton, an able and vituperative writer, assailed the lead- ers of the opposite side through the columns of the New York Columhian and Albany Register. William L. Marcy, then a young man, and others, replied through the columns of the Albany Argus. One morning a vehement article, highly denunciatory of Governor Clinton, provoked a note from the gentleman assailed, to the editor of the Argus, demanding the name of the writer. Mr. Buel, the editor, handed the note to Mr. Van Buren, who invited Mr. Charles E. Dudley, Mr. William L. Marcy, Mr. Benjamin Knower, and Judge Eoger Skinner to his house that evening. While they were discuss- ing the embarrassing question which Governor Clinton's note had raised, the servant brought Peter H. Livingstone to the library. Mr. Clinton was at the time Governor of the State, while Messrs. Yan Buren and Livingstone were members of the Senate. The conversation, as Mr. Livingstone discovered, Avas interi'upted by his appearance. He said, in his usual brusque manner, " You are talking secrets here, and I have interrupted you." Mr. Yan Buren replied, " Governor Clin- ARTICLES OF Thuelow "Weed. 37 ton lias demanded tlie name of the writer of the article in this morning's Argiis, and we were talking of the peculiar awk- wardness of exposing the writer." " There is nothing peculiar about it," responded Mi'. Livingstone, " nor need there be any embarrassment. Send my name to Mr. Clinton." Mr. Yan Bureii remarked, " This is no occasion for trifling, Mr. Living- stone. You know what Gov. Clinton means by his demand." " Yes, sir," replied Mr. Livingstone, " I do know, and it is just what I mean. I have long wanted a shot at the rascal." Persisting in the avowal that he was the writer, and in the request that his name should be given up, they finally yielded, and Mr. Buel was instructed accordingly. At a late hour the parties separated. Just as the day dawned the following morning, Mr. Yan Buren was awakened by a violent applica- tion of his knocker, and, looking out of his bedroom window, a voice, which he recognized as Mr. Livingstone's, inquired, " Is that you, Yan Buren ? " On receiving a response in the affirmative, Livingstone said, " Let me in." Mr. Yan Buren threw on ar wrapper, opened the door, and showed his visitor into the cold parlor. Mr. Livingstone said, " What the devil were you talking about last night when I came in ? " Mr. Yan Buren replied, " We were talking about your attack on Governor Clinton in the ArgusP Mr, Livingstone, using a strong expletive, rejoined, " I won't stand that. Y^ou can't father your bantlings on me. I had been dining, and was drunk when you took advantage of me." This rendered it necessary to re-assemble the council of the previous evening. The real embarrassment was this : The article had been writ- ten by James King, a young lawyer from Orange county, who had just obtained the consent of William James, a warm per- sonal and political friend of Governor Clinton's, to marry his daughter, under a pledge to abstain from politics and devote himself exclusively to his profession. And now, before the marriage was celebrated, Mr. King had written a most abusive attack on his intended father-in-law's intimate friend. After much and anxious consideration it was decided that Mr. Knower should call on Mr. Isaiali Townsend, a mutual friend of Mr. James and Governor Clinton, and endeavor, by stating some extenuating circumstances, to appease Mr. James. This, however, was no easy task, for Mr. James was of a stern and 38 Selections from the JSTewspapeb implacable disposition. But Mr. Townsend knew his man, drove liim up to Waterford, drank two or three glasses of gin and water with him, and succeeded in smoothing over the diffi- culty. Mr. Townsend then proceeded to lay the wdiole matter frankly before Governor Clinton, whose sense of the humorous was touched by the awkward position in which Mr. Living- stone's sudden belligerency had placed his friends, and by the extreme delicacy of Mr. King's domestic relations. He good- naturedly withdrew his note, and took no further notice of the subject. In 1862 I asked the late John Van Buren if he had ever heard his father speak of this incident, which I commenced relating to him. He soon stopped me, saying that he had had many a hearty roar over the affair, and that he and his brother intended to make it the subject of a chapter in the forthcoming memoirs of his father. He expressed his surprise that I, a pohtical opponent, should have learned the secrets of this memorable conclave. I had, however, received the account more than thirty years before from Mr. James. THE LATE PETEE K. LIYINGSTO^. [From the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, August 28, 1868.] To the Editor of the Commercial Adi^eHiser : ]^o. 348 Lexington Avenue, Augiist 26. In the interesting and curious leaf which you cull from Mr. "Weed's autobiography, the Coivimercial Advertiser, and prob- ably the Tir)ies, speak of the chief actor as Peter H. Living- stone. The person alluded to was Peter JR. Livingston, a well-known and prominent member of the Livingston family, at one time Speaker of the Assembly, and for two full terms of four years each a Senator from the Second Senate District. He was, at the period mentioned (181Y), about sixty years of age. His melodious and slightly tremulous voice, with a gentle nervous movement of the head, and emphatic use of the forefinger, an occasional resort to the snuff-box, and choice diction, which often rose to eloquence, both of words and Ajrticles of Thurlow Weed. 39 manner, gave a charm and attractiveness to his speeches, which the cogency of the argument or the strength of his facts did not always justify. The incident is narrated with entire fidel- ity by Mr. Weed, in nearly the precise language in which I first heard it from Mr. Van Buren in 1823-4, early in my Albany life, at one of the frequent conversations in which Mr. Van Buren rehearsed, for my edification, in his accustomed graphic and interesting manner, the earlier political history and anecdotes of his times, and to which I was a most atten- tive listener. There is, however, the omission of a slight but characteristic feature. Owing to the delicacy and embarrass- ment of giving Mr. King's name to Governor Clinton as the writer of the offensive article, that of Colonel John F. Bacon had been suggested, with his consent, before Mr. Livingston's appearance on the evening alluded to. Colonel B. was then a young student at law, afterward one of the two secretaries of the State Constitutional Convention of 1821, for many years secretary of the Senate, and finally Consul at Nassau, N. P. — an estimable gentleman, whose memory is still cherished by his surviving cotemporaries. The circumstance being repeated to Mr. Livingston, he protested that it would be unjust alike to Colonel Bacon and himself, to claim for the former a paternity for which he alone was responsible. It is to be hoped that Mr. Weed's health will enable him to complete the work he has so well more than begun. We can repeat, from personal knowledge, the remark of the Times and Commercial Advertiser that " it promises to be one of the most interesting autobiographies ever published in this country, witli the single exception of Franklin's, and, on the historical side, will have greatly the advantage of that precious frag- ment." Very truly yours, Edwin Croswell. SURVIVING MEMBERS OF EARLY LEGISLATURES. [N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, January, 1871.] To the Editors of the CoinmerGial Achertiser : I do not now as formerly see Exchange Papers, but from a tew numbers that have reached me, and from Letters received, 40 SELECTIOiSrS FROM THE I^EWSPAPEB I infer that an article which I prepared three weeks since, naming the oldest surviving Members of Congress, and of the Legislature of this State, has been found sufficiently interesting to encourage further researches. For the present, however, I will content myself with a response to a letter just received, from w^hich the following is an extract : Ovid, Seneca County, FehruOjry 14, 1871. Dear Sir : I write this letter at the request of Mr. James De Mott, an old man who was one of your associates in the Legislature of 1825, who says that he would like very much to know how many of those with whom he was thus associated are still living, and he thinks that you, if anybody, can furnish the information. Mr. De Mott is nearly blind, and so I write for him. He has been much interested in all your "olden-time Letters." Though eighty-four years old, his general health is good and his mind and memory are clear and strong. He came to this town in 1Y93, and has held several town and county offices, discharging every duty with intelligence and integrity. He says he is the only Clintpnian ever elected to the Legisla- ture from Seneca county. He was a Whig ; is a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Church. I met you at the Republican State Convention in 1860, and while I do not suppose you will remember me, I shall never forget you. I suppose that I was indebted to you, in 1855, for the appointment of Loan Commissioner, an office which I held until last year. I have been a constant reader of the Albany Journal since it started, and a subscriber since 1841. Your true friend, John B. Bliss. Thttrlow Weed. I cheerfully comply, as far as my information will permit, with the request of an old Colleague and Friend. I remember Mr. De Mott well, as an intelligent, attentive, reliable working member of the House. I remember also to have met him in Conventions after 1825, but have not seen him for forty years, thouffh I should have known without information that he and I would always be found thinking and acting politically to- gether. A great political tornado swept through the State in the Autumn of 1824. That storm was occasioned by the refusal of the Democratic Legislature to restore to the people the Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 41 choice of Presidential Electors, and by the removal of De Witt Clinton from the ofhce of Canal Commissioner. Mr. Clinton was elected Governor bv a large majority, while the Clintonian or people's party, elected full three-fourths of the members of the Assembly. More than twenty counties theretofore strongly " Bucktail " or Democratic, gave heavy Clintonian majorities. A new class of men, but few of whom had ever been in public life, found themselves in the Legislature. Many of them, with no taste or desire for the public service, consented to run in that emergency. I am not, therefore, as well informed as to the fate of the members of that House of Assembly as of that which immediately preceded it, consisting, as it did, of men who kept themselves before the public long years afterward. The only survivors of the members of Assembly of 1825, according to my information, are Harmon J. Quackenboss, of Delaware, Gustavus Clark, and Thurlow Weed, of Monroe, James R. Lawrence, of Onondaga, Freeman Stanton, of Scho- harie, and James De Mott, of Seneca. When I last saw Mr. Quackenboss, at Mechanicsville, Saratoga county, he was in high health and spirits, looking about as youthful as when I first saw him. His legislative experience was singular, having at intervals of five years represented three constituencies. He was a member from Delaware in 1825, from Greene in 1830, and from the city of ]^e\v York in 1835. General Lawrence, of Syracuse, though blind, is in good health, otherwise. Gus- tavus Clark, my old friend and colleague, when I last heard from him, was in good health. But few of the members of the Assembly of 1825 became prominent in subsequent years. Ambrose L. Jordan was sub- sequently elected to the Senate, and many years afterward be- came Attorney-General. He was a distinguished member of the bar of this city for the twenty years ]3receding his death. John W. Hurlburt, of Cayuga, had previously been a member of Congress from Berkshire, Mass. John Armstrong, Jr., of Dutchess, youngest son of General Armstrong, Secretary of War, under Mr. Madison, and brother of Mrs. William B. As- tor, was a young man of tine talent and popular manners, to whom a brilliant career opened, but he lacked industry and 42 Selections fkom the Is^ewspapee ambition, and failed to realize the hopes of his friends. Gains B. Rich, of Genesee, became a wealthy banker at Buffalo. Samuel L. Goiiverneur, of 'New York, was appointed postmaster of this city by John Quiney Adams. He was a Yirginian by birth, son-in-law of President Monroe, and a truly honorable and chivalric gentleman. He returned many years ago to Vir- ginia, where he died during the second year of the rebellion. I saw him at Washington, in 1861, with a clouded brow and saddened spirit, but as true to the Government and as loyal to the Union, as when his clarion voice used to sound clear and strong, always on the right side, in our halls of legislation. Samuel Stevens, of Washington county, removed soon after- ward to Albany, where he became, and remained for more than twenty years, a distinguished member of the bar of the State. Of the tliirty-two members of the Senate of 1825, the Hon. Heman J. Redlield, of Batavia, is the only survivor. The next surviving Senator is the Hon. Alvin Bronson, of Oswego, who retired in 1821:, and who, like Mr. Eedfield, in the enjoyment of good health, is also enjoying the rewards of an enterprising, successful, and well-spent life. Two members of the Senate of 1825, William ISTelson, of Westchester, and John Cramer, of Saratoga, after turning their ninetieth year, died in 1870. There was a remarkable breaking up or disruption of party ties in 1824. When the Senate commenced its session on the sixth of January, thirty of the thirty-two members were Demo- crats. Archibald Mclntyre, of Montgomery, was a Clintonian, and Jedediah Morgan, of Cayuga, self-nominated, was voted for by Clintonians. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, was the Congressional Caucus ISTominee for President. John Quiney Adams and Henry Clay, although belonging to the same party that nominated Mr. Crawford, refused to go into caucus, and became independent Candidates for President. At the close of a stormy and exciting session, the Senate was politically di- vided as follows : 1^07' Crawford — Messrs. Bowne, Lefferts, Ward, Sudam, Thorne, Livingstone, Dudley, Wriglit, Bronson, Greenly, Wooster, Keyes, Stranahan, Green, Earll, Eason, Pedfield, Bowman, McCall. — 19. Aeticles of Thuklow Weed. 43 For Adams — ^CTardiner, Burt, I^elson, Mallorj, Haight, Mclntire, Ljnde, Ogden, Burro wes, Morgan. — 10. For Clay — Wheeler, Cramer, Clark. — 3. In the final ballot, when Crawford and Adams only could be voted for, Messrs. Wheeler and Cramer voted for the Crawford, and Mr. Clark for the Adams ticket. It will surprise the people, if not the legislators of the pres- ent day, to learn how simply and inexpensively legislation was conducted in 1825. The officers of the Assembly of that year consisted of a Clerk, a Deputy and Engrossing Clerk, Sergeant- at-Arms, a Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper, and a Fire- man. Pages had not then been invented. I will not stai-tle readers by showing what an array of subordinates are now provided for in the Annual Supply Bill. The list of messen- gers and pages, to say nothing of clerks of Committees, post- masters, librarians, etc., etc., is fully equal in number to one- third of the whole number of members. I have seen this abuse grow up from year to year on one S23ecious pretext and another to its present enormous proportions. I do not know that one party is more to blame than anotlier. i^ew places are made for the relief of unfortunate and needy friends. T. W. THE POLITICIANS OF LOITG AGO. A. D. 1818-1824. mTEKESTIJSTG KKMINISCENCES OF NEW TOEK POLITICIAJSTS CUKI- OSITIES OF LEGISLATIVE HISTORY, ETC. We can scarcely be mistaken in attributing the following interesting chapter of personal and political reminiscences to the pen of Thurlow Weed. It appears in the New Yorh Times : "In showing, as we did one day last week, that ex-Governor Throop, of this State, as well as Chief- Justice Robinson, of Ken- 44 Selections feom the Newspaper tuckj, were surviving members of the Congress of 1815, we have called out the facts that Hon. M. Thatcher, of Maine, now ninety- five years old, was a member of Congress in 1802, sixty-nine years ago ! These instances of longevity of public men are quite interesting. We remember to have seen, two or three years ago, an item in which it was stated that Joshua Dewey, a mem- ber of our State Legislature from Otsego county, in 1798, was then a resident of Brooklyn, and in the enjoyment of good health. ITot being otherwise informed, we infer that he is still living. In looking through the legislative journals we fail to recognize another survivor for twenty years, and until the session of 1818, when our respected fellow-citizen, Michael Ulshoefier, was a member of the Assembly. David C. Judson, of St. Lawrence, was a member of that Legislature, and is still living. We believe that x\lexander Hamilton, a member of the Assembly from the city in 1819, is still living. Mr. Ulshoeffer was again a member in 1819. Elial P. Foote, a member of the Legislature of 1820, from Chautauqua, is, we believe, now a resident of IS^ew Haven, Conn. " The Legislature of 1822 was the last elected under the first State Constitution. Of the delegates to the State Convention of 1821, by which the second Constitution was framed, the venerable Samuel ISTelson, Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, is, we believe, the only survivor. Judge N^elson was a delegate from the county of Cortland. That Convention met just fifty years ago. Nearly all of the delegates were men of large experience in public affairs, and, consequently, were more advanced in years than members of the Legislature. The county of Albany, for example, was represented by four of the most distinguished men in the State, viz. : James Kent, Ambrose Spencer, Stephen Yan Rensselaer, and Abraham Yan Yechten, all of whom had passed their fifty-fifth birthdays. Hufus King, a delegate from Queens conn ty, himself distin- guished in the annals o our country, had four almost equally distinguished sons (John A., Charles, James G., and Edward), none of whom survive. " Of the members of the Legislature of 1823, the venerable Azariah C. Elagg is, as far as we are informed, the only sur- vivor. Mr. Flagg has resided for many years in London Ter- race, Twenty-third street, where, although as blind as Belisarius, Articles of Thuklow Weed. 45 with otherwise uiiimpaired faculties, tenderly cared for, he glides smoothly and cheerfully toward " that bourne " which almost all of his colleagues have reached. Mr. Flagg will leave an unblemished record. He held high and responsible financial positions, always discharging his duties with pro- verbial abihty and integrity. "In the memorable Legislature of 1824 — memorable for its refusal to pass the law giving the choice of Presidential Electors to the people, and for its removal of DeWitt Clinton from the office of Canal Commissioner — survivors visibly increase. But even now the number is ' few and far between.' John F. Hubbard, of Chenango, whose son is now a member of the Senate ; Azariah C. Flagg, of Clinton ; Oran Follett, now a resident of Sandusky, Ohio, and Samuel L. Edwards, of Onondaga, comprise the list. "Among the members of the Legislature forty years ago, we recognize several whose sons have since become prominent, and who are themselves approaching the ' sere and yellow leaf of life.' Henry Seymour, member of the Assembly from Onondaga in 1820, and of the Senate in 1824, was the father of ex-Governor Horatio Seymour. James 'Nje, member of the Assembly from Madison county in 1818, was the father of James W. 'Nye, now a United States Senator from I^evada. . General Joseph Kirkland, a member of the Assembly from Oneida county in 1804, 1818, 1820, and 1830, was the father of Charles P. Kirkland, Esq., now a prominent member of the bar of this city. Isaac Belknap, a member of the Assembly from Orange county in 1818, was the grandfather of the pres- ent Secretary of War. Joseph D. Monell, member of the Assembly from Columbia county in 1824, was the father of Judge Monell, of this city. " Legislation, like literature, has its curiosities, such, for example, as that, in the Convention of 1801, by which our first State Constitution was framed, Jonathan G. Tompkins was delegated from Westchester county, while his son, Daniel D. Tompkins, was a delegate from ISTew York. Stephen Yan Rensselaer and Abraham Yan Yechten, from Albany, were mem- bers of the first and second Constitutional Conventions. In the Assembly of 1794, the counties of Albany, Dutchess, and 46 Selections fkom the ]!!^ewspapee New York must have been about equal in population, as each sent seven members to the Legislature. Josiah Ogden Ploff- man, so long a distinguished member olthe bar of this city, was a delegate to the first Constitutional Convention from the county of Albany. Colonel Aaron Burr, the President of that Convention, though a resident of JSTew York, was elected from Orange county. Martin Yan Buren, a delegate to the second Constitutional Convention, was, as we have already stated, a member of the first Constitutional Convention. Peter H. Wendover, of ]^ew York, and Henry Huntington, of Oneida, were delegates to the first and second Constitutional Con- ventions. " In primitive times people did not change their representa- tives merely to give A, B, C, D, etc., their turn. Under the first Constitution Mathew Adgate represented the county of Albany in the Assembly twelve consecutive years ; Samuel A. Barker represented Dutchess county twelve years ; Kitchell Bishop represented Washington county eight years ; Abraham Braser, and his son Philip (the turtle-eating alderman), i-epre- sented the city of JSTew York eight years ; Aaron Bun- represented the city of ISTew York three years, and the county of Orange one year ; John Cantine represented the county of Ulster sixteen years ; Stephen Carman represented the county of Queens twenty years, being from 1798 to 1819 ; Jeremiah Clark represented the county of Orange eleven years ; Benja- min Coe represented the county of Queens ten years ; Adam Comstock represented the county of Saratoga twelve years ; Clarkson Crolius represented the city of New York twelve years. The Deitys — Adam, Jost, and Johannas — repre- sented the county of Albany eighteen years ; Abijah Gilbert re]3resented the county of Westchester thirteen years ; the Havens family represented the county of Suffolk nineteen years ; David Hopkins represented the county of Washington eighteen years ; George Huntington represented the county of Oneida nine years ; David Kissam represented the county of Queens thirteen years. The counties of Dutchess, Columbia, Westchester, Albany, Washington, and Montgomery had forty- seven representatives of the name of Livingston. Archibald Mclntyre represented the county of Montgomery eleven years ; Ebenezer Purdy represented the county of Westchester eight Articles of Thuelow Weed. 47 years ; Erastus Root represented the county of Delaware eleven years ; C. C. Sclioonmaker represented the county of Ulster thirteen years. Alexander Sheldon, represented Mont- gomery county eleven years, five of which he was Speaker of the House ; Thomas Thomas represented Westchester county thirteen years ; Elisha Williams represented Columbia county eight years. Between the years 1801 and 1821 there were 101: representatives in the Legislature from the universal Smith family. T. W." ESTABLISHMEI^T OF THE ALBANY EYENIKG JOUENAL. [From the Albany Evening Journal, March 33, 1830.] A DAILY paper; OPPOSED TO FREE MASONRY, WILL ISSUE FROM THE PRESS OF B. D. PACKARD & CO., ON MONDAY, MARCH 22d, 1830. The Journal will labor diligently and faithfully to vindi- cate Republican principles and to defend Constitutional Liberty. The object of its establishment is to aid in the great work of civil and political reformation which the people have taken in nand. Its publishers and their immediate patrons are impelled to this enterprise by considerations which deeply aifect the common interests and the common welfare of the whole com munity. The Journal will aim to be generally interesting and use- ful, by containing, in addition to the ordinary news, appropriate literary and scientific selections. The Journal will be published daily at $8 per annum, and semi-weekly, for the country, at $4: per annum, payable half- yearly. The undersigned. Members of the Legislature, deeming it of great importance that a daily and semi-weekly paper de- 48 Selections fkom the Newspaper voted to tlie cause of Anti-Masonry, slioiild be established at the seat of government, and entertaining perfect confidence in the discretion, zeal and ability of the Publishers and Editor of the Albany Journal, earnestly recommend that paper to the prompt and efiicient support of all the friends of equal rights and civil liberty : Francis Granger, Timothy Fitch, Abner Hazletine, P. 0. Fuller, Titus Goodman, Jr., Ezra Shelden, Jr., Joseph Randall, Calvin P. Bailey, Stephen Griswold, M. Fillmore, Robert C. IS^icholas, S. De Yeaux, Sept's Evans, David Sill, Luther Chapin, Seth Eddy, Wm. H. Maynard, g. h. boughton, Albert H. Tracy, H. F. Mather, Squire White, John Dickson, John H. Tyler, Edmund Hull, Daniel Ashley, D. Russell, R. AViLcox, Josiah Dunlap, Samuel Blain, Stephen Crosby. The embarrassments incident to the establishment of all daily papers will be urged for a season, in behalf of the pres- ent enterprise, as an apology for such omissions and imperfec- tions as are but too likely to occur. The Journal, to use a practical term, starts from the stump. Its materials are all new and untried. It will require some little time for the per- sons engaged in its mechanical and intellectual departments to accustom and familiarize themselves to their appropriate duties. The space between the annunciation and appearance of the paper has been too brief to enable its proprietors to avail them- selves of facilities and to perfect arrangements, by which they hope to render their sheet measurably useful and interesting. The public sentiment which spontaneously demanded the establishment of this journal, is pregnant with interest and instruction. The '"'■ speck''^ which three years since appeared in the western horizon has magnified itself into a mighty cloud, Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 49 overshadowing the whole State, and preparing to pour out healthful showers to refresh and vivify the civil and political institutions of our country. The ahduction, imprisonment and murder of a citizen, by an association of men sufficiently numerous and influential to hold our Tribunals of Justice at bay, naturally awakened a public in- vestigation. The offenses were found to have been committed by Free Masons, for the protection of their order. Further investigation established the fearful fact that the laws were too feeble to vindicate themselves against Masonic aggression. Still further inquiry proved that the Executive, Legislative, Judicial and Municipal departments of the government were then in the hands of Free Masons, and under the influence of their institution. These startling disclosures provoked a searching investigation into the principles, tendency and aims of the Masonic institution. They were soon unfolded, and found to be utterly inconsistent with private rights, and fraught with irianifold dangers to the public welfare. In view of these evils, threatening destruction to their dear- est rights and most precious possessions, the people entered upon a course of action worthy of a country won by valorous sires and inherited by patriotic sons. The entire overthrow of Free Masonry was firmly resolved on. The conflict com- menced under circumstances of peculiar and poignant embar- rassment. The people, before entering the arena, had to carry up and sacrifice on the altar of the public good, their private friendships, their social ties, and their political attachments. They all had friends or kindred associated with an institution which stood out in rebellion against the laws and liberties of the land. The path of duty, liowever, was too plainly indi- cated for good men to hesitate in pursuing it. But the institu- tion was so strong in influence, numbers and w^ealth, had so won over the public confidence and visited its opponents w^ith such summary and tremendous vengeajstce, that it required the most constant and high-hearted efforts of patriotism to up- hold the cause of liglit and truth. The mode adopted by the people to overthrow Free Masonry is at once the most effective and the least exceptionable of any that could have been resorted to. It accomplishes a great pub- lic good, without inflicting any private wrongs. None suffer 7 50 fc? ELECTIONS FROM THE KewSPAPER with Free Masonry but such as vohintarilj elect to maintain her cause and abide its fate. The friends of the order gener- ally admit that it is useless — while its opponents, having clearly proved it to be dangerous, call upon its thousand vir- tuous members to renounce it and place themselves upon an equality with their fellow citizens. There is nothing of con- straint in this. Those who prefer the swelling titles, the bau- ble sceptres, the mock majesty, and the mystic honors and emoluments of Free Masonry, to the simple, unostentatious duties of Republican citizens — who take and obey her un- earthly oaths, certainly have no title to reproach the people for withdrawing their confidence from the sworn subjects of an- other government. There is too much frankness in the character of our people, too little guile in the nature of our institutions, to tolerate the existence of secret societies. Studied secresy always awakens doubts and distrust. The country has every thing to appre- hend, and nothing to hope,, from formidable secret societies. Shame, vice and treason are engendered by night, and woo concealment ; but Charity, Science and Religion love the light, and seek to be reflected in its rays. The ancients aspired to a state of moral perfection which would enable them to walk with a window in their breast. But from this test of heathen virtue the vaunting '''•Hand-maid of Religion^^ shrinks, toad- like, into her dark and loathsome lodge-room, from which the genial light and wholesome air are excluded. This paper, while laboring to disrobe Free Masonry of its assumed vestments, and to exhibit it to the world in its own garb, will aim to disabuse the public mind in relation to the origin, progress and purposes of anti-Masonry. The Masonic institution, when truly presented to the understandings of men, will be found to be barren and bald of all the virtues and wisdom with which it has been invested by fable and tra- dition. It is neither expected nor desired that our accusations against Free Masonry should be taken on trust. The Cause is at issue. Time and truth must be the arbiter between the people and the institution which they seek to annihilate. ■\ Articles of Thuelow Weed. 51 " A GOOD ENOUGH MOKGAN." A. D. 1826. Thuelow Weed's Remestiscences of the Old Time Tragedy — Stoet of the Moegan Muedee — A double identification OF A DEOWNED man WaS IT MoEG-AN OE MoNROE ? To the Editor of the iV^. Y. Herald : The recent inauguration of a massive Masonic Hall and Asylum in this city, and the imposing demonstration of Knights Templars from various parts of the Union, recals an event in the history of that institution v^hich occurred almost fifty years ago, and which was iirst of local but subsequently of gene- ral importancejmd excitement. This is known and remembered as the "Morgan abduction." Having been connected with that question as a member of an investigating committee, and as the editor of an anti-Masonic journal, I have been called on by the N'ew Yorh Herald for information concerning the body of a man found on the shore of Lake Ontario, alleged to be that of William Morgan, but claimed afterward to be that of Timothy Monroe. The allegations of mutilating that body and of palming it off upon the public for political effect and of boasting that it was a " good enough Morgan till after the election," were publicly made, widely circulated and at a dis- tance generally believed. I was painfully conscious of this in meeting strangers at home and abroad, for more than forty years. In 1813, when in London, by a strange chance I lodged in a hotel near Blackfriars Bridge, which had been the ancient " Freemasons' Tavern " and which was then frequented by the oldest London lodges. My presence, as I was surprised to learn from its host, was the subject of inquiry. While in Paris a few weeks afterward I was informed by my friend, B. Perley Poore, that my visit had occasioned some uneasiness among Freemasons in that city. I had been repeatedly informed by gentlemen in I^gw York, Boston, Philadelphia, etc., that until their minds were relieved by long and intimate acquaintance, their intercourse with me had been embarrassed with the early 62 Selections feom the Newspaper impression that I had, for political effect, beea guilty of a hig'hly discreditable act. Prompted, therefore, by appeals, first in the Herald and then in the Albany Argus, I determined to furnish the facts and circumstances out of which the " GOOD ENOUGH MORGAN " accusation originated. The completion of this narrative, how- ever, has been unexpectedly delayed. In resuming, although this question opens a wide field, I will endeavor to compress it. To do so I must assume preliminary questions as fixed facts. In regard to these fixed facts there will be no contro- versy among those who have made themselves acquainted with a truthful history of that most extraordinary event. I did not personally know William Morgan who, in 1826, was for more than two months writing his book on Ma- sonry in a honse adjoining my I'esidence, at Rochester. When applied to by Dr. Dyer, my next door neighbor, where Morgan boarded, to print the book purporting to disclose the secrets of Masonry, I declined to do so, believ- ing that a man who had taken an oath to keep a secret had no right to disclose it. Although not a Freemason, I had entertained favorable opinions of an institution to which Washington, Franklin and Lafayette belonged. On my refusal to print his book Morgan removed to Batavia, where he made the acquaintance of David C. Miller, editor of the Advo- cate., also a Mason, who became his publisher. I pass briefly over a series of facts which were judicially established, embrac- ing the arrest of Morgan, his conveyance to and confinement in the county jail at Canandaigua, from which he was released and conveyed by night in close carriages through Rochester, Clarkson, and along the Ridge Road to Fort ISTiagai-a, in the magazine of which he was confined. While thus confined a Knight Templar encampment was installed at Lewiston, and while at supper, the zeal and enthusiasm having been aroused by speeches and wine, Colonel William King, of Lockport, in- vited four men (Whitney, Howard, Chubbuck and Garside) from their seats at the banquetting table into an adjoining apartment, where he informed them that he had an order from the Grand Master (DeWitt Clinton), the execution of which Articles of Thuklow Weed. 53 required their assistance. This party was then driven to I^iag- ara, reaching the fort a little before 12 o'clock. THE MUKDEK OF MOEGAJST. Upon entering the magazine, Colonel King informed Morgan that his friends had completed their arrangements for his re- moval to and residence upon a farm in Canada. Morgan walked with them to the wharf, where a boat was held in read- iness for them by Elisha Adams, an invalid soldier, into which the party passed and rowed away, Adams remaining to warn the boat off by signal if on its return any alarm had been given. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the morning when the boat came back, having, as Adams expressed it, lost one man, only five of the six being on board when the boat returned. "When the boat reached a point where the ISTiagara river empties into Lake Ontario, ^ rope being wound aromid Morgan's body, to either end of which a sinker was attached, he was thrown over- board. It is due to the memory of Governor Clinton to say that Colonel King had no such order and no authority to make use of his name. It is proper, also, to add that none of these men survive. John Whitney, of Rochester, whom 1 knew well, related all the circumstances connected with the last act in that tragedy, to me at Albany in 1831, in the pres- ence of Simeon J. Jewett, of Clarkson, and Samuel Barton, of Lewiston. FINDING THE BODY. In October, 182Y, more than a year after the abduction of Morgan, a body drifted on shore near a small creek which entered into Lake Ontario. A coroner's inquest was held, and a verdict rendered that it was the body of an unknown person. The coroner wrote out a minute description of the body, and published it along with the finding of the jury, in an Orleans county newspaper. That description, attracting the attention of persons well acquainted with Morgan, excited considerable interest. The widow and several intimate friends of Morgan seemed so confident that it was his body that the committee appointed to investigate the abduction determined to hold another inquest, of which public notice was given. On the day appointed some sixty or seventy people assembled at the 54 Selections feom the ISTewspaper mouth of Oak Orchard creek, where the body of the unknown man was interred. Before opening the grave Mrs. Morgan and Dr. Strong described certain marks on Morgan's body, by means of which it could be identified. When the rude coffin was opened, the body it contained disclosed the peculiarities described, and after deliberate examination the jurors declared it unanimously the body of William Morgan. From this ver- dict no one present dissented, and for a week or ten days the question seemed to be settled. THE BODY CLAIMED AGAIN. Later in October there came a report declaring the body to be that of Timothy Monroe, a Canadian, who was swept in a small boat over ISTiagara Falls eleven days previous to the time that the body was washed ashore at the mouth of Oak Orchard creek. The remains in the meantime had been taken by Mrs. Morgan to Batavia. A third inquest was now to be held for the purpose of establishing the claim of Mrs. Monroe. A large concourse of citizens was in attendance. Mrs. Monroe appeared, and gave a description of her husband's person, and of the clothes in which he left home on the morning of the day he was drowned. Previous to her examination Bates Cooke, Chairman of the Morgan Investigating Committee, examined the clothes taken from the body and carefully pre- served by the Coroner, with great minuteness. This enabled him to test the accuracy of Mrs. Monroe's knowledge and memory. ^Neither Mrs. Monroe nor any person sympathizing with her or interested in the identification of the body as that of Monroe, had access to it or had seen any of the wearing apparel of the deceased. And yet Mrs. Monroe not only gave a general de- scription of each garment, but underwent a rigid cross-exami- nation by Mr. Cooke of more than an hour, in which she de- scribed with singular accuracy every rent and patch found in each garment. She indicated buttons she had sewed on the pantaloons to replace those lost which did not match the oth- ers. She also described one stocking which had been darned with yarn of a different color. In a word, her description of the clothing was so accurate in every particular as to leave no Articles of Thurlow Weed. 55 doubt that eacli article had been under her special care. But, wonderfully accui'ate as she had been on this point, she was most strangely wrong in her description of the body, Monroe being at least three inches taller than the corpse. She de- scribed her husband's hair and whiskers as being coarse and black, adding that his hair had been cut quite short a few days before he was drowned, w^hile that upon the head of the de- ceased was long, silky, and of a chestnut color. Monroe's son confirmed his mother's testimony relating both to the clothes and the body. No attempt was made to impeach either, nor was there any doubt that Monroe had been drowned, as alleged. It was difficult to reconcile these conflicting statements. Mrs. Monroe was as clearly right about the clothes as she was wrong about the body that had been found in them. THE THIRD IKQUEST resulted in finding that the body previously adjudged to be Morgan's was that of Timothy Monroe. There were other cir- cumstances connected with the disappearance of both Morgan and Monroe, assuming that both had been drowned in Lake Ontario, calculated to complicate the questions of identity. The body was found at Oak Orchard creek a full year after Morgan's disappearance ; of course it could not have been drifting about that length of time. It was known, however, that Morgan was weighted heavily when thrown into the lake ; and, two months before that body was found, the mouth of the river and that part of the lake where Morgan w^as supposed to have been thrown overboard had been thoroughly raked. In this way it was supposed that the body had been released from its weight, risen to the surface and drifted to Oak Orchard creek. Monroe was drowned on the 25th or 2Tth of Septem- ber. The body at Oak Orchard creek was found on the 8th day of October, leaving but eleven or twelve days to drift a distance of forty miles, where it was found. It is understood that drowned persons remain several days under water. It was ascertained by meteorological records that, during the inter- val between Monroe's death and finding of the body at Oak Orchard creek, the wind blew most of the time up the lake. Now, as there is no current in Lake Ontario, it seemed improb- 56 Selectiojsts feom the ]^EWSPAPER able that tlie body found should be that of Monroe ; while on the other hand it seemed equally improbable that a man drowned in the latter part of September, 1826, could have been found in a tolerable state of preservation in October, 1827. So that there were irreconcilable facts and circumstances connected with this strange history. Mrs. Morgan and the intimate friends of Morgan described marks upon his person before seeing that body, which left no doubt in the minds of all present that it was the remains of her husband. Strangely enough, however, she repudiated every article of clothing found upon the body. And yet Mrs. Mon- roe, who came from Canada, readily described every article, garment by garment, with minute and startling accuracy. "While, therefore, up to the time that Mrs. Monroe appeared there were no just grounds for discrediting the correctness of the second inquest, yet after the third inquest had been held at Batavia there was a strong reaction in public opinion. Al- though the gentlemen associatted with me in the investigation were still strongly of the opinion that the body was that of William Morgan, my own previously clear and strong convic- tions were a good deal disturbed. ]^or can I now, after nearly iifty years of anxious inquiry and reflection, say that I am satisfied that it was or was not the bod}^ of William Morgan. The discrepancies about hair and beard between Mrs. Mor- gan and Mrs. Monroe, after the conclusion of the third or Batavia inquest, induced those who claimed the body to be that of Timothy Monroe, to say that the hair was pulled out and the whiskers shaven off to make it resemble Morgan. That could only have been done in the presence of between sixty and seventy persons, some of whom were Democrats and others Freemasons, and yet all must have seen and consented to the fraud. The last inquest was held only a few days before the election. Xo other question entered into the canvass. The excitement was greater than I had previously or have since witnessed. ORIGIN OF THE " GOOD ENOUGH " STORY. A few evenings before the election I went into a billiard saloon to see my friend Gustavus Clark. A number of gen- Articles of Thtjklow Weed. 57 tlemen were present, and among tliem Ebenezer Griffin, who, as connsel for several persons indicted for the abduction of Morgan, had conducted the inquest at Batavia. As I was leav- ing the room Mr. Griffin said : " Well, Weed, what are you. going to do for a Morgan now ? " I replied, as I was closing the door : " That is a good enough Morgan until you bring back the one you carried away." This remark was reproduced in the Rochester Daily Advertist^r^ with an apparently slight but most important variation, instead of what I did in fact say. I was represented as saying, " That is a good enough Morgan until after the election." What I did say in reply to Mr. Griffin's question was a proper response, while what I was erroneously accused of saying was highly discreditable, and has subjected me, at home- and abroad, for nearly fifty years to reproach and obloquy. Mr. Dawson, senior editor of the Albany Evening Journal, who resided at Rochester during the Morgan excite- ment, recently wrote an article on the subject, in which he said : The phrase had its origin something in this wise : In 1827, a few months after William Morgan disappeared, the body of a drowned man was found in lake Ontario, near the outlet of Oak Orchard creek. It was believed by many who saw it, to be the body of the kidnapped and murdered Morgan, while others alleged it to be the body of another missing man — one Timothy Monroe. The latter met with this difficulty, how- ever : Monroe had whiskers, this body had not. But to over- come this important fact the then editor of the Rochester Ad- ve7'tiser charged that Mr. Weed had shaved off Monroe's whiskers, and by doing so had made " a good enough Morgan until after the election " then pending. The slander was in- dustriously used at the time, and has been a thorn in the side of Mr. Weed from that day to this. Of course, its repetition is less irritating now than it was forty-eight years ago, but its use even as a joke has always chafed Mr. Weed, and his more intimate friends were careful never to allude to it in his pres- ence. Mr. Dawson's article brought a correspondent of the Albany Argus " to the front," who not only reiterates the charge against me, but furnishes what purports to be an affidavit of the person who saw me commit the offense. The Argus corre- spondent says : 58 Selections fbom the ISTewspaper "William Morgan was a man of medinm size, very bald, and shaved his whiskers off even to the top of his ears ; and the body, which was found and called Timothy Monroe, was six inches longer than the height of William Morgan, Besides, the face of the body found was covered with whiskers, and it was said that to make the body found appear like Morgan, some of the committee who M'ere sent to Oak Orchard creek to an immense mass-meeting of anti-Masons, among whom were ThurloAv Weed and his right hand man Friday, named Jack Marchant, had pulled out the whiskers and shaved the face of Monroe. Some time after this, in the fall of 1827, when anti-Masonry had become rife in politics, Mr. Weed, who was younger then than he is now and quite poor, and de- sirous of making himself somebody, became the leader of the anti-Masonic party, and entertained much hatred and contempt for all who did not vote the anti-Masonic ticket, especially for those Democrats wdio were not Masons, to whom he gave the name of "■ Masons' Jacks." And some Jack Mason, as I under- stood it, was rallying Thurlow about his false Morgan, when he, either jocosely or in earnest, replied, " It is a good enough Morgan till after election." Such has always been the under- standing until the Journal contradicted it, as above stated. As prima facie evidence that he did so, I will relate a fact to show the animus of Thurlow Weed, then. In the fall of 1828, General Jackson was the Democratic candidate for President, Martin Van Buren for Governor, and Enos T. Throoj) for Lieutenant-Governor. The polls were open three days in dif- ferent places in the town. Your correspondent was then a resident of Rochester, and was one of those inoffensive animals called " Jack Masons." At that election, about four miles southwest of Rochester, the polls were held, and our venerable friend, then c[uite young, to show his ineffable contempt for Jack Masons, led up to the polls a jackass and put a vote into his mouth, and pushed its head toward the window where votes were taken ; whereupon your correspondent read in quite a loud voice the printed copy of an affidavit, which was in these words : Monro6 County, ss — Zephania Green, of the town of Henri- etta, in said county, doth depose and say that he saw Thurlow Weed pull out the whiskers of Timothy Monroe, and Jack Marchant he did shave the same. And further deponent saith not. Sworn to before me, September, 1827. Zephania Gkeen. a corkection, The Argus correspondent, it will be seen, claims to have had personal knowledge of the matter about which he writes, and Articles of Thuklow Weed. 59 is evidently one of those who believed, and still believes, the accusations against me to be true. Relying, as he evidently does, on his memory, I will not hold him severely responsible for utterly misstating every material fact in his article. The election to which he refers was not held in 1828, but in 1827, when neither General Jackson nor Martin Yan Buren nor Enos T. Throop were candidates. The affidavit which he says he read aloud at the polls at that election, is a mere skeleton perversion of an afhdavit which was published in handbills and freely circulated, not only at the polls referred to, but through out the county. I preserved and still retain in my possession one of those handbills, of which the following is a literal and exact copy : William C. Green, being duly sworn, deposeth and says that he, the said Green, with others, did attend the poll of election held at Howard's in the town of Gates, in the county of Monroe, and that there Mr. Thurlow Weed did say that he, the said Thurlow, did pull the whiskers from the face of the body found at Oak Orchard creek, and that John Marchant did shave the same, he, the said Thurlow, being one of the Morgan Committee. William C. Geeen. Subscribed and sworn, this 6th day of November, 1827, be- fore me. Samuel Millek, J. P. This affidavit appeared in the Rochester Daily Advertiser No^-ember 7, 1827, and was circulated in handbill form at the polls the same day. I preserved one of the handbills, from which the above is a literal copy. The affidavit is signed by William C. instead of Zephania Green. Mr. W. C. Green swears that he heard me say that I "did pull the whiskers from the face of the body found at Oak Orchard creek." The Ar^gus affidavit maker, " Zephania Green," swears that he " saw me pull out the whiskers," etc. ISTow, the fact is, no such affidavit appeared or was read at the poll of the election re- ferred to ; nor, as far as I know, was there any such man in or about Rochester as Zephania Green. But, I did know Wil- liam C. Green, a Democratic electioneer, by whom, it was arranged, I should be followed and importuned with questions about Timothy Monroe's hair and whiskers. The object was to keep me so surrounded and occupied as to withdraw my 60 Selections feom the Newspaper attention from the electors as they came to vote. Discovering its object I determined to put an end to the by-play, and when asked by Green if I pulled out Monroe's whiskers, I answered affirmatively, and to the question " Who shaved the body," I replied " John Marchant." This turned the laugh against my opponents. Nobody, however, was misled by it, for all re- ceived it as it was intended. Green's occupation was spoiled for that day. On the following morning, however, his affida- vit a]3peared in the Daily Advertiser, and was circulated free- ly at the polls. Green swore to the truth, but in a manner to make truth a falsehood. All who heard me, including Green himself, knew that it was a joke. Judge Miller, the then young Justice of the Peace before whom the affidavit was made, is now a venerable citizen of New Haven, Conn. I had no reason to complain and did not complain of the use made of my jocose admission. the other accusation, however, namely, of boasting that the body found at Oak Orchard creek was a " good enough Morgan till after the elec- tion," though an utter perversion, proved serious and endur- ing. My action in reference to the body in question was in- fluenced by a sincere and earnest desire for truth. I realized, in every step taken, the high responsibility of the investiga- tion. I knew that a mistake upon a question of such exciting and absorbing interest would react powerfully. Thus im- pressed, 1 exerted myself personally to induce all who knew Morgan, whether Masons or anti-Masons, Democrats or Whigs, to be present at the second inquest. In looking back upon an event which occurred nearly half a century ago, with the asperities and impressions which it occa- sioned allayed and corrected, and in view of the embittered feeling existing between the editor and proprietor of the Hoch- ester Daily Advertiser and myself, I am free to admit that they had provocations which, from their standpoint, excused the use of such political weapons as they found available. It was a sort of hand-to-hand conflict, in which I remember to have been unsparing. The term "Mason Jacks," freely ap- plied to all who acted politically against us, was a peculiarly offensive one, and most especially so to the editor and publisher Articles of Thurlow Weed. 61 of the Advertiser, neither of whom were Masons. Even now it is evident that the correspondent of the Argus has not for- gotten that offense. In conclusion I affirm, in the strongest language and in the broadest sense, that I acted in perfect good faith throughout the investigation touching the body found at Oak Orchard creek, and that I have truthfully repeated a play- ful and innocent reply to a question out of which grew the un- founded charge of boasting that it was a " good enough Mor- gan until after the election," under the odium of which I have rested forty-eight years. It may not be out of time or place to add that in this case it is not too late to " vindicate the truth of history." The then editor of the Rochester Daily Advertiser is now a resident of this city. He was as actively and warmly op- posed as I was devoted to the cause of anti-Masonry. He was familiar with the question from the beginning to the end. I have never conversed with him on the subject, nor do I know what his impressions are, but if he is in possession of evidence either that I mutilated the body in question or boasted that it was a " good enough Morgan until after the election," he will, doubtless, regard this a fitting occasion to produce it. T. W. Augtist 6, 1875. THE GEEAT " WEBSTER DINNEE." LN. Y. Commercial Advertiser, Marcli 18, 1871.] A Brief History of the Kent and Hone Clubs. The late Mr. Philip Hone, an old merchant prince and a for- mer Mayor of our city, is remembered by all who enjoyed his acquaintance, not only as eminent among those who laid the foundations of our commercial prosperity, but as a gentleman of refinement and culture, who, during his long life, was the center of attraction in all literary and social circles. The very 02 Selections fkom the I^ewspapee mention of his name to those who were familiar with JSTew York society, from the year 1820 to 1850, brings up a w^orld of pleas- ant memories. The article recently published in the Commer- cial Advertiser, giving a brief account of a public dinner to Mr. Webster in 1831, has elicited the following letter : ]^ew York, March 3. My Dear Me. Weed : Like many others, I was much inter- ested in the publication, over your initials, a few days since, of the names of the subscribers to the great Webster dinner of March 24, 1831, and surprised to find that my father's (Mr. Philip Hone) name was not among them ; so I referred to his Manuscript J ournal, of which 1 have thirty-two volumes, and under the impression that his account of this dinner would be of interest to you, my daughter made the inclosed copy. Yours, very truly, RoBT. L. Hone. Thuelow Weed, Esq. [Extract from Philip Hone's Journal.] Thursday, March 24, 1831. A splendid dinner was given this day by a number of our citizens to the Hon. Daniel Webster, for his able defense of the Constitution. The company consisted of about two hundred and fifty of the most respectable persons in the city. Chan- cellor Kent presided, with Treasurers Jay, Grreeneray, and John Hone as Yice-Presidents. The following were the regular toasts : 1. The supremacy of the Law — " To which all our homage ; — the very least as feeling its use, and the greatest as not exempt from its power." 2. The President of the United States. 3. The Governor of the State of ISTew York. 4. The Constitution of the United States, the monument of our Country's Wisdom — the Instrument of its Safety, its Lib- erty and its Greatness. 5. The Judiciary of the United States, a co-ordinate branch of the Government — every patriot will support and defend it in the exercise of its constitutional power. 6. Our Guest — Daniel Webster — to his Talents we owe a most triumphant vindication of the Great Principles of the Constitution. Articles of Thurlow Weed. 63 7. The Army and Navy of the United States. 8. John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States. 9. The memory of Washington. 10. " Our Country, our whole Country, and nothing but our Country." 11. The progress and triumphs of the Pacific Arts — developing the Resources and concentrating the power of the Republic 12. The great Contest of the age — Liberty against Despot- ism, success to every struggle to meliorate the condition of man. 13. " The glorious Ensign of our Republic, known and hon- ored throughout the Earth — its motto, Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." The sixth and eighth toasts were introduced by the President with appropriate remarks in his best manner. They were excellent, and in singular good taste. After the applause which followed the sixth had subsided, Mr. Webster arose, and made an address of an hour and a half which no one who heard it will ever forget. It was patriotic, fervent, eloquent, imbued with no party violence, purely Ameri- can, it was " our Country, our whole Country, and nothing but our Country." There were many tine things in it. [ remarked most particularly the following beautiful train of metaphor. The orator in portraying the character of Hamilton, eulogized his exertions to raise the credit of the country in its day of peril, and the system of finance which he established, and said : " He struck the flinty Rock, and copious streams of Revenue flowed from it. He touched the lifeless corpse of public credit, and it sprang upon its feet, a living Body — the fabled birth of Minerva was not more sudden than that of the system of finance which his head produced." Chancellor Kent gave the following volunteer : " Massachusetts — we know her History by Heart" I gave " that part of our delegation in the last Congress who stood up nobly for the Constitution, and determined by their votes that not only should no question be taken on the Consti- tution, but that the Constitution should be unquestioned.'''' I gave also the following, with some prefatory remarks, alluding to a report which had prevailed, that Judge Marshall was about resigning in consequence of ill health, which report had been 64 Selections fkom the Newspaper contradicted only this day. " Chief Justice Marshall, may the Ermine never be cast from his shoulders, until a Daniel comes to judgment." Our Commercial Metropolis about the period of that dinner to Mr. Webster, and for several years afterward, was unosten- tatiously, but eminently intellectual and social. The various professions, whether commercial, judicial, medical, or divine, were i"epresented by men of rare enterprise, profound knowl- edge, recognized skill and science, along with gifted eloquence and practical piety. In the various departments of material and intellectual progress required to produce combined results, there were men who stood up confessedly head and shoulders above their fellows. Indeed, there were " giants among us in those days." These elements found their highest forms of expression in the Kent and Hone Clubs. The Kent Club was formed at the residence of Peter A. Jay, in December, 1836, and the number of members limited to forty-five. It was an Association of lawyers, designed for intellectual improvement and social enjoyment. The follow ing is a list of the original members of the Kent Club : David B. Ogden, Peter A. Jay, Samuel Stevens, Seth P. Staples, Frederick Depeyster,* Hugh Maxwell,* William Kent, Beverly Robinson, John Duer, Robert Sedgwick, Thomas L. Ogden, Dudley Selden, Eichard Eay Ward,* Francis Griffin, James W. Gerard,* Ogden Hoffman, Daniel Lord, William H. Harrison, Richard M. Blatchford,* J. Prescott Hall, Thomas L. Wells,* Isaac A. Johnson, Murray Hoffman,* Elijah Paine, William Samuel Johnson, *George Griffin, John Slosson, Matthew C. Patterson, Edward Curtis, George C. Goddard,* Abel T. Anderson, Hiram Ketchum, James I. Roosevelt, Jr.,* William M. Price, Francis B. Cutting, Charles O'Connor,* James Campbell, Charles A. Clinton, William Betts,* Josepli Blunt, Robert Emmet,* Thatcher T. Payne. The survivors are thus (*) indicated. Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 65 Chancellor Kent was made an honorary member. The Judges of the United States Circuit and District Courts, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Yice-Chancellors, the Re- corder, the Circuit Judge, with the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, were made ex officio members of the Club. The Club met punctually every Saturday evening, at half- past seven o'clock, at the residence of its respective members, in accordance with a programme designating the places of meeting for the first year. At supper, but two dishes other than oysters were allowed. Fruit, coffee, and tea, but no ice creams or confectionery were served. Each member was per- mitted to introduce one stranger. It was my good fortune to be frequently received as a " stranger " at these ever-to-l)e- remembered Kent Club meetings. On these occasions the best thinkers of this and of neighboring cities were brought together. Conversation, though interesting and animated, was never loud or excited. I can remember as if it were but of yesternight, how the words of wisdom used to drop from the lips of Kent, Duer, Ogden, Jay, Maxwell, O'Connor, etc., and how immensely the quiet but true wit and humor of Robert Emmet, Ogden Hoffman, J. Prescott Hall, William Kent, etc., used to be enjoyed. I remember to have attended the meetings of the Kent Club, at the residences of William Kent, Samuel Stevens, Richard M. Blatchford, William S. Johnson, Francis B. Cut- ting, Dudley Selden, J. Prescott Hall, David B. Ogden, and Elijah Paine, The Hone Club was formed October 22, 1838, at a dinner given by Mr. John Ward, at his house in Bond street, to ten gentlemen. It was there arranged to dine at each other's houses every Monday, at five o'clock. The host was allowed to invite four gentlemen outside of the club. The club consisted at first of Philip Hone, in honor of whom it was named, and who was its President, Moses H. Grinnell, John Ward, George Curtis, Prescott Hall, R. M. Blatchford, Simeon Draper, Roswell L. Colt, William G. Ward, James Bo wen, Charles H. Russell, Samuel Jaudon, and Edward Curtis. The following four gentlemen were subsequently elected members of the club, viz. : John Duer, Thomas Tile- ston, Paul Spofford, and James Watson Webb. These gentle- 9 66 Selections from the Newspaper men, all prominent Whigs, had been actively engaged for many years in an exciting struggle, Mdiich resulted finally, in 1838, in the complete overthrow of the Albany Regency. At the first meeting of the club after its organization, Daniel Webster and William H. Seward were chosen honorary mem- bers. The club was dissolved soon after the death of Mr. Hone, in 1851. In 1842 the club purchased a portrait of Daniel Webster, painted for them by Healy, which adorned Mr. Hone's dining- room until his death, when it was raffled for by the club while dining at Mi*. Tileston's. An incident connected with this first raffle is well remembered. Each member threw the dice three times. There were three ties. Mr. Spofibrd and Mr. Jaudon each threw 31. Mr. George Curtis and J. Prescott Hall, 34 each. R. L. Colt and J. W. Webb, 35 each ; R. M. Blatch- ford, 36. While waiting for an absentee (Edward Curtis), Mr. Blatchford was regarded sure of the prize. Finally, Mr. Curtis not appearing, Mr. Hugh Maxwell, being present, was requested to throw the dice for Mr. Curtis, with the following remarkable results : 14, 15, 15 — 44. After the death of Mr. Curtis, the picture was again raffled for and won by Mr. Blatch- ford, whose dining-room it still graces. It is a circumstance often remarked upon, that the picture should have been twice won by Mr. Webster's two most intimate and cherished friends. The departed members, iii many respects remarkable men, were eminently such as self-made and successful business men, and pre-eminent in their hospitalities. They not only enter- tained bountifully, but added a peculiar zest to their inimitable dinners by the charm of their conversation. You inhaled at their tables an atmosphere so charged with intelligence as to inspire all present. Your host was not only the centre of rep- artee, but the cause of it in others. Mr. Hone was distinguished for his intelligence and enter- prise as a merchant, for his public spirit and liberality as a citi- zen, and for his exact observance of all the principles which characterize men of integrity and honor. In person and man- ner he strongly resembled the late Sir Robert Peel, so long the accomplished premier in the British Cabinet. His hospi- talities were munificent and refined. His dinners, like himself, Akticles of Thuelow Weed. 67 are remembered as possessing all the accessories and conforming to all the proprieties of the palmiest condition of social life. These dinners were always animated and joyous. Indeed, it could not be otherwise at an entertainment over which Mr. Hone presided, for " A merrier man, Within tlie limit of becoming mirth, I never spent an hour's talk withal ; His eyes beget occasion for his ivit ; For every object that the one doth catch The other turns to a mirth-moving jest." Mr. Tileston served a regular apprenticeship to the printing business, but formed a copartnership with Mr. Spofford more than fifty years, ago, commencing business with a capital con- sisting solely of industry, integrity, and enterprise, and rising step by step until they attained the iirst rank among the ship- ping houses of the world. It is pleasant to remember that I enjoyed the friendship and hospitalities of these departed mer- chant princes nearly forty years. Geoi'ge Curtis, the first cashier of the Bank of Commerce, while attending diligently and acceptably to his financial duties, was as diligently storing and enriching his mind with the treasures of knowledge and literature. He was a quiet but delightful companion at all social gatherings. His mantle rests gracefully upon his still more gifted and universally known son, George William Curtis. Edward Curtis was distinguished for the depth and strength of his understanding. He was intellectually a " solid man." I was intimately associated with him politically, personally, and socially, from 1835 until he died ; and can say truthfully that I have never known a man possessing a greater, if an equal degree of political common sense, tact, and efficiency. These qualities, to which zeal and fidelity were added, commended Mr. Curtis, at an early day, to the regard and confidence of Daniel Webster. All the poetic ideas of friendship were real- ized in the endeaiing relations which grew up between these two men. There were no bounds to the affection Mr. Web- ster entertained for Mr. Curtis, no limits to the confidence he reposed in his judgment. In every thing that affected or con- 68 Selections from the Newspaper cerned Mr. Webster's political aspirations, the judgment of Edward Curtis was conclusive. When Mr. Webster should speak, and what he should say upon great public questions, depended largely upon the opinion of his friend. How often have I listened admiringly to conversations between them when views deferentially suggested by Mr. Curtis were confidingly accepted and acted upon by Mr. Webster. On one occasion, when not only Mr. Webster but Mr. Curtis had been beguiled too far into the support of the compromises of 1850, I learned through Mr. Philo S. Shelton, of Boston, that Mr. Webster was about to make a political speech in Massachusetts, the character of which, as foreshadowed by my friend, caused much uneasiness. In a conversation with Mr. Curtis, my information as to the character of Mr. Webster's contemplated speech was confirmed. I also learned from Mr. G. that the topics to be discussed and the ground to be taken had been carefully con- sidered, I startled Mr. Curtis by declaring with much empha- sis that such a speech would- bring reproach and ruin upon the political character and fortunes of Mr. Webster ; that in fact he might date his departed power and usefulness from the day and hour of its delivery. After half an hour's conversation and refiection, Mr. Curtis became so far satisfied with the views presented as to take the first conveyance to Boston, with the intention either of sqi"ielching the meeting or of suppressing the objectionable features of the embryo speech. But there , was several hours detention'of the Sound steamer, so that Mr. Curtis only reached Boston to encounter Mr. Webster on his way to the hall, where a large audience had already assembled. All, therefore, was lost. Mr. Curtis listened with apprehen- sion and sorrow to sentiments which, twenty-four hours previ- ously, from a different standpoint, he had approved. It was in that ill-omened speech that Mr. Webster inquired " Where shall I go ? " Unhappily for Mr. Webster, his friends and the country, the answer to his question, after the delivery of that speech, was a matter of little or no importance. Politically, the great constitutional lawyer and statesman who had ren- dered eminent services to the government and the people, ceased to be a power in the land. Mr. Curtis was never like himself after the sun of Mr. Webster's glory began to decline Articles of Thuklow Weed. 69 J. Prescott Hall was a deservedly eminent member of the New York bar. How he attained and sustained his high char- itcter and position as a lawyer, were questions which always perplexed me. He gave so much of his time and expended so much thought upon almost every other conceivable occupation, that I could not understand how or when he found time to read and to keep himself up in his profession. He knew all about fishes and fishing ; he was an enthusiastic sportsman ; in court he was dry, clear-headed, and luminously posted," while at tiie dinner table he possessed such a fund of various information and conversed with such wondrous familiarity upon questions of science, literature, theology, mechanism, the drama, etc., etc., as to induce a belief that he was even better fitted for useful- ness in either of those departments than as a lawyer. Indeed, I have heard an animated discussion upon a medical question between Mr, Hall and Dr. J. W. Francis, in which the latter was floored, but not silenced. An English gentleman, with whom I was dining in London many years ago, inquired whether I was acquainted with Mr. J. Prescott Hall, and then went on to tell me how immensely Mr. Hall enjoyed " the Derby," and with what reluctance-he was constrained to deny himself the pleasure of attending some other races, adding that he supposed that Mr. Hall was the owner of some of the best blooded race horses in America ! In literature, how- ever, Mr. Hall had the bad taste not to admire Dickens. In frequent conversations, I failed to extort from him a word of approval for the most striking beauties in the works of an author who is to raiil^.second to Shakespeare. He even refused to recognize the first chapter of " Bleak House " a wonderfully truthful, graphic, and scathing exposition of the delays, abuses, and consequent miseries inflicted upon suitors by the court of chancery. Mr. Hall's residence in Bond street was the seat of a generous and genial hospitality. His mantle, professionally and socially, rests gracefully upon the shoulders of his student and junior partner, William M. Evarts. A few doors from the residence of Mr. Hall in Bond street was that of John Ward, another deceased member of the Hone Club, the memory of whose virtues, by all who knew him well, is fondly cherished. The mention of his name brings back to 70 Selections from the ]N^ewspapee the mind's eye his manly form and kindly greetings. It seems but as yesterday that I was shaking his honest hand. Without disparagement to others, for there are many to whom the appellation belongs, John Ward was known as the " honest broker." His dinners, like himself, were unostentatious, but bountiful, served simply, but in order. His ample joint of beef, like his well-fed turkey, was roasted to a turn, while hig rotund Princess Bay oysters were unimpeaehably fried. His sherry and his champagne and his Madeira (for he seldom introduced "thin potations") were of the best. The hearty manner, the quiet but cheerful conversation, the radiant coun- tenance and beaming eyes of our host had a cheery effect upon his guests. And I am quite sure that no man ever rose from John Ward's table without feeling that -the occasion had been alike pleasant and profitable. Simeon Draper, a prominent member of the Hone Club then resided at 'No. 10 Warren street. Though politically, personally, and socially intimate and identified with Mr. Ward, and always warm friends, yet in manner no two men could be less alike. Mr. Draper was impulsive and demonstrative. With the advantages of a fine person, good conversational pow- ers, and a ready wit, his genial presence and cheerful voice imparted life and spirit to the numerous social circles of which he was ever a welcome guest. But it was not at club dinners, nor at the dinners of his numerous friends, that Mr. Draper appeared at his best. It was at the head of his own table, sur- rounded by his estimable family and a few chosen friends, that " Bichard was himself." On these occasions his cheerfulness and humor seasoned the dishes and flavored the wines. jSText to the luxury of eating a canvass-back duck, was that of seeing one gracefully carved by Mr. Draper. Mr. Boswell L. Colt resided in Park Place. He was a widely known, highly enterprising, and universally respected merchant and manufacturer. In 1808 or '9 two New England boys (George Peabody and Roswell L. Colt), the former from Massachusetts and the latter from Connecticut, with a fair com- mon school education, struck out, as was then the habit of ISTew England boys, into the world to make their fortunes. One became the clerk of Mr. Elisha Bio^gs, of Georgetown, D. C, Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 71 and the other of Mr. Oliver, of Baltimore. Toward the close of the war of 1812, Mr. Oliver sent young Colt to Europe to purchase depreciated' American securities and to lay in a large stock of goods for shipment by the first vessels that should leave England upon the restoration of peace. These trusts were so successfully executed that Mr. Oliver not only took young Colt into partnership, but gave him his daughter in marriage ; and finally, when Mr. Oliver died, Mr. Colt con- ceived himself as eminently fortune's favorite, by inheriting the well-chosen varieties of old Madeiras, protected by dust and cobwebs in the wine-vault of his father-in-law. The large and valuable property at Paterson, K. J., was purchased by Mr. Colt, in England, in 1811. JSTo man enjoyed social life with a keener relish than Roswell L. Colt. The dinners in Park Place, in this city, and the visits at his spacious and splendid mansion in Paterson, by the members of the Hone Club and numer- ous other friends, are among the last things to be forgot- ten — dinners and visits which were frequent during the whole of Mr. Colt's life-time. I remember, on one occasion, to have been present together with Mr. Hone, Mr. Grrinnell, Mr. Blatchford, General Bowen, General Webb, Edward Cur- tis, Charles King, Governor Seward, etc., etc., at a dinner given by Mr. Colt to ex-President John Quincy Adams. Madeira wines had not then gone out of fashion. Indeed, except a glass of hock with the oyster on his half-shell, a glass of sherry after soup, and champagne with meats, Madeira was the staple during and after the dessert. Gentlemen who on these occa- sions passed the largest number of approved brands, such as " Essex, Jr.," " Donna Gama," " Bingham," " Pvapid," " Re- serve," " Farquhar," " Benefactor," " Butler," " March and Benson of 1809," " Black Cork," etc., etc., excited the admira- tion, if not the envy, of their neighbors. At this dinner, Mr. Colt, after the cloth had been removed, -produced fourteen dif- ferent kinds of delicious old Madeiras, and the circumstance which occasioned general surprise was, that, as the different wines passed quietly around the table unannounced, the pecu- liarly delicate taste of Mr. Adams enabled him to name eleven of them ! 72 Sklections from the jSTewspapee The morning and meridian of Mr. Colt's life, so bright and cheerful, so prosperous and happy, was, it is painful to remem- ber, destined in its evening to a sad change. Twenty-three children had been born, and grew up under what was in early life, regarded as a home distinguished for its domestic harmo- nies and happiness ; but late in life discords arose and a sepa- ration ensued, Mrs. Colt, with some of the children, residing in Europe, while Mr. Colt, with a larger number of the flock, remained in America. During the interval of twenty years since the subsidence of the Kent and Hone Clubs, I have seen much of social life in its best aspects, both at home and abroad. I have enjoyed the hospitalities of the best and most distinguished families in Lon- don, Paris, Brussels, Rome, etc., without finding either a higher intelligence or more refinement than characterized those asso- ciations. Indeed, I have no memory of equal intellectual enjoyment, except at dinners at Cruttenden's, in Albany, when most of the members of the Kent Club, together with Elisha' Williams, Thomas J. Oaldey, Judge Yan ISFess, Francis Granger, John Gregg, Myron and Orville L. Holley, Aldei'man Brasher, Charles L. Livingston, Peter P. Livingston, Pobert Tillotson, John Suydam, etc., etc., were present, Mr. Cruttenden himself, the prince of hosts, presiding. The thing most of all to be regretted in social life is that the history of those inimitable dinners remains unwritten. Perhaps I ought also to except the dinners of Mr. Joseph Gales at Washington, who, in his palmy days, drew around his most hospitable table the intellectual giants and jewels of the Republic. At those dinners, from 1824 and the several ensu- ing years, although Webster and Clay, and Marshall and South- ard, and Mangum and Everett, and Granger and Seaton, etc., etc., were present, all felt that the dinner and the wines, rich and delicate as they were, lacked something of their inspiration, if by chance the seat of Matthew St. Clair Clarke was vacant. Perhaps, also, if I had known Philadelphians as well as I knew 'New Yorkers, I might have found the " Wistar parties " equally enjoyable. T. W. Articles of Thuklow Weed, 73 STAGE-COACH TRAYELING FORTY-SIX YEARS AGO. [From the Galaxy for May.] A. D. 1870. A CHAPTER FROM MR. THURLOW WEED S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Yerj few of our citizens possess information, other than traditional, of the mode of travel between Albany and the western part of l^ew York even as late as 1824. Those who step into a railway car at Albany at seven o'clock in the morn- ing, and step out to get their dinner in Rochester at two o'clock p. M., will find it difficult to believe that with the memory of by no means the "oldest inhabitant" it required, in muddy seasons of the year, seven nights' and six days' constant travel- ing in stages, to accomplish the same journey. And yet, that was my own experience in April, 1824. We left Albany at eight o'clock in the evening, and traveled dili- gently for seven nights and six days. The road from Albany to Schenectady, with the exception of two or three miles, was in a horrible condition ; and that West of Schenectady, until we reached " Tripes " or " Tribes Hill," still worse. For a few miles, in the vicinity of the Palatine Church, there was a gravelly road, over which the driver could raise a trot ; but this was a luxury experienced in but few localities, and those " far between." Passengers walked, to ease the coach, several miles each day and each night ; although they did not literally carry rails on their shoulders, to pry the coach out of ruts, they were frequently called upon to use rails for that purpose. Such snail-paced movement and such discomforts in travel would be regarded as unendurable now. And yet passengers were patient, and some of them even cheerful, under all those delays and annoyances. That, however, was an exceptional passage. It was only when we had " horrid bad " roads that stages " drew their slow leno;ths alono^." But stage-coach traveling had its bright as well as its dark aspects. I will endeavor to reverse the scene. Take, for illus tration, an early September day. The coach leaves Roches- 10 7-i Selections from the Newspaper ter after breakfast in the morning, with, if a fall complement, nine passengers inside, and two on the box with the driver. At Pittsford and Mendon and Yictor, where the stage stops to change the mail and water the horses, a lady or boy, but usually a lady, comes with a basket of peaches, of which the j^assen- gers are invited to partake, but for which they ar& not per- mitted to pay, except in thanks. At Canandaigua, a beautiful village, then rejoicing in a greater number of distinguished men than are now to be found in any interior city of our State, we get dinner; and the dinners at '' Blossom's," as all who ate them will remember, were dinners, indeed. To prove what I say in relation to the distinguished residents of Canandaigua, I will name Gideon and Francis Granger (postmasters-general under Madison, in 1812, and Harrison, iii_184'0) , JSTathaniel W. Howell, John Gregg, John C. Spencer, Myron Holley, Oliver Phelps, Dudley Marvin, Henry B. Gibson, Jared Wilson, Mark H. Sibley, etc., two or three of whom are almost certain to become our fellow passengers. Peter Townsend and Joseph Everingham are highly intelligaut young merchants from New York city, who have lately established themselves there. George H. Boughton, subsequently a State Senator and Canal Commissioner from Lockport, was then a merchant's clerk at Canandaigua. There were others, if not wits themselves, the occasion of wit iu others. To this class SpieriGeer Chopin^ who mawkishly affected the Scottish accent, and Judge Atwater belonged. When a prisoner was on trial for an attempt to break open Judge Atwater's mansion, the Judge himself be- came a witness. His manner was deliberate, and his lano'uao'e pedantic. He stated that he was awakened at the " witching time " of night by an unusual noise ; that on listening atten- tively he became satisfied that burglars were attempting to enter his castle; that he assumed an erect position on his bed, and at that particular moment " Bose " spoke. Dudley Mar- vin, the prisoner's counsel, rose, and with quaint solemnity said : " May it please the court, I am not a little surprised that the witness, himself an eminent jurist, who on other occa- sions graces the seat which your Honor now occupies, should so far forget the law of evidence and the gravity of a charge which affects the liberty of iny client, as to proceed in this most irregular manner. No pei'son knows better than my distin- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 75 guished friend, Judge Atwater, that the testmionj he is giving is wholly irregular. If it is important that this court and jury should know what ' Bose ' saw and heard on the night of this alleged burglary, ' Bose ' himself must take the witness's stand. 'Bose' is no stranger; we all know him as sagacious, observ- ing, and vigilant." This produced an irresistible outbreak, involving the audience, the har, the jury, and the court in roars of laughter. And when, after an interval of several moments, order was attempted to be restored, it was found quite impracticable to proceed, and the case was actually laughed out of court. Here we find, as fellow-passengers, Mr. Wadsworth or Major Spencer, of Geneseo, Mr. Ellicott or Mr. Evans, . of Batavia, Mr. Coit, Major J. Gr. Camp, or E.. B. Heacock, of Buffalo, General Porter, of Black Rock, General Paine, of Ohio, and others, who arrive in the stage from Buffalo. Leaving Canandaigua, we are driven through a charuiing series of agricultural landscape to Geneva, sixteen miles, where we have a view of its beautiful lake, a lake not unlike or un- worthy of its equally beautiful namesake in Switzerland. At Geneva either Joseph Fellows, a land agent, Henry D wight, a banker, or Mr. Prouty, a merchant, is pretty sure to join us. From Geneva to Waterloo, four miles, seems but a turn of the kaleidoscope, and the distance from Waterloo to Seneca Falls is gotten over in no time. At Seneca Falls, the chances are at least one to two that we are joined by Colonel Mynders, who is going over to Auburn to visit his friend Judge Miller. The drive over Cayuga Bridge, more than a mile in length, was always pleasurable and interesting. Some one would remark how much it was to be regretted that a lake so large should be of so little practical value, not being used for purposes of navigation or inhabited by fish of any value.* Looking ITorth, we discern the Montezuma marshes, where ' Comfort Tyler failed to n.anufacture salt ; while a Southerly view, though you do not actually see, directs your attention to the beautiful village of Aurora, near the head of the lake, then the residence of Jethro Wood, Humphrey Howland, Ebenezer Burnham, Ephraim Marsh, etc., and now of the Morgans, * Cayuga Lake is bow inhabited by excellent fish, and navigated by steam and canal boats. 76 Selections from the Newspaper wealthy and reputable merchants ; also of William H. Bogart, the veteran Senate reporter, and the "Sentinel" letter-writer of the New York Courier and Enquirer^ and New Yorh Worlds a gentleman who has been for more than thirty years about the Legislature without becoming obnoxious to charges of improperly interfering with legislation. Here, too, resides in palatial splendor, Henry Wells, who, more than thirty-five years ago " solitary and alone," with a single carpet-bag, founded and inaugurated what is now the American Mer- chants' Union Express Company. I first knew Mr. Wells more than forty years ago, teaching boys " how not " to stutter. My only son was one of his pupils. But though he cured others, he could not cure himself. Mr. Wells still lives to enjoy the fruits of his prosperity, and may he live long and happily, for I have known few men more worthy of prosperity. A few miles from Aurora, beautifully situated upon the lake^ shore, is a valuable farm, purchased many years ago by Moses H. Grinnell, one of the merchant princes of the city of N^ew York, for some relatives, who reside there. When finally over the long bridge, we discuss Thomas Mum- ford, a lawyer residing at the end of it, and Colonel Goodwin, a worthy tavern keeper, midway between Cayuga Bridge and Auburn. And during the many years that I was accustomed to travel in stages between Cayuga and Auburn, I cannot remember the time that some one of the passengers did not amuse the coach by relating an incident that occurred to Mr. John C. Spencer several years before. The coach drove up to the hotel at the end of the bridge, to water the horses. It was a dark, rainy, cold evening. The stage was full inside and out. A lady, closely veiled, came to the steps, who was, as the keeper of the hotel said, very anxious on account of sickness in the family where she resided, to get to " Goodwin's " that evening. The passengers said it was impossible, as there were already nine of them inside. But Mr. Spencer, prompted by his sympathies or his politeness, as it was but four miles, thought a lady ought not to be refused a passage, and offered, if she chose to accept it, a seat on his lap. The offer was ac- cepted, the lady took her seat, and the stage dashed off. At " Goodwin's tavern," where the lady got out, a light was brought to enable her to find a part of her luggage, and when Articles of Thuelow Weed. Y7 she removed her veil, a very ebony colored individual of the female gender was -revealed, to the consternation of Mr. Spen- cer, and the amusement of the other passengers ! At Auburn we rest for the night, having made sixty-four miles. In the evening, the magnates of the village wonld drop into the hotel bar-room to gossip with the stage passengers. There were no sitting or drawing rooms at hotels in those days ; nor could a single lodging room, or even single bed, be ob- tained. In country inns, a traveler who objected to a stranger as a bedfellow was regarded as unreasonably fastidious. Noth- ing was more common, after a passenger had retired, than to be awakened by the landlord, who appeared with a tallow candle, showing a stranger into your bed. The leading men of Auburn were Judge Miller, John H. and E. S. Throop (since Governor), IsTatbaniel Garrow, Parlia- ment Broiison, etc. William H. Seward had commenced his professional and public life at Auburn one year before. Genial " Kit " Morgan was at Yale College. In the morning the stage was off between daylight and sun- rise. The passengers refreshed themselves, enjoyed a view of refreshed and invigorated nature, to which the rising sun soon begun to impart light and life. The canal was attracting business and population. The stage had just begun to run over the Northern or New Turnpike, leaving the villages of Skeneateles, Marcellus, Onondaga, West Hill, Onondaga Hol- low and Jamesville, on the line of the old turnpike, to a pro- cess of decay which lias rendered them almost obsolete. I ought to have remarked that at Auburn, passengers always dreaded an acquisition to their number in the person of Mr. Wood, who weighing some four hundred pounds, and inconven- iently broad across the shoulders and transom, made the coach every way uncomfortable. As a sleeper and snorer he would compare favorably with any one of " the seven." For ten or fifteen miles there was little of ontside interest to talk about. In passing through Camillus, the richly cultivated farms and large granaries of the brothers Squii-^, David and Nathan Munro attracted attention, and some one would be pretty sure to remark that " the Munros nbt only owned the best farms in the town themselves, but had mortgages on all their neighbors' 78 Selections from the ISTewspapek farms," which was true. Our approach to stage-houses and post-offices was announced by the blowing of a tin horn or trumpet, with more or less skill, by the driver. This drew to- gether a crowd of idlers, with ,this difference between Kew York and many parts of Europe, that instead of beleaguering the coach with imploring appeals for charity, our visitors would generally present us with some choice fruit. At Syracuse, twenty -five miles from Auburn, we breakfasted. Syracuse, then, as now, was a marvel in the suddenness and rapidity of its growth. And here my. story came in. I had worked in the Onondaga furnace in 1811 and 1812, and re- membered having gone through what was now the flourishing village of Syracuse, with six or seven thousand inhabitants, when it was a tangled and almost -impenetrable, swamp, thickly inhabited by frogs and water-snakes. Indeed, the swamp foliage was so thick, and darkened the atmosphere to such an extent that the owls, mistaking day for night, could be heard hooting. Upon the locality over which the now large and beautiful city of Syracuse has extended, there was in 1811 but one human habitation ; that was " Cossett's Tavern," near the site of the presejit Syracuse House. At the western boundary of the swamp, on the creek which empties into the lake, there was a small grist-mill and two log cabins. In Sep- tember, 1812, soon after the declaration of war with England, a letter was written by the Secretary of the JSTavy (Dr. Eustis), showing how lamentably that Cabinet Minister's geographical education had been neglected. Captain Woolsey, who com- manded the United States brig Oneida, was ordered to proceed from Oswego to Onondaga, there to take on board the cannon ball manufactured at the Onondaga furnace for the govern- ment ! * And this incident reminds me of another, and one which at this day will be regarded almost as incredible as the order of the Secretary of the ]^avy ; for, while ships were un- able to ascend the rifts and falls of the Oswego river, salmon did make their way from Lake Ontario through the Oswegc river and the Onondaga lake into the Onondaga cree^, and were killed two miles south of the city of Syracuse. I remem- f This is paralleled by the supply of tanks for holding freaJi water, sent from England for the English vessels of war built at Kingston during the war of 1812. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 79 ber well of being- attracted, in the spring of 1811, to Wood's mill-dam, by torches flitting below the dam in the creek. Arriving at tlie spot I saw Onondaga Indians with . clubs, svatching for and killing salmon as they were seen making their way over the rifts. I joined in the sport, and came- out with a fine salmon as my share of the spoils. I carried my salmon to Mr. Joshua Forman (then a lawyer in Onondaa^a Hol- low, subsequently the inventor and father of Syracuse), for which he paid me a large, round, bright silver dollar ; this being my exact recollection of a coin which was of more value to me then, and was a source of higher gratification than the receipt of thousands of dollars in after years. I then spoke of Judge Asa Danforth, indicating his residence in the Hol- low, who ^vas the first white inhabitant of Onondaga county. This led me to speak of Eleazer Webster, a white boy cap- tured by the Onondaga Indians, during the Eevolutionary war, in the Mohawk valley. Young Webster, as he grew up, like Joseph among the Egyptians, grew in favor with the Indians. Before white inhabitants reached that part of the State, young Webster had been made a chief of the Onondaga nation, and had married a daughter of an old chief, and received as her bridal portion a mile square of the lands belonging to the Onondaga nation. Mr. Webster continued^ to reside with his Indian wife, and to act as a chief of the tribe long after the county was organized and settled by white inhabitants. In 1808 or 1809 Governor Tompkins appointed Mr. Webster agent of the State to receive and disburse the money paid an- nually to the Onondaga nation. ~ - He was subsequently appointed a Justice of the Peace and Judge of the County Court. After the death of his Indian wife, in 1810 or 1811, he married an intelligent and reputable white lady, with whom he was living happily when I last heard of him, with children by both wives growing up in harmony and affection. Mr. Webster was a man of good sense, good habits, and good character, enjoying alike the respect and con- fidence of his white and red neighbors and acquaintances. After breakfast, we leave Syl^acuse and drive rapidly on to Manlius Square, where passengers were always warmly wel- comed at the stage house b_y its host. Colonel Elijah Phillips, so Selections fkom the JNewspapek one of six brothers, all men of mark, of whom I shall have occa- sion to speak hereafter. Mrs. Phillips, an estimable lady, was the daughter of Judge Danforth, and the first white child boi-n in the county of Onondaga. Manlius was the residence of Azariah Smith, a merchant remarkable for his enterprise, activ- it}', industry, and integrity. He had a greater and more vaiied capacity for business than any other man I have ever known. He was many years supervisor of the town, doing not only his own business thoroughly, but the business of almost every mem- ber of the Board of Supervisors. As a member of the Legisla- ture, his time and talents were severely taxed. Though Chair- man of the Committee on Claims and a member of two or three other working committees, while discharging all their duties promptly, he found leisure and was always ready to do the work of fifteen or twenty idle or incompetent members from other counties. He was also an administrator or executor of such of his neighbors as left property requiring attention. If, as the horn blew for passengers to take their seats, John Meeker did not, at the last moment, make his appearance, some one would express their surprise at his absence. John Meeker was an extraordinary man. He owned and cultivated three or four of the largest farms in the towns of Fompey, Tully, and' Preble. He had stores, not only in those three towns, but in Fabius, Homer, and Manlius, managed under his personal supervision by clerks. He always sold produce at the lowest prices for cash, or on approved credit. He paid the highest prices in cash or goods for black salts, and for pot and pearl ashes. He had an ashery as an appendage to each of his stores. He went frequently to Albany and New York to purchase goods. He was an uneducated man, with the appearance and in the costume of a common farmer. With all these establishments, spreading over so large a surface, it will be apparent that Mr. Meeker w^as a man of extraordinary business talents ; but when people have so many irons in the fire, some of them will inevi- tably burn, while others as inevitably get cold ; and in the' end, like many others who overtrade, John Meeker " came to grief." In passing through the JSTorth corner of the town of Fompey, Fompey Hill would be suggested as the residence of Henry Ajbticles of Thurlow Weed. 81 Seymour, a capable Canal Commissioner (and father of ex-Gov- ernor Horatio Seymour). Yictory Birdseye, an eminent law- yer and equally eminent statesman, also resided at Pompey Hill. There, too, Samuel S. Baldwin, a flash lawyer and fast gentleman, resided. He married Juliana, a daughter of Judge Peter W. Yates, who enjoyed a wax-work celebrity in. Trow- bridge's Museum as the " Albany beauty." Judge Yates, when, in the early years of the present century, he resided at Albany, occupied, if he did not erect, the mansion 'subsequently owned by James Kane, and successively occupied by Governors Tompkins, Clinton and Seward. From Manlius we passed through Eagle Yillage to Canaser- aga Hollow, where the chances were in favor of picking up General J. J. M. Hurd, of Cazenovia, a merchant with agree- able manners, who went to Albany and ISTew York to purchase goods as often as was convenient, he evidently fancying that part of his business. In ascending a hill, eastward, the stage stops at tlie suggestion , of some passenger, who invites the others to go with him a few rods from the road and look at an immense petrified tree, lying upon the surface, and perfect, ex- cept where it had been broken to gratify the curiosity of vis- itors, each of whom, of course, cai'ried away a specimen. A few miles further east brought us to Quality Hill, where pas- sengers always jDromised themselves enjoyment at the expense of a most polite, obsequious, and goochnatured tavern keeper. Mr. "Webb (for that was his name) was truly an original. In deportment, if he had lived in London:, and been a dancing master instead of keeping a hotel on Quality Hill, he might have rivaled Turveydrop ; in his zeal to preserve the credit of his house, and his tact in concealing meagerness of Kis larder, Caleb Balderstone might have taken lessons with advantage from our host ,of Quality Hill. Here, in all probability, one of the numerous family of Spencers would be added to our list of passengers, among the survivors of whom I only know Mr. Julius Spencer, s, most worthy man and an essential fixture in the Albany ofiice of the ISTew York Central Pailroad. Proceed- ing eastward, and after rising Breakneck Hill, we came to the Oneida Castle, the residence of the Oneida tribe of Indians. These Indians, long surrounded by white inhabitants, had emerged from their savage habits and customs, and were enjoy- 11 82 Selections feom the InTewspapee iiig the advantages of civilization. These advantages consisted in loafing about taverns and groceries, and in drinking bad whisky. Fall two-thirds of the tribe had ceased to hunt, or to fish, or to cultivate their lands, than which none more fertile were to be found in the State. Large numbers of both sexes were idling about the tavern, all or nearly all of them endeav- oring to sell some trinket for the purpose of buying whisky. This process of demoralization went on until the few who did not die prematurely were induced to emigrate beyond the Mis- sissippi. After leaving the Castle, the passengers would talk of the devotion of E.ev. Mr. Kirkland to the Oneida In- dians, of the eloquence of Shenandoah, one of their aged chiefs, and of a French officer, Colonel de Ferrier, . who mar- ried an Indian wife at Oneida Castle, and whose sons and daughters were well-educated ladies and gentlemen ; and this topic would scarcely be exhausted when we were driven into the village of Yernon, where we always changed horses. In Vernon itself there was nothing especially remarkable. The hotel was kept by a Mr. Stuart, whose sons and grandsons were persons of more or less consideration in different parts ot the State for many years afterward. From Yernon to West- moreland was but a few miles. The hotel at Westmoreland was kept by Mrs. Cary, a widow lady, with six or seven attract- ive and accomplished daughters, who, as far as propriety al- lowed, made the hotel pleasant for its guests. These young- ladies, quite well known by intelligent and gentlemanly stage- passengers, were sometimes irreverently designated as " Mother Cary's chickens." In this, however, no disrespect was in- tended, for, though chatty and agreeable, they were deservedly esteemed, and all, " in the course of human events," were advantageously married. From Westmoreland we were driven rapidly through New Hartford into Utica, seventy-two miles from Aubnrn. This was the end of our second day's journey. But, for the accom- modation of those who preferred a night ride, a stage left Utica at nine p. m. Those to whom time was important took the night line. We, however, will remain over. Utica is now no " pent-up " place. But as I have, in an earlier part of this narrative, given a brief account of its highly intelligent citi- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 83 zens, we will pass on. And departing earlj the next morning, the first object that attracts tlie attention is the pleasantly situ- ated mansion and fruitful surroundings of Colonel Walker, an aide de-camp of General Washington in the Eevohitionary war. _A few miles further on, as we cross the Mohawk river, the humble farm-house pointed out is the residence of Major- General Widrig, who was ordered with his division, into the service during the war of 1S12. But that major-general was found to be so lamentably deficient in penmanship, orthogra- phy and arithmetic as to render his -resignation as proper as it proved acceptable. Further on, in the town of Schuyler, I pointed to a loft}', two-pronged pine tree, under which, in Sep- tember, 18i4, the regiment to which I belonged, commanded b}' Colonel Matthew Myers of Herkimer, ate its first ration, and where, to my great satisfaction and as grateful remem- brance, the quarter-master of the regiment, George Petrie, then a merchant, subsequently a Member of Congress, and now a venerable clerk in the General Post Office at Washing- ton, appointed me his quarter-master's sergeant. Before reaching the ancient village of Herkimer, we were driven over the fertile^and celebrated German Plats, nearly a tliousand acres of which were owned by Judge Jacob Weaver and Colonel Christopher Bellinger. They were neighbors, and, unless drawn into political discussion, warm friends. Dur- ing a sharply-contested election in the spring of ISl-i, while at the polls, these old gentlemen collided. The conversation waxed warmer and warmer, until they were about to engage in a personal conflict. Friends, however, interfered in season to avert wbat both in their cooler moments M^ould have lamented. Subsequently they shook hands and calmly re- viewed their cause of quarrel. " You ought not," said Col. Bellinger, "to have lost your temper." "And you ought not," said Judge Weaver, " to have called me a British Tory." "I only did so," said Col. Bellinger, "after you called me a French Jacobin." " And then," said Judge Weaver, " you not only called me a British Tory again, but said that I rejoiced when (9a?enburgh was taken, and I couldn't stand that." Many amusing anecdotes were told of Judge Weaver's early life, when he was a merchant and trading with the Indians. 8-± Selections feom the IsTewspapek In purchasing furs, as the story goes, his hand, placed on the scale opposite the fur, weighed half a pound, and his foot a pound. His accounts were kept on boards, in chalk. One of his neighbors, Mr. Harter, in settling an account, found him- self charged with a cheese. Being a farmer and making not only cheese for his own table, but cheese he was in the habit of selling at his store, he asked an explanation. Judge Weaver, priding himself upon his accuracy, was impatient with all who disputed his accounts. But Mr. Harter appealed to his reason and com- mon sense to show how improbable, if not impossible it was, that he who made cheese for sale should have been a purchaser. This perplexed the Judge, who, after thinking and talking for a long time, was unwilling under the circumstances to press his neighbor to pay for a cheese, and equally unwilling to admit an inaccuracy in his book-keeping. The question was finally laid over till the next day, in the hope that the Judge might be able to verify the integrity of his books, or boards. On the following day, when Mr. Harter appeared, the Judge met him in jubilant spirits, exclaiming, " It is all right ; I remember all about it now." " But," said his neighbor, " you don't mean, to say that I bought the cheese ! " " 'No, no," said the mer- chant ; "it was not a cheese, but a grindstone ; and I forgot to put the hole in it ! " In Judge Weaver's mode of book-keep- ing, a circular chalk mark represented a cheese, while the same mark, with a dot in the centre, converted it into a grindstone. Those two splendid farms have long since, by a very common process, been melted into one. General Christopher P. Bellin- ger married the daughter of Judge Weaver, and thus inherited both farms. General Bellinger, a very worthy man, with whom I served in the Legislature of 1830, and who has been for fifty-seven years my intimate friend, is still living. Here resided also Major Weber, a wealthy German farmer, who was with us at Sackett's Harbor. Though a second officer in our regiment, he found the service any thing but pleasant. I have an order, now in my possession, directing me to take possession of a building for a regimental hospital, no word of which with more than two syllables is spelt right, and which is signed " J. P. Weber, Gomadand." On one occasion, when Sir James Yeo's fleet appeared off Sackett's Harbor, for the purpose, as was Articles of Thuklow Weed. 85 supposed, of landing ^roops, and our regiment, with others, was ordered to a point directly opposite the fleet, Major Weber was in a greatlj excited state, constantly asking subordinates and privates if they supposed the British intended to land, and complaining of the injustice of pushing militia instead of reg- ular troops into such an exposed position. " It was not," he said, "■ on his own account that he was unwilling to be crowded into battle where he was sure to be killed, but on account of the feelings of his wife, who>was in delicate health." He in- quired also " whether he couldn't resign his commission." For- tunately, however, for the Major, after a couple of hours of trepidation and' suspense, the fleet made sail and soon disap- peared. From Herkimer to Little Falls, seven miles, there \vere no particular attractions ; nor indeed was tliere much of interest at the Falls, a small village, with a~ valuable water-power, nearly unavailable on account of its being owned by Mr. Edward Ellice, a non-resident Englishman. Mr. Ellice was a large landholder in this State and in Canada. It was my priv- ilege, in 1861 and 1862, to become well acquainted with him in London. He enjoyed the reputation of being the most in- fluential commoner in England. He was a man of giant frame and intellect. He was one of the oldest members- of Parlia- ment, and had been once or twice a member of the British Cabinet. He died at his country-seat in'Scotland in 1861, in tlie eighty-third year of his ag^. The London residence of Mr. Ellice, in Arlington street, looking into St. James Park,, now improved and moderr;ized, was occupied by Horace Wal- pole a century ago, and in it many of his celebrated letters were written. From Little Falls we come after an hour's ride, to a hill by the bank of the river, which several years before. General Scott was descending in a stage, when the driver discovered at a sharp turn near the bottom of the hill, a Pennsylvania wagon winding its way up diagonally. The driver saw but one escape from a disastrous collision, and that, to most persons, would have appeared even more dangerous than the collision. The .driver, however, having no time for reflection, instantly guided his team over the precipice and into the river, from which the 86 Selections fkom the JSTewspapek horses, passengers, coach, and driver were safely extricated. The passengers, following General Scott's example, made the driver a handsome present as a reward for his courage and sa- gacity. We dine at East Canada Creek, where the stage-house, kept by Mr. Couch, was always to be relied on for excellent ham and egg^, and fresh brook t]'out. Nothing of special in- terest until we reach Spraker's, a well-known tavern, that- neither stages nor vehicles of any description Were ever known to pass. Of Mr. Spraker, senior, innumerable anecdotes were told. He was a man without education, but possessed strong good sense, considerable conversational powers, and much nat- ural humor. Most of the stories told about him are so Joe- Millerish that I will repeat but one of them. "On one occasion he had a misunderstanding with a neighbor, which provoked both to say hard things of each other. Mr. Spraker, having received a verbal hot shot from his antagonist, reflected a few moments and replied, " Ferguson, dare are worse men in hell dan you ; " adding, after a pause " but dey are chained." Mr. Spraker used to say that " when his son David was a boy, he thought he would make a smart man ; but he sent him to col- lege, and when he came back from Schenectady, he didn't know enough to earn his living." At Canajoharie a tall, handsome man, with graceful manners, is added to our list of passengers. This is the Hon. Alfred Conkling, who in 1820 was elected to Congress from this dis- trict, and who has just been appointed Judge of the United States District Court for the ]!^orthern District of New York, by Mr. Adams. Judge Conkling is now (in 1870) the oldest survi\dng New York member of Congress. The late Hon. Samuel K. Detts, recently United States Judge for the South- ern District of Kew York, was elected to Congress from Orange county in 1815. John Cramer, of Saratoga though the senior of Judge Conkling, being over ninety, was not elected to Congress until 1833. In passing Conine's Hotel, near the ISTose, the fate of a beau- tiful young lady, who " loved not wisely, but too well," with an exciting trial for breach of promise, etc., would be related. Still further East, we stop at Failing's tavern to water. Though but an ordinary tavern in the Summer season, all travelers Articles of Thujrlow Weed. 87 eberisli a pleasant remembrance of its Winter fare ; for leav- ing a cold stage with chilled limbs, if not frozen ears, you were sure to find in Falling's bar and dining rooms " rousing fires ; " and the remembrance of the light, lively, " hot and hot " buckwheat cakes, and the unimpeachable "sausages, would renew the appetite even if you had just risen from a hearty meal. Going some miles further east, we come in, sight of a build- ing on the west side of the Mohawk river, and near its brink, the peculiar architectnre of which attracts attention. This was formerly Charles Kane's store, or rather the store of the broth- ers Kane, five of whom were distinguished merchants in the early years of tire present century. They were alL gentlemen of education, commanding in person, accomplished and refined in manners and associations. Charles Kane resided in Sche- nectady, James Kane in Albany, Oliver Kane in New York, Elias Kane in Philadelphia, and Archibald Kane in the West Indies. An incident which occurred there in 1S08 is remem- bered by some of the passengers, who relates it. Some gentle- men,- who had been invited to dine there, amused themselves after dinner with cards. In the course of the evening a dis- pute arose between Oliver Kane and James Wadsworth, of Geneseo, a gentleman of high intelligence, great wealth, and enlightened philanthropy, the latter years of whose life were distinguished for zeal and liberality in the cause of normal schools and school district libraries. The cpiarrel resulted in a challenge, and the parties met before sunrise the next morn- ing, under a tall pine tree, on a- bluff behind the store, and ex- changed shots, Mr. Kane receiving a slight wound. More than thirty years afterward, I was walking . with Mr. Wadsworth and his son, the late General J. S. Wadsworth, in Broadway, where we met Mr. Oliver Kane, with whom young Mr. Wads- worth exchanged salutations ; and observing that his father passed, fnaking "no sign," he said: "Don't you knpw Mr. Kane ? " "I met him once," was the laconic reply. Sup- posing that James had not heard of the duel, when we were alone I mentioned it to him, to which he replied, laughing, " I ' knew all about that, but I wanted to draw the Governor out." I had endeavored, several years earlier, to induce Mr. Wadsworth to accept a nomination for 88 Selections fkom the jN^ewspapee Governor, and tliereaftei' James S. was accustomed to speak to and of liim as Governor. Here Commodore Charles Morris, one of the most gallant of our naval officers, who 'in 1812 distinguished himseK on board the United States frigate. Constitution, in her engagement with the British frigate, Gtcerriere, passed his boyhood. In 18-11, when I visited him on board the United States seventy- four-gun ship, Franklin, lying off Annapolis, he informed me that among his earliest ' recollections was the launching and sailing of miniature ships on the Mohawk river. On the opposite side of the river, in the town of Florida, is the residence of Dr. Alexander Sheldon, for twelve years a mem- ber of the Legislature from Montgomery county, serving six years as Speaker of the House of Assembly. The last year Dr. S. was in the Legislature, one of his sons, Milton Sheldon, was also a member from Monroe county. Another son, Smith Sheldon, who was educated for a dry goods merchant, drifted some years ago to the city of New York, and is now the head of the exten- sive publishing house of Sheldon & Company, Broadway. - The next point of attraction was of much historical inter- est. Sir William and Guy Johnson built spacious and showy mansions a few miles west of tlie village of Amsterdam, long- before the Bevolution, in passing which interesting anecdotes relating to the English baronets' connection with the Indians, were remembered. A few miles west of Sir William Johnson's, old stagers would look for an addition to our number of pas- sengers in the person of Daniel Cady, a very eminent lawyer, VN'ho resided at Johnstown, and for more than fifty years was constantly passing to and from Alban3^ At Amsterdam, Marcus T. Beynolds, then a rising young lawyer of that village, often took his seat in the stage, and was a most companionable traveler. He subsequently removed to Albany, where for more than a quarter of a century he held a high professional and social position. And now, as the valley of the Mohawk spreads out more broadly, and the eye wanders over fields teeming with the bountiful products of mother earth, we come in view of Sche- nectady, first seen by a graduate of Union, who immediately becomes eloquent in his laudation of Dr. l^ott, whose sermon at Albany against dueling, occasioned by the death of General , _AiiTiCLE8 OF Thuelow Weed. 89 Hamilton, is claimed as the greatest effort of the age. Our graduate would then enumerate the distinguished men scat- tered over the Union who owed their success in life to Dr. Knott's peculiar mode of lectures and training. Then, as we approached the old bridge across the Mohawk, he would tell us how long it had withstood storm and tempest, and how many dark secrets it would disclose if it could talk. JSText, we would have a brief history of Mr. Givens, the gentlemanly keeper of the hotel in Schenectady, and of his still- more gentlemanly son, Major G., who brought back from West Point to Sche- nectady, all the discipline and proprieties, physical and social, of a military -education, and who vibrated for half a century between Schenectady and Saratoga, saying and doing polite and civil things to and for everybody. Perhaps allusion might be made to Mr. Givens' predecessor in the hotel, only for the pur- ^ pose of remarking that his daughter, a beautiful and accom- plished young lady, rejected- wealthy suitors for the^sake of the line person and melodious voice of a music anaster, preferring, it would seem, musical to circulating. notes; concluding, almost certainly, with an account of a phrenological discussion, in which Governor Yates floored- his antagonist by saying,^" My head is not so long as- Governor Clinton's, but it is a great deal tickerP ' ' From Schenectady to Albany the drive through dwarf pines and a barren soil, the turnpike road, ornamented with poplar trees at uniform distances on either side, was fame, and, unless enlivened with conversation, dull. But it was an unusual circumstance to find a"~~ stage-coach, with fair weather and good roads, between Pochester and Albany, tlial; was not enliv- ened by conversation, for there were almost always two or three intellectual passengers. Myron Holley, for example, with a gifted and highly cultivated mind, had committed to memory and would recite by the hour gems from the British poets. Mr. Granger also had' a good memory, and would often, during the evening, recite from Burns, Moore, and others Richard L. Smith, a reckless lawyer from Auburn, with his wit and cii-olleries, would make hours and miles seem short. And there was an imfailing source of fun at every stopping place in the " gibes and jokes " of the stage-drivers, who, as a class, were ~'12 ' ' _ 90 Selections fbom the Newspaper as peculiar, quaint, and racy as those represented by the senior and junior Weller in " Pickwick," as " Samivel " described them — a class of highly social individuals, who have been driven off the roads and compelled to earn a precarious living by tending pikes and switches, or marrying " vidders," and whose unintellectual successors were engine-drivers and stokers. The stage-drivers of that day lived merry but short lives. The exceptions were in favor of those who, after a few years' experience, married some reputable farmer's daughter on their route, and changed their occupation from stage-driving to farm- ing. This must, I think, have been the case with one of my earliest stage-driving acquaintances. It is but a few weeks since I saw in the papers- the announcement of the death, some- where in Tompkins county, of " Phineas Mapes," aged eighty years. " Phin. Mapes," a rollicking stage-driver at Catskill, is one of my earliest remembrances. In 1803 or 1801, a stage with four live horses was an institution, at least in the admu'- ing eyes of boys. I remember with what a flourish " Mapes " used to dash up to the post-oflice door, and, while Dr. Croswell was assorting the mail, how gracefully and gently he would throw his long whip-lash over the backs of the leaders, and how, by the responsive action of their fore-feet, nostrils, and ears, they would show how well they understood that he meant it playfully. How well, too, I remember when, in 1810 or 1811, I renewed my acquaintance with this driver at Skan- eateles, between which place and Onondaga Hollow he was blowing his horn and cracking his whip and his jokes, quite as popular here as he had been at Catskill. The oldest inhabit- ants of Catskill and Skaneateles, as well as the few survivors who rode in stages upon the great Genesee turnpike sixty years ago, will remember " Phin. Mapes " pleasantly, from whom, in his best days, Dickens might have found a " jolly " original for Mark Tapley. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 91 SECKET POLITICAL HISTORY. A. D. 1839. An IisrcroENT in Mr. Thurlow Weed's Career — How the COMPL'EXION OF THE StATE SeKATE WAS ChANGED A WeLL- Kept Secret Revealed. The following curious and interesting naiTative relates to an election wliicli exercised no small influence on the public events of the day : To the Editors of the JSf. Y. Times : Unusual interest was given to the political campaign of 1839 by the great solicitude of the banking interests of the City of ISTew Yoyk, to elect a Senate which, while sitting as a Court for the correction of errors, would maintain the constitu- tionality of the General Banking Law. It was known that the political complexion of the Senate would be determined by the result in the Third (Albany) District, where three Sena- tors were to -be chosen. The district had theretofore been Dem- ocratic, but we had for two or three years been diminishing the majority against us, and on this occasion had determined to make "a very spirited canvass. A week before the election I became satisfied that the chances of success were against us, and so reported to my political friends in IS^ew York. This stimulated them to renewed efforts. On the Saturday morning previous to the election some Whig merchants and bankers met hastily, and appointed a committee to visit Albany. On Sunday morning early, while dressing, I was summoned to the Eagle Hotel, where I found in the parlor Messrs. Robert B. Minturn, Moses H. Grinnell, Simeon Draper, R. M. Blatch- ford, and James Bowen. They had arrived about daylight in the steamboat Columbia^ specially chartered by them. They took a large bandana handkerchief from a trunk, which they • opened and spread upon a centre table! It contained packages of bank notes of various denominations, amounting to $8,000. My friends remarked that no possible effort must be spared to 92 Sbleotioits from the ISTewspaper cany the district, and desired me to take as much of this fmid as could be advantageously disbursed, adding that if more was needed, tlie_y would draw checks for it. The election was to commence on Monday morning and to terminate on Wednesday evening. I informed them that it would be quite impossible in so short a time to use any such aanount of money, and after explaining what I thought might be accomplished in the brief interval before the election, tooJc $3,000 — $1,500 of which was inmiediately despatched by mes- sengers to Columbia, Greene, Delaware and Rensselaer coun- ties ; $1,500 was reserved for Albany. A question of much embarrassment occurred to us — namely, how the unusual circumstance of the arrival of a strange steamer could be explained without exciting suspicions as to the real object of its visit. Governor Seward was sent for and joined in the consultation. It was decided that all the I^ew York gentlemen named, with one exception, shonld remain incog, at the hotel. Mr. Minturn, whose father in-law. Judge Wendell, resided in Albany, went to his relative's house and from thence to church. Still, we were very apprehensive that the Argus might get some inkling or clue to the business on hand, and this, we knew, would have been fatal to our plans- So it was arranged that George W. Daily, then known as an efficient fighting Whig at the polls, should see " Abe Yander- zee," a journeyman in the Argus office, and a democratic pugi- list. Except when excited at the polls these two men were friends, though one was a zealous Whig, and the other an equally enthusiastic Democrat. Daily took Yanderzee a stroll along the docks, and said to him with apparent surprise, " Hei'e is a strange steamer ! what can she have come to Albany for I " They made inquiry, and found that she had arrived there at daylight without passengers, and without apparent object. Daily said, " Well, never mind, I'll find out in the course of the day what this means. There's a nigger in the fence somewhere." After dropping into a grocery or two, and "smiling" once or twice, they separated. Early in the evening Daily went to the At^gus office, accidentally fell in with Abe, and told him he had found out the whole story of the steamer, adding that on Saturday evening after the mails Articles of Thurlow Weed. 93 had left ISTew York (this being before telegraphs) , a steamer had arrived from England, bringing information that the crops had been destroyed, and some ilour speculators had chartered the boat to come to Albany, and had, immediately upon their arrival, started off in different directions to buy up flour, so as to secm'e a monopoly. Meantime, the steamer dropped down to Yan Wie's Point. At ^sundown the ISTew York gentlemen were driven to that place in close carriages, taken on board, and returned to ]^ew York in safety. That day and most of the night were spent in active prepa- rations for the next three days' battle. Springsted, Beardsley, and Yan Schaick were hastily despatched to the country towns with additional "material aid." G.W. Dail}^, H. Y. Webb, Sam Sti'ong, Bob. Chesbro, John Ross, etc., were to organize a physical force sufficient to clear a passage to the polls. Chaun- cey Dexter, Stillman Witt (then an employee of the People's Line of steamboats, now an Ohio millionaire) , R. Yan Yalken- burg, James Weldon, Tom Hillson (now in the Custom House), Provost Yesey, the brothers Young, etc., were to look after the canal boatmen. The brothers Benedicts, I. IST. Comstock (now in the Appraiser's Ofiice) , Drs. Kane and Grant, the Freden- richs, etc., were to look after the "drift" voters in the Texas portion"- of the jSTinth and Tenth wards. George Cuyler and others of Ijis tact and vigilance, were to act as challengers. Captain L. W. Brainard (now in the Custom House) , Rufus Rhoades, and Tommy Cowell were to bring all the Whig steamboat and sloop hands from New York, and alongshore between I^ew York and Albany. David JSTelligan, Mike Clark, Pat Mui'phy, and Michael O' Sullivan (then a Catholic school teacher, afterward a Union officer through the rebellion) , were to look after the " few and far between " Irish voters. Tom Kirkpatrick and Hugh J. Hastings were to " swing round " the various polls and ascertain where screws were loose or machinery required oiling. The flour "blind " served to bridge over the danger for one day, Monday morning's Argus appearing, to our great relief, without any reference to the arrival of the steamer. The mail of that day brought news from England by the Great Western, announcing among other things the arrival, late on Saturday 94 Selections feom the ^Newspaper night, of over $2,000,000 " for British service in Canada." In this circumstance the Argus was convinced that it had dis- covered the whole secret of the sudden appearance of the Col- umbia, and on Tuesday morning it contained the following editorial: A MYSTEKT AND ITS EXPLANATION. " Our city was not a little excited on Sunday by the mysteri- ous arrival about noon, of the steamboat CohimMa, from l^ew York, which place she left at twelve the 23revions night, with only four or live persons on board, one of whom started express to the North, and the others returned in the ColumMa at 2 p. m. All the afternoon groups were inquiring " what's in the wind ? " ISTumerons were the conjectures and rumors, and surmises which the quid nuncs started to solve the mystery. " The explanation doubtless is, that as the Great Western brought over $2,000,000 for Canada, preparatory to the resump- tion of specie payments by the Provincial banks, an agent was despatched expressly to advise of its arrival ; and as there is no day boat on Sunday, and as the loss of a day would have ensued by waiting until the afternoon of that day, the Colum- bia was despatched specially for the purpose." The election occupied three days of extraordinary interest and excitement, each party doing its utmost. A great deal of bitter feeling was necessarily provoked on the other side by our boldness and confidence. The result was a signal triumph, onr three Senators — Erastus Root, Friend Humphrey, and Mitchell Sanford — being chosen by an average majority of 133. General Koot, however, had a narrow escape, obnoxious as he was to the extreme Abolitionists. He was elected by a majority of only two. This victory changed, as was anticipated, the political character of the Senate, giving effect to the nomina- tion of Governor Seward, sustaining the General Banking Law, and upholding the canal policy of the Whig Party. Thus a memorable co^i]? cVetat, completely revolutionizing the State, was effected on the very verge of tlie election by the thoughtfulness and liberality of a few zealous politicians in the city of ]!^ew York The secret was well kept, for, until now, no whisper of it has ever been heard. It may be added that soon after this event Yanderzee became a Whig, and, like Daily and a battalion of other stalwart fel- lows, remained faithful during their lives. Yanderzee was Akticles 'OF Thuelow Weed. 95 well known and well thought of for twenty years, and until his death, at Quarantine, Staten Island. Daily served gallantly in the war, under General Bowen. The gratification experienced at the time by our political friends in JSTew York may be judged by the following short extracts of "letters from Mr. K. M. Blatchford : JSTov. 8 — " After our sad disaster here, your good news is cheering beyond measure. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you and our good friends have accomplished throughout the State. * * * You never Avitnessed such wild exultation as there is here to-day." Ao-ain : ISTov. 11.—^" Fairly afloat at last, friend Weed. It is a triumph indeed. ~ I want words to express my joyful feelings. The dis- may of our enemies is dreadful. * * * * It is you who have saved the State." T. W you "^ MALEDICTORY. [From the Evening Journal of Wednesday, January 28th, 1863.] PATKONS, FRIENDS AND KEADEES. My interest in and connection with the Albany Evening Journal^ as Proprietor and Editor, terminates with the present sheet ; and but that custom sanctions if it does not call for parting words, nothing would remain but to say — Faeewell ! This word, when it sunders relations which have existed pleasantly for neai'ly Thiety-theee Yeaes, cannot be uttered lightly, or without emotion. During that long term of years I have in some sense — and I hope the comparison may not be deemed irreverent — occupied an Editorial Pulpit, speaking daily to a large congregation, for whom I have come to feel the relation of Pastor and Friend ; and from whom I have cer- tainly experienced all the benefits and bounties that a generous flock bestows upon its Shepherd. 96 Selections fkom the ISTewspapee Though but a few hours have passed since the transfer papers were executed, memory has been busy m summoning back the dead Past, in the cup of which, evil and good are necessarily mingled. The friendship, faith and fraternity which have so long bound men to me with " hooks of steel," through trials to triumphs, burden the memory and the heart with a pro- found sense of obligation. TSTever in the history of our State, has an Editor enjoyed so long and so Largely the confidence and regard of those politically associated with him ; nor in no other Editor's experience have political and personal relations been more happily blended. But we have fallen upon evil times. Our Country is in im- mediate and imminent danger. I diifei* widely with my Party about the best means of crushing the Rebellion. That differ- ence is radical and irreconcilable. I can neither impress others with my views, nor surrender my own solenm convictions. The alternative of living in strife with those whom I have esteemed, or withdrawing is presented. I have not hesitated in choosing the path of peace as the path of duty. If those who differ with me are right, and the Country is carried safely through its present struggle, all will be well, and " nobody hurt." In approaching the end of a long journey, when one of the Party drops out ; remembering how pleasant it has been, he only thinks of it to mark his sense of the worthiness of the companions who continue on, and to wish them, with his whole grateful heart, enduring prosperity and happiness. It is fifty-three years since I was first introduced as an Apprentice to the " Space Box," and forty-five years since I became an Editor. During more than half a century of toil and care, I have experienced so much that is good and bright in Life; partaken so richly of its blessings; have found so many of my race to honor and love, that this hour of isolation prostrates the heart in thankfulness to Man for his support, and gratitude to God for His abiding protection and mercy. Since the Evening Journal was established, in 1830, time, in its resistless course, has swept thousands of its original Pa- trons out of existence. The names of inost of its first City Subscribers may be now found inscribed on marble in our Rural Cemetery, where also rests loved ones whose presence^ Articles of ThuelowWeed. 97 once gladdened and brightened my own liome and hearth. And here, again, although the Grave has taken much to afflict, it has left much to console. These thoughts, out of place, perhaps, will, at such a moment, find utterance. I leave tlfe Journal in the hands of my late Partners, who have purchased my interest. They are eminently worthy of the continued confidence and support of its friends. Mr. Daavson came with me when a Boy, and has, as Apprentice, Journeyman, Foreman, Partner and Editor, been associated with me for thirty-six years, during which long period there never has been a jar or an impatient word between us. Mr. Parsons, under whose auspices a small Job Office (started in company with my late and only Son) ha^rown into a Print- ing-House, has been for twenty yearl^pleasantly associated with me. The Messrs. Ten Eyck have grown up, from their boyhood, in the office, more like sons than mere business asso- ciates. F. W. Seward (temporarily absent) with his high cultivation and amiable character, completed the interest of our charmed circle. In l)usiness matters 1 have had no concern or anxiety, leajving all in their hands, never looking at a Ledger or an Account. And in now offering to sell them my interest, I asked them to determine its value, as they did, to my entire content. I efntertain for them, as Dr. Franklin says he did for the young Printers whom he brought up and established in qusiness, the solicitude and affection of a Father. If the Country was not in a condition to awaken deep anxiety, I should look forward with cheerfulness and hope to that con- dition of life wliich, " Exempt from public liaunts, " Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks " Sermons in stones, and good in everytliiug." But fbr an infirm leg and a broken arm, I would go into the Army, for the Country is entitled to the services of all its Citizens ; and it is more a privilege than a duty to defend a Government under whose beneficent sway and benign rule we have enjoyed protection, prosperity and happiness ; and in the destruction of which the best hopes of the highest civilization perish. So far as all things personal are concerned, my work is done. 13 98 Selections feom the ISTewspapee Should the occasion or the opportunity to serve nij^ Country or Friends, with head or hand, offer, it will be gladly embraced. And now, with all that relates to material wants in life abund- antly supplied — with no personal interest or aspiration ungrati- Hed — with an humbling consciousness of having experienced through life more benefits than I have deserved, and vastly more than I have been able to reciprocate ; and with a deter- mination to devote such brief time as may be allotted me, to the practice of Dr. Franklin's golden precept of doing " as much good and as little evil " to others as possible, I come to the inevitable — Farewell ! Thuelow Weed. January 27, 1863. UJSTWRITTEK CHAPTEE OF HISTOEY. A. D. 1861. how the heeald s influence was obtained foe president Lincoln's administeation. To the EdUor of the iY. T. Herald: At the breaking out of the Eebellion the sympathies of the Heeald were with the South, or, at least, its marked hostility to the administration not only induced that opinion, but had the effect of encouraging rebels and strengthening the rebel cause. The Daily News also sym]3athized even more unequiv- ocally with thet rebels. Fernando Wood, then Mayor of New York city, with many prominent citizens, entertained kindred sympathies and sentiments. All this created a strong popular feeling among the great mass of the people, who manifested their loj^alty by displaying the Stars and Stripes not only upon public buildings, but from the windows or housetops of private mansions. The Herald was called upon to display the American flag, and upon its refusal or neglect to do so, violence was threatened by a tumultuous gathering^ which, however, was dispersed without committing any overt act. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 99 Mean time the Hekald, by its large circulation in Europe, was creating a dangerous public sentiment abroad. Our representa- tives in England, France, Belgium, etc., regarded the influence of the Heeald upon the public mind of Europe with apprehen- sion. That circumstance, added to our disasters during the early- months of the war, induced President Lincoln to bring the subject before his Cabinet. It was deemed important, if pos- sible, to change the course of the Herald upon the question of secession and rebellion ; but how this w^as to be accomplished was a question of much difficulty. It was agreed that an earnest appeal must be made to Mr. Bennett. Several gentle- men were named (myself among the number) for this delicate mission. The Secretary of State remarked that my relations with Mr. Bennett were such as to insure the failure of the object contemplated ; but it was iinally determined that I should be summoned to Washington l)y telegraph. On my arrival, while at breakfast with Secretary Seward, I was informed of the business in hand. Calling after breakfast npon President Lincoln lie remarked, in his peculiar way, that he understood I had had " considerable experience in belling cats," and with this introduction proceeded to say that, in view especially of the influence the Herald was exerting in Europe, he deemed it of the greatest importance that Mr. Bennett should be satis- fied that the course of the Herald was endangering the govern- ment and Union, adding his belief that if Mr, Beimett could be brought to see things in that light he would change his course. While appreciating the importance of the mission, I assured Mr. Lincoln that I was the last person in the country to be selectecMor such a duty ; but he insisted that I should make the trial, and I departed on the first train for ISTew York. My acquaintance with Mr. Bennett commenced in 182Y, when he was the Washington reporter of the Neio Yorli Cour- ier and Enqioirer, then conducted by the late M. M. Noah. I was in Washington several weeks during the session of Con- gress, for the pnrpose of adjusting then existing political com- plications, which, as I hoped, might result in the election of Mr. Henry Clay for President. Mr. Bennett, in his letters to the Courier and Enquirer, attributed acts to Mr. Clay which, in the then excited state of the public mind, defeated the hopes and 100 Selections from the Newspaper efforts of his friends. It is not now necessary to recall tlie past in this connection. Out of those charges grew a conflict between Mr. Bennett and myself which entirely separated us, politi- call}^, personally and socially, for more than thirty years, during which time, although living much together at tlie Astor House, we had not spoken. I^otwithstanding this embarrassment, remembering that General Miller, when asked if he could take a British battery at Lundy's Lane, replied that he M'ould "try," I determined to face my enemy. Upon my arrival in 'New York I called upon my friend Richard Schell, between whom and Mr. Bennett I knew that intimate relations existed. Mr. Schell readily undertook to arrange an interview, and in a couple of hours afterward called at tlie Astor House with a message from Mr. Bennett inviting me to dinner that after- noon. In stepping out of the cars at the Washington Heights Station I met Mr. Bennett, who had gone out in the same train. After a cordial greeting we were driven in his carriage to his mansion -on the Heights. We then walked for half an hour about the grounds, when a servant came and announced dinner. The dinner was a frugal one, during which, until the fruit was served, we held general conversa- tion. I then frankly informed him of the object of my visit, closing with the remark that Mr. Lincoln deemed it more im- portant to secure the Herald's snpport than to obtain a vic- tory in the field. Mr. Bennett replied that the abolitionists, aided by whig members of Congress, had provoked a war, of the danger of which he had been warning the country for years, and that now, when they were reaping what they had sown, they had no right to call uj)on him to help them out of a difficulty that they had deliberately brought npon themselves. I listened without interruption for ten minutes to a bitter denunciation of Greeley, Garrison, Seward, Snmner, Giddings, Phillips and myself, as having, by irritating and exasperating the South, brought the war upon the country. I then, in reply, without denying or attempting to explain a.iij of his positions, stated the whole question from our standpoint. I informed him of facts and circumstances within my knowledge, showing conclusively the deliberate design of severing the Union to pre- vent California from coming into it as a free State. I gave Articles of Thuklow Weed. 101 him the then unknown particulars of an interview of Messrs. Toombs, Stephens and Clingman, members of Congress from Georgia andiSTorth Carolina, ^^qth General Taylor. The object of that interview was to induce General Taylor, a southern man and slaveholder, to veto the bill permitting California to enter the Union-as a free State. It was a stormy interview, with threats of disunion on one hand and of hanging on the other. The facts were communicated to Senator Hamlin of Maine and myself, within ten minutes after the interview closed. Jefferson Davis, General Taylor's son-in-law, though not present, was, as General Taylor believed, tlie master spirit in the movement. General Taylor's death and the compro- mise measures, under the auspices of his successor, Mr. Fill- more, bridged over rebellion for the time being. I tlien called Mr. Bennett's attention to the condition of things in 1860, when the results of the census disclosed the fact of an unmis- takable numerical and political ascendancy of freedom over slavery. This ascendancy crushed tJie Southern hope of ex- tending sla>ery into free territory, that having been the object of the repeal of the Missouri compromise and the only national issue then pending. I then reverted to the Democratic J^ational Convention of 1860, startling Mr. Bennett with the assumption that thit convention was deliberately demoralized by its leaders for the purpose of throwing the government into whig hands, and thus furnishing the pretext desired for secession. I claimed that the harmonious nomination of an available candidate would have insured the success of the dem- ocratic ticket, but that the convention was broken up by lead- ing Soutliern men, into whose hands General Butler and Caleb Cushing played. Two Democratic candidates for Presi- dent were placed in the field, with the knowledge and for the purpose of giving the election to Mr. Lincoln, and then, before a word was spoken or an act performed by the incoming administration, a pre-determined course of secession and rebel- lion was entered upon. ISTo one knew better than Mr. Bennett the truth, the force and the effect of the facts I presented, but his mind had been so absorbed in his idea of the pernicious character of abolition that he had entirely lost sight of the real causes of the 102 Selections ekom the Newspaper rebellion. He reflected a few minutes and then changed the conversation to an incident which occurred in Dublin, in 1843, at an O'Connell meeting which both of us attended, though at that time not on speaking terms. In parting Mr. Bennett cor- dially invited me to visit him at his office or house as often as I found it convenient. JSTothing was then said in regard to the future course of the Heeald ; but that journal came promptly to the support of the Government, and remained earnest and outspoken against the rebellion. ' It was charged that Mr. Bennett's changed course was occa- sioned by the mob which surrounded his office, and it was also charged that the Heeald had been bought up b}^ the adminis- tration. Both of these accusations Were utterly unfounded. Up to the time of my interview with 'Mr. Bennett, several weeks after the threatened violence, there was no change in the course of the Heeald, nor was one word spoken, suggested or intimated in our conversation conveying the idea of personal interest or advancement. My appeal was made to Mr. Bennett's judgment, and to his sense of duty, as an inffiiential journalist, to the government and Union. That appeal, direct and sim- ple, was successful. The President and Secretary of State, when informed of the result of my mission, were much relieved and gratified. Mr. Lincoln frequently expressed to me his desire in some way to acknowledge his sense of obligation to Mr. Bennett, and some two years afterward, when the French mission was open, the President authorized Mr. "Wakeman, then Surveyor of the port, to offer it to Mr. Bennett, which, however, he declined. Our personal and social relations being thus re-established, they continued throughout his life. T. W. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 103 KELIEF FOR SUFFERING OPERATIVES IK ENGLAND. A. D. 1862, Washing-ton, December Mh, 1862. Robert B. Minturn, Esq. : Dear Sir : I am li;^ppy to learn tliat tlie enterprise about wliicli we cdiiversed in New York on Tuesday last lias been auspiciously inaugurated. The organization effected in New York wnll speedily aggregate tlie contributions of our citizens, and relief will soon be on its way to tlie suffering families of the cotton manufacturing districts of England. There can be no form of suffering which appeals with such emphasis to intelligent American benevolence. Our unav^oida- ble civil war is the innnediate though blameless occasion of the want of eniployment and food which pervades and desolates the manufacturing towns of England. Their distress, there- fore, appeals as earnestly to our heads as to our hearts. Nor is the fact that our war leaves the laborers of. Lancashire with- out employment, and their families without bread, their only claim upon us. They are our friends. While the sympathies of many of the commercial classes of England are with the insurgent States, while the cotton houses of Liverpool were furnishing " material aid " to the Confederates, the operatives of the cotton districts and their representatives in Parliament resisted iieiterated efforts to secure their co-operation against our blockade and in favor of iiitervention. Though often reminded of the source of their suffering, the operatives, reduced, from short labor and diminished wages, to idleness and starvation, bear their burthens with a j)atient forti- tude which challenges more than our sympathy. Their destitution and forbearance appeal to us, fortified by an argument founded in such eloquent justice that I am sure it will be responded to with ecjual alacrity and munificence. Let us then make haste to " cast our bread upon the waters." Enclosed please find my check for $1,000. Yery truly yours, Thurlow Weed. 104 Selections feom the Newspaper THE "TRENT" DIFFICULTY. A. D. 1862. [From the Londou Times, England.] To the Editor of The Times : Sir : The intimation in yesterday's Times of " a yearning in tliis conntry after " American views upon the new complica- tion of our relations with England, followed this morning by relaxing and even kindlier strictures, tempts me to submit briefly some thoughts which an occuixence profoundly embar- rassing suggests ; not, however, upon " international law," for, as an humble journalist, I have been accustomed only to the common-sense interpretations of public questions ; and, were I at all qualiiied to enter into the legal argument, I should be inclined to accept your own view of the question — viz., that time and circumstances have so far changed the practice and reformed the principles of international maritime law as to render the earlier precedents and authorities largely inajDplicable to existing eposes ; and, further, while the concession, in proving my candor may impeach my patriotism, I am constrained to admit that in the ventilation of the Laurens seizure, as cited by Mr. George Sumner, the bottom has fallen out of our strongest precedent. Dismissing, therefore, the legal considerations of the Trent and San Jacinto question, I confess to a very strong " yearn- ing " that the English government, its press, and its people, may be disabused of an impression which has so generally obtained, that our government seeks occasions for disagreement, or cherishes other than such feelings as belong to the relations of interest and amitj^ that blend and bind us together. I am even less surprised at the belligerent sensibility which the Trent affair has awakened here, than with the pervading antecedent impres- sion that our government entertains hostile purposes toward England, and that our Secretary of State has actually designed the disruption of relations which I had supposed, and still believe, are almost universally regarded as essential to the wel- fare of our country and the happiness of our people. Akticles of TnuELow Weed. 105 An allegecl conversation of Secretary Seward with the Duke of Newcastle, referred to in The Times, conflicts with these assurances. Without precise information as to the language used by Mr. Seward, I cannot be mistaken in assuming that its spirit was misapprehended. The conversation occcurred, I believe, at a dinner given by Governor Morgan to the Prince of Wales. The avowal of a prominent Senator, who liad rea- son to suppose that he might be called to a more responsible position in the government, of a deliberate intention to " insult your (the Duke's) government,^'' could not but have been highly offensive. But, while I can readily excuse an English nobleman for misinterpreting idle or " loose talk " in an American states- man, to all Americans the hadinage of Mr. Seward would have been readily understood. Perhaps it would have been wiser not to attempt to " play with edged tools." Indeed, from the mischief an attempted pleasantry has occasioned, any departure from the gravities of conversation is certainly to be regretted. After disclaimino', as I feel quite authorized in doing, for Mr. Seward,' unfriendly intentions and feelings toward England, I beg to refer such English gentlemen as have acquaintance with, or opportunities for consulting, Mr. Adams, our resident Min- ister, for a true reflex of American sentiment and sympathies. That distinguished statesman, whose eminent father and grand- father at difterent epochs represented our country ^ — first at tlie Court of St. JameSj and subsequently as Presidents of the United States — enjoys, in the best and broadest sense of the term, the"" confidence of his government; and, resigning his seat in Congress to assume diplomatic responsibilities, he is also familiar with the views and feelings of our public men. Until I saw the accusation against Secretary Seward standing out prominently in the London press the idea had not entered my mind, nor can I now persuade myself that it has any real foundation to stand upon. After the settlement of the Maine and Yancouver boundary questions, in their final action upon both of which the course of the English government was char- acterized by enlightened justice and wisdom, I had supposed that no cause of misunderstanding remained, and that we might look forward to a long period of exemption from conflict or dissension. Subsequently incidental occasions for inter- changes of national courtesies occurred, calculated and tending 14 106 Selections fkom the I^ewspaper to coniirin and strengtlien feelings of good will. These were succeeded hy tliat memorable visit of the Prince of Wales, whose advent among us afforded to the American people an opportunity to mark, in heartfelt ovations, both their regard for the future monarch of Great Britain and their high esti- mate of, and their personal admiration for, a Queen whose eventful and illustrious reign, in advancing civilization, in pro- moting public and private virtue, and in hallowing household shrines, will enrich the archives and brighten the pages of England's history. I often thought, while witnessing, as I did, in several of our cities, the spontaneous demonstrations of unmistakable regard from hundreds of thousands of hearts warmed by remembrances of Saxon descent, that if all England could be " there to see," we should thenceforth, as nations, dwell together in peace and friendship. In that triumphal jour- ney, extending many thousands of miles, through citjes, towns, villages, hamlets, and wilderness, nothing occurred to mar its enjoyment. The American people, though enthusiastic, were considerate and respectful. The Prince, either from intuitive or inherited good sense and taste, while observing all the pro- prieties of his position, was so naturally gracious as to win nothing but " golden opinions," and to leave everywhere agree- able and enduring impressions ; and even now, so universal is the homage of our people for the Queen, that were Her Majesty to deign us a visit. Earl Russell and Secretary Seward, were either or both of these eminent statesmen disposed to perpetrate a great national wrong, would lind the bonds of affection stronger than ambition or strategy. Upon the course which our government shall deem wise or expedient to adopt in this abrupt emergency it is scarcely neces- sary to speculate. We shall not remain long in suspense. Nor could I add to the calm, well-considered views contained in the letter of Lieut.-General Scott, in whom America has no more devoted patriot, nor England a more sincere friend. That dis- tinguished and veteran general led our army creditably through one war with England. I, in humble positions, shared in tliat conflict ; and I speak for both — enjoying the confidence and friendship of our great chieftain — in sayhig that neither cares to survive another struggle so revolting to all who rejoice in a Articles of Thuelow Weed. 107 common ancestry and commingled blood, with kindred memo- rials and associations. Of the exact aiatnre of the despatch from the English gov- ernment I am ignorant ; bnt, I am constrained to express the opinion, that if that despatch has taken the form of a peremp- tory demand it will be met by as peremptory a refusal ; for in temper and ^^ride we are as nnreasoning as the bad examples of our mother country, absurdly intensified, can make us. But I devoutly hope that the mastiff mode of diplomacy will not, on either side, be resorted to. There are no real interests of either country to be promoted or protected by a contest for the championship. Noy is it necessary to determine questions of relative prowess or courage. The battle of Lundy's lane, in Canada, fought npon a fair field, with forces nearly equal, which consigned the remains of TOO British and 700 American soldiers to "4ead men's beds," should be accepted as a satis- factory solution by both nations. This Slidell and Mason imbroglio, which has been sprung upon us, places both govern-' ments in false position. England is running npon all fours across the track of her life-long practices and precepts, while America is forced, in maintaining the act of Commodore Wilkes, to ignore a policy earnestly insisted upon — a policy which, at the conclusion of the war of 1812, was left to be determined by the future good sense and forbearance of both governments. In this " muddle," should either nation be too tenaciousJ- I do not say or think that in this matter we have done quite riglit, or that we are wholly wrong. The tempta- tions in this case were far greater than can be understood abroad. Messrs. Slidell and Mason were responsible leaders in the nnnatural and causeless Rebellion which set brother against brother in fierce and brutish civil war. As Senators in the Congress of the United States, while unanimous millions sup- posed men incapable of such perfidy, they committed acts of treason far more flagrant than the offenses which have con- signed the heads of British noblemen, through the Tower, to the block. It will require, therefore, calm deliberation and a large measure of forbearance in our government and people to bring them to an acquiescence in the views taken of this ques- tion here — views which, I am compelled to admit, have obtained across the channel. 108 Selections feom the Newspaper But if events are not precipitated ; if time is given for reflection, so that the cost and conseqnences of war maj be cal- culated, my appreliensions would be greatly relieved. I qnite concur with the Ne%o YorTi, Trihime in the opinion that these rebel emissaries are not worth a war, and, individually, would not hesitate to make large concessions, in feeling, for peace. With England, whose canvass whitens every ocean and sea, " catching the dawning rays of the rising, and mellowed l^y the departing beams of the setting sun," the honor of her flag is every thing. In defense of this flag, England, with her blood heated, will not sacrifice the " avoirdupois of a hair." Surely, then, if appealed to in a neighborly spirit, we can afford to do for England wliat we should, touched in the same tender point, expect England to do for America. Respectfully, Your obedient servant, Thuklow Weed. London, Deceii'iber 12, 1862. CAIST "KING COTTON" BE DETHRONED. [Prom the London Observer, February 16, 1862.] To the Editor of The Ohserver : Sm : The pro23riety of emancipating England from its dejDendence upon Southern North America and slave labor, for the cotton that enters so largely into its manufacturing inter- ests, is a question for the consideration of your own government and people. And yet a stranger may, perhaps, be permitted to wonder why a nation whose far-seeing eye and outstretching arms are alike vigilant and prompt, has failed to perceive, or neglected to grasp, advantages and positions so certain to pro- mote the material interests, and to enhance the moral power of England, I know, of course, -that you possess unlimited cotton resources in India ; but when fully developed, as at no distant day they will be, the product is likely to remain inferior to the Ameri- Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 109 can staple. Wlien, therefore, by the removal of obstructions in yonr Indian rjvers, and the laying of rails into the interior, three millions of bales are annually produced from your own colony, you will still require from one million to a million and a half of bales of the attenuated fibre from America. Central America, with a climate and soil as congenial and as well adapted to the growth of cotton as the climate and soil of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi, invites England to occupy, develop, and enjoy its advantages. Cotton is growing there now in wild and spontaneous luxuriance. The country, or the lands witliout the country, may be had almost without saying " by your leave." Labor, fifty per cent, cheaper than the present cost of American slave labor, can be obtained ; and cotton, equal in quantity and quality, can be produced at half the cost ofN the American article. Tlie gold deposits of California and Australia, thougli created for man's use in the beginning, reserved their treasures until the world's progress and enterprise needed and developed them. So with the broad and fertile cotton fields of 'Central America, Although now in a wilderness and waste condition, they possess, like the Thrale estate, for which Dr. Johnson improvised himself auc- tioneer, " the potentiality of acquiring wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." A company like that which for centuries laid golden eggs in its Leadenhall-street nest, organized to grow cotton in Central America, exempted from the exhausting wars and onerous burdens of the East India Company, would, in the prosecution of beneficent objects, receive permanent and remunerative evidences of the wisdom of its investments. But I do not, while suggesting to England advantages which competent Americans have for their own purposes satisfactorily demonstrated, claim to be either disinterested or unselfish. This cotton question concerns the government and people of the United States even m^ore deeply than it concerns England. Though concurring interest and vaulting ambition worked the element, cotton was the moving cause and motive power of the civil war in America ; and upon cotton, in view of the necessi- ties of Europe, rebellion relies for pecuniary aid and moral influence to maintain its defiant position. The increasing demand for cotton, with enormous aggravations in price, immensely enhanced the profits of slave labor. This occa- 110 Selections fkom the I^ewspapeb sioned a corresponding rise in tlie slave market. Six or seven years ago a hundred pounds was about the vahie of a (" field hand ") negro. One year ago the same negro would readily sell for from two hundred and fifty to two hitndred and seventy-five pounds. This begat a' desire for extended cotton fields and more slaves ; and hence the bold effort to subject free territory to slavery, and to re-open the African slave trade. But the election of Mr. Lincoln thwarted both of these designs, and then, without further provocation, rebellion was resorted to. If, then, the. increasing demand and augmenting price of cotton, occasioning civil war in America, also cripjDles the manufacturing and deranges the commercial interests of the Old World, shall we not endeavor to obviate the evil ? And if he who " causes two blades of grass to grow where but one was produced," is hailed as a " public benefactor," how much more abnndantlv will the Government that brino;s new, fertile, and boundless cotton fields into subjection and use, merit pop- ular approbation ? I will neither discuss nor ask how soon or how much cotton would be obtained by breaking our blockade. With the unde- viating policy of your government and the understood views of its Ministers on this question, I am content. And while I write I am gratified with evidence confirming an opinion expressed a year ago in my own journal, " that Europe, under the pressure of necessity, would rise and emancipate itself from the cupidity and ca]3rices of King Cotton." London journals furnish the agreeable information that " American seed " in Jamaica, in Smyrna, and in Macedon, is reproducing market- able cotton. And in the parliamentary debate of Friday eve- ning Lord Palmerston said : "At the same time much progress has been made, and my honorable friend is quite right in say- ing that if the slave trade on the west coast of Africa could be stopped, there are resources of legitimate trade of infinite value, not only to that country, but to every country in Europe, and especially to England. IN^ot long ago my honor- able friend. Captain Foot, went from Lagos to Abeokuta, and, describing his journey, he says there was a great zone in which the cotton plant grew spontaneously, but there %oas no one to - gather it, hut evidently its quality was of great value, and well calculated for manufacture. I i3an assure my honorable Articles of Thurlow Weed. Ill friend that no exertions will be omitted, first, to eradicate the abominable practice of human sacrifice, and next to stop the slave trade as far as possible." Here, then, is a field open, the cultivation of which would subserve the double purpose of pro- moting the material interests of England, and of diminishing the evils of , the slave trade. Before dismissing this question Lord Palmerston added : " It is quite true that, owing to the civil war in America, the Federal governmeut has withdrawn the greatei" part of their cruisers from the coast of Africa, and I cannot say, off-hand, whether there still remains that number of guns which the United States are bound by treaty to main- tain on that coast for the suppression of the slave trade ; but it is quite true that the Federal government have shown the most anxious and sincere desire to put in force their laws against the slave trade." The wisdom of " Captain Bunsby's " opinion will be found in the " application of it." So with the laws for the suppression of the African slave trade. They are wisely framed, but, unfortunately, so far as America is con- cerned, they have been most laxly administered. Pro-slavery administrations have not cared to evince either zeal or alacrity in catching slavers. And it is but fair that England should be informed that it is for this reason her government has found occasion to complain frecpiently of our neglect to perform our share of doty, in the execution of an international law which contemplates the suppression of the African slave trade. And it is proper, also, to apprise England that this well-founded complaint exists no longer. It has been thoroughly reformed by the present administration, in the appointment of capable, vigilant officers, whose hearts are in the work, and by whose energy the African slave traffic has been cnt np, root and branch, at home. Mr. Murray, the United States Marshal at 'New York, has seized more slave vessels, and arrested more traifickers in the slave trade, within ten months, than were seized or arrested during the ten preceding years. The master of a slaver, capitally convicted, is now awaiting execution, while several others await their trial. The efficiency of the marshals in New York, Boston, etc., has rendered the traffic so hazardous that the duty of Her Majesty's ships off the coast of Africa will be much lightened. And here let me do the South the jnstice to say, that slaves 112 Selections feom the ISTewspaper are pnrcliased and fitted out in Northern ports. This deep disgrace, however, is partially relieved by the fact that most of the merchants and masters engaged in the traffic, though resid- ing in Northern cities, are either Spaniards or Portuguese. Yours, etc., T. W. Hanover Square, London, February 14, 1862. THE PKESIDE]^TIAL ELECTION. [From the New York Times, Oct. 17, 1864.] LETTER IN FAVOR OF LINCOLN AND JOHNSON. Albany, Oct. 13, 1864. Hon. Abraham WaJceman : Dear Sir : On my return home this morning, I find confir- mation of what yon and others told me in New York, viz. : that a letter npon tlie Presidential question is expected from me. The views I entertained on this question early in September, will be found in the following extract of a letter, which ap- peared in the Evening Journal : " Those who desire the preservation of the Government and Union, be they Democrat or Republican, will keep their eyes upon these secession emissaries, and npon the Chicago Conven- tion. We shall see how far the views of Messrs. Clay, Thomp- son, Sanders, etc., influence the action of that Convention. We shall see what sort of men are nominated and what principles are avowed. If statesmen or soldiers, who have since the out- break of the Rebellion, given their services to the country, are placed upon a platform which demands a vigorous prosecution of the war, on the basis of Union and Peace — which requires all in rebellion to return to their allegiance and to the enjoyment of their rights under the Constitution — if, we repeat, such men are nominated and such principles are enunciated at Chicago, I shall hail the result with heartfelt joy. Such a nomination Akticles of Thuelow Weed. 113 would leave every elector to clioose between Mr. Lincoln and another candidate for President equally patriotic. "But if Yallandigliani's and Sanders' influence prevails at Chicago ; if a candidate of even suspected loyalty be nominated, or if the Convention, in its organization and platform, gives an uncertain sound," or betrays disunion proclivities, it will not only provoke the united opposition of Republicans, but lose the support of War Democrats. The loyal Democracj^ go to Chicago witli the odds and chances against them. Tlie condition and circumstances of the country are inauspicious. These disadvantages, however, de- mand increased zeal, devotion and firmness, iind if, at last, malign influences prevail, the riglit and duty of appeal re- mains. My reasons for desiring a change of Administration are known to those wlio have read what I have felt constrained to say since December, 1860, first as editor of the Journal^ and subsequently in occasional letters. I protested, early and earn- estly, against the Abolition proclivities of the Republican party, of Congress and of the Administration. I foresaw, more closely than others, the certainty of a formidable rebellion — a rebel- lion that would try the strength of our Government and tax the energies of our whole people. In view of such an emer- gency I fett that no mere party, and least of all, an Abolition party, could preserve the Government and Union ; that the policy of the Administration should tend to xinite the l^orth and to dmide the South. And what I complained of was that just so far as Abolition counsels prevailed, they reversed this proposition by dimding the North and uniting the South. I know now what I helieved in 1860, that Mr. Lincoln ought to have made a Union Cabinet. Such a Cabinet and Policy would have carried us through the rebellion with infinitely less expense of blood and treasure. It is, in my judgment, a mistake to have supposed that he could not sustain himself without the support of ultra abolition. In boldly prosecuting the war for the Government and the Union, he would have been trium- phantly sustained by the really and rationally patriotic masses. The influences which he sought to propitiate have been a drag both upon his administration and the war. And after all his concession to the insatiate spirit of radical Abolition, its leaders 15 114 Selections feom the JSTewspapek turned against and endeavored to overthrow liim ! Months after liis renomination, Abolition leaders wei'e engaged in a conspiracy to force his withdrawal ! Hostile circnlars, signed by editors of the Evening Post, Tribune and Independent, were drifting about in September ; nor was the project of an- other Presidential nominee abandoned nntil three days pre- vious to the meeting of onr State Convention. The Democratic party was represented by its N^ational Con- vention. In its candidates for President and Yice-President^ and in its "platform," we mnst find reasons for accepting or rejecting a Democratic Administration. Two facts are, in my estimation, conclusively demonstrated by the action of that Convention. First, that Gen. McClellan was not the choice of a majority of the Convention ; and second, when forced to take him, the " Peace party " delegates avenged themselves by forc- ing their own nominee for Yice-President and their own " plat- form " upon the Convention. This characterizes the Demo- cratic ticket. The " platform " offends the patriotism of every loyal elector. It offended Gen. McClellan and all War Demo- crats. It contains no sentiment, sentence, expression or inti- mation, from which an impartial reader can learn to which side of the war the Chicago Convention belongs. There is no word of condemnation or censnre, either of secession or rebellion, in it. The portions of it not positively disloyal are " mere glitter- ing generalities." Indeed, so tenderly is Rebellion tonched, that strong color is given to the charge that Washington Hunt's " armistical " plank was inserted at the snggestion of the Con- federate Commissioners with whom he conferred in Canada. Bnt wdiy labor to prove the disloyalty of the Chicago plat- form ? Its real character was determined in the manner of its reception by the people. All but those whose sentiments and sympathies are with rebellion, instantly "spit upon it." There is no possibility of mistaking the language of Patriotism. It rings out in a loud, clear, clarion voice, filling the ears and warming the hearts of all true men. The Chicago platform is essentially and unmistakably hostile to the Government, and it is known and felt to be so, even by tlie War Democrats, who are reluctantly standing and working upon it. Should the people of the Free States declare in favor of such a " Platform," our Government and Union, with all the blood and treasure Articles of Thuklow Weed. 115 expended, lirst to establish, and now to preserve them, are hopelessly and irretrievably lost. The day that such a record is made, terminates om- existence as a Republic, by sponging the United States out of the Map of JN'ations. When we ourselves, " EMPHATICALLY DECLARE AS THE SENSE OF THE AMERICAN PEO- PLE," in favor of a craven " cessation of hostilities," France and England, taking us at our word, will step in and " medi- ate" us into broken and separate fragments, to be recon- structed, some saj, upon the Germanic Confederation plan. Democratic friends who had manfully sustained the M^ar, and who agree with me in repudiating their " platform," claim my support of Gen. McClellan upon his letter. With that letter, were it possible to divorce him from Mr. Pendleton and the " platform," I should be content. But this is quite impossible. A vote for Gen. McClellan is also a vote for Mr. Pendleton and against Andrew Johnson ! When the rebellion broke out, Messrs. Johnson and Pendle- ton were Democratic members of Congress, the former from a slave, the" latter from a free State. Mr. Johnson, though per- iling all he had and was, threw himself gallantly into the con- flict for the Government and Union ; while Mr. Pendleton, though less openly disloyal than his colleagues Vallandigham and Long, 4ias voted and sympathized with them, and was their candidate for Yice-President. His party cannot now point, during the whole four years of war to a patriotic vote or a gener- ous utterance. Upon no Congressional condemnation of rebel- lion has he stood with Griswold, Odell, Stebbins, and other War Democratic members of Congress. So bad, indeed, is the record of Messrs. Pendleton and Long, that their districts have just elected two Union men in their places by large majorities. Can /vote for George H. Pendleton against Andrew Johnson, for Yice-President ? ISTo ! Can any consistent friend of the countrv ? Certainly not. There were many earnest War Democrats in the Chicago Convention, working hard to counteract its ignominious peace proclivities. The friends of Gen. McClellan endeavored to se- cure the nomination of Guthrie, or Phelps, or Caton, for Yice- President. But failing, they fell into the common political error of acquiescence. And now, the worst feature in the case is the fact, that while the loyal men are satisfied with McClel- 116 Selections from the Newspaper Ian, the peace men are content with Pendleton and the Plat- form, all being united in support of the ticket. This throws Dean Richmond and Sanford E. Church into, the canvass, shoulder to shoulder, with Clement Vallandigham and Fernando Wood. Gren. McClellan is wholly inexperienced in civil duties, his education and pursuits having been military. This, though ever to be regretted, would be peculiarly a misfortune now, for as his party is constituted, he would not be at liberty to form a Loyal Cabinet. That Cabinet would hamper and embarrass, if it did not control him. This, indeed, has been Mr. Lincoln's case. His party was made up of Whigs, Radical Democrats and Abolitionists. The influence of the latter .elements predominat- ing, his Cabinet took that complexion. Hence, under the aus- pices of a strong will in the Treasury Department, backed by corresponding influences in Congress, the Governm ent has been crippled and the war intensified and prolonged by avowing the destruction of Slavery rather than the preservation of the Gov- ernment and Union, as its object. And such, were Gen. McClellan President, would be his con- dition. The disloyal element predominates in his party. The Democratic United States Senators (with one exception), the leading journals, and the representative men generally of his party, are committed or committing themselves, to an armistice and peace policy. He could not, therefore, move a step until he surrendered his administration to men and influences whose councils would work but a peace so dishonoring in terms and so disastrous in effect, as to occasion fresh and interminable wars. The objection to Gen. McClellan's election, therefore, are to be found less in himself than in his political surroundings. These are largely disloyal, and it requires a higher degree of moral courage than he possesses to shake them off. The influences which surround a President usually shape his action. Of all our Presidents Gen. Jackson alone liad the laill to detei'mine and pursue his own course — or, in other words, " to take the responsibility." With this knowledge, we should have nothing but evil to expect from Gen. McClellan's election as President. And deprecating, as I have done and do, the malign influence of Sumner, Pomeroy and Lane, with others of their stripe, in Articles of Thuelow Weed. IIY Congress, I cannot, even to escape such evils, fly to others threatening our country with the last and worst calamity. The Convention which nominated Pendleton and placed McClellan on a platform that would trip up even Blondin, would, had the power resided in it, have made an instant peace, ingloriously recognizing the Confederate Government and shivering this Republic into fragments! Can we, after all the sacrifices Rebellion has occasioned, and when, as we hope, these sacrifices are soon to be compensated by the overthrow of our enemies, submit to such wrong and humiliation ? If, as I assume, we cannot and will not so dishonor our country, so degrade ourselves, and so outrao-e the memories of hundreds of thousands who have written their devotion to the Union in their own red blood, let us vote the Peace party down. Let us not consign all there is left of this priceless Government and precious Union, to the hands of those who are impatient for an ignominious, shameful peace " upon the best attainable terms," whether they conspire at Chicago under Yallandigham and ■ Wood, or in Canada under Saunders and Greeley. While the peoj^le have not had, in results, the worth of their treasure and blood ; though our armies, especially of the Poto- mac, hav^ not been ably handled ; and though our navy has not — with some noble exceptions, for the name of Porter re- mains bright, and that of Farragut belongs to imperishable fame — maintained the character it won in the war with Eng- land, much has been accomplished in the right direction. Re- bellion has been driven from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas, while our army and navy hold portions of Vir- ginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Heavy and telling blows have been dealt by Farragut, Sherman and Sheridan, and we are justified in believing that Grant will perfect his military character and finish the rebellion by the conquest of Richmond. We know that the enemy, in his last conscriptions, exhausted his material, and that he must now fight it out with the men in the field ; while, if we will, in addition to the rein- forcements now hastening ' to the front," we can bring fresh and crushing legions into action. We know that Mr. Lincoln is loyal, persevering and devoted, and that he is doing all he can do to conquer a peace. This is not all we desire, but it is 118 Selections feom the I^ewspapek vastly more tlian we sliould get from a Peace Party Adminis- tration. That we have experienced enough " The grappling vigor and rougli frowns of war " sacrificed enough of treasure, and sent more than enough of our gallant sons to their "^^ry beds," who will deny ? And that all hearts ache for peace, who can doubt ? " Let it not disgrace m,e, If I demand, before tliis royal view, What rubs, or wliat impediment there is, Why that the naked, poor, and mangled Peace, Dear narse of arts, plenties and joyful births, Should not, in this best garden of the world, ***** p^i; y^p ]^er lovely visage!" But the boon of Peace is only to be wooed and won by persist- ent valor. Every truculent, sickly cry for peace aggravates and protracts the war. Until, by military mastery, the rebellion is subdued, we can have no peace on endurable terms. " White feathers" at the N^ortli are more dangerous to our Government and Union than the sabres and bayonets of the South. In the present aspect of war, our best and most effective peace com- missioners are Farragut and Sherman, Grant, Hancock and Sheridan. Meanwhile, the Administration itself should work out of its false position, and by some unequivocal act or declara- tion, solemnly avow that the war is prosecuted to maintain the Government and to restore the Union ; and that, when mis- guided States and peoples return to their allegiance, the Angel of Peace will revisit and bless our too severely chastised country. Our country is in an anomalous condition. The two great political parties are embarrassed with antagonisms. The Repub- lican party is associated with an Abolition element which first invited rebellion, and then demanded a war issue which divides the people and weakens the Government. The Democratic party is demoralized by a " Copperhead " element vvhose disloyalty ran that party under in 1863, and whose successfril resistance, at Chicago, to enlightened and pa- triotic action, will occasion a second Democratic collapse. I had hoped that these ultra and malign elements would have '' sloughed off " from both parties, leaving the conservative masses to unite and save the country. , Articles of Thurlow Weed. 119 In denouncing " abolition," as I do now, and have ever done, allow nie to guard against misconstruction. The old Whig party was ever and inflexibly opposed to slavery extension and affo'i-ession. ' But there Avas a broad and well-understood distinc- tion between the Whig opponents of slavery and the fanatical Abolitionists. With the opponents of slavery, led by John Qiiincy Adams, I lived and labored in harmony, and with zeal. But we were eternally opposed by the Birney, Goodell, Gar- rison and other fanatical Abolitionists, who, in elections, so cast their " third party " vote as to elect pro-slavery Governors, Congressmen and Presidents, and iinally, by defeating Mr. Clay, brought Texas into the Union as a Slave State. That class' of Abolitionists throw themselves across the track of all healthful political organizations. ' They were the worst enemies of the Whig pai'ty then . — they are " the best friends " of rebel- lion now. Tlie'y were pestilent before and have been destructive during the war. -But my abhorrence of Abolition fanaticism does not in the least weaken my detestation of a slave rebellion.. The devilish ambitions foste'red by that cursed institution may cost us our Government and Union — will, indeed, if slavery and abolition combined can work out that great national crime. Our danger has been, and is, that abolition, in doing precisely what I foretold — dividing the JSTorth and uniting the South — may enable rebellion and slavery to avei't the penalty both so richly merit ■ — a common grave. ^ It M^as this dread of ^ultra Abolition, embarrasing Mr; Lincoln in the past, and threatening embarrassment in the future, that induced me to hope for a change of Administration. I believed that a Democratic President, as earnest as Mr. Lincoln against the rebellion, and exempted from the influences that have beset and badgered him from the beginning, could prosecute the war more successfully; and, the fighting over, would find himself less encumbered, pei'plexed and tormented, during the most dif- ficult of all the duties of a President -- the readjustment of our disjointed machinery of Government. The responsibilities of the Administration have been, during its four years of trial, so great, that the Democratic party, had it been patriotic — or if it had even seemed to be so — would have taken the Government. Its Disloyal State organizations finally culminated at Chicago, whei'e the right way was so clear 120 Selections fkom the N^ewspaper and straight that only those who were previously bent on pur- suing the wrong, could mistake it. ISTor, in seasons of common danger, is there any difhculty in discriminating between Patri- otism and disloyalty. In a War which exhausts their substance and drinks their blood, the People are never deceived. At such times they think and feel deeply. Instincts and impulses anticipate argument and jump at conclusions, l^ow, as in 1812, a questionable Patriotism is virtually admitted Disloyalty. Kow, as then, the Political Barometer rises or falls with the changing fortunes of our Armies Victories depress, while disasters encourage the opponents of the Administration, Heretofore, during a long political experience, it has not been~ needful, on the eve of a Presidential election, that my position should be defined. ]^or would it now have been necessary if the life of the I^ation did not depend upon the result. Op- pressed by this conviction, I have anxiously watched events, with a determination to be governed ^ by them. In a canvass which involves the very existence of the Republic, men are to be judged by their fitness for the great trust to be confided to them. I have endeavored, impartially, to measure the Presi- dential nominees by this rule. Assuming, as I do, that both are men of integrity and patriotism, I have sought and found a solu- tion of my embarrassment in their relative associations and sur- roundings. I find the supporters of Mr. Lincoln solemnly pledged to, and earnestly engaged in, the work of " crushing," with the army and navy of the Government, an enormously wicked rebellion. Less than this, in view of what tlie war has already cost, cannot be submitted to. On the .other hand I find a majority of the convention by which Gen. McClellan was nomi- nated " solemnly pledged " to an "■ armistice," and to a policy which contemplates peace and disunidn. While Gen, McClel- lan is supported by War Democrats, I find, also, that " Copper- heads " and Secessionists accept Mr. Pendleton and the " plat- form " as their portion of the inheritance. The political " signs of the time " are full of hope and joy. Pecent results convert confidence into assurance. And the sense of relief comes where the danger was most imminent. In Indiana, where treason was most rife, and traitors boldest, the triumph is overwhelming. So last year in Ohio, where " Cop- perheads " had the hardihood to present Yallaudigham for Gov- .Articles of Thuelow Weed. 121 emor, the popular indignation crushed tliem out of political existence. Thus — if the illustration be not irreverent — where disloyal sin abounds, patriotic grace abounds much more abund- antly. Yours truly, Thuklow Weed. WAR RECOED OF EX-SECRETARY CHASE. A. D. 1861:. [From the New York Times.] What does Mr. Weed mean? The only despotism of which there has been any complaint in this period of the war has been that of Mr. Weed's admired friend, the Secretary of State, which, for our part, we liave never found fault with, but which Secretary Chase has consistently opposed. Again, does Mr. Weed mean to charge that Chase " did not desire a restoration of the Union ? " He says so as plainly as he can without dis- tinctly-framing an accusation. If he does, he is guilty of a very contemptible, very j^alpable, and very deliberate lie. We have in another column taken occasion to characterize a lie by inshiuation. H we have said any thing to make such a lie appear despicable, we should like to treble its significance and present it as our estimate of this assertion - of Mi'. Weed's. {^Brooklyn .Daily Union. The " despotism " from which I felt, in common with eman- cipated thousands, a sense of relief, is well understood at Washington. Mr. Chase, in the exercise of the vast patronage of his department, was a despot. ■ He preserved his power over the President by reit-erated threats to resign. Mr. Lin- coln, under the erroneous impression that he could not dispense with the services of his Secretary of tlie -Treasury, yielded and endure'd until humarr patience was exhausted. Mr. Chase tried the resignation dodge once too often. Mr. Lincoln's error was in living so long in torment. The final breach was occasioned by the refusal of Mr. Lin- coln to ratify an improper appointment. In declining to accept Mr. Chase's nominee, Mr. Lincoln suggested Richard 16 ^ ^ - 122 Selections from the JS^ewspaper M. Blatcliford, Dudley S. Gregory or Tliomas, Hilllionse, as assistant Treasurer. But Mr. Chase was inflexible — des- jootic — Mr. Field, or resignation ! In view of the notoriously unworthy men with whom Mr. Chase had surrounded himself, Mr. Lincoln was certainly justi- fied in pausing. Mr. Chase, not long previously, had made the same point in relation to a l^ew York Custom House appointment, and the President yielded. The organization of the I^ew York Custom House is a living, burning disgrace. Mr. Chase had evidence of infamous practices, but refused^to act. When charges showing that the enemy was receiving supplies through the Custom House were so rife that the Presi- dent, in December last, called the Secretary's attention to them, he replied curtly that he had " no information affecting the iiitegrity of the Collector." Hfe had, however, abundance of information afiecting the integrity of other oflicials, but' instead of removing them, his special agent sj)ent months in efforts to strangle investigations and cover up rascalities, Mr. Chase knew that there were men in the Custom House whose only service was to sign a pay roll. He knew that others were dishonest — that one was detected in leaving his department with goods concealed upon his person. He has known for three years that gross Custom House dishonesty exists at Osweo^o. But he ffave "no sisTi." O o o Mr. Clark, whom he placed at the head of the money bureau, at Washington, had been exjDOsed officially, for dishonesty in the extension of the treasury building, a work progressing under the eye of Mr. Chase ! And yet he placed that man in a position of overwhelming pecuniary trust ! He not only placed a tabooed man in such a position, but refused to remove him on the report of his own solicitor of the treasury, Mr. Jordan, who, in April last, in a letter to Mr. Chase, said : — Treasury Department, \ Solicitor's Office, April 19th, 1861. j Sir : I have the honor herewith to transmit a report made to me by Col. L. C. Baker, together with a number of affida- vits, affecting the conduct and character of S. M. Clark and G. A. Henderson. In accordance with your instructions, I exhibited these affi davits to Mr. Clark, stating to him that I did so by your direc' Articles of Thuelow Weed. 123 tion and in drdcr that he niight liave an opportunity to make such exphmation or reply as he should deem proper. His reply to me was that, as to any thing alleged against him impeaching his conduct or character as an officer of this department, he denied it utterly, and that as to any other mat- ter, he scorned to make any answer. I have further, in obedience to your order, called before me most of the persons whose affidavits are herewith transmitted, and made such other inquiries as it has been in my power to make touching the matter stated in the affidavits, and the result is, an ENTIRE CONVICTION that the most material of those state- ments i, are -true ; partiGularly those contained in the n^davits of Ella Jackson, Jennie Germon and Laura Duvail. What -action, if any, ought to be taken in view of these Jacts, is, of course, not a question for me to consider. I have the honor to be, with high respect, (Signed) - Edward Jordan, SoliGitor of the Treasury. Hon. S. P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. There are other and grave reasons for rejoicing that Mr., Chase is out of the Cabinet. He aljolitionized that Cabinet ; and if our Government should be overthrown and our Union severed, he, as the chief of a class to which Sumner, Greeley, Phillips, etc., etc., belong, will be responsible for the calamity — directly responsible — for they have perverted the war which should have been waged against rebellion, into a war for aboli- tion, lacking the wisdom to perceive that the whole I^orth could be united against rebellion, while upon then' abolition programme, the people are divided. In other words, if wiser men had ruled, rebellion would have divided the South and united the North. As it - is, the South is intensely united, wliile the l^orth is unhappily divided. But for Mr. Chase and his followers, the rebellion would have had narrower limits, embracing only the gulf, and some of the Mississippi States. But for their influence two Union men from border States would have been in the Cabinet. For saying, in December, 1860, that Tennessee, ISTorth Carolina, Western Yirginia and N^orthern Alabama, were full of Union men, I was denounced and persecuted by all the ultra aboli- tionists. But under every discouragement — amid rapine and murder — this has proved to be true. Mr. Chase would not, however, allow these States to remain in the Union, or suffer 124 Selections fkom the IN^ewspapek them to return to it as States. For the truth of my assertion that Mr. Chase would not alloAV the border States to remain in the Union. I submit the following letter : — • Washington^ February 9, 1861. Dear Sir : Tlianks for jour note and explanation of that vote. It may be useful. There is a greater disjxisition to compromise than I like to see. But I hope the hest. Half a dozen of the border State gentlemen have been in our room to-night, Etheridge- and Stokes, of Tennessee, Adams and Bris- tow, of Kentucky, Gilmer, of ISTorth Carolina, and others. / really sympathize lolih them, but see no reason why we should sacrifice per momently a Xwgo, power to help them, for the pur- pose of gaining temporarily a little one. Yours, cordially, S. P. Chase. When this letter was written, bold, devoted Union men in ITorth Carolina and Tennessee were struggling to keep their^ States in the Union, anxious to sustain the Grovernment and to stand by the stars and stripes. The " border State proposi- tion," adopted by Congress, would have held them. Their members of Congress went personally to " our room," implor- ing aid. Mr. Chase's " sympathy " was excited, but he " saw no reason " for " sacrificing " abolitionism for the Union ! What followed is historical. We have been involved for nearly four years in an abolition war. The influence that drove l^ortli Carolina and Tennessee from the Union extorted an emancipation proclamation, practical and effective only in giving union, strength and determination to rebellion — a proclamation to which the first slave has not owed his freedom ; for it is only operative where our armies go, and without it the armies would have gone faster and farther. And let it be remembered that all the while these abolition demagogues and fanatics were aiding both rebellion and slavery. The ISTorth, united, and free of the incubus of abolitionism, would have crushed rebellion, and with it the cursed institution which struck at and sought to divide the Union. If the South avert the punishment due to the great national crime of rebellion, they will owe their escape to the insanity of abolitionists. It is thus that antas^onisms work together. / Articles of Thuelow Weed. 125 AikI liere, to guard against those who lay in wait to pervert all I say, let me exempt Gerrit Smith, with others who have nobly giver^ themselves to the duty of sustaining the Govern- ment, in its war against rebellion. Had the same degree o± patriotism and sense governed Mr. Chase, leading members of Congress and influential journals, we should this day rejoice in a triumph of the Government over the vanquished armies of the confederacy, consigning rebellion and slavery to a com- mon grave. I did hot, three years ago, mistake or magnify the evil of abolitioninfluences, nor, though hercely denounced, did I shrink from the duty of warning the people. What then was only prophetic, is now history. Aljolition influences in Congress, and in the Cabinet, have doubled the millions of dollars, and deepened the rivers of blood, spent and shed, in a war which, so long as such influences and counsels sway the Government, promises nothing but an interminable conflict or an inglorious termination. T. W. HOEACE GREELEY — A CONGRESSIONAL CANDI- DATE IN 18Y0. LETTER TO THOMAS C. ACTON. ' New York, Ootoher 10, 1870. Dear Sir : — ■ A year ago you made an earnest appeal for my vote in favor of Mr. Greeley for State Comptroller. Assum- ing that I had strong personal reasons for refusing to vote for Mr. Greeley, you urged, very properly, that these should yield to public considerations. I readily acquiesced in this view of the question, and resolved to govern my action in accordance with it. I calmly examined the relative qualifications of the two candidates. Mr. Greeley had been educated a printer, and had devoted himself exclusively to his profession. He had, therefore, no knowledge or experience in the duties of the 126 Selections fkom the I^ewspaper office of Comptroller. 'Nov were his talents, his habits, or his tastes adapted to financial duties. The idea that the editor of a leading daily journal could so divide his time between New York and Albany as to discharge the duties of Comptroller, in addition to those of editor, seemed to me not only im- possible, but preposterous. It is scarcely necessary to say, what is so generally known, that the office of Comptroller is altogether the most important, laborious, and responsible in the State. I have personally known its incumbents for consider- ably more than half a century. Among them were Archibald Mclntyre, John Savage. William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, Jr., Azariah C. Flagg, John A. Collier, Millard Fillmore, Wash- ington Hunt, Philo C. Fuller, James M. Cook, Thomas Hill- house, etc., etc., all men distinguished for ability and industry, not one of whom ever attempted to attend to any other busi- ness, and all of whom found constant and full occupation, physical and mental, in the discharge of their public duties. Without, therefore, recognizing other and strong reasons for withholding my vote for Mr. Greeley, I considered those Avhich I. have stated quite sufficient. In his opponent, William F. Allen, I found a capable and enlightened man, with some experience, much industry, and peculiar fitness for the duties of that office. I had known him first as an able and nseful member of onr Legislature, and next as an eminently upright Judge. My only difficulty there fore, in deciding to vote for him was that he was a Demo- crat, and a nominee of the Democratic party. But this objec- tion was obviated in ]ny mind by the fact — a fact well known to both political parties — that from the beginning of the re- bellion in 1861, to the end of the war in 1865, Judge Allen was an avowed, earnest, active war Democrat, and this ren- dered it easy to cast my vote, as I did, in favor of William F. Allen for Comptroller. I may add, that, in subsequently vot- ing for Mr. Allen for Judge of the Court of Appeals, my only regret was that at a time of almost universal official demoralization the State would lose the services of a fearless and incorruptible Comptroller. Mr. Greeley now turns up as a candidate for Congress from the district in which I reside. You again urge me to vote for Aeticles of Thuklow Weed. 127 hiifi, and I have taken the subject into calm and serious consid- eration. Lifting my thoughts above all things merely personal, I h^ve endeavored to ascertain whether Mr. Greeley, upon public grounds, is entitled to my vote. Having reached the conclusion "that I cannot vote for him, I will give you my rea- sons — reasons which constitute, in niy own judgment, a perfect justification — reasons which ought to deprive him of the yo''te of every loyal elector in the district. Mr. Greeley, for several months before the rebellipn, while that question wiis rife in the Southern States, M-as an avowed, earnest, and persistent secessionist. As the editor of a leading and widely circulating Republican journal, he exerted an influ- ence at once powerful andnialign. Indeed, but for tliat influ- ence it would have been difiicult, if not impossible, to have withdrawn ISTorth Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia from the Union"' To show you that I do not state this point too strongly, let me refresh your memory with editorial extracts from the Tribune : [From the Tribune, November 9, I860.] If the Cotton States shall become satisfied they can do bet- ter out of the Union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace. The right to secede may be a revolutionary one, but it exists nevertheless. "When any considerable section of our Union shall deliberately resolve to go out, we shall resist all coercive measures designed to keep it in. We hope never to live in a Kepublic where one section is pinned to the other by Imyonets. [From the Tribune, November 26, I860.] If the Cotton States, unitedly and earnestly, wish to with- draw peacefully from the Union, we think they should and would be allowed to go. Any attempt to compel, them by force to remain would be contrary to the principles enunciated in the immortal Declaration of Independence, contrary to the fundamental ideas on which human liberty is based. [From the Tribune, December 17, I860.] If it (the Declaration of Independence) justified the secession from the British Empi-i-e of three millions of colonists in 1YT6, we do not see why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southrons from the Union in 1861. [From the Tribune, February 23, 1861.] " Whenever it shall be clear that the great body of the 128 Seleotion"s from the ISTewspaper Southern people have become concliisivelj alieiiated from the Union, and anxious to escape from it, we will do our best to forward their views." Such was the language of Mr. Greeley, and such the teach- ings of the Tribune during the autumn and Winter of 1860- 1861, while secession and rebellion were at work severing the Union, and while States like stars were dropping out of their orbits. A governor of South Carolina, in urging that State to inaugurate treason, informed his hearers that the New Yorh Tribune had openly declared that the Southern States had as clear a right to rebel against the Federal Grovernment as the thirteen States in 1776 had to rebel against the Government of George the Third, adding, that " in this emergency our worst enemies have become our best friends." " ^ The State of Georgia held out long and mamfully against the traitors in its Legislature, who advocated the ordinance of secession, but linally and reluctantly .broke from its moorings when Robert J. Toombs, in one of his vehement speeches, pro- duced and read from the Neiv York Tribune the articles from which I have liow made brief extracts. You will see, there- fore, that Mr. Greeley invited and encouraged the Southern States to go out of the Union ; that he promised them aid and comfort ; and that he denied the right of the Federal Govern- ment to interfere. Why, then, is he not, up to the breaking out of the war, as obnoxious a secessionist as Jefferson Davis or Senators Mason and Slidell ? Indeed, if there be any dif- ference, Davis, Mason, and Slidell occupy vantage ground, for Mr. Greeley has not the excuse of being a Southern man. When the war commenced Mr. Greeley arrogantly assumed the right to dictate a policy for the administration, and to com- mand the army. Long before the President, Secretary of War, or the Commander-in-Chief of the army deemed it pru- dent to make a forward movement, Mr. Greeley issued and reiterated in the Tribune, his well-remembered and ominous order of " On to Richmond." And such was its power over the minds of an impulsive people and an impatient Congress, that, wliolly unprepared as we were, our army was prematurely forced into a disastrous battle. For that cruel slaughter of our undisciplined troops, and for that humiliation to our Govern- Articles of Thfelow Weed. 129 ment and people, Mr. Greeley, in a ^-eniorsefnl moment, con- fessed himself "greatly to blame." Stibsecpiently, during the darkest days of the rebellion, and especially when our armies were defeated, or at ba,y, the Tri- hune either Howled for peace, or teemed with dennnciations against the President or the army connn-anders. In the glooiny autnnin of 1862, Mr. Greeley headed a radical raid upon the President in favor of an abolition Cabinet. Wendell Phillips, wliQ was brought to ISTew York -to further that movement, made the leading speech. After expressing his helief that " Lincoln himself is as honest as a man born in Kentucky can be,", said : "But I have no confidence in, the co\insels" about hini. I- have no confidence in the views of your son of l^ew York, who stands at his rio-ht hand to o'uide the vessel of State ill this' tremendous storm." In the same speech Mr. Phillips said, that in "December, 1860, James Buchanan wrote a mes- sage to Congress which he submitted to W illiain II. Seward, and from that time to the 4tli of March, 1861, no fortnight passed that he did not consult your ISTew York Senator in regard to tlie policy of the Government. If the historj'- of the closing months is written over with treason, I say that the Secretary of State (Seward) has his sharis of the responsibility." Mr. Greeley, who knew that this charge of treason against Mr. Seward was utterly untrne, made himself tacitly responsi- ble for the calitmny by following his leader with a brief speech, so-cold and icy as to dishearten all the timid, and to awaken the indignation of all the earnest friends of the Union. Mr. Greeley came forward and said : ^^ Fellow- Citizens r — -When this struggle commenced, I think I was not as gay and as sanguine as some of you were. I did not believe if we had a civil war at all, it could be a little war. I did believe, and I believe now, it might have been made a little war by striking so soon, and' striking so strongly, that it would not have been a civil war at all. We are now in the" midst of this war. I do not see the immediate result of the war. I am not sanguine that under the leaders we have, the management we have, an immediate triumph is at all certain. We may have that, we are more likely not to have that." Peturning from trooper Institute, where Messrs. Phillips and Greeley were delivered: of speeches, to the Trilmne office, n 130 Selections from the JSTewspap^ie Mr. Greeley complacently issues the following conipreliensive edict : 1. Keorganize the Cabinet, and compose it of seven of the ablest and most loyal men in tlie whole country — men who thoroughly believe in the war, and who do not believe that loyal Americans ought to be treated as chattels. . ■- 2. Dismiss from the service every officer who persists in cavilling at, and exciting hostilities to tlie policy of the Gov-: ernment. 3. Stop the coast survey, and shut up the West Point Academy. 4. Call out the uniformed militia of tlie loyal States for three months, and employ them to garrison Washington, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville. " Such are our notions of the war: "We cannot doubt that our soldiers will speedily put down the rebellion', if our generals will but let them." During the progress of the war none were more jubilant over our successes than Mr. Greeley, but, when reverses came, his croaking voice was heard in shrill and discordant demands for peace. At a time when a series of discouraging defeats had occasioned intense solicitude, when Southern traitors- and IS^orthern copperheads were rejoicing in the prospect of the destruction of our Government, Mr. Greeley, in a double- leaded editorial, said : " If after sixty days more hard fighting- the enemy is not beaten, it will become the duty of the government to MAKE PEACE ON THE BEST ATTAINABLE TERMS." Thus encouraged and stimulated by this cowardly demand for peace by the leading Republican journal, the enemy prose- cuted the war with renewed confidence and vigor. Soon after this gratuitous, ill-timed, and insolent demand for peace, Mr. Greeley, at the suggestion of a muddle-headed adventurer (Colorado Jewett), obtained the President's consent that he might make a peace - pilgrimage to Canada, where George IST. Sanders and other traitors were hatching con- spiracies and raids. With these congenial spirits he was so much pleased that he reproached Mr. Lincoln for not confiding . to him the power " of making peace upon the best attainable terms." And with Mr. Greeley were the conspirators so much charmed, that one of them (C. C. Clay) d.rew up a call for a Aktioles o^ Thuklow Weed. 131 public meeting in the city of Isew York, coniniencling Mr. Greeley for his patriotic and laudable eiforts to negotiate a peace. That call was sent to ISTew York by G. W. McLean, but fell into the hands of Richard Schell, a loyal Democrat, " whq took the responsibility " of suppressing it. Jewett's letter to Mr. Greeley ran as follows: " Niagara Falls, \ July 5, 1861:. I " My Dear Mr. Greeley : In reply to your note, I have to advise, having just left Hon. George ]S[. Sanders, of Ken- tucky, on the Canada side, I am authorized to state to yon, for our use only — not the public — that the ambassadors of Davis & Co. -are now in Canada, with full and complete powers for a peace. And Mr. Sanders requests that you come on immedi- ately to me at the Cataract House, to have a private interview, or if you will send tlie President's protection for him and two friends, they will come on and meet you. He says the whole matter can be consummated by me, you, them, and President Lincoln. "Yours, " W. C. Jewett." With no other or better reason or authority than this letter Mr. Greeley immediately assumed the language and authority of a diplomatist, and wrote a long, suggestive^ pregnant letter to the President, of which the following is an extract : " JSTew York, July 7, 1864. " I venture to enclose to you a letter and telegraphic des- patch which I received yesterdiir^' from our irrepressible friend, Colorado Jewett, at l^iagara Falls. I think they deserve atten- tion, as evidencing the anxiety of the Confederates eveiywhere for peace, and, therefore, I venture to remind you that our l)Ieeding, bankrupt, almost dying, country which longs for peace, shudders at the prospect of fresh conscriptions, of fur- ther wholesale devastations, and of new rivers of human blood ; and a widespread conviction that the Government and its prominent supporters are not anxious for peace, and do not improve proffered opportunities to achieve it, is doing great harm now, etc., etc. (Pa^e 572, Eaymond's Life of Lincoln.) '' Do not, I entreat you, fail to make the Southern people com- prehend that you and all of us are anxious for peace, and pre- pared to grant liberal terms. 132 Selections from the Newspaper " Mr. President, I fear that yon do not realize liow intently the people desire any peace consistent with the national integ- rity ancl honor, and how joyfully they would hail its achieve- ments and bless its authors. ^ " Yours truly, " HOKACE GiSEELEY. " Hon. A. Lincoln, President, Washington, D. C." Accompanying this letter was Mr. Greeley's plan of adjust- ment, in which he proposed to jjay four hundred million dol- lars, wdiich sum was to be appropriated lyro riUa among the Slave States, and placed at the absolute disposal of their re- spective Legislatures. In a subsequent letter, Mr. Greeley in- formed the President tliat Cleilient C. Clay, of Alabama, and Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, were the Peace Commission- ers referred to. Before the bubble burst, the folloAving letter was received from Sanders : Clifton House, ISTiag-ara Falls, C. W., " July 12, 186L " Dear Sir : I am authorized to say that the Hon. Clement C. Clay, of Alabama, Professor Jas. P. Holcombe, of Vir- ginia, and George IST. Sanders, of Dixie, are ready and willing to go at once to Washington, upon complete ancl uncpialified protection being given either bj^ the President or Secretary of War. Let the permission include the three names and one other. " Very respectfully, "■ George N. Sanders. " Hon. Horace Greeley." To Mr. Greeley's importunities Mr. Lincoln finally yielded, ancl in a letter to him said : " If you can find any person, anywhere, professing -to have any proposition of Jefferson Davis in writing for peace, em- bracing the restoration of the Union and the abandonment of slavery, say to him, he may come to me with you, ancl tliat he shall have safe conduct to the point where you shall have met him ; the same if there be two or more persons." That, however, did not satisfy Mr. Greeley, who required something more definite, and Mr. Lincoln after another letter, in which he said : — "I not .only intend a sincere effort for peace, but I intend that you shall be a personal witness that it Articles o^ Thuelow Weed. 133 is made," sent his Secretary to ISTew York, witli an anthoritj to gnarantee the safety of Mr. Greeley's Confederate friends in their proposed journey to Washington and back. In accord- ance with that authority, Mr. Greeley departed for Canada, yvith the following order in his pocket : "The Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C. " The President of the United States directs tliat the four persons whose names follow, i. e., the Hon. Clement C. Clay, the Son.~Jacob Thompson, Professor James B. Holcombe, and " George JST. Sanders, shall liave safe conduct to the city of Washington, in company with the Hon. Horace Greeley, and shall be exempt from arrest and annoyance of any kind from any officer of the United States during their journey to the said city of Washington. "^ " By order of the President, - . '^ John Jay, Major and A. A. G. " On his arrival in Canada, Mr. Greeley despatched Colorado Jewett with a letter to the Confederates, informing them that he had an order from the President guaranteeing their pro- tection, and inviting them to accompany him to Washington. Whereupon the mountain proved to be a mole-hill. To'Mr. Greeley's letter inclosing the President's protection, Messrs. Clay and Holcombe replied, expressing their " regret that the safe conduct of the President of the United States has been tendered us under some misapprehension of facts. We are not accredited to him from Richmond as bearers of propo- sitions looking to the establishment of peace ; but"^ we feel authorized to declare that, if the circumstances disclosed in^ this correspondence were communicated to Pichmond, we would be at once inves^ted .with the authority to which your letter refers. We respectfully solicit, through • your interven- ' tion, a safe conduct to Washington, and thence by any route which may be designated, through your lines to Richmond. We would be gratified if Mr. George Sanders was embraced in this privilege." Any other man but Mr. Greeley, on finding himself thus duped and trifled with, would have thrown up his diplomatic sponge. But Mr. Greeley would " not give it up so." He accordingly sent a telegram to the President, admitting tliat he did not find the gentlemen referred to so empowered as he ISi Selections from the Newspaper was previously assured, and forwarding their request for the President's safe conduct, to Richmond. s To this telegram the President responded as follows : " Executive Mansion, Washington, July IS, 1864. " To wJiom it may Concern : '' Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which conies by and with an authority that can control the armies now at war against the United States, will be received and considered by the ExecutivQ Government of the United States, and will be met hy liberal terms on substan- tial and collateral points, and the bearer or bearers thereof shall have safe conduct both ways. " (Signed), Abkaham Lincoln." To this offer of the President, the Confederate agents re- plied in a long letter to Mr. Greeley, from which the following is an extracit : ■ " If there is any citizen of the Confederate States who has clung to a hope that peace was possible with this administra- tion of the Federal Government, it will strip from their eyes the last film of such a delusion ; or if there be any whose hearts have grown faint under the suffering and agony of this bloody struggle, it will inspire them with fresh energy to endure and bear whatever may be requisite to preserve to themselves and children all that gives dignity and value to life, or hope or consolation to death. And if there be any patriots or christians in your land who shrink appalled from the illimit- able vista of private misery and public calamity which stretches before them, we i:)ray that in their bosoms a resolution will be quickened to recall the abused authority and vindicate the out- raged civilization of their country." And here, for the time being, ended Mr. Greeley's miserable quixotic negotiations with George IST. Sanders, Jake Thompson, etc., etc., for peace. Mr. Greeley, however, left Canada with friendly feelings for the conspirators whose last letter to him expressed the hope that our people would "recall" the " authority " which President Lincoln had " abused ; " and we , have George IST. Scmders' authority for saying, that Mr. Greeley expressed his regret that President Lincoln's conduct had not been that of a gentleman. Sanders is not a witness on whose Articles of, Thuelow Weed. 135 veracity I sliould rely ; but it is well known that Mr. Greeley was highly, exasperated with the President. After Mr. Lincoln had been renominated in 186-i bj the J^ational Republican Convention, Mr. Grreeley led a movement in favor of a Radical Convention at Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose of nominating a third candidate. He wrote private letters to leading Republicans in Xew England, urging them to join in this movement, a movement which could have no other effect than to surrender the Government of the Union into the hands of its enemies. This movement, in its design and purpose, was identical with that which brought Brecken- ridge into the canvass of 1860. The disunionists of that day nominated Breckenridge for the purpose of defeating Douglas. The radicals of 1864 nominated Fremont for the purpose of defeating Lincoln. Both of these movements were treason- able. The lirst, because it contemplated rebellion — and the last, because, in the midst of war, it sought the overthrow of a loyal administration, and, as a consequence, the triumph of the candidates of a copperhead organization. When the war was finally over ; when a peace had been achieved — not by the cowardly croakings of the Trihune, nor the officious or -ill-om6iied negotiations of Messrs. Greeley and Blair, but by the gallantry of Grant, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Farragut, Porter, and the courage and iidelity of the soldiers and sailors under their command — Mr, Greeley, faithful to his promise to those whom he had inveigled into secession, rushed to Rich- mond for the purpose of releasing Jefferson Davis from impris- onment. Simultaneously he proclaimed universal amnesty for rebels, including those who had conspired to burn j^ew York, to introduce contagion into her cities, and to assassinate our President. He also wrote to Mr. Breckenridge, if not to other exiled h-aitors, inviting them to return to a country which they 4iad deluged in blood, and to enjoy the protection of a Govern- ment which they had endeavored to destroy. This is a truthful record of Mr. Greeley's sentiments, sym- pathies, and actions on the questions of secession, rebellion, and war. It is shown clearly that he exerted a powerful in- fluence in aid of secession ; that he precipitated the disastrous battle of Bull Run ; that he protracted the war, and encouraged 136 Selections from the ]^ewsp1per the enemy by reiterated and cowardly demands for peace ; that he released Jeff. Davis from imprisonment — urged miiversal amnesty, so that Breckenridge, Slidell, Mason, etc., etc., may be restored to their seats in the Senate of the United States — seats which they abandoned to engage in a treasonable war against the Government and Union. For how many millions of treasure and how many thousands of lives Mr. Greeley is responsible, I will not undertake to say. But I will say that, while these undeniable facts are fresh in my memory, he will not receive my vote. And now, after a few words in relation to Mr. Greeley's fit ness for leo-islative duties, I will brino; this lono; letter to a o " DO close. The act of our Legislature anthorizing the call of a convention to amend our Constitution, contai'tied a provision which secured the election of thirty delegates by a practically unanimons vote. Its object was to secure the services of fif- teen of the ablest and most experienced men in either of the two great political parties of our State. Mr. Greeley engi- neered the Republican State Convention, and, although urged to place- on the ticket such men as Francis Granger, Hamilton Fish, George W. Patterson, Alexander S. Johnson, John K. Porter, Charles P. Kirkland, Edward Dodd, John A. Ken- nedy, Pichard P. Marvin, etc., several of whom had been enlightened members of the Third Constitutional Convention, he refused to do so, preferring as colleagues, for the most part, a very different class of men. Mr. Greeley had often in con- versation expressed a desire to be a delegate in such a conven- tion, believing, as he said, that his services would be useful to the people. In that convention there was a decided majority of Pepublicans. Mr, Greeley, therefore, found himself with con- genial associations and surroundings, but the first few days dis- closed the fact that Mr. Greeley was out of his element. He thrust impracticable' propositions prematurely upon the conven- tion — propositions which found little favor with men who had taken their seats with the greatest admiration for, and the highest confidence in, the editor of the Tribune. Mr. Greeley soon lost his temper, and long before the convention brought its abortive labors to a conclusion he gathered up his effects and, pronouncing an unclerical benediction upon his colleagues. Articles of Tiiurlow Weed. 137 lie left the Capital. The result was that, instead of framing a wise and beneficent Constitution, so much needed by the changed condition and circumstances of our State and people, several months were lost in discordant views and profitless de- bates, resulting finally in the production of an instrument that was; rejected by- the electors. That failure, for which Mr. Greeley is'so largely responsible, added nearly half a million of dollars to our State debt. If, therefore, I have shown that Mr. Greeley's secession and war records are disloyal and cowardly, and that his unfitness for representative duties was mischievously apparent in our Constitutional Convention, you will not, I feel assured, com- plain of my second refusal to vote for him. M}'' congressional vote will be given to James W. Booth, who, though not a can- didate, is a Republican of unquestionable loyaltj- and patriotism. Very truly yours, Thuklow Weed. Hon. Thomas C. Acton. HORACE GREELEY'S BIRTHDAY. A. D. 1871. CELEBRATION AT MOONSHINE SDMISHT, OHIO, SENTIMENTS AND SPEECHES STATESMANSHIP AND VIRTUE EXTOLLED, AND CRIT- ICS^ PUT DOWN LETTERS FROM HORACE GREELEY, ROBERT TOOINIBS AND JESSE D. BRIGHT — ■ A FESTIVE OCCASIOiST. The sixtieth anniversary of the birth of our distinguished editorial brother, the Hon. Horace Greeley, was recently cele- brated by the citizens of Moonshine Summit, Ohio. The oc- casion was alike interesting and novel. Birthday anniversar- ies of other eminent men, such as Washington, Franklin, Shakespeare, etc., were inaugurated after their decease. But the impatient admirers of Mr. Greeley, not able to restrain themselves, instituted an ante-mortuary celebration, and now 18 138 Selections feom the Newspaper that the ground has been broken, we hope to witness kindred demonstrations in that and other States. The feast, though abundant, consisted for the most part, of Graham bread, mush and milk, beefsteak, and other dishes of wliieh Mr. Greeley is known habitually to partake. Several of the guests wore drab overcoats, while others were observed with one boot over their pantaloons and with the bow of their neckties under the left ear. This thoughtful attention to the proprieties of costume had a very pleasing effect recalling, as it did, the circumstance that the philosopher, whose birthday was being celebrated, is fastidious in all matters of dress. There w^as, of course, noth- ing to intoxicate upon the table, though it' was observed dur- ing the evening that some of the quests had occasion to visit a corner grocery, on the other' side of the street. ^ The Hon. Uri Seeley, who presided, made an eloquent speech on taking the chair, in which he portrayed in glowing colors the personal, political, social, moral and religious characteristics of Mr. Greeley. He dwelt strongly upon the bright example which Mr. Greeley set before the youth of our country, in carefully abstaining from the use of profane language. He had never, said Mr. Seeley, permitted himself, however tempted or provoked, to use a profane word. This fact, distinguishing Mr. Greeley from so many prominent men who in moments of excitement had been known to blaspheme, was one which endeared him to his countrymen. Mr. Seeley, in stating the objects of the meeting, introduced the following orighial, and inimitable lines : 'Twas February third, eighteen hundred and eleven. By the grace of Him who rules in heaven, When first the w^heel of time was whirled, With Horace Greeley in the world. Mr. Seele}^ then announced the first standing toast. 1. Horaco Greeley, Editor of the JVeiv T^ork Tribime ' first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. Collins Morse, Esq., rose and remarked that before this toast was drunk, he desired to say that while he was under the im- pression that he had somewhere seen or heard this sentiment applied to some other person, he was quite sure that it must have been invented expressly for our illustrious friend, and that 4 Aeticles of Thurlow Weed. 139 he hoped it would now be received with all the honors. The company then gave three times three, with a tiger. 2; Horace Greeiej — the indomitable champion of Maine and Prohibitory Liquor Laws. It is not his fault that Pro- hibitory Legislation increases the number of temperate and intemperate drinkers ; but only proves that those who have read the Tribune for thirty years belong to an obstinate and perverse generation. 3. Horace Greeley — the early and zealous coadjutor of a kindred philanthropist, Albert Brisbane, in the establishment of Fourier communities, Brook Farms and Free Love Asso- ciations, by means of which society wtls to be renovated, re- lined and improved. 4. Horace Greeley, tlie father of the Homestead Law, a measure which protected the Government against an evil and a danger (foreshadowed by General Jackson), of a plethoric and overflowing National Treasury. 5. Horace Greeley, the able advocate, if not one of the in- ventors of' trades unions, labor strikes, eight and tendiour sys- tems, and other enlightened enterprises, which have contributed ^;o the prosperity of our people and the elevation of our conn- try. Mr. Dunn Brown rose, and said that he was second to no man in attachment to and admiration for Florace Greeley, the philosopher, guide and friend whom they had met to honor, but that he was constrained to say, though he was sure with great distrust, that he sometimes thought Mr. Greeley was pushing the labor question a little — just a little — too far. It seemed' to him, though he admitted that ' it was j^i'esumptuous in a rural district mechanic to question the wisdom of the edi- tor of the Weio York Trihune, yet he must say that, in his judgment, leagues, strikes, eight-hour systems, etc., had only served to give mechanics and laborers the largest amount of money for doing the smallest amount of work. This observation occasioned inaudible dissent, and the term " bosh " was heard at the lower end of the table. 6. Horace Greeley, the General who, upon the outbreak of the Pebellion, gallantly and peremptorily ordered the Union army to move " On to Richmond." 140 Selections from the Newspaper The band immediately struck np " Hail to 'the Chief," after which Sergeant Davis arose and remarked that no man there or elsewhere held Mr. Greeley in higher esteem or was more ready to acknowledge his distinguished services than himself, but that from his opportunities and experience as a soldier, though in a subordinate position, he was compelled to express his opinion that, while it was eminently proper to remember General Greeley on that occasion, it seemed to him not im- proper to associate with our favorite General the names of Generals Grant, Sherman, Thomas, Hooker, Meade, etc. Of the propriety of this suggestion, however, he was not entirely certain, and he would not, therefore, pres^ it; but he could not resume his seat without saying that when he thought of Bull Run (looking at the empty sleeve which, daitgled from his shoulder), it seemed to him either that the movement was premature, or that it would have been wise to have taken some other road not quite so " hard to travel." These remarks elic- ited murmurs of assent and dissent. 7. Horace Greeley, the consistent and persistent friend of Peace ; who, when the war for the Union " assumed proportions inconsistent " with his ideas of liumanit3% and when the Union armies were getting the worst of it, had the courage to demand in the Tribune, Peace, upon the "best attainable terms, for our bleeding, dying, bankrupt, and suffering country." 8. Horace Greeley, the distinguished diplomatist, who, with patriotic alacrity, repaired to Canada to negotiate a lasting and honorable peace between the Federal and Confederate Govern- ments, with the Hon. Jacob Thompson and the Hon. George I*^. Sanders. The chivalry of that mo^^ement, compared with the ungentle7nan-like conduct of a personage who for obvi- ous reasons must be nameless, places Mr. Greeley in the cate- gory of first-class diplomatic philanthropists. 9. Horace Greeley, the able, fearless, life-long opponent of slavery, and friend of the African. His name, like those of Tapj^an, Garrison, Gerrit Smith, etc., will grow brighter and brighter with every succeeding generation. Judge Palmer rose and remarked that he had been a con- stant subscriber and diligent reader of the Tribune, and that he shared in the enthusiasm which was expressed for its dis- tinguished editor, but that in listening to the toasts just read Articles of Thuelow Weed.- 141 from tile Chair, he confessed himself somewhat embarrassed. He presumed,^ however, that the fault was in his own deficient judgment, and that the Chair could readily, and, as he hoped, would willingly, enlighten him. "I have," said Judge P., ^' followed the Trihune in all its suggestions and teachings in opposition to slavery. I opposed the Fugitive Slave Law, and I did my duty as far as possible,, as an "underground railroad" man. My sympathies have a thousand times been aroused by the sufferings of Southern slaves, as depicted by Mr. Greeley in the Trihmie and on the stump. ]^ow, my embar- rassment, Mr. Chairman, is this : How could Mr. Greeley, as the great opponent of slavery and as the sympathetic friend of the African, exerting a powerful influence throughout the country, advocate warmly, as he did, the secession of the Southern States from the Union, so that slavery might perpet- ually exist under the Confederate Government, and what, if possible, is even worse, that the horrors of slavery might be aggravated by the stealing and importation of unlimited num- bers of slaves from Africa." _^ This apparently fair and reasonable cpiestion occasioned an immediate tumult, which resulted in the ejection of the offen- der;' and after the indignation subsided, the Chair proceeded to announce the remaining regular toasts. 10. Horace Greeley. — The calm, sagacious, and recognized leader of the Republican party in the State of IN^ew York. Since an old and obnoxious rival at Albany was broken down and driven into retirement, the wise, practical and astute editor of the Trihune has had it "all his own way." Honor and glory t^ tlie leader who from year to year marshals the Repub- lican hosts of 'the State of ]S'ew York to victory. ]\[r. Paine sprang to his feet and said, " Ts not this coming it a little too strong ? I should like to know whether the election of a Democratic Governor and a Democratic Legislature can be properly claimed as Republican victories ? " Before the speaker had concluded the first sentence, cries of " sit down," " dry up," and " hustle him out," were heard from all parts of the room. The offender immediately apologized, adding that he was a " whole hog " Greeley man, and was ready to go the toast, or any thing else, " blind." 142 Selections from the JN^ewspapee 11. Horace Greeley.— Chairman of the ''Ring'' general committee of the city of I^ew York. An equivocal honor which our eminent friend accepted, upon his often avowed and patriotic principle of never declining an office. Mr, H. C. Beardslee remarked that some readers of the Tri- bune who remember how savagely the "Ring " Republicans had been assailed, might, without explanation, wonder how Mr. Greeley consented to become the representative of men who, as he alleged, were receiving the money of the ^'Ring" and doing the ''Ring's" work. He did not feel at liberty, however, to reveal what had been confided to him a few days since in the city of New York, by " Dan Conover," " Charley Hall," and "Dad Bleakley," influential, members of -^ the committee, but he could assure the friends and admirers of Mr. Greeley that it was all right, and that a political coup W Hat ^G,,is declination, repeat- ing, as I inferred, the reasons previously given for declining. The conversation was interrupted by a servant, who ushered Baron von Gerplt, the Prussian Minister, into the parlor. The Secretary seated himself with the Baron upon a sofa in the ante-room, and I took advantage of the interruption to urge the Archbishop with great earnestness to withdraw his declination. He reiterated his I'easons for declining. I told him that I had already listened attentively to all he had said and that while I knew he always had good and sufficient reasons for whatever he did or declined to do, he had not yet chosen to state them ; and that while I did not seek to know more than he thought proper to avow, I must again appeal to him as a loyal citizen, devoted to the Union and capable of rendering great service at a crisis of imminent danger, not to persist in his refusal, unless his reasons fordoing so' were insurmountable. After a long pause, he placed his hand upon my shoulder, and, in his impressive manner and clear, distinct voice, said, "^^VCLU..- you go with me?" I replied, " I have once enjoyed the great happiness of a voyage to Europe in your company, and of a ^ tour through Ireland, England, and Erance under your protec- tion. It was a privilege and a pleasure which I shall never for- get. I would cheerfully go with you now as your secretary or your valet, if that would give to the Government the benefit of your services." And here the conversation rested until Baron von Gerolt took his leave. When Governor Seward re- turned, the Archbishop rose and said, " Governor, I have changed my mind, and will accept the appointment, with this condition, that he" — placing his hand again upon my shoulder Articles of Thuelow Weed. 159 — " goes with me as a colleague. And as jou want us to sail next Wednesday, I shall leave for 'New York by the first train in the morning. I lodge at the Conxent in Georgetown, and I will now take my leave. So, g;ood night, and good-by." I accompanied the Archbishop to hi^^arriage, where, after he was seated, he said, with a significant gesture, " This pro- gi-amme is not to be changed." Keturning to the parlor, I found Secretary Seward, as I an- ticipated, eilibarrassed and depressed. No explanation was needed. His position in the Cabinet and with Congress was giving hitn andliis friends much annoyance. He was charged by Radical meml)ers of both, and by the Radical press, with a want of energy and courage, although, in point of fact he had been steadily and zealously in favor of the largest army, and the largest appropriations of money for war purposes, from the beginning. The country was rife with personal slanders against him ; leadhig Senators were determined to drive him out of the Cabinet; for wisdom and firmness in counsel, and hard mental and physical labor daj^ and night, he was all but literally stoned and scourged. Altogether his position was one of extreme-^ embarrassment. I was much more obnoxious to the same class of Republicans. Three members of the Cabinet (Messrs. Chase, Wells, and Blair), together wdtli several dis- tinguished members of Congress, were politically and person- ally my enemies. Secretarj- Chase had fair reasons for his hostility, for I had strenuously and steadily opposed him in his aspirations for the Presidency. Leading Radical journals were J)itterlyJiostile to me. I had incurred the displeasure of these classes early in the rebellion by insisting that there was a strong loyal sentiment in Western Yirginia, Eastern Tennessee, and throughout ISTorth Carolina — a sentiment which, if cherished and protected, would narrow the boundaries of rebellion. I had sustained what was known as the " Border State Proposi- tipn " in Congress — a proposition wdiicli^'if adopted, would have gone far to divide and weaken the South ; and worse than all, I liad maintained from the beginning that the war ought to be prosecuted for the maintenance of the government and the preservation of the Union, holding and declaring at the same time that slavery would be deservedly destroyed as the only adequate penalty and punishment for a wanton and wicked 160 Selections from the Newspaper rebellion against the best form of government in the world. Perhaps no other man, who had enjoyed for thirty years or more so largely the confidence of his party, had ever become so suddenly obnoxious to the ruling sentiment of that party. Secretary Seward, therefore, apprehended, as he had abundant reasons for apprehending, that in superadding my offenses to his own responsibilities, they would inevitably sink him. I felt this^keenly, and determined to return to I^ew York and "i-eTieve him, by persuading the Arclibishop to go without me. The Secretary informed me that he should be in JSTew York on the following Monday morning, two days jbefore the time fixed for the departure of the Commissioners. I remained in Wash- ington attending to other duties till the -afternoon of the next day, but had no further conversation with the Secretary on that subject. On my arrival at Albany, I found the following letter from the Archbishop : "New York, Oct. 29, 1861. " My Dear Mr. Weed : I cannot ' condescend ' to appoint you to either of the offices which you so humbly suggested in a whisper the other evening in Washington. Bilt I do hereby appoint you, with or without the consent of the Senate, to be my friend (as you always have been) and my companion in our brief visit to Europe. " The more I reflect upon the subject, the more I am con- vinced that, whether successful or not, the purpose is marked, in actual circumstances, by large, enlightened, and very vvise statemanship. " I have engaged a state room for you, next to my own, on the Africa, which sails on the 6th proximo. " We shall have time enough to talk on the way, about mat- ters and things. " I remain, very sincerely, '' Your obed't serv't, . " t John, Archbishop of New York." I returned to New York on Monday morning, prepared for either contingency. I found the Archbishop inflexible, and after he frankly explained to me his reasons for insisting upon my accompanying him, I did not feel at liberty to disappoint him. Secretary Seward came on from Washington on the Sun- day night train ; and immediately after breakfast, the Arch- bishop called upon him at the Astor House, as did Mr. R. M. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 161 Blatcliford and tlie late Mr. E.. B. Miutnrn, to whom, with myself, the Sficretaiy read his instructions and then handed them to the Archbishop, with which he took his leave. Mr. Minturn then qnite warmly expressed his gratification npon my appointment, to which Secretary Seward replied, " Mr. A¥eed goes abroad as a volunteer and at his own expense." Mr. Min- turn at iirst regarded this as a joke ; but upon learning that the Sey^retary was in earnest, he left the room abruptly. I turned the conversation for a few minutes, and then left also. I found Mr. Minturn walking in the hall in front of my door, more than usually disturbed. He followed me into my room, and handed me a check for $1,000, remarking that I would find a credit at Baring Brothers,, in London, to meet my ex- penses, as long Rs the interests of the country required me to remain there. Mr-. Blatcliford, when left alone with the Secre- tary, made some inquiries which disturbed him so much that he came down and protested against my' leaving the country under circumstances so humiliating. Meantime Mr. Seward departed by a special train for Washington. I realized pain- fully, the perplexities of my position. Between my promise to the Archbishop, the rebuif of the Secretary, and a reason- able degree of self-respect, it was difficult to determine what I ought to do. I did not doubt that when the fact that I was to go abroad in a highly important and confidential capacity became knowii at Washington, a storm would be raised which would con- strain the Secretary to disavow the appointment, as he might do with justice and truth ; for, as I have already stated, it was de- manded by Archbishop Hughes as the condition upon which he himself consented to go. I remarked to Mr. Blatcliford, that Mr. Seward had been so often assailed and so long held responsible for all my alleged shortcomings that he had become impatient and nervous, so much so that it needed only this feather to break the camel's back. Mr. Blatchford, however, was not appeased, and immediately sat down in my room and wrote, if I may judge by his excited manner, a very earnest letter to the Secretary. This letter was mailed immediately, and reached Governor Seward while at breakfast the next morning. A few hours afterward, Mr. Blatchford received a telegram from the Secretary, informing him that my credentials would reach New York by special messenger in time for the 21 162 Selections from the I^ewspaper steamer. This changed the whole aspect of the question, and proved quite as gratifying to my friends Blatchf ord and Min- tnrn as to myself. In due time, my letter to Earl Russell, accrediting me nn-_ officially to the English Government ; to the Hon. Charles "Francis Adams, our Minister to England; to Hon. William L. Dayton, our Minister to France ; and to the Prince Napoleon, were received. They were couched in language's strong and generous as conhdence and friendship could inspire. The cloud, therefore, which lowered for a few d^ys over me, revealed its silver lining ; and I departed, resolved,- nnder the aus- pices of a kind Providence, jn which I trusted, not to disap- point the expectations of my friends. Ho'w far L was success- ful in this resolution, and what occurred during the eventful and trying period of my sojourn in England and France, will constitnte other chapters in this narrative. It is sufficient for my present pnrpose to say, that I was greatly and strangely favored by circumstances. The doors of princes and of poten- tates were opened for me in unexpected and unusual ways. The steamer which followed us, arriving ont two days after we landed, bronght intelligence of the taking of Messrs. Mason and Slidell from under the British flag. This occasioned throu2:hout EnMand a universal and indio-nant war cry. On the following day, breaking through all the usual forms of di- l^lomacy, through an accidental channel I was tendered an audi- ence by Earl Pussell at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Hill, his country residence; and subsequently was received by the Duke of Argyle, Milnor Gibson, Count de Morny, and other distin- guished officials in London and Paris, as a representative of my country, without ever having an opportunity, with a single ex- ception, of presenting my letters of instruction. From Prince Kapoleon, to whom I delivered Governor Seward's letter, I received marked attentions. The Prince, differing widely and boldly from the Emperor, was a warm friend of our govei'u- ment, and sought occasions to serve us. Our foreign ministers in London, Paris and Brussels received me with a cordiality and treated me with a consideration which is pleasantly and gratefully remembered. The letters to Earl Russell, etc.^^tc, not having been delivered, are now ])reseiwed as souvenirs for my descendants. Aktioles of Tiiuklow Weed. 163 T]ie Trent affair agitated England greatly. Her people were angrily excited, and their Government profoundly anxious for a peaceful solution of the difficulty. Meantime, as there were but two steamers a month in the winter, and no cable, informa- tion was waited for impatiently. Our friends were disap- l>ointed and alarmed by the ominous reticence of the Seci'etary of State, and under this pressure I wrote him a letter, express- ing regret that he did not keep Mr. Adams privately advised of the progress ajid probabilities of tliat all-absorbing cpiestion, to which I received the following reply : " Washington, March Y, 1862. "My Deak Weed— I thought I had as much industry as anybody around me, and with it a little versatility. But I know nobody, and never did know that one man who could do all you seem to think I neglect to do, as well as all the labor I actually perform. . You knew when you left here how much I had to do outside of mj^ own proper department, how little time official consultations and audiences leave me to work at all. But all this^seenis now forgotten, and you insist that I should have written private notes to Mr. Adams Avhile the Trent affair was pending. How um;easonable !_ Our first knowledge that the British Govermnent proposed to make it a^ question of offense or insult, and so of war, ' reached me on a Thursday. TJie^Th'ursday following T ascertained how this Government would act upon it, and the reply Avent from my hands the same day. " 1 am under the necessity of consulting the temper of par- ties and people on this side of the water, quite as much as the temper of parties and people in England. If: I had been as tame as you think would have been wise in my treatment of affairs with that country, I should have had no standing in my own. I am willing to let my treatment of the British nation go on record with the treatment of this nation by the British Ministry, and abide the w^orld's judgment of the question on which side justice, forbearance and courtesy have been ex- ercised. " I shall seem just as much reserved in this as in other let- ters. I know of things intended to be done, and expected to be done ; but I cannot certainly know that they will he suc- cessfully done, much less how soon. If. I promise them, and promise them speedily, and the agents relied upon fail, I shall be reproached for false prophecies, as I was last summer. "I hope Harriet has recovered. Indeed, if things" are half as well in England as it seems to me here that they ought to 164 Selections feom the I^ewspaper be, I tnist that jou have given her the benefit of the Italian spring. "Eveiybody writes me that you have done every thing well, and that your services have been exceedingly useful. I rejoice in your success, and congratnlate you npon having deserved and gained the confidence of the wise and good at home and abroad, by labors devoted to the salvation of the Union, with so much manifestly resting npon yon. " Faithfully yours, ' " William H. Sewaed. " Thuelow Weed, Escj., London." THE QUEEN AND AMEKICA. A. D. 1875. HOW A WAR WITH ENGLAND AND FRANCE WAS AVERTED AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN MR. WEED AND EARL RUSSELL IN RELA- TION TO THE TRENT AFFAIR — KIND OFFICES OF MR. m'oULLAGH TOERENS — ■ STATE SECRETS QUEEN VICTORIA'S EFFORTS TO PRESERVE PEACE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA SUGGES- TIONS FROM THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TWICE DISCOUNTE- NANCED THE DESPATCH DEMANDING THE SURRENDER OF MASON AND SLIDELL MODIFIED BY HER. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune : Sir : The celebration of the ninety -ninth anniversary of American Independence, in Loiidon, possesses more than ordi- nary interest, indicating, as it does, a gratifying promise that an event which occasioned a seven years' war between England and America, will, at the close of the century in which it occurred, find both countries cordially united, emulous only to rival each other in the elevation and prosperity of their respect- ive governments and peoples. The toasts given and the speeches elicited at the London Fourth of July celebration, recall incidents connected with our late rebellion which ought to become a part of the history of our country. During the darkest days of that rebellion the Articles of Thuelow Weed. 165 danger of war with France and England was most imminent. Antecedents and traditions led us to hope for sympathy in France, and to apprehend hostility in England. So far as the French government was concerned that hope was utterly dis- appointed. Nor did the friendlj^ feeling which we looked for among the French people exist. With one exception the Emperor and those associated with him in the government were" against us. ' That exception was the Prince Napoleon. He was our firm friend, and for that reason was out of favor. In England the commercial cities, the capitalists, and, as a rule, the aristocracy were against us. In the manufacturing districts we had friends whose representatives in Parliament stood by us faithfully on all questions. But the Trent affair occurring at a most critical moment, united " all England " in a cry for war. Our firmest friends in and out of Parliament were dis- mayed. All felt and said that unless the Confederate Commis- sioners, Mason- and' Slidell, were released, war was inevitable. While that question was pending, Messrs. Cobden, Bright, Forster, Kinnaird, and other members of Parliament w^ere powerless and speechless. Our Ministerial friends, the Duke of , Argyll and Milner Gibson, were paralyzed. SERVICES OF MK. m'cULLAGH TOEEENS. At that nlost critical moment Mr. M'Cullagh Torrens ren- dered us services which entitle him to the affection and grati- tude of the American people. I was introduced to him the morning after my arrival in London, early in December, 1861, by Mr. Peabody, at whose bank a large number of panic-struck Americans had assembled. Mr. Torrens, when I retired, met me at the door of the banking-house, remarking that my arrival in London was opportune, and that I must see Earl Russell immediately. I replied that our Minister, Mr. Adams (then the right man in the right place), would present me to the Minister as soon as practicable. " That will not do," rejoined Mr. Torrens. " Time presses ; you must see the Earl to-mor- row ; " adding that he would arrange an audience, and inform- ing me of the time and place that evening. I was surprised at the warm interest manifested by an Englishman and a stranger, and doubtful of the propriety of anticipating the kind inten- tions of Mr. Adams ; but that gentleman relieved my doubts 166 Selections from the Newspaper on this point by advising me to avail myself of Mr. Torrens' timely offer. I dined that day with the late Sir J. Emerson Tennent meeting a large and what proved to be a war party of gentle- men, among whom was the Colonel of a regiment wliich was to leave London the next morning to embark at Liverpool for Canada. The Colonel was toasted, and in response made a brief but exciting wai^ speech, d\{^e]ling with much effect upon the duty of Englishmen to resent the insults to their flag. I was seated at the table next to Lord Clarence Paget, of the Admiralty, who informed me that their prepartions for war were active and formidable, and that f or^ the flrst time since 1815 they were working double-handed, night and day, in the dock-yards. Returning from dinner to my hotel in Hanover square, I found Mr. Torrens, who directed me to leave London the next morning at eleven o'clock and drive to Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Hill, Earl Russell's country-seat. ""'""""-■'-""'***" MR. weed AND EARL RUSSELL. I found the Minister quite alone, and was courteously received. Conversation for the first ten or fifteen minutes was embarrassed by an evident determination on the part of the Min- ister to ignore all other questions until the honor of England should be satisfied by the surrender of Mason and Slidell. Gradually, however, the restraint passed away, and His Lord- ship explained the circumstances which led to the Queen's proclamation giving belligerent rights to the rebel States. It was evident that even if his sympathies were not with the South, he had come to the conclusion that we were the aggres- sors. I endeavored to correct that impression by calling his attention to two or three nndeniable facts upon which the whole merits of the question turned. After an hour and a half lunch was annonnced, and the conversation became general. In the drawing-room, after the Earl had conversed aside with Lady Russell for a few minutes, thanking him for the time he had spared me, I was taking leave, when Lady Russell inter- posed, saying, " You must not go without seeing the lodge grounds," in walking through which Her Ladyship pointed out the various objects and localities with which history had made me familiar. In the course of our walk she remarked that Articles of Tiiuklow Weed. 161 ladies of course knew notliing of State secrets, but that they had ears, and sometimes heard things ^^'hicll might not have been intended for them ; adding, that it wonld probably relieve ni)' anxiety to k-now that in onr difficulties the sympathies of the "Queen were with our government ; that Her Majesty remembered the attentions extended to her son, the Prince of Wales, and would do every thing in her power to prevent a rupture with America. """"With this gleam of hope I returned, well satisfied with my" visit to Pembroke Lodge, and grateful to Mr. Torrens for the prompt and thoughtful service he had rendered. But that gentleman was not content with one good turn. He was con- stantly at work in our cause. The Daily JVews, next to The ^liines^ was the most influential journal in England. The News espoused our cause boldly and warmly. Many of its best and ablest American articles were written by Mr. Torrens. Some weeks after Parliament met, there was a vacancy for Finsbury ; Mr. Torrens, a member of the previous Parliament, had not been returned. He now oifered for Finsbury and was chosen, . when his sphere of usefulness was mucli enlarged-. His efforts in behalf of our government and Union, in and out of Parliament, were constant, and continued until the war was over. THE queen's DESIKE FOK PEACE. While waiting with intense solicitude for the decision of our government upon the demand of England for the surrender of Mason and Slidell, I received from the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, M. P., in the strictest confidence, positive evidence that the Queen had, at the right moment, caused the dispatch demand- ing the surrender of Mason and Slidell to be so far modified in language and spirit as to render a compliance with it less diffi- cult to our government. Several days after receiving this information, confirming the assurance kindly given me by Lady Russell, I received additional and conclusive evidence from another high source. Since the illness of Prince Albert, the late honored and lamented Sir Henry Holland had made daily visits to Windsor. We saw him every evening either with Mr. and Mr. Adams at the Legation, or at our own lodgings. To the question whether the Queen said any thing about our 168 Selections erom the ISTewspapee troubles, he replied that Her Majesty was too much absorbed in her own to talk or think about public matters. Some days after the information received from Mr. Khmaird, Sir Henry came to us in buoyant spirits, saying that he now had pleasant news. The Queen, he said, had that day asked if there was serious danger of war with America, receiving in reply an assurance from the court physician that war could only be averted by the act of the American government. The Queen then informed Sir Henrj^ and his medical associate what occurred between Her Majesty;, Lord Palmerston, and Prince Albert when the dispatch demanding the surrender of Mason and Slidell was brought to Windsor for approval. This state- ment not only confirmed the material facts communicated by Mr. Kinnaird, but superadded minute and interesting details. This information, however, like that imparted by Mr. Kin- naird, was given under strict injunctions of secrecy. But the death of Lord Palmerston removing one seal of secrecy, and anxious that our people should know how much they were indebted to the Queen of England, I wrote to Mr. Kinnaird, asking his permission to make a full revelation of the facts within my knowledge. That gentleman communicated with Mr. Griadstone, the successor of Lord Palmerston. Mr. Kin- naird's reply to my letter, an extract from which I feel at liberty to publish, will show that the question encountered another obstacle : FROM THE HON. A. KINNAIKD TO THUELOW WEED. 2 Pall Mall East, December 22, 1870. Deae Mr. Weed : I am sorry I have been so long in answer- ing your letter, but I lost no time in communicating with Mr. Gladstone. At first he only sent me an answer through his secretary, saying that he would inquire, as he was not aware of the fact. I have at last received a very full answer from him, a copy of which I inclose confidentially. I cannot agree with him as to a verbal correction not being of the greatest import- ance, for a person may inadvertently express a thing in a way which might appear insulting or distrustful, when even the slightest alteration in the wording might completely change its aspect. Of course, under the circumstances, it will be impossi- ble to make any official use of Gladstone's communication. But it must rest with you to decide w^hether you will refer to the matter as resting upon your own memory of what you Akticles of Thuelow Weed. 169 heard wlien you were in Eugland at the time of the war. I do trust that there will never be any alteration in the j friendly relations between the two countries, and that you wil ' succeed in getting your government to terminate the Alabama controversy, as in England there is a full disposition to do so. Remember me most kindly to Miss Weed, and all our mutual friends. Yours very truly, A. KiNNAIRD. THE QUEEN S EFFOKTS TO MAINTAIN PEACE. There can be no impropriety in saying that Mr. Gladstone assumed that whatever passes between the Queen and her Cab- inet Ministers, while a question is under consideration, is in its nature confidential. I am constrained, therefore, to act upon Mr. Kinnaird's suggestion in atiirming, as I do, on trustworthy information that on three occasions during the first year of the rebellion, Queen Victoi'ta contributed essentially to the pre- servation of peace between this country and England. On two occasions Her Majesty discountenanced suggestions from "^^ the" French government which meant war. The" Ei'st was a proposition for the joint intervention of France and England, the object being a recognition of the Confederate governmeDt. The next was the introduction into Parliament, after an interview by the mover with the French Emperor, of a resolution repudiating our blockade. The pop- ular feeling in England was so "strongly in favor of the Con- federate States, that our friends in Parliament and in the Cabinet, but for the conviction that their course was tacitly approved by their Sovereign, would have found themselves unable to successfully resist those hostile measures. When the dispatch demanding the surrender of Mason and Slidell was read by Lord Palmerston to the Queen, and the consequences of a refusal were explained. Her Majesty was startled and distressed at the idea of war with America. Tak- ing the dispatch to the Prince Consort, who, then in his last illness, was sitting in his apartment, the Queen asked him to read it, saying that she thought the language and spirit were harsh and peremptory. The Prince, concurrihg'm" opinion I y" ^ with Her Majesty, subjected the dispatch to erasures and inter- lineations, in which amended form it was returned to the — ■-' 22 ' lYO Selections from the ISTewspapee Premier. In relating this incident to Sir Henry Holland, the V J Queen added, " that was the last time the Prince used his pen," Not quite sure that Mr. Kinnaird, in his letter, intended to permit me to state how he obtained the information relating to the modification of Lord Palmerston's dispatch, I am con- strained to withhold an interesting incident, without, however, relinquishing the hope of bringing it out at another time and in another form. Our war with the Confederate States, as we now know and realize, was formidable enough in all its aspects and conse- quences without the aggravations of a^ simultaneous conflict with England and France. The Frencli Emperor was unques- tionably in favor of the Confederate States, and desired to aid" them even at the expense of a war with our government. His point was that France needed cotton. The Emperor said to Archbishop Hughes what his brother, the Count de Morny, repeated to me, that when the French people were out of employment, the government was expected to furnish tliem with bread ; that cotton was essential to the welfare of France, and that for this reason the French government was justified in urging either the recognition of the Confederate government or the abandonment of our blockade. He sought and expected the co-operation of England, a large majority of whose citizens were with him in sentiment and sympathy. But that national calamity was averted by the firm, enlightened, steady, and wise course of eminent and influential English friends of our govern- ment and Union, to all of whom my sense of gratitude is -- i3i-easu-red"B3rtlie value of the services rendered. T. W. E'ew York, July 10, 1875. • LIEUTENANT -GENEEAL WINFIELD SCOTT. [From Harper's Magazine for March.] A. D. 1814-1862. INCIDENTS IN HIS LIFE. On the ninth day of November, ,1861, I left New York for Havi'e in the steamer A.Tago^ and was fortunate enough to Aeticles of Thuelow Weed. 171 meet on sliipboard Lieutenant-General Wiufield Scott, who contemplated passing the winter in the South of France. We had a- rough fifteen days' voyage. Passengers, as usual, be- guiled the time at whist. Gen. Scott, Col. Winthrop of New Orleans, Mr. Green, a retired merchant of New York, and myself, made a table for the voyage. After the first day, in- stead of " cutting,"' as usual for partners, Messrs. Winthrop and Green played constantly against the General and myself. I mention this circumstance for the purpose of surprising gen- tlemen who, as whist players, knew General Scott so long and so well, with the additional circumstance that during the whole voyage the General's equanimity was imdisturbed — that not a word ©f reproof, nor even an impatient gesture, was heard or observed. One evening, after our rubber, I said to the General : " There is one cpiestion I have often wished to ask you, but luive been restrained by the fear that it might be improper." The' general drew himself np and said in his emphatic man- ner : " Sir, you are incapable of asking an improper question." I said : '" You are very kind ; but if my inquiry is indiscreet I am sure you M'ill allow it to pass unanswered." " I hear you, sir," he replied. " Well, then. General, did any thing re- markable happen to you on the morning of the battle of Chippewa ? " After a brief, but impressive, silence, he said : "Yes, sir; something did happen to me — something very re- markable. I will now, for the third time in my life, repeat the story : "The fourth day of Jnly, 1811:, was one of extrenie heat. On that day my brigade skirmished w^itli a British force com- manded by Gen. Eiall, from an early hour in the morning till late in the afternoon. We had driven the enemy down the river some twelve miles to Street's Creek, near Chippewa, where we encamped for the night, our army occupying the west, while that of the enemy was encamped on the east side of the creek. After our tents had been pitched I observed a flag borne by a man in peasant's dress aj)proaching my mar- quee. He brought a letter from a lady, who occupied a large mansion on the opposite side of the creek, informing me that she was the wife of a Member of Parliament, who was then at Quebec ; that her children, servants, and a young lady friend 172 Selections from the INewspaper were alone witli her in the house; that Gen. Riall had placed a sentinel before her door ; and that she ventured, with great doubts of the propriety of the request, to ask that I would place a sentinel upon the bridge to protect her against strag- glers from our camp. I assi\red the messenger that the lady's request should be complied with. Early the next morning the same messenger, bearing a white ilag, reappeared with a note from the same lady, thanking me for the pro- tection she had enjoyed, adding that, in acknowledgment of my civilities, she begged that I would, with' such members of my staff as T chose to bring with me, -accept the hospitalities of her house at a breakfast which had been prepared with con- siderable attention, and was quite ready. Acting upon an im- pulse which I have never been able to analyze or comprehend, I called two of my aids. Lieutenants Worth and Watts, and returned with the messenger to the mansion already indicated, " We met our hostess at the door, who ushered us into the dining-room, where breakfast awaited us, and where the young lady previously referred to was already seated by the coffee urn, our hostess asking to be excused for a few minutes, and the young lady immediately served our coffee. Before we had broken our fast. Lieutenant Watts rose from the table to get his bandana (that being before the days of napkins), which he had left in his cap on a side-table by the window, glancing through which he saw Indians approaching the house on one side, and red-coats approaching it on the other, with an evident purpose of surrounding it and us, — and instantly exclaimed : ' General, we are betrayed ! ' Springing from the table and clearing the house, I saw our danger, and, remembering Lord Chesterfield had said, ' Whatever it is proper to do it is proper to do well,' and as we had to run, and my legs were longer than those of my companions, I soon outstripped them. As we made our escape we were fired at, but got across the bridge in safety, " I felt so much shame and mortification at having so nearly fallen into a trap, that I could scarcely fix my mind upon the duties which now demanded my undivided attention. I knew that I had committed a great indiscretion in accepting the singular invitation, and that if any disaster resulted from it I richly deserved to lose both my commission and my character. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 173 I coastantly found myself wondering whether the lady really intended to betray ns, or whether we had been accidentally observed. The question would recur, even amidst the excite- ment of battle. Fortunately, my presence and services in the field were not required until Generals Porter and Ripley had been engaged at intervals for several hours, so that when my brigade, with Towson's artillery, were ordered to cross Street's Creek, my nerves and confidence had become measurably quieted and restored. I need not describe the battle of Chip- pewa. That belongs to and is part of the history of our country. It is sufficient to say that at the close of the day we were masters of the position, and that our arms were in no way discredited. The British army had fallen back, leaving their wounded in our possession. The mansion which I had visited in the morning was the largest house near, and to that the wounded officers in both armies were carried for surgical treatment. As soon as I could leave tlie field I went over to look after my wounded. I found the English ofiicers lying on the first fioor, and onr own on the fioor above. I saw in the lower room the young lady whom I had met in the morning at the breakfast table, her white dress all sprinkled with blood. She had been attending to the British wounded. On the second floor, just as I was turning into the room where our officers were, I met my hostess. " One glance at her was quite sufficient to answer the ques- tion which I had been asking myself all day. She had intended to betray me, and nothing but the accident of my aid rising for his handkerchief, saved us from capture. " Years afterward, in reflecting upon this incident, I was led to doubt whether I had not misconstrued her startled manner as I suddenly encountered her. That unexpected meeting would have occasioned embarrassment in either con- tingency ; and it is so difficult to believe a lady of cultivation and refinement capable of such an act, that I am now, nearly half a century after the event, disposed to give my hostess the benefit of that doubt." " And now, sir," added the General, " this is the third time in my life I have told this story. I do not remember to have been spoken to before on that subject for many years." He 1Y4: Selections from the Newspaper looked at me, and seemed to be considering with himself a few moments, and then said : " Remembering your intimacy with General Worth, I need not inquire how yon came to a knowledge of our secret."' " Well, General," I replied," I have kept the secret faith- fully for more than forty years, always hoping to obtain your own version of what struck me as a most remarkable incident in your military life." We then chatted pleasantly about other incidents of the War of 1812. On remarking that when I saw him in September, 1812 — then a major of artillery — -he was at once the tallest and the slenderest person I had ever seen, he replied : "Yes, •sir ; you recall a physical fact which to those who see me now must appear incredible; yet I remember that in those days soldiers drew irreverent comparisons between their Command- ing officer, and a ramrod or a bean pole." Our passage was a protracted one during which I had long and frequent conversations , with General Scott, from whom I derived much valuable information. He was, though physi- cally infirm, in full possession of his intellectual faculties. We remained a day at Havre for the purpose of accompanying him to Paris. Tlie steamer which followed us from America brought the news of the taking of Messrs. Mason and Slidell, the Confederate Commissioners, from the British vessel. This aroused a storm of official and popular indignation throughout England, with which the French press, if not the French Gov- ernment, sympathized. The Hon. Mr. Dayton invited Lieut. Gen. Scott, Archbishop Hughes, Mr. John Bigelow (then our Consul at Paris) and myself to his house for consultation. Gen. Scott, then suffering from a fresh attack of gout, was unable to attend. In the hope of allaying the excitement which the capture of Messrs. Mason and Slidell had occasioned, it was deemed important tliat a letter from General Scott should immediately appear in the French and English jour- nals. We all knew, however, that the General, then suf- fering acute pain, and his hand much swollen — was physi- cally, at least, incapacitated. All knew how fastidiously care- ful the General was of his literary reputation, and how diffi- cult it would be to induce him to adopt a line or sentence not Articles of Thurlow Weed. 1Y6 written by himself. But tlie emergency was so great that an effort had to be inade, and the dehcate and difficult duty of "belling the cat" was put upon me. Receiving my instruc- tions in regard to the points to be presented in the proposed letter, I repaired, not without many misgivings, to the Hotel Westminster, where I found the General suffering from rheu- matic gout. He was mucli excited by the threats of war, and had already made up his mind to return home in the steamer which brought us to France, saying that, " old and infirm as he was, if England was to seize her opportunity to make war upon us, he could not, witli liis sense of duty and honor, remain abroad." He said that in the event of war, England would make the city of ISTew York her first point of attack ; that,, in view of the importance of protecting our great com- mercial metropolis in such an emergency, he had matured a plan of operatio;is insuring its safety ; and that, if too infirm to take the field, he could and would save the city of New York. After listening attenti\'ely to my inessage, he said that he concurred in the importance of the suggestion, and would promptly act upon it, if it were not a physical impossibility. I replied that, knowing how severely he was suffering, nothing but a matter which deeply concerned the welfare of a country that he had served so long and faithfully could have induced me to have preferred sncli a request ; that on my way from the Legation it had occurred to me that if I could obtain from him in conversation his views of the points to be sub- mitted, ^and an idea of the spirit and temper which the subject and occasion would inspire, they might be written out and submitted to him for revisal and correction. To this suggestion he cheerfully assented, and I took my leave, promising to return with the clraft of the letter as soon as it could be prepared. Meantime, in my absence, Mr. Bigelow had been at work diligently preparing a letter — a letter which, three hours after- ward, I handed to General Scott, who read it first with absorb- ing interest, and again with critical attention . After expressing his warm approval of every sentiment, and his admiration of its style and tone, he attached his large, bold autograph to the 1Y6 Selections feom the Newspaper letter, without making the slightest change even in the punctua- tion, in regard to which he was known to be particularly tena- cious and sensitive. I returned to the Legation, w^liere my friends were as much surprised as delighted with the success of an enterprise which they had deemed almost impossible. I departed immediately for London, and on the following day General Scott's letter appeared in the Times^ Neios^ Star, and Telegraph. Mr. Bigelow prepared copies for the leading jour- nals of Paris. It was accepted abroad and at home as an able and well-timed appeal to the judgment, reason and good sense of both countries, and reflects equal credit upon the ability of Mr. Bigelow and the patriotism of Geii§ral Scott. General Scott entered the army of the United States as a captain of artillery, in 1808. His name became illustrious as early as 1814, while his subsequent carreer in our Florida, Black Hawk and Mexican wars, served to brighten and freshen the laurels won in early life. I remember, immediately after the conquest of Mexico, to have listened, with several other gentle- men, at the Astor House, to a most interesting account of the various battles that occurred between Yera Cruz and Mexico, from my friend Kendall, editor of the New Orleans Picayune, who was attached to General Scott's staif. In the course of this narrative he spoke of General Scott from two stand-points. When the army was in repose, and some of the officers inclined to relax their discipline, and others to "lay around loose," Gen- eral Scott w^as as strict and vigilant as when preparing for battle. Officers were required at all times to wear their uni- forms and side-arms. This occasioned annoyance, and they not unfrequently applied the epithet of " Old Fuss and Feathers " to the Commanding General. But, added Mr. Kendall, on all occasions of difficulty and danger all thoughts and eyes were turned toward head-quarters. In preparing for battle, and while the conflict lasted, not only the orders but the gestures of General Scott were as anxiously listened to and observed as they were promptly and cheerfully obeyed. In battle, confi- dence in the wisdom of their General, inspired officers and sol- diers alike, and rendered the army invincible. Those who laughed at him wdiile the sun was shining, turned to him for safety amid the thunders and lightning of battle. When we arrived at the capital, and General Scott announced his- purpose Aettcles of Thuelow Weed. 1Y7 to ride with his staff, in full uiiifonn, through the principal streets of the city of the Moutezumas, the generals of his army, fearing that he would hehred upon by persons in concealment, urged him, nnavailingly however, to desist. Mr. Kendall added that that ride through the conquered capital of Mexico, was a most imposing and impressive military pageant ; General Scott, splendidly mounted, a few feet in front of the staff, with his towering person and tall plume attracting and reflecting back the rays of a bright sun, being the "observed of all ob- servers." Of the political episodes of General Scott's life I shall have occasion to speak in another chapter. Meantime it maybe propel- to say here that while, during the last six or seven years, other friends have frerpiently suggested and occasionally urged me to work up into a book the material, personal and political, which durino- a lono- and somewhat eventful life in subordinate positions had been accumulating, I never even mentally enter- tained the idea, until stimulated by the following letter : " N Ew YoKK, A2Jril 21,1865. "Dear Sir. — I read a little faster than I recovered vision. Your very interesting " Letters from Europe " will deserve a place in every American library. This is my candid judgment, independent of the frequent mention in the book, with honor, of my name. Two paragraphs near the close of the book, de- scribing your iirst entrance into JSTew York, remind me of Franklin's entrance into Philadelphia, and excite the hope that you may favor the world with a full autobiography, I cannot expect to live long enough to read the work, but you can give it the power of exciting thousands of smart boys to conquer difficulties in the career of distinguished usefulness. " With greatest esteem, yours truly, " WiNFiELD Scott. " Thurlow Weed." 23 178 Selections ekom the ISTewspapek THE LATE' SIE HENKY HOLLAND. A. D. 1873. HIS PLANS FOR A JOURNEY TO AMERICA HIS SYMPATHY WITH THE UNION DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION — A TRIBUTE BY THURLOW WEED. To the Editor of the ]^. Y. Trihune : Sir : The deatli of this emiiieiit London physician occurred soon after his return from Russia and Italy.. His ilhiess must have been a brief one. He started, as will be seen by the fol- lowing letter, upon his annual summer tour in good health and spirits : ISTo. 72 Brook St., London, July 17, 1873. My Dear Friend : I cannot feel satisfied to leave London for my annual voyage without exchanging a few lines of friend- ship with yon — asking yon to tell me of yourself, of yonr daughter and all in whom yon are interested. The accounts I have received of yon have been good, and therefore welcome to me. But they have been only general reports, and I shall be glad to have them confirmed from yourself. I do not seek to make this a letter of ncM^s. The news- papers furnish you with all such information, political and social. All that I need say for the moment isj that w^ have just gone through a course of multitudinous and splendid entertainments to this Persian sovereign. He has excited here an amount of interest far beyond what is due either to personal merits or political importance. But the old name of Persia brought up again, in the person of an Oi'iental prince, moved the mind of the multitude, ignorant of the many dynasties which have ruled and oppressed the country since the days of its ancient sovereigns, and of the miserable and barren rem- nant which modern Persia forms of the ancient Persian Em- pire. I have been present at several of the fetes given to him, and am fully sated with the sight. To say a word about myself. My plan for the autumn is to go by St. Petersburg and Moscow to Nijni-lSrovgorod (at the time of the great fair there), and then returning to England to take my second son (your friend) with me to Pome and JN^aples, which he has not yet visited. I have been pressed much to visit the United States once more, but this I fear I must decline, though if my strength were maintained I should be sorely Articles of Thurlow Weed. 179 tempted to make a dasli at the Yellowstone river, "wlien tlie communication with it is fairly opened. To talk even of these things at 85 is, however, a piece of unwarrantable rashness. "*■ — -Pi-aj'gtve'mj affectionate remembrances to Miss Weed, and send me a good account of her health. And say something for me also to mj young friend at Albany, now grown into a full lady. Farewell, my dear Mr. Weed. Yours affectionately, H. Holland. I do not leave London until the first of August, so that I may perchance hear from you or Miss Weed before my depart- ure. I must not forget to say that I received your interesting paper^on the Junius question. If you see my excellent friend Evarts, pray tell him of my earnest wish to hear from him, if at any time amidst his mul- titudinous business he can spare time for a few lines. To one who has fpr many years not only been privileged to enjoy the society, but has profited largely by the professional experience and wisdom of Sir Henry Holland, this sudden bereavement falls heavily. Presumptuous as it was when both had so nearly reached the end of the journey of life, I looked fondly forward to future communion with this cher- ished friend. It had been arranged that we should visit Cali- foriiia together in 1872, but circumstances Mdiich he could not control disappointed that expectation. It will be seen, how- ever, from his letter, that notwithstanding his advanced age, the project was not abandoned. Recent discoveries on the Yellowstone river had attracted his attention and strengthened his desire to see the only portion of the United States he had not visited. During the rebellion Sir Henry was among the compara- tively few distinguished Englishmen who not only sympa- thized with the North, but who rendered good services to our "government. Of these services I hope to speak at another time. But for the high sense he entertained of the obliga- tions of professional reticence, I should have long since been permitted to reveal a conversation between the Queen and her physician that would have occasioned grateful and enduring regard for Her Majesty in the hearts of all patriotic Ameri- cans. On at least two occasions when the danger of becoming 180 Selections from the Newspaper involved in more tha;i one war was imminent, the interposition of the Queen of England was timely, enlightened and effect- ive. One seal of eoniidence has been providentially broken, and I hope ere long to find mj^self at liberty to make a full disclosure of facts which will prove that while the masses of the English people, including the humbler as well as the higher classes, sympathized with the rebellion, the Queen was from the beginning to its conclusion our steadfast friend. In this connection, with the keen remembrance of those dark days in London, the subject never recm-s without excit ing a strong desire to recognize With thankfulness services rendered our government and Union by the Duke of Argyle, Milner Gibson, Monckton Milnes (now Lord Hougliton), Mr. Cobden, John Bright, Sir J. Emerson Tennant, the Rev. ISTew- man Hall, the Rev. William Arthur, the Earl of Shaftsbury, Sir Roundell Palmer, Messrs. Forster, Kinnaird, Torrens, Stansfield, Bazley, Baxter, Potter, White, Smith, and others in and out of Parliament. ' T. W. New York, Nov&nxber 8, 18T3. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. A. D. 1872. " HISTORY REPEATING- ITSELF. During our war with England, in 1812, the Federal party, in its organization, was disloyal. The sympathies of zealous Fed- eral leaders were against tlieir country.^ " It was unbecoming a moral and religious people," they said, " to rejoice at victories obtained over our mother country." In New England they went so far in 1814 as to call a convention at Hartford, designed, like those of the Secessionists in 1861, to divide the Union. So strong was the feeling, that the spirits of Fede- ralists would rise or fall in accordance with the tenor of the war news brought by the mails. But the Republican party' then, as in 1861, true to the government and the Union, car- ried us through the war triumphantly. Akticles of Thuklow Weed. 181 But the record and cbaracter of tlie Federal pavty were irre- trievably damaged and demoralized. Although boasting of Washington, Adams, Jay, Hamilton, Rnfus King, etc., as leaders, so deep was the feeling of the people against the Hart- ford convention that the once proud and indomitable Federal party was unable to rally. Its leaders in this State, known as the " forty-two high-minded gentlemen," went over in a pub- lished manifesto to the " Bucktails " (Tammany Hall) section of the Democratic party. So strong, however, was the popular prejtiSice against their Federal allies, that the " Bucktails," losing more than they gained by the coalition, were defeated, and UeWitt Clinton elected Governor. Thus perished the old Federal party — the party which justly boasted of a large por- tion of the talent and wealth of the country. What occurred in 1814 is occurring in 18Y2. When the rebellion broke out, the Democracy of this State, in its organ- ization, was disloyal. The Democratic State Convention, at Tweddle Hall, Jii Albany, was kindred in character to the con- ■veiTEibn which met at Hartford in 1814. There were exceptions in 1861, as there were in 1812. Happily for our country. Cap- tains Hall, Decatur, and other naval heroes, though Federalists, stood by their flag. In like manner Dean Richmond, General Dix, Judge Allen, Floyd Jones, and other " war Democrats," by their loyalty and patriotism, contributed largely to the pre- servation of the government and the Union in 1861. As a rule, however, the sympathies of the Democracy were with the rebels. In every county, city, and village were large numbers of active Democrats, well known and justly stigmatized as " Copper- heads." In their National Conventions the Democracy refused to adopt loyal platforms, and rejected "war Democrats" as nominees for President. \ And now, after twelve years of chastisement and adversity, when the Republican party is divided, and when it was sup- posed that the Democracy would take the field, united, zealous, and confident of success, what is its real condition ? In this State the Tammany leaders, in imitation of the Federal leaders in 1814, have formed a coalition with disaffected Republicans, and are supporting for President a man who has not only been zealously hostile to all Democratic principles and measures for thirty -five years, but who during that time has denounced these 182 Selections from the Kewspapeb very individuals personally as " rascals," " liai-s," " copper- lieads," etc., etc. Indeed, those wlio have been peculiarly the subjects of his denunciation are now his most zealous advocates. The recent Democratic State Convention at Rochester, manipulated by the Tammany Ring, though not openly in favor of Greeley, instructed the delegates to vote as a " unit in the Baltimore Convention," and as the majority are known to be in favor of the " High Tariff,'^ " Abolition," "Maine Law," and " Secession " nominee of the Cincinnati Convention, the "unit resolution" was intended to stifle the voice of the minority. We find, however, the Democracy of the State of New York — or rather what there is left of the once great Democratic party of New York — occupying the same inglorious posi- tion that dishonored the Federal party in 1814. It is well for the saplings and hoop-poles of Democracy that William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, Stephen Allen, Dean Richmond and other patriotic fathers are noOiere to witness the degeneracy of their sons. If any thing of the history, the principles, the usages, or the traditions of the Democratic party, in its better days, remained, the present managers, recreant and shameless as is their apostacy, would not dare to look the old sachems of their party in the face. The only question that remains, therefore, to be answered, is wdiether the demoralization which has so thoroughly debased the Democracy of this State, extends throughout the Union ? The ultra rebel element of the Democratic Convention will be united for Greeley. This renders the indorsement of a fellow- secessionist quite probable, aided as it will be by the men from New York who have robbed the city of untold millions of dol- lars. Against such influences Mr. Yoorhees and other con- sistent Democrats, who desire to serve their part}^, will find up-hill work. We must wait, therefore, for a solution of this question. The results of the Baltimore Convention will show whether the Democracy of other States is affected by the political malaria which poisons the atmosphere of New York. Parties, like nations, have their origin, rise, and fall. If the sun is now about to set for the last time upon the Democratic- party, as it did more than half a century ago iipon the Federal Akticles of Thuelow Weed. 183 party, it will owe its fate to tlie disloyalty of its leaders during a war wliicli tlireatened the overthrow of our government. There is a moral in this lesson. It teaches that parties and partisans, however widely dilfering upon questions and measures of policy and administration, must be true to their country when its institutions are imperiled. Lack of loyalty in seasons of war is the one unpardonable political sin. This point was made clear and strong at a Fom-th of July din- ner given at Philadelphia during the war of 1812, where a distinguished Federalist gave as a toast : " Our country, in her differences with other nations, may she always be rightP Commodore Decatur instantly rose and gave the following : " Our country right or ivroivj ! " And yet we cannot contemplate the approaching dissolution of a party against which, as journalists, we have been arrayed for nearly half a century, without a feeling of sadness. In that party, with such men as Jefferson, Madison, Tompkins, Marcy, etc., etc., as its standard-bearers, Whigs encountered a " foe worthy of their steel." Widely as we differed with the old Albany Eegency upon questions of State policy, we always recognized their administrative ability and their official integ- rity. The great test of time and truth proved that during the many years of sharp antagonism the Whig and Democratic parties, by different and diverging paths, were guided by a common purpose — that purpose being the welfare of the State, and the prosperity of the people. With the surviving mem- bers, indeed, of that remarkable political association. Major Azariah C. Flagg, General John A. Dix, Grovernor E. T. Throop, and Mr. Thomas W. Olcott, we are in political as well as social accord. May we not, then, justly and truthfully say that we contemplate an ignominious collapse of the once enlightened, powerful, and patriotic Democratic party with real sorrow ? 184 Selections from the Newspaper QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. A. D. 1873. VIEWS ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS. OLD NEWSPAPERS EARLY STATESMANSHIP NATIONAL DEBT SPECIE PAYMENTS HOMESTEAD LAW VIROINIUS QUESTION SIR L. LORRAINE COMMUNISTS Ai^ COOPER INSTITUTE SUGGES- TIONS TO WEALTHY CITIZENS, ETC. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune : Sir : A writer in The Albany Evening Times makes two or three corrections of the newspaper reminiscences which you so kindly pubhshed a few days since. Francis Adincourt, of Troy, published The Farmers' Register^ and not the Northern Budget^ as I supposed. I remember the establishment of The Albany Republican, by Samuel R. Brown, though in writing from memory it escaped me. The Republican must have been short-lived, for in 1814 Mr. Brown was publishing a paper at Auburn. I worked in his office as a journeyman from the 1st of December, 1813, until early in February, 1814, when I left Auburn to make a pedestrian journey to Cooperstown. It is true, as the Albany writer remarks, that Jonathan Bunce was publishing a paper at Peterboro', Madison county, early in the year 1812, but its publication ceased before the end of the year. The paper then published at Batavia by Mr. Blodget was The Cornucopia, and that published in Onondaga Yalley by Ml". Redfield was The Register, and not The Gazette, as I erroneously supposed. I cannot remeinj^er that Mr. Alden Spooner commenced the publication of The Star in Brooklyn, as early as 1810, although I knew him as successor to Mr. Holt in The New Yorh Columbian, and afterward as editor of The JBrooMyn Star. Mr. John Bigelow furnishes The Newburgh Journal with the copy of an interesting letter from the late Mr. Flagg, giv- ing his early typographical experience, together with a very beautiful tribute to the services and character of the deceased statesman. I learn by a letter from Judge Allen of the Court Articles of Thuklow Weed. 185 of Appeals that Mr. Recliield is not the only surviving mem- ber of the Senate of 1824. The Hon. Alvin Bronson of Oswego, now nearly 90 years of age, is living and in the enjoy- ment of reasonably good health. Mr. Bronson was not only an upright but a useful Senator. As a merchant his thoughts had been a good deal occupied with the subject of finance, and his experience and practical views enabled him to render good service to the people of the State. Much important legislation upon financial questions emanated from the Committee in the Senate; of which he was Chairman. It would be well for our State if we had many such men as Alvin Bronson in its legisla- tive halls. I am aware of the propensity, or as some say, of the privilege of old men, to declaim against modern wrongs and abuses. I ought also to be aware of the slight regard paid to such croak- ings. Yet I cannot- reason or persuade myself out of the conviction that changes in reference to public affairs have not been in the right direction. The class of public men by which our Government and institutions were inaugurated, and those who for the thirty or forty years immediatel}^ succeeding occu- pied the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the Government, gave their thoughts and their time to the enact- ment and execution of laws calculated to promote the general welfare. Those men have passed away. And where are their successors ? Where are we to look now for the wisdom which inspired and guided Congress in the earlier and better days of the Republic ? To say nothing of the more distinguished men whose names are familiar to every household, where shall we look for successors to John Sargent of Pennsylvania, Elisha Whittlesey and Samuel F. Yinton, of Ohio, Truman Smith of Connecticut, John Davis of Massachusetts, Gulian C. Yer- planck and Yictory Birdseye of New York? Without impeach- ment of the motives or intentions of the leading Representatives in Congress at the close of the Rebellion, I confidently assume that they signally failed to render the service which the emergency demanded. I will content m)'self with referring to the failure to consolidate the National Debt, and to reduce the rate of interest from six to five percent. This, had the question been wisely matured and the proper time and circumstances been considered, might and would have been accomplished, thus 24 186 Sklections feom the Newspaper relieving the Government and people from one^sixth part of their annual burden. The Government once enjoyed in its public domain a source of enduring and inexhanstible wealth. Under the enlightened policy of the early administrations, the debts, both of the Revolution and of the War of 1812, were not only paid from the proceeds of that domain', but in 1836 the surplus accu- mulated was so large as to cause much solicitude in Congress and among the people. There was danger, it was said, to the Government from an overflowing treasur3^ The temptation to corruption was too great. That surplus was finally divided pro rata among the States, and to avert what was considered so financially dangerous, modern wisdom invented schemes by means of which the public domain has been scjuandered or rendered valueless. The Homestead law, a popular delusion, has utterly disappointed the expectations of its advocates. Those to whom farms were given, decline or neglect to accept them. Of the hundreds of thousands expected to seek homes in the West, few indeed have wended their way thither, while most of those who have gone would have valued their lands more highly if they had paid the Government price for them. Speculators, therefore, rather than actual settlers, have profited by the Homestead law. Grants of lands to encourage the con- struction of railways (a wise policy, properly restricted, adher- ing in all cases to reservation of alternate sections) have become a great abuse. Land grants, instead of being concessions to develop the resources of the West, and promote the welfare of its inhabitants, have been sought and obtained by adventurers. These grants are now best known and best described as " land grabs." The result of modern legislation, therefore, is found in the scpiandering of a domain which, properly cared for, would have paid the annual interest, and ultimately paid the debt incurred in consequence of the attempt to overthrow our Government and divide the Union. I am rejoiced that a movement has been made in Congress in favor of the resumption of specie payments. There is neither pretext nor excuse for any longer neglecting this great duty. With all the contrivances to aggravate the premium on gold, that premium has scarcely risen, for some time, above 10 per cent ; and but for New York bankers and brokers the rate of Articles of Thuklow Weed. 187 gold usance could not have been kept up even to that point. An old man who remembers how joyfully gold and silver were greeted when they took the place of " shin plasters" after tlie war of 1812, may now reasonably hope to witness another " golden era." I am constrained to question both the wisdom and the patriotism of a movement in Congress wliicli threatens an aggravation of the JSTational Debt. I can see nothing in the aspect of affairs to require or excuse such a remedy for an incidental loss of revenue and consequent need of money. The people, heavily as they have been burdened, I am quite sure, wo'ild now prefer a slight increase of taxes to any increase of debt. And there are modes of taxation, should Congress be wise enough to discern them, that are neither onerous nor obnoxious. Tlie repeal of the duties on tea and coffee signally failed to realize popuhir expectations. Consumers did not find corresponding reduction of prices. I confidently believe that the imposition of a duty amounting to one-half of that recently paid on these articles, an increased duty upon spirits, together with a modified stamp tax, would be cheerfully accepted by tlie country as preferable to the proposed increase of debt. We may now regard the Virginius question as virtually set tied, and in a manner which reflects high credit on both gov- ernments. Our just demands were met in a spirit which has not always characterized kindred negotiations. Indeed, few governments would have responded as promptly, frankly and honorably as that of the Spanish Republic. Probably the course of that government was rendered easier by the wisdom of our own in establishing a sound precedent in its adjustment of the "Trent" difficulty. There is another noticeable inci- dent in this case. While in the hurried and indiscriminate exe- cution of so many of the officers, passengers and crew of the Virginius, a great, if not unprecedented outrage upon human- ity was perpetrated, the American people, press and Congress took council of their judgment rather than their feeling. On no question of this nature have the provocations for popular excitement been so great. And yet on no such occasion have our people been so calm. Equal honor is due to the enlight- 188 Selections from the Newspaper ened firmness of our government and the just and conciliatory action and spirit of Spain. If it be trne, as is positively afiirmed, tliat Sir L. Lorraine, in command of Her Majesty's ship Niobe, by his prompt and generous interposition, preserved tlie lives of the remaining Virginius prisoners, he has won, and I hope will receive, in some marked manner, the approbation of our people and gov- ernment. There is a significance in the proceedings at Gooper Institute on Friday evening, which slionld not be lost upon considerate and refiecting minds. There is no element among us so preg- nant with mischief and evil as the doctrines taught by " Inter- nationals " or " Commnnists." That spirit crops out in the proceedings of those who call themselves " Workingmen," a class that labor most diligently and insidiously to obtain the largest' amount of money for the smallest pretense of work. Unhappily the Legislature was induced to pass an " Eight- Hour Law," which not only lends the sanction of authority to idlers, but affords them abundant leisure to extend their per- nicions organizations. Among the most injurious effects of ' trades-unions " is the restriction imposed upon master mechan- ics in regard to apprentices. Thousands of boys who formerly learned trades by Ineans of which they became useful citizens, are now denied that privilege by the despotism of " unions." — a power unknown to our government and hostile to its princi- ples. In a"few~years,"if this alarming evil is not reformed, we " shall have no American artisans or mechanics. I earnestly hope, therefore, that there will be wisdom'^and firmness enough in the next Legislature to repeal the " Eight Hour Law," and to declare illegal all combinations to limit, restrictjIFestrain or embarrass master mechanics from receiving as many appren- tices as may be required for the successful carrying forward of the various industries of our country. A winter approaches under circumstances and with aspects which occasion unusual solicitude. Its accustomed severities threaten to be aggravated by the destitution and distress among the laboring classes occasioned by financial revulsion and con- sequent want of occupation. Thousands of industrious and reputable citizens, with dependent families, may become as Articles of Thuklow Weed. 189 impecunious as other and ever-present thousands of idle and vicious habits and propensities. The subject, therefore, claims the serious attention of our best heads and warmest hearts. It is not a question merely of dutj, of sympathy, or of interest, but one of safety. It is — and I hope that those for whom this remark is intended will comprehend its full import — a question which concerns the rich far more deeply than it concerns the poor. Let us hope, therefore, that it will attract earnest and seasonable attention. Philanthropic gentlemen, already engaged in the inauguration of a plan for the relief of those who may need it, cannot overestimate the vital import- ance of their deliberations, nor magnify the disastrous conse- quences of a taihire to foresee and provide foi* the emergency. It is in the power of the wealthy classes, by tlie exercise of an enlightened' liberality, not only to relieve the wants of the unemployed and destitute, Ijut to avert evils which need not be described. By extending relief and protection to those who suifer because " the times are out of joint," we shall separate them from the dissolute and desperate, who, abiding their hour, take advantage of occasions of public calamity to beguile those I " So weary with disasters, tugged with fortune, ^ \ That thej would set their life on any chance ^^^^ \\ To mend it, or be rid ou't." These suggestions appeal alike to the possessors of enormous wealth and to those who enjoy a competency (the intermediate classes included). If those of us who have been fortunate and provident fail, in view of existing financial disasters, to avail ourselves of the protection which common sense and connnon prudence cannot fail to discern, the lesson not unfrequently taught that wealth draws its purse strings too tightly, may be learned too late. T. W. ISTew York, Becemler 13,. 1873. 190 Selections from the Newspaper THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. A. D. 1873. [From the New York Daily Tribune, September 23, 1873.] Among the notable persons seen in Wall street on Saturday was the venerable Thnrlow Weed, who soon, .fonnd, however, as he says, that the excitement was too mucli for him in his present feeble state of health, and he was forced to retire to his home in Twelfth street. Thinking the views of siich'a veteran observer might be of interest to the public, a Tribune reporter called at his house last evening, and found him suffering from his old complaint of dizziness, or " mental nervousness," as he called it, with which he said he had been afflicted since he broke down in health five years ago. In answer to a question as to what he thought of -the financial crisis, he said that the end of it was not sufiiciently clear yet to enable him or any one else to express his views satisfactorily about it. There was no telling what to-morrow and the next day would develop. Q. You do not apprehend that it will extend to the commer- cial and business world, do you ? A. Well, I hope not ; it ought not to ; the commerce and business of the city are in a prosperous and healthy condition ; if the crash does not result in a general suspension of the banks, it ought not to have a serious effect upon legitimats business. But if it should turn out in the next two days that the banks, like the brokers, are loaded down with de.id securities, it may end in a general sus- pension. Yiewing this crisis in its most remote aspects, we are simply paying one of the penalties of our great war. All great wars are followed by great penalties. Most, and I may say all, wars hitherto, have been followed by great depression and dis- tress to the financial and business interests of the country that has carried them on ; but our war seems to have had, for the time being, a different effect. One reason of this is that we spent money more lavishly during the war than any other nation ever did. No nation ever before paid its soldiers $14 per month, or spent any thing like the same amount of money x\eticles of Thurlow Weed. 191 that we did in the same time. This immense amonnt of money thrown into circnhition gave rise to reckless specuhition on all sides ; it eno-endered habits of extravao-anee and a o-ene- ral desire among all classes to get rich suddenly and without work. But among its worst effects was a general demoraliza- tion of the country, affecting public men and business men alike." '' Rings " were formed everywhere to make money and to rob the public. Everybody knows how they robbed this city, and they I'obbed the State, too, and would be robbing it now if we had not been fortunate enough last Fall to elect an honest Government. Tlie present iinancial crisis in Wall street is attributable immediately to two causes : First, to a few large capitalists and money-lenders who have tied up large sums of money in order that they might force usurious interest. The banks have lent themselves — infamously lent themselves — to the purposes of these men. The second cause is the action of gold speculators ; men who have resorted to all sorts of schemes to raise the premium on gold ; and they, too, have received aid from the banks. Every interest of this country, in my opinion, demands a speedy resumption of specie pay- ments ; but this is greatly embai'rassed by the operations of the gold gamblers, and it is also hindered to a considerable extent by the large numbers of Americans who for the last two or three years have gone abroad and spent their monej^ in Europe. This was so much gold lost to the country, and the amount is much larger than is generally supposed. But what is needed above all things is to put a stop to the combinations of those men who withdraw from circulation the money that is needed in order that they may force a usurious interest of one or one and a half per cent a day. They should be sent to the State Prison wherever they can be found, together with the bank officers who aid them. Q. You do not believe in the repeal of the usury laws, I take it ? A. No ; they should be made ten times stronger and more effective. Q. Do you think the Union Trust Company will resume payment to-morrow ? A. I hardly think it will. Q. Is the report true that Mr. Wesley has been appointed receiver ? A. ISTo ; a receiver has not been appointed yet. I 192 Selections from the Newspapek have nothing to do with the direction of the Company. I am only a stockhokler. The officers of the Company are greatly to blame for the way things have been managed there. The President has been off: in Europe for the last four months, instead of staying at home attending to his business, and the whole management of the institution appears to have been left in the hands of Carlton, the Secretary, who is a mere boy. He is amiable and pleasant enough, but merely a weak boy. And yet he appears to have been allowed to loan money to his friends on any kind of securities, at his own discretion. Q. What have you to say about Jaj^ Cooke ? A. Jay Cooke has failed by attempting to carry out a great enterprise iifteen years too soon. Q. You are not clear, then, in your own mind, that we have seen the worst of it yet? A. No ; it is impossible to tell what to-morrow and next day may bring forth. I hope the worst is passed, and that it will not reach the commercial and business world ; it would be wicked for them to have to suffer for the sins of the Wall street gamblers and speculators. LEGISLATIVE PUEITY. A. D. 1826-1873. WHAT WAS DONE TO PRESERVE THE PURITY OF LEGISLATION IN 1826. In 1826, Jasper Ward, a Senator from the county of West- chester, was charged with having been bribed to vote for a bank charter. A committee of investigation was appointed. At the conclusion of the investigation several of General Ward's colleagues, believing that the testimony against him did not call for his expulsion, avowed their readiness to sustain him ; but they at the same time said to General Ward that their eiForts would be wholly unavailing if the chairman of the com- Articles of Thuelow Weed, 193 mittee (Silas Wright), should report against him. General Ward, therefore, made a strong appeal to Mr. Wright, his per- sonal and political friend. Mr. Wright, after listening attent. ivelj to all the .accused Senator could say, remarked that he had carefully examined and weighed the testimony in all its aspects and bearings, anxiously hoping to reach a conclusion in which his sen&e of public duty would not conflict with his per- sonal feelings. He added that were he sitting as a judge or juror in that case, the testimony would be insufficient to justify a verdict of guilty ; but that there was a wide distinctioa between legislative and judicial proceedings ; and that in his judgment the facts and circumstances proven aflected the char- acter of the accused so unfavorably as to require the Senate, in vindication of its dignity and purity, to adopt the resolution which he should submit on the following morning, unless Gen- eral Ward's resignation was received before that order of busi- ness was reached. That resolution (which was handed to General Ward), it is scarcely necessary to say, was in favor of his expulsion from the Senate. Nor is it necessary to add that General Ward's resignation will be found recorded on the journal of the Senate. WHAT WAS NOT DONE TO PRESERVE THE PURITY OF LEGISLATION IN 1868. In 1868 the charges of bribery and corruption against Abner C. Mattoon, of Oswego, were so rife that a committee of inves- tigation became indispensable. Mr. Hale, of Essex, was its chairman. The testimony, when reported to the Senate, proved unequivocally and overwhelmingly that the accused was shame- lessly and rapaciously guilty. This, in effect, if not in express language, was admitted by the committee in their report ; and yet no expulsion was recommended by the committee, and no action taken by the Senate. The accused Senator, who sold his vote as often as he could find a purchaser, was permitted to occupy his seat in a now disgraced Senate until the expiration of his term ! The progress of bribery and corruption since 1868 has been fearfully rapid. During the last two years the trafiic in votes has been open, shameless and almost universal. Kesolutions 25 194 Selections fkom the Newspaper calling for the appointment of committees of investigation have been offered and adopted as deliberate strikes against wealthy corporations. The Legislature since 1868 has been in the condition of a patieni; whose stomach is too weak to throw off contents wliich are diseasing and corrupting the wliole body. Every thing, tlierefore, depends upon the result of the present conflict with flagrant and overshadowing corruption. If hon- est men enough to expose and punish legislative bribery and muniicipal robbery are chosen to the next Legislature, we may look for a salutary reform. Otherwise, the cloud which lowers over our plundered city will darken the whole State. The only possible chance of success in this city depends upon the wisdom and patriotism of Republicans. If our political friends, in their oi'ganizations and as individual Republicans, seeking nothing for themselves, act cordially with the tax pay- ers and reform Democrats, enough can be secured to save the city. And while such a course will be magnanimous and cred- itable, it costs really nothiiig ; for there is not a Republican in the whole city, of ordinary intelligence, who does not know that, as elections have been and are conducted, there is not the ghost of a chance for any one Republican, nominated and running as a Republican candidate, to be elected. — Harper's Weekly. LEGISLATIVE INTEGRITY. [From the Albany Morning Express, October 4, 1873.1 In last night's Evening Journal we find the following letter from Mr. Thiirlow Weed, in relation to the Senatorial contest in the Twelfth district: New Yoke, October, 1873. To the Editor of the Evening Journal : An Albany paper says : The opponents of the re-nomination of I. V. Baker, Jr., have recently been re-enforced by Mr. Thurlow Weed, who has written the following letter, which is published in the Wash- ington County Post, and re-produced by the Troy papers : , - Articles of Thuelow Weed. 195 New York — My Dear Sir : I am very mucli pleased to see that yon are making a manly effort to defeat the nomination of Baker — that nomination being one " not fit to be made." If the descendants of the Whigs, whom I knew thirty years ago, are worthy of their inheritance, they will set their faces against representatives who make merchandise of their votes in the Legislature. I am shocked to learn that Canal Commis- sioner Barkley, whom I have so often indorsed as an honest man, is supporting Baker. If my health would permit it, I should go to Troy and appeal personally to Messrs. * * * *, and other friends, to oppose a nomination which will bring discredit upon themselves and their district. Yours, very truly, Thurlow Weed. Senator Baker's friends are indignant, not only over Mr. Weed's aspersions, but over the fact, as well, that he should have assumed to interfere at all. It has been my habit for more than fifty years to " interfere," both in the nominations and the elections, for and against good and bad men. It was owing in some measure to such " inter- ference " that the interests and welfare of the State and the people, during that fifty years, have been promoted and pro- tected by Governors Clinton, Seward, Fish, Hunt, King, and Morgan. To such " interference," more recently, the nomina- tion of Governor Dix was attributed. And still more recently such " interference " suggested the nomination of Benjamin D. Sillman for Attorney-General, and aided that of Mr. Thayer, of Rensselaer, for Secretary of State, and I may add what is probably already pretty well known, that I have been earnestly " interfering " for two or three months in favor of the re-nomi- nation of a Comptroller who stands up honestly and fearlessly to protect the State Treasury against the rapacious designs of individuals and " rings." The motives that prompt such " interference " lead me, on the other hand, so far as my health and strength permit, to oppose the nomination and election of unworthy men ; for a citizen who is not as ready to oppose bad men as to support good ones, discharges but half of the duty he owes to his country. In 1867, when Abner C. Mattoon was purchasing his way into the Senate with the money he had received for bribes in a 196 Selections from the JSTewspapee previous Legislature, I appealed to the Republicans of Oswego and Madison to reject an unworthy representative. Instead of opposing and denouncing Mattoon, the Republican journals of that district turned their batteries upon me. Mattoon was elected. But the chastisement of his constituents, as well as mj own vindication, came in the investigation disclosing brib- eries and corruption, which involved the Senator, his district, and the State, in a common disgrace. History is now endeavoring to repeat itself in the district composed of Rensselaer and Washington. In the hope of averting other discreditable developments, I wrote a letter to an old personal and political friend in Washington county, which, though not intended for publication, found its way into print, and has provoked the censures of journals at Troy and Albany, each imputing unworthy motives. Two years ago Mr. Baker, whom I had not before seen, appealed to me as the son of an old Washington county friend, for a favorable notice in the Times, of his nomination for Senator. Thinking well of his father and having no reason to think otherwise of the son, I yielded to his request. Had he proved himself worthy of the favorable opinion I then formed and expressed, I certainly should not oppose his re-nomination ; for I now but very reluctantly " interfere " with any body's nomi- nation or election. Indeed, it is only when prompted by the hope of doing some good that I allow myself to think or act upon any political question. Some thirty years ago a Senator from Rensselaer county (Kemble), and another from Washington county (Bishop), were suspected of official misconduct. The investigation which the Senate ordered, while the testimony did not positively establish the charges against them, was of so damaging a character that they were driven by public opinion from their seats in the Sen- ate, into a retirement from which neither ever emerged. Then, both the press and the people were sensitively alive to the importance of purity in legislation. ISTow, one of the most dis- couraging signs of the times is found in the fact that the sensi- bilities of outraged constituents and the watchfulness and vigi- lance of the press, have become strangely dulled. Thuklow Weed. Articles of Thurlow Weed. 19 Y STATE GUBEKNATOEIAL CANY ASS. A. D. 1874. , AN APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC. Constrained by impaired liealtli to withdraw from business and politics, I have, been for more than six years an observer of J rather than a participant in, the events which occupy and interest others. I ceased, at the outbreali of the rebellion which threatened the integrity of the Union, to be a mere partisan. There was not an hour during that struggle for national exist- ence that I did not cherish as warm a feeling of affection and gratitude in and for loyal Democrats as for Republicans ; for from the beginning, it was apparent that with a united South and a divided JSTorth our country was lost. There were lead- ing Democrats in this State who sympathized and acted with the rebels. Prominent among such was Fernando Wood. There were leading Democrats who stood throughout the rebel- lion loyally by the Government. Prominent among that patri- otic band was Dean Richmond. In 1862, amid the ultra-aboli- tion ravings of Senators Sumner, Wade, Chandler, etc., several Northern States faltered. New York was lost. President Lincoln, trembling for the Union, told me that if a man could be found who would go one step further or faster than himself in prosecuting the war for the Union, he would cheerfully sup- port that man as his successor. He authorized me to say to Gov. Seymour that he had a position of great power, and that, if he used it loyally, he would be rewarded with the Presi- dency. I informed Gov. Seymour of that conversation while, with patriotic intentions, he was preparing his message ; but, before its delivery, copperhead associations and influences pro- cured the insertion of a paragraph which cost him the confi- dence and support of Union-loving citizens. Simultaneously, when the ranks of the Union army had been decimated, and it became indispensable to fill up our skeleton regiments, the war Democrats of New York decided to hold a public meeting, through which an appeal for recruits was to be made, and over which it was highly important that Gen. McClellan should preside. In consultation with Mr. Barlow and other confidential friends of Gen. McClellan, I stated that 198 Selections feom the N^ewspapee his and their only chance or hope depended on the service he might render the country in its hour .of periL Assuming that Gen. McClellan's consent"" to preside liad been obtained, I sug- gested on paper snch thoughts as seemed appropriate for the occasion, and sucli as in my judgment were calculated, com- ing from Gen. McClellan, to arouse popular enthusiasm in favor of the war. That brief, with the approval of his Democratic friends, was sent to Gen. McClellan, who, rather than make an earnest, outspoken appeal to his countrymen, in favor of a vig- orous prosecution of the war, declined to preside over or to attend the meeting. Subsequently, when Mr. Greeley was the Republican nominee for State ComjDtroller, I voted for Judge Allen, his Democratic competitor, for the reason that Mr. Gree- ley, after encouraging and inviting the Cotton States to sepa- rate from the Union, urged the Government in the darkest night of the war, to " make peace on the best available terms ; " while Mr. Allen, though a Democrat, was open and earnest in support of the Government throughout the war. And more recently, at a judicial election, I cheerfully voted for Hamilton W. Robinson and John Brady, Democratic nominees for high judicial stations, and I would gladly vote for as many such judges as either party will put in nomination. In the spirit which moved me on the occasions referred to looking and reaching above and beyond a partisan motive, and in the discharge of what I deem to be an imperative duty, I submit in the frankness which has characterized my communings with the people for more than half a century, a brief appeal to my friends and fellow-citizens. I believe unhesitatingly that Gov. Dix has discharged the duties of his high office with a fidelity and ability rarely equaled and never surpassed. He ■ has raised by his wisdom, firmness, and dignity the Executive Department of the Government to an elevation only attained by our most gifted statesmen. Holding the reins with a firm hand, he has reformed department abuses and checked and re- strained demoralizing legislation. He found as an inheritance from his immediate predecessors the general and sinking-funds of the State plundered, with a floating debt of more than six millions of dollarsr"" The floating debt has been paid. "Tlie money fraudulently abstracted from the general and sinking funds has been restored. Under the auspices of Gov. Dix and Aeticles of Thurlow Weed. 199 Comptroller Hopkins, if the people decide to avail themselves of their services for two years more, the Empire State will join in the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary with a debt not exceeding ten millions, while it is painfnl and mortifying to know that the tax payers of the city of New York are burdened with a debt of over a hundred millions. Such are the resiilts of ffood State Government contrasted with the bitter fruits of city misrule. I ask, therefore, that Gov. Dix's administration may be judged by its acts ; that the people will decide the question upon its merits. I ask the electors to separate this issue from all others. This election concerns themselves alone. It has no necessaiy connection with the General Government. There is time enough after we have discharged our duties to the State to consider the Presidential question. Gen. Dix's interest in the election is secondary to that of the electors. We are to be affected far more deeply than the candidate in the result. His re-election assures us of continued security and protection. His defeat may restore lax and loose financial management with the reckless and venal legislation which brought the State deeply into debt and dishonor. With regard to the Democratic candidate for Governor, I shall content myself with showing from his own letter that at the commencement of the rebellion he proved himself disloyal to the Government and the Union. In October, 1860, Samuel J. Tilden wrote a letter to Wil- liam Kent arguing that Mr. Lincoln's election would be a sufii- cient cause for revolt by the Southern States, and declaring that the founders of our Government, " left revolution organ- ized with power to snap the tie of confederation as a nation might break a treaty, and to repel coercion as a nation might TepeF invasion." After the firing upon Fort Sumter, when the patriotic citizens of New York rushed to the City Hall — as in 1776 the citizens of Boston rushed to Faneuil Hall — to form a " Union Defense Committee," Samuel J. Tilden put in no appearance. When "our citizens gave their money freely for the organization^ of troops, and for the support of the families of absent volun- teers, Mr. Tilden's name was missing upon all the subscription lists. To no call of patriotism during the war did Mr. Tilden respond. His record, so far as my information goes, begins 200 Selections feom the Newspaper and ends with the letter I have quoted. The man who, if not in sympathy with our enemies, in a desperate and doubtful struggle for the existence of the Government and the Union ^ remains indifferent and passive, cannot receive my vote for Governor. For the defeat of a conspiracy between Howell Cobb and Jacob Thompson, disloyal members of Mr. Buchanan's Cabi- net, Senators Slidell, Mason, Benjamin, and other secessionists by a couj? cVetat to simultaneously prevent the inauguration of I Mr. Lincoln, and. to usurp the Government, the country is 1 largely indebted to John 4-. Dix^aiid Edwin M. Stanton, then \ loyal members of the same Cabinet.' When secession was cul- ^ minating into rebellion, Secretary Dix in a dispatch to a rev- enue cutter officer at New Orleans, gave a ringing key-note to his countrymen by ordering the lirst man who attempted to dishonor the American flag to be instantly shot. And when // in command of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, by the prompt imprisonment of rebel members of the Maryland Legislature, Gen. Dix held that State in the Union. To these acts of de- voted courage and patriotism while in the service of the Fed- eral Government, Gen. Dix's claim to the confidence and grat- itude of the citizens of our State has been augmented by the intrinsic and pronounced value and importance of his services as its Chief Magistrate. It is by no act or fault either of commission or omission of the State administration, that the various industries of life are embarrassed, crippled, or standing still. That labor seeks in vain for employment is a common misfortune^ And to my mind the fact that the statesmen who formerly occupied seats in Congress have passed away, leaving few successors equal in wisdom and devotion, is a still greater misfortune. It is proper, however, to say, as it is useful to remember, that the people of the South are not the only sufferers from the war into which, without provocation, they recklessly precipi- tated the country. That war not only cost us rivers of blood and thousands of millions of treasure, but occasioned wide- spread demoralization, substituting fraud for integrity in the discharge of official duties and fiduciary trusts. All wars leave their wounds and penalties, but neither the wars of other coun- tries, nor the former wars of our own, ever inflicted such evils as those through which we are passing. Articles of Thurlow Weed. 201 Exhaustive extravagance and luxury are among the worst " cankers of a long war.'' The Democratic party lost power when it lost its senses. Like the Federalists of 1812, the Democratic organizations of 1861, 1862, and 1863 sympathized with the enemies of the country, thus forfeiting and losing the confidence and support of patriotic citizens. The Republican party has enjoj^ed power for four~~Presidential terms. There have been during that long period just causes for popular complaint — causes of whicli an enlightened opposition might have taken advantage, but like the'~Bonrbons, modern Democrats neither " forget nor learn any thihgl" I would not regret to see the democracy re- stored to power, w^re its representative men, as in former times, " able, honest, and faithful to the Constitution." Such, liow- ever, is'iidt the " ehtertainment " to which we are invited. The Democratic tendencies are all in the wrong direction. Rebels and rebel sympathizers are coming to the surface. Should Republicans, either by their apathy or by wasting their suf- frages upon a misguided side-issue, allow their State tickets to be defeated, there is too much reason to fear that in 1876 the Government will fall back into the hands of those who at- tempted to destroy it in 1861. Thuklow Weed. A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION —NOT AN EXPO- SITION. A. D. 18Y4. The Centennial Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence — it should he celebrated as the greatest of all Fourths-of-July. To the Editor of The R. T. Tribune: Sir : In the Winter of 1861, when the subject of a celebra- tion of the Centennial Anniversary of our Independence was suggested to me in a conversation with the Hon. John Bigelow, 26 202 Selections fkom the I^ewspapek then our Minister to Fr|ince, it re-awakened all the enthnsiasm of my bojhood. Then the apjjroach of the " Fourth-of-July " was an annual source of grateful enjoyment. The rising gen- eratioji were made happy, and proud, and grateful — happy in witnessing a brilliant pageant, proud of a glorious Republic, and grateful to the men who had achieved our independence. The anticipations of John Adams, in the prophetic letter writ, ten July 4, 1776, were fully and happily realized. Those cele- brations were, for full three-quarters of a century, not only animating, but in the orations and sentiments elicited, an ardent love of country was inspired, patriotic fires were kindled and kept perpetually burning in all American hearts. Our national holidays were so few that we made the most of the 4th of July and the 22d of February. It occasions sad thoughts and feelings, in my old age, to see how coldly and artificially these national holidays are now observed. The present generation is growing up without the joyous anticipations of happiness which each return of the anni- versary of American Independence brought to every city, every village, every hamlet, every household, and every heart in the then really United States. We all once rejoiced in the " pomps, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illumi- nations," so glowingly foreshadowed by a signer of the Decla- ration. We all hoped and believed that time would work no change in this respect. I was, therefore, let me repeat, greatly pleased with the prospect of a Centennial celebration of the Anniversary of American Independence. I looked forward joyfully to a " Fourth of July " celebration kindred in manner and spirit, but broader and grander in scope — a celebration at Philadel- phia that would bring together hundreds of thousands of free men from all the States of the Union, to be witnessed by admiring guests from all the nations of the civilized world. Such, in brief, was the entertainment to which I supposed we were to be invited. From this pleasant reverie I was startled, a year or two since, by an announcement that the proposed celebration was to cost several millions of dollars. Why it was to be thus expensive I could not even conjecTure, until the explanation came in a Articles of Thurloav Weed. 203 form any thing but satisfactory. Instead of a celehraiion of tlie liundredtli anniversary of independence, we are to have an " Industrial Exhibition." This seems to me a wide departure from the original purpose and appropriate observance of a national holiday. What I looked for, and what I think was looked for by others, was a day of general jubilee, in which the whole American people could unite in expressions and mani- festations of heartfelt joy for their individual happiness and for our national prosperity during the hundred years. But this was a dehision. The occasion is to be turned to account in a pecuniary way. We are to have, not a Fourth of July cele- bration upon a broad basis, but a United States Fair, or cattle show. It is to be what might just as well be in any other year, or upon any other day of the year, as upon the Fourth of July, 1876. In my judgment the exhibition of scientific, meclianical and agricultural implements and products at Philadelphia would be quite as much out of place on the Fourth of July, 1876, as were the money-tables that desecrated the Temple at Jerusalem. We should, upon reaching the hundredth year of our national age, become, for one whole day, oblivious of " the almighty dollar." The approaching Centennial celebration sTiould, in an intensified degree, be to the Union what the cele bration of the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument was to IS^ew England. The voice whose glowingly patriotic utter- ances on that occasion claimed to be and seemed inspired by the spirit of John Adams, is now silent. But other voices, scarcely less gifted, and drawing inspiration from the altar at which Webster knelt, would create by their orations and anthems an atmosphere of eloquence and melody, awakening emotions and teaching lessons alike pleasant and useful to our people and country through all coming time. Such a celebra- tion would prepare the American people to enter upon the second century of their national existence under happy and grateful auspices. The appropriate and legitimate celebration of our Kational anniversary calls for no such prodigal expenditure of money as is contemplated by those who seek to convert it into a National Exposition. The moment it was understood that several mil- lions of dollars would be required, the public confidence anJ 204 Selections from the JSTewspapee the popular interest in the enterprise were staggered ; and the more the questions are canvassed the weaker they grow, We cannot afEord, while so many of our people are unemployed, while so many of our industries stand still, and while the Gov- ernment is financially crippled, to add seven, six, five, or even four millions to the national debt, merely to enable manufac- turers, mechanics and agriculturists to exhibit premium speci- mens of their handiwork, l^or is it strange that the people "hesitate about an expenditure of money for an anniversary celebration, greater than the entire original" cost of the Erie and Champlain canals. ISFor is it unreasonable when $10,000,- 000 are demanded for such an object that popular distrust should be awakened. A recent attempt to inveigle the city of New York into an appropriation of two and a half millions of dollars for a bogus " Industrial Exhibition " was, by the firm- ness of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, with difficulty defeated. In the contemplated expenditure of millions of dol- lars for the erection of a Crystal Palace at Philadelphia, I dis- cern in embryo a " ring " and " job " that may bring universal but unavailing discredit and mortification. The attempt to raise $10,000,000 has been received with so little of favor that its accomplishment cannot be reasonably anticipated. Why not, then, abandon the " Exposition " fea- ture and return to the original idea of a Centennial celebration ? The money required for this purpose would be readily and cheerfully contributed. The celebration should be enlightened and munificent. Invitations should be sent to all the Govern- ments with which we have relations, provision being made for extending a bountiful hospitality to all who come to us from abroad. Strangers should enjoy the freedom of our steamers and railways to visit all the points and objects of interest and attraction throughout our whole country. In this way our European visitors would obtain a far better knowledge of the progress and growth of the country, and of the wealth, intelli- gence, prosperity, and happiness of our people, than by looking through show cases at fancy articles in a Crystal Palace. T. W. New York, February 28, 1874. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 205 POLITICAL KEMIKISCENCES. A. D. 1874. The Integrity of Past State Administrations. REPLY TO SAMUEL J. TILDEN. To the Editor of the New York Times: Some three weeks before the recent State election, a letter from Hon Samuel J. Tildeu was pulilished in the journals of this citj, from which I then cut the following extract : "When Seward and Weed took the place of T\''right, Marcy and Flagg, public and official morality fell in the twinkling of an eye." One of the objects of Mr. Tilden's letter was to unite and arouse our citizens in an effort to reform their municipal gov- ernment. ISTot willing to embarrass Mr. Tilden while so zeal- ously and laudably occupied, I deferred the reply which his gratuitous aspersion called for, until his praiseworthy efforts, seconded by unprecedented unanimity on the part of the peo- ple, are rewarded with triumphant success. I now den}^, in terms intended to be as strong as our lan- guage furnishes, that " public and official " immorality was inaugurated under the administration of Gov. Seward. Dur- ing the four years that he occupied the executive chair, no official act of demoralization against the Governor or the Whig State officers was even alleged. And yet, during no period of our State history were political conflicts more exciting and bit- ter ; nor had any former administration encountered opponents more distinguished for experience and ability. No error of judgment and no defect in policy, no doubtful exercise of authority, and no mistake or omission in the dis- charge of public duty, escaped the watchful attention and vig- ilant eyes of Gov. Marcy, Mr. Flagg, Mr. Croswell, Gen. Dix, Michael Hoffinan, Abijah Mann and other leaders of the Dem- 206 Selections from the ISTewspaper ocratic party. An administration obnoxious to Mr. Tilden's accusation could not have survived its first year. , There was in those days, in the attention which the people gave to their own affairs, a salutary restraint upon rulers. During the interval of time between 183Y and 1845, the polit- ical character and complexion of our State underwent three revolutions, the question turning each time, not upon any alleged fraud or dishonesty against either party, but purely on questions of Government policy. If Mr. Tilden were asked to indicate any act of " official demoralization in Governor Seward's administration," he would either search the record in vain for evidence, or, what is more likely, admit that he had used the term inadvertently. It is, therefore, a matter of sur- prise that, with an executive record of which any of the dis- tinguished men who preceded or followed him in that office might be justly proud. Governor Seward's administration, long after the animosities of the day had faded out, should be made the occasion of injurious reflection. And the injustice of this is still more noticeable from the circumstance that this eminent statesman has recently closed a lengthened term of service in the Senate of the United States, and as a Cabinet Minister, not more distinguished for eminent ability than for chivalric integrity. JSTo private citizen, and no public servant in any age or country, was ever governed by a purer or a higher sense of personal and official honor and honesty than the eminent statesman to whose administration Mr. Tilden attributes the fall of "public and ofiicial morality." I appeal now to the character of succeeding State adminis- trations for evidence equally conclusive against Mr. Tilden's unjust accusation. Inasmuch as the Democratic journals and statesmen of former days held me responsible for Whig Gov- ernors, Whig State officers, etc., I may be pardoned now for saying that the political friends who for so long a period con- fided in my judgment, controlled the conventions by which Govs. Hamilton, Fish, Washington Hunt, John A. King and Edwin D. Morgan were successfully nominated. Will Mr. Tilden affirm that the standard of " public and official moral- ity fell" under the auspices of any of these gentlemen? Were not the interests and welfare of the people, not less than the honor and dignity of the State, consulted and pro- Articles of Thuelow Weed. 207 moted by all and each of them ? Cainiot the friends of Govs. Fish, Hunt, King and Morgan point to their gubernatorial record for conclusive evidence that financial integrity suffered nothing in their hands ? And while it may be deemed gratu- itous in me to say so, yet it is but an act of simple justice to admit that in its, Jin ahGial aspects the executive record of Gov. Seymour is a clean olle. If, as is often said, men are to be judged by the company they keep, it may be added that a politician may be judged by the men whom he elevates to high official position. In this connection it may be proper to remark that upon the " slate," of which so much was formerly said during the inan}^ years that I enjoyed tli'e confidence of the Whig and Republican parties, the following names were at different periods inscribed : Lieutenaut-Governors Bradish, Fish, Patterson, Raymond and Selden ; Secretaries of State John C. Spencer, Christopher Morgan, E. W. LeaveuAvorth and Horatio Ballard ; Comptrol- lers Bates, Cook, John A. Collier, Millard Fillmore, Washing- ton Hunt, Pliilo C. Fuller, James M. Cook and Robert Den- niston ; Attorney-Generals Willis Hall, Ambrose L. Jordan, Ogden Hoffman and Charles G. Myers ; Treasurers Jacob Haight, Alvah Hunt, James M. Cook, Benjamin Welsh, Jr., E. G. Spaulding and George W. Schuyler ; Canal Commis- sioners Samuel B. Ruggles, Asa Whitney, S. ITewton Dexter, George H. Boughton, Thomas Clowes, Charles Cook, Nelson J. Beach, Henry Fitzhugh and Hiram Gardner; Speakers Erastus- Root, Luther Bradish, George W. Patterson, Peter B. Porter, Jr., Robert H. Pruyn, Henry J. Raymond and Dewitt C. Littlejohn. My political opponents chose to give me more credit than I deserved for the election of IST. P. Talmadge, W. H. Seward, Hamilton Fish, Preston King and Edwin D. Morgan to the Senate of the United States. Tliese are among the prominent public men with whom I have been closely identified foi- more than forty years.- If the tendency of polit- ical demoralization dates back to'the administration of Gov. Seward, these men became obnoxious to Mr. Tilden's accusa- tion. If he seriously intended to impugn the characters of such men, I ask him to point out the spot or blemish that tarnishes their official reputation. In the State convention of 1865, where my influence (for 208 Selections from the Newspaper the last time) predominated, a State ticket was nominated to which I now refer with feelings of just pride. The following names were npon the " slate " before I left Albany : For Sec- retary of State, Francis C. Barlow; for Attorney-General, John H. Martindale ; for Comptroller, Thomas Hillhonse ; for Treasnrer, Joseph Hawland ; for Canal Commissioner, Alexander Barkley. At Syracuse, at the earnest solicitation of several influential friends, I consented to take Mr. Dorn of Schenectady as Canal Commissioner. That was a mistake; but in other respects the ticket was one of the best ever pre- sented to the people of our State. It was triumphantly elected, and although their duties at the close of the war were arduous and responsible, I assume that Mr. Tilden will not say, and did not intend to say, that the financial integrity or honor of our State suffered detriment or shame from the hands of Messrs. Barlow, Martindale, Hillhonse or Rowland. Just when the shameful financial demoralization in our State government did commence, might be easily shown, and although the duty would be an arduous, if not a thankless one, I should not, with better health, shrink from it. My present purpose is to show that the official frauds and corruptions in our municipal and State governments — frauds and corruptions as open and flagitious in character in our State Legislature as in our cit}^ government — did not originate either in 1838, under the auspices of Gov. Seward, or even as late as 1858, under the auspices of Gov. Morgan. Mr. Tilden pays a merited tribute to the public services and character of William L. Marcy, Silas Wright and Azariah C. Flagg. Among the eminent men who, during the last flfty years, have occupied distinguished positions in our State, none inspired a higher regard, or are remembered more gratefully by the people than Messrs. Marcy, Wright and Flagg. Com- mencing political life in the party to which these gentlemen ever belonged, I was separated from them in 1817, after which, I ■ for more than tliirty years, there was a great political gulf be- tween us. Long, however, before Govs. Marcy and Wright departed, it was my privilege to number them among my cherished personal friends. Between the only survivors of the once formidable "Albany Regency," — the venerable ex- Comptroller Flagg, Gen. John A. Dix and ex-Governor E. T • Akticles of Thuelow Weed. 209 Tliroop (now residents of this city) — and myself, the most agreeable personal relations exist — relations which soothe and brighten the evening of life. "^-— .«^. . Thuelow Weed. TEMPEEANCE AGITATIONS. A. D. ISYi. EEMINISCENCES op former temperance campaigns THE RE- FORMED DRUNKARDS " AND " TEMPERATE DRINKERS " THE MOVEMENT IN THE WEST SPONTANEOUS, MAGNETIC, AND EXTRA- ORDINARY. To the Editor of The N. T. Tribune : SiE : The Rev. John Hall, who comes so seasonably and happily to the support of all good and beneficent enterprises and missions, has anticipated, by the letter which you published on Saturday, a purpose which I had in contemplation, with this difference, that he has done his work much better than I could have hoped to. I will now content myself with a brief letter designed to confirm and fortify Dr. Hall's views, by observation, experi- ence, and results. Forty years ago the pervading evils of intemperance occasioned apprehensions as universal as the dis- ease. In the city of Baltimore, where intemperance was then as ruinously and loathsomely apparent as it is now in Liver- pool, England, a movement was inaugurated, which not only ■^worEecTa salutary reform there but extended rapidly to other cities and villages, especially in the middle and eastern States The workers in that really great movement were "■ reformed drunkards." These, composed mostly of mechanics who had experienced all the miseries of intemperance, could speak prac- tically and feelingly, and — if it be not irreverent to say so — they were, like the fishermen commandedto follow our Saviour, imbued with a wisdom not their own. At any rate they spoke to large audiences with telling effect. They were doing, 2t ' ,...„--.-— '^'^"" // 210 Selections fkom the Newspaper among the classes fiirnisliing the largest number of victims tc intemperance, the work which the great and good Father Mat- thew accomplished ten years afterward among the poor of Ire- land. In a word, the " reformed drmikards " of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kew York, Boston, Albany, and other cities were converting thonsands from intemperance and idleness to sobriety and industry, for which they were repaid by the grati- tude and blessings of the wives and children of ransomed hus- bands and fathers. But this auspicious movement was soon overtlirown. The temperance question was seized upon by a different class of reformers, who not only " twisted" it out of its original chan- nel and purpose, but soon ran it off the track and into the ground. Not content with seeing mechanics and laborers res- cued from habits which involved themselves and their families in a common ruin, they substituted a crusade against " temper- ate drinkers " in place of a reform which converted drunkards into sober men. In the " reformed drunkards' " labor, the laws of charity, kindness and affection were observed. In the war- fare against " temperate drinkers " the spirit of bitterness and denunciation was resorted to. State and county temperaned societies were organized, in which " total abstinence from all that intoxicates " was demanded. Ultra temperance men concerned themselves very little about the thousands who were poisoning and brutifying themselves with bad rum and worse whisky. Their anathemas were hurled at the' " temperate / drinker." In 1832, the great champion of ultra or impractica- ble temperance, as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the State Temperance Society, boldly and recklessly charged, in a printed document, that every victim of either sex to that fearful scourge, cholera, was either an intemperate or temper- ate drinker of alcoholic liquors. This unfounded and pruel accusation was soon followed by a step which brought discord and strife into our churches. The Executive Committee of the State Temperance Society avowed its determination to exclude wine from the communion table. While that crusade was in progress a simultaneous movement was made to induce the passage of laws prohibiting the sale of liquors and wines. Maine yielded to the pressure. Massachusetts and Connecticut partially succumbed. New "York was the scene of contention Articles of Thuelow Weed. 211 for several years. All these extreme measures were carried forward at the ex]iense of real temperance. Where prohibit- ory laws existed drunkenness still more abounded. The evils of intemperance, like other vices incident to human nature, can be greatly^jminished but not wholly eradicated. The zeal, persistence, and expenditure which have been devoted to the extreme and impossible, wisely and practically directed would have immensely mitigated the evils and averted the miseries of intemperance. But as was foreseen by the thoughtful and reflecting, the warfare upon " temperate drinkers," the crusade against sacramental wine, and the' cry for prohibitory laws, came either to an ignominious end, or are but feebly and spas- modically urged. Meantime, intemperance has made and is making hearts and liouseholds sad aud desolate, so much so as to provoke a movement by the women of our country, alike spontaneous, magnetic, and extraordinary. Of that movement, emanating from the highest and purest sympathies and emo- tions of the human heart, I can neither speak nor think but with profound and intense respect and admiration. It is a movement of those wlio are happily described as " Heaven's last, best gift to man " — a movement in defense of their chil- dren, and with the hope of reclaiming their husbands, their fathers, and their brothers. It was nobly cohcefved, lias been courageously prosecuted, and I should rejoice to see it crowned with success. IN'or can I bring myself to utter a syllable calcu- lated to embarrass or discourage the generous women who are endeavoring to rescue their homes and their hearths from the blight of intemperance. I have'simply indicated the rocks and reefs upon which the cause of temperance was in former years wrecked, for the information and guidance of temperance pilots of the present day. T. W. New York, April 6, 1874. J 212 Selections fkom the Newspaper A COMPLIMENT TO MR. WEED. A. D. 1824-1874. [From the New York Daily Tribune, February 12, 1874.] * * -^ ^ * * In tlie House of Assembly Mr. Batch- eller arose and s]3oke as follows : I desire to offer a resolution "^wliieh in its character is privileged. One of New York's most distinguished citizens — a gentleman whom we all know, if not personally, we seem to know him personally by reason of his historic character as connected with the public affairs of the State of New York, as well as our nation — is at present in our city. Fifty years ago he was a member of this body, and out of respect to this distinguished citizen I nc^ offer the follow- ing preamble and resolutions : Whereas, The Hon. Thurlow Weed was in the month of November, 1824, fifty years ago, elected as a Member of Assembly of the State of New York from the county of Monroe ; and whereas, he is this day present iii the city of Albany, and in the enjoyment of vigorous health and strength of body and mind ; therefore, Resolved, That as a mark of respect to him, being one of the oldest surviving ex-Members of this House, and in considera- tion of his distinguished and patriotic services to the State and i nation in times of both peace and war as a simple unofficial I citizen, we hereby tender the Hon. Thurlow Weed, during his stay at the Capitol, the privileges of the floor of this House. Resolved, That the Speaker and Clerk be requested to ten- der this invitation to Mr. Weed and present him with an engrossed copy of the same. The preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted. The Speaker presented the following : New York, February 6, 1874. To the Ron. James TF. Husted, Speaker of the Assembly : Sir: The resolutions offered by the Hon. Mr. Batcheller, and adopted by the Assembly, tendering to me the privileges of the floor of the House, an engrossed copy of which resolu- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 213 tions yon, in company with the clevk, had tlie Ivindness person- ally to present, impress me with a deep bnt pleasant sense of the honor they confer. I am still more profonndly impressed with a sense of Divine favor in being among the very few members elected to the Legislatnre in 1821 spared to become the recipient of such flattering recognition by the Legislature of 1871. Of the members of that Assembly, so far as I am informed, there are beside myself but three survivors. The Hon. James D. Mott, a highly respected citizen of Seneca county, although upon the shady side of eighty, is in the enjoyment of mental and physical health. The Hon. James E.. Lawrence, an emi- nent membei* of the Onondaga bar, who is also past his eightieth year, though as blind as Belisarius, enjoys good health, and is passing the evening of life clleerfull3^ Mr. Lawrence was again elected to tht/Assembly in 1837. The legislative experi- ence of the other survivor, Mr. Quackenboss, was exceptional, he having at diiferent periods represented four different con- stituencies. Lie was elected to the Assembfy from Delaware county in 182-1, from Greene county in 1829, and from New York in 1835, and to the Senate from the 3d District in 1830. He is now residing at Elizabeth, N. J. The election of 1821 brought several young men of much ability and promise into public life. Li their subsequent his- tory their aspirations were largely realized. Samuel Stevens, of Washington county, removed to Albany and devoted himself to his profession with distinguished success. Robert Monell, of Chenango, became successively a member of Congress and Circuit Judge. Ambrose L. Jordan, of Columbia, was elected to the Senate from the Hid District in 1825, and chosen Attorney-General in 1846, after which he removed to the city of 'New York. He attained the first rank at the bar of the metropolis. Of the liigh executive and judicial officers- of 1824, the Hon. Enos T. Throop, now in his 91st year, is the only survivor. In one respect I have been privileged probably beyond any citizen of the State. While a member of the Assembly of 1830j The Alhcmy Evening Journal was established, and from that time until 1862 I was personally acquainted with each and 214 Selections from the Newspaper every member. Yom* resolution, therefore, opens a long vista for reflection. In the seats yon now occupy, so familiar to my memory, I see and hear in my imagination, forms and voices then elastic and eloquent, but now formless and silent. Promi- nent among the Legislative statesmen to whom I have listened in former days were Elisha Williams, James Tallmadge, James McKown, David B. Ogden, Peter R. Livingston, Ogden Hoifman, Thomas J. Oakley, John C. Spencer, Elisha W. King, Michael Ulshoeffer, James Mullett, Henry G. Wheaton, Azariah C. Flagg, Francis Granger, George E. Davis, MillarS Fillmore, George W. Patterson, George P. Barker, Peter Gansevoort, Silas M. Stillwell, Philo C. Fuller, Samuel B. Ruggles, Francis B. Cutting, Dudley Selden, Charles Livings- ton, Charles P. Clinch, Michael Hoffman, John A. King, Luther Bradish, Greene C. Bronson, John A. Dix, Preston King, Abijah Mann, Willis Hall, Sanford E. Church, etc., of the Assembly, and Abram Yan Yechten, Cadwallader D. Col- den, Silas Wright, John Suydam, William H. Maynard, William H. Seward, Albert H. Tracy, Gulian C. Yerplanck, Daniel S. Dickinson, Erastus Root, A. B. Dickinson, Samuel Young, James M. Cook, Benjamin D. Silliman, Richard P. Martin, Samuel Governeur, etc., of tlie Senate. The remains of one of my colleagues in the Assembly of 1830, the Hon. Aaron Yanderpoel, then of stalwart frame and stentorian voice, now repose under the sod, scarcely twenty feet from the window of my library, where I am now writing. But this letter is unconsciously reaching beyond its appropriate limit. Its purpose was to convey to the members of the House over which you preside, my thanks for the honor they have done me, and to express the hope that, after discharging the responsible duties of the session — duties which, in the present financial condition of the State, deeply concern its welfare — in a manner alike useful and creditable to your constituents and yourselves, you may return in health and safety to your homes and your friends. Yery Respectfully, Your obedient servant, Thurlow Weed. The communication was read, and on motion of Mr. Alvord it was ordered to be printed. ^ '~~' Articles of Thuklow Weed. 215 STOLEN WATCH EECOYEKED. New York, February Y, 1874. To the Editor of the N. Y. Herald : Yonr kindly editorial reference to my loss of an old family watch enconrages me to believe tliat you will share in the gratification which its return has occasioned. The watch was handed to me last evening by Police Commissioner Smith, who declined on the part of the detective officers who had been diligently employed in "working up the case" to receive any compensation. My solicitude for the recovery of the watch was not at all in consequence of its intrinsic value. It was a New Year's present from my friend, the late James Savage, of Albany, in 1833. After the decease of a son and daughter the watch was sent by my wife, without my knowledge, to Geneva, iu Switzerland, where a portrait of Mar}' was beauti- fully eiuimeled on the outer, and appropriate memorials of James engraved upon the inner, case. It came back with these endearing associations as a surprise on a New Year's Day. Subsequently, after the death of my wife, her photograph was added. The chain was a present from Governor Fish, on the occasion of his leaving the Executive chair. This history of a family souvenir will enable you to judge how sensibly its loss was felt, and witli what grateful joy its return was wel- comed. Thuklow Weed. 216 Sklections from the I^ewspaper A POLITICAL REVIEW. A. D. 1S75. The Causes of the Republican Defeat. A letter to v. w. smith — the third term the trap into which the party has fallen GRADUAL CONTRACTION AND THE RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS, THE TRUE FINANCIAL POLICY RECONSTRUCTION STILL A DIFFICULT POLITICAL PROB- LEM OLD-TIME STATESMEN NEEDED THE DEMOCRATS NOT YET TO BE TRUSTED WITH POWER. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune : Sir : An accident from which I have now nearly recovered has delayed for ten days the article with whicli I threatened yon. It takes, as you see, the form of a letter to an old per- sonal friend. I try to think that, should it find its way into The Tribune, some of its topics may interest your readers.' " Very truly yours, Thurlow Weed. New York, February 16, 1875. Thxu'low Weed to Yivus W. Smith. Dear old Friend : Harriet read to me yesterday morning your letter to Speaker Blaine explanatory of the causes which have overthrown the Republican party. I listened to every word with intense interest. It is very able, and, in my judg- ment, for the most part, very wise. I greatly wish that the Republican city journals would re-publish it, for it could not fail to do much good. The causes you assign for our last Fall's disastrous defeat are quite sufficient for the overthrow of any dominant party held responsible by the people for pervading financial, commercial, manufacturing, and mechanical derange- ment and distress. And yet this general stagnation in business was inevitable, resulting as it did from the exhaustive conse- quences of a long and expensive war. While no administration could have averted the evils, ours, it must be admitted, failed ■ Articles of Thurlow Weed. 217 to do much that might have been done to relieve and mitigate them. It might, also, in doing some things and in omitting to do others, have calmed rather than exasperated popnlar feeling. The administration was serionsly weakened and wonnded by the Congressional " back pay grab," by Treasnry Department imbecilities, by Sanborn contracts, and by Washington City Government frauds. THE THIRD TERM THE GREAT STUMBLING-BLOCK. Still another and damaging element entered into the canvass of 1871. I refer to it reluctantly, and only because if we earn- estly intend to recover our lost ascendancy we must clearly understand the causes of our defeat, tliat abuses may be reformed, errors corrected, and illusions dispelled. When the press began to agitate about a " third term," few, if any, sup- posed that such an idea was seriously entertained. No such thought found responsible expression. But the agitation con- tinued until considerable" popular solicitude was awakened. As the elections approached. Republicans grew apprehensive and anxious. Republican members of Congress not only wrote to, but visited Washington in the hope of being authorized to con- tradict the accusation. But no word was spoken, no sign given by the only person who could l^y the utterance of a single sen- tence have disarmed his opponents and re-assured his friends. Tliere has not been a day or an hour since General Wash- ington's enlightened and patriotic views, enforced and fortified by the strong, clear, and conclusive arguments of General Hamilton, were submitted to the people, that any President, however wise, useful, and popular may have been his adminis- tration, could have secured or approached an election for a " third term." Nor was it ever alleged that Jefferson, Madi- son, Monroe, or Jackson (who served two terms), either per- mitted their friends to entertain such an idea, or deluded themselves with such an aspiration. If there be any thing unalterably fixed and determined in the American mind and heart — if there be any one principle to which our people have anchored, it is the " third term " example of Washington. And I am devoutly thankful that there is so much left of the teachings of our political fathers to which their descendants 28 218 Selections from the Newspaper cling. These things, added to the causes which you so clearly present, both explain and excuse the feeling which found expression through the ballot-box, against the administration. The Republican party, for the good work it had done before and during the rebellion, ought to have held the government at least one or two Presidential terms longer. The Democratic party, both on account of its misrule before and ifs disloyalty" "during the rebellion, justly forfeited the confidence of "the peo- ple. Nor has it evinced since the rebellion any thing of the wisdom which formerly characterized that great party. On the contrary its teachings and tendencies justify apprehension that a malign element, now as heretofore, exerts a preponderat- ing influence in its councils. Connecticut, for examj^le, having returned a Democratic Legislature, elects a United States Senator, whose sentiments and proclivities were against the government in its struggle to suppress the rebellion. I am happy to admit, however, that our own Legislature did not make itself obnoxious to this charge. Its Senator, Mr. Ker- nau, though always a pronounced Democrat, was loyal to the government and the Union, voting in Congress with his loyal Democratic colleagues, Ganson, Nelson, Odell, and Steele, for men and money to prosecute the war. It will be useful in our recuperative efforts, to remember that the Republican adminis- tration was beaten in 1874:, not by the augmented strength of its opponents, but by the alienation and a23athy of its friends. RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS. Could you and I confer personally on the great questions of the day, our differences of opinion now, as heretofore, would be found very slight. I believe the resumption of specie pay- ments entirely practicable within a reasonable time, and with- out serious injury to the industries of the country. It is not so much that specie is required for general use or circulation as that the people should be assured that specie can be obtained when it is actually needed. A general determination to resume would go more than half way toward its accomplishment. There is more sense and truth in the remark that " the way to resume is to resume," than at first meets the eye. Our real and only serious difficulty relates to our foreign creditors, the hold- ers of our bonds, and those from whom we purchase luxuries. Aktioles of Thuelow Weed. 219 There are modes, however, of dealing with both of these ques- tions. Let Congress, for instance, pass a law imposing dnties on silks, velvets, jewelry, wines, etc., limited in its operations to two years ; that would virtually prohibit during that period their importation, and resumption follows without an effort. The home obstacles to resumption are largely artificial, pro- duced by the few who profit at the expense of the many. Usurers and speculators are interested in keeping up the " rate of usance " on gold. The New York Gold Exchange Board is the heaviest drag in the way of resumption. If the transactions of that Board were hona fide, if that Board went no further than to purchase and sell the gold recpiired to pay duties and buy exchange, no objections would he heard. But, whatever may be the theory on which the Board is based, its practice is in conflict with it. The real, every-day business of the Board is sj>eculatwe. Gentlemen meet tliere to make bets upon the fluctuating price of imaginative gold, the intrinsic value of which does not, in the remotest degree, enter into the transaction. And yet, unfortunately, the standard value of gold is assumed and gov- erned throughout the country by the quoted prices in the New York Gold Board, while the millions of sales reported would, if scrutinized, dwindle down to thousands. Then, as you truly say, comes the gold sent to Europe for luxuries. The evidences of this infatuation are flaunted before our eyes upon the Fifth avenue, at balls, receptions, operas, and wherever else fashionable ladies " most do congregate." There are 10,000 IsTew York ladies whose costumes, when in full dress, cost at least $1,000 each. Fifteen years ago the same , number of fashionable ladies would have appeared adorned / quite as attractively at an average expense of $250. Ten thousand children under ten years of age are now elaborately and fantastically arrayed at an expense from $100 to $150 each, while the children of wealthy citizens, fifteen years ago, were simply but appropriately attired at an expense of $20 or $25. And it is painful to reflect that in consequence of this lavish expenditure upon a class that never earned a dollar, there are other tens of thousands without employment, and suffering for fuel, food, and raiment. And last, though not least, are the millions of gold sunk by Americans who idle '^ 220 SELECTioisrs from the I^ewspaper away both their time and tlieir money in Enroi3e. Ireland is not now the only conntry demoralized by absenteeism. Tliese great abnsesand follies reformed, nothing would be easier than the resumption of specie payments. Nor does resumption in any case necessarily involve onerous contraction. We have a strongly protected and uniform nation- alized currency. For all domestic uses that currency is just as good as gold and silver. It is even better than the debased metallic currency of Austria. And when the fact shall have been established that this paper can be converted into gol4 and silver, the people will prefer the bank-notes, leaving the gold and silver to meet the foreign demand. The President struck a chilling blow at resumption by advocating the prohibition of all notes under five dollars. Resumption, coupled with such a prohibition, would be indefinitely postponed, for the people would never consent to be deprived of the small notes of . solvent specie banking-banks. GRADUAL CONTRACTION FAVORED. Anxious as I am for the resumption of specie payments, I would not seek it by turning the financial screws so tightly as to arrest and paralyze business enterprises, upon the healthy working of which the prosperity of all classes depends. England, as a consecpience of her protracted wars, waited patiently more than twenty years for the opportunity of resum- ing specie payments without deranging her great manufactur- ing and commercial interests, or distressing her people. We, however, can, if we will, re-establish our national credit much sooner. Indeed, had Congress and the Treasury Department paved the way, and the people with one mind bravely deter- mined it should be so, the resumption of specie payments might have been hailed as the signal and crowning glory in the approaching celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of our national independence. Worse than all other evils and follies, if possible, has been the blind, reckless, and criminal squandering of the public domain. Most prominent among the bad legacies bequeathed to the country by Mr, Greeley, is the Homestead law. But I must do his memory justice by saying that, in his zealous and persistent advocacy of the Homestead law, he believed that he Articles of Thurlow Weed. 221 was serving the " toiling millions," for whose prosperity and elevation he ever labored. And yet how few, how very few, of those " down-trodden millions " ever possessed themselves of what he regarded as their greatest boon and blessing. The Homestead law, so far as its most popnlar featnre is concerned, has proved a failnre and a delusion. Things which cost noth- ing are but slightly valued. There would have been a larger number of actual settlers growing up in industry and develop- ing injto usefulness and prosperity, as farmers, mechanics, and artisans, under the law which furnished lands from the public domain to actual settlers at $1.25 an acre, than has been secured under the plausible Congressional idea of " voting every man a farm/' If the public domain had been preserved, we should now have in the proceeds of that rich inheritance, as we had after our war for independence, our war with England in 1812, and our earlier Indian wars, a fund, sufficient not only to pay the annual interest of our debt, but idtimately to retire the debt itself. I never objected to liberal appropriations of land from tlie public domain to aid the construction of needed railroads fTn'ough that domain. Such aid, limited to meritorious enter- prises, was wise and beneficent. But the abuses and squander- ings of the system have been alike discreditable to the govern- ment, and disastrous to the public welfare. The land given to aid the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad, for instance, was not only sufficient to complete the enterprise, but continues to be a soui'ce of large income to that company- Untold millions, in the form of " Land Grabs," which ought to have been reserved for the uses of the government, have gone to enrich speculators and capitalists. If Congress, in its alac- rity to dispossess the country of its domain, had reserved to the government one-half or even one-fourth of all precious metals, minerals, and coals, a handsome fund would have been "Tcscued. -=— - - -- NATIONAL PROSPERITY FROM A PROTECTIVE TARIFF. All you say on the subject of a protective tariff is historically true. I can never forget the high, prosperous and palmy con- dition of our country under the benign influences of a wise protective tariff from 1818 until 1836, when the Democracy of 232 Selections feom the Newspaper the !N^orth, to strengthen and perpetuate its political affiliations with the South, began to agitate in favor of a " judicious tariff.'' During the administrations of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, the welfare of our people and the strength of our gov- ernment were promoted and augmented by an enlightened national policy. All our interests moved forward harmoni- ously. All the industries of the country thrived. The farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, the merchant, the importer, and the capitalists found themselves working together with a reciprocal interest and to mutual advantage. While all our domestic occupations proved abundantly remunerative, our canvas — the canvas of our own well-laderi ships — whitened every ocean and sea. And amid all this individual prosperity and happiness, the nation was advancing by rapid, strides to wealth and power. The national debt was paid off, after which the surplus proceeds of the public domain accumulated so rapidly, and became so large, as to create apprehensions that it might become dangerous to the integrity and stability of the government. If we had that domain now unbroken, to fall back upon, it would jDrove stronger to our government as a financial resource than is the Bank of England to the British Crown. But those golden days and halcyon hours exist only in remembrance. History will not, I fear, in reference to a protective tariff, and certainly cannot in regard to a squandered public domain, " repeat itself." And unhappily the statesmen to whose wisdom, industry, and patriotism the country was then indebted for its wholesome laws, have passed either from earth or into private life. Much as I desire, and greatly as we need, a wisely adjusted tariff, I see no way of obtaining it until successors in the Administrative and Congressional Depart- ments of the government equal to the crisis and the emergency are found. STATESMEN OF PURE CHAEACTEE NEEDED. ]^or dare I anticipate such happy changes until the fearful demoralization occasioned by a war of unprecedented magni- tude has worked out its evil mission, nor until suffrage, now cheapened and degraded, rising to the intelligence, discrimina- tion and dignity of earlier and better days, asserts its preroga- tive in the elevation of representatives. For, let it be widely Articles of Thuklow Weed. 223 understood tliat the experience and teachings of a repnbhcan form of government prove nothing so alarmingly suggestive of and pregnant with danger, as that cheap suffrage involves and entails cheap representation. But for the " good time " which it is to be hoped is " coming," we must wait patiently for a generation that will return to Congress such men as Henry Clay and John J. Crittenden, from Kentucky ; Daniel Web- ster and John Davis, from Massachusetts ; Timothy Pitkin and Truman Smith, from Connecticut ; George Evans, from Maine ; Horace Everett, from Yermont ; Albert H, Tracy, Francis Granger, Millard Fillmore, and Thomas C. Love, from New York ; Samuel L. Southard and Theodore Frelinghuysen, from ISTew Jersey ; John Sargent and Horace Binney, from Pennsylvania ; John W. Clayton, from Delawai-e ; Willis P. Mangum and Edward Stanley, from North Carolina ; John Bell and Bailie Peytcm, from Tennessee ; Elisha Whittlesey, Thomas Ewing, Joseph Yance, Thomas Corwin, and Samuel F. Yinton, from Ohio, and Edward Bates, from Missouri. While I agree and sympathize with you in all possible efforts to promote the welfare of the laboring classes, by securing to them steady employment with remunerative wages, I am quite sure that you will agree with me in reprobating the combina- tions and influences which seek to extort through trades-unions the largest possible amount of money for the smallest possible equivalent in labor. Ten and eight hour systems, and the " strikes " consequent upon them, have been a most prolific source of mischief and evil, pecuniary and social, to the labor- ing classes. The despotism of these " unions " has become unendurable. Master mechanics are not permitted to l.ibor in their own workshops. Less than half the number of bricks formerly laid by journeymen are now arbitrarily held to be a day's work. And the number of apprentices by whom trades are to be learned is limited and fixed, not by master mechanics, but by the " unions." In a few years, therefore, we shall be wholly dependent upon foreigners, subject to the control of trades-unions, for our mechanical labor. Meantime, thousands of boys who ought and, but for the evil influences just referred to, would have been learning trades, by means of which they would become useful citizens, are either variously seeking precarious support from temporary 224 Spxections feom the Newspaper employments, oi- by unavoidable idleness acquiring habits wliicli consign tliem to our houses of refuge and penitentiaries. There are at this moment hundreds of fatliers and other hun- dreds of widowed mothers looking in anguish and despair upon the fate which awaits their sons — a fate wliich, but for the tyranny of unions in preventing boys from becoming apprentices, might be averted. Heretofore the intelligence, enterprise, public spirit, patriotism, and virtue, personal, politi- cal, social, and moral, of the mechanical classes have been our boast and pride. Through these agencies villages have grown into cities, and our cities developed into wealth and power. I knew nothing in early life of these miserable eight and ten hour systems, and I owe whatever I have since enjoyed of success and consideration, to the habit as an apprentice, a journeyman, and a small beginner on my own account, of devoting from eleven to twelve hours a day diligently and cheerfuU}^ to active and healthful physical labor. What we want first is a governmental policy. State and ISTational, which will place the necessaries of life within the reach of the laboring classes at prices that ranged through the forty years preceding the breaking out of the rebellion. Con- sequent upon such a change, labor would be in free demand at rates which could not be injuriously affected by the exactions of caj)ital on the one hand, or by pernicious trades-union des- potism on the other. Let it be remembered always that the real purpose of these combinations — for which we are unhap- pily indebted to the worst specimens of Enghsh, French, and German radicalism — is, first as "Socialists" and then as " Communists," to sow the seeds of agrarianism and infidelity among us. These insidious enemies to all that is good and virtuous and hopeful, affect the welfare of the laboring classes. And yet not one of these agitators is found laboring himself or seeking employment for others, except through agencies that derange and embarrass the industries upon which the mechani- cal and laboring classes must ever rely for employment and support. DIFFICULTY OF RECONSTRUCTION. Reconstruction, from the beginning a most diflicult problem, has been embarrassed by a want of wisdom at Washington, and by embittered memories in the South. The disorganized Articles of Tiiuelow Weed. 225 condition of the Southern States has attracted there bold and unscrupnlons Northern adventurers, who, associating with dis- banded and demoralized soldiers, have remained to devas- tate a conquered country. These wretches have iniiicted upon South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, etc., etc., the worst possible specimens of State government. At the infamies per- petrated in these and other rebel States, civilization blushes. And yet those who suffer from carpet-bag dishonesty and oppression are themselves largely to blame for it. When rebellion was conquered, if the white inhabitants, ^nelding to the inevitable and recognizing their former slaves as freedmen, had treated them kindly and offered them employments with reasonable wages, -the designs of carpet-baggers would have been thwarted. ^ I affirm this because there is undeniable evi- dence that in localities where the law of kindness prevails, where masters endeavored to conciliate their former slaves, they were uniformly successful, and that in such localities not only nothing is heard of a " war between races," but reconstruc- tion has been practically accomplished. These instances of good sense and forbearance, I regret to saj'^, are exceptional. For the most part those who rushed into a rebellion to divide the Union are now as aggressive and defiant as they were when Fort Sumter was fired upon. Unable to establish a Confed- erate government, they seemed determined to avenge them- selves upon the freedmen, who, but for the madness and folly of their masters, would have still remained in bondage. The "■ White Leagues " of Louisiana were only too accur- ately described by General Sheridan. Such organizations are not needed to subserve the purj^oses of good government. They are banded together to hunt, hound, and, if needs be, murder the negroes. Reconstruction, therefore, seems as difficult and distant as it was at the close of the war. Georgia, always less ultra and more practical than South Carolina or Alabama, has re-established law and order. ITorth Carolina, infamously gov- erned for two or three years, seems now to be doing better. That United States soldiers are required in some excited sec- tions to protect freedmen cannot be doubted. The officers in command should be men of intelligence and prudence, acting only when the duty is clearly imperative. In Louisiana there has been nothing but misrule, disorder, fraud, corruption, 29 226 Selections from the ^^Tewspapek anarchy and violence from tlie close of tlie war. It is difficnlt to ascertain wliicli party or what faction is the worst. General Grant was not, I fear, fortunate in his early appointments of Federal officers ; nor do I believe the Kellogg government wortli}^ of tlie sacrifices required to maintain it. The Congres- sional Committee recently in Kew Orleans may find a remedy for the evils, which have so long scourged that fertile and rich but miserably distracted State. THE OLD WHIG ELEMENT AT THE SOUTH. I cherished the hope, .when peace was restored, that the old Whigs of tlie South, some of whom reluctantly consented to secession, and nearly all of wliom were forced into rebellion, would form a nucleus for reconstruction. There was a numer- ous band of enlightened and patriotic Whigs who resisted nullification, and who for ten or fifteen years afterward, by boldly opposing the encroachments and aggressions of Southern Democrats, bridged over many dangers, and prevented a catas- trophe until ultra men and malign councils North and South precipitated secession and rebellion. The Union had no truer, or bolder, or more devoted friends through all its political trials for twenty-five years than the Whigs of the South, whose rep- resentative men were distinguished alike for talents, integrity, and patriotism. Prominent among these eloquent and earnest friends of the Union were William C. Preston, of South Caro- lina ; William A. Graham, Lewis Williams, and Kenneth Raynor, of North Carolina ; John Taliaferro, Alexander H. H. Stuart, and John M. Botts, of Yirginia ; William C. Dawson, Thomas Butler King, and James L. Seward, of Georgia ; John White and James T. Morehead, of Kentucky ; Meredith P. Gentry, Christopher H. Williams, and Joseph L. Williams, of Tennessee. That Whig element bound Tennessee and Ken- tucky to the Union, and but for adverse influences would have held North Carolina and Yirginia, thus so narrowing the boundaries of rebellion as to have greatly lessened its horrors. I am even yet unwilling to relinquish the hope that the Whig spirit of the South will re-assert itself, and, uniting with con- genial Northern sympathies, work out wholesome results. Articles of Thurlow Weed. 227 financial matters expansion admissible. I had hoped that Congress would be able to reach and remove some of the causes which paralyzed the business inter- ests of the country — something that, as Spring advances, would give life and elasticity to trade, and restore all classes to their accustomed occupations. If this object can only be reached by expansion, I cannot but think that even that dreaded alternative is preferable to the dead ccdiii which has caused all our material interests to stand still for more than a year. I make this concession because I have come to the con- clusion that we can resume specie payments without distressing the laboring classes by stringent " contraction." V THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL. Too much of the time of Congress has, I fear, been con- sumed by the Civil Rights bill — a bill, in its general scope and purpose, of questionable wisdom. All has been done by Constitutional Amendments and Congressional enactments that is necessary to place freedmen upon a perfect equality with our own race. " Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness " has been guaranteed to them as to us. They are free to enter upon an open and fair field, competing with ns upon equal terms for all the advantages and compensations of industry and enterprise. We enjoy, in common, all the rights and privi- leges, and are subjected to all the duties and responsibilities conferred and imposed by the constitution and the laws. The disabilities of the freedmen, if they are to be regarded as dis- abilities, are providential, and cannot be relieved by human laws. The Almighty created two distinct races, giving to each a country and a climate adapted to their respective organiza- tions. If one race has been more favored than the other, if, too, one race has been cruelly oppressed by the other, it is for some inscrutable reason, into which it would be presumptuous to inquire. But, so far as our country is concerned, the wrongs of the subjugated race have been avenged. We have converted slavery into freedom, elevated chattels into citizens. We have extended to the freedmen all the personal and politi- cal rights we possess ourselves. Further we cannot go. Social equality is alike impracticable and impossible. When we reach this point a "higher law" comes in — a law which no 228 Selections from the JS'ewspaper human enactments can annul — a law whicli will remain in full force and effect until white becomes black, or black becomes white. All enactments, however stringent, and with whatever penalties, designed arbitrarily to constrain social equality, will prove abortive. Tliey cannot be enforced. Laws to compel social equality among ourselves would prove equally ineffectual. Indeed, nothing would be regarded as more absurd and pre- posterous than an attempt to regulate social intercourse by statute laws. Society has its own laws, unwritten to be sure, but clearly defined and well understood. These laws are founded in good sense, are adapted to the condition of all classes, and all classes recognize and accept them. the DEMOCKATIC party and the PRESroENCY. I do not believe it expedient or safe, witli the existing organ- izations and proclivities of the Democracy, to intrust that party with supreme power. I do not say this in a partisan spirit, for at ni}^ time of life, and with the views and feelings I entertain and cherish, I desire nothing but to see the government of my country well and wisely administered. I should have learned little from the political ordeals through which I have passed, if, toward the close of a long life, I were to attriljute all that is bad to one party, and all that is good to another. I would prefer the election of an enlightened and honest Democrat as President to the elevation of an incapable Republican of equiv- ocal integrity. When I speak of an honest and enlightened Democrat, I have in my mind some such men as General Han- cock or General Ward, some time Minister to China from Jjreorgia; or, as far as I have been able to form an opinion of his ability and character. Governor Newton Booth, the newly- elected Senator from California. But with the purposes and passions of the Democracy, ISTorth and South, its nominee for President is not likely to belong to that category ; and hence I ardently hope that the Republican party will so far re-assure the people of its devotion to their prosperity and the welfare of our country as to be able to elect a capable, experienced, and inflexibly honest man as our next President. Of the chances and probabilities of our being able to recover in 1876 the ground lost in 1874, I cannot form a trustworthy opinion, for, as you know, I have been in constrained retire- Articles of Thuklow Weed. 229 meiit for more than six years. I am, therefore, without the information and opportunities upon which an intelligent esti- mate can be safely- based. We must have constant access to the public journals from all sections of the Union, and as con- stantly inhale a political atmosphere, to be enabled to perceive and comprehend " events which cast their shadows before." You and I worked together as Whig and Rej)ublican journal- ists for nearl}^ forty years. We had something to do all that time, in forming and informing parties and peoples. And when the candidates of both parties were in the field, the issues clearly taken, and the canvass in progress, we almost invariably \ foresaw the result of important elections. But, although you are'several years my junior, we are both in the " sere, the yel- \ I low leaf of life." We must leave to others, therefore, the y duties and responsibilities which were formerly confided to us. Instead of lagging like a superannuated actor " superfluous on the stage," it becomes me to accept the situation incident to old age and its infirmities. But, while a kind Providence spins out the attenuated thread of life and preserves my facul- ties, I cannot become wholly indifterent to the welfare of my country. While in the world we must, to some extent, be of it. I hope, however, not to be seen or heard obtrusively, and ^'''iliat in my bushel of chaff some kernels of ' wlieat may be found. " T. W. I*^EW York, January 30, 1875. ANDREW JOHNSON'S EETURN TO THE U. S. SENATE. A. D. 1875. WHY THE EETURN OF THE EX-PEBSIDENT TO POLITICAL LIFE SHOULD NOT BE REGRETTED INFIRMITIES AND REDEEMING TRAITS A SENTINEL AT THE DOOR OF THE TREASURY. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune : Sir : The " whirligig of time," it seems, has returned Andrew Johnson to the Senate of the United States ! This 230 Selections feom the ISTewspapee result indicates a mnddled condition of political sentiment in Tennessee. And yet I cannot regard tlie matter from jonr point of view. There is a lesson in the shifting fortnnes of this remarkable man which may be read advantageously. There is inherent strength, if not intrinsic worth, in the char- acter of a man who, after sinking out..pf sight covered with obloquy, not only rises to the surface, but resumes his position "aTs a Senator in Congress! I cannot bring myself to regret Andrew Johnson's return and I will endeavor briefly to tell you why. First, I remember with lively gratitude his brave devotion to the Government and IJnion from the beginning to the end of the Rebellion, "When other Southern Senators advocated secession and threatened disunion, Andrew Johnson rebuked and denounced them. When the overt act of rebellion was committed, he pronounced treason a crime, invoking the pun- ishment due to traitors. I was a good deal with Yice-Fresident Johnson, in company with the late Preston King, immediately after the assassina- tion of President Lincohi. I know that his first solicitude was to ascertain and carry out the policy of Mr. Lincoln. I know that he went to the White House with that determina- tion. He inherited the political hostilities which had already assumed formidable proportions in the Senate against Mr. Lincoln, but, unfortunately, he did not inherit Mr. Lincoln's temper or tact. Before President Johnson had uttered one syllable, or had done one act subjecting him to the just censure of Pepublicans, he was assailed by Senators Sumner, Wade, Chandler, etc., and denounced in leading Republican journals. At that crisis I had anxious interviews with him, and while he did not conceal his sense of the injustice of these assaults, he avowed and reiterated his determination to " fight the question out, in the Republican party." Subsequently, and on several occasions, I had earnest conversations with him in rela- tion to his views and policies, and I am free to say that I left him on those occasions with a high sense of his ability and wisdom, and with unwavering confidence in his integrity and patriotism. And yet that wise m^n — for such, under the guidance of judgment and reason, he really was — during the progress of events was bereft of both, and became the victim Articles of Thuklow Weed. 231 of passion and unreason. I met him at Albany while '•' swing- ing round the circle," and endeavored in a brief interview to show him that men, in a popular sense, were like flies, and that more of them conid be caught with honey than with vin- egar. In other words, I suggested that, when during his toiir e was called upon by his constituents for speeches, instead of "hitting out right and left" against Congress, Congress not being there to reply, he might find objects and works of improvement and progress to admire and commend, in which his audience would be interested. I urged that speeches consisting of Orator Choate's "glittering generalities" would prove more acceptable to his hearers and far safer for himself, than all the anathemas he could fidminate against his enemies. But he was aggressive and belligerent to a degree that ren- dered him insensib'le to considerations of prudence, and those common-sense qualities which, under other auspices, were marked traits in his character. And thus he proceeded on his evil mission through many States, dealing blows right and left, which neither hit nor harmed anybody but himself and his friends. His speeches strongly reminded me of the dog in Dombey and Son, who was forever "barking round the cor- ner at an enemy he had never seen." ""Returning to Washington, the spirit of antagonism intensi- fiedj he became the victim of a delusion wiiich provoked and precipitated his impeachment. And yet, when his trial came, nothing was proved to require or justify his conviction. He was impeached as men are not unfrequently indicted — upon a general but vague popular idea that they have been guilty of something and ought to be punished. And so President John- son, serving out his accidental term, exasperating his enemies and mortifying his friends, passed into a retirement from which no one supposed he would ever emerge. Nor could any common man have dug himself out of a pit so deep and dark as that into which he had fallen. Andrew Johnson's defects are constitutional. With his loss of temper, reason and" "common sense depart. His belligerency on the stump while working his way up to place and power was effective, but when the highest position in the government had been attained, other qualities and elements of mind and tempera- ment were needed. And here President Johnson's deiicien- I / 232 Selections from the Newspaper cies became disastrously conspicuous. Striking upon this rock, his political fortunes were wrecked. But underlying his intinnities of temper, there are strong redeeming traits of character — traits which, in tlie estimation of the people, fit him for public usefulness. And this conviction — a conviction of which the people of Tennessee themselves were scarcely conscious — furnishes a solution to the problem of his most unexpected return to public life. I cannot, therefore, I re- peat, regard this apparently capricious result in a simply amus- ing or ludicrous aspect. It is suggestive and significant. There was method in the madness of the Tennessee Legis- lature. If Andrew Johnson, oblivious to the bad passions and worse record of his last two years of Presidential experience, comes back to Congress the representative of his earlier and better days, not only Tennessee, but the whole conntry, will have reason to rejoice iif his political resurrection. Andrew Johnson, like his colleague, George W. Jones, from the. same State, was for long years a sentinel at the door of the Treas- ury. Their voices and their votes were ever and with flint- like inflexibility heard and recorded against " jobs and grabs " "oT every~^scription. Such men were never more needed than now in Congress. Every honest Senator and Hepresent- ative added to those who can be counted npon to stand up firmly against claims and combinations with which the public Treasury is menaced, should be welcomed and cherished, irre- spective of party, by all the friends of good government. New York, January 29, 1875. T. W. HOW EMIGKANTS WEKE ROBBED BEFORE THE BOARD OF EMIGRATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN TLIE CITY OF NEW YORK. [From the N. Y. Herald, 1875.] A Herald reporter paid a visit yesterday afternoon to Mr. Thurlow Weed, and found him in the midst of a number of little boys and girls to whom he was distributing oranges and ^andy. Articles of Thuelow Weed. 233 Their little faces were beainiiig with pleasure as they toddled off with their allowance, which, it appears, they are in the habit of receiving every week. When Mr. Weed learned the object of the"irEEALD reporter's mission he very courteously made the following statement, giving his views on the Emigra- tion Commission : — Mr. A¥eed stated : — " Before the law passed by which Castle Garden was made a landing place, the head money was paid to the Connnissioners of Alms-houses and was in part devoted to sup- port pauper emigrants, but it was alleged it was also largely used for political purposes. There was no form of protection for emi- grants, who became' an easy prey to emigrant boarding-house keepers and emigrant runners, by both of whom they were mercilessly deceived and defrauded. The boarding-house keeper andrunner business was so protitable that men of unscrupulous character, but of courage and intelligence, became engaged in it. Those who remained in the city, unless they were fortunate enough to obtain employment, soon became paupers or thieves. Those whose destinations were westward were compelled either to pay extortionate prices for tickets or were deceived with worthless ones. Large numbers reached Albany daily who sup- posed they had paid their passage either upon the Erie or Cham- plain canal to their various destinations and found themselves with utterly worthless tickets. At Albany, as in New York, there was a large combination of adroit runners who contrived to get what was left to the emigrant by their confederates in New York. I saw and heard much of the wrongs and sufferings of emigrants at Albany, and, aided by two or three friends, endeav- "ored to protect them against the sharks. Having denounced them by name in the Eotning Journal I was immediately plastered with suits for libel. Two or three lawyers of dis. reputable character became counsel for the thieves. I was one day recpiired to appear at the same hour befoi'e three different magistrates — one in the city and two in adjoin- ing towns. I came to New York in the hope of induc- ing the municipal government to interpose its protec- tion, but found little or no disposition to aid the emigrant. Meantime the Legislature assembled and I determined to see 30 \J 234 Selections from the N^ewspaper wliat could be cloiie in that direction. Preliminarily I con- ferred with Bisliop Hnghes, Robert B. Mintnrn, and Andrew Carrigan — eminently good citizens, now deceased. The bill for the protection of emigrants wliicli was introduced, encoun- tered the opposition of the Mayor (Fernando Wood), and the Common Council. As it was progressing through the Assem- bly, a committee consisting of three Democrats and two Whigs, was sent to Albany to oppose its passage. The Whig members of that committee were Abraham Wakeman and Thomas McElrath, both of whom, after a very brief interview, saw that they had utterly misconceived the character and object of the bill, and immediately returned to ]S"ew York. The city gov- ernment, however, strengthened themselves by sending John Van Buren to Albany. The city delegation, being Demo- cratic, sympathized with the Mayor and Common Council. There was, however, one honorable exception — John E. Dev- liuj always true to the impulses of justice and humanity — who gave his support to the bill, and carried it through the Assem- bly, aided largely in his good work by the zeal and efforts of the late Judge Harris, who was chairman of the committee to which it was referred. In the Senate it encountered a still more determined opposition, and but for the casting vote of a Demo- cratic Lieutenant-Governor (the Hon. Addison Gardiner, of Rochester), it would have been lost. The first Emigrant Commis- sioners who were named in that law were men of the highest, purest, and most benevolent character. Among them I remem- ber Gulian C. Yerplanck, Robert B. Minturn, David C. Colden, William C. Havermeyer, and Andrew Carrigan. These gentlemen set themselves to work battling the emigrant boarding-house keepers, the emigrant runners, scalpers, etc., who were aided by the Mayor and his minions, amid the perils of ship fever, with the courage of martyrs and the tenderness of Sisters of Charity. After a struggle of several months, in which all the enemies of the emigrant were discomfitted and an end put to their plunderings and robberies, their operations were transferred to Europe, where for a few months they were successful in palming worthless American railway, steamer, and canal-boat tickets upon emigrants departing from the various ports in Europe. The Commissioners, on learning that the runners had established themselves abroad, sent an agent Articles of Thurlow "Weed. 235 (Hobert Murray), to Europe, fortified with letters from Gov- "ernor Marcy, tlieu Secretary of State, who, in less than three months, routed the rascals in every port where they had established theniselves. And now, for more than ten years the Emigrant Cominissioners, by the facilities Castle Garden has aftorded, have protected the emigrants from robbery ; have furnished them not only with all the information they desired, but with tickets throughout the Union and to Canada, by the most ""cRrect routes and at the lowest practicable rates ; while from the passenger tax those splendid edifices and institutions which furnish education to the orphans, and support to the infirm and sick, without expense to the city, were erected. The vacancies that occurred in the Board of Emigrant Commissioners during the administration of Governors Fish, Hunt, King, and Morgan, were filled with gentlemen of the highest character, by whom the eificiency and usefulness of tlie Board was continued. Subsequently, how- ever, partisan influences crept in, and the usefulness of the Board was thus impaired. But in 1872, Governor Dix, by the appointment of an excellent non-partisan commission, restored the character of the Board. I regard the decision of the United States Court, if it should have the effect of breaking up the Emigrant Commission, as a great calamity, the evils of which will not only be felt throughout our own country, but subject the citizens of the Old World who will hereafter seek homes among us, to a renewal of the scenes of plunder and rapacity which disgraced our city and State previous to 'the passage of the law which established Castle Garden as a landing depot for emigrants. I cherish the hope that this great wrong may be averted by some action of our Legislature." 236 Selections from the I^ewspapee THE BIBLE m SCHOOLS. [Prom the New York Coraniercial Advertiser, April 15, 18T0.] To the Editor of the New Yorh Times : I read with equal interest and approval your very able vin- dication of the Bible for schools. Regarding the argument on this subject as both conclusive and exhausted, I desire to call the attention of all who^ realize its importance to a practical and immediate way of introducing the Bible into schools. Sixty years ago a class-book entitled The Beauties of the Bible was in use in the schools of the l^orth River counties. The selections from the Bible were made by Ezra Sampson, of Hudson, and were not only unexceptionable, but excellent. I say with a clear, calm, full conviction, that no child, however perverse, belonging to a class in which The Beauties of the Bible was read daily, failed to be improved by it. As the seed of the sower — most of which fell upon stony ground, yet some kernels took root — -sprang up and bore fruit, so was it with this book. Though even unconscious of it, some of the lessons or influences told favorably upon the future of all. What child, for example, however bad, could resist all the useful lessons, touching incidents and beautiful morals of the " Story of Joseph ? " My main object, however, in this brief communication, is to call the attention of school officials (including my friend S. S. Randall), trustees of children's asylums, homes, etc., of parents and of guardians, to the Beauties of the Bible, an obsolete book, copies of which, however, can probably be hunted up by Leggett and other " old book " collectors in Nassau street. Let this book be generally restored to our primary schools, and there will be found in the rising generations better men and better women. The selections make a volume of 27Y pages, with a preface and dissertation of twelve pages. I have a copy published by Tracy & Bliss, of Lansingburgh, forty-eight years ago, which is at the service of any school officers or teachers who may want to see it. T. W. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 23Y THE EELIGIOITS KEYIVALISTS — MOODY AND SANKEY. A. D. 1875. THAT WONDERFUL POWER OF THE REVIVALISTS OF THE HIPPO- DROME AN ENTHUSIASM, OR AN INSPIRATION THAT LIFTS THEM ABOVE THE PLANE OF THE MERELY INTELLECTUAL. Tliurlow Weed sat alone in his pleasant parlor yesterday, when a Sun reporter called on him. His large arm chair was drawn close to a window overlooking a broad plat of vacant ground. The soft light falling through the window panes npon his head made his frosted hair fairly radiant, and his deeply- sunken eyes sparkled beneath their bnshy brows. Pnlling a chair up close in front of his own for his visitor, Mr. Weed leaned his head on his hand, pressing three fingers npon his lips, an attitude he frequently takes when meditating. "I have come, Mr. AYeed," said the reporter, "to ask whether you are willing to talk about the Hippodrome meet- ings, in which you are understood to be deeply interested." Mr. Weed thought a moment and then replied, with a smile that made his face really beautiful : " Yes, sir ; I am willing to talk about those meetings and the impressions they have made upon my mind. I have been very much interested in them. The wonderful power, and the directness and the eifectiveness of Moodj^'s preaching have struck me very forci- bly, but I have been still more interested in Sankey's singing. That I consider quite marvelous. The voices of so many per- sons joining with him iirsTiiging produce an effect that is very pleasing to me. I am not personally acquainted with either of the gentlemen, but I consider their power for good to be very great. Mr. Moody's preaching has qualities in it that are not found in the preaching oi some of our educated ministers. His earnestness and directness, and his wonderful power of illustration, lead one to meditate seriously on religious subjects. I go to the meetings every day more or less favorably im- pressed with the work of those two men. The directness of Moody's anecdotes gives great eifectiveness to his preaching. You may have heard him tell the story of two young men, 238 Selections from the Newspapek strangers to eacli other, who were put into the same room, and when they went to bed, although both desired, yet neither dared to kneel and pray, for fear of the possible ridicule of his companion. The second night they could endure it no longer, and botli knelt, and afterward followed explanations of how shame for their religion had led them to neglect the per- formance of the duty that their consciences required of them. TELLING A STORY WITH EFFECT. " The story of the irreligious family, one of whose members — -a son — becoming interested in the Sunday school had his convictions awakened, ancl- afterward was the means of convert- ing his mother, Moody tells in such a way that the effect of it is very powerful. Another of Moody's illustrations that has interested me very much he gave the other night when talking about the trial of Christ before Pilate. ' Let us now suppose,' said lie, ' that we are conducting the trial right here.' And then he went on and illustrated so clearly the insufficiency of the evidence against the Saviour before a court of justice, that the minds of all keenly appreciated the points he made. At times he is very eloquent. If you were at the meeting last night you must have been moved by his prayer. He seemed to be carried right forward, and prayed with an earnestness and a power that were really very effective. " I do not know how he got his fund of anecdotes and his power of illustration. As you know, he is an unlettered man, and yet there are few highly educated ministers who could produce the effect that he does. Both he and Sankey seem to be inspired with an enthusiasm, or a magnetism — I don't know what to call it — which lifts them above the intellectual level in which they are placed. " Carrying the principle into literature we see the same thing. I have wondered often where Shakespeare got that power which enabled him to write his wonderful plays. He had no advantages that could have raised him above the edu- cated men of his time. What was there in his intellectual cul- ture that could put him head and shoulders above them all ? He was in some way inspired with such power that the brains of all the men of his age and of the ages that have suc- ceeded it, aggregated, would not make a Shakespeare. Articles of Thurlow Weed. 239 " Moody's power of bringing ont clearly the points lie makes is very great. Last night, I think it was, he spoke of Cln-istians being ashamed of their religion, and contrasted it with the boldness with which those whom he called the wor- shipers of the devil avowed their irreligion, and seemed to take pride in their sinfulness. How true it is ; you see men who use oaths apparently glorying in the display of their wickedness, and yet I have never — I am an old man — and I have never heard that point brought out so clearly before . THE GREATEST MOVEMENT OF THE CENTURY. " There has been no such movement as this in the relio-ious world, I was going to say, within the present century. There have been men who have stirred communities, and Whitfield and some others have exerted great power over large bodies of men. About fifty years ago there was a young man named Summerfield in this country, who had wonderful poM-er as a preacher. He was a native of Ireland, but his intellect wore out his body. He literally preached himself to death. He used to get so enthusiastic and energetic in his preaching that the blood would spurt into his mouth while he was talking. With these, and a few other exceptions, there has been no great religious movement like this since the beginning of the century — certainly, not within forty years. " The work of Moody and Sankey is naturally of that kind that is especially effective with the unlettered multitude- And this is a point I have thought a good deal about. The Hippodrome audiences are composed largely of persons of wealth and of intellectual culture. The success of Moody and Sankey in England has raised them above the heads of the millions. Unless care is taken in the management I am afraid that the work here may partially fail because the poorer classes are not reached. The Hippodrome meetings should be made more democratical and not so aristocratical. The attention of the managers needs only to be called to this point, and they can remedy it. Dr. Hall is very wise, and he and Mr. Dodge, and the other gentlemen who have generously furnished the large amount of money required to fit up the Hippodrome so admirably and carry on the meetings, can reach the poorer classes and bring them in. Some poor people manage to push 240 Selections from the ISFewspapee their way in now, bnt generally the building is largely filled up by wealthy and educated persons. The poor should be gathered in as they were at the wedding feast of which we read in the Scriptures, where the master of the feast, annoyed at the neglect of his wealthy friends who had been invited to come, ordered his servants to go ont into the streets and gather in the lame, the halt, the blind, and the poor. That is what shonld be done here ; the poor should be gathered in to the meetings. If the work fails in this respect it will be the fault of the management. It is not too late for this to be done. I have intended to talk to Dr. Hall and the managers about it, bnt have been nnable to do so, but I will do it yet. Dr. Hall is very wise, and they will be able to, gather in the poorer classes. " THE POOR SHOULD BE REACHED. " How would you suggest that the work should be done, Mr. "Weed?" " The ministers will be able to accomplish it easily when their attention is called to it. They have made the meetings almost too respectable. The Hippodrome has been filled from the churches and not from the worst classes. No doubt much good is done, but the poor should be reached also. In England, you know, Moody and Sankey held their services in open fields and parks, where great masses were reached. Here in winter, of course, the meetings must be held under cover, and probably the Hippodrome is as good as any other place for them ; but the poor should be specially induced to attend them, and I believe they will be. Probably the crisis of the work is coming here, and the result in 'New York will deter- mine how it is to be received generally. I am not prepared to say that if it should fail it would have a demoralizing effect on society. I do not think it would. I think things would settle back to their old order. But if, as I believe it will, it succeeds, the result will exert an influence all over the country in all the relations of life, and people will await and be pre- pared to receive it. "These two men have wonderful power. Sankey is as remarkable as Moody, and that is a curious circumstance, that two men, representing two intellectual elements, should be Articles of Thurlow Weed. 241 thus conjoined. I do not think that Moody would be able to exert the influence he does, or to draw such audiences, without Sankej's singing. Yet there is no art in the latter. It is not the result of culture, but an enthusiasm, an inspiration, like the other's preaching." MR. weed's convictions. " Mr. Weed, what is your own personal experience ? " " Of that I do not choose to speak inore than generally. I niust answer alone for my personal convictions. I have never /been what is called a religious man, although I have been im- / pressed with religious convictions. I have never made any pro- / ' fegsion of religion, and do not do so now, but I am very much interested in the i^ieetings, and attend them with great pleas- ure. They interest and comfort me, and I feel happier for attending them." ; Mr. Weed took pleasure in speaking of the meetings, and / sometimes in describing the great power of the services his face lighted up and his eyes sparkled with animation. As the reporter was about to go Mr. Weed suddenly said, with a bright smile : \" Oh, I called on Commodore Vanderbilt to-day, and talked to him about the meetings. He said he had not attended them because he was not in very good health and did not like ,to go out, but he said he would go." CAKAL FRAUDS. A. D. 1875. AN ALLY FOR GOV. TILDEN IN HIS WARFARE WITH CANAL PLUNDER- ERS MONEY ENOUGH STOLEN FROM THE CANAL FUND TO HAVE CONSTRUCTED A SHIP CANAL FROM LAKE ERIE TO THE HUDSON RIVER A STATE COMPTROLLER A SENTINEL AT THE DOCK OF THE TREASURY. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune : Sir : John Randolph once began a speech in Congress by asking for " the patience, the pardon and the pity" of the 81 242 Selections from the I^ewspapek House for so frequently trespassing upon its time. I feel that I ought to ask your " pardon" for so soon trespassing upon the " patience" of your readers. I certainly did not intend or expect again to obtrude niyself upon the public attention ; but Gov. Tilden's message in relation to canal frauds opens a door so widely and so invitingly that I cannot resist the temptation to speak. The Governor has undertaken a herculean task. I can conceive of no motive for thus bearding a powerful combi- nation, than a desire, in protecting the CanalFund, to discharge his duty to the people and the State as their and its Chief Magistrate. To discharge that duty effectually he will need the assistance and co-operation of all thoughtful, independent and honest citizens. In exposing, as he has done, the recently perpetrated frauds, his work and duty have only begun. The past cannot be retrieved, but guaranties can be provided for the future. While I never contemplated a contingency that would draw me to the support of Gov. Tilden, I cheerfully take my position with him in this conflict. The Governor contents himself by exposing one of the modes by means of which the canal revenue has been fright- fully defrauded. Deceptive bids for contracts, while by no means a new device, have reached perfection only within the last few years. With the collusion of State officers this was the easiest, simplest, and most profitable process. But as the Governor has courageously demanded full and thorough investi- gation, it is alike important and desirable that the other modes of depleting the State Treasury should be inquired into. At an earlier day, and for 25 or 30 years, old contractors, after making all the money they could through incompetent or un- trustworthy engineers and Commissioners, resorted to the Legislature for " relief." Their claims, skillfully manipulated, went from the Legislature either to the Canal Board or the Board of Canal Appraisers. If tlie Committee to which the Governor's message may be sent does its whole duty, it will ascertain what amount of money has been paid to satisfy these demands upon the Canal Fund, and then b}^ assuming, what from my knowledge of the character and history of those claims will be a low estimate, that 50 per cent of the aggregate amount was fraudulent, the people will learn how much the State has lost by misguided, if not dishonest legislation. Aetioles of Thukloav Weed. 243 To me this is no new question. I was involved in a perpet- ual warfare with canal plunderers from 1830, when TKeEifen- '~uig Journal was established, until mj_rejtirement in 1864. In nominating State officers we always remembered that the Lieutenant-Governor, the Comptroller, the Secretary of State, the Attorney-Ueueral, and the Treasurer, with the Canal Com- missionerTconstituted the Canal Board, and therefore endeavored to'find candidates of proverbial integrity for these offices. In most cases, as their recoMs will show, we were successful. When, however — as occurred in some instances — weak or unworthy Whig State officers had been chosen, care was taken tcrpfevent their renominatlon. These discarded men attributed their defeat to Evening Journal " dictation," and were loud in their denunciation of its editors. Meantime the " Canal Ring" went on captin\ng or beguiling commissioners, engineers, superintendents, appraisers, and Legislatures, with success and impunity, until, in co-operation with the " Tammany Ring," under the demoralized and ill-omened Administration of Gov. Fenton, it became the most insidious and rapacious organiza- tion ever known in the State. Like its Tammany namesake, the " Canal Ring" tampered with the judicial ballot-boxes. Syracuse members of the Ring came to New York after the "Judicial election of 1870, and made an arrangement by which Judge Mason was counted out and Judge Andrews counted into the Court of Appeals. I have no reason to believe that Judge --Andrews himself was either a party to or had knowledge of that atrocious fraud. The rapacity of the " Canal Ring" became so apparent that, in 1867 or 1868, the Senate ordered an investigation. The Committee, of which Senator Stanford, of Schenectady, was Chairman, found all the avenues leading to information quite inaccessible until the late David Mitchell, of Syracuse, was employed as counsel by the State. His residence in Madison and Onondaga counties and his knowledge of the operations of the " Ring" proved alike successful and important. The testi- mony then elicited will be found useful in the investigations the Governor now calls for. If, as I infer, the high ground taken by the Governor has been maturely considered, and the investigations contemplated are to be fearless and searching, 244 Selection's feom the Newspaper all who possess information or knowledge calculated to assist those who are engaged in it should come to the front. But for the " eternal vigilance" of intelligent, independent and inflexible State officers, canal contractors would have long- since utterly ruined onr State. I do not apply these strong terms of approval to all State officers. Unfortunately there have been too many exceptions. In passing along the line of the Erie canal, 25 or 30 years ago, when strangers inquired who Avere the owners of the most highly cultivated farms and the most expensive mansions, their owners were found to have been either canal contractors, canal engineers, or canal superin- tendents. To the occasioiial assumption that there is nothing new in all this, and that Canal Commissioners, engineers, superintendents, etc., were always dishonest, I enter an explicit denial. It is utterly uirtrue that this class/of public officers were all and always corrupt ; and equally untrue that during the years when frauds were perpetrated there were not honest as well as dishonest Commissioners, engineers, etc., and that it was easy to discriminate between them. The evidence of the truth of my assertion is found in the fact that the original Erie and Champlain canals were constructed and completed for an aggregate sum within the estimates of the engineers., While in those days public servants were held to a rigid responsibility, there were very few allegations of fraud. It was said that in the large and expensive contracts at Lockport the contractors were too sharp for Commissioner Bouck, who had charge of that section of the canal. It was also said that Commissioner Holley's accounts and vouchers were loose and irregular. The first legislative investigation was based upon a charge of lavish' expenditure upon the Rochester aqueduct, when the Assembly appointed a committee of investigation, consisting of Azariah C. Flagg, Grant B. Baldwin, and John Stilwell. The investigation was thorough, but nothing was discovered seriously damaging the parties implicated. But years afterward, under the evil auspices of unworthy Com- missioners, engineers, and superintendents, constant and syste- matic frauds were perpetrated, for most of which engineers and superintendents were responsible. Fully two-thirds of the Canal Commissioners have been honest men ; but in their State Engineers the people have not been so fortunate, for while we Articles of Thuelow "Weed. 245 have liad engineers of undoubted integrity, there have been too many exceptions to the rule. The present State Engineer came into otfice with a good name, but it is difficult to suppose that such astouading frauds can have been committed without his knowledge. If the proposed investigation should be prosecuted in the spirit which evidently constrained Gov. Tilden to enter upon it, the results will prove eminently beneficial. In the aggregate of frauds committed in the different modes to which I have referred, it will be shown that money enough has been stolen from the Canal Fund to have given us a ship-canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson river. Perhaps the best illustration that can be given of the difference between a capable and honest administration and the reverse, will be found in the facts and figures given by Gov. Dix in his messages and by Compti-oller Hopkins in his reports. Gov. Tilden seems anxious to follow in the financial footsteps of his predecessor, and in this praise- worthy effort he shonld be encouraged and sustained. I^o- where else will he find more earnest or enlightened co-operation than in the present Comptroller's office. And just here I desire to impress as strongly as possible upon the public mind, of what vital importance to tlie financial char- acter and credit of the State and the welfare and prosperity of the people, is the office of Comptroller. He holds the key to the Treasury, and while his control is not absolute, he can exert in various ways important salutary influence. It is the con- servative power of the State Government — a power which, had it been generally confided to men who were not of sound head and heart, we should long since have been shipwrecked. I was myself deeply impressed with the les- son I am now endeavoring to teach others, when Archibald Mclntyre, in 1818, in rising superior to personal friend- ships and political associations, encountered the denuncia- tions of his party by refusing to paj^ a large sum of money upon irregular and insufficient vouchers. Thus impressed, no man'' of doubtful capacity or questionable character has ever received my voice or vote for the office of Comp- troller. Nor are there many memories more pleasant than those which recall the names of Comptrollers to whose appoint- ment or nomination I was supposed to have contributed. In 246 Selections from the Newspaper no way can I so conclusively establish tlie truth of what I have asserted, namely, that the State owes its financial salvation to the capacity and integrity of its Comptrollers, than by naming some of the eminent men of both political parties who have held the office : Archibald Mclntyre, John Savage, William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, Jr., Azariah C. Flagg, Bates Cooke, Millard Fillmore, Washington Hunt, Philo C. Fuller, James M. Cook, Robert Denniston, Thomas Hillhouse, William F. Allen, Asher P. ISfichols, and Kelson K. Hopkins. Let the people, in their future elections of Comptroller, secure the ser- vice of men kindred in character to those just named, and they may repose upon tile conviction that the most important financial ofiicer in the State is discharging the duty of a sentinel at the door of their Treasury. New York, March 22, 18Y5. T. W. THE POLITICAL SITITATIOK [From the Allegban (Mich.), Journal, May 27, 18T6.] Thurlow Weed, the American Warwick or President-maker, was invited to the Carl Schurz's Fifth Avenue conference and listened to the address. But the speech of Charles Francis Adams, Jr., utterly disgusted the old man, and he returned from the conference determined to stick by the Republican ship for another campaign. This incident is thus related by Mr. Weed to a New York Herald reporter : I differ with Mr. Adams radically on important points. He animadverted severely upon the course of the Republicans who brought Jeff". Davis into the present discussion, with the intention also of using him in the campaign. He thinks it unwise to do so. I disagree to that. I propose not only now, but all my life, to utilize Jeff. Davis and all men of his stripe, like Slidell, Mason, Benjamin and the rest. Senators and Representatives, and officers of the Republic. In this way I think Jeff. Davis may be made to do some compensation for the crimes he has Articles of Thueloav Weed. 247 coimnitted. I agree with Mr. Adams that it is desirable to bring out now our wisest, purest, and most incorruptible men, and I am willing to take them wherever they can be found, but 1 do not agree with him that Mr. Tilden has any claim upon us. He did not come to the front in the hour of his country's peril, his voice was not heard in the time of danger, and when money was needed for the widows and orphans Mr. Tilden's purse was not open. ISTo vote of mine shall ever aid to elect a President who was not in sympathy and publicly known to be a war man, loyal to the core, ready with his voice, his influence, and his means, to help his country and uphold her flao-. Mr. Tilden was not one of those. THE POLITICAL SITUATION. A. D. lo76. New York, March 25t/), 1876. To the Editors of the Albany Evening Journal: Your letter asking for m}^ views on the approaching Presi- dential election was duly received. Although, from protracted ill-health, I have been long withdrawn from active political duties and associations, I am by no means insensible or indif- ferent to the general welfare. Indeed, at no period of my life have I been so anxious about good government, for in no period of our history has reform in this respect been so much needed. At the close of the revolutionary war as at the close of the war of 1812, enlightened and patriotic statesmen in the National Government, set themselves diligently to Avork, inaugurating policies and enacting laws designed and calcu- lated, by reviving commerce, establishing manufactures and promoting agriculture, to restore public prosperity ; while simultaneously the national credit was placed upon a firm footing, by a policy which insured the payment of the public debt. When all these beneficent objects were accomplished, 248 Selections feom the ]S[ewspaper all the great productive interests of the coiintr}^, each act- ing advantageously npon the other, were soon seen in success- ful and harmonious operation. We came out of the war with England, in 1815, honorably, but crippled and impoverished. Except that the demoraliza- tion was far less fearful, we were as badly off then as when the war of the rebellion terminated. But in three years, with wise and good men at the helm and on the look-out, the ship of State, with full and flowing canvas, liad taken a new depart- ure on a long and. prosperous voyage. A protective tariff, with an economical and honest administration of the Government under James Madison, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, brought palmy days, with increasing wealth to the people and strength to the country. Ultimately, by an ill-omened union : between democracy and slavery, these measures and policies \ I were repudiated. Then ensued twenty years of misrule, cul- minating finally in a rebellion which wiped out both democracy and slavery. This great result, however, cost much more than the blood and treasure shed and expended in its accomplish- ment. The complete triumph over rebellion did not " tram- mel up its consequences." We are suffering from wounds no less endurable than those inflicted during the war, while we are threatened with others in the form of " claims " from rebel- lious States, which will, if recognized, bring the Government to inevitable bankruptcy. In the hope of forcing these trea- sonable " claims " through Congress, rebellion affiliates with Democracy. And thus the issue for the approaching Presi- dential canvass is made up. The elections of .1^74 resulted in the return of ISTorthern Democrats and Southern rebels enougli to constitute a majority in the House of Representatives. These elements fraternized ; and the use they made of their power in " casting its shadow before " teaches a lesson not likely to be forgotten. A ^^romi- nent and zealous traitor whose hatred to the Union prompted him to give the name of Mr. Lincoln's assassin to his son, was appointed Secretary to the Standing Committee on Ways and Means, while, simultaneously, twelve maimed Union soldiers were removed to make places for as many rebel politicians. With such a beginning, supplemented by the speeches of rebel Generals Gordon and Hill, it is evident that Ihe followers of Articles of Thuelow Weed, 249 Jefferson Davis expect to recover by political strategy what they lost by a resort to arms. Forewarned, therefore, of the character and intentions of their adversaries, the friends of the Union ought, and I doubt not, will forearm themselves for the contest. In view of the importance of that contest and of the intensit y of feeling and effort which it will awaken, it behooves the Republican party shaking off all incumbrances, to seek and occupy its highest vantage ground. It cannot be denied, nor can we afford to conceal the fact, that the present Administration has failed to justify the expectations of the people, or even to realize the hopes of its best friends. It was easy to perceive, at the close of the rebellion, that a grateful people would reward with the Presidency the military chieftain who had won victories for theTTnion at Fort Donalson, Vicksburg and Richmond. I was among the first to say, personally, to General Grant, that the popular sense of obligation to him would manifest itself in his nomination and election ; that it was a spontane- ous movement, which required no aid and which would not be restrained ; that nobody was entitled to credit for being in his favor, and that he would become our Chief Magistrate, free to administer the Government with an eye single to the wel- fare of the people and to the honor of his country. In that interview I narrated to General Grant the incidents connected with the nomination of the lamented General Taylor, whose administration, but for the bereavement which prematurely deprived the country of his services, would have been emi- nently distinguished for its purity, patriotism and wisdom. I left General Grant with a confident belief and hope that, like General Taylor, his natural good sense, fortified by military education, would enable him to display executive ability and distinguish his administration by a high sense of official integ- rity and honor, and by an earnest devotion to the public wel- fare. There were difficulties, however, in- General Grant's way, which no amount of wisdom could avoid. The " cankers " of a long war had eaten into the heart of the nation. Demorali- zation, public and private, had become almost universal. Our 'country was doomed to pass through ordeals of fraud and cor- ruption, described by Sir William Pepys and Lord Macauley, 32 .^ 250 Selections from the JSTeavspapee by which England was so long dishonored, and on account of which the English people were oppressed by crushing and in- exorable taxation. In his encounter with these difficulties, Greneral Grant has not been fortunate. His Cabinet, as a whole,' was not wisely chosen ; and when vacancies occurred, his origi- nal mistakes were not corrected. The late Yice-President Wilson appealed often and earnestly to the President in favor ~lof"erevating and strengthening his administration by associat- ing with Governor Fish, Cabinet Ministers of large experience, recognized talent and pronounced integrity. But all "such appeals were disregarded. The financial department of the Government, through a crisis requiring the exercise of the highest intelligence and the most inflexible integrity, was placed in the hands of an iitterly incompetent man. Nor while evidences of Mr. Richardson's incapacity were manifest and multiplied, would General Grant listen, until for this and other obstinate refusals to regard the popular will, his eyes were opened by the disastrous defeats sustained by the Republican party in 1874. But even that ominous lesson failed to aw^aken the President to a just and full sense of his high responsibility. Other and equally vital reforms were demanded and refused. Early in the first years of General Grant's administration. Governor Cox, of Ohio, retired from the Interior Department for some reason unknown to the people. JSTothing was then or has been since alleged against him. His successor, Mr. Delano, came into ofiice with a good character and a clean record, both of which, however, were soon lost. But as in the case of Mr. Richardson, the President refused to listen to the numerous and damaging accusations against Mr. Delano. For many months after that gentleman felt constrained to tender his res- ignation, the President perversely refused or neglected to ac- cept it, and only yielded to an indignant popular demand, seconded by the other members of the Cabinet. I do not care to dwell upon recent and still more startling oflicial delinquen- cies. There is little or no compensation in the circumstance that our fallen Secretary of War found discreditable examples for his misconduct, in the wholesale trafiic in oflices by the English Ministers of War during the reigns of the Georges. These delinquencies constitute, in the aggregate, a burden uiider the J2: Articles of T huklow Weed. 251 weight of which no Administration can stand. Happilj^, how- ever, the Republican party is stronger than its Administration. But it must not incnmber itself with the obloquy that at- taches to official misconduct. It cannot afford to defend or excuse the errors of the President or the frauds of his ap- ointees. In return for the great service rendered to the Gov- ernment and the Union, in putting down a fearful rebel- lion and overthrowing an institution which occasioned it, the ^■"'^eople will go far ancFdo much to sustain and perpetuate Re- publican rule. Pulilic confidence in the meantime must not be too severely tried, or too heaWly taxed. Men are fallible, and may, as they often do, fall; but principles are indestructi- ble. The Republican party will survive'the overthrow of its ' unworthy representatives, provided always that the part}^ is prompt and thorough in its purifications. We should be quick to discern, and as ready to rebuke the dishonesty of officials in our own party as iu tlie party of our opponents. In this way only can Repuljlicans hope to maintain their ascendancy ; for much more is expected of us than of our opponents. I see no reason, if our ablest and best men should be nomi- nated for President and Vice-President, to doubt the success of the Republican ticket in the approaching election, I rely as confidently upon the inherent weakness of the Democracy as upon the inherent strength of our own party. While, in the past, much has beeii done to weaken the Republican party, its opponents have ouly taken spasmodic advantages. Governor Tilden inaugurated his aduiinistration by a bold and praise- worthy demonstration against a ring of canal contractors, by whom the State had been systematically defrauded for twenty years of at least fifty per cent of the milHons appropriated for "^T^e repairs, improvements and enlargement of our canals. For this he deserved and received the hearty approval of all good men. But by turning the results of an investigation designed to punish fraud and to protect the State Treasury, into a party channel to advance, as is alleged and believed, personal aspira- '"tions, he has lost the opportunity not only of making himself stronger than his party, but of rising to an elevation which blends partisanship with patriotism. Kor has the democracy profited by the circumstances which gave it an ascendancy in the present House of Representatives. 252 5 Selections fkom the Newspaper They Avere indebted for that success to the faults and follies of the administration. And in that success what seemed strength has proved weakness. Rebellion, though subdued in the field, exists in the heart of Jeiferson Davis and such of his follow- ers as find their way to Congress. Their hatred, their exac- tions and their aggressions will prove as offensive n(>w as they were defiant during the last years of the existence of slavery. Democracy, therefore, in coalescing with the party of Jefferson Davis, can only hope for success through the fatuity or blind- ness of the Republican National Convention. T. W. THE POLITICAL SITUATION, 1876. [From the Schenectady Daily Union, September 19, 1876.] Schenectady, September 19, 1876. Thurlow Weed expresses his opinion through the columns of the If. Y. Times in the following manner : I am surprised at the weakness of the Democratic party in this State, as evidenced by the nomination of such a man. He is a renegade and an apostate from every political party, and is always ready to hang on to the skirts of whichever party will give him office. What a ticket for the Democratic party to present to its followers! Two renegade Republicans. It was humiliating to them to have to support Dorsheimer for Lieutenant-Governor, but it is infinitely more humiliating now to be compelled to swallow two renegades. The Democratic leaders have nominated for the highest offices in their gift, two men of no political honor, both of whom held oflice under the Republicans, and subsequently went over to the Democrats. There was Dorsheimer, and then Bigelow, and now we have ^^J" Robinson — all taken hold of by the Democratic leaders, and placed before their followers to be lifted into power by their votes. Tlie extreme poverty and degeneration of the Demo- cratic party is evidenced no less strongly by the character of Articles of Thurlow A¥eed. 253 the man who has accepted the iiomiiiation of Governor, than by that of the men who have refnsed the proffered honor. The nomination was not only rejected by Seymonr, but was refused by Jndge Gardiner, Judge Church, and DeWitt West — all excellent men. The ticket is afTexceedingly objection- able one to Democrats, and about as weak a one as could have been made. .- ..—„ -»««- THE POLITICAL PEOSPECTS IN 1876 — TILDEN AND WASHBIIRNE. THURLOW WEED SEES NO CHANCE FOR CONKLING HE SELECTED WASHBURNE THREE MONTHS AGO THE CAMERON NOTE TO BE DISHONORED AND PROTESTED. "I don't see how Mr. Conkling can be nominated," said Thurlow Weed, as he folded his hands over his knee and beat time with his foot while the band marched by on Decoration day. I really don't see how he can be nominated, although his more intimate friends and suppoi'ters are enthusiastic over his chan- ces. Pennsylvania is not to be so easily manipulated as some people imagine. It will ]3e a difficult matter for Mr. Cameron to control that delegation. In fact, so far as it affects affairs at all, I think the Cameron arrangement will do more harm than good. Mr. Wakeman has just returned from Washing- ton and is loud Sr^TJonlvling. Well, he is a warm personal friend of the Senator, and is more or less charged with the Washington atmosphere, which, I suppose, is all Conkling. Sheridan Shook has been to Philadelphia, and he finds that Blaine is strong down there. Postmaster James is all wrapped up in Conkling's_^iii|jgi:est. He is an honest, frank, warm- natured man, probably the most devoted friend Mr. Conkling has in the city. He is very anxious that the Senator be nomi- nated and is very confident he will be." Reporter — And you ? Mr. Weed — Oh, I am wedded to no man's interest. I am anxious for my country's welfare. Whoever can best serve 254 Selections fkom the Newspaper her interest and get lier from the condition she is in will be the man for me. I think the Republican party ought to succeed at the next election, and should be sorry to have the country put back in the hands of the men who would have surren- dered her to traitors. Reporter — How about the chances for Washburne. Mr. Weed — Three months ago I should have selected Elihu B. Washburne as the Republican candidate. Every thing pointed to him. He was quiet, not a candidate, and out of the race. His record was excellent. ITothing could be said to his discredit. I thought that, Grant beiiTg''6ut of the way, he . / would favor Washburne, who made him what he is. They '■ ^ were intimate friends, and Grant owed him much. I certainly thought Washburne would be Grant's choice. In this it seems I was mistaken. He is not Grant's choice. I also thought Washburue would be Carl Schurz's choice. In this I was mis- taken. I don't know who Schurz favors, but he does not favor Washburne. Those two supports, in my opinion, belonged to Washburne and would have settled the nomination. I am not prepared to say that his nomination is uncertain now. I simply say that three months ago he would have been selected by me as the probable nominee. This terrible exposure of K^rr^^ true or false, and the evidence seems complete, is only another reason for the nomination of a true man and a good man. You will find that the delegates to that Convention at Cincinnati will appreciate their individual responsibility to the full, and, unless I am mistaken, their nomination will be determined by the good of the nation and the good of the party, rather than dictated by the ambition or the partisans of any individual man. This Kerr matter hurts. True or false, it has killed him for the future. The facts are very simple, and I see no way of escape for him. It is inexpressibly sad. All these things hurt the country terribly. IS'ow, as for the St. Louis con- vention, the contest seems narrowed down to Tilden and Bayard. Tilden will be a weak candidate if nominated. His nomination loses iSTew York to the democracy at all events. There are too many against him. He cannot succeed. Those gentlemen, whose Albany meeting was chronicled in the Herald^ are not the only enemies he will have to contend with. It is not prob- able they would do any thing openly against him, but their in- Articles of Thuklow Weed. 255 fluence would be felt. Then tlie Canal Ring will oppose liim ^_tootli and nail. Tliej have the pTTwer'"aiTd"~'tTie brains. They can do it and will do it. Mi*. TilderTs'nomination would make certiiin a revolt in the city similar to that of last fall. The fact is, Tilden is too small. He won a little reputation by honesty in government when he started oif about the canal frauds, but he lost it all as soon as it became evident that he was using his power as a partisan. He lost all the reputation he ever had by one single nomination. He nominated Smith Weed for Insurance Commissioner, a man whose legislative career is perfectly well known. Reporter — Do you believe the Repubhcan leaders have any deliberate programme of operations ? Mr. Weed — No, I do not. That is, I do not think any con- siderable number of "prominent or influential men have had any conference at which a settled programme was arranged. Yery much depends upon Mr. Morton and his friends. You see quite a number of candidates have dropped out of the race. The leading men — Blaine, Conkling and Morton — have their partisans, and each is doing the best he can for himself. What that best may be, cannot be practically demonstrated till the convention assembles and the votes are cast. And there rests the strength of men like Washl_)urne. The friends of Senator Conkling are devotedly his friends, and it is not likely they would consent to the nomination of a ISTew Yorker in his place, especially one like Mr. Wheeler, whose friends gave to Mr. Curtis his strength in the Syracuse convention, and enabled some to claim that the convention was not a unit for Conklino-. Mr. Morton's friends will have a great deal to say about the candidate. But it is unsafe to rely much on the transfer power of candidates this year. As I said before, the delegates to Cin- cinnati will be made to feel their individual responsibility, and the situation of the country is such that they will feel com- pelled to name a man their party can elect, for they will not dare to peril the success of their party and thus hand the coun- try over to its enemies. I believe it will be impossible for candidates to transfer their support to any great extent, and I further believe Mr. Cameron will be utterly unable to control the Pennsylvania delegation. I presume Tilden will be nomi- nated at St. Louis. I certainly hope so, for the sake of the Repub- y 256 Selections from the I^ewspapeb lican party. If I were a partisan I would do what I could to secure his nomination. He M'^ould certainly lose IS^ew York, and be weak, very weak before the people at large. IsrON-PAKTISAN GOYEKNMENT. A. D. 1877. GOOD RESULTS OF THE SYSTEM A8 TRIED IN NKW YORK INSTANCES THE POLICE BOARD WHY IT SHOULD BE PRESERVED NON- PARTISAN. To the Editor of the H. Y. Tribune : Sir : I do not belong to the school that believes, or professes to believe, that office-holders should have nothing to do with politics. On the contrary, I believe that the interests of the country and tlie welfare of the people, depend upon the existence of strong and thorouglily organized parties, each struggling to secure the confidence of the electors by giving them good government. I became satisfied, however, more than twenty-five years ago, that the true interests of the city of New York could be best subserved by making several of the departments non-partisan — not by the exclusion of politi- cians, but by the appointment of equal numbers of Whigs and Democrats, taking care that they were men of ability and integrity. The first non-partisan experiment was an Emigrant Commission, under whose auspices those beneficent institutions and splendid structures upon Ward's Island grew up, and where the destitute emigrant and the orphans of emigrants, have been maintained and educated without one dollar's ex- pense to the city. From 1830 to 1854: the encroachments from Kew York and Brooklyn of dock, wharf and pier owners, proceeded so reck- lessly as to peril the navigation and ruin the commerce of our harbor and city. The Legislature passed a law authorizing the Governor to appoint five commissioners, with ample powers, Articles of Thuelow Weed. 257 for tlie protection of navigation and commerce. The commis- sioners were to appoint experienced surveyors to regulate the construction of docks, wharves and piers, and to establish an exterior line beyond which in future there should be no ob- structions. Much anxiety was felt by the merchants, who knew the importance of securing a commission consisting of enlightened and practical men, but men beyond the reach of all personal, political or pecuniary influences. That commis- sion was made as nearly non-partisan as practicable. It con- sisted of James Bo wen of New York, John Vanderbilt of Kings, George W. Patterson of Chautauqua, Preston King of St. Lawrence, and John A. Talcott of Erie. Messrs. Bowen, Patterson and Talcott were Whigs ; Messrs. King and Vander- bilt were Democrats. The commission acted in perfect har- mony and discharged 'their duties with such impartiality, jus- tice and wisdom, as to secure universal approval. They reclaimed for the State, lands worth more than twice as much as the expenses of the commissioners. That board was inaug- urated by the appointment of Moses H. Grinnell and Simeon Draper, Whigs; Isaac Bell and James B. Nicholson, Demo- crats. This was a Whig concession, the Governor, the Legis- lature, and the City Controller, by whom the appointments were made, then being Whigs. When, at the end of five years, their terms expired, a Democratic Controller preserved faith by reappointing Messrs Bell and Nicholson, Democrats, and by appointing James Bowen and Owen W. Brennan, Republicans. These gentlemen proved worthy of the trust confided to them. They were all active and influential politi- cians, but they separated their political from their official duties. The original Central Park Commission was also non-parti- san, and in other respects fortunately constituted. I say fortu- nately, because that great city enterprise was laid out and adorned liberally, in good taste and with strict economy. The first Park Commissioners, with a just sense of what was due to the present and future generations, devoted themselves faithfully to their duties, receiving a full dollar's worth of labor or material for every dollar they expended. These auspicious results encouraged an efiiort in favor of a non-partisan Police Board. Two years, however, were lost, 33 258 Selections from the Newspaper because the Whigs, who were in power, were unwilling to give up political advantages so long enjoyed b}^ their oppo- nents. But in Gov. Seymour's time the power of the State was divided, and after frequent consultations, and toward the close of the session of the Legislature a Police Board, consisting of Judge Bosworth and Mr. McMurray, Democrats, and Messrs. Acton and Bergen, Republicans, was appointed. That board, with the late John A. Kennedy as Superintendent, divorcing itself from party influences, gave the city, through an efficient and well-disciplined force, protection to persons and property. But, unfortunately, while that board was perfecting its good work, Mr. McMurray died, and in supplying the vacancy, faith was shamefully violated by a Republican Legislature and Gov- ernor. The board, by the appointment of a Whig instead of a Democrat, became partisan, and then the demoralizations, which culminated in 1870, began. Finally, after much bitter experience, a second non-partisan era dawned. Something more than a year ago the present board, consisting of Gen. ("Baldy") Smith, Sidney ISTichols, Democrats, Clinton Wheeler and Col. Erhardt, Republicans, was installed. These gentle- men, though entertaining, as every patriotic citizen should, decided political convictions, have inaugurated a Police Com- mission of strict non-partisan character. They have labored with great courage, diligence and discrimination to promote the efficiency and usefulness of the department and of its force. In their appointments and promotions, character, capacity and merit, rather than personal or political influence, have guided them. Dishonest officers, as far and as fast as evidence could be obtained, have been tried and dismissed. Misconduct in patrolmen is inflexibly punished, while gallant acts and meri- torious conduct are promptly rewarded. The board is a unit, each member assisting his colleagues in carrying out wholesome reform. The good effects of all this is seen and felt. There is among our citizens a general sense of security and repose arising from their confidence in the efficiency, vigilance, and fidelity of the police. With an incompetent police captain there would have been a fearful loss of life on Saturday evening last, in East Twenty-Third street, when two tenement buildings, in which thirty or forty families resided, suddenly collapsed . Articles of Thuklow Weed. 259 The inmates, unconscious of tlieir danger, would, but for the promptness and activity of the police, have been buried with their effects beneath the walls of their apartments. But noth- ing less praiseworthy was to be expected from Capt. Allaire or the men under his command. I am, let me repeat, a party man — nay, more, I am, as I have ever been, a politician. I will go further, at the risk of becoming obnoxious to a popular idea, and admit that, in the sense he intended, I believe, with Gov. Marcy, that to the vict- ors belong the spoils of office. When a Democrat or Whig has been elected President or Governor, I believe that their respective supporters and friends, possessing the requisite qual- ifications, are entitled to their reward. I have claimed this under all Whig administrations, and have conceded it to the Democracy when that party was in the ascendancy. But there are exceptions to every rule. The city of New York forms an exception. Its welfare and interests in some of their aspects are non-j)artisan. This is especially true in reference to the police. Tested by experience, partisan police boards have been decided failures. This remark is especially applicable to the breach of faitli under Gov. Fenton's administration, which con- verted a non-partisan into a partisan hoard. On the other hand, non-partisan boards, created at different periods during the last twenty-five years, have, by the good service they rendered, vindicated the wisdom of their appointment. Without impugning the motives of those who seek to change the political status of the police board, I earnestly hope that their efforts will prove unsuccessful. The present board is do- ing well, and every day's experience enables them to do bet- ter. Life and property, public order, and social and personal security depend upon an independent, responsible, and efficient board of police commissioners. I commend these, with other considerations vital to the public welfare, to the serious atten- tion of Mayor Ely, who, as far as I am informed, is discharg- ing his important and difficult duties in a manner every way worthy of the trust confided to him. T. W. 'N'Ew YoKK, June 19, 18TY. 260 Selections fkom the Newspaper THE LATE MOSES H. GKINNELL. [Prom the New York Times, November 27, 1877.] MR. THURLOW WEEd's REMINISCENCES OF HIS LIFE AND TIMES. Tlie death of Mr. Moses H. Grinnell was a topic of general conversation in mercantile circles yesterday. Mr. Thurlow Weed spent several honrs in recounting tlie character, life and works of his deceased friend. He said that he conld not be brief in speaking of such J:j, large-hearted man as Mr. Grinnell. That gentleman's influences, always bright and genial, were seen and felt throughout the city for nearly half a century. Of his intelligence, enterprise and integrity as a merchant nothing need be said, for these elements of cliaracter stand out conspicuously. His liberality and enthusiasm in all good works, in all generous enterprises, and in all patriotic move- ments, inspired the sympathy and co-operation of others. There was irresistible magnetism in his voice and manner. All liearts and all purses responded to his appeals — appeals only made when he had first contributed largely. Though devoting much time to public enterprises, to political duties, to social life, and to healthful relaxations, his business was never neglected. He was a thorough merchant, to be found always during business hours where business called him. Mr. Grin- nell lived in ISTew York's palmiest da^js of bountiful, yet refined hospitalities. He was a member of the Hone and Kent clubs, the intellectual and social odors of which linger pleasantly in the memory of their few survivors. Among the gentlemen to be met habitually at the table of Mr. Grinnell, forty years ago, were Washington Irving, Philip Hone, Chan- cellor Kent, Richard M. Blatchford, Simeon Draper, Robert B. Minturn, J. Prescott Hall, Charles H. Russell, George Curtis (the father of George William Curtis), Edward Curtis, William H. Aspinwall, Ogden Hoffman, Charles A. Stetson, Roswell Colt, John Ward, James Watson Webb, Dr. John W. Francis, Charles King, Samuel B. Ruggles, James Bowen. Ten years later came William M. Evarts, John Jacob Astor, / Articles of Thuelow Weed. 261 / ■ Isaac Bell^' Edward Minturn, William Kent, Marshall O. Rob- erts and Benjamin F. Silliman. " As occasional guests at tlie same table," continued Mr. Weed, " I have met John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, William H. Seward, Gulian C. Yerplanck, Hugh Maxwell, Gen. Scott, Commodore Perry, Gov. John Davis of Massachusetts, Gov. Kent of Maine, and many other prominent men." " My acquaintance with Mr. Grinnell," said Mr. Weed, " commenced in 1833. He was then a Democrat, but had taken no active part in politics. Most of his intimate acquaintances were Whigs, and upon the organization of the old Republican and Clintonian parties under the Whig banner, Mr. Grinnell espoused that cause, be- coming and remaining a zealous, efficient and influential Whig. He was a delegate to the Whig State convention of 1831. Passing over the period of his service in Congress, from 1839 to 1 811, it is interesting to note how near Mr. Grinnell came to becoming Governor of this State. In 1855, after a con' sulfation between some of his political friends, Mr. Grinnell was agreed upon as the Whig candidate for Governor. A few weeks before the convention assembled, Mr. R. M. Blatch- ford called with me to confer with Mr. Grinnell upon the sub- ject of his candidacy. Although evidently gratified with the offer of a nomination that was sure to result in an election, he said that his acceptance would depend upon his partner, Mr. Robert B. Minturn, by whose advice he guided himself in im- portant matters. Mr. Minturn, upon whom we immediately called, said that Mr. Grinnell's services were essential to the interests of the house, and he could not consent to his with- drawal, even temporarily, from the business. When Mr. "^inturn's objections were stated to him, Mr. Grinnell promptly and cheerfully declined the nomination. The late John A. King was then nominated and elected, beating Amasa J. Parker, and becoming the last Wliig Governor of ISTew York State, the power which the Whig party had previously Tield being transferred to the new Republican party, when E. D. Morgan was elected Governor in 1857. The political influence, wielded quietly, but effectively, for many years by Mr. Grinnell, is illustrated by the following account of the manner in which Washington Irving was 262 Selections fkom the ^Newspaper appointed Minister to the Court of Madrid, an appointment to which the literarj" world owes the pleasures it derives from Irving's History of Mahomet and His Successors. Said Mr. Weed : " While Mr. Webster was Secretary of State, I dined with him in Washington one night. Mr. Grinnell, Mr. R. M. Blatchford and Mr. Simeon Draper also being guests. At the dessert Mr. Grinnell told Mr. Webster that Washington Irv- ing, while writing his History of Coluvibus, found it necessary to have access to the archives in Madrid, and that his friends had concluded to ask for his appointment as Consul to that city. After a slight pause, Mr. Webster said: ^Do I under- stand you, Mr. Grinnell, to say that you ask for Washington Irving's appointment as Consul to Madrid?' Mr. Grinnell responded affirmatively, when Mr. Webster, with great empha- sis, asked : ' And why not Minister to Spain ? ' But little more was said. Mr. Grinnell returned to ISTew York rejoicing in the appointment of his literary friend as Minister to Spain. Such a thing as this pleased Mr. Grinnell thoroughly. He was so large-hearted that he' desired to make everybody happy. He was generous to the last degree. Unlike many men situ- ated in life as he was, he did not contribute to hospital or asy- lum funds at stated intervals only, but gave in charity every day. In fact, he was always giving either money or assistance of other kinds to the needy. Mr. Mia turn was like him in this respect — indeed, no better man ever lived in ISTew York than Robert B. Minturn. I have often had occasion to ask both gentlemen for free passages in their vessels, either for ^ foreigners who were unfortunate here and wished to return home, or for the needy relatives abroad of men who were struggling onward in this country. Many of these people, by becoming good citizens, fully repaid me for my efforts, and Messrs. Grinnell and Minturn for their charity. A case in point I remember very well. On a cold, blustering night, thirty or more years ago, I was stopped in one of the streets of Albany, by a lad of about thirteen years of age. He asked for employment, and his manner impressed me favorably. His story was that he had come from Ireland to seek an uncle whom he could not find. He was destitute and wanted work. I took him home with me, and as he said he desired to learn a trade, I procured him employment as an apprentice to a builder Articles of Thuelow Weed, 263 named Stewart. Favorable reports of liis conduct were given me from time to time, and at the end of three years his em- ployer surrendered his indentures and paid him as a journey- man. Before that event, however, he came to me for aid to "^Ijring his mother and sister from Ireland. I applied to Mr. Grinnell, arid, as usual, he gave them free passages. A few years after he became a journeyman, the young man went with his mother and sister to the West. In 1860 myself and daugli- ter were in Keokuk, Iowa. We wanted to see the place, and '"sent for a carriage. Upon going to the vehicle we found in it my quondam protege. It was his private carriage, and he had come to the hotel -to take us out iint7 "~TIe~liad settled in Keokuk after leaving Alljany, and had become a well-to-do master builder, supporting his mother and sister in good cir- cumstances. He was grateful not alone to me, but also to Mr. Grinnell, who he knew had assisted him in his youth. Mr. Grinnell was also very much attached to the persons con- nected with him in busmess as employees. He looked after their interests carefully, and whenever one of them died he cared for his family like a father. He was interested in the Children's Aid Society and the industrial schools of this city, and he, Isaac Bell, James Bowen and James B. Kichol- son, composed the best board of Charity Commissioners JSTew York has ever had." THE MmiSTEK TO BELGIUM. A. D. 1877. AN ACQUAINTANCE OF A QUARTER OF A CENTURY MR. H. S. SANFORd's capacity and INTEGRITY ^ PERSONAL REMINIS- CENCES OF HIS CAREER ABROAD. Speaking of recent diplomatic appointments, yesterday, Mr. Thurlow Weed warmly commended the selection of Mr. San- ford for the post of Minister to Belgium. " I have known him f or twentv-iive vears," Mr. Weed said. " He has the liiffh- 264 Sp:lections from the JN^ewspaper est sense of personal and official integrity, and liis edncation and experience make him remarkably well qnalified for tbe diplomatic service." At the reqnest of his visitor the veteran jonrnalist gave an acconnt of his first acquaintance with Mr. Sanford, and of the latter's efforts in behalf of his conntry during the rebellion, while he held the same place to which he has just been reap- pointed. Mr. A\^eed first met Mr. Sanford in Paris, in 1852, just after Louis Napoleon's coup cVetat. The American min- ister, Mr. Rives, refused to recognize the new master of the Tuileries, and American residents and visitors would have been put to much annoyance by the absence of any official relations between their representative and the French government, had not Mr. Sanford, who was Secretary of Legation, possessed the tact to remove the difficulty by making his personal ac- Cjuaintance with the leading men of the new Empire serve, instead of diplomatic formalities, in jDroviding for his country- men the privileges they desired. " I have known Mr. Sanford well, I may say very well, ever since," continued Mr. Weed. While I was abroad during the rebellion " (it will be remembered that Mr. Weed was the con- fidential diplomatic agent of the United States government in Europe for some time after the breaking out of the war), " I had occasion to know the value of his services. Mr. Sanford was in Paris oh his way to Brussels, before our new minister, Mr. Daj'ton, arrived, and his exertions in behalf of the Union cause, at a critical moment, when the French government and people were hostile to us, were of great value. Every thing needed to be done abroad at that time. We wanted arms, clothing, and all kinds of military supplies. Mr. Sanford was exceedingly zealous to serve the Government, and often antic- ipated his instructions in his desire to be useful. While at Brussels he frequently crossed the path of persons who were acting as agents for the United States in making purchases, and who were eager chiefly to make money for themselves. His interference with their projects provoked their hostility. With another class of agents, whose sole motive was to serve their country, Mr. Sanford cordially co-operated. As an exam- ple of the latter class I might mention Mr. Schuyler of this^ city, wlio w^as sent abroad to buy arms, and who as a thor- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 265 ouglily honest man, appreciated Mr. Sanford's exertions, and worked in accord with him. Mr. Sanford's great activity re- sulting from his temperament, and his enthusiasm for the Union cause, was sometimes mistaken for officiousness. It offended Mr. Adams, and to some extent annoyed Mr. Dayton. It is not true, however, that Mr. Dayton was angry with Mr. San- ford. I was in Paris after the Trent affair was terminated and the danger of war with England averted. Mentioning to Mr. Dayton that I meant to make a trip in Belgium and Hol- land with my daughter, he said he would take a holiday and go with me. We set off together, aud when we had reached Brus- sels we all went to Mr. Sanford's house and spent three agree- able days there. Of course, Mr. Dayton would noiTliave ac- cepted Mr. Sanford's hospitality if he had not been upon good terms with him." After some furtiie'r conversation about Mr. Sanford's energy and zeal, Mr. AYeed related an incident which occurred in Lon- don during his stay in that city in an ofhcial capacity. At the time when the danger of a rupture with the British government was imminent, Mr. Weed desired to undertake an affair which " promised great results, but which required a considerable sum of money. He explained the project to Mr. Pealtody, who saw its importance, but had no faith in the possibility of its accomplishment. Sure that it would fail, the great banker de- clined to furnish the needed funds. Mr. Weed telegraphed to Mr. Sanford, who came to London immediately. Before hear- ing the matter half explained, Mr. Sanford left Mr. Weed's apartments, hastened to Barings, and in a short time returned with the money. The object was accomplished, but of so con- fidential a nature was it that it must remain a secret even after this lapse of time. " If the people knew how important was ■~'the work which Mr. Sanford enabled us to accomplish," said Mr. Weed, " they would feel that they owed him a great deal of gratitude." About Mr. Sanford's dinners Mr. Weed remarked: "He gives a great many. It is the habit of his life, wherever he is. -"Last winter he happened to be in Washington, and he enter- tained with his usual liberality there, just as he does in New- port or in Paris. Hospitality is a part of his nature, and is certainly not a trait for which he should be blamed." k 266 Selections from the Newspaper At the conclusion of tlie conversation, Mr. Weed said lie was surprised to see so many enemies rise up against a man who had done no wa-ong to anybody. He considered Mr. Sanford's appointment one of the most judicious the Administration had made, and he hoped the Senate w^ould speedily confirm it. NEWSPAPEE TYPOGRAPHY. A. D. 187Y. THE GROWING DISUSE OF CAPITALS, ITALICS AND CERTAIN MARKS OF PUNCTUATION. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune : Sir : The annual meeting of the State Press Association at Albany was an occasion of - much interest. The address of its president, Mr. Smith of The Evening Journal., and tlie s^Deech of Mr. Erancis of The Troy Times, were not only practical and suggestive in purpose and thought, but admirable in language, style and taste. I regret that neitlier of these gen- tlemen availed himself of a suitable opportunity to deprecate innovations which seriously annoy old printers. I refer to the growing disuse of " Capitals," " small Caj)itals," " Commas," "Colons," " Semi- colons" and /z'«/zc,s." If these innovations progress in the future as rapidly as they have in the past four or five years, the Upper and Italic cases may be dispensed with, while the Compositor in distributing his Type will have no use for the " Comma," " Colon " and " Semi-colon " boxes. Punctuation is an essential aid to the reader. Italics are equally essential in attracting attention and giving effect to earnest, impressive or significant meanings. Capital letters are rapidly becoming obsolete. In illustration I will select a few words from Tuesday's Tribune, each of which, before the fashion changed, would have been garnished with a Capital let- ter: — "bankers," "financiers," "merchants," "telegraph," " commerce," " legal tenders," " journal," " resumption," "governments," "bonds," "gold," "silver," "coin," "cur- rency," etc. Articles of Thuklow Weed. 267 It may be answered that in the eai4y liistoiy of the " Art Preservative of all Arts," Capitals were employed without sense or reason. In reply, while I admit that Capitals were then nsed indiscriminately, I now insist that we are running into the other extreme. For example, I cannot be reconciled to the use of a small "g" in speaking of our Government, and I hope that you, Mr. Editor, will not consider me hypercritical in suggesting that the following Editorial reference to your own Paper might have been fittingly dignified with a capital " J." — " Earlier than any other journal in this country. The Tribune," etc. T. W. Kew York, June 16, 1877. KESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS. A. D. 1873. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune : Sir : The Government and the people are losing a golden opportunity. Both should peremptorily insist upon a resump- tion of specie payments. The obstacles whicli stand in the way of this desirable consummation would be brushed aside by a vigorous movement. The Government, sustained by the people and press, would encounter less difficulty than is appre- hended. These difiiculties scarcely exist beyond the purlieus of Wall and Broad streets. Resumption is hindered by the artificial rather than tlie intrinsic value of gold. If, as in Apos- tolic days, the tables of the money changers could be upset, our eyes and hearts would soon be brightened and gladdened by the re-appearance of silver and gold. If, also, as was generally conceded, the temporary closing of the Stock Exchange was a relief, would not the abolition or demolition of the Gold Exchange be a positive blessing? Indeed, it is almost certain that if the purchase and sale of gold " on time " could be pro- hibited for ninety days, resumption without other aid would be an accomplished fact. The causes which retard the resumption V 268 Selections from the Newspaper of specie payments are just as patent as those which occasion the existing financial derangement — - a derangement wholly unnecessary so far as the general business of tlie country is concerned. Our agricultiu'al and commercial circumstances and conditions were never more prosperous or palmy. The evils from which we are now suff erino' are the lesritimate fruits of gambling — gambling in its worst forms and aspects, because while faro bank gambling only injures those who put down their money, the Wall and Broad street gamblers rob and ruin thousands who suppose their earnings advantageously invested or safely deposited. In other words, half a dozen individuals, whom I could name as leading gamblers in Wall and Broad streets, do vastly more public harm and are more rapacious and profligate men, than the same number of reputed gamblers doing business in the vicinity of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Vigilant committees have in some emergencies been found to be not only a necessity but a salutary remedy for universal and overwhelming vices and crimes. The highest and most beneficent expressions of justice have occasionally been revealed in an unwritten code familiarly known as " Lynch law." If the chief gamblers who occasioned the gold panic of 1869, and the North West " corner" of 1872, together with the usurers who brought about a state of things which enabled them to loan money at 1 per cent a day, had been suspended by the neck across the streets which they desecrate, the city would now be exempt from present and prospective sufferings. The future of our country is by no means unclouded. There are specks in its horizon bigger than a man's hand. Genera- tioil§"of' idlers grow up to consume what their fathers produced. Agriculture and the mechanic arts are neglected. The practi- cal industries of the country langnish. Without emigration we should be unable to cultivate the soil or supply our manu- facturing establishments and workshops. Parents no longer charge themselves with the duty of preparing their sons by precept and example for lives of industry and usefulness. Hence we have an army of young men seeking a precarious subsistence in offices or clerkships, ending sooner or later in destitution and suffering. Absenteeism is becoming a serious evil ; the strain, though Akticlbs of Thuelow Weed. 269 less severe than that which has so long impoverished Ireland, is awakening attention. The amount of gold annually expended abroad is computed at over one hundred millions, every dollar of which is practically sunk, for even the passage money goes into the pockets of Europeans for the support of foreign, to the exclusion of American commerce. The moral of all this is that our country has grown too rich. Nations, like individuals, are most happy and virtuous while by indus- try and frugality they are making their fortunes. It requires great wisdom and thoughtfulness, therefore, on the part of the Government, the press, and those who mold opinion, to guide and guard the people against the fatal consequences of idleness and luxury. ' T. W. I^Ew YoEK, October 20, 1873. THE PEESIDENT'S MAKIFESTO. A. D. 18Y4. THE NEOLECT OF CONGRESS INEFFICIENCY OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY THE PRESIDENT'S HOSTILITY TO SMALL BILLS DISAPPROVED FORMER EXPERIMENTS IN THAT DIREC- TION. New York, June 8, 1874. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune : Sir : The first session of the present Congress approaches the day of adjournment, and yet its first duty, the duty para- mount to all others, is no nearer being accomplished than it was when the session opened. Indeed, the question of resum- ing specie payments, instead of being advanced, has been retarded. At the opening, not merely high hopes, but a con- fident belief was universally cherished. These hopes and that belief have been disappointed. And yet many will not, can- not, relinquish the idea that Congress will, ere the session closes, discharge a duty which its members cannot fail to 270 Selections fkom the Newspaper regard as indispensable to the honor of the country and the prosperity of the jDeople. Other governments, like our own, in prosecuting expensive wars, have been compelled to suspend specie payments, but on the restoration of peace, those govern- ments like our own, in obedience to the injunctions of duty and honor, have made it their first business to provide at as earl}^ a day as practicable, for the pajanent of their debts in coin, and thus restoring their varied industries to the prosperous condition from which they had fallen. Congress could have been .aided essentially in the discharge of its financial duties by a capable Secretary of the Treasury. The too long delayed, but finally auspicious change in the head of that Department, may even yet encourage and stimu- late Congress. Of one thing members may be assured, and that is, if they adjourn leaving the country in the wretched financial condition they found it, the places which know them now will be hereafter unknown to most of them forever. So strong will be the popular feeling against a delinquent Con- gress that the good will be confounded with the bad. The recent publication of the financial views of the Presi- dent, designed to explain and fortify his veto message — a mes- sage reflecting the highest credit upon his wisdom and courage — is in one respect at fault, and will, I fear, weaken the chances of any wholesome legislation. The President has fallen into the once popular delusion relating to small bank notes. The attempt to exclude from circulation notes under the denomina- tion of $5, was tried in this State under circumstances as favor- able to the success of the experiment as could possibly exist. Relying then, as now, upon the example of England and France, the Federal and State Democratic administrations de- manded a specie currency. Our Legislature passed a law pro- hibiting the issue by our State banks of any note under the denomination of five dollars. The result proved not only inconvenient and unsatisfactory to every business interest, but \ accomplished the signal overthrow of the Democratic party in \_^ this State in 1838, and that of the Union in 1840. What the American people require, and what will best promote their convenience is a mixed currency, consisting of coin and paper, the latter properly restricted and regulated, and convertible at AkTICLES of ThIJELOW WlCED. 271 all times and places into gold and silver. Small bills (not frac- tional) are a positive conyenience, wliilelhe substitution f orTliem of gold and silyer would prove as positive an inconvenience. I will not stop to show why in this respect onr cii'cumstances and conditions place the question of small bills npon a finan- cial basis differing from those which exist in England and France. But I venture to affirm that of the 50,000 Ameri- cans traveling in Europe, 99 out of every 100 M'ould prefer notes of the value of $1, $2, $5 and $10 of the Bank of England to the gold and silver with which they are burdened. If, either by Congressional or Legislative action, the circulation of small notes were now prohibited, the border States from Maine to Wisconsin would be inundated with the small bills of Canadian banks. The welcome from its constituencies which awaits a Congress that proves itself iiicapable of dealing with a national ques- tion vitally and directly concerning the Commercial, Agricul- tural, Manufacturing and Laboring prosperity and welfare of the people and country will not be calculated to encourage imbecility in future Representatives. T. "W. New York, June 6, 18TL THE SILYEE COKTROYEESY. A. D. 1876. THE VALUE OF SILVER COIN FIXED BY CONGRESS THE PRES- ENT TROUBLE THE RESULT OF THE SILVER ACT OF 1873 A REPEAL OF THAT ACT ADVOCATED. To the Editor of the N. T. Tribune : Sir : My last letter to the Tribune closed with an expres- sion of satisfaction that one leading journal recognized " two sides to the silver question." I have now to regret that the discussion and development, though so full and clear as to satisfy the average mind, do not change or modify the views 272 Sp:lections feom the Newspaper of leading Republican jonrnals. I regret this the more be- cause these jonrnals are likely to prevent the Republican mem- bers of Congress from exerting themselves in .favor of the repeal of the law of 1873, a law which deprives the govern- ment of its right to pay its creditors in coin. The letter of your Washington correspondent, who is enti- tled to great credit for the valuable information he has obtained, and for the clear and forcible conclusions he has drawn fi-oni his researches, supplemented by an equally inter- esting and able letter written by a gentleman of San Francisco to Gov Dix, cannot fail to clear away the mist and correct the errors which darken the popular mind in regard to one of the two metals recognized in the Constitution of the United States, and until 1873, regarded as equally precious. The recent dis- cussion of the silver question confirms and strengthens the essential points raised in my letter. It is nowhere denied that until the act of 1873, silver, equally with gold, was a legal tender, and that the laws authorizing the Treasury Department to borrow $3,000,000,000 pledged the faith of the government for the repayment of the interest and principal of its bonds in gold or silver coin. But for the ill-advised action of Congress in 1873, no collision of opinion would or could have arisen. All that remains, therefore, for consideration is how the act of 1873, aifects the interests of our people and the welfare of our country. The effect, if not the object, of that act was to de- preciate silver and appreciate gold. The usance on gold, conse- quently, has been obstinately maintained, and, as a corollary, demonetized silver suffers a corresponding depreciation in value. What, then, would be the effect of the repeal of the law of 1873 ? Would not the price of gold go down and that of silver come up until, as formerly, their relative values approximated ? It will be urged that the silver dollar is not equal in value to the gold dollar. The answer is that Congress is directed by the Constitution of the United States to fix and regulate the value of both metals, neither being a legal tender without such regulation. There is more than poetic truth in the fol- lowing suggestive extract from Burns : " The rank is but the guinea' stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that." Articles of Thurlow Weed. 2Y3 Witliout tlie stamp, silver and gold would take tlieir places with tlie baser metals, selling in the market for what they were practically w^orth. Their extrinsic value is imparted by the Government stamp. I have deplored, in common with other citizens, the lack of statesmanship at Washington. With truly enlightened and patriotic men in Congress, the law of 1873, depriving the people and the country of one of their two legal tender coinages, would have found little favor in either House of Congress. But, unhappily, Webster, Clay, Seward, Mangum, Elislia Whittlesey, John Sergeant, Marcy, Wright, etc., etc., have departed, leaving no successors equal to an emergency which the rebellion occasioned. Hence the passage of a law w:liicli now causes general surprise, and will, when its malign influences are better understood, excite gen- eral indignation. For when it comes to be well understood that by striking silver out of the legal tender currency a dis- astrous blow was struck at the industries of the country, so great a wrong will not be patiently endured. Congress is sup- posed to represent the interests of the whole country ; but in making gold, and gold only, a legal tender, the interest of a small class only was consulted. The premium on gold is per- petuated by a law of Congress, while these premiums are squeezed, drop by droj), from the brow of labor. ]^ow I take leave to ask Representatives and Senators how long in their judgment this sweating process in favor of capital and against labor, can be practiced with impunity ? The citizens of the Western States demand a repeal of the wn-ong law. They oppose resumption, under the erroneous impression that it nec- essarily aggravates the evils from which we are all suffering. The real difficulty is that Congress has required resumption in 1879, without having taken any step to facilitate or aid resump- tion. I^or is the "masterly inactivity" of Congress its great- est fault. The act of 1873, demonetizing silver, renders it im- possible to resume without greatly increasing the burdens, losses and sufferings of the commercial, manufacturing and laboring classes. Meanwdiile the bondholders and foreigners from whom we purchase luxuries profit largely. If those who urged the repeal of the resumption act had been wise enough to see that their interests would liave been better served by a repeal of the act of 1873, that repeal would 35 274 Selections from the ^Newspaper liave been accomplished, and we should have soon found our- selves upon a broad avenue with an open silver gate leading to resumption and prosperity. T. W. New York, August 5, 18Y6. SILYEE IS LAWFUL MOISTEY. A. D. 18Y6. To the Editor of the N. J^. Tribune : Sir : I have been a '• looker on " for several months during the discussions in Congress and in the Press, of the silver ques- tion. My merely superficial knowledge of finance leads to so much distrust that I approach the subject with much hesitation. Yet so strong are my intuitions that leading journalists are misleading their readers, that I have determined to break silence. The persistent effort to reject silver as an element in resumption seems to me so manifestly unwise that I desire to call attention to facts which most of those who speak or write upon the question have forgotten, or choose to ignore. The Constitution of the United States confers upon Con- gress the power to "coin money," and in a subsequent section prohibits the State from coining money, or from making " any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts." Gold and silver coin, therefore, is declared by the fundamental law a legal tender in the payment of debts, and hence gold and silver became the specie currency of our country. Every law of Congress authorizing the issue of bonds and notes, the pro- ceeds from the sale of which were used to preserve the govern- ment and Union, provided that both the interest and principal of those obligations (amounting in the aggregate to nearly three thousand millions) should be paid "in coin," and- finally, on the 18th of March, 1869, when it was deemed im- portant to solemnly assure the public creditors of the good Aeticles of Thurlow Weed. 275 faith of the government, Congress passed a declaratory law, saying that : " The faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the payment in coin or its eqnivalent of all the obligations of the United States not bearing interest, known as United States notes, and of all the interest-bearing obligations, except in cases where the law authorizing the issue of any such obliga- tion has expressly provided that the same may be paid in law- ful money, or in other currency than gold and silver. * * * And the United States also solemnly pledges its faith to make provision at the earliest practicable period for a redemption of the United States notes in coin." The Court of Appeals of the State of Kew York, having decided that a contract made before the passage of tlie legal tender act, payable expressly " in gold and silver coin, lawful money of the United States," might be paid and satisfied by a tender of United States notes, the case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington, by whom the decision was reversed. Chief Justice Chase, in announc- ing the opinion of the court, in February, 1869, said : " The coined dollar Avas a piece of gold or silver of a certain degree of purity and weight. The note dollar was a promise to pay a coined dollar." By the Constitution of the United States, by the laws of Congress authorizing the Secretary of the Treas- ury to borrow three thousand millions, and by the langnage of the Supreme Court of the United States, "silver and gold" have been solemnly declared and affirmed to be legal tender in the payment of debts. The distinction, therefore, between the values of silver and gold which has recently obtained is in dis- regard of the constitutional, legislative and judicial authorities ; and in view of the fact that throughout the commercial world silver has been for centuries and is now, more largely used than gold, this new revelation rests upon extrinsic, artificial and arbitrary ideas and acts. It might, with far better reason, be claimed that gold should not be a legal tender because, unlike silver, it has never had an international circulation. Even in England and France, divided only by a narrow chan- nel, the English sovereign, with the Queen's head on it, and the Napoleon, with the emperor's profile, circulate principally 2Y6 Selections from the IS^ewspaper in their own dominions, wliile tlie Spanish milled dollar, the Mexican dollar, the French franc and the English shilling have a world-wide circulation. Nor has silver been the cur- rency of modern civilization only. It was a " legal tender " when " fine gold," like " rubies," was only " precious " for ornament. The Jewish shekel was silver. Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites by his brethren for " twenty pieces of silver,'^" and Judas, for the betrayal of our Saviour, received " thirty pieces of silver." As early as we have any knowledge of cur- rency, silver was its basis and was the medium of exchange for all commodities. It is claimed that the largely increased supply of silver from the American mines is affecting its value throughout the world. This result, when we were augmenting our public debt, was anticipated. Our ability to pay both the principal and interest was based in part upon the value of mines then being developed in the far West. And now that these hopes are realized, shall we voluntarilj'^ deprive ourselves of a resource which will essentially aid in re-establishing and restoring the credit and prosperity of the country ? Congress, under author- ity derived from the Constitution, inaugurated the coinage of silver and gold, fixing the value of each. That authority remains. Congress has the power to day, as it had the day after the Constitution was adopted, to coin silver into money, to fix its value and to declare it a legal tender. In this view of the question, the discovery and development of rich silver mines was providential. Why, then, if Europeans deprecate the abundance of American silver, should we readily join in a temporarily popular cry against it ? If it be just or wise or patriotic to unite in the efforts to depreciate the value of silver because our mines are too prolific, would it not be equally so to unite with foreign countries to cry down the price of agri- cultural products when our bountiful harvests enable us to export largelj" to Europe ? I have insisted in former com- munications that a return to specie payments, so desirable in all respects, did not necessarily require " contraction " or suffer- ing. Resumption is not cruel nor relentless. It could have been made not only easy, but beneficent. This, however, re- quired statesmanship. It was in the power of the Adminis- tration and Congress, had they set themselves diligently and Articles of Thuklow "Weed. 2YT wisely to the task ten years ago, to have accomphshed resump- tion without deranging, depressing or disturbing any section, any class or any interest. But, most unhappily, the statesman- ship which the emergency demanded was lacking. The Ad- ministration and Congress have only been distinguished as " Circumlocutionists." Their efforts toward resumption so far have been in the direction of " how not to do it ; " and finally, when the proposed action of Congress on the silver question evinces a disposition to learn how to do it, resistance comes from leading and influential journals! Silver has quietly taken the place of fractional currency. Our eyes and ears are again gladdened by the sight and chink of bright silver dimes, quarter and half-dollars. Had the advent of this precious currency been cheerfullj'- accepted by capitalists, bankers and journalists, resumption would have been more than half accomplished, while what remained to be done would have been much more easily achieved. But to return for a moment to the legal view of the question. The Government agreed to pay its creditors "in coin," i.e., silver or gold. The creditor lent his money upon this condi- tion. Has either party a right to impair the contract ? If silver instead of gold had appi'eciated, could the Government for that reason have refused to pay its creditors in silver? And is the creditor, because we have more silver than was expected either by him or the Government, at liberty to refuse it ? The Gov- ernment should be held strictly to its obligation as " nominated in the bond." But the creditor in demanding his "pound of flesh " may not, at his peril, draw " one drop of blood." Let the Government pay all it owes, and all it agreed to pay to its creditors. I cannot, however, sympathize with those who are so fastidiously watchful of the interests of the bondholders, for I fail to discover in that class of creditors, either at home or abroad, any thing which entitles them to more consideration than the other and much larger classes who receive for their labor depreciated paper. The former, by the forces which cap- ital knows so well how to utilize, have been greatly favored. The large bondholders, foreign and domestic, paid less than par for securities which now bear a high premium. This was their privilege, but this does not give them, in justice or equity, the right to refuse silver and demand gold, because 278 Selections feom the JSTewspapee since the contract was entered into, the manipulations of cap- ital have depressed the former and appreciated tlie latter. Until this morning I had seen nothing in onr journals expressive of the views on this subject which I have enter- tained. The communication in to-day's Tribune^ over the sig- nature of "G.," compresses the argument into a brief space. But there is so much truth and such clear and strong common sense commending it to attention, that I hope it will be exten- sively read. And what is still more encouraging, your own editorial of to-day seems to authorize a hope that at least one leading journal may come to see that there are two sides to the silver question. T. W. J^Ew York, July 25, 1876. ANCIENT USE OF SILYER. A. D. 1877. A banker's sneer at the use of silver as money BIBLI- CAL PROOF OF ITS employment IN BUSINESS DEALINGS BY THE ANCIENTS PAYMENT OF THE UNITED STATES BONDS IN COIN, RIGHT REMONETIZATION NECESSARY. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune : Sib : Journals opposed to the remonetizing of silver, having exhausted the only legitimate grounds of hostility, seem to think that their purpose may be served by ridiculing the " Dollar of our Fathers." I confess surprise and regret in finding these flippant paragraphs in leading and influential journals — your own included. Probably the subordinates rather than the editors of these journals are to be credited with the wisdom which disparages the "Dollar of our Fathers." Persons of mature age, with average common sense, will tell you that the " Dollar of our Fathers " was also the dollar of our grandfathers, of our great-grandfathers, of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and that silver Articles of Thuelow Weed. 2Y9 pieces were tlie currency of our forefathers and ancestors through every generation back and up to Father Abraham — for which, as Captain Cuttle would say, " overhaul the Book of Genesis." Early in the present month a convention of bankers was held in this city. From that intelligent body of experienced and practical financiers I anticipated an expression favoring resumption upon a constitutional basis. As a result of its deliberations, the following resolution was adopted : Resolved^ That, in the opinion of this convention, silver money, as a subsidiary currency, is desired by the people, and that its free and not enforced use will greatly aid in restoring the value of om* " paper money." Even this cjualified concession from a convention of bank- ers seems to have been extorted. The people having with entire unanimity joyfully welcomed back a silver currency, the bankers graciously yield iis the use of subsidiary silver, pro- vided that its circulation is not enforced. Perhaps the people ought to be grateful for so much, but as we obtained and enjoy subsidiary silver without their aid, I, for one, shall withhold the expression of my thankfulness. Mr. Hayes, a Detroit banker, who favored the adoption of this resolution, fortified his own opinion of the worthlessness of silver as money by a scriptural reference, as follows : Mr. Hayes, in support of that resolution, said : " I wish to read a paper embodying an opinion on the silver question that is considerably older than we are : ' And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver. It was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. 2 Chronicles, ix, 9.' " [Applause.] The scriptural wisdom of the Detroit banker was empha- sized by applause, and the resolution was forthwith adopted. In the published proceedings of the bankers' convention Mr, Hayes' scriptural reference appears to have been accepted as evidence that, in the days of Solomon, silver as money was "not any thing accounted of." The true reading of the scrip- tural quotation shows that the drinking vessels in the days of Solomon were of gold, and that for such and other ornamental 280 Selections fkom the ISTewspapee pnq3oses silver was " not any thing accounted of ; " but it will be seen, by the scriptural authorities which follow, that silver was " accounted of " as money not only in the days of Solo- mon, but during all the centuries comprehended in the Old and New Testaments, from Genesis to Kevelations. Abra- ham's purchase of a burial place is thus recorded in Genesis : Chap, xxiii, 15tli and 16th verses: "My Lord, hearken unto me ; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver ; what is that betwixt me and Thee ! bury, therefore, thy dead. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the Sons of Hetli, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchants." Silver, therefore, as early after the flood as we have any account, was, according to the Book of Genesis, " current money with the merchants." Again, in the twentieth chapter of Genesis, sixteenth verse : " And unto Sarah he said. Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver." The story of Joseph, which furnishes further scriptural evidence of the nse of silver as a money standard, possesses a value so very mnch higher that it cannot be too often read. There is noth- ing to be found in the literature of the world to compare in beauty of style, purity of thought or perfection of language, with the graphic and touchingly narrated story of the youth who was sold into bondage by his brethren, and subseqiiently became a ruler in Egypt. I can only now transcribe such passages as prove that silver was the currency of the Israelites and the Egyptians : Genesis xxxvii, 28th verse, " And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver." Genesis xlv, 22d verse, " But to Benja- min he gave three hundred pieces of silver." In the book of Exodus, chapter xxi, 32d verse, law-breakers were required to atone for their offenses by the payment of fines. " If an ox shall push a man-servant or a maid-servant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver." In the book of Judges, chapter ix, 4th verse, the crimes of conspiracy and murder are thus mentioned : " And they gave him three-score and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Articles of Thuelow Weed. 281 Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him." Again, in the book of Judges, chapter xvi, 5th verse, it will be seen that Delilah, the w^ife of Samson, betrayed her hus- band, and was liberally paid in "money current with the merchants " of that day ; " And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, ' entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.' " In the same book, chapter xvii, 2d verse, a son who had robbed his mother makes con- fession : " And he said unto his mother, ' The eleven hundred shekels of silVer that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedest, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me ; I took it.' " In the book of 2 Samuel, chapter xviii, 11th verse, it will be seen that silver was the currency of King David : " And Joab said unto the man that told him, ' And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground ? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle ; ' " " and the man said unto Joab, ' Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the King's son.' " Again, in the same book, chapter xxiv, 24tli verse : " So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." Silver was the currency in Samaria, as will be seen in the book of 2 Kings, vi, 25 : " And there was a great famine in Samaria ; and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for four-score pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for live pieces of silver." Subsequently, when the King of Assyria besieged Menahem, King of Israel, he was bought off, and the tribute money was thus collected (2 Kings, xv, 19, 20) : " And Pul, the King of Assyria, came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand ; " " And Mena- hem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver to give to the King of Assyria." Nehemiah, the governor of Judah, who received no compensation for his services, says, in chapter v, 15th verse, that former governors received " forty shekels of silver." In the book of Jeremiah, chapter xxxii, 9th verse, 36 282 Selections from the I^ewspapee another transaction in silver is recorded : " And I bought the field of Hanameel, my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver." In the days of Hosea, chapter iii, 2d verse, men obtained wives by purchase : " So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver." Passing from the Old to the New Testament, the evidence that silver continued to be a standard is found in the most eventful and impressive lessons in history, namely, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, for " thirty pieces of silver," his remorse for his act, suicide, and the purchase of a " potters' field to bury strangers in " with the ^ame " thirty pieces of silver." In one of the parables silver is recognized by our Saviour himself as the money standard of liis day — St. Luke, chapter xv, 8th verse : " Either what woman hav- ing ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it." At Ephesus certain Jews who had become believers evinced their sincerity by' sacrifices which were estimated at which used curious arts, brought their books together and burned them before all men ; and they counted the price of them, and found it 50,000 pieces of silver." And, finally, in the third chapter and sixth verse of Acts : " Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee ; in the name of Jesus Christ of JSTazareth, rise up and walk. " I might go on multiplying scriptural authorities, but enough is given to show that silver as money " was current" among merchants a thousand years before and nearly two thousand after the advent of our Saviour. And yet a national conven- tion of bankers greeted the reference of one of its delegates to a passage of Scripture, showing that in the days of King Sol- omon silver was " not any thing accounted of" for " drinking cups," with " applause ! " But while the luxurious Kings of the Old World reveled in gold drinking cups, silver was the money current among their subjects. Silver was almost exclusively the currency of the American colonies, li^ew England was supplied with silver coins from London. Maryland received its silver currency from Lord Balti- more, whose " superscription " was impressed upon the coins. This question isliow before Congress, where it is being thought- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 283 fully and earnestly considered. The discussion will establish the fact that silver and gold are constitutional money stand- ards ; that the debts created to achieve our national independ- ence, and subsequently, in the war with England, to maintain that independence, were paid in silver and gold ; and, finally, that in the debt, created to preserve the Union, our Govern- ment stipulated that its creditors should receive payment of principal and interest in coin. With such land-marks to guide its deliberations. Congress will find the financial problem of the day, easy of solution. The repeal of the law of 1873, demonetizing silver, with a clause directing the recoinage of the " Dollar of our Fathers," will not only make resumption easy, but insure the return of prosperity to the " toiling mil- lions," whose unexampled privations have been endured with exemplary forbearance. T. W. ISTew York, Noveiriber 2, 1877. THE SILVER QUESTION. A. D. 1877. GENERAL GRANT ON SILVER AS A STANDARD BONDHOLDERS AND LABOR THE LATE VISIT OF NEW YORK BUSINESS MEN IN WASH- INGTON ALBANY BANKERS IN FAVOR OF SILVER. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune : Sir : I find myself unexpectedly stigmatized as an " Infla- tionist " and " Repudiator." I say unexpectedly, because, during considerably more than half a century of journalisin, my efiiorts were uniformly in favor of a sound currency and against repudiation. Conscious only of a desire to be useful, I can afford to be misunderstood, or even misrepresented, especially so while advocating a silver standard, the authority for doing so being derived from the Constitution of the United States. Under that authority the government has borrowed 284 Selections from the Newspaper and paid tlionsands of millions of dollars in coin. J^o one qnestioned tlie money value of silver. It was equally precious with gold, until in 18Y3 it was secretly demonetized. A bill ostensibly intended to regulate the government mints contained a clause demonetizing silver, but so cautiously drawn as to con- ceal its purpose. Nothing appears in the debate showing that any Member of Congress was aware that a bill, apparently harmless, not only deprived the country of one-half of its monetary power, but was in violation of the Constitution. The title of the law of 1873, as will be seen, furnished no intimation that it contained such a sweeping clause : "An Act revising and amending the laws relative to the mints, assay offices, and coinage of the United States." The conspirators, however, did not accomplish all they desired by the act of 1873. The following section found its way into the Revised Statutes, which were enacted in bulk in 1874 : The silver coins of the United States shall be a legal tender, at their nominal value, for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment. The chairman of the committee who submitted the report, assured the House that it contained nothing but what was found in the special and separate enactments of Congress. And yet there was nothing in any act of Congress giving the semblance of authority for the section above quoted. These double frauds were perpetrated without the knowledge of those who voted for them, and without attracting the attention of newspaper correspondents. Nor did the President, in approv- ing the bills referred to, know or suspect that either struck a fatal blow at the interests of the country and the welfare of the people. In a letter written by General Grant, dated Octo- ber 3, 1873, seven months after the passage of the law relating to mints, etc., he said : I wonder that silver is not already coming into the market to supply the deficiency in the circulating medium. * -5^ * Experience has proved that it takes about $1:0,000,000 of frac- tional currency to make the small change necessary for the transaction of the business of the country. Silver will grad- ually take the place of this currency, and, further, will become the standard of values, which will be hoarded in a small way. I estimate that this will consume from $200,000,000 to $300,- Articles of Thurlow Weed. 285 000,000, in time, of this species of our circulating medium. * * * I confess to a desire to see a limited hoarding of money. But I want to see a hoarding of something that is a standard of value the world over. Silver is this. * * * Our mines are now producing almost unlimited amounts of silver, and it is hecoming a question, " What shall we do with it?" I suggest here a solution which will answer for some years, to put it in circulation, keeping it there until it is fixed, and then we will find other markets. The President did not know that he had approved and signed a bill prohibiting the coinage of a currency he valued so highly ! It was not until 1874, when the Code was adopted, that the coinage of subsidiary silver was authorized, and became a legal tender for $5. And finally, wheu these frauds, perpe- trated to keep gold at a premiuin for the benefit of bond- holders, became known, no word of reprobation has been heard. The Press, generally alert, vigilant and outspeaking, has no word of condemnation against a conspiracy to cripple and oppress the industries and labor of the country. On the contrary, our leading journals bitterly assail those who labor to restore to the country a money standard of which it was fraudulently deprived. We are stigmatized as silver infiation- ists, for asking the Government to re-establish a financial basis under which the country and people were prosperous and happy for more than eighty years. This cpiestion, stripped of sophistry and verbiage, presents a naked issue of capital against labor. Shylocks, ever rapacious, are struggling to " keep up the rate of usance." In maintain- ing the one standard ^ — -thus narrowing our specie basis one- half — they will strengthen and perpetuate . their advantages. There has been, as there ever must be, between the thousands who labor and the hundreds who enjoy the fruits of such labor, an irrepressible conflict. It is the duty of Governments to see that the faces of those who labor ai'e not held too closely to the grindstone. The country is threatened as is usual, when capital takes an alarm, with the return of the bonds held abroad, should the holders be asked to receive their interest " in coin." If for- eigners choose to return their bonds because we offer to pay them in the precise currency they agreed to receive, I do not see that either our character or our pockets would be injuri- 286 Selections from the Newspaper oiisly affected. Foi'eigners, during our civil war, " made haste slowl_y " in the purchase of our bonds. Nothing of friendship or patriotism was manifested. Capital, ever cautions, doubted and waited a long time in Germany, and still longer in England. Most of their investments were made when their bonds cost thein but fifty cents on the dollar. They have been receiving their interest in gold, until it is proposed to pay it " in coin." If for this reason they choose to send home our bonds, we can afford to receive them, having large amounts of money seeking profitable investments. Nor is this the only method of intimidation resorted to. We are told that if the money standards of the Constitution are restored, the Syndicate will suspend its negotiations. How far this threat will be carried remains to be seen. The Syndicate is not a benevolent institution. It will go on with its funding operations, or dis- continue them, according to the interests of the parties con- cerned. If, by a return to specie payments, upon a basis broad enough to meet the requirements of our commercial and manu- facturing enterprises and industries, prosperity should follow resumption, the lamentations of bondholders at home and abroad would no longer be heard. I perceive that Mr. William E. Dodge and Mr. A. A. Low, eminent alike as merchants and as citizens, were among the distinguished gentlemen who went to "Washington to oppose the passage of the bill remonetizing silver. M}^ respect for these highly intelligent gentlemen is so great that I should be gratified to learn, whether, during their long and creditable commercial life, they were embarrassed in. the acquisition of their large fortunes by the use of silver in common with gold as a standard ? The experience of Mr. Low upon this question would derive a special importance from the circumstance that his commercial relations existed with nations whose currency was almost exclusively of silver. In their raid against silver, our bankers and journals find their strongest argument in the circumstance that the silver dollar is not worth even as much as the greenback dollar. None of them, however, seem to remember that the greenback has the protection of the Govern- ment, while silver was deprived of that protection by deception and fraud. When, by the repeal of the law of 1873, silver, like Articles of Thurlow Weed. 28T gold, becomes a standard, the relative value of each will approximate — silver going up and gold coming down. I had supposed that the silver coins wdiich had so quietly expelled fractional paper currency from circulation, were as acceptable to bankers as to the people. But even in this I erred. By a resolution adopted in the recent Bankers' Con- vention, subsidiary silver was grudgingly conceded to a popular " prejudice." This concession, however, was qualified by a proviso that the silver in circulation must be voluntary, rather than " enforced." There are, I am happy to sa_y, notwith- standing the furore against silver, individual bankers who favor its remonetization. The following letter from Mr. Yan Antwerp, the thoughtful and intelligent cashier of the State Bank at Albany, suggests practical amendments to the Bland bill: Thurlow Weed, Ksep, Neio York. My Dear Sir : After listening to your interesting remarks * this morning on the silver question, now ©ccupying so much of public attention, and your argument for making our silver coin equivalent to, or equal, as a tender, to gold — -a proposal which, to my view, with some reason, finds many objectors — the thought has occurred to me that the divergence of opinion between the advocates of gold alone, and those who advocate the bi-metallic system of ?,W\eY and gold for our country, might be harmonized by a simple amendment to any new silver coin- age bill which should be passed by Congress. The amendment I suggest is, that a provision be inserted in the bill, that hold- ers of American silver dollars should at all times have the option of exchanging them at any of the mints or sub-treasuries of the United States for gold -coin, when presenting- them in sums of not less than $5,000 ; and that holders of gold should also have the option of exchanging it for American silver dol- lars in like manner, on presentation at any of the mints or sub-treasuries, when j)resenting it in sums of like amount ! Such an amendment would create a governmental " inter- convertibility " between silver coin and gold coin ; and, while on the one hand relieving the fears of those who apprehend evils from a possible excessive issue of silver, would, on the other, give those who have not such apprehensions, opportunity to prove by practical experiment that there was no occasion for them, and no reason for objection to the use of two metals as standards. By an enactment recognizing their legal inter- changeability in the manner proposed, gold and silver would become as one, and the word " coin," as used in our national 288 Selections feom the IsTewspapee obligations, be effectively relieved from exposure to the two different interpretations now so utterly irreconcilable. Very truly yours, J. H. Yan Antwerp. Albany, November 10, 1877. My confidence in the wisdom of returning to the financial policy of " onr fathers " has been strengthened by conversa- tions with the venerable Thomas W. Olcott, for more than sixty^ears the siiccessf ul financial ofiicer of the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank, of Albany. Mr. Olcott is not only the oldest bank president in our State, but is widely known as a uniform, earnest, and enlightened hard-money man. The Senate, as I anticipated in a former letter, reports the Bland Silver Bill with some proper amendments. If the ad- vocates of a gold standard only, would have met the conserva- tive friends of the silver standard, the bill might have been so amended as to remove all the objections of wise and good men to the resumption of specie payments under auspices certain to protect and promote the finaiicial credit of the country, and the material prosperity of the people. If, for any reason, a law re- storing the financial policy of the Government under which the country enjoyed unparalleled prosperity, to the disastrous hour that slavery sought the destruction of the Government and dis- memberment of the Union, the responsibility and the conse- quences will rest upon the aggressive, rapacious, uncompromis- ing spirit of the worshipers of gold, supplemented, I am con- strained to add, by the bulldozing course of the press. New Yokk, November 23, 1877. T. W. Articles of Thurlow "Weed. 289 UNLIMITED SILVEE. A. D. 1877. PRESIDENT HATES MISTAKEN VIEWS — FRAUDULENT DEMONETIZA- TION OF SILVER. THE BONDS PAYABLE EITHER IN SILVER OR GOLD THE EAST READY TO JOIN THE WEST AND SOUTH, IF THE " BLAND " BILL IS DEFEATED. To the Editor of The N. Y. Trilune : Sir : Since the publication of mj last letter in favor of the remonetization of silver, the question has assumed new and important aspects. The President and Secretary of the Treas- ury have, in their communications to Congress, declared them- selves against the full remonetization of silver. The objections of both are founded upon what, in their judgment, concerns the financial honor of the Government ; in other words, the apprehension that a full remonetization of silver would arrest tlie refunding of the public debt, seems to be the controlling consideration with President Hayes and Secretary Sherman. The President goes so far as to compute the amount which he thinks would be lost if the negotiations of the Syndicate be suspended. I am greatly disappointed that both the President and the Secretary of the Treasury have failed to present the silver ques- tion in its true light through Congress to the people. We had a right to expect, from the highest Executive and Financial authorities, an explanation of the causes which, in their opinion, render it essential to the national honor to pay the national debt in money other than that which the Constitution and the laws of Congress made a legal tender. Men whose opinions and actions are based upon the Constitution and the laws may, if reasoned with, consent to be more than just to the public creditor, but this concession will not be forced from us by being denounced as inflationists and repudiators, or in being stigmatized as ready to commit " robbery and wrong " by voting in favor of the remonetization of silver. As the public interest is likely to intensify rather than diminish in the future discussion of this question, I want to recall, demonstrate, and 37 290 Selections from the ]N^ewspapee clincli two 01" three vital positions. First, let it be remembered that the Constitution of the United States made gold and silver coins legal tender, and devolved upon Congress the exclusive power to regulate the weight and value of both metals as coins. Second, as often as the exigencies of the Government required a resort to loans, laws were passed authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow the sums required, making the princi- pal and interest payable in coin. That policy and language, as will be seen by the following act, copied from the Statutes of the United States, was continued until the year 1870. The law which passed on July 14, 1870, is as follows: Act of July 14, 1870, page 244 of the acts of the second ses sion of the XLIst Congress : That the Secretary of the Treas- ury is hereby authorized to issue in a sum or sums not exceed- ing in the aggregate $200,000,000, coupon or registered bonds of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe, and of denominations of $50 or some multiple of that sum, redeem- able in coin of the present standard value * * * and bearing interest, payable semi-annually in such coin, at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. '^ " * Also a sum or sums not exceeding ^ * ^ $300,000,000 of like bonds, the same in all respects * '^ * interest at the rate of 4|^ per cent. * * ^ * Also a sum * -^ * not exceeding $1,000,- 000,000 of like bonds, the same in all respects * '^ * * interest at the rate of 4|- per cent. * * ^^ In accordance with and in obedience to the provisions of the above act, the Secretary of the Treasury prepared bonds by the terms of which the debtor and the creditor, as borrower and lender, acted understand] ngly. The lender paid gold and silver for his bond, according to his interest or convenience, and agreed to receive in payment of princi]3al and interest, gold or silver at the option of the goverimient. The following is a copy of the indorsement of the bonds issued under the law of July 14, 1870 : The United States of A merica are indebted to , of , or assigns, in the sum of dollars. This bond is issued in accordance with the provisions of an act of Congress entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt, approved July 14, 1870, amended by an act approved January 20, 1871," and is redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after the first day of September, A. D. 1891, in coin of the standard value of the United States on said July 14, 1870, with interest in such coin from the day of the date hereof at Articles of Thuklow Weed. 291 the rate of If per centum per annum, payable quarterly, on the first day of December, March, June, and September in each year. The principal and interest are exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from tax- ation in any form by or under State, or municijoal, or local authority. Until 1871, therefore, silver and gold coins in the eye of tlie law, and between the government and the bondholders, were of equal value, and equally a legal tender. It was not then " dishonesty," " repudiation," or " robl)ery " to pay our debts precisely as we agreed to pay them. But in 1873, after a sus- pension of specie payments, and when the question of resump- tion was in the distant future. Congress stealthily demonetized one of the precious metals. ISTo one asked for tliat chaiige, and very few knew that they had voted for it. We are left to infer its object by its effect. Gold C(-»ntinued to bear a pre- mium, while silver fell step by step, until we are asked whether it is honest to pay our debts in a dollar w^ortli eight per cent less than a gold dollar. My answer to this question is that tlie moment it was discovered that silver had. been fraudulently demonetized, the repeal of the law of 1873 sliould have been promptly and indignantly demanded. Silver restored to its accustomed position as a legal tender, would have recovered its market value, or if by the new financial attitude of the Latin governments its value in foreign markets had l^een unfavorably affected, we should have been in a position to meet the question upon equal grounds. But of tliis advantage we were surrepti- tiously deprived. The money standard question is eminently one to be adjusted by an international convention. If such a convention should now be called, we go into it at great disad- vantage, having voluntarily deprived ourselves of a standard recognized in common with gold by France, and used almost exclusively as money in India, China, and Japan. In wholly ignoring tliese considerations, the administration has lost a great opportunity. I waited anxiously for the President's message, in the hope that it would advert to the fraudulent demonetization of silver, recommending its restoration with such modifications as he might deem proper. I have long believed that resumption can be reached easily, and can be ren- dered permanent by the utilization of silver. This opinion is confirmed and strengthened by experience and observation. 292 Selections feom tpie Newspaper Silver lias quietly and advantageously taken the place of frac- tional paper currency — a currency by which, beside its incon- venience, the people lost many millions of dollars. But even subsidiary silver, precious as it is to the masses, offends the advocates of a gold standard. A JSTational Convention of Bankers, embodying and representing, it is to be presumed, the financial wisdom of the country, unanimously adopted, as the result of its deliberations, the following resolution : Resolved, That, in the opinion of this convention, silver money, as a subsidiary currency, is desired by the people, and that its " free," and not " enforced " use will greatly aid in restoring the value of our paper money. My great respect for individual bankers leads me to believe that, while this resolution was tmanimously adopted, many bankers would hesitate, individually, to avow their a]3proval of it. While the whole country is enjoying the advantages of partial specie resumption ; while the people everywhere hailed the return of silver coin as a precious boon, the bankers, though constrained to admit its usefulness in " restoring the value of our paper money," grudgingly consent to its " free," but not " enforced " circulation. In other words, the bankers say that as the people in their ignorance " desire " silver coins instead of paper stamps, it is well enough to gratify them by its circu- lation among themselves, provided the banks are not " enforced " to recognize it as a legal tender. The bankers' resolution reflects the spii'it manifested gener- ally by the gold advocates. This remark is especially true in reference to the Press. All the bitterness of denunciation against paper inflationists and repudiators has been turned upon those whose offense consists in advocating the restoration of a money standard authorized by the Constitution of the United States, and enjoyed by the people, under Congressional laws, until they M^ere fraudulently deprived of it in 1873. Indeed, the hostility to silver is so absorbing that the gold advocates begin to contemplate a paper currency with favor. The fact that greenbacks are worth more than silver is urged against its remonetization, while the other fact that the relative value of the greenback and silver dollar was fixed and determined by Congressional law, is concealed. If the silver dollar be now worth eight cents less than the gold dollar, it is because the Articles of Thuelow Weed, 293 Government made it so. Gold, like silver and paper, owes its money value now, as ever, to the government stamp. How conld silver be expected to retain its mone}'^ value when it ceased, under a law of Congress, to be a legal tender? Here- tofore, during the existence of our government, all parties claimed that legislation should be so guided as to develop the resources of the country and stimulate the industries of the people. There w^as a conflict between the planting, the manu- facturing, and the mineral interests. All interests, however, which came into competition with foreign countries demanded protection. New England required protection for her manu- factories, JSTew Jersey and Pennsylvania for their iron and coal, and Louisiana for her sugar. Later, when valuable deposits of lead and copper were discovered in the Western States, pro- tection was required and accorded to those interests. But when a kind Providence re^'ealed, in a trying crisis, treasures still more valuable and precious, instead of extending protec- tion to silver, the Government stealthily and secretly deprived it of its monetary character. Other metals, in their various ways, have been utilized. But the Government, the Bond- holders, the Press, and even the Pulpit, now unite in refusing to repeal a law which was fraudulently enacted. While, there- fore, other interests have been vigilantly guarded, we not only refuse to protect silver, l)ut deny ourselves the advantages resulting from its use as money. Before silver was found in our own country, we cheerfully availed ourselves of the Span- ish and Mexican silver dollars as a legal tender in the payment of all debts. Now, when we are rich in silver, we recklessly throw away all of these advantages. John Pandolph, in a speech delivered in the House of RejD- resentatives, half a century ago, against a protective tariff, said that he " hated wool," and would go a mile out of his way to " kick a sheep." Tt is very much in this spirit that the war- fare against silver is waged. The worshipers of gold hate silver, and go out of their way to " kick " the " dollar of their fathers." And yet, from the close of our war with England, in 1815, the history of the world furnishes no parallel to the growth, prosperity, and happiness of the American people, up to 1860, when we encountered rebellion and war. During that 29 -i Selections from the Newspaper long period, subject to occasional checks incident to all nations commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, each clierisliing and assisting the other, furnished rennmerative employment to all willing hands, and a rich reward to the capital invested. Dur- ing those " years of plenty " — years of indnstry and economy — the wealth was acquired which has since been scpiandered. We are working slowly back to that palmy condition nnder the demoralizing influences of a sangninary and expensive war — greatly retarded by liabits of extravagance and idleness which that war engendered. What we now need to restore pros- perity, is a return to the financial policy wliich gave us a paper currency, convertible at all times and places into specie. If it be nrged against sncli a policy that certain foreign governments have adopted a single standard, and that we must conform thereto, my answer is, that we mnst have a fair start by right- ing the wrong perpetrated in 1873. Under providential laws we are a wonderfully favored nation. We are producing silver in great abnndance. It is our right and our dnty fairly and honestly to make the most 'of it, as we do with the other products of earth and ocean. If for reasons which concern the credit or honor of the nation it is deemed expedient to pay the bondholder in gold, even though he agreed to receive his pay in coin, let that concession be made. Silver wonld still remain a standard among ourselves, and with full two-thirds of all the nations and jDeoples commercially related to us. This was the financial ground that I fondly hoj)ed the Administration would occupy. Upon such a basis resumption and prosperity would have been reached and maintained. There is, however, one more chance left for averting evil. The gold men, if not lost alike to considerations of justice and duty, and to a sense of their own true interest, will, after it has been properly amended, accept and vote for the Bland Silver Bill. In this way manifold dangers will not only be averted, but resumption and prosperity achieved. Should this last chance be lost ; if the gold men persist in a course which protracts the hoarding and sweating financial policy, they will become responsible for the consequences. Already, signal lights are burning. There is danger, it is said, that the Bland Bill will be passed by constitutional majorities in both Houses over a Presidential veto. Now, I take leave to say to the Articles of Thuelow Weed. 295 aggressive and rapacious capitalists that the worst thing possi- ble for them and for the M^elfare of our conntry, will be the defeat of a bill remonetizing silver, by a Presidential veto. If, therefore, the gold men persist in sowing the storm, they mnst be prepared to reap the whirlwind. Thonghtful men would be admonished by the fact that already nearly or quite two-thirds of the members of both Houses of Congress are in favor of the remonetization of silver. Should the voice of the people and the votes of their representatives be oveiTidden by an Execu- tive veto no prophet is needed to foretell the consequences. Those who delude themselves with the idea that the present defeat of a silver bill terminates the controversy, will soon find that illusion dispelled. The question, returned to the people will be considered in the light which discussion has thrown upon it. The advocates of silver will not, as heretofore, be largely confined to the South and West. The people of JSTew Jersey, New York, and Xew England, whose business interests have stood still cjuite too lo'ng, will speak and act, in ways that their rei3resentatives who vote to deprive them of the use of money providentially provided for their prosperity and happi- ness, will not misunderstand. If I discern and characterize " events which cast their shadows before,'' it is only in the hope of inducing good men to act wisely. I deprecate and deplore, as earnestly as any other citizen, the possibilities which we may be forced to encounter. It is only to avoid shipwreck that I reluctantly point out the reefs and rocks toward which we are drifting. My individual interests, in a small way, are identified with the class that differs so widely with me about the best methods for their security and protection. T. W. Kew York, Deeemder 11, 1877. 296 Selections from the Newspaper THUELOW WEED^S LETTER TO THE TWENTY- FIEST Al^NUAL CONYEJ^TION OF THE NEW YORK PRESS ASSOCIATION. New York, June 7, 1877. Dear Sir — Your letter of the 5th instant, inviting me to attend the Annnal Meeting of the New York Press Associa- tion, at Albany, on Wednesda}^ next, was dnlj received. I very innch regret that my engagements for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week will deprive me of the pleasure of meeting gentlemen with whom I am associated in sympathy, and whose occupation enables them to exert a powerful influ- ence upon all questions which concern the prosperity and happiness of the people and the welfare and stability of the government. Old men live in the past. My past was connected with the Press. My life, from 1811 to 1868, was j)assed as an apprentice, journeyman, publisher and editor, in Printing offices. These occupations were eminently congenial. Sixty- six years of constant labor were cheered by aspirations wliicIT were gradually but ultimately realized. Industry and fidelity were, under the guidance of a kind Providence, abundantly rewarded. And now, in the evening of life, my chief enjoy- ment consists in remembrances of the stirring events with which I have been connected, and of the army of patriotic and devoted friends of whom I cherish agreeable recollec- tions — recollections saddened only by the reflection that most of them have passed away. When I published my first newspaper at Norwich, Chenango county, there were about sixty journals in the State. Of their proprietors my friend Lewis H. Redfield, of Syracuse, is the only survivor. — -- With thanks for your kind invitation, and reiterated regrets that I am unable to accept it, please express to the members Articles of Thurj.ow "Weed. 297 of the Association, the hope that in maintaining and pre- serving the dignity and purity of the Press, their own pros- perity and happiness may be perpetuated. Truly yours, Thuklow Weed. Charles E. Smith, Esq. 38 University of Connecticut Libtaries