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ALFRED KELLEY

HIS LIFE ^lUSTD WORK

BY
THE HON. JAMES L. BATES
Of the Ohio Bab

PRIVATELY THIN" TED

COLUMBUS, OHIO
Press of Robert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati
1888

250 copies printed for private circulation.

Press of Robert Clarke & Co.
CINCINNATI.

NOTE.
This memoir was prepared by Judge Bates, of Colum
bus, a son-in-law of Mr. Kelley, at the request of the
other members of Mr. Kelley's family, at whose instance
it is now printed for private circulation among those
who knew Mr. Kelley, and for the purpose of putting on
record a statement of his services to the State, which he
rendered in so many ways. It is due to the author of
this memoir to say that he has not had the opportu
nity of reading the proofs, and for errors of editor
ship or the press he is therefore not responsible.
Cambridge, Mass., October, 1888.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
Birth and parentage — Removal to Lowville, N. Y. — Educa
tion — Bound for Ohio — Dr. Kirtland's account of the
journey — Cleveland in 1810 — Admitted to the Bar — Ap
pointed Prosecuting Attorney  1
CHAPTER II.
legislative service.
Elected to the Legislature — Service on committees — Re
ports on proposed amendments to the Constitution of
the United States — Report on canals — Marriage — Re
elected to the Legislature — Efforts to abolish imprison
ment for debt — Resolutions against slavery — Equaliza
tion of taxation — Investigation of the State Treasury-
Discovery of frauds  6
CHAPTER III.
legislative service continued.
Canals — A message from the Governor — Condition of the
blacks — Elected to the Senate — A question about lot
teries — Mr. Kelley's report thereupon  18
CHAPTER IV.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE PUBLIC LANDS.
Public lands set apart for schools — Maryland's objec
tions — Legislative report in full — Equal privileges
claimed for all the States — Maryland demands her
share — Resolutions transmitted to Governor and Legis
lature of Ohio — Views of New Hampshire  24
V

Table of Contents.
CHAPTER V.
the school lands question continued.
The Maryland and New Hampshire communications before
the Ohio Legislature— The governor's message— Re
ferred to a committee— Mr. Kelley chairman— A com
munication from Vermont— Mr. Kelley's report— An
exhaustive argument — Rights and privileges of the sev
eral States— Maryland's position controverted  37
CHAPTER VI.
THE OHIO CANALS.
Mr. Kelley appointed a canal commissioner— His report on
the subject — The considerations in favor — The Ohio
market in 1822— Mr. Kelley appointed acting commis
sioner — Proceeds to New York for study — Examination
of routes — Preliminary surveys — Feeding public senti
ment — The example of the Erie Canal  59
CHAPTER VII.
CANAL COMMISSIONERSHIP.
Locating canal routes — The commissioners' report— Two
routes proposed — The question of expense — A public
debt — The Muskingum and Scioto route authorized by
the Legislature — Mr. Kelley's forecast, sagacity, and
prudence — Appointment as canal commissioner — Three
dollars per day — The work commenced — Health im
paired — Report for 1825 — Cost of the work. — Effect of
the canals — Mr. Kelley's resignation as acting commis
sioner — Proposed inquiry into the accounts — The form
of the proposal resented — Mr. Kelley's methods of man
agement  69
CHAPTER VIII.
POLITICAL SERVICES.
Removal to Columbus — Election to the Legislature in 1836 —
Services — Election in 1837 — The State Debt — Chairman
of the Finance Committee — Imprisonment for debt
abolished — Political corruption of the times — Call for a
Whig General Convention — Picturesque scenes — Enter
taining delegates  94

Table of Contents.
CHAPTER IX.
MR. KELLEY AS A FINANCIER.
Financial distrust in 1840 — Mr. Kelley appointed Canal
Fund Commissioner — The State embarrassed — Borrow
ing money ,in England — Mr. Kelley's course — The honor
of the State at stake — Danger of repudiation — A crisis —
Mr. Kelley's courage and skill  101
CHAPTER X.
REPUDIATION REPUDIATED.
Judge Swan's testimony to Mr. Kelley's services at this
crisis — A stormy outlook — Mr. Kelley's personal liabili
ties — His letter to the Ohio State Journal — Repudiation
repudiated — Mr. Kelley's triumph — -His financial mission
to Europe  112
CHAPTER XI.
A NEW BANKING SYSTEM.
Retirement from office — Elected to the Senate — The cur
rency and its reform — The United States Bank — The
panic of 1837— A State bank for Ohio— Mr. Kelley's
views — Foundation of the present banking system  129
CHAPTER XII.
REVENUE REFORM.
Revision ^of the revenue system — Mr. Kelley's report —
Equalization of taxation — Sound economics  138
CHAPTER XIII.
EQUALIZATION OF THE TAXES.
Continued financial troubles — Mr. Kelley's proposal for
equalization of the taxes — A bold step — Mr. Edgerton's
speech — Mr. Kelley's reply — His resolution adopted —
The contest continued  148
CHAPTER XIV.
PASSAGE OF THE TAX LAW.
Mr. Kelley's speech. — Passage of the bill in the Senate — Its

Table of Contents.
passage in the House — Features of the law — The suc
ceeding political controversy over it — Its success and
effect  163
CHAPTER XV.
RAILROAD BUILDING.
The beginning of railroads — The Columbus and Xenia Rail
road — Selling bonds in New York — The Cleveland,
Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad — The Cleveland,
Painesville, and Ashtabula — Difficulties about gauge — A
new battle of Erie — A strategic movement — Buying up
a right of way — Mob-law at Erie — Mr. Kelley's '' Five
Mile Farm."  ,  174
CHAPTER XVI.
CLOSING YEARS.
The fugitive slave law — Re-election to the Senate — Sessions
of 1855-6 and 1856-7 — The improper use of the public
funds — Investigation of treasury ; alarming disclosures —
Bills to protect public funds — Bill to authorize payment
of taxes semi-annually — Suggestion to Mr. Yaple as to
public schools— Guarding the treasury — The new State
House— Mr. Kelley's address of welcome— Close of his
legislative career — The end  186
CHAPTER XVII.
PERSONAL TRAITS.
Mr. Kelley's probity— Originating talent— Good judgment-
Executive ability — Generous instincts — Literary tastes —
Love of poetry— Scientific knowledge— Familiarity with
geography— Hospitality— Mr. Yaple's reminiscences-
Business habits— Domestic traits— Recollections of
Mathias Martin and Judge Swan— "Alfred Kelley's place
in history "—Henry Clay's estimate— The last visit of
his life — ''Just like him "  201
viii

ALFRED KELLEY;
HIS LIFE AND WOKK.

CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
1789-1810.
Birth and parentage. — Removal to Lowville, N. Y. — Educa
tion.- — Bound for Ohio. — Dr. Kirtland's account of the journey. —
Cleveland in 1810. — Admitted to the Bar. — Appointed Prose
cuting Attorney.

The personal efforts and official life of the subject of
this biography are so intimately blended with the devel
opment of the resources of Ohio, with its commercial
and financial prosperity, and with the establishment and
maintenance of its credit, that the following narration
will necessarily include much of these departments of
the history of the State. Mr. Kelley's mental charac
teristics, and particularly his originating talent, were
such, that even when he was associated with others his
seemed to be the controlling mind, and he alone was held
responsible for results.
Alfred Kelley was born in Middlefield, near Middle-
town, Connecticut, November 7th, 1789. He was the
second son of Daniel and Jemima Kelley, and inherited
1

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
characteristics from both parents. In him were com
bined intellectual force, tenacity of purpose, and a strong
will, for which his mother's family was distinguished ;
with coolness, a disposition to thorough investigation,
and an evenly balanced judgment, which were peculiari
ties of his father. His early associates were among the
sturdy and well ordered inhabitants of New England,
and he lived near enough to the Revolution to be affected
by its general influence, and particularly by the attach
ment to home and country whicli naturally resulted from
its privations and success.
The boy remained in Middlefield until the winter of
1798-9, when his parents removed with their family to
Lowville, in the northern part of New York. The jour
ney was long, and the country to which they were immi
grating was new, even when compared with their New
England home. Three or four white families comprised
all the inhabitants except Indians. Here the father
made favorable investments and accumulated a moderate
property by industry and economy.
The son had all the educational advantages which
the region in which he lived afforded. He attended the
common schools and was several years a student at the
'Fairfield Academy. His scientific and literary attain
ments are conclusive evidence that he was a thorough
student, and availed himself of all the advantages which
were within his reach. Early in his life he exhibited a
preference for the legal profession, and' his studies were
directed accordingly. At some time during the year
2

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
1807 he entered the law office of Judge Jonas Piatt, one
of the eminent jurists of the State of New York, under
whose instruction he studied law until May in 1810,
when he started for Ohio, in company with his uncle,
Judge Joshua Stow, and Jared P. Kirtland. Judge Stow
was then a prominent and influential citizen of the State
of Connecticut, and Mr. Kirtland was a medical student
from the same State, and younger than Mr. Kelley.
The two young men, like many others from New England
and New York, were at that time seeking homes in
Northern Ohio, which was then "the far West." Some
traveled on foot, and others, as did this company, on
horseback. During the previous winter General Peter B. Porter,
then a member of Congress, representing a district in
Western New York, made a speech, in which he advo
cated the construction, by the general government, of a
canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. The public
was much interested in the subject, and it was discussed
often on the road, and at their stopping places. In a
letter of Dr. Kirtland, in which he gives an account of
the journey, he says :
"The suggestion in the public estimation was Utopian, as
it was in the opinion of the older members of our traveling
company. Our journey was along the route subsequently se
lected for that great work. Mr. Kelley was a firm believer
in both its importance and practicability. It was the subject
of almost constant debate, not only in our traveling coterie,
but at most of our stopping places, and among all classes of
people. On Mr. Kelley devolved the task of defending the
3

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
project, which he did on all occasions, with a skill and enthu
siasm that excited the admiration of every one, but which en
titled him to the rank of a monomaniac in the estimation of
the older and conservative portions of his hearers. Conserva
tism was then the order of the day among statesmen, politi
cians, and financiers.
"His example and influence over myself during that jour
ney I have felt through life. They were the best and most
effective schooling I ever received. Bashful, timid, and un
stable at that time, I could not fail to admire in him such
prominent and opposite traits ot character ; and though I was
then prone to consider him as severe and dogmatical, yet I
was a full believer in all he said, as well as secretly an admirer
of his mode of doing. Of course I adopted, to some extent,
him as a model and oracle."
In the latter part of June, and in his twenty-first year,
Mr. Kelley reached Cleveland and became one of its in
habitants. At that time Cleveland contained three
framed and five or six log houses. Neither of the framed
dwellings was finished. One person attended to all the
business of the Post Office, the Recorder's Office, the
Clerk of the Supreme Court, and the Court of Common
Pleas. At the first session of the Supreme Court held in
Cuyahoga County, and in the year 1810, Mr. Kelley was
admitted to the Bar, and at the first term of the Court of
Common Pleas thereafter he was appointed Prosecuting
Attorney, which office he continued to hold by successive
appointments until 1822, when he resigned on becoming
Canal Commissioner. Business came to him imme-
4

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
diately, and he soon practiced in many of the counties
on the Reserve.
The Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, who was often with him
on the Circuit, in a letter on the subject, says :
" He was distinguished in whatever business he undertook
to perform." . . . "As a draughtsman he was accurate,
and I question whether the records contain evidence of many,
if they do any, defective bills of indictment, declarations,
bills in chancery, or any other legal or equitable proceedings."
He was also an advocate of extraordinary force and
cogency, and when he relinquished his practice to take
charge of the construction of the Ohio Canal, it was as
large and lucrative as that of any attorney in that part
of the State.

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER II.
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE.
1814-1820.
Elected to the Legislature. — Service on committees. — Reports
on proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United
States. — Report on canals. — Marriage. — Re-elected to the Legis
lature. — Efforts to abolish imprisonment for debt, — Resolutions
against slavery. — Equalization of taxation. — Investigation of the
State Treasury. — -Discovery of frauds.

In 1814, and as soon as he had arrived at the required
age of twenty-five, Mr. Kelley was elected a member of
the Legislature, and with William A. Harper represented
Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, and Geauga Counties, which then
comprised most of the Reserve. And although he was
the youngest man in either branch of the General
Assembly, the proceedings show that he was one of the
most prominent and influential members.
He was re-elected in 1815. It was a common practice
at that time, as it has been since, for the Legislature of
one State to suggest an amendment of the Constitution
of the United States, or propose some other general
object, and request the approval of it by the Legislatures
of the other States, and thus exert a combined influence
upon Congress.
North Carolina, in pursuance of this custom, proposed
an amendment requiring the " Legislatures of the several
6

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
States to district the same, for the purpose of appointing
electors of President and Vice-President of the United
States," instead of electing them all by a general ticket.
The communication of the State of North Carolina was
presented to the Legislature by the Governor with an
accompanying message, and referred to a committee of
five, of which Mr. Kelley was chairman, who, in be
half of the committee, reported as follows :
" The committee to whom was referred the resolution of the
Legislature of North Carolina proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States requiring the Legislatures
of the several States to district the same for the purpose of
choosing representatives in Congress, and also for the purpose
of appointing electors of President and Vice-President of the
United States, have had, the same under consideration, and
are of opinion :
" That as representatives in Congress are elected for the
purpose of actiug upon all the various subjects which may
come before the Natioual Legislature, as well of a local as of
a general nature, it is important that they should be in
timately acquainted with the local situation, interests and
sentiments of the particular section of the Union which they
represent, and that the people should be able to know the
qualifications of those whom they elect to represent them, and
that the several States should be districted in the most advan
tageous manuer to effect these important objects.
"Yet believing, that this can be done, and that most of the
States are districted for the purpose of electing representatives
in Congress under the provision of the Constitution as it now
exists, and that serious inconveniences might in many in
stances result from requiring absolutely the several States to
be divided into a number of districts equal to the number of
representatives to which each State may be entitled, and no
more. Your committee are therefore of opinion, that it is
unnecessary and inexpedient to alter the Constitution of the
United States in this respect.
"Your committee are also of opinion that it would be im
politic to district the several States for the purpose of ap-
7

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
pointing electors of President and Vice-President, believing
that it would be productive of no material advantages.
" Electors being chosen to perform one definite act only,
the same necessity for their being acquainted with the local
situations and interests of the different sections of the Union
does not exist as in the case of representatives in Congress."
"Districting the States for the purpose of appointing
electors, might also, by dividing a State, destroy that influ
ence to which it is entitled and would otherwise possess, and
would in many instances prevent a fair expression of the
public will, and produce a choice of electors a majority of
whom might act in opposition to the wishes of a majority of
the citizens of the State for which they were appointed."
The Legislature declined to approve the proposed
amendment. The State of Georgia also recommended an amend
ment of the Constitution of the United States, by which
the term of senators in Congress would be reduced from
six to four years. This was also received from the Gov
ernor, referred to the same committee, and reported
upon by Mr. Kelley as follows :
" The committee to whom was referred the resolution of
the Legislature of the State of Georgia recommending an al
teration of the Constitution of the United States reducing
the term of service of senators in Congress from six to four
years beg leave to report :
" That although your committee are fully impressed with
the belief, that, in order to secure our natural liberties and
privileges as well as to give tone and energy to the Govern
ment, it is of the utmost importance that the people should
have frequent opportunities of expressing their sentiments
and feelings upon National affairs, and of displacing such
of their representatives as may be incompetent or dangerous,
and of electing others to fill their places more able or less
dangerous, yet to prevent the pernicious consequences of
sudden and violent changes, to temper and regulate the force
of popular impulse, to secure a proper degree of uniformity
and stability to our National councils, they believe it to be

Alfred KeUey ; his Life and Work.
of equal importance that one branch of the general govern
ment should be composed of men who are not so imme
diately dependent upon popular opinion, who are subject to
be less frequently changed, and a majority of whom may at
all times possess the advantages of experience in legislative
proceedings and a knowledge of the measures and policy of
government. Your committee are also of opinion that it is
inexpedient to change the principles of the Constitution, ex
cept to remedy material and palpable defects."
The Georgia proposition was not approved.
In 1816 Mr. Kelley was again elected to the Legis
lature, and with William Kerr represented the counties
of Ashtabula, Geauga, Cuyahoga, and Huron. During
this session a letter was received from DeWitt Clinton,
one of the commissioners appointed by the State of
New York for the purpose of ascertaining the practi
cability of connecting by a canal the Hudson with Lake
Erie, calling the attention of Ohio to its importance as
an outlet for its products, and suggesting that it should
participate in the expense of the work. New York did
not feel able to sustain the burden of such an under
taking ; and, as Ohio would be materially benefited by
it, this proposition was made. The subject was re
ferred to a committee of which Mr. Kelley was chair
man ; and although the Legislature did not accede to
the request the following extract from the report shows
a full appreciation of the importance of the enterprise :
" From an examination of the subject submitted to their
consideration, your committee are fully impressed with the
belief that the making of a canal from the Hudson River
to Lake Erie, is an object of the first importance to this State,
and to the United States in general, both in a commercial
9

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
and political point of view. The facility which it will afford
to the exportation of the surplus produce of our luxuriant
soil, and the consequent encouragement of agricultural and
commercial enterprise, are effects too obvious to pass un
noticed, and of too much importance to be neglected. As
affording a safe, easy and expeditious mode of a mutual in
terchange of commodities between different sections of our
common country, highly advantageous to all, — as increasing
the commercial connections, friendly intercourse, and ties of
interest, and by these means strengthening the bonds of union
between remote parts of the Nation, the contemplated canal pre
sents advantages vastly superior to those resulting from any
work of the kind accomplished by the industry of man in any
age or country."
Referring to Ohio, with the Lake on the north, and
the Ohio River on the South, its climate, soil, and
streams, he says :
" We are struck with its natural advantages, which, if im
proved by an enlightened and liberal policy, will render the
situation of Ohio inferior to that of no State in the Union,
or country in the Avorld."
In the summer of this same year, and on the 25th
day of August, Mr. Kelley was married at Martinsburgh,
in Northern New York, to Mary Seymour Welles, the
eldest daughter of Major Melancthon W. Welles, of that
place. An account of her life ought to be written, for
the double purpose of perpetuating the memory of her
unusual attractiveness and usefulness, and also of pre
serving some account of the habits, manners, and do
mestic usages of that early period.
Mr. Kelley was again elected to the Legislature, in
1819, and, with Ebenezer Merry, represented the same
counties — Ashtabula, Geauga, Cuyahoga, and Huron.
10

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Down to this period, in the State of Ohio, and it is be
lieved in every other State, and in Great Britain, im
prisonment for debt was both authorized and practiced.
Innocent and honest men were imprisoned for no other
reason than that they were unfortunate debtors. The
process issued without bond or other security on the
part of the creditor. Cruel and even barbarous as it
appears now, it was, at that time, a common and usual
proceeding. At this session, and on the 24th of De
cember, 1819, Mr. Kelley took the first step in the his
tory of jurisprudence to relieve the innocent from this
harsh and cruel practice. On that day he introduced
a bill " To abolish imprisonment for debt." It con
tained also provisions, similar to those now in force,
against fraudulent conveyances and other fraudulent
acts of debtors which were intended to injure creditors.
The proposition seems to us obviously just, and we
even wonder that such a practice ever prevailed. It
was, however, so old and so interwoven with legal usages,
that only a minority could be induced to favor Mr. Kel
ley's bill. He was so far in advance of public sentiment
on this subject, that it required many years of education
to satisfy even a majority of the injustice and inhuman
ity of allowing the imprisonment of an honest but un
fortunate debtor at the will of his creditor.
After the defeat of the bill, Mr. Kelley wrote to a
friend :
"The House has to-day disagreed, by a small majority, to
my favorite bill, to abolish imprisonment for debt. I was not
11

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
disappointed, although at first a large majority seemed to
favor it. The time will come when the absurdity, as well as
inhumanity, of adding oppression to misfortune will be ac
knowledged." At that early day, the aggressive and dangerous dispo
sition of the slave-holders was exhibited in a determina
tion to extend slavery into our free territories. The
proceedings and discussions in Congress rendered it ex
pedient for the Ohio Legislature to declare its opinion
on the subject. Resolutions were therefore introduced
for that purpose, and the Senate and House disagreed as
to the form in which that opinion should be expressed.
To settle that disagreement, a committee of conference
was appointed, of which Mr. Kelley was a member, and
prepared and procured the adoption by the committee of
the following preamble and resolution :
"Wliereas, the existence of slavery in our country must be
considered a national calamity, as well as a great moral and
political evil; and whereas, the admission of slavery within
the new states and territories of the United States is fraught
with the most pernicious consequences, and calculated to en
danger the peace and prosperity of our country. Therefore,
Resolved by the General Assembly of tlie State of Ohio, That
our senators and representatives in Congress be requested to
use their utmost exertions to prevent the admission or intro
duction of slavery into any of the territories of the United
States, or any new State that may hereafter be admitted into
the Union."
As a member of the committee, he reported the pre
amble and resolution to the House, by which it was
adopted unanimously.
At this session the inequality of taxation attracted
12

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the attention of Mr. Kelley, and, on his motion, a stand
ing committee on finance was appointed, of which he was
made chairman. Not long afterward, as such chairman,
he submitted an elaborate report, in which he pointed
out defects in the mode of valuing lands, which were
then nearly the exclusive source of revenue, as well as
in the method of assessing and levying taxes ; and recom
mended a mode of simplifying both.
At that time, land was divided into three grades, and
was taxed by the acre, and not according to its value.
In relation to this principle of taxation, as well as the
method of assessing and collecting taxes, the committee
reported :
"That they have taken into consideration that part of his
Excellency's Message to them referred, as well as the various
laws, now in force, relating to the revenue ; and from a dili
gent examination of the subject, your committee are con
vinced, that many defects exist iu our present system of
finance. Some of these defects affect the principles on which
the taxes are levied ; but the more numerous, as well as
more serious difficulties, appear to be in the method of assess
ing and collecting the taxes already imposed.
" The most equitable, as well as the most simple method of
raising a revenue from real property, is to levy a tax on lands,
in proportion to their value. And were it not for the many
difficulties which suggest themselves to this method of assess
ment, in the present situation of the state, your committee
would feel no hesitation in recommending its adoption. The
expense attending an actual valuation of all the various
tracts of land within the state, and of equalizing such valu
ation amongst the different districts or sections of the state,
so that the various tracts might be assessed in proportion to
their relative, as well as real value, would be very consider
able. In all new countries which are fast progressing in im
provement, and where experience as well as adventitious cir
cumstances are daily disclosing the important advantages pos-
13

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
sessed by local situations ; the real as well as relative value of
property is so rapidly changing, that the necessity of a fre
quent revaluation, and general equalization, would greatly en
hance the expenses of levying a tax. When all the lands
within the state shall become subject to taxation, and shall
have obtained something like a fixed and permanent value,
and possibly before that period, this system may, with pro
priety, be adopted.
" There appear to be many serious defects in the present
method of collecting the tax levied on lands, and making
entries, alterations, and transfers, on the tax lists. . . .
" The present system is, in the opinion of your committee,
too complicated and intricate. Laws upon which all classes
of community are required constantly to act, should be plain
and simple, and should provide an easy method for rectifying
mistakes when they occur. Your committee are aware of the
difficulty of rendering any system of taxation, so complicated
in its very nature, as plain and simple as would be desirable;
yet they believe much might be done to remedy some of the
most material defects of that which is now in force.
" Some further provisions to secure the purchasers of lands
sold for the non-payment of taxes, an undisturbed possession
and complete title, seem to be necessary, in order to render it
safe to purchase lands so sold.
" Your committee recommend to provide by law for strict
regularity in all the proceedings to effect sales of land for non
payment of taxes, and that the deed of conveyance, bottomed
on such sales, be declared, at least, prima facie evidence of
title. " Many of the errors which have crept into our tax lists,
originate in the inability of the boards of commissioners, in
many of the counties, to transact business which requires so
much care and exactness. Experience proves that the quali
fications of a candidate to fill that office, do not always form
a criterion of his success in the ejection."
At this session also the term of the Treasurer of State
expired, and he was re-elected by a joint ballot of the
Legislature. Not long after his re-election, suspicions
arose in regard to the safety of the public funds, and a
14

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
special committee was appointed to examine the books
of -the Auditor and Treasurer. On the 7th of February,
the committee reported a deficiency of $5,494.20, with
out recommending any action in relation to it. On the
11th of February, in secret session, a resolution was of
fered to prepare and report articles of impeachment
against the Treasurer of State, which was laid upon the
table. At this stage of the proceedings, it appear
ing that nothing was likely to be done to secure the
funds then remaining in the treasury, Mr. Kelley offered
a resolution which was amended and adopted as fol
lows :
"Resolved, by the House of Representatives, that a com
mittee of five members be appointed to examine the funds of
the Treasury, and request the Treasurer to lock and seal the
vault of the Treasury, and that said committee report, from
time to time, to this House, any information they may think
important." Mr. Kelley was one of the committee, but not its
chairman, and on the 16th the committee made a report
from which it appears that they waited upon the Treas
urer the day they were appointed, and he requested that
the examination be delayed until the next day ; and an
arrangement was made, on his suggestion, that the keys
be divided between them. While in this situation, the
committee thought it prudent " to keep an eye on the
Treasury," and therefore a part of them kept possession
of the Governor's room " for the night." The door of
the Governor's room was opposite to, and across a small
15

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
hall from, the door of the Treasurer's office. This extra
ordinary vigilance was considered necessary in order- to
prevent any interference with the funds, and especially
the removal of any money or securities which might
have been deposited temporarily to cover all or any part
of the deficiency. It is generally the case that some
outside parties are connected with such defalcations, and
are willing to aid in concealing them and protecting the
guilty officers. The next morning the Treasurer re
quested further time, and offered to resign on Monday,
the 14th, if the examination should be delayed to that
time. The delay was granted. On Monday the Treas
urer said that his sureties " had directed him not to re
sign his office." He however permitted the examina
tion to proceed, and the committee found and reported a
deficit of $11,431.78.' Before the examination was com
pleted the Treasurer resigned. The committee retained
the keys until the 17th, when his successor was ap
pointed. Not long afterward the State received this deficit,
and the settlement appears in the proceedings of a sub
sequent Legislature.
It is quite evident to any one acquainted with the
character of Mr. Kelley that the resolution, as originally
drawn did not simply "request the Treasurer to lock
and seal the vault," but contained terms giving the
committee such authority as would insure that result.
This is corroborated by a statement of Judge Swan, who
was living in Columbus at the time, and was familiar
16

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
with all the facts ; which statement was made in re
lation to Mr. Kelley's election to the Senate in 1855 :
" Nor was it entirely forgotten that on a former occasion,
far back in our history, Mr. Kelley had detected and exposed
a treasury defalcation, which had escaped the penetration of
every other member of the Legislature. That his boldness
and penetration had brought to light the unworthy incum
bent's guilt, and had driven him in disgrace from his office.
That by Mr. Kelley's firmness and extraordinary exertions,
the amount abstracted from the Treasury had been secured,
and the residue of the public money to a vast amount, and
including fifty thousand dollars, a tax levied on the Bank of
the United States, effectually secured from waste and plun
der." 2 17

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER III.
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE CONTINUED.
Canals.— A message from the Governor. — Condition of the
blacks. — Elected to the Senate. — A question about lotteries. —
Mr. Kelley's report thereupon.

The discussions, during the preceding eight or nine
years, growing out of the New York Canals, had, by this
time, suggested similar improvements in other States.
The practicability and usefulness of such public works
Mr. Kelley had advocated all through that period. Soon
after he became a citizen of Ohio, he made himself
familiar with its resources and its topography. No one
in the State was more familiar with its streams and sur
face ; and at a very early day he became satisfied that
the Lake and the Ohio River might be connected by a
navigable canal. Few then concurred with him in this
opinion ; but he was so accustomed to be in advance of
public sentiment that he was not at all deterred by being
in a minority. The subject was freely discussed by the
members of the Legislature at this session, and, with a
view of formally presenting it to that body and to the
public at large, a resolution was adopted by the House,
requesting the Governor to communicate thereto such
information as was in his possession relating to a Canal
connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The Gov-
18

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ernor responded to this resolution by a message in which
he furnished " representations, ideas, and opinions being
derived from casual observations and various indi
viduals." A careful reading of the message, which con
tains much statistical and topographical information,
will suggest to any one familiar with Mr. Kelley's
knowledge of these subjects and the clearness and force
of his statements, that the argument, with the statistics,
were furnished by him. Many copies of the message
were printed and circulated by order of the House ; and
this incipient step did much to form the public opinion
which some years later secured that great public im
provement. At this period the prejudice against the African race
was very intense even in many of the free States. The
blacks were brought to this country by force, were com
pelled to labor in the South without compensation, and
were, in that section, even debarred from education and
from all legal means of protection against what were
conceded to be wrongs inflicted by the whites. In Ohio,
though educated and free, they were not allowed to tes
tify against a white man. The injustice of this rule was
as evident to Mr. Kelley, then, as it became many years
afterward to all reasonable men ; and at this session,
with a small minority, he voted in favor of giving to the
negro the right of testifying as fully as it was possessed
by the whites.
In 1821 Mr. Kelley was elected to the Senate, and
represented the counties of Cuyahoga, Huron, and San-
19

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
dusky. The Legislature convened on the 3d day of
December, and on the 11th the Governor transmitted to
the Senate a memorial of the Mayor, Aldermen, and
Common Council of the District of Columbia — in which
it is stated that by an act of Congress the memorialists
are authorized to establish a lottery within the District
as a means of procuring money for the purpose of
" effecting important improvements in the City of Wash
ington, which the ordinary revenue thereof will not ac
complish," provided the amount " so authorized to be
raised " shall not exceed ten thousand dollars each
year. The memorialists further state that when these
lotteries are put in operation, prohibitory laws are en
acted by some of the States, and the purpose of them
is in part defeated. They therefore* ask, in behalf of
their fellow-citizens, the active interposition of the State
of Ohio in their favor. Reference is made to the un
improved condition of the District, which twenty years
before was " for the most part covered with woods, im
passable marsh, without inhabitants save the occupants
of one or two farms." And they state their wish to in
vest the proceeds in " the building of a City Hall, of
Lancasterian schools, of a Penitentiary," etc. They
also refer to the question whether a State has a right to
prohibit the sale of lottery tickets authorized to be
issued in another jurisdiction, in regard to which they
express no opinion, but think it sufficient that it has
been decided in favor of the prohibitory laws. They
seek no controversy, and only ask of the States what
20

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
they " have always rendered to them." They conclude
with a moving appeal on account of the name of the
City, and -the equity of their claim to toleration.
This memorial was referred to a committee of three
members, of which Mr. Kelley was chairman. He pre
pared the following report, and, as chairman, submitted
it to the Senate on the 24th of December :
" The committee to whom was referred the memorial of
the ' Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the city of
Washington,' praying that an act may be passed, ' authoriz
ing the sale, within the State of Ohio, of tickets in any lot
tery which has or may be authorized for public purposes in
said city.' have had the subject uuder consideration, and now
submit the following Report.
" That, from an examination of the subject connected with
the prayer of the petitioners, your committee are convinced
it has been the policy of the General Assembly of Ohio to re
fuse all similar applications, as well those made by our own
citizens as by citizens of other states.
"Several applications have been made by citizens or bodies
corporate within this state, for the purpose of obtaining au
thority from the Legislature to raise money by way of lot
teries to aid iu the prosecution of some favorite objects.
These applications, though made for purposes in themselves
confessedly laudable, and of manifest public utility, have of
late years been uniformly refused. This refusal has probably
resulted from a conviction on the part of the Legislature, that
lotteries are detrimental to the public welfare and demoraliz
ing iu their influence on the community. In this opinion,
your committee fully concur.
" The direct and obvious tendency of lotteries is to take
from the many, and give to the few ; to create fortunes for
individuals at the expense of their fellow-citizens, and thereby
in some measure destroy that equality in the distribution of
property which we believe to be one of the strongest pillars
of a republican government. We conceive the dealing in
lottery tickets to be a species of gaming, which, in many in-
21

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
stances, induces at least a partial reliance on fortune for that
support and competency for the attainment of which pru
dence teaches us to rely on our own exertions. So far as
this is true, lotteries tend directly to discourage industry,
which is the parent of national, as well as individual, wealth
and prosperity ; and to promote idleness, aud a spirit of im
prudent speculation, with all their attendant train of disap
pointments, vices, and crimes. We, moreover, conceive it
extremely inconsistent for a legislature, whose acts prohibit
private or individual gaming, under severe penalties, to sanc
tion legal or public gaming, which, in its effects, may be
equally pernicious. Nor can we admit, in this instance, that
the end, however laudable, will justify the means.
"The raising of money by lotteries is only another method
of taxing the people, more agreeable, perhaps, to some, be
cause voluntary ; but doubly severe and oppressive in its
effect, as the people are taxed not only for the benefit of the
public, but also to create fortunes for successful individuals —
and we can see no difference, as it respects the burden of the
contribution, whether the people are induced by flattering
promises to part with their money, or whether it is taken
from them by the strong arm of legal authority.
"The people of Ohio, we believe, feel no hostility to the
growth or improvement of the city of Washington ; on the
contrary, we are confident they feel the same pride, and the
same interest in the respectability and beauty of our national
metropolis — of that city which bears the beloved name of
Washington — which is common to the bosom of every
American. But we conceive that neither justice nor good
policy will permit this General Assembly, who are consti
tuted the guardians of the welfare and morals of the people
of Ohio, to sacrifice those important considerations in order
to aid in the improvement of the city of Washington, how
ever desirable that object may be.
"Interesting as the questions of state rights and preroga
tives may be to the General Assembly and people of Ohio, we
are far from accusing the citizens of Washington of any im
proper interference in the decision of those questions. And,
even had they so interfered, we, are not conscious that mo
tives of resentment would indicate to this General Assembly
any other course iu relation to the memorial under considera
tion than that pointed out by justice and sound policy.
While the Legislature of Ohio are disposed to defend with
22

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
firmness the rights and prerogatives of the State by all rea
sonable and prudent means, we believe they are not disposed
to be illiberal or unjust, even to those who may not coincide
with them in opinion. And we are confident that no reasona
ble man, or body of men, will attribute to improper motives a
refusal of this General Assembly to extend to the citizens of
other districts or states privileges which, from motives of pol
icy, are denied to the citizens of Ohio.
" Your committee therefore recommend the adoption of the
following resolution, viz :
"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That
the prayer of the mayor, aldermen, and common council of
the city of Washington, soliciting the passage of a law au
thorizing the sale of lottery tickets within this State, is incon
sistent with sound policy, and therefore ought not to be
granted. Resolved, That his Excellency, the Governor, be requested
to transmit a copy of the foregoing report and resolution to
the mayor of the city of Washington."
The report was adopted by the Senate and House.
23

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER IV.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE PUBLIC LANDS.
Public lands set apart for schools. — Maryland's objections. —
Legislative report in full. — Equal privileges claimed for all the
States. — Maryland demands her share. — Resolutions transmitted
to Governor and Legislature of Ohio. — Views of New Hampshire.

Very soon after the adoption of the Constitution of
the United States, the importance of schools as an agent
for the diffusion of knowledge was appreciated by the
members of Congress as well as by all other thinking
and intelligent people. It was obvious to them that our
form of government is not adapted to a nation in which
the masses are ignorant and illiterate. That body there
fore, in the formation of new States, provided for the
stability of the government by setting apart in each of
such States, with the exception of Kentucky, a portion
of the public lands as a fund for the establishment and
support of schools ; and, in some instances, of higher
grades of institutions of learning. The aggregate of
lands which had thus been set apart for schools in the
new States, when added to what would be thus set apart
in others to be thereafter organized, was very large, and
its magnitude attracted the attention of the old or orig
inal States. Some of them entertained the idea that
such appropriations deprived them of their share of the
24

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
value of such lands, and were therefore unjust. Under
the belief that they had been thus wronged, the Legis
lature of the State of Maryland, in the early part of the
year 1821, adopted a report in which this claim is fully
set forth, and a full equivalent, from the public lands, is
specifically demanded. This report was approved by the
State of New Hampshire in June of that year. That
approval was also accompanied by a report in which the
action of Congress, in behalf of the old States and
Kentucky, is invoked, not as a matter of favor, but of
right. These reports were transmitted to the several States
of the Union for approval, and to the senators and mem
bers of Congress to induce their favorable action. The
discussion involved important national questions, and
was carried on between States. The amount involved,
according to the reports referred to, was more than
fourteen millions of acres of the public domain.
To appreciate this discussion, and particularly the
views entertained by the State of Ohio, it is necessary
to introduce a large portion of the report of the State of
Maryland. That State presented its view as follows :
"The committee, to whom was referred so much of the
Governor's message as relates to -education and public instruc
tion, beg leave to report :
"That they concur with his Excellency in believing edu
cation, and a general diffusion of knowledge, in a government
constituted like ours, to be of great importance, and that,
'in proportion as the structure of a government gives weight
to public opinion, it is essential that the public opinion should
25

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
be enlightened.' Your committee consider our government
as emphatically a government of opinion. A general diffu
sion of knowledge, which is essential to its right administra
tion, can not be effected, unless the people are educated. No
high degree of civilization, of moral power and dignity, or of
intellectual excellence; no superiority in science, in litera
ture, or in liberal and useful arts, which constitutes the no
blest national supremacy, can be attained without the aid of
seminaries of learning. The establishment of literary insti
tutions, then, of all grades, from the common school up to
the university, becomes the first duty of the Legislature of a
free people.
Your committee are well aware of the difficulty, in the
present embarrassed state of our pecuniary concerns, of pro
viding the means of making education general. They are
fully sensible, that at this time large appropriations out of the
public treasury for this purpose, all-important as it is, can not
be expected. They deem it, therefore, their duty to recall to
your notice a Report and certain Resolutions, presented to the
Senate at the last session by a committee of like nature with the
present, which has been referred to your committee, as a part
of the unfinished business. The object of these Resolutions
was to call the attention of Congress and the Legislatures of
the several States to the Public Lands, as a fund from which
appropriations for the purposes of education may with justice
be claimed, not only by Maryland, but all the original States
and three of the new ones.
" One thirty-sixth part of all the States and Territories
(except Kentucky), whose waters fall into the Mississippi and
the Gulf of Mexico, has been appropriated by Congress,
wherever the Indian title has been extinguished, and provi
sions made for further appropriations, according to the same
ratio, wherever the Indian title may hereafter be extinguished,
for the support of common schools; and other large appropri
ations have beeu made for the support of seminaries of a
higher grade. Your committee are of opinion, that the
States for whose benefit no such appropriations have beeu
made are entitled to ask them of Congress, not as a matter of
favor, but of justice. That this may fully appear, especially
as the right of those States to an equal participation with the
States formed out of the Public Lands in all the benefits de
rived from them has been doubted, your committee have
26

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
deemed it proper to take a cursory view of the manner in
which they have been acquired.
"Before the war of the revolution, and indeed for some
years after it, several of the States possessed, within their nom
inal limits, extensive tracts of waste and unsettled lands.
These States were all, at that epoch, regal, and not proprietary,
and the crown, either directly or through the medium of offi
cers, whose authority had been prescribed or assented to by
the crown, was in the habit of granting those lands. The
right of disposing of them was claimed and exercised by the
crown in some form or other. They might, therefore, with
strict propriety, be called the property of the crown.
"A question arose soon after the declaration of independ
ence, whether those lands should belong to the United States,
or to the individual States within whose nominal limits they
were situated.
" However that question might be decided, no doubt could
be entertained, that the property and jurisdiction of the soil
were acquired by the common sword, purse and blood of all
the States, united in a common effort. Justice, therefore,
demanded that, considered in the light of property, the vacant
lands should be sold to defray the expenses incurred in the
contest by which they were obtained ; and the future har
mony of the States required, that the extent and ultimate
population of the several States should not be so dispropor
tionate as they would be if their nominal limits should be
retained." " By the treaty of peace in 1788, Great Britain relinquished
' to the United States all claim to the government property,
and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof.'
"The justice and sound policy of ceding the unsettled
lands, urged with great earnestness and force by those States
which had united in conquering them from Great Britain,
strengthened by the surrender, on the part of Great Britain,
of her rights of property and jurisdiction to the United
States collectively, and aided, moreover, by the elevated and
patriotic spirit of disinterestedness and conciliation, which
then animated the whole confederation, at length made the
requisite impression upon the States which had exclusively
claimed those lands ; and each of them, with the exception of
Georgia, made cessions of their respective claims within a few
years after the peace. Those States were Massachusetts,
27

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and South
Carolina, the charters of which, with the exception of New
York, extended westwardly to the South Sea or Pacific
Ocean. This circumstance gave to Massachusetts aud Con
necticut a joint claim with Virginia to such parts of what
was then called the North-western Territory as came within
the breadth of their respective charters. The rest of that
territory lay within the limits of the charter of Virginia.
New York, indeed, had an indefinite claim to a part of it.
Cessions, however, from all these States at length completed
the title of the United States, and placed it beyond all con
troversy. "The State of North Carolina ceded its claim to the terri
tory which now constitutes the State of Tennessee.
" Georgia (whose charter also extended westwardly to the
Pacific Ocean) at length, in 1802, ceded the territory which
now constitutes the States of Mississippi and Alabama, except
a small part on the south side of them, which was acquired
under the treaty ceding Louisiana. The conditions of that
cession were, that the United States should pay one million
two hundred thousand dollars to Georgia, and extinguish the
Indian title within the limits which she reserved.
" The United States have in this manner acquired an in
disputable title to all the public lands east of the Missis
sippi. "All the territory west of the Mississippi, together with
the southern extremity of the States of Mississippi and Ala
bama, was purchased of France for fifteen millions of dol
lars. This sum, as well as the sums required for the pur
chase of the Indiau title to the public lands, was paid out
of tiie treasury of the United States.
"So far therefore as acquisition of public lands has been
made by purchase, it has been at the common expense; so
far as it has been made by war, it has been by common
force ; and so far as it has been made by cessions from indi
vidual states, it has been upon the ground, expressly stipu
lated in most of the acts or deeds of cession, that the lands
should be ' considered,' to use the words of the act passed
for that purpose by the State which made the largest ces
sion, ' as a common fund, for the use and benefit of such of
the states as have become, or shall become, members of the
confederation or federal alliance of said States, according to
their usual respective proportions iu the general charge and
28

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
expenditure, and shall faithfully and bona fide be disposed
of fbr that purpose', and for no other use or purpose whatso
ever.' "In whatever point of view therefore the public lands are
considered, whether as acquired by purchase, conquest or
cession, they are emphatically the common property of the
Union. They ought to inure, therefore, to the common use
and benefit of all the States, in just proportions, and can not
be appropriated to the use and benefit of any particular
State or States, to the exclusion of the others, without an
infringement of the principles upon which cessions from States
were expressly made, and a violation of the spirit of our
national compact, as well as the principles of justice and sound
policy. "So far as these lands have been sold, and the proceeds
been received into the national treasury, all the States have
derived a justly proportionate benefit from them ; so far as
they ha^e been appropriated for purposes of defense, there is no
ground for complaint, for the defense of every part of the
country is a common concern ; so far, in a word, as the proceeds
have been applied to national, and not state purposes, although
the expenditure may have been local, the course of the gen
eral government has been consonant to the principles and
spirit of the Federal Constitution. But so far as appropria
tions have been made, in favor of any State or States, to the
exclusion of the rest, where the appropriations would have
been beneficial, and might have been extended to all alike,
your committee conceive there has been a departure from
that line of policy which impartial justice, so essential to the
peace, harmony, and stability of the Union, imperiously pre
scribes. " Your committee then proceed to inquire, whether the acts
of Congress, in relation to appropriations of public lands,
have been conformable to the dictates of impartial justice.
"By the laws relating to the survey and sale of the pub
lic lands, one thirty-sixth part of them has been reserved and
appropriated in perpetuity for the support of common schools.
The public lands are laid off into townships, six miles square,
by lines running with the cardinal points ; these townships are
then divided into thirty-six sections, each a mile square, and
containing 640 acres, which are designated by numbers. Sec
tion No. 16, which is always a central section, has invariably
been appropriated (and provision has been made by law for
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the like appropriations in future surveys) for the support of
common schools in each township.
" In Tennessee, in addition to the appropriation of a sec
tion in each township for common schools, 200,000 acres have
been assigned for the endowment of colleges and academies.
Large appropriations have also beeu made in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan,
and the North-western Territory, for the erection and main
tenance of seminaries of learning of higher grade than com
mon schools. Your committee have not had an opportunity
of ascertaining the exact amount of these appropriations,
but, from such examination as they have been able to make,
it is believed that they bear a smaller proportiou to those for
common schools than in Tennessee."
Then, after some statistics which show the amount ap
propriated and to be appropriated, and making ,the ag
gregate as above stated, the document proceeds :
" Such is the vast amount of property destined for the sup
port and encouragement of learning in the States and terri
tories, carved out of the public lands. These large appropria
tions of land, the common property of the Union, will inure to
the exclusive benefit of those States and territories. They are
appropriations for state and not for national purposes. They
are of such a nature that they might have been extended to
all the States ; they therefore ought to have been thus ex
tended. All the other States paid their full share for the
purchase of the region west of the Mississippi, and for the
extinguishment of the Indiau title on both sides of that river.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia, besides paying their proportion of
those expenses, ceded all their vacant territory on the east
side oi the Mississippi. All these States, therefore, might
with great propriety complain of partiality and injustice, if
their application to Congress for similar appropriations for like
purposes should be refused. But of this refusal they need
have no apprehension, if they are true to their own interests,
and are united in asserting them ; for, if, contrary to all rea
sonable expectation, the States which have already received
the benefit of literary appropriations should be opposed to
the extension of them to their sister States, the latter are
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
more than two-thirds iu number of all the United States, and
have a still larger proportion of representatives in Congress.
These States are Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massa
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky, and, together,
have one hundred and sixty-nine representatives iu Congress.
The favored States, on the contrary, have only seventeen rep
resentatives. The excluded States have, therefore, an over
whelming majority in Congress, and have it completely in
their power to make appropriations for the benefit of their lit
erary institutions, upon the improbable supposition that the
representatives of the favored States would oppose them in
Congress, a supposition too discreditable to their character for
justice to be admitted.
"The magnitude of the appropriations that would be re
quired to place the States which have not yet enjoyed any,
for the purposes of education, upon an equal footing with
those in whose favor they have already been made, can afford
no just ground of objection. For, superior as the population
of those States is, yet, if the ratio of appropriation be ob
served with regard to them which has been adopted in rela
tion to the others, i. e., one thirty-sixth part of the number of
acres in the territory of each for common schools, and oue-
fifth of that one thirty-sixth for colleges and academies, the
number of acres required will be much less than has already
been given to the favored States and territories ; it will in
deed amount to but a very small portion of the public lands.
For, according to Seybert's Statistical Annals, those lands, in
1813, amounted to 400,000,000 acres. The amount required
for all the excluded States would be less than two and a half
per centum of that quautity ; to show which more clearly,
your committee beg leave to submit the following statement,
founded upon calculations made upon the extent of territory
in each of those States, as laid down in Seybert's Statistical
Annals." Then follows a table showing the number of acres it
is claimed each of the old States and Kentucky are en
titled to, and the report concludes :
" The circumstance, that the lands which have heretofore
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
been appropriated for the purposes of education are a part of
the territory of the States for whose benefit they have been
assigned, can furnish no reasonable ground for the preference
which has been given them. The public lands are not the
less the common property of all the States because they are
situated within the jurisdictional limits of the States and ter
ritories which have been formed out of them. Such States
have no power to tax them ; they can not interfere with the
primary disposal of them, or with the regulations of Congress
for securing the titles to purchasers ; it is, in fact, Congress
alone that can enact laws to affect them. The interest which
a citizen of an Atlantic State has in them, as a part of the
property of the Union, is the same as the interest of a citizen
residing in a State formed out of them. But hitherto appro
priations of them for state purposes have only been made in
favor of such States ; and the citizen on the eastern side of
the Allegheny may well complain, that property in which he
has a common interest with his fellow-citizen on the western
side should be appropriated exclusively to the use of the latter.
That this is the fact in regard to that part of the public lands
which have been assigned for the support of literary institu
tions and the promotion of education, can not be denied.
"Your committee do not censure the enlighted policy
which governed Congress in making liberal appropriations of
land for the encouragement of learning in the West, nor do
they wish to withdraw one acre of them from the purposes to
which they have been devoted ; but they think they are fully
justified in saying, that impartial justice required that similar
appropriations should have been extended to all the States
alike. Suppose Congress should appropriate 200,000 acres of
the public lands for the support of colleges and academies in
New York ; aud Virginia, who gave up and ceded a great
portion of those lands to the United States, on the express
condition that ' they should be considered as a common fund
for the use and benefit of all of them according to their usual
respective proportions in the general charge and expenditure,'
should apply for a similar grant, and her application should
be refused ; would she not have a right to complain of the
partiality of such a measure, and to charge the Federal Gov
ernment with a breach of good faith, and an infringement of
the conditions on which the cession was made? It can not
be denied that she would. Congress have already made a
grant of 200,000 acres of land for the support of colleges and
32

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
academies, not indeed in New York, but in Tennessee.
Would not Virginia, if she now made au application for a
like grant, and were refused, have the same reason to com
plain, as if New York, instead of Tennessee, had been the
favored State?
" Your committee beg leave to illustrate, by another ex
ample, the equity of the principle which it is the object of
this report to establish. Foreign commerce and the public
lands are alike legitimate sources from which the United
States may and do derive revenue. Foreign commerce has
fixed its seat in the Atlantic States. Suppose Congress should
pass a law, appropriating one thirty-sixth part of the revenue
collected from foreign commerce in the ports of Baltimore,
New York, Boston, Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah, to the
support of common schools throughout the States in which
they are situated ; the other States, every person will admit,
would have a right to complain of the partiality and injustice
of such an act ; and yet, in what respect would an act appro
priating one thirty-sixth part of the revenue derived from for
eign commerce to the use of schools in the six States in which
it should be produced, be more partial or unjust than an act
appropriating one thirty-sixth part of the public land in
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama,
the six States in which the public lands on this side of the
Mississippi are chiefly situated, to their exclusive benefit in
the maintenance of their schools?
" Your committee are aware that it has been said that the
appropriation of a part of the public lands to the purposes of
education, for the benefit of the States formed out of them,
has had the effect of raising the value of the residue in in
ducing emigrants to settle upon them. Although in the pre
ambles of such of the acts on this subject as have preambles,
the promotion of religion, morality, and knowledge, as neces
sary to good government and the happiness of mankind, have
beeu assigned as the reason for passing them, and no men
tion has been made of the consequent increase in the value
of the lands that would remain, as a motive for the appro
priation, yet the knowledge, that provision had been made
for the education of children in the west, though other mo
tives usually influence emigrants, might have had its weight
in inducing some to leave their native homes. If such has
been the effect, the value of the residue of the lands has, no
doubt, been increased by it. This increase of value, how-
3 33

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ever, has not been an exclusive benefit to the Atlantic States ;
but a benefit to all the States, eastern and western, while the
latter enjoy exclusively the advantage derived from the ap
propriations of land for literary purposes. The incidental
advantage of the increase in value of the public lands in con-
¦ sequence of emigration, if it is to be considered in the light
of a compensation to the old States, must be shown to be an
advantage exclusively enjoyed by them. That this, how-ever„
is not the case, is perfectly obvious, because the proceeds of
the lands thus raised in value by emigration, when sold, go
into the United States treasury, and are applied, like other
revenues, to the general benefit — in other words, to national
and not state purposes.
"It is moreover most clear that this increase of the value
of lands in consequence of emigration produces a peculiar
benefit to the inhabitants of the new States, in which the in
habitants of the other States, unless owners of lands in the
new, have no participation. This benefit consists in the in
crease of the value of their own private property.
"On the other hand, it is undoubtedly true that emigra
tion is injurious to the Atlantic States, and to them alone.
While it has had the effect of raising the price of lands in
the west, it has, in an equal ratio, at least, and probably in
a much greater, prevented the increase of the value of lands
in the States which the emigrants have left. It is an indis
putable principle in political economy that the price of every
object of purchase, whether land or personal property, de
pends upon the relation which supply bears to demand. The
demand for land would have been the same, or very nearly
so, for the same number of people as are contained within
the present limits of the United States, if they had been con
fined within the limits of the Atlantic States. But the sup
ply in that case would have been most materially different.
It must have been so small in proportion to the demand, as
to occasion a great rise in the value ot land iu the Atlantic
States; for it can not be doubted that it is the inexhaustible
supply of cheap and good land in the west, which has kept
down the price of land on the eastern side of the Allegheny.
If the Atlantic States had been governed by an exclusive,
local, and selfish policy, every impediment would have been
thrown iu the way of emigration, which has constautly and
uniformly operated to prevent the growth of their numbers,
wealth, and power; for which disadvantage the appreciation
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
of their interest in the public lands, consequent upon emigra
tion, can afford no adequate compensation. It appearing
then perfectly clear to your committee that emigration is ex
clusively advantageous to the new States, whose population,
wealth, and power are thereby increased at the expense of
those States which the emigrants abandoned, the inducement
to emigration furnished by the appropriation of public lands
for the purposes of education in the west, instead of affording
a reason for confining such appropriations to that quarter of
the Union, offers the most weighty considerations of both
justice and policy in favor of extending them to the States
which have not yet obtained them.
"Your committee beg leave to present one further reflec
tion to the consideration of the Senate, drawn from the effect
produced by encouraging learning in the Western States
aloue, upon the relative moral power of the Atlantic and
Mississippi States. They are far from wishing to make any
objection to the augmentation of the intelligence and mental
improvement of the people of the west. On the contrary,
they sincerely desire the advancement of their brethren in
that quarter of the Union, in every thing that can strengthen,
dignify, and embellish political communities. But, while
they entertain these sentiments, they can not shut their eyes
to the political preponderance which must ultimately be the
inevitable result of the superior advantages of education there,
and they must, therefore, ardently desire that the same ad
vantages be extended to the people of the Atlantic States.
" Your committee are pursuaded that, from the views
which they have presented on the subject of appropriations of
public lands for the purposes of education, the Senate will be
satisfied that Maryland, and the other States which have not
yet had the benefit of any such appropriations, are entitled to
ask of the general government to be placed on an equal footing
with the States which have already received them. They be
lieve that no one, convinced of the justice of such a measure,
can question its expediency ; nor can they entertain any ap
prehension that an application to Congress, supported by the
combined influence of all the States which are interested, would
fail of success. For the purpose, therefore, of drawing the atten
tion of the National Legislature to this important subject, and
of obtaining the co-operation -of the other States, your com
mittee beg leave to recommend the adoption of the' following
resolutions : 35

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
"Resolved, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That each
of the United States has an equal right to participate in the
benefit of the public lands, the common property of the
Union. "Resolved, That the States in whose favor Congress have
not made appropriations of land for the purposes of educa
tion, are entitled to such appropriations' as will correspond, in
a just proportion, with those heretofore made in favor of the
other States.
"Resolved, That his excellency, the Governor, be requested
to transmit copies of the foregoing report and resolutions to
each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, with a
request that they will lay the same before their respective
houses, and use their endeavors to procure the passage of an
act to carry into effect the just principle therein set forth.
"Resolved, That his excellency, the Governor, be also re
quested to transmit copies of the said report and resolutions to
the Governors of the several States of the Union, with a re
quest that they will communicate the same to the Legislatures
thereof respectively, and solicit their co-operation."
The report of the State of New Hampshire contains
the following :
" The committee to whom was referred so much of his ex
cellency's message, as relates to a communication from the
Legislature of the State of Maryland, ask leave to report :
"That the communication submitted to them embraces a
report and certain resolutions thereupon adopted by the Legis
lature of the State of Maryland ; the object of which is to call
the attention of Congress and the Legislatures of the several
States to the public lauds, as a fund from which appropria
tions for the purposes of education may with justice be
claimed by all the original States, and some of the new
ones. " Your committee have with much attention examined
the grounds on which this claim is supposed to rest, and,
from this examination, are satisfied that the principles con
tended for are just and equitable, and, therefore, do concur
in the opinion expressed in the aforesaid document."
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER V.
THE SCHOOL LANDS QUESTION CONTINUED.
The Maryland and New Hampshire communications before the
Ohio Legislature. — The governor's message. — Referred to a com
mittee. — Mr. Kelley chairman. — A communication from Ver
mont. — Mr. Kelley's report. — An exhaustive argument. — Rights
and privileges of the several States. — Maryland's position con
troverted.

The Governor of Ohio with his annual message trans
mitted to the Legislature the report of the State of
Maryland, with that of New Hampshire as an accompa
nying document, and introduced a discussion of the sub
ject, which occupied a considerable portion of his mes
sage, as follows :
" Notwithstanding that the appropriations of lands in the
western country for the support of schools have, hitherto, been
very little productive, as a literary fund, their advantage and
value have been very highly appreciated, by a part of our
brethren, in the Eastern States. A report and resolutions
adopted by the Legislature of the State of Maryland, and
now laid before you, will show that a claim is advanced to a por
tion of the public lands, in the new States and the territories,
equal to one thirty-sixth part of the area of each old State,
with the addition of one-fifth of that amount; to equalize, as
is pretended, a participation of endowment for schools, from
this fund, among the States having common property in the
national possessions. The pretensions therein set forth, and
supported by the State of New Hampshire, I respectfully ad
vise, should meet the remonstrance of this Assembly, to pre
vent a scheme founded on principles believed to be mistaken
37

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
and erroneous and fraught with serious wrong to this, with
the other new States and the territories."
Soon after the Legislature assembled, and on the 5th day
of December, 1819, so much of " the Governor's message
as relates to the report and resolutions of the Legislature
of the State of Maryland, together with the accompanying
documents," was referred to a select committee of five,
of which Mr. Kelley was chairman. During the ses
sion the Governor of Ohio received from the Governor
of Vermont a report and resolutions on the same sub
ject, and transmitted them also to the Legislature.
The report contains the following paragraphs :
"And that as large appropriations of the public lands
have been made by the United States (and in the opinion of
your committee with perfect propriety), to certain particular
States, for the purpose of education, the rights of other States
will be violated, unless a like appropriation be made to them,
of the public lands, for the same purpose, in just proportion.
"In those principles your committee fully agree with the
Legislatures of the States of Maryland and New Hampshire,
and believe the arguments detailed in the reports to the
Legislatures of those States respectively, and particularly that
from the State of Maryland, to be altogether unanswerable."
This report was also referred, in the Senate, to the se
lect committee which had charge of the one from Mary
land. On the 26th of December Mr. Kelley presented the
report of the committee, of which he was the author.
The report is long and exhaustive — such as the grav
ity of the subject and the exigencies of the State re
quired. With the exception of a few paragraphs, in
38

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
which the " plan of distribution proposed by the Mary
land report " is discussed, it is as follows :
" The committee to whom was referred so much of the Gov
ernor's message as relates to the report and resolutions of
the General Assembly of the State of Maryland, with the ac
companying documents relating thereto, and papers on the
same subject, subsequently referred, having carefully ex
amined the subject to them committed, resjiectfully submit
the following ' ' report :
" That, from an examination of the subject and documents
to them referred, it appears that the object of the Maryland
report and resolutions is to call the atteution of Congress aud
the legislatures of the several States to the public lands, as
a fund from which appropriations may be drawn to aid in
the support of common schools, and seminaries of a higher
grade. They claim from the United States for those pur
poses an appropriation of public lands in favor of each of
the old States, including also Kentucky, equal to one-
thirtieth part of their respective territories. These appro
priations the report and resolutions under consideration
claim as a matter of right, and which by a long course of
reasoning they attempt to prove Congress can not justly re
fuse, and intimate that the States in whose favor the claims
are set up have the power to enforce them.
"In the sentiments expressed in the Maryland report
relative to the importance of a general diffusion of knowl
edge throughout our common country, and in many other
sentiments expressed in that able and ingenious report, your
committee most fully and cordially concur.
" That the public lands are a fund from which appropria
tions may in some manner be drawn for the purposes of edu
cation is a proposition which your committee do not at pres
ent feel disposed to controvert. But we cau never subscribe
to principles which would go to charge those States in which
appropriations of school lands have been made as being still
debtors for lands for which they have already paid more than
a fair equivalent ; nor can we agree to doctrines which would
subject those States to contribution, on the ground of having
received more than their just proportion of the public lauds,
when from a full and impartial investigation it will be mani-
39

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
fest they have received far less. We believe that neitherthe
State of Ohio nor the other States which are placed in a simi
lar situation as it respects this question can ever be justly ac
cused of ingratitude, for refusing to acknowledge benefits
which have never been conferred, nor of unchastened ambi
tion, in calling to mind principles which have been acknowl
edged by all the original members of the confederacy.
"The claim advanced in the Maryland report seems to
rest on the assumed ground of a donation having been made
to those States whose waters fall into the Mississippi and the
Gulf of Mexico, Kentucky excepted, of one thirty-sixth part
of the lands within their respective limits, for the support of
common schools, and one-fifth of the same amount for the
support of seminaries of a higher grade. The word ' appro
priations,' it is true, is used in that report, but it is asserted
that these appropriations will accrue to the exclusive benefit
of those States in whose favor, it is contended, they are made ;
that they are appropriations for State and not for national
purposes; and, it seems, are therefore considered donations to
those States in whose favor they are made; and implies that
no consideration or equivalent has beeu received by the
United States for those appropriations. This hypothesis your
committee believe to be founded iu error; or, at any rate, to
be but partially true.
"The public lands of the United States, as stated in the
report under consideration, are surveyed into townships of six
miles square, and each township into thirty-six sections, con
taining 640 acres each; one of which sections, or section No.
16, is set apart, or appropriated, for the use of common
schools; the remaining thirty-five sections are sold by the
United States, and, as we contend, at an advanced price, be
yond what would otherwise be their fair value ; more than
sufficient to pay for section No. 16. In other words, thirty-
five sections, in each township, are sold to individuals, to be
held in severalty; and section No. 16 is sold to the purchasers
of the remaining thirty-live sections, to be owned by them,
their heirs and assigns, in common, for certain purposes.
Admitting this to be a fair statement of the case, as your
committee believe it to be, it is clear that there is a complete
purchase, made by our citizens, of the whole township, in
cluding section No. 16. And the whole superstructure, built
upon the supposition of a grant or donation, falls to the
ground, for the same reasoning will apply with equal force to
40

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the appropriations made in Symmes' and the Ohio Company's
purchase for colleges, which were only greater inducements
held out to larger purchasers.
" Nor is the doctrine here advanced the mere creature of
imagination, unsupported by example. Similar plans have
not unfrequently been adopted by individual land-holders
whose minds were sufficiently enlarged and liberal to enable
them to pursue successfully their own eventual interest, and
the aggregate amouut received by them for a whole tract has
undoubtedly been increased by such partial appropriations.
" Your committee do not pretend that Congress, in the pre
ambles of acts, have distinctly avowed, as a motiye for. mak
ing these appropriations, that the value of the remaining
lands would thereby be enhanced; but are willing, so far as
it concerns the question now under consideration, to admit
that the real as well as ostensible object was the encourage
ment of learning; nor is it necessary, in maintaining the prin
ciples here advanced, to suppose that each individual pur
chaser has distinctly understood the extent and value of his
right or interest in section No. 16, and that the knowledge of
this right has operated as an inducement to purchase. It is
sufficient for our purpose that the real value of the remaining
thirty-five sections, in each township, has been enhanced by
the appropriation of section No. 16, aud that this has been
understood by wealthy and reflecting purchasers, whose opin
ions and example may be said, in a great measure, to fix the
price of lands; and that an enhanced price has been actually
paid for the remaining lands, in consequence of the appropri
ation for schools.
"The committee of the Senate of Maryland seem to have
foreseen this objection to their theory ; and have, in their
report, attempted to answer it. In doing this, they admit
that the appropriation for schools may have operated as an
inducement to emigration, and may thereby have raised the
value of the remaining lands; which increased value, they
say, inures to the benefit of the Union, and the Western
States participate equally with the Atlantic States in its ben
efits. Admitting this position to be correct, we are unable to
see the force of the deductions which they would draw from
these premises. It only proves that the purchase-money,
when paid, is a common fund, iu which all the States equally
participate ; but by no means establishes the fact that all the
States have contributed equally in raising this fund. If this
41

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
increased value has been paid by our citizens, who have al
ready purchased public lands, or it is to be paid by those who
may hereafter purchase, before they cau derive any benefit
from the school sections, we conceive the account is thereby
liquidated and discharged ; our citizens have paid the full
value of the grant ; the Nation has received and appropriated
the money for the common benefit of all ; and no claim can
be justly predicated on the supposition of a donation, wheu
no such donation has ever beeu made.
"The grants of school lands for the benefit of the Connecti
cut Western Reserve, and the Virginia Military District,
would, at first view, seem to form exceptions to our theory;
but, if our doctrine be correct, these grants would operate in
favor of the proprietors of those lands, or the holders of the
warrants by which they were entitled to locate lands in the
Virginia Military District, who were, at the time of making
thosg" grants, mostly non-residents; thereby enabling them to
demand of purchasers a greater price for their lands or war
rants, in consequence of their increased value resulting from
those donations. Had the lands within the Connecticut Re
serve been sold to actual settlers, or had the lands within the
Virginia Military District been located and possessed by citi
zens of this State, these grants of school lands would un
doubtedly have operated iu their favor ; and, so far as these
lands were owned and possessed by citizens of this State,
these appropriations inured to their benefit. These grants
being made for the use of those districts, the proprietors, who
ever they were, undoubtedly received the benefit of those
donations ; and at the time these grants were made, which
was March 3, 1803, not more thau one-tenth of the Connecti
cut Reserve, and less than one-third of the Virginia Military
District, were owned by citizens of this State. So far as the
grant of school lauds for the use of the Virginia Military
District operated to enhance the value of lands within that
district, and thereby induce the holders of warrants to locate
them within this State rather than in Kentucky, its operation
was beneficial to that State, by leaving within her limits a
greater quantity of unappropriated lands, subject to the con
trol and disposal of her Legislature.
" From this view of the subject, it manifestly appears that
the citizens of Ohio have actually paid for all appropriations
of school lands made in their favor, with the exception, per
haps, of a small proportion of the amount granted for the
42

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
benefit of the Connecticut Reserve and the Virginia Military
District. '•In this statement, we have not adverted to the equivalent
which Ohio, as a State, has paid to the United States, by
exempting from taxation lands sold by them five years after
the sale; the benefit of which exemption has accrued directly
to the United States, by its obvious effect on the price of pub
lic lands. This exemption, as the Governor iu his message
has conclusively shown, is a treble remuneration for the three
per cent fund, and all other grants made by the United States
in our favor. It is perhaps unnecessary here to call in ques
tion the authority of the convention (who were elected for the
sole purpose of forming a constitution for this State, if they
deemed it expedient, and of accepting or rejecting certain
propositions previously made by Congress) to submit to Con
gress other propositions of a different nature. For, though
we believe those propositions resulted from a mistaken policy,
we are not disposed, after so long an acquiescence, to dispute
their obligation or complain of their hardship. But we may
well protest against being still considered debtors, when we
have paid a threefold price for all appropriations made by
Congress for our benefit.
"But there is another view of this subject to which your
committee beg leave to call the attention of the Senate. The
claims set up in the Maryland report seem in some measure
to rest on the following propositions : ' That before the war
of the revolution, and indeed for some years after it, several
of the States possessed within their nominal limits extensive
tracts of waste and uncultivated lands :' That ' these States
were all at that epoch regal and not proprietary provinces ;
that the crown claimed the right, and was either direotly or
indirectly in the habit of granting those lands:' That this
claim was at least tacitly acceded to by the colonies ; and
' that these lands might therefore with strict propriety be
called the property of the crown:' That 'the property and
jurisdiction of the soil' of these vacant lands ' were acquired
by the common sword, purse and blood of all the States,
united in one common effort : That Great Britain, at the close
of the war, ' surrendered her right of property and jurisdic
tion to the United States collectively :' That therefore these
lands ought justly to be considered as the common property of
the Union, Admitting these propositions to be correct, it
seems to your committee conclusively to follow, that this
43

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
claim extends equally to all the vacant and unsettled lands
within the United States at the close of the revolutionary
war, as well to those within the present limits of the original
States as to those without or beyond those limits. Your com
mittee do not here take into view the lauds purchased of
France or Spain, because we conceive they do not necessarily
affect the question about to be discussed, nor the right acquired
by the United States, in consequence of acts of cession made
by individual States, which will be a subject for subsequent
consideration. "In order to a better understanding of the questions in
volved in the subject under consideration, it may be impor
tant to notice briefly some historical facts.
"At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, the
original States, then colonies of Great Britain, claimed their
political existence, and their jurisdiction over the territory in
cluded within certain limits, by virtue of grants or charters
derived from the crown. Some of the colonies, at that epoch,
included within their chartered limits large tracts of vacant
and unappropriated lands ; of this number were Massachu
setts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North
and South Carolinas, and Georgia. The territorial claims of
these colonies, under their respective charters, were, in many
instances, conflicting with each other; two or more of the
colonies frequently claiming the same tract of country as com
ing within the limits of their charters. These charters were
moreover extremely uncertain, their boundaries being so in
accurately and vaguely delineated, and founded on geographi
cal information so erroneous that no person can now presume
to attach to their descriptions any definite meaning. But a
circumstance still more remarkable, and which would go far
to render any claim founded on those charters at least doubt
ful, is that those charters, with the exception, perhaps, of
those of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, were
surrendered or vacated, revoked or merged in the crown long
before the Revolutionary War. The colonies, or States, of
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and
Maryland included, within the limits of their respective
charters, at the period of the Revolutionary War, compara
tively small tracts of vacant lands, and some of them, per
haps, included none.
" Soon after the Declaration of Independence, these claims
of some of the States to the large tracts of waste and un-
44

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
settled lands which fell within their assumed limits seem to
have formed a ground of complaint and dissatisfaction, on
the part of those States whose territorial limits did not in
clude an equal proportion of those vacant lands. While the
latter States looked with apprehension and jealousy on the
preponderance which the former States would derive from' the
immense increase of wealth and population incident to a
widely extended territory, they viewed these extensive tracts
of unappropriated lands as a common fund, acquired by the
joint exertions and sacrifices of the whole confederacy, and
which justice demanded should inure to the equal benefit of
all the States. Congress, actuated by the same views, to use
the language adopted in the preamble of au act of cession of
North Carolina, ' repeatedly and earnestly recommended to
the respective States in the Union, owning vacant western
territory, to make cessions of part of the same.'
"In conformity with these repeated recommendations of
Congress, and influenced, no doubt, by a sense of justice and
spirit of conciliation peculiar to those days, the States claim
ing the most extensive tracts of vacant lands did, at various
times, make cessions to the United States of such part of
those lands as were not included within their present limits,
with some important exceptions, and subject to various limi
tations and conditions.
" The States making these cessions in all cases reserved to
themselves the ownership of all unappropriated lands within
their present respective limits, subject in some instances to
the unsettled claims of other individual States.
" Massachusetts moreover reserved to herself the ownership
of all the unsettled territory included within the limits of
the district now forming the State of Maine, and the owner
ship of soil of a large tract of country within the limits of
New York. Connecticut also reserved the ownership of a
tract of country bordering on the south shore of Lake Erie,
and which is more than equal in extent to the whole State
of Connecticut. Virginia reserved the jurisdiction and
ownership of soil of all that territory which now forms the
State of Kentucky, and the ownership of the whole country
between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers in Ohio, or so
much thereof as might be sufficient to satisfy grants made to
her citizens for revolutionary services. North Carolina re
served within ihe territory ceded by her the ownership of
soil of so much thereof as might be necessary to satisfy grants
45

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
made to her citizens of a similar nature to those made by Vir
ginia. And Georgia required, as a condition of ceding her
claim to the territory west of her present limits, the payment
of 1,250 dollars out of the avails of the first sales of lands
ceded, and that the United States should extinguish the In
dian title to an immense tract of country within the present
limits of that State ; and, moreover, make an appropriation
of part of the lands so ceded for the purpose of satisfying and
quieting certain claims of individuals derived from the State
of Georgia to part of said lands. Conditions relating to the
disposition of the territories ceded, and the rights of the people
inhabiting, and the States to be formed within those terri
tories, were also attached to the acts of cession of Virginia
and the other States making the largest cessions; some of
which conditions we shall have occasion hereafter to notice.
"Thus we see, that the States of Massachusetts, Connecti
cut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and
Georgia, have claimed and beeu permitted to retain, and ap
propriate for their sole benefit, immense tracts of vacant
lands, which, to use the language of the Maryland report,
' were acquired by the common sword, purse, and blood of all
the states, united in a common effort,' while those States
whose limits included little or no unappropriated territory,
have been deprived of an equal participation in the benefits
resulting from their united efforts.
" Justice, on the contrary, would have required that all the
waste and unsettled lands within the United States at the date
of our National Independence, as well as those within the
present limits of the original States as beyond those limits,
should have been considered as the common property of the
American people ; for all were alike acquired, by the com
mon exertions and sacrifices of the whole nation, and no indi
vidual or community could justly have claimed a greater
share or proportion than what had been actually purchased
and reduced to possession.
"The people of the United. States, at that period, may,
with respect to this question, be considered as one great Com
munity, having equal rights and privileges, and entitled to
share equally in the benefits, as well as the hardships and suf
ferings, resulting from the contest in which they were en
gaged. As the provinces ' were regal, and not proprietary,'
in other words, as they had no just claim to the ownership of
the vacant lands withiu their limits, it would seem to follow
46

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
that the citizens of one State could have no better claims to un
appropriated lands than citizens of another. For it will not
be contended that the people of those States which included
within their nominal limits vacant lands bore a greater share
in ' the heat and burden of the day,' iu proportion to their
numbers, than the people of those States whose boundaries in
cluded no such lands.
" Notwithstanding the inequality and injustice of a con
trary doctrine, and notwithstanding the indefinite and conflict
ing nature of the tenures under which they held, many of the
States claimed, not only the waste and unappropriated lands
within their present limits, but also large tracts of vacant
lands beyond those limits. These claims, as we have seen,
were derived from royal charters, most of which had been
long before revoked, surrendered, or merged in the crown.
But", at this day, and in this country, we may be permitted to
question the original rights of the crown of Great Britain to
the immense regions which now form the American republic,
which, at the time these grants were made, were inhabited by
independent nations, whose country had never been traversed,
and whose very names were unknown to kings who so liber
ally bestowed what they never possessed. And for free and
independent States to build their claims on the grants of
sovereigns whose rights they deny and whose authority they
disclaim, requires a course of subtle reasoning which it is
difficult to comprehend. But to found those claims on
charters which have long siuce been surrendered or revoked,
appears still more preposterous.
"Admitting that the people of several colonies, at the mo
ment of dissolving their connection with Great Britain,
formed themselves into sovereign, independent communities
or States, it is difficult to ascertain by what right they as
sumed to themselves boundaries beyond the limits of the ter
ritory actually possessed or occupied by the people of each
State, or by what authority they claimed the ownership of the
soil within those assumed limits, which was still waste and un
occupied, except by the natives. Should it be said that they
had a natural right to assume to themselves such limits as
their own moderation or their ambition might dictate, or that
they still leaned on the broken reed of royal authority, to de
fine their limits, and should it be asserted that the ownership
of the soil within whose limits, or the pre-emption right
thereto, is an inherent right, a necessary appendage of their
47

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
sovereign characters (and we can conceive of no other source,
from whence those claims of the original States cau be derived),
it then follows that the same inherent rights and appendages
of sovereignty appertain to the States since formed, and which
are equally sovereign and independent. For conceding the
proposition, that it is incompatible with the characterof a
sovereign State that other States should hold lands within its
limits without its consent, and this doctrine is distinctly rec
ognized by admitting that the crown of Great Britain owned,
and had the right of making grants of vacant lands, within
her American colonies, or by admitting that such of the orig
inal States as included within their boundaries vacant lands,
held those lands at the time of becoming independent, as a
necessary prerogative of sovereignty ; the conclusion from
these premises, that the new States have an indisputable chiim
to all the unappropriated lands within their respective limits
appears to us unavoidable, unless it be denied that they are
equally sovereign and independent.
"The principles here advanced have been successfully as
serted by the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, in the con
troversies between those States and the States from whose
territories they were formed, relative to the ownership of va
cant lands within the limits of those newly formed States.
The same principle has been recognized by the United States
in an arrangement made between the United States and Ten
nessee relative to vacant lands in the latter State.
"Again, if it be conceded that the original States which
have made cession of extensive territories to the United
States had a just' claim to the lands or territories so ceded,
which fact is tacitly admitted on the part of the United States
by requesting and accepting those cessions, it follows that
those States had an undoubted right to attach to their several
acts of cession such conditions as they deemed proper. Con
ditions were accordingly attached to the act of Virginia
ceding to the United States the territory north-west of the
river Ohio, and which now composes the States of Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, and the North-western and Michigan Terri
tories ; one of which conditions, to use the words of the act
of Virginia of 1783, after describing in what manner States
were to be formed within the ceded territory, provides ' that
the States so formed shall be distinct republican States, and ad
mitted as members of tlie Federal Union, having the same rights of
sovereignty , freedom, and independence as the other States;' another
48

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
of which conditions, in the words of an act of the same State,
of 1788, reciting the fifth article of the ordinance of Con
gress, of 1787, provides that, '-whenever any of the said States
shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall
be admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the United States,
on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects what
ever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and
state government.' Similar conditions were affixed to the acts
of cession of North Carolina and Georgia. It would be diffi
cult to find words more definite or significant in their import,
or expressions which would guarantee to the new States a
more complete equality with the old, than those used or
adopted in the acts of cession to which we have referred.
We may then well question the authority of Congress to im
pose on the people of those States, so to be formed, as condi-.
tions -of their assuming the character of distinct independent
States, any terms which would circumscribe their rights of
sovereignty within narrower limits than those enjoyed by the
original States. For we can not admit that the privileges se
cured to the States to be formed out of the territory ceded by
the conditions above recited were abridged by that provision
in the act of cession of 1783, which provides for the disposi
tion of the lands ceded, and is in these words : ' That all the
lands within the territory so ceded to the United States (ex
cept as therein excepted) shall be considered as a common
fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as
have become or shall hereafter become members of the con
federation or federal alliance of the States, Virginia inclusive,
according to their usual respective proportions in the general
charge and expenditure; and shall be faithfully and bona fide
disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use or purpose
whatsoever.' This provision, as we conceive, can only relate
to any disposition which the United States might make of
the lands within the territory ceded, before the States to be
formed within that territory should assume the character of
sovereign States, or to such disposition as the States so to be
formed might, by fair and voluntary compact, permit the
United States to make of the vacant lands within their re
spective limits. A different construction would be incompat
ible with that fundamental provision of the same act of ces
sion which provides that ' the States so formed shall have the
same rights of freedom, sovereignty, and independence as the
other States,' one of which rights of sovereiguty, claimed and
4 49

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
exercised by Virginia herself, was the ownership of all the
vacant lands within their respective limits. Such a construc
tion would also be inconsistent with that enlightened and lib
eral policy which governed the State of Virginia, in extend
ing to Kentucky equal privileges, iu respect to the vacant
lands remaining at the time of their separation, with those
which she herself enjoyed. Nor can it be supposed that Vir
ginia would willingly permit the United States to exact from
the States to be formed out of the territory ceded by her more
rigorous terms than those required by her of Kentucky. But
this provision of the act of cession of Virginia can, by no
possibility, be so construed as to take from the States to be
formed out of the ceded territory the right of taxing the
lands of the United States within their jurisdiction.
" It may be contended that the States formed out of the
national territory have, by solemn and express ordinance, or
compact with the United States, agreed to relinquish all
claims to the ownership of the soil, and the right of taxing
the lands of the United States, within their respective limits.
How far this assertion may be true, as it relates to the other
States formed out of the territories ceded to the United States,
your committee are not prepared to determine; but after a
diligent search, we are able to find no such compact on the
part of Ohio. The convention which formed our constitution,
it is true, agreed, upon Congress acceding to certain modifica
tions of the terms which had been previously proposed by
Congress, for the free acceptance or rejection of the conven
tion, to relinquish, in behalf of the State, the right to tax
lands which might he sold by the United States for five years
after they were sold. But admitting that the convention,
who were elected to accept or reject certain propositions and
not to propose other terms or modifications, had the power of
binding the people of the State of Ohio by that agreement or
ordinance, still this act goes no further than to relinquish the
right of taxing the lands sold by the United States for five
years after the sales. The ordinance of Congress of 1787, we
acknowledge, provides that the Legislatures of those districts
or new States therein described ' shall never interfere with the
primary disposal of the soil by the United States,' etc., and
' shall impose no tax on lands the property of the United
States.' Part of this ordinance purports to be 'Articles of
compact between the United States and people of the North
western Territory, and the States to be formed therein.' But
50

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
how a compact, which is, in other words, an agreement, and
which necessarily supposes at least two contracting parties,
whose assent is in all cases necessary to its validity, can be
made by the sole act of one party, we can not comprehend ;
and we presume it will never be contended, that either the
people of the territory which now forms the State of Ohio, or
the -State itself, has ever expressly assented to those provisions
of the ordinance of 1787. Nor do we admit that Congress
had authority to pass an ordinance containing the provisions
above recited and thereby abridge the sovereignty of the peo
ple, after they should have formed themselves into States.
The enactment of this ordinance necessarily supposes, that the
States to be formed within the North-western Territory, if
' admitted ou an equal footing with the original States,' and
' having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and inde
pendence,' would have the ' right to interfere with the primary
disposal of the soil;' in other words, might claim the owner
ship of the soil, and would also have the ' right to tax lands
the property of the United States ;' else where the necessity
of passing such an ordinance? If the ordinance in question
had the effect to circumscribe the ' rights of sovereignty' of the
States to be formed within the territory north-west of Ohio
within narrower limits than those enjoyed by the original
States, its provisions, as we conceive, were not only impolitic
and unjust, but were inconsistent with the fundamental con
ditions contained in the act of cession of Virginia, and there
fore in no way obligatory.
"Should it be said that the people now inhabiting the
States formed within th? territory ceded by Virginia emigrated
to this territory, and settled within its limits, under the ordi
nance of Congress, with the provisions of which they were
presumed to have beeu acquainted, and that they have there
fore agreed to the compact therein set forth and declared, this
inference is avoided by replying that the people may with
equal truth be presumed to have been apprised of the rights
guaranteed to them by the act of cession of Virginia, and by
the Constitution of the United States, the latter of which pro
vides, 'that nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to prejudice the claims of the United States, or of any of
the individual States,' thereby leaving all controversies relative
to conflicting claims to be settled by the same rules of decision
which had governed questions of a similar nature between the
original States or between any State and the United States.
51

Alfred Kelley , his Life and Work.
By no clause of the Constitution of the United States _ have
the individual States surrendered the sovereign prerogative of
claiming all unappropriated lands within their limits ;_ this
right therefore appertains to them now, if they ever enjoyed
it, and appertains to all the States alike, if all are equally
independent. "However these questions, which it may be said are
strictly questions of right, may be determined, we conceive
their decision can in no wise affect any equitable claim which
the new States may have to an equal participation in the bene
fits accruing from the vacant or unappropriated lands, the
joint property of the people of the United States. These new
States are now members of the same confederacy whose bonds
'of union and mutual benefit embrace their older sisters. They
do stand, or ought to stand, on the same footing with the
original States ; they are, or ought to be, equally free, sover
eign and independent; and, as such, entitled to all the at
tributes and appendages of sovereignty which the old States
are permitted to enjoy.
"The citizens of the new States are members of the same
great community wdiich includes the citizens of the old, and
as such are justly entitled to an equal participation in all the
beuefits resulting from the confederation and which grow out
of a community of interest. To deny this would be to create
an invidious distinction, equally impolitic and unjust; a dis
tinction calculated to foment sectional jealousies ; to produce
discontent and animosity among the several States ; and finally
to dissolve the ties of mutual interest and regard which bind
us together as a nation.
" Let us then recur to the facts connected with this view
of the subject. We have already seen that the States of
Massachusetts — including Maine, Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia — have
retained large tracts of vacant lands, after the cession made
by them to the United States, which lauds, as well as those
ceded, justice requires should be considered as common prop
erty of the Union. From these lands have been derived
funds sufficient for the entire support of schools, where they
have been judiciously managed, and appropriated to that
purpose. They have, moreover, been sufficient in some of
the States to provide iu some measure for the ordinary ex
penses of their government, thereby partially relieving their
citizens from taxation. We admit that the States of New
52

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
and perhaps South Carolina, have not been admitted to an
equal participation in those lauds, which justice requires should
be considered the common property of the Union. But their
having received less than they were entitled by justice to
demand by no means proves that the new States have received
more. The original States, including also Kentucky, have in
the aggregate participated in those lands to a much larger ex
tent than the States which have been formed within the ter
ritories ceded to the United States. Your committtee have
not been able to obtain the requisite information to enable
them to form an accurate estimate of the amount of vacant
lauds which were, at the close of the Revolutionary War, in
cluded within the present limits of the original States ; and
which have been appropriated by those States solely to their
own benefit. The probable aggregate amount, however, ex
ceeds one-third of the whole amount of territory comprised
within the limits of those States. On the other hand, the ap
propriations made in favor of the States in which appropria
tions of school lands have been made, even admitting
th^se school lands were gratuitous donations, amount to
only one-thirtieth part of the lands contained within their re
spective limits. Thus it appears that those States which in
the Maryland report are termed ' favored States ' have in the
aggregate received of the public funds only one-tenth part of
the amount to which, upon principles of equal justice they
are entitled. Where then, we may demand, are the ex
clusive privileges which have been extended to the new
States (Kentucky excepted), and upon which the claims of
the original States to an appropriation of public lands in their
favor, are founded? While many of the old States have de
rived from their vacant lands immense funds to aid in the
promotion of learning, in the prosecution of plans of internal
improvement, and in defraying the expenses of their govern
ments, and while all have reaped the benefit of their soil being
owned by their own citizens, and being subject to contribute
to the expenses of their governments, the new States (Ken
tucky and Tennessee excepted) have not been permitted to
own one foot of the soil, within their jurisdiction, they have
been compelled in their infancy to support their governments,
and make necessary improvements, solely by levying taxes on
their citizens, and have even been denied the right of taxing
the lands within their limits. Admitting the right, we can
53

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
not see the policy of thus denying to the new States a par
ticipation in the advantages which the old States are permitted
to enjoy.
"It may be said that the new States had no political
existence at the period of the Revolutionary War, that they
bore no part in the expenses or dangers of that struggle which
terminated in our national independence, and are therefore
entitled to no participation in the vacant lands which were
acquired by the joint exertions of the original States. To
consider the question fairly, it is necessary to lay out of view
for a moment those imaginary political beings the individual
States, and consider the whole American people as one great
community, by whose united exertions our national independ
ence and all other benefits resulting from the contest in which
they were engaged were acquired. If this view of the subject be
correct, it follows as a fair inference from these premises, that
each individual of that community was justly entitled to an
equal participation in that independence and all other benefits
and privileges acquired by their common efforts. We would
then ask whether the citizens of the new States were not at that
time, and whether they are not still, members of that com
munity? Did not they or their fathers bear an equal share
in the sacrifices, sufferings, and exertions of that day ; did
they not fight as bravely, bleed as freely, and open their
purses as generously as did their fellow-citizens who have re
mained within the limits of the States which gave them
birth? And have they not ever since been as ready to step
forward in defending the rights and avenging the wrongs of
our common country ? Are they not liable to contribute in
an equal proportion to, the reduction of the national debt and
all other burdens which the nation may be subject to bear?
Where then is the justice, where is the policy, of withholding
from the citizens of the new States the equal enjoyment of all
the advantages which were derived from the common efforts
of all ? Or have they lost their birthrights, and become dis
franchised, by emigration to the new States and submitting to
the hardships and privations of a new country ? And let it
be remembered that the citizens of the new States are not
colonies of foreigners who have no right to claim the privi
leges of American citizens.
" Upon principles of equality, justice, and sound policy, the
new States may then demand that all the vacant lands within
the limits of the United States at the close of the Revolution-
54

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ary War should be considered as the common property of the
nation, in which every State has an equal right to participate;
with strict propriety might they say, < Let our elder sisters,
who have already received such enormous doweries, bring
them into common stock; let their vacant lauds be estimated;
let the new States, as well as the old who have received no
part of these lands, come in for their proportionate share ; and
we will agree to an equal distribution of this public land, to
any extent which sound policy may dictate.'
"The committee of the Senate of Maryland have skillfully
kept out of view the vast tracts of waste' and unsettled lands
which fell within the present limits of the original States, but
which upon their own principles ought to be considered as
common stock. It would have accorded but ill with the view
of a committee, who boast of having secured in their in
terest more than two-thirds of the States, and a still greater
proportiou of their representatives, to have agitated questions
so overwhelmingly calculated to disunite a confederacy.
"In dissolving the' political connection which existed be
tween the people of the States of Massachusetts and Maine, a
fair and equitable division of the unappropriated lands, the
common property of both, is believed to have taken place.
It is also believed that Kentucky, on the separation from Vir
ginia, retained most, if not all, the vacant lands within her
limits which had been previously appropriated. These vacant
lands will afford to each of these States ample funds for the
promotion of literature and other purposes; while the States
formed from the national territory have been set off compara
tively portionless. The soil of the latter States being owned
by the United States, or by non-resident individuals or com
munities, occasions a continual drain of money from these
States, and, among other causes incident to their situation,
tends to produce that extensive embarrassment which per
vades their financial concerns, notwithstanding the industry,
enterprise, and frugality of their citizens, and the luxuriance
of the soil which they cultivate.
"No good reason can be assigned why the United States
should require of the States formed within their territories
more rigorous and illiberal terms, as conditions of their as
suming the character of sovereign States, than those required
by Virginia and Massachusetts of the States formed out of
their territories. We believe the United States were not less
able to be generous, and sound policy would surely have dic-
55

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
tated a course not calculated to create invidious distinctions,
and subject some of the members of our confederation to
endless embarrassments from which others are perpetually
exempted. "From the view we have taken of this interesting subject,
your committee conclude that, if it be conceded that the va
cant lands within the United States, at the close of the Rev
olutionary War, were justly the property of the American
people, considered as one great community, the claim ex
tended equally to the vacant lands within the present limits
of the original States. The inference, then, is irresistible that
the new States, as well as the old, being members of the same
confederacy, and the citizens of the new States, as well as of
the old, being members of the same community, have a right
to participate equally in the whole of those lands; and jus
tice requires that the whole be considered as a common fund
for that purpose. If, on the other hand, it be admitted that
the original States justly claimed and held all the vacant
lands within their respective limits as a right incident to their
charter as sovereign States, it follows, as a fair deduction,
that the new States have the same right to claim and hold
all the vacant lands within their respective limits, unless it
be denied that they are equally sovereign and independent
with the original States, a denial equally inconsistent with
justice and sound policy.
" We should not have anticipated from an enlightened and
intelligent committee, who demand justice of the new States
and appeal to their liberality, an intimation of the superior
power of the States which have not, as they contended, been
admitted to an equal participation in the public funds with
those States which they term 'favored.' Nora suggestion,
' that if they are true to their own interests they have nothing
to fear.' If power alone, or interests, is to decide the ques
tion, where the necessity of appealing to argument? and why
that useless display of subtle reasoning, for which that com
mittee seem to have put in requisition the whole force of their
superior talents? Should the States attempted, in said re
port, to be arrayed in support of the claims therein set up be
determined to enforce those claims, by numerical superiority,
the new States must submit, however unjust or ill-founded
those pretensions may be. But, did we not disapprove and
deprecate an appeal to similar motives and passions, we might
56

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
possibly, without the aid of inspiration, point with a prophetic
finger to the time when the relative numerical strength of the
parties will be changed, and say, 'with what measure you
mete unto us, with the same shall it be meted unto you.'
We would, however, fain believe that the force of truth and
equity, though wielded by only 'seventeen,' will be found suffi
cient to contend successfully with the interested claims of ' one
hundred and sixty-nine,' when founded in error.
" The Maryland report, while it professes to be friendly to
the advancement of intellectual improvement in the Western
States, expresses a jealous apprehension that the people of
those States, in their progress to literary and scientific emi
nence, will outstrip the people of the Atlantic States, and
thereby obtain an undue influence in the councils of the na
tion. We can not forbetr expressing our surprise that an in
telligent and liberal mind should entertain fears of the un
due influence of moral or scientific improvement. But we
do not hesitate to affirm that all apprehensions on this subject
will vanish on a careful investigation of the relative advan
tages enjoyed by the Eastern and Western States in this re
spect. The schools, in most of the old States, are liberally
endowed, or supported, by funds derived from royal or private
grants or from vacant lands. The literary institutions in the
new States can never entertain a reasonable hope of being
thus liberally endowed or supported, unless those States can
successfully assert their claim to part, at least, of the vacant
lauds within their respective limits. The school lands, in
these States, have, as yet, been very unproductive ; and, while
the Legislatures of the States in which they are situated are
restricted by the conditions attached to those grants, they
must ever be so. Indeed, it may well be doubted whether
more money has not been spent in legislating ou the subject
than the whole amount derived from those lands.
" Your committee are aware, that they have traveled over
ground, and attempted to investigate questions which at first
view may not seem to fall within the province expressly as
signed them. They however thought it necessary in order to
a full examination of the questions immediately or incident
ally involved in the subject under consideration. Since the
question of the relative rights and privileges of the several
States has been agitated, it is desirable that a full and not a
partial view may be taken of the whole ground ; and though
the committee have spun out their report to an unusual length,
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
they are sensible that they have left many arguments in favor
of their theory unnoticed.
" We are sensible that the new States may have been here
tofore considered by some, and perhaps may have considered
themselves, as minor children, who ought to feel no other senti
ment than gratitude for their political existence, and who have
no right to express even an opinion which might involve even
incidentally the correctness of any claims of their elder sis
ters. It may however be important to the future welfare and
prosperity of the new States to know on what ground they
stand; and all questions which are calculated to create jeal
ousy and give birth to conflicting interests among the several
members of our national confederacy can not too soon be set
tled on a satisfactory and permanent basis.
" Your committee have endeavored to give to the subject
that attentive and impartial consideration which its importance
merits. They have, in the course of its investigation, referred
to all the grants, charters, acts of cession, ordinances and
other public documents, within their reach, calculated to throw
light on the subject and lead to a correct result ; and, after the
most mature deliberation which time and circumstances would
permit, they with much deference submit the foregoing re
port, and recommend the adoption of the following resolu
tions." The resolutions embody the principles maintained in
the report ; and one of them requests the Governor to
send a copy of the report and resolutions to " our Sen
ators and Representatives in Congress," and to each of
the Governors of the several States and territories, and
that they be laid before their legislative bodies.
The report and resolutions were adopted by both
branches of the Legislature and transmitted as re
quested. After that time, it is believed, the claim was
not urged. 58

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER VI.
THE OHIO CANAL.
Mr. Kelley appointed a, canal commissioner. — His report on
the subject. — The considerations in favor. — The Ohio market in
1822. — Mr. Kelley appointed acting commissioner. — Proceeds to
New York for study. — Examination of routes. — Preliminary sur
veys. — Feeding public sentiment. — The example of the Erie
Canal.

The report of the Governor, made two years previous,
on the subject of a canal connecting Lake Erie with the
Ohio River, was very instrumental in directing public at
tention to that subject. And although those opposed
to it were active and influential, its importance was
urged with such earnestness and cogency that near the
close of the session Benjamin Tappan, Alfred Kelley,
Thomas Worthington, and Ebenezer Buckingham, Junior,
were appointed commissioners to cause such examina
tion, survey, and estimates to be made by an engineer,
to be selected by the Governor, " as may be necessary
to ascertain the practicability of connecting Lake Erie
with the Ohio River by a canal through the following
routes," viz : From Sandusky Bay to the Ohio River ;
from the lake to the river aforesaid by the sources of the
Cuyahoga and Black and Muskingum Rivers ; and from
the lake hy the sources of the Grand and Mahoning
Rivers to the Ohio River. 59

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
During the second session, that of 1822-3, Mr. Kelley
presented to the Senate the report of the Canal Com
missioners appointed at the preceding session, which was
drawn by him. After discussing somewhat in detail the
different routes they were required to examine, the gen
eral result of that examination, the prospective business
of the canal, and the mode of procuring the means for
its construction, are set forth as follows :
"In a matter of such high importance to the State, noth
ing should be left to conjecture. The information obtained
by the examinations made has disclosed the important fact
that there is no doubt of the practicability of making a canal
on some one, if not all, of the routes; but, until an actual
location takes place, nothing like a correct estimate can be
made of the expense of making a canal on any one route."
" The fertility of our soil promises to secure to the labors of
agriculture an abundance, very far beyond any probable con
sumption in our territory.
" The amount of the tonnage which this surplus may furnish
for the employment of canal navigation can not be estimated
by the commissioners. When the millions of acres of forest
lands within the State shall become private property and cul
tivated farms ; when our present produce shall be quadrupled
in amount, its weight and its value would startle the utmost
credulity of anticipation to estimate ; yet wise and prudent
legislators, with the experience this State has had, will look
forward to such a state of cultivation and improvement, not
as a visionary or uncertain speculation, but as the certain ef
fect of existing and operating causes.
"But the products of agricultural labor will not be the
only article of bulk and value the transportation of which to
distant markets will be opened by a caual navigation."
" The mineral coal of Ohio is another material, at present
of value only in its immediate neighborhood, which by a
60

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
canal navigation will become an important and very valuable
article of exportation. To all these, the amount and value
of which we kuow must be great, though we want the means
of justly estimating them, may we not add the produce of
manufactories which must spring up and flourish in a State
possessing within herself, in her coal, iron ores, flax, wool,
and a variety of other articles, abundant raw materials for
manufacturing those fabrics of necessity and comfort with
which we are now supplied from the work-shops of Europe;
from whence indeed we must cease in a great measure to be
supplied, so soon as the government of the Union in its wis
dom shall place the American artisan on fair equal ground of
competition with the foreign, in the American market."
With reference " to the ways and means of making
such canal, should it be found practicable," the commit
tee adds :
"A State government owning no funds must resort to taxa
tion or loans for the means of carrying on and perfecting
public works. If these works are of mere temporary use,
like the current expenses of government, the cost of them
should be defrayed by direct taxation ; for it would be both
unwise and unjust to burden posterity with debts contracted
for objects of no use nor importance to them. But the case
is far different with works of great permanent utility ; and of
which the ages which are to follow us on the stage of action
will reap the benefit, and may well bear their proportion of
the expense. The great public works in progress throughout
the Union may be compared to the revolution achieved by our
fathers, the expense of which is indeed a burden upon us, but
a burden light and trivial when compared with the great
blessings we enjoy in consequence of it."
During this session of the Legislature, Mr. Kelley
also made an effort to abolish all fictions in the action of
ejectment, but he could not overcome the attachment of
the attorneys to useless forms and antiquated usages.
This was an incipient step toward simplifying legal pro-
61

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ceedings, rejecting all surplusage and technicalities, and
preparing the way for our present practice. It pro
ceeded from a mind which preferred reality to fiction,
and simple and clear statements to verbosity and ob
scurity. The struggle for the Ohio Canal was commenced in
1819. The project then had but few supporters, but
those few were among the foremost men of the State.
They were men of courage and forecast. They could
and did appreciate the capabilities of the State and the
results which would necessarily follow from affording an
opportunity for their development.
The project required courage, enterprise, and perse
verance. Few now appreciate the feebleness of Ohio as
late as 1825, when the law was passed providing for the
improvement of the State by a canal from the mouth of
the Scioto River to Lake Erie, and from Cincinnati to
Dayton. In 1820, the State had less than six hundred
thousand inhabitants. In 1825, its entire revenue was
less than two hundred thousand dollars. The treasurer,
in his report for the year ending November 15, 1825,
states the account as follows :
"Amount of General Revenue Fund re
maining in the Treasury on the 15th of
November, 1824  $63,535 18-5
The amount received for taxes, etc., from
the 15th of November, 1824, to the 15th of
November, 1825  131,738 47-8"

fl95,273 66-3
62

Alfred Kelley ; his Life, and Work.
In 1822, in the interior of the State, wheat was worth
but 25 cents, corn 12J cents, oats 14 cents, potatoes 18f
cents, per bushel ; pork 2 cents, beef 3 cents, butter 6
cents, wool 50 cents, flax 10 cents, per pound ; eggs 4
cents per dozen, chickens 5 cents each : and nearly all
the trading was carried on by barter. There was no
manufacturing except in households and for family sup
plies. A few sagacious men appreciated the extraordi
nary productiveness of the soil of Ohio, its inexhaustible
mineral resources, and its means for maintaining every
variety of manufactures. But land was cheap, money
was scarce, and the inhabitants were poor. The task
assumed by these bold men rendered it necessary to
convince this scattered population, composed of poor
land-nwners, that these undeveloped treasures would be
so far utilized, as a necessary consequence of the pro
posed improvements, that their cost would not be an op
pressive burden ; and also, that after paying that cost
they would be enriched by having their surplus products
brought to the doors of the eastern and southern mar
kets. The task was herculean, but " there were giants
in those days."
On the 27th of January, 1823, a " supplementary" act
was passed, in which, among other things, Micajah T.
Williams, of Cincinnati, was appointed a canal commis
sioner, in the place of Jeremiah Morrow, who had re
signed. Mr. Williams was an able and efficient co-
laborer in gathering facts and information on the subject
submitted to the board, in molding public opinion, and
63

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
influencing the Legislature. In pursuance of the " sup
plementary act," Messrs. Williams and Kelley were ap
pointed " acting commissioners," and Mr. Kelley was
directed to proceed to New York, " in the spring, in
order to collect such information as might be obtained
from an actual inspection of those works [the New York
canals], parts of which were then in different stages of
construction, from the first breaking of the ground to
their completion."
In pursuance of this direction he proceeded to New
York, examined their canals, consulted with the different
officers having charge of them, and procured all the in
formation which could be obtained in regard to the work
generally and in all its details. This examination en
abled the Ohio commissioners to avoid the errors and
improve upon the methods of those of New York. That
they did so is made evident by a comparison, which
shows that the Ohio canals, from Cleveland to Ports
mouth, and from Cincinnati to Dayton, were as thor
oughly built as those of New York, and much more
economically. In June the commissioners met, and directed a survey
and location of a route from Sandusky, south, by the
Miami and Scioto Rivers. Subsequently, similar work
was done on two other lines, one between the Sandusky
and Tuscarawas routes, and the other on the line of the
present canal. The results are fully and clearly stated
in the report made January 21, 1824. The commission
ers premise their account of the work done on the sev-
64

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
eral lines by stating the principle which governed them
in their examinations and conclusions :
"In determining on the location of a canal route, the mem
bers of the board have uniformly felt disposed to yield some
thing of their local sentiment and wishes, in order to unite
cordially in accomplishing an object which they deem essen
tial to the honor and prosperity of the State, and we have the
satisfaction of saying that there has been a concurrence of
opinion in the direction of all our principal operations."
In order to appreciate the labors of the acting com
missioners in making these preliminary surveys, all of
which were done under their personal supervision, it is
only necessary to open their report :
"Our general plan of operations was very, much deranged
by the extreme unhealthiness of the season. Few of the men
employed to make up the necessary parties were able to pre
serve their health or continue their service more than a week
at a time."
One engineer died, and the others were unable to go
through the season, with the exception of Samuel For-
rer, who left for a short time and returned. He also
suffered much " from exposure and the sickliness of the
season." The examinations were conclusive against the
Sandusky route, as it clearly appeared that water could
not be supplied at the summit except at an expense
which prudence forbade to be incurred.
Public opinion was not yet ripe for the adoption of
any route, and, after giving a detailed account of the
work done during the year, the commissioners add :
" Few things contribute so much to the honor and prosper-
5 65

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ity of a State as a strong attachment of her citizens to their
country, to its government, its institutions, and its character.
This is the secret chaiu which binds together in one great
family the numerous individuals of which a State or a Nation
is composed ; the secret spring which makes them alive to the
general interest of the community, to its honor and reputa
tion, and ready to make personal sacrifices for the promotion
of public good.
" Without this feeling, a State is composed of a multitude
of uncongenial spirits, held together rather by necessity than
from choice, and continually neutralizing any effort which
may be attempted, by clashing interests or jealous animos
ities. "No nation has ever become great without some national
character; some general affections of the people; some object
to excite the pride of her citizens. Perhaps no better method
can be devised to accomplish this object than to design and
pursue with stability some leading measures of state policy ;
some great work which will call forth the exertions, concen
trate the affections, of her citizens, and even flatter their
laudable ambition ; some effort in which all may feel a com
mon interest; some achievement which will cause a glow of
exultation in every bosom, at the thought of belonging to a
State that has merited the admiration of the world.
"Though the construction of the great canal of New York
is a work so grand and imposing, its advantages to the public
are not less apparent. The benefits which have already re
sulted from that work, although it is not yet completed, are
so great as to stagger belief, if they were not capable of proof
amounting almost to mathematical demonstration. That
every saving in the expense of transporting the surplus pro
ductions of a country to market is just so much added to the
value at home is a proposition too evident to require proof,
and too plain to need illustration. We accordingly find that
any article designed for a distant market increases in price,
where it is produced, in exact proportiou to the diminution in
the expense of conveying it to its place of destination, unless
affected by accidental circumstances. Taking this rule as a
criterion, it is ascertained by information derived from au
thentic sources, that on the productions of the country ex
ported from the single county of Monroe, situated on the
Genesee River, in New York, and the property received iu
return, more than two hundred and seventy-five thousand
66

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
dollars was saved during the last season ; in other words, so
much money was put into the pockets of those who raised that
produce for market and those who received such articles as
they needed in return. This benefit has resulted solely from
the Erie Canal, and the sum thus saved to a small section of
country would more than pay the interest for one year on all
moneys expended in the construction of all the canal lines in
that State which were then completed. This fact alone
speaks volumes in favor of canal navigation, and ought to
carry conviction to the mind of every reflecting man.
" Many people seem to think that every dollar expended in
public improvements is so much lost to society ; that it is an
nihilated, gone out of existence never more to return. Such
opinions are founded in error. Even public works which are
erected for mere show and ostentation, which afford no profit
and are of no practical benefit when completed, do not neces
sarily diminish the wealth of the community by whom they
are constructed; if, to effect these objects, the rich are taxed,
money is drawn from the secret recesses in which it has long
lain useless, the labor of those who would otherwise have re
mained idle is put in requisition, and by this labor alone the
work is erected ; for the money still remains in the country,
but has only changed hands, generally for the better. If,
then, a work useless in itself does not necessarily detract from
the wealth of the community, one of great public utility can
hardly fail to add to that wealth. It is believed by many
men of extensive knowledge and enlarged political views, in
New York that the construction of their great canals would
be beneficial to that State, even admitting those works to be
abandoned the moment they are completed. Such has been
the general spring given to industry, such the amount of
labor put in requisition which would not otherwise have been
called forth, such the benefit arising from the distribution of
money in the best possible manner, that the inhabitants are
now better able to pay the interest on all moneys borrowed
for that work, than they would otherwise have been to pay
their ordinary tax without it. But fortunately this is not re
quired of them. They now reap the benefits of that magnifi
cent undertaking, without even feeling that they are taxed to
pay the interest of the moneys expended in its construction.
When, we may ask, was a nation ever impoverished, in con
sequence of the construction of works which had for their
object public utility or convenience? We may safely chal-
67

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
lenge the history of the world to produce an example of this.
Perhaps nothing has so much contributed to national wealth
and prosperity as the construction of roads and canals. They
not only add to the value of the articles transported on them,
but give a powerful stimulus to industry, by increasing its
profits. Let it also be remembered that, as we reduce the
labor expended in the transportation or any article, there re
mains so much more which may be applied to the production
of that article.
"A nation is not always rich in proportion to the gold and
silver in her possession ; but in proportion to the productive
industry of her citizens. Spain and England are examples
of this ; the one, possessing for centuries the exhaustless mines
of the new world, has been continually poor ; while the other,
without a single mine of gold or silver, has been able, from
the industry of her citizens, to subsidize kingdoms and wield
at pleasure the destinies of Europe.
" If ' population be strength and industry be wealth,' as has
been justly said, Ohio even now is both powerful and rich.
Possessing a free population of 700,000 inhabitants, more
than 100,000 of whom are men able and willing to labor, we
ought rather to ask, ' What can she not do?' than doubt her
ability to perform the work proposed." 68

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER VII.
CANAL COMMISSIONERSHIP.
Locating canal routes. — The commissioners' report. — Two
routes proposed. — The question of expense. — A public debt. —
The Muskingum and Scioto route authorized by the Legislature.
— Mr. Kelley's forecast, sagacity, and prudence. — Appointment
as canal commissioner. — Three dollars per day. — The work com
menced. — Health impaired. — Report for 1825. — Cost of the
work. — Effect of the canals. — Mr, Kelley's resignation as acting
commissioner. — Proposed inquiry into the accounts. — The form
of the proposal resented. — Mr. Kelley's methods of management.

In the year 1824, in pursuance of the act of the pre
vious General Assembly, and of the acts to which that
is additional, the Board of Canal Commissioners ex
amined a number of routes, and not only located them
but estimated their cost. Their report, which was made
on the 8th of January, 1825, was full and complete.
Their mode of proceeding and the different routes were
so clearly and fully described, and the estimated cost,
was so plainly stated, that it was unnecessary to look
beyond the report for the means of determining what
line should be adopted. The wise prudence of the
State and the care and skill of its agents clearly ap
pear in the opening paragraphs :
" To enable the board to complete, in one season, the loca
tion of two entire lines across the State, as was required by
the last General Assembly, it was deemed necessary to form
69

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
two exploring and locating parties for that service. At the
head of one of these parties they placed Mr. Samuel Forrer,
whose persevering enterprise and skill had already given him
strong claims to the confidence of the board. The earliest
measures were taken to obtain the services of another en
gineer, whose experience and activity should qualify him to
take charge of the second party. After some delay, they suc
ceeded in obtaining for that station Mr. William H. Price, of
New York, a gentleman of considerable experience in the
construction of canals, who came highly recommended from
that State. Since he has been in our service, he has given
satisfactory evidence of his skill and experience in the line of
his profession, and of his future- usefulness to the State,
should the construction of her proposed canals be under
taken .
" They also made application to the Board of Canal Com
missioners of the State of New York, as directed by the act
of Assembly, for one of their most experienced and approved
engineers, for the purpose, during the latter part of the sea
son, of revising and aiding in making the different plans and
estimates of the cost of constructing a canal on the lines lo
cated." ..." This application resulted in the employ
ment of David S. Bates, Esq., one of the principal engineers
of the New York Canal, who has been engaged in the con
struction of that work from its commencement. Judge Bates
arrived in this State about the first of September, since which
time he has revised the whole of the lines which have been
located." After describing the different routes, and giving a de
tailed statement of their cost as estimated by the engi
neers, Forrer and Price, and revised by Judge Bates, the
report continues as follows :
" The commissioners, from a full view of the subject, and
an examination of the estimates, which will be laid before
the General Assembly, are of opinion that it is practicable
to make canals, from the Lake to the Ohio River, upon two
of the routes which have been surveyed ; one commencing at
the mouth of the Scioto River, and passing by the Licking
summit and the Muskingum River, to Lake Erie. And the
70

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
other from Cincinnati to the foot of the Rapids of the Mau-
mee River; both of which are of unquestionable importance
and ought to be made by the State, as soon as the necessary
funds can be obtained and the wants of the people, require
them. "They recommend therefore the passage of a law author
izing the construction of the first mentioned line of canal and
so much of the second, as extends from Cincinnati to Day
ton, and providing necessary funds therefor; leaving it to
succeeding Legislatures to determine when it will be expedi
ent to complete the western line, to the foot of the Maumee
Rapids. " Were the resources of the State adequate to the present
construction of both canals, it might be expedient to under
take them at the same time. But, while we. believe that the
resources of the State are fully adequate to the construction
of one entire route, we deem it highly impolitic to undertake
both at once. Such an undertaking would not only subject
the people of the State to burdens greater than they would
cheerfully bear, but it could hardly fail to injure the credit
of the State abroad by inducing capitalists to believe that
we were attempting exertions beyond our strength, and that
our councils were not governed by sound discretion.
"If then it is imprudent to undertake the construction of
two entire lines of canal from the lake to the Ohio River, at
the same time, the question recurs — which line shall be first
constructed ?
"In settling this important question, we are aware that
local feelings and sectional interests will arise, and interpose
their influence, in a greater or less degree. If these feelings
aud interests are suffered to govern, no favorable result cau
be expected. In all states or communities, whether great or
small, many improvements are suggested which require the
joint exertions of all. If all these improvements must be ac
complished at once, or not at all, the inevitable consequences
would frequently be that nothing could be done, the strength
of the State being inadequate to the simultaneous construction
of so many works. It then becomes indispensably necessary
to the progress of improvement that in many cases the in
terest of one section of the country or class of society be post
poned to those of another. In all those case, those improve
ments which interest the greatest proportion of the commu
nity, which will be the most extensively useful, in proportion
71

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
to the difficulty of their attainment, and for which there is
most urgent necessity, should be first accomplished.
"In reference to the question under consideration, it will
be observed that the Muskingum and Scioto route passes
through the State nearer the center, and so as to divide its
territory much more equally than the Maumee and Miami
route ; and will therefore accommodate a -much greater pro
portion of its area and population."
The report contains the following paragraphs in re
lation to procuring funds for the construction of the
canal, and the revenue system then in force :
"By our report to the last General Assembly, it was seen
that sufficient funds might be obtained upon loan, and on
favorable terms, for the purpose of constructing a canal ; and
subsequent information has fully confirmed the favorable con
clusions theu made upon this subject. For the commence
ment and completion of these works, it is believed that the
State must necessarily borrow all or nearly all the sums
wanted. The history of government debts is not likely to
make very strong impressions in their favor, for, with few ex
ceptions, they have usually been contracted for ohjects totally
adverse to the best interests of society. A public debt is,
doubtless, a great evil to any State upon which it may be im
posed, if the money obtained by contracting it has been
wasted; but societies, as well as individuals, may wisely con
tract debts, and leave them a charge upon their posterity, if
they leave to that posterity in the estates purchased, or im
provements made by the moneys so procured, an ample patri
mony to discharge them. Such, it is believed, would be the
case with a debt contracted for the purpose of making the
proposed canals ; for, with a prudent and economical ex
penditure in making them, the capital vested will be worth
more when they shall be completed, even as merchantable
stock, than they will have cost; and will increase in value
while the population, wealth, and business,- not of this State
only, but of the immense regions made accessible to each
other by them, shall continue to increase. A debt therefore
contracted for such purposes can not be objectionable if the
State possess the ability to pay the interest of it."
"But the present system of taxation, although adequate to
19.

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the support of government, and although it may afford a sur
plus applicable to other objects, is extremely unequal, and of
course inequitable in its operation. It is unequal as a tax
upon land, because land worth fifty cents or a dollar per acre
is charged from twenty to a hundred fold more, in proportion
to its value, than land which is worth twenty dollars and up
ward ; and this inequality cau not be remedied by the present
system without increasing the rates of land, and devising
some plan which will secure the correct entry of all lands
upon the tax lists. If the position be admitted that the
necessary expenses of the State should be contributed by all
the citizens iu proportion to their property, then the land tax,
as an exclusive source of revenue, is still more unequal and
oppressive, in as much as it leaves exonerated from the bur
den of taxation a great and increasing mass of personal prop
erty ; property, too, from which in general a greater profit
is derived by its owners, and consequently a greater ability to
share the public burdens."
After a tabular statement showing the probable sum
which will be required each year, with the amount of
interest to be provided, the following . statement is
made :
" The business will gradually increase on the canals as the
lines of commercial intercourse become known and established,
and as the surplus productions of the soil are augmented by
the stimulus produced by an easy access to a safe and cer
tain market ; so that in the year 1837, the net income of the
canals will pay the interest on all sums borrowed for their
construction. After which time, the increase of business and
revenue on the canals will yield a surplus fund for the re
demption of the loans."
On the 1st of February, 1825, an additional report
was made containing a detailed statement of the ex
penses of the commissioners in making their examina
tions, surveys, and estimates, and in regard to those ex
penses, it is said : 73

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
"We believe that the history of canaling furnishes no instance
of an equal length of line having been located, and the ex
penses of constructing a canal thereon estimated, in the same
length of time, nor at so small an expense. There was located
in New York, in the year 1816, about four hundred miles of
canal line. This was accomplished for sixteen thousand
nine hundred and thirty-seven dollars — a sum nearly equal to
the whole cost of our examinations, surveys, and locations for
three years; in which eight hundred miles of line have been
actually located and staked out on various routes, and at
least two thousand miles of random leveling have been per
formed." On the 4th of February a bill drawn by M. T-
Williams, then Speaker of the House, " To provide for
the internal improvement of the State of Ohio by navi
gable canals," and which authorized the commissioners
therein provided for to construct a canal on the
Muskingum and Scioto route from the mouth of the
Scioto River to Lake Erie, and also a canal on so much
of the Maumee and Miami line as lies between Cincin
nati and Mad River, at or near Dayton, was enacted,
signed, and became a law.
The reports preceding this law bear upon their face
the indelible impress of Mr. Kelley's forecast, sagacity,
and judgment. They did much to form public opinion,
and induce the Legislature to regard the enterprise as
essential to the rapid settlement of the State, the devel
opment of its mineral and agricultural resources, and
that it was then able to undertake the work. Its success
was, however, a matter of judgment, and not a certainty,
and the Legislature felt the responsibility it assumed ;
and on the same day that the law was enacted, a joint
74

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
resolution was adopted appointing the following Board
of Canal Commissioners : Alfred Kelley, Micajah T.
Williams, Thomas Worthington, Benjamin Tappan, John
Johnson, Isaac Miner, and Nathaniel Beasley.
Mr. Kelley had identified himself with the project from
the beginning, including the surveys, locations, and esti
mates, and now, when the work Avas to be actually under
taken, and the faith of the State Avas pledged for its cost,
the State called upon him to realize for her the results
which had been so clearly stated and so confidently urged.
He accepted the trust, and staked his reputation upon
the issue.
When he accepted the office of Canal Commissioner,
he had a leading and a lucrative practice as a laAvyer,
and a home on the bank of Lake Erie, in Cleveland.
They were both entirely abandoned for the responsibil
ity, privations, and danger to health, and even of life,
which were necessarily incident to such a work. If selfish
ambition or avarice ever influenced his conduct, or for a
moment had a lodgment in his mind, the State, at this
period Avould not have commanded his services. The
maximum of compensation allowed by law was three dol
lars per. clay. This Avas to him no compensation present
or prospective. He was solely influenced and controlled
by the hope and belief that Avhen the work should be
completed, a lasting benefit would be conferred upon his
adopted State, and the consciousness that all his sacrifices
would be made for the benefit of the public. When the
work was commenced, he was in the prime of life, pos-
75

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
sessed of a strong constitution, and unimpaired health.
His success and prosperity were assured. He sacrificed
the income from his profession, abandoned his pleasant
home, and separated his family, that he might engage in
this important and perilous work.
Immediately after the appointment of the commis
sioners the Board was organized, and Mr. Williams and
Mr. Kelley were appointed acting commissioners. Pre
parations were soon made for putting under contract
" the line on Licking summit." In the report made the
10th of December, 1825, the Board refers to the com
mencement of the work as folloAvs :
"About to commence, in behalf of the people of the State,
the construction of the second great national work of internal
improvement in the United States, and recollecting the debt
of gratitude which is due, for his able and effective services
in the cause, to that distinguished individual, the acknowl
edged head of the policy which is so happily extending itself
throughout our common country, and remembering, also, the
deep interest which he has in all cases evinced, in the success
of the efforts of Ohio, the commissioners felt it to be a mark
of respect due, and that it Avould accord Avith the feelings of
their fellow-citizens to invite Governor Clinton, of the State
of New York, to be present at the important and interesting
ceremony of commencing the work. They Avere highly grati
fied at his acceptance of the invitation, and with the prompt
manner in which he encountered the difficulties of complying
with their wishes.
" On the fourth day of July, the Board had the satisfaction
of witnessing the commencement of the work, in the presence
of our patriotic Chief Magistrate, who had also been invited
to be present on the occasion, and of Governor Clinton, to
gether with several citizens of NeAV York, distinguished advo
cates of the policy, and a vast concourse of their fellow-
citizens." 76

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
A long portion of the line under Mr. Kelley's su
pervision ran through a wilderness or sparsely settled
country, in relation to which it is said in the report of
January, 1827: "During the months of July, August,
and September, the work could not be prosecuted except
at a great sacrifice of the health and life of the laborers,
and was therefore suspended." It would be difficult to
convey an adequate idea of the fatigue and exposure to
which the acting commissioner was subject in the dis
charge of his duties. Appointments were always kept,
though it often required that his days should be spent in
storms and in bogs and miasma.
While acting in behalf of the State, and exposing his
health to secure her against loss or unnecessary expense,
Mr. Kelley was equally careful and considerate of the
rights of the laborers, whose " reward of their services "
was secured not long after the commencement of the
work. In the third report, the Board says :
" The measures Avhich have been taken by the acting com
missioners to secure to laborers on the canals the just reAvard
of their services haA'e produced a beneficial effect, particu
larly ou these parts of the line Avhich have been put under
contract since the adoption of these measures. The right re
served by the acting commissioners, in the contract, of with
holding moneys from the contractor, aud paying over to the
laborer directly the sums due him for work, whenever a dis
position on the part of the contractor not to make punctual
payments is evinced, has had the effect to introduce greater
punctuality in the payment of laborers.
" Still, however, instances occur in which all the exertions
of the acting commissioners have failed to produce the de
sired effect. The neglect of laborers to use suitable exertions
and to take the necessary measures to insure the payment of
77

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
their wages, or even to inform the commissioner of a failure in
this respect, until it is out of his power to coerce payment,
together Avith the want of economy and bad management on
the part of the contractor in some instances, are the principal
causes of the existence of the evil ; au evil which it is ex
tremely difficult, if not impossible, entirely to prevent."
After five or six years of exposure and uninterrupted
labor, Mr. Kelley's vigorous constitution yielded to their
influence, and his health was so far impaired that the
Legislature, in February, 1832, passed the following
preamble and joint resolution :
"Whereas, the health of Alfred Kelley, acting commis
sioner of the Ohio Canal, has been seriously impaired by his
constant attention, for several years past, to his arduous duties
as acting commissioner, so that he is now unequal to the labor
of his station ; therefore, as a tribute of respect to a faithful
public servant —
"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That
Alfred Kelley, acting canal commissioner, be allowed leave
of absence from his official duties until the first day of July
next." Mr. Kelley did not avail himself of this offer, but,
by care and prudence, was enabled to regain a little of
his former health and continue to perform his official
duties. During the year 1832 the two canals committed to
the charge of the commissioners by the act of February
4, 1825, were finished, " with the exception of the lower
lock at Portsmouth, the southern terminus of the Ohio
Canal, and the locks by Avhich the Miami canal was to
be connected Avith the Ohio River at Cincinnati." At
this time, the health of Mr. Kelley had so declined that
78

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the commissioners held their meetings at his house in
Columbus ; and he there, in January, 1833, prepared the
report for the preceding year.
In that report the construction of the canal is re
viewed — a short account of the levels, locks, aqueducts,
culverts, feeders, reservoirs, is given ; and, in an ap
pendix, a copy of the rules and specifications, adopted
for the various kinds of work, is furnished. Being also
desirous of making a full financial exhibit of the Avork
on the Ohio Canal, the estimated and actual cost are
carefully compared. No such comparison could be made
in regard to the Miami Canal, as the estimate Avas made
of the entire line, from Cincinnati to the Maumee River,
and no separate estimate was made of its cost from Cin
cinnati to Dayton.
The cost of the Ohio Canal, as estimated in the report
of 1825, was $3,081,880.83.
There was actually disbursed on it, including the
amount then due to contractors — the estimated cost of
finishing the lower lock at Portsmouth, and the expense
of engineering and repairs, $4,224,539.64.
A large portion of this excess of the cost over the es
timate is accounted for in detail, with a full explanation
of each item, and is then aggregated as folloAvs :
"1. Extension of the canal — new branches,
feeders, regulators, and other new Avorks,
as previously stated, . . . $218,675 76
2. Modifications of the plan, as stated, . 120,711 67
3. Changes of location to sustain local inter
ests,  31,274 21
79

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
4. Additional embankment, . . $150,000 00
5. Filling and securing canal after accept
ance from contractors, . . .- 100,000 0,0
26. Ordinary repairs from July, 1827, to De
cember 1, 1832,  55,000 00

$675,711 64"

This sum, deducted from the actual cost, leaves, as the
excess of the cost over the estimate, $487,947.17.
An additional statement is then made in the report, as
folloAvs :
" This excess is in part attributable to the influence which
the making of the canal has had on the commercial and agri
cultural prosperity of the State. As different portions of the
canal, from time to time, have been opened for navigation, a
channel has been presented to the inhabitants of the interior
for the cheap and convenient transportation to market of the
products of their farms, their forests, and their mines.
Labor has consequently yielded a greater profit, and both
provisions and wages have risen in value. This state of
things has necessarily increased the expense of constructing
the canal, and yet it has operated beneficially to the people of
the State. For, while the cost of the canal has been en
hanced, the excess has been paid to them for their labor and
provisions, and the surplus sent abroad for sale has been at
the same time increased in value, in consequence of the di
minished expense of transporting it to market.
"The increased amount of money which has been thrown
into circulation by the heavy disbursements on the pilblic
works has also had an effect to raise the price both of labor
and provisions.
"The extensive works of internal improvements which
have been prosecuted with so much energy in the adjoining
States, particularly in Pennsylvania, and by the national gov
ernment in our own State, have drawn off a great number of
mechanics and common laborers, who otherwise would have
sought employment on our canal, and have consequently en
hanced the price of labor, the cost of the canal, and at the
same time have retarded its completion. 80

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
"The frequent abandonment of jobs by contractors, in
some cases from dishonest motives, but much more frequently
from errors in judgment as to the value of Avork, or as to
their own skill and ability to perform it Avith economy, leading
them to contract at prices below those at which they could
complete it without serious losses, produced the necessity of
frequent re-letting at rates above the actual value of the work.
This consequence resulted from the limited time in Avhich the
public interest required the completion of these jobs at the
time of their being re-let, and the scarcity and high price of
labor attendant upon the extraordinary exertions necessary to
accomplish a large amount of work in a short period. .
"The prices fixed on the work of various kinds in the orig
inal estimates were generally sufficient to cover the expense of
its execution, but the quantities were in many, indeed in
most, cases materially deficient; and experience has shoAvn
that a far greater amount of work was necessary even to
finish the canal on the plan originally designed than was then
estimated. " In relation to this subject, it should be observed, that the
surveys on which the first estimates of cost Avere formed Avere
made in a much more hasty and consequently less perfect
manner than would have been required to serve as a basis of
correctly estimating quantities, or than would have been done
had more time been given.
" During the season iu Avhich these surveys were principally
made, upward of six hundred miles of canal lines were
located by tAvo parties. Under these circumstances, minute
examinations and surveys could not be expected. They were
in fact mostly confined to ascertaining the elevations and de
pressions of the surface on a longitudinal line along the center
of the ground proposed to be occupied by the canal ; and even
on this line the smaller irregularities of the surface were not
ascertained. The result of forming an estimate from such
imperfect surveys was that the quantities of earth necessary
to be removed in order to construct the canal were much
underrated, particularly on uneven and sideling grounds. In
a hasty estimate, predicated on such imperfect surveys, many
structures of various kinds, necessary to render a canal sub
stantial and convenient, Avere either entirely omitted, or
small and cheap works were supposed to be sufficient where
subsequent examination has shown that much larger and
more expensive structures were necessary. It is, however,
6 81

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
probable that much of this additional cost Avould have been
covered by the very liberal prices generally affixed, in the
first estimates, to the work, had the prices of labor and pro
visions remained as they then were. But this state of things,
owing to the causes previously noticed, did not continue to
exist." No canal in this country or in Europe of equal length
had been constructed at as small a cost per mile, or at so
small an advance on the original estimate, if it can be
fairly claimed that the cost of the Ohio Canal was not
within that estimate.
The predicted results of this great enterprise were
more than realized ; and its success exhibits extraordi
nary sagacity and forecast on the part of its advocates,
especially when the condition of the State in 1825 is
considered. In 1832, the tolls amounted to $123,794.21.
They increased rapidly each year, and in 1837 amounted
to $355,769.50.
The report of 1832 also contains a table exhibiting the
different articles transported on the canals, with the
amount, price, and value of each, and the " aggregate
saving in expense of transportation " on both canals is
shown 'to be $312,156.87. This amount was increased
every year in proportion to the increase of transporta
tion. The general effect produced upon the State can not be
better illustrated than by a comparison of the appraised
value of real estate for the purpose of taxation, at dif
ferent periods. 82

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Prior to 1826, lands were assessed for taxation by the
acre, and not according to their value.
In 1826, the realty of the State was valued at
$15,946,840. In 1835, it was valued at $75,760,797.
In 1841, it was valued at $100,851,837.
This extraordinary increase was caused by the en
hanced value of farming products; which in 1832 were
brought, by the canals, within the reach and influence
of the NeAV York and southern markets.
In a report of Joseph S. Lake and N. H. Swayne, as
Canal Fund Commissioners, on the 20th of January,
1842, they refer to this subject as follows :
" The Ohio Canal has again netted exceeding six per cent
upon its cost. ... It should be constantly borne in mind,.
however, that the revenue derived from such works, however
important to the public treasury, is a very small part of the
benefits they confer. The rapid growth of Ohio, in popula
tion and resources, since the census of 1830, must be attrib
uted mainly to this cause. There is every reason to anticipate
the like growth for some years to come."
Mr. Kelley continued to discharge the duties of acting
commissioner until 1834, Avhen he addressed the follow
ing communication to the Board :
"Columbus, 24th Jan'y, 1834.
"To the Board of Canal Commissioners :
" Gentlemen:
" I deem it proper to inform you that I have concluded to
resign the appointment, which I now hold from the board, of
acting commissioner, as early as the first day of March next ;
and I make this communication, at this time, that the board
83

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
may have an opportunity to make the necessary arrangements
for supplying the place.
" Had I consulted my OAVn inclinations, or the wishes of my
family only, I should have taken this course some years ago.
I was, hoAvever, unwilling to abandon a trust which I had
undertaken to perform, particularly Avhen the discouraging
circumstances and serious difficulties with Avhich we were sur
rounded might induce the belief that I was impelled to do
so by despairing of ultimate success. The opinion expressed
by the board that the knowledge which I have derived from
personal observation and experience was important to a suc
cessful prosecution of the work operated as a further induce
ment to continue in the station assigned me.
"As the canals are now so nearly finished, and as the suc
cessful execution of the public works in Avhich we have been
engaged, their widely extended benefits and increasing profits,
have settled public opinion in their favor, I cau now retire
from active semce without discredit to my motives, or injury
to the public.
" I am more strongly impelled to take this step by a con
viction that an efficient superintendence of the Ohio Canal re
quires the undivided attention of an acting commissioner,
and demands the employment of a much larger portion of his
time on the line than I can employ in that manner, with due
regard for my health, impaired as it has been by continual
exposure and unremitted exertions for seven or eight succes
sive years.
"In conclusion, permit me to express my grateful sense
of the manner in which I have been sustained by the board
in the performance of my duties, and of the confidence which
they have placed in me during the time I have acted as their
agent. " With sentiments of the most sincere regard,
" I am, gentlemen, your humble serv't,
"Alfred Kelley."
Mr. Kelley remained in the Board, as commissioner
only, after the time specified in the preceding communi
cation. Having resigned as acting commissioner, it was
due to him and the State that his accounts should be
examined and reported upon. In pursuance of this ob-
84

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
ligation on the part of the State, the House of Repre
sentatives of the next Legislature, on the 7th of March,
1835, passed a resolution providing for the .examination
of the " books, vouchers, and accounts," and " all the
official transactions of the Board of Canal Commission
ers of this State, and also of the Canal Fund Commis
sioners, from the commencement of our canal improve
ment up to the. present time." In addition to the ordi
nary provisions, the resolution conferred the extraordi
nary power " to send for persons and papers."
Mr. Kelley immediately prepared the following paper,
which Avas signed by all the members of the Board then
in Columbus, and delivered to the House on the 9th
of March ; and in regard to which one of the Board, Mr.
Samuel Forrer, in calling the attention of the writer to
it, says : " Its character shows his manner of meeting
issues of the kind involved in the controversy ; and the
result shows what an indomitable will in defense of jus
tice may effect, even on a legislative body :"
"To the Honorable the House of Representatives:
" The undersigned, members of the Board of Canal Com
missioners (being all the members of the Board now in Co
lumbus), have learned with much surprise that the House
have passed a resolution requiring the appointment of a com
mittee to examine the accounts, vouchers, conduct and pro
ceedings of the Canal Commissioners and of the Commission
ers of the Canal Fund, with power to send for persons and
papers. " The undersigned believe that it is not in accordance
with parliamentary and legislative usages to clothe com
mittees with extraordinary power, unless the Legislature, or the
branch from which such powers may emanate, have strong pre
sumptive evidence that some misdemeanor or some malfeasance
85

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
in office has occurred the investigation of which requires the
examination of witnesses and papers that can only be ob
tained by compulsory process. If this view of legislative
usages be correct, it must be evident that the passage of the
resolution in* question carries with it the declaration that
the House have strong reasons to believe there has been some
gross malfeasance practiced by the agents of the State whose
official conduct it is proposed to investigate, or that some
parts of the accounts or vouchers, or evidence of some of
their proceedings, Avill be improperly Avithheld from the in
spection of the committee.
"Although the members of the House may individually
understand, from declarations made on the floor, that no such
imputations are intended, a little reflection Avill satisfy the
House that the community at large, who have not heard
these declarations of members, must judge of the subject
from the tenor of the resolution itself Avhen construed accord
ing to the established usages of legislative bodies ; and that
the character of the agents Avhose conduct is to be investi
gated must suffer these implied imputations until a report
can be made at the next annual session of the General As
sembly. " Had the resolution in question received, the sanction of
both branches of the General Assembly, the undersigned
could have no hesitation as to the proper course to be pur
sued. They could not for a moment consent to hold a trust,
after the representatives of the people had expressed, even
by implication, doubts as to their being Avorthy of confidence.
How far a similar course is required, when but one branch
of the General Assembly has adopted a measure which, ac
cording to the ordinary rules of construing such proceedings,
implies a want of confidence in the integrity of agents who
have beeu appointed by the joint act of both branches, pre
sents a more difficult question.
"Under existing circumstances, the undersigned deem it a
duty Avhich they owe to themselves, as Avell as to those Avho
have acted with them, and who are noAv absent, to the pub
lic and to the character of the State, respectfully but earn
estly to solicit an unequivocal expression of the House, in
relation to the construction of that part ,of the resolution
which, as it now stands, the undersigned believe may and
will, by many, be construed to imply suspicion of their official
integrity. An explicit declaration of the House, either one
86

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
way or the other, on this point, ay ill at once relieve the un
dersigned from their present embarrassment, and determine
them as to the proper course for thermto pursue.
"The undersigned, for themselves and in behalf of their
absent colleagues, beg to be distinctly understood as not wish
ing to avoid a full and rigid scrutiny of their accounts and
official conduct. They indignantly repel every intimation of
a desire on their part to shrink from an investigation of their
proceedings. They earnestly wish, and respectfully demand,
a full, minute, and rigid investigation of all their accounts,
vouchers, and Avhole official conduct. But at the same time,
they solemnly, but respectfully, remonstrate against the en
tering upon the journals of the House, and publishing to the
world, of a document which implies the possession of strong
presumptive evidence of fraud or official misconduct, unless
the House have such evidence in their possession, or unless
some member shall, upon his official responsibility, declare
that he has good reason to believe that such fraud or miscon
duct has actually occurred.
"The coustitution and laws of our State secure from search
the persons, houses, papers, and possessions of private citi
zens, without, at least, probable evidence of crime. So care
ful Avere the framers of our constitution and laws to prevent
a wanton invasion of the character or property of our citizens ;
and we are reluctant to believe that a branch of the General
Assembly will cast an imputation upon the character of pub
lic officers, Avho have a right to demand protection at their
hands, by a deliberate public act, unless there are, at least,
strong reasons to suspect official misconduct.
" The laAVS of the State require that the accounts and
vouchers, both of the canal commissioners, and commissioners
of the canal fund, shall be filed in the Auditor's office, and
that they shall, from time to time, report their official pro
ceedings to the General Assembly. These requisitions of Jaw
have been complied with, and it is well known that these ac
counts aud vouchers have long been, and are uoav, iu the
office of the Auditor, recorded in books prepared for that
purpose, and subject to the control of the General Assembly
and to the inspection of its committees. The proceedings of
the Board of Canal Commissioners are recorded, and subject
to the same control and inspection. The accounts of both
boards have been uniformly closed for each year in time for
the examination of the committee of either or both branches
87

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
of the Legislature, and, previously to the last session, have
uniformly been examined by the committees of both Houses.
It is not the fault of the commissioners that this service has
not since been performed ; the accounts have been prepared
in season, and the committee, or members thereof, notified
that they were iu readiness to be submitted.
"The amount of money which has come into the hands of
the canal commissioners, or the commissioners of the fund,
can be readily ascertained ; and they are bound to account,
and that too in a satisfactory maimer, for its disbursement.
If they fail to do so, they Avill be obnoxious to censure. But
until there is some evidence of such failure, or of official mis
conduct, the undersigned can not, Avithout remonstrating
against its injustice, submit to even an implied aspersion of
their characters.
"Respectfully submitted by
John Johnston,
Alfred Kelley,
Samuel Foeeer,
" Columbus, March 7, 1835." Leander Ransom."
On Monday, the 9th of March, the Senate passed the
folloAving :
"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That
Gustavus Swan, Noah H. Swayne, and P. B. Wilcox be, and
they are hereby, appointed a committee to examine the books
and accounts of the canal commissioners and of the canal
fund commissioners, and that the said committee report their
proceedings and the result of their examination to the next
General Assembly."
This resolution, respectful in its terms, and not implying
any thing offensive, Avas sent to the House, and its adop
tion was the first act of that body, after the reading of
the communication of the canal commissioners.
The three persons appointed as a committee, on ac
count of the neglect of the officers of the Legislature,
or for some other reason, Avere not officially notified of

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
the passage of the resolution, and nothing was done to
ward an investigation.
On the sixth of January, 1836, the Board of Canal
Commissioners made their last report, and, at its close,
this subject is thus referred to :
" The canals authorized to be made by the act of the 4th
of February, 1825, "for the internal improvement of the
State of Ohio by navigable canals," having been completed,
and the agents of the State, upon whom devolved the imme
diate disbursements of the moneys expended in these works,
having resigned their trusts and rendered their accounts, it is
due to the citizens of the State that they be officially in
formed hoAV their funds have been expended and accounted
for, and Avhether their agents have faithfully and discreetly
executed the important duties and powers conferred on them
by law.
" It is also due to these agents that their accounts for the
disbursement of the large sums which have passed through
their hands shall be fully investigated and finally settled ; and
that the manner in which they have executed their trusts,
generally, shall be inquired into, and approved or disap
proved, according to its merits, by a committee of the Gen
eral Assembly, or other persons, in whom both the people and
their representatives will have full confidence.
" Books, vouchers, and other papers are liable to destruc
tion or loss, . . . witnesses of important transactions are
liable to death, and still more to a failure in their memory of
past events ; and it is obvious, under these circumstances,
that the character of the agents in Avhom important discre
tionary powers have beeu vested, and through Avhose hands
millions of public money have passed, may suffer from the
misrepresentations of those Avho are misinformed or preju
diced, however correct the conduct of the ageuts may have
been." In pursuance of this appeal, the General Assembly, in
March, appointed a committee of three to examine and
report upon the accounts and vouchers of the canal com-
89

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
missioners and canal fund commissioners, and also au
thorized the Governor to fill vacancies occasioned by de
clination or otherwise. There were declinations and ap
pointments by the Governor, and the committee was
finally composed of three political adversaries of Mr.
Kelley, and as violent partisans as could have been se
lected in the State. That committee, in October, made
a report to the Governor, of which the following is a
part: " The Board of Commissioners, appointed ' to examine the
books and vouchers of the canal commissioners, also the books
and vouchers of the canal fund commissioners, and to audit
and adjust the same,' in obedience to certain joint resolutions
of the General Assembly of Ohio, passed March 14, 1836,
hereby and herein report to the Governor of the State the
result of such examination as they have been able to make,
which is only part of the duty required of them.
"We have also examined the accounts of the acting canal
commissioners, Avith the A'ouchers counected thereAvith, and
find them substantially correct ; in other words, Ave find no
account of money disbursed by them Avhich has not been
honestly accounted for, either as agents for contracts, or for
contingent and incidental expenses for the construction of the
Ohio canals. Respectfully submitted,
Elijah Hayward,
Wm. B. Van Hook,
M. Z. Kreider,
Committee."
During the construction of the Ohio Canal, every part
of the work was subjected to Mr. Kelley's supervision,
and contractors soon learned that no fraud or artifice
could escape his vigilance, and that they could not avoid
the faithful performance of their agreements. He was in-
90

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
flexibly true to the interests of the State. While acting
for her, he did not consider that he had a right to depart
from the contracts in behalf of a contractor or the State.
The State could yield its rights, and be generous with its
money, but the agent had no such authority.
The advantage which the State derived from having such
an agent was soon discovered. The long line of canal,
stretching for three hundred and thirty-three miles from
the lake to the river, was constructed with the same care,
prudence, and economy that are observed in the best man
aged private enterprises. The .rights of the State were
protected ; none of her money was squandered, or lost
by inattention, carelessness, or negligence ; but all Avhich
passed through the hands of the commissioners was rep
resented by the best quality of work.
The honest contractors, and most of them Avere such,
were attached to Mr. Kelley. His engineers admired
and revered him. One of them informed the writer of
this, that the corps to Avhich he belonged looked for
ward with much interest to his frequent examinations of
the work, as he generally spent the night with them, and
the evening was passed in the discussion of matters of
science connected with their business, or historic or po
lite literature, from Avhich they derived lasting benefit.
He was to them not only an employer, but a friend, who
was interested in their success and improvement.
Each year a report was prepared containing a full and
detailed statement of what had been done during the
preceding twelve months. These reports are models of
91

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
their kind. Their frankness and clearness disarmed op
position, except in one or tAvo instances in which the pre
judice of an enemy ran aAvay with his judgment, and
whose complaints and fault finding Avere met and silenced
by a little forcible truth.
On one occasion, when a member, who had for many
years exhibited unrelenting hostility to Mr. Kelley, was
addressing the House in relation to the construction of a
portion of the canal near Cleveland, and making state
ments in regard to it which were untrue, Mr. Kelley hap
pened to be sitting some distance from and in front of
him, and being attracted by his bitterness and errors,
turned toward him, and looking steadily at him with an
expression of the most forcible and direct denial of his
assertions, the member begun to qualify, then explain,
then retract, and finally sat down.
During the construction of the canals, and after they
were finished, agriculture and manufactures rapidly in
creased, and population multiplied. On this, her first
great work, as a necessary foundation, have been built up
that wealth and influence which have given to Ohio a
place among the foremost of the American States. The
improvements which have followed were all dependent
upon this.
The State derived all the benefit, but to accomplish it,
Mr. Kelley submitted to extraordinary sacrifices. He
retired from office possessed only of the property he
owned when he accepted it. The commissioners did not
consider it their privilege or right to take advantage of
92

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
their positions, as agents for the State, and thus add to
their personal fortunes. They refrained even from the
appearance of it. Mr. Kelley desired a farm, then cov
ered with forest, and much benefited by the location of
the Columbus feeder, but would not enter into any nego
tiations for it until the canal was completed. The pur
chase was then made, and the farm is now owned by a
member of his family. He retired also with a constitu
tion permanently impaired by exposure, fatigue, and ex
cessive labor, in the discharge of his official duties. He
devoted more than ten years to this, all things consid
ered, the greatest enterprise of the State. And so long
as the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio River are con
nected, and even if the canal be superseded by other im
provements, so long as its history is preserved, the name
of Alfred Kelley will be held in grateful remembrance.
93

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.

CHAPTER VIII.
POLITICAL services.
Removal to Columbus. — Election to the Legislature in 1836. —
Services. — Re-election in 1837. — The State Debt. — Chairman of the
Finance Committee. — Imprisonment for debt abolished. — Polit-
cal corruption of the times. — Call for a Whig General Conven
tion. — Picturesque scenes. — Entertaining delegates.

In October, 1830, Mr. Kelley removed with his family
to Columbus, where he resided the remainder of his life.
In 1836 he was elected to represent Franklin County in
the Legislature. He was, as such representative, prin
cipally engaged in opposing injudicious legislation, and
in endeavoring to protect the State, as far as practicable,
against engaging in works of doubtful utility and incur
ring pecuniary loss.
During the session he offered a resolution directing
the Committee on Schools and School Lands to introduce
a bill providing for the appointment of a State School
Commissioner and prescribing his duties. The resolu
tion was adopted and a bill introduced which became a
law, under which the management of our public schools
was made a part of the State government, and was sys-
temized and rendered efficient.
It Avill be remembered that, in the winter of 1819-20,
Mr. Kelley introduced a bill to " abolish imprisonment
for debt." He was in advance of public sentiment, and
94

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
the measure, though just and humane, failed to become a
law. It had had no advocates in the meantime, and slept
until this session, a period of seventeen years, when he
introduced it again. Its passage was contested, and it
finally Avent over to the next Legislature as & part of the
unfinished business.
In 1837 Mr. Kelley and Robert Neil were elected to
represent the county of Franklin in the Legislature.
The service he rendered to the State, at this session also,
consisted mainly in endeavoring to prevent injurious leg
islation and an increase of the public debt. He made a
special effort to prevent abuses which had grown up
under a law of the previous year, authorizing a loan of
the credit of the State to railroads, canals, and turnpikes.
The law contained provisions which, if they had been en
forced by the officers intrusted Avith its administration,
would have effectually protected the State against any
loss. These provisions were neglected, and companies
wrongfully obtained from the State large sums of money.
During the pendency of a bill which was calculated to
prevent frauds on the part of the officers and companies,
Mr. Kelley said :
" He believed, in a pecuniary point of view, the State was
trembling on the brink of ruin. If the law Avas not repealed
or modified, bankruptcy would ensue. Under the law, in one
year, the State has been made liable for a million and a quar
ter of dollars, and preparations were in progress for an in
crease of three, four, or five millions. There were no limits.
We were on the brink of a precipice, and unless Ave
acted speedily, we Avere entirely lost."
95

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
His warning was not heeded, and the history of the
State finances in 1841-2, and a report made in 1845 by
a commission appointed for that purpose, establish, by
conclusive evidence, the literal truth of his averments.
Near the close of the session, as chairman of the
finance committee, he made an important report, in which
he grouped together the facts connected Avith the State
debt, its rapid increase, and the deficiency in the rev
enue, and demonstrated that when the accounts Avere
made clearly intelligible a part of the interest had been
paid by borrowing money from other funds. Although
these facts Avere forcibly presented, the Legislature did
not appreciate them to such an extent as to adopt any
decided measures to reduce expenditures or increase the
revenue. He also directed the attention of the Legisla
ture to the imperfect mode of keeping the public ac
counts, the pernicious consequences of which were fully
developed a few years later.
At this session Mr. Kelley's purpose, long enter
tained and persistently urged while he was a member, of
abolishing imprisonment for debt, was accomplished ; and
from that time fonvard no honest debtor has been im
prisoned for inability to pay his creditors. This humane
act encountered opposition and adverse votes at this late
period. Reforms are of slow growth, and require much
patience and persistence for their accomplishment.
At this time Martin Van Buren was President. Un
der his administration, and under that of his predecessor,
96

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
though both were professedly reformers, there was a
great loss of public money, and the military aphorism —
"to the victors belong the spoils" — was announced, by
one of their partisans in the Senate, as applicable to the
result of an election, and Avas acted upon by them as a
political principle. An election was thus converted into
a mere scramble for office and the control of the public
funds, and this principle — or want of principle — cor
rupted every one who adopted it. At this stage of our
political history this doctrine was odious to a majority
of the people ; and, although the two administrations
just mentioned had maintained their ascendancy mainly
by paying for partisan services with the emoluments of
office, still the public had not become so demoralized and
corrupted by it as not to appreciate its wickedness, to a
degree at least. Many disclosures were made which
were startling, and near the close of the year 1839 the
public mind became very much excited.
The Whig convention of Ohio had been held gener
ally, if not uniformly, on the 22d of February, and in
the city of Columbus. And although, at that season, the
weather was usually inclement, and the roads almost im
passable, still a convention could be held without much
inconvenience, if composed of a limited number of dele
gates. The Legislature and the Supreme Court were in
session at that time, and those attending them generally
acted also as such delegates. This year, however, the
disclosures at Washington were so alarming that the
pressure was very strong for a general convention ; and
7 97

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
the State Central Committee, in pursuance of public sen
timent, issued a call written by Mr. Kelley, who was its
chairman, and which contains the following moving
appeal :
" Whatever may have been the individual opinions of the
State Central Committee as to the propriety of calling to
gether numerous delegations from the several counties, at a
season of the year usually cold and inclement, they considered
it their duty not to dictate, but to obey, the public voice.
To the true friends of their country, to the descendants of
those patriots of the revolution who, unclad and unshod,
braved the winter storms of 1780, marking the line of the
march with the blood of their lacerated feet, for whom the
canopy of heaven formed a tent, the frozen earth a bed, and
the fleecy snow their only covering — to the children of such
fathers, Ave say, 'Come up once more to the rescue of your
countrv, rally once more under the standard of the veteran
who so often in days by-gone led his troops to victory, and
Avith him at your head, march forward to the reform of the
reformers — to despoil the spoilers — to rescue the ark of the
Constitution, and save your beloved country.'"
This call was effectual, and on the 22d of February,
1840, there was gathered in the capital of Ohio the most
enthusiastic and imposing political convention which had
been held in the country since the organization of the
government. In the winter, and in a rainy season, when
the roads were almost impassable, the people of the State
in masses thronged toward the capital. From the re
mote parts of the State the delegates were five or six
days on the way. In the North-Avest, Fort Meigs was
rebuilt in miniature and brought doAvn on a wagon.
From Cleveland a full-rigged brig, and from the West a
small cabin, were conveyed in the same mode. The de-
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Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
vices illustrative of the life of General Harrison 'were
innumerable. The editor of a Washington paper referred
to the General as better fitted for a cabin with a barrel
of hard cider than for President and the White
House, which made the cabin and the cider barrel very
prominent at the meeting and during the subsequent
canvass. This convention was composed of all classes. Old
and young, professional men, business men, farmers, me
chanics, and laborers, all vied with each other in showing
respect to General Harrison, who " held the offices but
never took the spoils." During the convention enough
campaign songs were composed to make a small volume,
which was circulated throughout the country.
About sixty of the Cleveland delegates were enter
tained at Mr. Kelley's house. There was no difficulty in
furnishing meals, but to lodge them required some con
trivance. One of his daughters suggested, as a solution
of the difficulty, that a feather bed should be placed in
the middle of a carpeted library and used as a pillow by
the occupants, whose feet would point outward from it as
a center. A large number were thus accommodated, so
that when lying down they resembled a star.
The inhabitants of the1 city all joined in extending
hospitality to the strangers, and the streets were pa
trolled at night, that no one might fail to be accommo
dated. The platform, consisting of a series of resolutions, the
most material portion of which Mr. Kelley prepared in
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
advance, formed the basis of the proceedings of all the
subsequent conventions held in other States. The result
of the election, in the fall, was in accordance with this
most auspicious opening of the campaign.
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER IX.
MR. KELLEY AS A FINANCIER.
Financial distrust in 1840.— Mr. Kelley appointed Canal Fund
Commissioner, — The State embarrassed. — Borrowing money in
England. — Mr. Kelley's course. — The honor of the State at
stake. — Danger of repudiation. — A crisis. — Mr. Kelley's courage
and skill.

In the fall of 1840 Thomas Corwin was elected Gov
ernor of Ohio. The State and the Nation were then
passing through a period of financial embarrassment
equal to any in the previous history of either. The
moneyed institutions, the currency, and the State and
National credit were distrusted ; and, although there Avas
much, and perhaps an abundance of money, few were
willing or courageous enough to invest in State, National,
or individual securities.
This general condition of the finances and business of
the country had a specific effect upon Ohio. The extra
ordinary success of its two original canals naturally cre
ated a desire for similar improvements in other parts of
the State. And during the inflation which preceded the
collapse referred to, such improvements were adopted
and the work on them commenced. When the crash
came the State was necessarily embarrassed. It was
difficult to sell its bonds, and the Commissioners of the
Canal Fund, in their struggles to preserve the credit of
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
the State, Avere constrained to borroAV from the interest
fund of the original canals, and from other public funds,
to pay present and pressing liabilities. In the midst of
this general distrust and embarrassment, and on the
30th of March, 1841, Mr. Kelley was appointed by the
Governor one of the Canal Fund Commissioners, in the
place of Gustavus Swan, who then resigned.
As we are now about to enter upon one of the most
interesting periods in the history of Ohio, and one
of the most important acts of Mr. Kelley's life, it is not
best to rely upon general statements alone as to the con
dition of the State, and the circumstances surrounding
him, at the time, when there are public and other docu
ments which afford abundant evidence on the subject.
The reports of the Board immediately preceding exhibit
clearly the unsettled state of the money markets at home
and abroad. In January, 1840, Joseph S. Lake and Daniel Kil-
gore, in a report, state that in July of the previous
year one of their number by order of the Board went to
England, " to negotiate the sale of State stocks;" that
" all efforts at home to raise money " had proved inef
fectual ; and " as the last alternative " the Board consid
ered it " their duty to try a foreign market rather than
jeopardize the interests and credit of the State by non
payment to the contractors on the several public works."
The commissioner found American securities " much
depressed," and he concealed his mission until Oc
tober when he was able to arrange a loan of 30,000
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
pounds — secured by the pledge of unrestricted stock.
With the proceeds of this loan, and by a transfer to the
interest fund, " the commissioners were enabled to meet
the total interest due to stockholders in New York on
the first of January, 1840, thereby fully sustaining the
high character and credit of the State." On the 5th of
January, 1841, the commissioners, Joseph S. Lake, G.
Swan, and N. H. Swayne, in their report, say :
" Some disappointment has also been experienced, not only
in the collection of balances due the State, but in the sale of
stocks in Europe and at home. The unsettled condition of
affairs in Europe, reacting upon that of Atlantic cities in
our own country, has co-operated with the confusion in the
currency of our OAvn aud the neighboring States to embarrass
credit, and to render capitalists, every-where, cautious in
seeking permanent investments.
"The commissioners take leave most respectfully to suggest
that under the present limitations it is extremely doubtful
whether the necessary means for the completion of the public
works uoav in progress can be obtained either at home or
abroad 
" It Avould be unsafe to rely upon sales of six per cent
stocks at par to meet the expenses of the public works.
There is at present no market, Avithin the knowledge of the
commissioners, where an amount could thus be sold approxi
mating that necessary for their completion."
On March 2, 1841, the commissioners say :
" We are satisfied that stocks to an amount sufficient to
meet the public exigencies during the present year cannot be
sold without great sacrifices.
" The prospect of further sales of stock, to any considerable
amount upon reasonable terms, seems to be at an end. The
condition of the money market at home and abroad, the un
settled state of things in Europe, the amount of American
securities in the market, the condition of the banking insti
tutions of the country, and the continued action in the public
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
mind to a considerable extent iu regard to them, all forbid
the hope that this prospect will be materially better within
the present season, or indeed subsequently, until the existing
state of things shall have yielded to those influences which,
however favorable other circumstances, time is indispensable
to bring about."
It thus appearing to be impossible to procure money
by the sale of stocks in Europe or our Eastern market,
and the necessities of the State being such as to forbid
delay, at the suggestion of Mr. Kelley a circular was ad
dressed on the 3d of April to each of the Ohio banks,
inviting propositions for the purchase of permanent
stock, and if that should be declined, for temporary
loans. No favorable replies were received except from
the Franklin Bank of Columbus and the Bank of Chilli-
cothe. In pursuance of these replies a loan of $500,000
was obtained from the Franklin Bank on the first day
of April, and on the 19th of April a loan of $581,000
from the Chillicothe Bank ; each loan was made at six
per cent interest, with the interest payable at the State
treasury and the principal in NeAV York. With the
amounts thus obtained the State was able to meet its
accrued liabilities upon the public works and its July
interest. The demands from contractors and other sources were
continually arising, and were a continual drain upon the
entire canal fund ; so that at the end of the fiscal year,
November 15, 1841, the " balance in treasurer's hands "
was $1,393. 33J. The interest due on the first of Janu
ary, 1842, was over $400,000 ; and near that time tem-
101

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
porary loans matured, amounting to $300,000. Between
the 15th of November and the 1st of January, additional
funds were received, but there was a very large defi
ciency, to be supplied by borrowing or the sale of
stocks. At this crisis, and a considerable time before the 1st
of January, Mr. Kelley was in NeAv York for the pur
pose of paying these liabilities. The credit and honor
of the State depended upon his success. In addition to
what has been hereinbefore stated, it is necessary, in
order to appreciate his surroundings, to recall the fact
that " several of the States, including some of the old
est, failed to pay the- interest on their public debts, and
the General Government itself found it impossible to
raise money to meet the pressing demands on its treas
ury," and the State of Mississippi had repudiated a por
tion of her debt. These facts affected the market gen
erally. On the 10th of December Colonel N. H. Swayne,
then one of the commissioners, writing from Columbus,
says :
" I am greatly alarmed by what you say in regard to the
prospect of raising means to pay our interest. Stocks dull at
75 ! The London agents forbidden to make advances ! The
banks pressing for the payment of their temporary loans !
Money tight beyond example, panic and paralysis universally
prevalent, every thing covered with gloom and despondency,
and tending downward to the lowest point.
"It is a crisis calculated to quail the stoutest heart."
Above all this there was a special influence brought
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
to bear upon this State which tended to impair its credit
and defeat every effort of its officers. The Legislature
assembled on the first Monday in December, and from
the commencement of the session there Avas an open and
avowed purpose, on the part of many members, to de
stroy all the banking institutions of the State, and to
repudiate a portion, at least, of the State debt. One of
the leading papers at the capital was in sympathy Avith
this purpose. The disgraceful proposition of repudia
tion was gaining such favor, and becoming so dangerous,
that the Speaker of the House, (the Hon. Rufus P.
Spalding), on the 21st of December, came down from
his desk and offered the following preamble and resolu
tions :
"Whereas, an opinion has become prevalent that the inde
pendent States of the Union will, at some future period, re
pudiate the payment of the debts by them respectively con
tracted Avith capitalists, both in Europe and America; and
Avhereas, such an opinion is at variance with every principle
of patriotism, morality, and even of common honesty: There
fore, "Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio,
That a just sense of right, independent of the high claims of
her citizens to a character distinguished for honor and integ
rity, should effectually preclude our great State from enter
taining the crude- notion of absolving herself from the claims
of her creditors by the mere exertion of sovereign power.
Resolved, as the sense of this General Assembly, that the
citizens of Ohio respect the sanctity of their engagements,
whether of a public or private nature, and Avill at all times
be found willing to pay the principal and interest of all debts
by their State Government fairly and laAvfully contracted."
The preamble and resolutions were adopted by the
House on the day they were introduced, only six mem-
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
bers voting in. the negative. They were afterAvard ma
terially amended in the Senate and in the House, and in
the latter body were laid upon the table by a vote of 48
to 34, and were not afterward acted upon. On the same
day (December 21st) the following preamble and resolu
tions were offered :
"Whereas, an opinion extensively prevails that, in contract
ing a portion of the public debt of this State,' the faith of this
State has been arrogantly and unlawfully pledged to certain
corporations within her borders, for a continuance for years
of the powers whose existence and abuse have inflicted incal
culable evils upon the community : Therefore, be it
"Resolved, that the faith of this State, so pledged, be and
the same is hereby repudiated."
The vote on this proposition Avas 29 yeas and 41 nays.
On the 21st of December, an article appeared in the
New York Journal of Commerce, a part of which is as
follows :
" 'Correspondence of the Journal of Commerce' being a let
ter from Columbus, Ohio, and dated December 14, 1841, iu
which it is stated that:
" ' The Senate of Ohio has directed, by a strict party vote —
19 to 17 — the appointment of a standing committee on the
.public debt, whose, province it is to inquire into the origin,
rise, and progress of the present enormous debt of about
$17,000,000, under which the State now groans.' That one
Senator, Mr. Leonard, in the animated debate which arose
on the question of appointing this committee, stated ' that
rumors had been prevalent that the books of the State Fund
Commissioners would not balance by $500,000, and that it
was due to the credit of the State and to the character of the
Fund Commissioners that such rumors should be put at rest
forever, or the truth demonstrated by authority. These ru
mors, I have been told, Avere in circulation last year, and
apply to the late Fund Commissioners. Of their truth or
falsity I have no means of forming a correct judgment.'"
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
Mr. Taylor, another Senator, in the same letter is re
ported as stating as a reason for the appointment of the
committee, " that the question of repealing the debts
of the States had already been seriously mooted in
more than one member of the confederacy, and that the
frauds complained of elsewhere where were not rare, even
in the history of the finances of Ohio." The writer says
he was told, by those who were Avell informed on the sub
ject, that the Senator had reference to " certain acts of
the Fund Commissioners (of whom Alfred Kelley is the
' head and front ') by which they borrowed large sums of
the Franklin Bank of Columbus and the Bank of Chilli-
cothe," etc. The writer then adds, " that the committee,
in the course of its investigations, may discover trans
actions far more iniquitous, and far more in contraven
tion of law, than these to which I have alluded above."
The Ohio Statesman, of December 28, 1841, said on
the same subject :
" Such is the bankrupt, starving condition of the State and
her laborers, brought about by one year of Whig misrule and
bank swindling."
Mr. Kelley's appreciation of the crisis and of his re
sponsibility, together with his purpose with reference to
them, may be more fully appreciated by some extracts
from his letters to his wife. On the 25th of December
he wrote as follows :
"It is now evening, and I have spent any thing but a
merry day. Never before in my life have I been placed in a
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
situation so peculiarly difficult and embarrassing. We have
upward of three hundred thousand dollars to provide, against
the third day of January, and as yet I do not know positively
where more than eighty or ninety thousand of it is to be ob
tained. We are trying to make arrangements and have
hopes of effecting them. But we have not yet the certainty.
While every thing here has been of the most disheartening
character — money scarce, Avant of confidence in all kinds of
securities, stocks falling, money dealers panic-stricken, some
wretch, in Avhom is concentrated the essence of malignity, has
written a letter over a feigned name, or the name of some
unknown individual, intimating that the Commissioners of
the Canal Fund had exceeded their powers, that their ac
counts would not balance by five hundred thousand dollars,
and that there was reason to apprehend that they had been
guilty of still grosser frauds, and that the State might refuse
to pay debts of their contracting, and this infernal letter is
published in one of the principal daily papers of this city.
"Thus while I am here making almost super-human ef
forts — using my personal influence, pledging my individual re
sponsibility to raise money to pay the interest on the State
debt, to preserve her faith and her credit untarnished — some
debased wretch, some degraded son of Ohio for the sake of
thwarting and embarrassing me to gratify his personal or po
litical enmity, is Avilling to make a stab at the honor of the
State and cause her a serious pecuniary loss. True, this in
famous libel was soon contradicted in the same print, but
slander flies on eagle wings, while truth creeps slowly after on
the back of a snail.
" We hope to know on Monday or Tuesday what we can
do — what we must do. That we shall be compelled to raise
money at a great sacrifice I have no doubt, and I hope that
one good at least will grow out of the evil — that the Legis
lature and the people will at least be convinced of what I told
them long ago, that they must curtail their expenditures or
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
be bankrupt. They are now at the end of their tether and
can go no further."
On the first of January, 1842, and after he had learned
who wrote the letter to the Journal of Commerce, he
said :
"Though far from being happy myself, because far
from those I love best, still I am much more happy thau I
was on Christmas day. Then I could not see Avhere the
money was to come from to pay the interest on the State
debt ; now I can see Avhere nearly all of it is to come from,
and have no doubt, among several expedients to raise the
balance, some of them will prove efficient.
" Never before Avas I placed in such a trying and responsi
ble situation — surrounded Avith difficulties nearly insurmount
able in themselves, and greatly increased by the fiend-like
machinations of enemies Avho for the sake of thwarting me
would willingly see the State disgraced. I felt it almost im
possible to accomplish the object committed to our care, and
at the same time to move heaven and earth rather than suffer
myself to be foiled, my enemies to exult in my defeat, and,
what is more, the great State of Ohio to be forever dis.
graced. "A vile incendiary may set fire to the most splendid edifice-
it requires no talents to work destruction, and the poor
wretches whose malice has thrown such obtacles in our way
may exult as a moth that has eateu holes in a costly garment.
A foreigner who has been received into the bosom of a hos
pitable state, may have the demoniac satisfaction of knowing
that he has, like the viper in the fable, stung the bosom that
warmed him into life; but, thank Heaven, he can not have
the satisfaction of defeating me in the main •object, that of
saving uninjured the honor of my beloved, though ungrateful,
State. But for my unwearied exertions, prompt and ener-
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
getic action, and the confidence which I believe is felt in my
individual energy and responsibility, and a sincere desire on
the part of some of the most influential moneyed men here to
aid me, I do not believe Ave could have succeeded."
Such were some, but by no means all, of the obstacles
which it was necessary to- overcome in obtaining money
for the State, and to save its honor. Though compara
tively meager, they will materially aid in appreciating
the following extracts from what was commenced as an
obituary notice of Mr. Kelley, by his intimate and valued
friend, the Hon. Gustavus Swan, but Avhich grew on his
hands beyond the limits he originally prescribed, and
contains much that is interesting in relation to this
critical period in the history of the State. The Judge
had been a Fund Commissioner immediately before, Avas
reappointed in 1842, and was therefore familiar with the
embarrassments and peculiar circumstances attending
the payment of the accruing temporary loans, and that
installment of interest on the public debt. He had
reason to knoAV and to watch the proceedings of the
Legislature, its effect upon the markets, and the influ
ence upon public opinion. He devoted much of his
time during the session to endeavoring to prevent per
nicious legislation, and to procuring such as would bene
fit the State. What occurred was fresh in his mind, and
he referred, with feeling, to the attacks upon the credit
of the State, and the risks incurred by his friend.
Ill

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.

CHAPTER X.
repudiation repudiated.
Judge Swan's testimony to Mr. Kelley's services at this
crisis. — A stormy outlook. — Mr. Kelley's personal liabilities. —
His letter to the Ohio State Journal. — Repudiation repudiated. —
Mr. Kelley's triumph. — Elis financial mission to Europe.

" Great as the debt undoubtedly is which the citizens of
the State OAve to Mr. Kelley for his long and faithful legisla
tive labors, it is small, even insignificant, iu comparison to
that due him for other services, services of which no eA'idence
is preserved in the public archives, and which are only known,
in their full extent, to a very limited number of his survivors.
It is a fact, however, still susceptible of proof by living wit
nesses, that his exertions aud personal sacrifices, with but
little aid from others, saved the State from repudiation.
" This is not the proper occasion for fully investigating the
causes Avhich, at more regular periods than meet the common
observation, produce revulsions in commerce and business,
and which involve the speculator, the extravagant, the pur
blind, and all who make too much haste to become rich, in
disappointment, distress, and bankruptcy. Certain it is, the
most alarming revulsion this country ever Avitnessed, since
its revolutionary struggle, transpired between the years 1836
and 1842, aud perhaps another year might be added to the
culmination. "The exact period of these monetary revulsions, like those
of comets from disturbing influences, is difficult of rigorous
calculation. They are generally, however, preceded by a
sudden rise and followed by a sudden fall in prices, and "the
fever produced by the one and the torpor left by the other
are equally fatal to the permanent prosperity of the country.
"To get in and out of pecuniary embarrassment, and to
indulge at one time in reckless extravagances, and at another
to practice the most rigid economy, seem to be the fate of
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
our countrymen. At the period under consideration, the
people had mistaken the appearance of prosperity, arising
in part if not exclusively from a redundant circulating
medium, then, as often, Avithout sufficient basis for permanent
security for tbe reality, and had engaged in extreme enter
prises, promising little public benefit and scarcely any return
upon the outlay. They were heedless of the ordinary signs
Avhich, to the careful and experienced observer, indicate the
approach of these revolutions with as much certainty as in
solvency follows expenditure beyond income, or darkness the
setting sun.
" The country was in this condition when Mr. Kelley re
ceived the appointment of Canal Fund Commissioner. He
was not ignorant of the difficulties and responsibility, but
did not probably anticipate the extent of the former which
he had the misfortune to encounter^ and, if he had, it was
not in his nature to decline facing them. Difficulties which
Avould deter most men from accepting office or trust, if the
public good required them to be met and overcome, never
produced in him a moment's hesitation. His private inter
ests, his ease, were ahvays sacrificed for the public good.
Such was the principle of his life.
" The public did not rest satisfied with the two canals which
had at first been undertaken and completed, but under the
plausible pretext that equality of benefits demanded further
extension of State improvements, other canals and public
works, requiring immense outlays for their construction, had
been undertaken and were in progress and unfinished, without
having accurately estimated their cost or providing means for
their completion.
" No sufficient means had been provided to meet these great
expenditures, and the further extension of credit appeared to
be the chief, indeed the only reliance. The probability that
circumstances might arise which would render this difficult,
if not impossible, seemed never to have been anticipated by
the wild projectors of these various schemes.
" Mr. Kelley had little or nothing to do with any of them
until the difficulties became unmanageable by those who con
trolled the finances, which were in as bad a state as well could
be imagined, and required no ordinary talent to bring them
8* 113

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
out of the derangement and confusion in which they had be
come involved.
" The banks, from necessity, had suspended specie payment,
and the currency, chiefly paper, had suffered great deprecia
tion, or become worthless; confidence and credit were lost,
and the State, deeply involved in debt, aud depending princi
pally upon borrowing, was on the verge of bankruptcy. Such
was the panic and confusion, and such the loss of confidence
and credit, that many of our most intelligent and patriotic
citizens became disheartened and discouraged, and deemed it
impossible to save the State from the stain and disgrace of
repudiation, and warmly advocated the suspension or aban
donment of the unfinished public works Avhich, they insisted,
had been imprudently and prematurely begun, and could not
be finished without involving the State in hopeless ruin.
" The finances, now in a deranged aud confused state, were,
by his coadjutors, mainly left to his management and control,
and fortunately for the State, its citizens and creditors, they
could not have been committed to abler or more faithful
hands. " In his first official year, almost exclusively by his exer
tions, temporary loans Avere made to carry on the unfinished
public works which had been improvidently undertaken, and
to meet other urgent and pressing demands, and the character
of the State lor good faith preserved.
" When the Legislature convened, in the latter part of the
year 1841, there were two members of the House of Repre
sentatives who rendered themselves notorious for their hostility
to all corporations, and to all the creditors of the State, urg
ing most vehemently that the proper and just remedy for the
evil was the abrogation at once of all the debts of the State.
In short, they were radical repudiators in the worst possible
sense of the term.
" How these abandoned persons contrived to obtain office,
and to gain an influence with better men, is a problem not of
easy solution. All that can be said is that the elective fran
chise, like other good things, is occasionally subject to abuse,
and the masses, like individuals, are not always infallible in
their judgment. 114

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
"They appeared to use their greatest efforts to disgrace the
State, and ruin its innocent creditors. Their fury was partic
ularly directed against corporations, and especially moneyed cor
porations. They gave tongue, and found not a few, iu and out
of the Legislature, following in the rear, and not less eager to be
in at the death. They charged the creditors of the State, one
and all, as being a pack of vidians, and their own officers con
nected with the revenue as no better. As Mr. Kelley stood
out prominent amongst the agents of the State, he was pecu
liarly the object of their hatred and malignity. His effort to
save its honor and protect its creditors was denounced as com
plicity to defraud it.
" Some of the partisan prints published their calumnious
and incendiary harangues, and Avith commendation, adding
remarks of their own of a like character, or, if possible,
worse.

" The creditors of the State became alarmed at Avhat was
mistakenly supposed to be the general sentiment and policy of
the State. It is, however, but justice to say that the majority
of the people had full confidence in the integrity of the offi
cers intrusted with their finances, and were ready to make any
sacrifices to preserve the credit and honor of the State. This,
however, was less manifest then than afterward.
"A very great number of private individuals had invested
their all in our public securities, and several of the banks
had loaned the State more than half their capital stock.
The contagion of their pernicious example spread amongst
some of the weaker members of the General Assembly, who
were consequently more susceptible of the moral virus, until
a large minority, if not a majority of the members, became
alarmingly infected with repudiation.
" Under the most inauspicious circumstances which could
be well imagined, the most fearful crisis the State ever
encountered was approaching and had to be met. No meas
ure was adopted or even proposed by the General Assembly
to provide means to discharge the claims owing by the State
and already overdue, or to meet the interest on the public
debt. For these purposes the officers had to rely upon their
own exertions or the State must fail. Their situation was ex-
115

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
tremely embarrassing, and they did not know Avell what course
to pursue in the present emergency. The treasury Avas
empty, the stocks of the State at a ruinous discount, indeed
could not be sold at any price, or received in pledge for ad
vances ; public credit was gone, and the only alternative pre
sented was either to obtain a loan on personal security or submit
to repudiation, and the choice did not admit of delay. All
hope of assistance from the Legislature had entirely ceased.
" His [Mr. Kelley's] resolution was fixed, and no danger,
no opposing difficulties, could divert him from his purpose.
He was determined to lose all or save the State from dishonor
and its creditors from ruin. Such was the confidence re
posed in his integrity and financial ability, notwithstanding
the underhand and atrocious means employed to defeat his
object, that he was enabled to raise, in that city, when no
one at the time could have been found there who would have
intrusted the sovereign State of Ohio with a dollar, nearly
a quarter of a million on his own personal security ; and thus,
by his generous efforts, and by his alone, the State Avas saved
from disgrace, and thousands of its creditors, including many
widows and orphans, from poverty, distress, and ruin.
" No citizen of this State, few of any State or country,
ever performed a more praiseworthy, a nobler action. His
labors, his anxiety and sufferings, before he succeeded in the
magnanimous undertaking, and one which should be pre
served in the memory of coming generations through all
time, can only be known, in their full extent and measure, to
a few of his survivors and probably to none capable of doing
them full justice. Nor should it be forgotten that these
great and valuable services Avere performed without the smallest
compensation, and all the hazard incurred without the slight
est indemnity."
Mr. Kelley was necessarily detained in New York un
til some time in February. While there he received in
formation from Columbus which would have disheartened
a man who was not possessed of extraordinary courage
and an indomitable will.
On the 13th of January Judge Swan wrote :
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
" The course of our Legislature and the public prints, with
the fearful condition of affairs every-where, is producing a
universal panic in the mind of the community, the end of
which can not be foreseen. "
He refers to a mob attacking banks in Cincinnati, and
a determination to force other banks into insolvency ;
and then, after referring to the " absolute ferocity of
parties," advises Mr. Kelley to resort to all legal means
within his power to exonerate himself " from personal
responsibility for the State."
On the 6th of January, The Statesman in an editorial
says :
" This tinkering with the banks has brought our State, as
it has others, to a state of bankruptcy and discredit that is
gloomy enough."
In his memorial Judge Swan refers to the proceedings
in Columbus after the payment of the interest in New
York as follows :
" On his return he discovered that many members of the
General Assembly showed evident signs of regret and disap
pointment, and appeared still determined to suffer things to go
to ruin without an effort to prevent the calamity. They
knew well that some of the public debts had been contracted
to pay others, aud hence they appeared to cherish the hope
to carry into effect their original design, which Avas to rob the
whole creditors of the State.
" Mr. Kelley found, on his return, au unabated hostility
by many to all who took an interest in the preservation of
the public faith and honor."
Although the payment of the interest on the State
debt in January, 1842, together with the temporary liabili
ties then maturing, was perhaps the most important event
117

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
in the financial history of Ohio, it was still necessary, as
suggested by Judge Swan, to procure from a reluctant
Legislature an act of more personal consequence to Mr.
Kelley than any thing which had preceded it, and of
quite equal importance to the State. The temporary
loans must be provided for, and their payment by the
State could be secured only by the enactment of a law
for that purpose. Its terms must also be broad enough
to include the loans made upon his [Mr. Kelley's] per
sonal credit.
Very soon after he reached Columbus, he met a per
sonal friend (Mr. John W. Andrews, still living in the
city), and informed him that he had procured money for
the State on his individual credit. His friend replied,
with earnestness, " that he ought not to disclose that
fact, as the effect would be mischievous." A knowledge
of his personal liabilities was confined to a very few con
fidential friends.
On the 19th of February, 1842, a bill was introduced
into the Senate authorizing the commissioners to borrow
money in order " to pay the temporary loans contracted
by said commissioners on behalf of the State under the
authority conferred on them by the acts of March 29,
1841." This restricted the payment to a particular class
of loans, and it might be doubtful whether it Avould have
embraced the loans of the banks in this State.
The opposition to the bill in that or any other form
was persistent ; and, although before the Senate many
times, it did not pass that body until March 2d.
118

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Mr. Kelley's opinions and acts and motives were freely
canvassed and grossly misrepresented ; and on that sec
ond day of March, in order to inform the public and the
Legislature of his relation to the causes of the financial
embarrassment of the State, the remedy, and on whom
the responsibility of applying it then rested, he pub
lished the folloAving in the Ohio State Journal:
"to the public.
"It frequently happens that a man is made accountable,
not only for the sins he actually commits, but for those he has
endeavored to prevent; not only the consequences of his own
errors are charged to his account, but the consequences of the
acts of others against which he remonstrated. Such is my
fate iu regard to the present financial embarrassments of the
State. "These embarrassments are chiefly, if not entirely, owing
to augmenting the debts of the State more rapidly than the
resources for paying the interest on these debts could well be
increased; to a want of economy in prosecuting some, at
least, of the public works ; to advancing large sums of money
to private companies, when the State could not obtain money
to pay the contractors on her own works ; and loaning her '
credit to other companies when she had no credit to spare.
"Against this unwise and hazardous course of policy, Avhen
last in the Legislature, I solemnly protested. I warned the
House of which 1 Avas a member of its inevitable conse
quences, and sought to check the headlong precipitancy with
Avhich the State was increasing her liabilities, and sacrificing
her resources to aid private companies in the accomplishment
of local purposes. But individual and local interests com
bined, rendered efficient by a system of log-rolling too com
mon in legislative bodies, triumphed over the dictates of
prudence, and the State continued to contract debts and lend
her credit, until at last stern necessity forces her to adopt a
course which prudence long ago dictated.
"But the condition of the State, though embarrassing, is
by no means desperate. If the Legislature will now promptly
119

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
declare that the State liabilities shall not be increased ; that
only so much stock shall be sold as may be found necessary to
pay off the temporary loans contracted under the law of the
last session and the balances now due to contractors, so much
of it redeemable and the interest payable in New York as is
necessary to discharge the temporary loans contracted in that
city, and so much as is necessary to pay the debts due con
tractors and the banks of this State, redeemable and the in
terest payable at the State treasury ; will suspend the further
prosecution of the Avork on all the canals of the State, except
the Wabash and Erie Canal, and sell the lands belonging to
that canal to finish the work yet remaining to be done ; will
advance no more money and lend no more stock to turnpike,
canal, aud railroad companies ; will appropriate all surplus
moneys in the treasury to the payment of the interest on the
State debt, in order to make up for the anticipated deficiency
of tolls arising from the probable scarcity of money during
the ensuing season — the credit of the State Avill be sustained,
the interest on the State debt punctually paid, and further
embarrassments prevented.
"If, on the other hand, local and personal considerations
are yet to prevail over the great and permanent interests of
the Avhole State; if serious injury is to be inflicted on the
credit of the State for the mere purpose of destroying the
characters of one or two individuals who may chance to be
obnoxious to personal or party animosity ; if those wdio are
intrusted with the guardianship of the public good shape their
course with reference to making political capital rather than
to saving the State from lasting disgrace and ruin — then, in
deed, is our case a hopeless one.
"In making these remarks I have been governed by no
wish to cast censure on the acts or motives of others, iu Avhat-
ever situations they may have been placed. Nor would per
sonal considerations alone have induced me to depart, in this
instance, from my usual course, which is not to notice the fre
quent personal attacks and misrepresentations Avith which I am
assailed through the columns of the public prints. But, as
my conduct as a Commissioner of the Canal Fund is intimately
connected with the financial condition of the State, I have
thought it a duty, owing as well to the public and the dis
tinguished individual by whom I Avas appointed, as to myself,
to correct in general terms the misrepresentations which haA'e
been so industriously propagated in reference to the agency
120

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
I have had in producing the embarrassments under which the
State now labors; and to expose once more, publicly, my
opinion as to the course of policy now to be adopted.
"Alfred Kelley."
The bill after being amended by substituting a new
one, which did not contain any provisions whatever for
the payment of any temporary loans in New York, passed
the House on the 5th of March. The Legislature had
resolved to adjourn on Monday the 7th, and, as was the
custom at that time on the day of adjournment, it met
the previous midnight and finished its business before
breakfast. On the 5th the Senate refused to agree to the amend
ments of the House ; and the House insisted, and asked
for a committtee of reference. Such was the situation
when the Legislature adjourned on Saturday night.
Neither the original bill with or without its amendments,
nor the substitute of the House, would have enabled the
commissioners to pay the temporary loans of the State
or the personal loans made for her benefit.
Those friends of the State who appreciated its condi
tion were now extremely anxious in regard to the re
sult. Should either of the pending bills pass, it would
result in repudiation, as no provision was made to pay
the temporary loans then maturing ; and the Legislature
would only be in session on Monday morning from 12
to about 6 o'clock. During those few hours, and in the
rush and confusion which ahvays characterize the close
121

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
of a session, a radical change must be made in the pend
ing bills on this subject.
Though the circumstances seemed unfavorable, those
who desired the payment of all the liabilities of the State
did not relax their exertions, but availed themselves of
every moment in endeavors to satisfy the reluctant
members that the honor of the commonwealth was at
stake, and that its liabilities should be provided for.
And although Mr. Kelley was so deeply interested in
the result, it was said that he was the coolest and most
collected of them' all. Notwithstanding the injudicious
and unjust proceedings of the Legislature he did not
believe it would openly and deliberately repudiate its
liabilities, or rush into bankruptcy.
The bills then pending were so grossly inadequate
and defective that Mr. Kelley had previously prepared
a bill in accordance with the article " To the Public "
and fully carrying out its suggestions. This bill was
submitted to the committee of conference ; and, although
it differed radically from the bills under its considera
tion, the committee was so influenced by the represen
tations of its friends, the position in which the publica
tion of March 2d placed its opponents, the necessity
for doing something, and the impossibility of agreeing
upon any thing then before the committee or preparing
any thing new, from want of time, that they decided to
report the bill so submitted to each House; in which its
passage was one of the last acts before the adjournment
Monday morning. Notwithstanding the evident pro-
122

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
pfiety arid even necessity for its passage, ten voted
against it in the Senate, and sixteen in the House. It
contained a provision for the sale of so much of the
" stock of the State " in New York City, without any
limit as to price, as would produce a net sum " not ex
ceeding five hundred thousand dollars," for the purpose
of. paying the temporary loans contracted on behalf of
this State by said commissioners, in the City of New
York, and in this State, and now remaining unpaid. It
provided also for the suspension of all the public works
of the State except the Wabash and Erie Canal until the
close of the next General Assembly ; for borrowing
money to pay " balances now due to contractors upon
the public works, and for the completion of the Wa
bash and Erie Canal."
Few then appreciated the imminent danger of the
State on the 3d of January and the 7th of March, 1842.
Forty-five years have passed, during which many impor
tant events have occurred and changes taken place ; and
it is only the quite aged who have any knowledge of the
general financial condition or the peculiar situation of
the State at the periods referred to. On the 3d of Jan
uary its honor and credit were saved, and could have
been saved, only by pledging individual responsibility for
money to pay its interest ; and on the 7th of March by
procuring through outside effort and influence the passage
of a bill, by a reluctant Legislature and in the last hour
of its session, without which its liabilities would have
been protested, and its credit forever dishonored.
123

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
The law of March 7th declared an intention on the
part of the State to pay its liabilities of every descrip
tion, and, as far as practicable, to diminish its expendi
tures. This declaration materially improved her stand
ing in the eastern market. That market was unsettled,
and there was a strong indisposition to purchase any se
curities ; but much was gained by the removal, to some
extent, of the bad reputation the State had acquired in
consequence of the previous proceedings of the Legisla
ture and the declarations of members and editors.
What was accomplished by the board, consisting of
N. A. Swayne, Alfred Kelley, and G. Swan, during the
first four months, together with their views, may be
gathered from a few extracts taken from a special report
made by them on the 28th of July, 1842, and which was
probably written by Mr. Kelley. They say :
" It will be remembered that, at the close of the last session
of the General Assembly (March 7, 1842), a full report Avas
made, embracing all the transactions of the board up to that
period. " Since that time, all the temporary liabilities of the State
(except those to the banks of Ohio, from which temporary
loans had been previously made) have been extinguished. No
new loans of that character have been contracted.
" The amount taken from the interest fund and applied to
the public works during the past year, as heretofore reported,
has been restored. The installment of interest recently due
on the State debt Avas punctually paid, without embarrass
ment or difficulty.
" The undersigned have deemed it of the highest importance
to maintain the character of the State, hitherto unsullied, for
integrity in her dealings with those who, confiding in her good
faith aud punctuality in meeting her engagements, have,
without any other security, intrusted her with their money.
124

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
A failure to pay the interest on the State debt would produce
mischief and suffering, far-reaching in their ramifications
beyond what can be readily conceiA'ed, in these times of wide
spread bankruptcy and universal apprehension ; it would
at once make shipwreck of the value of the stock to the
holder. Such securities are always absorbed as permanent
investments. Another immediate effect would consequently
be in many instances to deprive the aged and infirm, the
widow and the orphan, of the means of bread and raiment.
No consideration of a selfish nature, in public or private
affairs, should ever have the slightest weight when poised
against those of justice and good faith ; and in an enlarged
view of any subject requiring human action, whatever is
morally right is always identical with Avhat is expedient. In
the most selfish view, however, that can be taken of this sub
ject, a failure to meet the foreign engagements of the State
would be the worst possible policy for all concerned. She
would at once be shorn of her credit, and consequently de
prived of the means of commanding money by loan for any
purpose. All those to whom she is indebted, at home as well
as abroad, would consequently suffer. The value of the se
curities in their hands would be greatly impaired, if not de
stroyed, Avhile the prospect of future payment would be ren
dered dark and distant, and depend entirely upon the
restoration of her credit. All Avould be injured and none
would be benefited. Public credit is like individual charac
ter — it is much easier to preserve than to restore it.
"The sacrifices which the State has made in order to meet
her engagements have not been such as in any material degree
to increase her burdens, and are not greater than those made
by other States in undoubted credit. The results secured in
the fulfillment of her engagements and the maintenance of
her credit are Avorth greatly more than they have cost."
The act of March 7, 1842, conferred upon the com
missioners extraordinary powers, which were coupled
with great responsibility. The emergency was such as
to require such a law. The execution of the law, and to
carry the State through that critical period, required
more than ordinary discretion and judgment. What was
125

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
done under it is embodied in the report of December
27th, made by G. SAvan and N. H. Swayne, Mr. Kelley
not uniting in it on account of his absence.
In order to procure some of the money required, the
commissioners, on account of the depressed condition of
the American market, in the language of the report,
" deemed it their duty, before making sales to any con
siderable extent at home, to try the effect of an effort in
the European market." Mr. Kelley accordingly went to
Europe in May, where, according to the report, " he
found the apprehension of the security of all the Amer
ican stocks so strong, and so little discrimination made
between the stocks of the punctual and solvent States
and those of the States which had adopted the doctrine
of repudiation or sunk into insolvency, that the prospect
there was no better than at hom,e. He made a sale,
however, upon terms which yielded about sixty-eight per
cent upon the par value of the stock. The particulars
of the sale will be found in the account before referred
to. Further sales have been made from time to time, in
the eastern market, the particulars of all of which will
also be found in the same account."
The following extracts demonstrate the wisdom of
the laAV :
"All the temporary liabilities abroad, mentioned in the last
annual report of the commissioners, have been paid. No
other loans of that kind, of any considerable magnitude, have
since been made."
In reference to the law, and their action under it, the
commissioners say : 126

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
"They believe the inquiry may be safely challenged, both
as to the action of the Legislature and of the commissioners
in giving it effect. What better could have been done t"
The following statements are made in regard to inter
est and liabilities :
" The interest upon the domestic debt was punctually paid
when it became due. The interest upou the foreign debt also
was punctually paid upon the first days'of January and July
last. The interest upon that debt, which will become due on
the first of January, proximo, will also be punctually met."
" Less than two and a half millions of dollars would be
sufficient to pay all tne liabilities of the State, other than
the funded debt, and also to complete the Miami Extension
Canal." Tho commissioners then make a statement which is
taken from a table prepared by Mr. Kelley the year pre
vious, and attached to the annual report of January 20,
1842, of the area, fertility, productions, exports, popula
tion and its increase, the debt, revenue, and the true value
of lands and personal property of the State, and add :
"The entire funded debt, foreign and domestic, is $14,-
967,519. The interest upon this sum is $897,951.14. The
whole debt is less than 1he exports from the State during a
single year. If the State were wholly Avitbout the income
derived from her investments, a tax of a mill and three-fourths
upon the dollar, of the actual value of her real and personal
property liable lo taxation, would more than pay her entire in
terest; and a tax of two and three-fourths per cent on the
dollar would more than pay the entire debt."
In March, 1843, Mr. Kelley and his associates retired
from office ; the Board having been reorganized by a law
passed in that month.
They delivered to their successors the assets of the
127

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
office in good condition, Avith the interest proAdded for,
all stains upon the credit of the State removed, and
every thing so arranged that no difficulty would afterward
be encountered, if judicious legislation should be se
cured, and reasonably good judgment exercised in car
rying out its provisions. 128

Alfred Kelley ; Ai's Life and Work.

CHAPTER XI.
A NEW BANKING SYSTEM.
Retirement from office. — Elected to the Senate. — The currency
and its reform. — The United States Bank. — The panic of IS37. —
A State bank for Ohio. — Mr. Kelley's views. — Foundation of the
present banking system.

Mr. Kelley retired from office and the service of the
State in 1843. He was not however alloAved to enjoy the
rest he longed for and needed, but in the fall of 1844
was elected to the Senate. The cause which produced
this result was a desire among the leading men of the
State that he should aid in improving the currency, and
perfecting some plan by Avhich the finances of the State
would be rendered secure against general business de-
rangment, and also against the assaults, open or covert,
of those who might attempt to break down public credit.
The condition of the currency in 1844 may be gath
ered from what has been hereinbefore stated ; and orig
inated in an unfortunate policy of the General Govern
ment adopted many years before. From an early period
down to 1833 or 1834, the currency and commercial
transactions of the country were influenced, and in a
great measure regulated, by a United States Bank. Its
circulating notes were every-where readily received, and
producers could always procure needed temporary loans.
Its bills of exchange, between the most distant points,
9 129

Alfred Kelley; Ms Life and Work.
also furnished the producer the means which were indis
pensable, in a country so' extensive and possessing so
productive a soil and such a variety in climate as the
United States, in transporting his products to a market.
The country, during that period, was generally prosper
ous. Unfortunately, the administration became hostile
to the bank, and commenced a war of extermination
against it. A re-charter was refused and its business
closed. And in defiance of the timely warning that a
" degraded paper currency," espeeially when " authorized
by law," is oppressive and demoralizing, under a strong
influence from Washington, a swarm of chartered and
private banks sprang up in every State to supply its
place. An unnatural stimulus was thus given to every
branch of business ; imports were increased and exceeded
exports ; speculations entered into every department of
business ; real estate rose rapidly in its nominal value ;
large portions of the public domain were' appropriated
by individuals and companies ; property of every de
scription was bought and sold Avith marvelous rapidity;
and fortunes were apparently made in a day. In 1836,
Mr. Calhoun stated in the Senate that " he believed the
state of the currency incurably bad, so that it was very
doubtful whether the highest skill and wisdom could re
store it to soundness." In the midst of this mania for
paper money, the virus of which proceeded from Wash
ington, the President issued a " circular," requiring all
agents for the sale of the public lands to receive nothing
but specie in payment. Coin was also exported to pay
130

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
for the excess of imports over exports. This increase of
paper and drain upon the metallic currency rendered it
impossible for the banks to redeem their issues ; and in
1837 a suspension became general throughout the coun
try. Ohio, being midway between the East and West,
was a great sufferer by the influx of paper from other
States. Portions of the State were not seriously affected
by the mania for extravagance and overtrading, but the
circulation of worthless paper deranged her business
generally and was destructive of confidence. Her few
solvent banks were crippled by the multitude of those
which were of more than doubtful credit. Previous to
the resumption of 1842 or 1843, many unsuccessful at
tempts were made to establish systems of banking ; and
although after the resumption the business of the country
was conducted upon a sounder basis, there still remained
a general distrust. Comparatively few banks were above
suspicion, and the reputation of such was very limited.
The desire, if not the necessity, of a banking system
which would command the public confidence in and out
side of the State was very evident, and it was demanded
by all sound and judicious dealers. Such was the con
dition of the State and the currency when Mr. Kelley
took his seat in the Senate in December, 1844.
During the interval between the election and the
meeting of the Legislature, he devoted much time to the
subjects of banking and currency, and on the 7th of
January, as chairman of the committee on currency, he
matured and introduced a bill " To incorporate the State
131

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Bank of Ohio and other banking companies." The bill
was accompanied by a report, which clearly sets forth
the purposes and objects of its various provisions. The
material parts of the report are as folloAvs :
" The committee entertain no doubt that a very large ma
jority of the people of the State anxiously desire the enact
ment by the present General Assembly, of some law author
izing the establishment of banks which will furnish them Avith
a safe and convenient currency, afford reasonable facilities for
obtaining money to meet the wants of commercial and manu
facturing operations, and at the same time hold out proper
inducements to those who have money to invest in banking
institutions. " In framing this bill, the committee have constantly iu
view the great land-marks of entire security to the bill
holder, reasonable security to dealers with the banks, and
proper inducement to the capitalist, whether great or small,
to invest his disposable means. in banking.
" Two modes of banking have, within a few years, been
presented to the people of Ohio, and each appears to have its
devoted friends. The one a system of associated banks, each
to some extent exercising a restraining power over the others,
or rather, the whole association exercising the power so far as
is necessary to prevent hazard to the public or to the associa
tion, over each of the banks so associated, and being bound
for the default of any one so far as to prevent any loss to the
bill holder. The other a plan of banking similar to that pro
vided for in the New York general banking law, allowing any
association Avhich may be formed for that purpose to obtain
notes for circulation by depositing with the Treasurer of State
the certificates of the funded debt of the State as collateral
security for the redemption of those notes. The conflicting
opinions in regard to the relative merits of the two systems
seem to have arisen and acquired strength in different sections
of the State, as much from the difference in the financial con
dition of the inhabitants of those sections as from the oppo
site views which different men will take of the same subject
when presented to the minds of each.
132

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
" In one section, where there is little or no surplus capital
in the hands of the resident citizens, but Avhere the amount
of commercial business is great, and the field for the profit
able use of money extensive, a system of banking which it
is believed will induce foreign capitalists to invest their
means in bank is deemed to be of paramount importance.
While in another section, where the amount of local capital
is sufficient to furnish the community with the necessary bank
ing facilities, such a system is desired as will permit resident
capitalists to engage in banking without compelling them to
make large investments in public securities to be pledged for
the redemption of the circulation of the bank.
" To reconcile these conflicting opinions, and to extend to
the different sections of the State that relief which the people
so generally demand at the hands of the General Assembly,
the committee have so framed the bill as to give to the cap
italists, whether citizens or non-residents of the State, their
choice as to the mode of investing their means in banking.
" In authorizing the business of banking upon the plan of
securing the notes of circulation by the hypothecation of
certificates of stock, the committee have departed in several
particulars from the provisions of the general banking law
of New York. This they have done after mature reflection,
and from a settled conviction that it would be unsafe to
adopt that law in this State, without further restrictions.
" Most of the capitalists who have availed themselves of
the provisions of that law in New York are citizens of that
State, amenable alike to public opinion where they reside
and to the penal laws of the State. Most of those who would
be expected to avail themselves of such a law in this state
are not resident citizens of the State, and would therefore be
amenable to a very limited extent either to our laAvs or to
public opinion. Nor can the characters of men for honor, in
tegrity, or responsibility, be as well known in a distant State
as iu the State where they reside. To secure within our own
borders a portion at least of the capital which is indispensable
to correct and honest banking, and a part of the stockholders
in accordance with whose will the banks are to be conducted,
so as to have something tangible upou which our laws can
operate, and directors who shall be known to our citizens, and
who shall be amenable to our penal laws, if fraud upon the
public shall be attempted, the committee have deemed it
indispensable to require to be paid in an amount of capital
133

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
stock which shall bear a certain proportion to the amount of
circulation to which the banks shall be limited ; to .provide
against the withdrawal of such capital, that the .directors
shall be citizens of the State, whose moral characters and re
sponsibility can be known, and who shall themselves have so
much at stake as will make it their interest faithfully to ad
minister the affairs of the bank.
" The laws of New York to which we have alluded pre
sent the curious anomally of prohibiting, under heavy penal
ties, the vrithdrawal of any portion of the capital of a bank
ing company while it shall continue its business as a bank ;
while the same laws require no capital whatever for the daily
banking operations of the company, leaving this whole mat
ter to he decided by the peculiar notions or ulterior designs
of the banker ; for the prohibition against the withdrawal of
capital cannot be construed to relate to the certificates of
funded debt pledged with the comptroller, as these are beyond
the reach of the banker, and can only be given up to him on
his complying with certain prescribed conditions.
" The committee are aware that it is said by the advocates
of the New York system that the Legislature is bound to
provide ample security for the note-holder, and for him alone,
letting all others who choose to deal with a banking com
pany, either as depositors or as purchasers of its bills of ex
change, do so at their own risk. In this doctrine the com
mittee do not concur. They view a law of the State which
gives to companies corporate powers, as well as a right to issue
notes for circulation, as to some extent a letter of credit to
the company ; they consider the Legislature to some extent
responsible for the correct conduct of the company ; and they
feel confident that the practicing of frauds by such a com
pany upon its depositors, and the purchasers of bills of ex
change, even should its note-holders be secure, would bring
merited opprobium upon the law, and discredit on those by
whom it was enacted.
" The committee have also deemed it important to limit
the total amount of banking capital authorized by the bill.
The apprehension of excessive banking, whether well or ill-
founded, has a tendency to deter prudent men from engag
ing in that business, while it can not fail to alarm the com
munity with the idea of an inflated currency with all its wild
speculations and extravagances, and as an inevitable conse-
134

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
quence a subsequent contraction, Avhich will bring ruin upon
thousands, and distress all.
"It is said that the privilege to bank should be as free
as that of engaging in any other kind of business ; that if it
be carried to excess, competition, with diminished profits,
will insure a proper reduction ; and that the evil will thus
work out its own cure, as in other pursuits. Those who
reason in this way do not, in the opinion of the committee,
take a view of the whole ground; while they trace the analo
gies between banking and other individual pursuits, they
omit to notice the points in which the analogy fails.
" If a greater amount of capital or labor be employed in
farming, manufacturing, or commercial business, than can be
made profitable, the loss falls upon those who invest their
capital or labor. Those portions of the public Avho are en
gaged in other pursuits, so far from being sufferers, are, per
haps, gainers in consequence of the withdrawal of capital or
labor from the pursuits in which they are engaged, and in
the cheapening of the articles produced by those who have
made these excessive investments. But when the currency
of a country is too much inflated, a moral fever is produced
through the whole body politic which injuriously affects every
interest in the community, and cannot fail to draw after it
subsequent exhaustion Avith its long train of sufferings and
evils. "It may be said, and the committee think truly, that
there is no immediate danger of excessive banking in this
State. There are those, however, and men whose opinions
are entitled to respect, Avho think differently ; and the enter
taining of this opinion by capitalists will as effectually deter
them from engaging in the business of banking, while they
believe that it may be carried to excess, as if their appre
hensions were reduced to certainty. The committee have,
therefore, in the bill which they have now the honor to pre
sent, limited the amount of banking capital authorized by
the bill to six millions of dollars.
"Such a limitation drew after it the necessity of appor
tioning the capital among the several sections of the State,
according to the supposed wants of each, and the probability
of its being supplied. In doing this they have taken into
view the banking capital at present employed, and have as
signed to the districts in which such capital now exists a less
amount of that which is to be created by the formation of
new companies." 135

Alfred Kelley; Ms Life and Work.
This bill, which became a law in February without
any organic or perhaps material change, embodied in
clear, concise, and accurate language, provisions in
tended to secure every benefit and provide against every
danger referred to in the report. Mr. Kelley's skill
in draAving bills, which had long been known and
universally acknowledged, was illustrated in this in
stance by the forcible and appropriate language which
precluded every construction but the one intended.
Without giving any details, it is perhaps sufficient to say
that banks were established under the bill throughout
the State, and from that time to the commencement of
the Rebellion, Avhen the present United States bank law
superseded all others, the public was furnished Avith a
sound currency, the bill-holder Avas protected, and few
were subjected to loss or inconvenience Avhile the banks
were in existence, or when they Avere wound up and their
charters surrendered. From its adoption the banks or
ganized under it commanded the respect and confidence
of capitalists every-where, and at no time did any por
tion of the public entertain any doubt as to its security,
or any fear of loss. The capitalist, the borrower, the
note-holder, and the depositor Avere brought together on
equal terms ; and the rights of each were so defined and
secured that fraud, imposition, and oppressipn Avere ren
dered difficult, though, perhaps, not impossible.
If any one will take the trouble to compare the bank
law of the United States with that of Ohio, he will find
that nearly every material provision is found in them
136

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
both. He will also find that there is a striking similarity
in the language of many sections. The law of Ohio
seems to have been the model used, and was only so
modified as to be adapted to the United States instead
of to Ohio alone. 137

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER XII.
REVENUE REFORM.
Revision of the revenue system.— Mr. Kelley's report. — Equal
ization of taxation. — Sound economics.

While Mr. Kelley Avas engaged upon the bank law, he
was not unmindful of the difficult task of revising the
revenue system of the State, which he was expected to
undertake. He had many years before referred to its
defects, and in general terms pointed out the remedy.
That remedy involved a radical change in the system, in
regard to which the public is at all times very sensitive.
With a view, therefore, of bringing the subject, as early
as practicable, before the Legislature and the people, he,
in the early party of the session, offered a resolution,
which was adopted, requesting the Auditor of State to
furnish as soon as practicable " the net revenue applica
ble to the payment of interest on the debts of the State
during each of the last six years," specifying the net
revenue derived from the public works, the amount of
taxes in aid of such revenue, and the amount from other
sources, the amount of interest paid, and the deficiency
of the revenues to meet the interest during each of those
years, and the sources from which the deficiency was
supplied. In ansAver to this resolution the Auditor made a report
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
which was referred to the committee on finance, of which
Mr. Kelley was a member, and he, on behalf of the com
mittee, prepared, and on the 7th of February submitted,
a report which had much influence on subsequent legisla
tion. The following extracts from the report, and
abridgment of other portions of it, clearly show the
financial condition of the State, and the necessity for
immediate and radical changes in its policy and laws.
After reciting the resolution, and what it was designed to
elicit, the committee express their regret :
" That the Auditor has not been able to communicate to
the Senate the desired information in a more full and in
telligible form. They will, however, attempt, from official
documents, and mostly from the reports of the Auditor, to
supply this deficiency and lay before the Senate, in a con
densed shape, such information as will enable them to form a
tolerably accurate idea of the financial condition of the State,
and to judge of the necessity of providing other sources of
revenue." They then state in detail the interest account for the
six years from 1839 to 1844 inclusive, as follows :
First. The interest paid each year.
Second. The amounts received and applicable to the
payment of interest from canal tolls, taxes, and every
other source.
Third. The excess of interest over the revenue ap
plicable to its payment. After making every allowance
and every deduction which could be reasonably claimed,
there still remained " a deficiency of accruing revenue
applicable to the payment of interest on the debts of the
State for the last six years of $720,858.05."
139

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
" How, Avith this large deficiency in the interest fund, has
the interest on the State debt been paid, is an inquiry Avhich
will naturally present itself to the mind of every citizen of
Ohio Avho is anxious to preserve unimpaired the credit of the
State. In order to answer this question, the reports and pro
ceedings of the Fund Commissioners, as well as of the
Auditor, were carefully examined, and it was found that the
deficit each year had been supplied by temporary loans, an
ticipations of revenue by means of drafts, anticipations by
deposits of county treasurers, loans of other funds from the
State treasury, the use of funds obtained to pay contractors,
and perhaps other like expedients."
The committee then add:
" In regard to the impolicy of increasing the debt of the
State, by the application of moneys to the payment of inter
est which do not properly belong to the interest fund, the
committee will take the liberty to quote from the annual re
port of the present Auditor of State, under date of December
2, 1839. After stating the deficit in the interest fund fbr
that year at $253,757.42, the Auditor proceeds :
" ' Which is annually supplied by additional loans, and ap
propriated to the payment of interest. This means of addi
tion to a public debt is of a startling character, and certainly
a most miserable financial operation. The sum of two hun
dred aud fifty thousand dollars borrowed and applied to in
terest this year involves the application of $215,000 [$265,000]
the next, admitting the debt to remain stationary, and so,
from year to year, the process of compounding goes on until
it assumes a most formidable and alarming character. The
great error, and one which has proved an ignis fatuus to our
public authorities, leading them still further into the labyrinth
of public debt, has been the habit of reporting and regarding
our domestic debt as accumulating revenue for canal purposes,
and shutting their eyes to the fact that every dollar of that
revenue so appropriated to the payment of interest, was itself
borrowed, and accumulating interest for the future as certainly
as if it had passed through the more formal routine of nego
tiation in Wall street or in London.'
" By the act of February 4, 1825, it is made the duty of
the Auditor to assess such tax on all the property in this State
entered on the grand list, and taxable for State purposes, as
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
will produce, together with the net profits of the canals annu
ally collected and paid into the Treasury for each year, an
amount sufficient to meet the interest payable for such year on
all loans, etc., exclusive of the sum collected for the sinking
fund ; and by act of March 16, 1839, making appropriations
for new public works, this duty was again enjoined on the
Auditor, and made irrevocable.
" The committee can not forbear expressing their regret
that the Auditor, as well as his predecessor, has, for a succes
sion of years previously to the last, levied an amount of taxes
inadequate to the demands of the interest fund.
" To the impolicy of accumulating debt for the purpose of
paying interest, the committee ha\re already adverted. They
have also called attention to the imminent danger of suffering
the finances of the State to remain in their present deranged
condition. It remains to consider by what means Avithin the
power of the General Assembly the deficit can be made up, so
that the interest on the State debt can be paid from time to
time as it falls due, vcithout anticipating her revenues or re
sorting to temporary loans. Two modes of replenishing the
interest fund have presented themselves to the committee.
"The first is to negotiate a permanent loan for the amount
of the present deficit. Although this mode of extricating the
finances of the State from their embarrassments may, perhaps,
be preferable to the temporary expedients which haAre for
several years been from necessity adopted, still the committee
is not prepared to recommend it for adoption.
"The other, and in the opinion of the committee the only
legitimate, mode of making up the deficiency in the interest
fund is by increasing the .revenues of the State applicable to
that purpose. This, the committee is sensible, can not at
once be done without such an increase of taxes as the people
would find it difficult, if not impossible, to pay. Indeed, the
taxes now imposed on property entered on the grand list for
taxation are, in many instances, as high as the property can
well bear. There is, hoAvever, in the State a large amount of
property which, under our present laws, entirely escapes
taxation. " If our revenue laws shall be so amended as to bring this
property upon the grand list for taxation, as the committee
hope may be done, the revenue may be so increased, without
making the taxes more oppressive than they now are, as, iu
141

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
the course of three or four years at most, fully to restore the
interest fund and avoid the necessity of anticipating the
revenues by means of temporary loans or otherwise.
"The committee are aware that by thus disclosing, as far
as in their power, the true condition of the finances of the
State, they run the risk of alarming the more timid of the
holders of the stocks of the State.
" But they believe it to be important, not only to the inter
ests of the State, but to the interests of the stockholders, that
the representatives of the people, and the people of the State
themselves, should be correctly informed upon this subject.
To the General Assemby this knowledge is necessary, that the
proper remedy may be applied before it is too late ; and to the
people it is equally desirable, that they may be able to judge
of the necessity of imposing upon them additional burdens ;
and the sagacious creditor of the State, instead of feeling
alarmed that the Legislature aud the people of Ohio are
boldly inquiring into the real condition of their finances Avith
the view of applying the proper remedy, will feel renewed
confidence in her integrity and determination honestly to meet
her engagements to the uttermost farthing."
At the same session, a bill was introduced on the sub
ject of taxation and referred to the committee on finance.
The bill did not become a law, but the report of the
committee on the general subject of taxation contains
additional and important suggestions, upon which legis
lation on this subject has been based from that day to
this. The report was prepared and submitted by Mr.
Kelley on the 17th of February, and the material por
tions of it are as follows :
"That from an examination of the financial condition of
the State, its accruing revenues, and the annual charges
thereon, the committee are satisfied that an increase of reve
nue is indispensable. Although the State may continue, by
resort to temporary expedients and extraordinary means, to
pay the interest on her funded debts, as she has heretofore
142

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
done, without an increase of her revenues applicable to that
purpose, the committee deem it extremely hazardous, as well
as impolitic, to rely on means and expedients liable to be af
fected by so many unforeseen contingencies, for the accom
plishment of an object of such vital importance to the honor
and credit of the State, as is the punctual payment of the
interest on her debts.
" For a more full statement of the present condition of the
finances of the State, and the views of the committee upon
that important subject, they ask leave to refer the Senate to
their report (that of February 7th) relative to the condition
of the interest fund.
"If it be conceded that an increase of revenue is neces
sary to meet the current expenses of the State government,
and insure the punctual payment of interest on the State
debt, the question, ' how is this increased revenue to be ob
tained,' presents itself for consideration.
"It is evident that this object can be attained in one or
the other of two ways. First, by increasing the rate of tax
ation on property now entered ou the grand levy for tax
ation ; or, second, by adding to the tax list property not now
entered thereon.
"To the first mode there are, in the opinion of the com
mittee, insuperable objections.
" On a large portion of the property now entered on the
list, the tax is already so high as' to preclude the idea of in
creasing it."
"Whenever the public burdens are necessarily heavy,
justice, as well as good policy, requires that these burdens
should be made to bear as equally as possible, in order that
they may bear as lightly as possible, on those who are com
pelled to sustain the weight. Such is not the case. Prop
erty listed for taxation is at present valued so unequally that,
while the tax on one portion is equivalent to its net income,
on the other portions it amounts to not more than one-tenth
or one-twentieth part of the profits Avhich they yield. But.
the injustice of suffering a large proportion of the most pro
ductive property of the State entirely to escape taxation,
while property less profitable to the owners is made to bear
the Avhole burden of sustaining the public revenues, is still
more glaring.
" Fully impressed with the belief that sound policy, as. well
143

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
as impartial justice, requires each individual in the com
munity to contribute in proportion to his property and in
come, to the support of that government by which his life,
liberty, and estate are protected, and to those expenses by
which his property is made productive, the committee can
not hesitate to express their decided conviction that a law
should be enacted providing for a fair and equal cash valu
ation of all the property in the State, both real aud personal,
for the purposes of taxation, except such as reasons of public
policy require to be exempted. The necessity of providing
means for increasing the revenues of the State renders this
measure still more important.
"The committee are fully aware that it has been the policy
of the State, from the first organization of its government, in
valuing lands, other than town lots, for taxation, to exempt
the value of the improvements made upon the land. This
policy was adopted when far the greater proportion of the
lands of the State Avas OAvned by non-resident proprietors."
" Most of the tracts or parcels of arable land sufficiently
large for a farm, are now more or less improved, and it is no
longer necessary to abstain from taking improvements into
view in determining the value of land for taxation, from a
fear of preventing or discouraging the making of those im
provements. "On the contrary, imposition of an equal tax on unim
proved lands and on those that are in a high state of culti
vation has a direct influence to prevent the purchasing of new
lands for the purposes of cultivation. For, when a man has
expended his whole means in buying a piece of unimproved
land, and is expending his time and labor in bringing it to a
state of cultivation, it is oppressive to compel him to pay the
same amount of tax as is imposed on a highly cultivated and
profitable farm in the immediate vicinity, containing an equal
number of acres.
" While a principle so unjust is suffered to remain in our
system of levying taxes, it must necessarily discourage the
purchasing and opening of new farms. It may be said that '
the imposition of heavy taxes on unimproved landg will in
duce the holder to sell them. This inducement, however,
will produce little or no effect if, by our laws, still greater im
pediments are thrown in the way of the purchaser; for where
there are no buyers, there can be no sale.
144

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
"The committee are also aware of the argument frequently
adduced against assessing the value of improvements on land
on tho ground that it operates as a tax on the product of
labor, and, therefore, discourages productive industry. But
'where is the property that is not the product of labor?'
Productive industry may be regarded as the creative power
by which every thing Avhich we denomiuate property is pro
duced ; and the committee can see no reason why the prop
erty of one man, obtained by labor, and invested in unim
proved lands, iu town lots, in horses, in cattle, or other tax
able property, should be subjected to taxation, Avhile the
property of another, iuvested in improvements on his farm,
and equally productive, is suffered to escape.
" Many and just complaints are now heard of the existing
inequalities in the valuation of real estate for the purpose of
taxation. Iu numerous instances tracts of land are entered
upon the tax list at from fifty to one hundred dollars per
acre, Avhile lands of equal value, separated from the former
only by imaginary lines, are assessed at not more than eight
or ten dollars per acre. A similar inequality, but less in de
gree, exists iu the valuation of lands situate in different
counties. "Although discrepancies of this kind, to a greater or less
extent, are incident to all human acts, still a due allowance
for errors in judgment will not account for the enormous in
equalities which are found to exist iu the valuation of lands
for taxation. These gross inequalities can only be accounted
for from the absence of any definite and intelligible rule or
condition for determining the value of lauds. If these lands
were required to be appraised at their true value, inclusive
of all improvements thereon, a criterion of the value Avould
easily be found in the price for whicli the same or similar
lands have recently beeu sold, or in the price demanded by
the owner, if held for sale. But Avhen the improvements are
to be excluded, aud a value altogether hypothetical and imag
inary is required to be affixed to the land, supposing it to be
a state of nature, so indefinite is the rule, aud so great the
latitude given for construction as to leave both the judgment
and the conscience of the appraiser, like a ship at sea with
out rudder or compass, entirely without guide or restraint.
"A still more serious objection to the present revenue laAvs
of the State is to be found in the fact that real estate is
made to bear an unequal aud unjust portion of the burden
10 145

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
of taxation. It will be seen, by reference to the last an
nual report of the Auditor of State, that lands, including
town lots and buildings thereon, are assessed at $109,142,152,
Avhile personal property of every description is assessed at only
$27,000,514. From which it appears that more than four-
fifths of the whole amount of taxes of the State are assessed
on lands.
" The committee have not the means of ascertaining, Avith
perfect accuracy, the relative value of the real and personal
property of the State. They are, however, of opinion that
personal property constitutes at least one-third, instead of one-
fifth of the Avhole.
"It is apparent that if the personal property which now
escapes taxation were made to pay its fair proportion of tax,
lauds would be relieved from taxation to that extent.
" Much of the personal property which under our present
laAVS is exempt from taxation is the most productive prop
erty in the State. Money or capital employed in purchasing
notes, bonds, and mortgages, in buying and selling money and
exchange, in various kinds of traffic, and manufacturing opera
tions, in ships, vessels, and steamboats on the lakes and on the
Ohio River, in the furniture of extensive hotels and taverns,
stage-coaches, and horses, may be taken as specimens of this
class of property; and no good reason can, in the opinion of
the committee, be assigned for exempting this property from
taxation. Costly furniture, although producing no income,
may be considered as indicative of Avealth of the owner and
his ability to pay taxes ; and as a luxury, has ever been con
sidered, by enlightened legislators, a proper object for tax
ation. " Nor is it easy to discover a satisfactory reason for continu
ing to tax property vested in horses and cattle and permitting
that vested in sheep and swine to escape. If it be said that
hogs are fattened on the annual products of farms which are
taxed, and that therefore the hogs themselves should not be
taxed, it may be replied with equal force that cattle and
horses are also raised and fed on the yearly products of farms.
"The taxation of all the property of the State, both real
aud personal, execept- such as from reasons of public policy
may be exempted, according to the true value thereof, is the
only just, because it is the ouly equal, mode of levying taxes.
The adoption of this great principle into our revenue laws,
while it will add largely to the apparent value of taxable
146

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
property of the State, and will provide the means for such an
increase of the annual revenues of the State as will avoid the
danger qf a failure to pay the interest on our public debt,
will to a considerable extent relieve those who now pay the
principal part of the taxes. The taxes paid by the owners of
land, and especially of real estate iu towus, will, in the ag
gregate, be greatly diminished ; and this deficiency will be
more than made up by taxes levied on property which at pres
ent pays little or nothing.
Each of these reports was carefully prepared for a
specific purpose ; the first to demonstrate the necessity
of changing the present policy, by showing that its end
was inevitable bankruptcy ; the second, to show with
equal clearness that to require all the property in the
State, both real and personal, to bear a portion of the
public burden, according to its true value, is the only
just and equitable mode of taxation ; and that by adopt
ing this mode the duplicate will be increased so as to
render the share of each comparatively small, and at the
same time produce enough revenue to discharge all the
liabilities accruing under the State government. They
aided very much in preparing the public mind for the
radical change which was so necessary, and also in some
degree directed attention to- this subject in the selection
of candidates for the next General Assembly. A por
tion of the members of each branch were selected for
the purpose of aiding in accomplishing the end suggested.
Many also were selected, as the proceedings too clearly
show, for the purpose of defeating every effort of the
kind, and even to embarrass the State in the payment of
its accruing liabilities. 147

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER XIII.
EQUALIZATION OP THE TAXES.
Continued financial troubles. — -Mr. Kelley's proposal for equal
ization of the taxes. — A bold step. — Mr. Edgerton's speech. —
Mr. Kelley's reply. — His resolution adopted. — The contest con
tinued.

When the Legislature assembled in December, 1845, it
soon became evident that the same spirit which animated
a portion of the members of the Legislature of 1841-2 to
advocate repudiation, and to endeavor to prevent the pay
ment of the liabilities of the State, to cry down and depress
the value of State stocks until they could hardly be sold at
any price, was to be exhibited anew in complaints that
stocks were sacrificed in order to pay the liabilities of
the State and save its credit and honor. The same
spirit induced members not only to complain of such
sales, but also to make use of them as an argument
against any material change in the revenue laws. It ex
hibited itself in an unwillingness to provide for the pub
lic indebtedness, notwithstanding a considerable portion
of it was created and used for the construction of canals
which were then yielding a large net revenue to the
State. Those who were imbued with this spirit were
bitterly hostile to all chartered banks, and declared
both a willingness and a desire to destroy the value of
State stocks, that they might by such means destroy the
148

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
banks. In order to illustrate the feeling which existed
in regard to the banks and State stocks, and which cul
minated in a formidable and violent opposition to the
proposed change in the revenue laws, it is only necessary
to introduce some of the debates which preceded the in
troduction of the bill for that purpose.
On the fourth day of the session Mr. Kelley, from the
committee on finance, introduced a preamble and a joint
resolution, reciting that a revenue sufficient to defray
the expenses of the State and of counties and townships,
to support schools and the poor, and to pay the interest
on the public debt, requires the imposition of heavy
taxes ; that the present system is grossly unequal, and
fails to apportion the public burdens among the people
in the ratio of their property, or of their ability to pay
taxes ; and that the exigencies of the State, as well as
equal justice to its citizens, requires the adoption of a
system more equal in its operations and capable of pro
ducing more revenue ; therefore,
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, That it
is expedieut, at the present session of the General Assembly,
to adopt a system of taxation that will impose upon all the
property of the State, both real and personal, except such as
shall be expressly exempted by law, according to its true
value, an equal per centum of taxation."
This resolution was introduced in order to procure in
advance the adoption of a principle upon which a bill
might be based. It should be borne in mind, as has been
stated, that previous to this time the burden of taxation
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
was borne by real estate and a few specified items of
personalty. Realty sustained most of the burden. The
principle set forth in the resolution as the proper basis
of taxation had not then been adopted and enacted into
a law in any State or nation.
We have been living under revenue laws substantially
copied from the one adopted at this session more than
forty years, and few of the present inhabitants are
familiar with any other rule of taxation, and can hardly
imagine that any other could be seriously entertained.
The subject was then, as it is now, a delicate one, and
the public was very sensitive in regard to it. It there
fore required the preliminary steps, which were adopted
the previous session, to prepare the public for the adop
tion of a plan for the accomplishment of what is now re
garded as a financial system combining justice, equality,
and efficiency more perfectly than any other, and as set
tling more clearly than any.other the great problem of
taxation. It was then a bold step to take. A bold man
took it, in the presence of the fiercest partisan opposi
tion, which aimed, by defeating it, to break down the
State credit, and with it our banking and monetary
system. The resolution relating to taxation being before the
Senate on the 10th of December, the following was
offered by Mr. Edgerton as an addition :
"Resolved, That all loans made by the several banking in
stitutions in this State shall be taxed as money at interest, the
same as money loaned by individuals." 150

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
This addition gave rise to an animated discussion.
The portions of it and of other discussions which follow
are copied from the report of them in the Ohio State
Journal. It is due to Mr. Kelley to add that he seldom
spoke from notes, and rarely revised the report of his
speeches. " Mr. Edgerton said he perceived that the Whig party had
got itself into a dilemma from which it could not extricate
itself Avithout the aid of the Democratic party, and he hoped
such aid would not be given. The time has arrived when we
must increase the per centum on the grand levy, or bring new
objects of taxation upon the list, or else the State must re
pudiate. By the legislation of last winter, you have put it out
of our power to tax banks except upon tiieir profits, while in
dividuals are taxed upon their property. From present indi
cations, it appears that no ad valorem law can be passed at this
session without some Democratic votes, and I believe there is
not a Democrat in the Legislature who will vote for the propo
sition before the Senate, unless the banking institutions are
placed upon the same footing as individuals. The Senator
from Muskingum thinks the passage of this resolution would
. have a favorable [an unfavorable] influence upon the credit
of the State, and the price of its stocks. If by any effoet
ON MY PART I COULD DEPRECIATE THE VALUE OF OUR STATE
STOCKS IN THE EASTERN MARKETS, I AVOULD CERTAINLY DO
SO, because these banks are based upon those stocks, and if the State
stocks go down, so must the banks."
" Mr. Kelley said he had endeavored to obtain the floor be
fore his young friend from the north-Avest made his second
speech on the same question, but he had failed in catching
the speaker's eye. He now wished to call the attention of the
Senate to sentiments and motives which he had been aston
ished to hear that Senator [Mr. Edgerton] advance. He did
not wish to misrepresent the Senator, and if, in reciting the
substance of what he said, he did not do it correctly, he asked
the Senator to correct him. ' I understand the gentleman to
say,' said Mr. Kelley, ' that the party in the majority on the
floor were in a dilemma. That the revenue was inadequate
to pay the interest on the State debt. That the revenne must
151

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
be increased, or repudiation would be the inevitable result.
That the majority dare not increase the per centum of tax on
the grand levy as it now stands, for that would prostrate the
party. That they therefore sought to adopt a more just and
equal system, and increase the amount of taxable property by
requiring all the property of the State to be entered on the
grand list at its true value. That this could not be done be
cause the law creating the banks had provided for taxing
them on their profits, and it was out of our power now to
place the bank capital on the same footing as other property.
It would be changing the contract, and, therefore, Avould be
unconstitutional. That he and he hoped his political friends
would vote for no tax law that did not place bank capital on
the same footing as other property. That he understood some
of the Whigs would not vote for this proposed system, and it
needed Democratic votes to carry the measure, and, if repudi
ation was the result, the Whigs might thank themselves for it.
They had tied their own hands, and he [Mr. Edgerton] ap
peared to exult, to feel pleasure, in anticipating the result.
"Am I right? 'said Mr. K.
'"Exactly so,' said Mr. E.
" 'I must then,' said Mr. Kelley, ' express my deep regret,
as well as astonishment, at hearing such sentiments avowed on
this floor. I will give the gentleman credit for the frank
avowal of his views, while I can not withhold my deep de
testation of his doctrines. He is Avilling to see the public
faith violated, the credit of the State prostrated, its prosperity
blighted, the deep and damning stain of repudiation forever
stamped upon her now fair reputation, that the party to which
he belongs, and which has lost its ascendency by its own rash
ness, may be again brought into poAver.'
"'I Avill not,' said Mr. Kelley, 'condemn him, but if I
thought myself capable of entertaining such sentiments, I
should despise and detest myself, I should think I ought to be
shunned by every honest man, scouted from society, and
driven from the State.'
" The Senator had expressed a wish to see the stocks of the
State rendered Avorthless, so that the banks organized under
the laAV of last winter, Avhich Avere entirely based on those
stocks, might be prostrated. The gentleman has fallen into
an error in point of fact, but seven of the twenty-three banks
organized under that law were based on those stocks.
" The Senator said he Avould even go further; he would as-
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
sist in depreciating State stocks so as to break down the banks
founded on them. ' Now,' said Mr. Kelley, 'let us see what
would be the effect of rendering this State stock worthless.
It is pledged with the Treasurer of State as security for the
redemption of circulating notes of the banks. Take away
the security, or render it worthless, and Avhat is the probable
consequence ? The money falls dead in the hands of the
holders, in the hands of the poor laborer, who made it to pur
chase clothes and food for his family, bread for his children.
And is this the result which the gentleman seeks to produce ?
Is this his Democracy, his love for the people ? If it is, he
has a different mode of showing his love for the people from
that which animates my bosom.'"
The discussion of the resolution was continued by dif
ferent members, and embraced in its range the whole
subject of taxation, and Mr. Kelley closed it in a speech
in which he recapitulated what is contained in the report
at the previous session, established, by unquestionable
statistics, the inequalities which resulted from the existing
system and laws, and from the United States census re
turns of 1840, and other sources, demonstrated that the
real and personal property which ought to be taxed in the
State amounted, at its fair value, to at least five hundred
and twenty-six millions of dollars, instead of $144,160,469,
the taxable value as returned that year, and then pro
ceeded :
"If then the absolute necessity of increasing our revenues and
the obviously unjust operation of the present tax law demand
a change of the system, or such modifications as will make it
more productive and less unequal iu its operation, shall we at
once found it on principles which all agree are the most cor
rect and equitable, adopt the only system by which we can
impose upon every citizen an equal share of the public bur
den in proportion to his ability to sustain it? or shall we
attempt to patch up a law already incongruous and obscure
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
in its provisions in consequence of the loose manner in Avhich
it was drawn and the frequent changes it has undergone,
founded too upon principles so manifestly unjust, because un
equal in their operation, as to form the subject of complaint
throughout every section of the State ?"
" He had no hesitation in saying that the first of these al
ternatives should be adopted. . .
" If then it be right, if it be necessary to adopt a more
equitable system of taxation — as I trust every one is con
vinced it is — it remains to inquire, when shall it be done?
To this I ansAver without the least hesitation, now is the
proper time. It is never too early to do right — to redress
a wrong. I know, as Avell as any man, the difficulties
whicli surround this object — I am fully aware of the sensi
tiveness of the people upon the subject of taxation — and Iioav
easily the most just and equal law for levying the tax can be
misrepresented by the unprincipled and designing demagogue.
I know there are some who fear to jeopardize their popularity
by voting for any law upon the subject of taxes, unless it be to
reduce them. But I have yet to learn that the people are so
destitute of intelligence, so lost to all sense of justice, as to
condemn their agents, when, with a single eye to the public
good, forgetting their party predelictions, they fearlessly do
that which is right in itself, and which is imperiously de
manded by the necessities of the treasury.
"Let us no longer rest in false security; let us no longer
slumber on the brink of repudiation ; but rouse ourselves, and
like men boldly look the danger in the face, and prepare to
avert that worst of all calamities which can befall a State —
the loss of its character for punctuality, for integrity, and for
honor. It is vain to shut our eyes to the fact that we can not
long continue our downward course, sinking year after year
deeper and deeper in debt, without at last arriving at that
lowest point of degradation — repudiation."
Mr. Kelley here asked the indulgence of the committee
to read a short extract from a foreign paper, the London
Times. A writer in that paper, after stating his loss on Illinois
bonds, adds : 154

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
" When my boy asks me why he is stinted of the education
which he had a right to expect from me, what can I answer
save ' the Americans have robbed me ?' And thus will the
shame and sorrow pass on to another generation. The loss is
written off in my ledger, but the disappointment of my hopes
in the young race is indelible, and the Avrong is irreparable.
The Americans may proceed in a successful course of com
mercial and political triumph ; they may cover continents
with their race and the ocean Avith their fleets, but the stain
remains fixed and forever. They are not an honest people ;
and, believe me, it is not our Avriters but their swindlers Avhich
ha\re brought on them, nationally and individually, the con
tempt of the Avorld. Their bonds are driven from the Bourse,
and one is now as much startled at meeting an American
in society, as to hear of Robert Macaire at Almack's."
" We may affect to disregard the opinion of other nations,"
continued Mr. Kelley, " but it is all affectation. We do and
Ave should value the good opinion of other civilized nations
with whom we hold commercial and friendly intercourse;
and, Avhen Ave shall be sunk so low as to disregard the good
opinion of the Christian Avorld, we shall indeed have arrived
at a low state of moral degradation.
" In years gone by, as the Senator from Clermont who acted
with him on that occasion would bear witness," said Mr.
Kelley, " he had raised his warning voice in the other branch
of the General Assembly against the reckless expenditure of
money on works which the public good did not then demand,
and Avhich, if undertaken at all, should have been postponed
until the State Avas able to prosecute them. He had theu
told the House that their hands must be stayed, or bankruptcy
would be the result. But his warning had been disregarded ;
selfish views and local interests had prevailed ; and the conse
quence was a State debt of nearly twenty millions. He could
tell how the public money had been squandered, of the neglect
and unfaithfulness, not to say the downright dishonesty, of
public agents, but this was not the time nor the occasion.
We have now," said Mr. Kelley, " to deal with the present
and to look out for the future, not mourn over the past.
Let us not fear to examine our condition, but like men probe
the wound to the bottom, and fearlessly apply the remedy.
But if this course shall not be adopted, if others shall timidly
shrink from the performance of their duty, if repudiation
155

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
shall envelope our beloved State in a mantle of shame, driv
ing our most worthy citizens from our borders, and preventing
from coming among us all who are unwilling to share the
ignominy of violated public faith, I, at least, will wash my
hands of the foul stain. I will not stand tamely and see
the deed committed."
The addition proposed by Mr. Edgerton was then re
jected, and the preamble and resolution offered by Mr.
Kelley in behalf of the finance committee were adopted.
On the 29th of December, Mr. Edgerton offered the
following preamble and resolution, occasioning a dis
cussion in which Mr. Kelley for the first time in his
own behalf stated the circumstances under Avhich the
bonds of the State were sold at less than par, and also
under which he had pledged his individual credit to more
than he was worth in order to save the State from pro
test and dishonor. The discussion also discloses the
bitter hostility he afterAvard encountered during the
passage of the bill to tax all property in the State ac
cording to its value :
" Whereas, the Governor of Ohio, in his last annual Mess
age to this General Assembly, says that arrangements have
already been made to pay the liabilities of the State falling
due in January and July next ; and, whereas, the Canal Fund
Commissioners, as appears by their report, bearing date the
26th inst., have been forced to make temporary loaLS to the
amount of $363,564.40, to pay the interest on the State debt
due on the 1st of January next, without making any pro
vision for the July interest, no part of which loans are re
ported to the Auditor of State, nor by him embodied in his
annual report; and, whereas, the Treasurer of State has
issued circulars calling upon the several County Treasurers
for the State's proportion of the taxes of 1845, collected by
them, to be remitted to the Treasurer of State in order to
meet the January interest; and, whereas, these facts seem to
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
contradict the statement made by the Governor that arrange
ments had already been made to pay the July interest;
therefore, "Resolved, that the Governor be and hereby is requested
to report to the Senate, at his earliest convenience, by whom
and Avith whom the arrangements alluded to were made, and
such other matters connected therewith as will fully advise
the Senate of the nature of the transaction."
" Mr. Kelley moved to lay the resolution on the table.
" He said the statement of the finances of the State had
gone out. So much as is necessary or material to be known
is knoAvn. He did not see the necessity for this continued
agitation of this matter. The gentleman offering this resolu
tion had declared to the Senate and the world that if by any
act of his he could reduce the value of the State stocks so as
to break down the banks which held them as securities, he
would do so. To accomplish this object was, perhaps, his
motive for agitation. Certainly no good could result from it.
"The gentleman intimates, by his resolution, that the
statements of the Governor are incorrect, or that he had put
forward false statements. The Governor had undoubtedly
based his remarks upon the statements of the officers of the
State ; and the detailed information called for was probably
not in his possession. The Governor had announced that
arrangements had been made to meet the interest soon falling
due on the State debt.
"He [Mr. Kelley] was prepared to say that positive pro
visions had been made for the payment of the January in
terest." [Mr. Edgerton said that he did not doubt that. He
wished to know particularly about the July interest. The
Governor stated that arrangements had been made for the
payment of that.]
"Arrangements," continued Mr. Kelley. "This is a very
comprehensive word. It was well known that it was
frequently necessary to anticipate the revenues of the State
for the purpose of collecting in time the money necessary to
meet its liabilities. The canal tolls were sometimes rendered
available before the time of their coming regularly into the
treasury. So with other resources of the State. It might be
that arrangements of this character were in progress.
" He was not prepared to say what the arrangements for
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
meeting the July interest were. He presumed the officers of
the State spoke advisedly Avhen they affirmed that they were
in progress.
" If the Auditor is correct, the prompt payment of the July
interest is certain. Why then waste time in inquiries such as
these? Why continue to agitate the public mind? He had
stated on a former occasion the actual financial condition of
the State, and what he couceived to be the true policy of the
State in regard to it. The adoption of that policy would
place us beyond the necessity of any temporiziug expedients.
The perpetual agitation of the financial condition of the State
here may serve to depress our stocks, and make them foot
balls of the dealers in stocks. It could serve no other pur
pose. He was prepared to go as far as any man to place this
matter right and apply the legitimate remedy. But if this
matter was to be brought up so often, it might be well to in
quire into the origin of these deficiencies, which were so fruit
ful a source of contention. Unquestionably the debt had
been greatly increased by undertaking the construction of
Public Works, which should not have been undertaken, at
least at the time they were undertaken, and Avhich probably
would not have been undertaken had wise councils pre
vailed. What party was in the majority at that period? A
correct answer would doubtless designate the party which was
responsible for a large proportion of the public indebtedness.
" We may go one step further, and contrast the cost of the
earlier works of improvement with the later ones. The
latter, though not nearly as well constructed, cost two and a
half times as much as the former. Under the direction and
control of what party were these Avorks carried on? It re
quired no one very deeply versed iu our political history to
tell. "Now, let us look a little further. The Auditor of State
is directed to levy sufficient tax to meet the liabilities of the
State. The Auditors immediately preceding the present in
cumbent, who has held his office scarcely a twelve-month, in
neglect of their duty, had alloAved the State to run behind
to the amount of $1,500,000. It was this deficiency, thus
allowed to accumulate, that caused the embarrassments in
which the State was not long since involved. The Fund
Commissioners had no power to levy taxes or collect tolls.
That was a power intrusted to others. Their only resource
was to dispose of an amount of the stocks of the State, as the
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
law authorized them. This they did, aud at considerable
loss. "The indebtedness Avas accumulated, then, first, by the
construction of works not then called for, if ever; second,
by a gross want of economy in public officers who had man
aged these works ; and, third, by the neglect of the Auditors
to do their duty.
"Now, then, what is 'to be done? Certainly, to provide
for the future, not to go back to say who did this or that, or
to decide who was most to blame. It was useless to refer to
the past, unless to take Avarning from its errors.
" The passage of the resolutions like the one pending could
have no good effect. The agitation which it would keep up
would tend to depress the credit of the State. He hoped the
resolution would lie on the table.
"Mr. Edgerton said he supposed his resolution would pro
voke discussion. It had done so. He was aware that certain
charges had been made against him, both in and out of the
Senate, of an intention to reduce the stocks and iinralidate
the credit of the State. He understood his own objects, and
knew the tendency of his resolution. He questioned Avhether
any provision had been made for paying the July interest,
notwithstanding the statement of the Governor's message
that arrangements were made to meet that interest. He
thought there was an intention to cloak up the real condition
of the State. The Canal Fund Commissioners report that
they have borrowed $364,000. The Treasurer has called
upou the county treasurers for the State tax; and this is all
to meet the January interest.
" Can it be true, under these circumstances, that arrange
ments are made to meet the interest in July? He believed
the Governor had been misinformed by somebody. If his in
quiry, by unveiling our actual condition, depreciated the
stocks of the State, let it be so ; all the better.
"If the fact as stated by the Governor is correct, the ar
rangement is dependent upon loans from the banks, which
loans are contingent upon the passage of the contemplated
bill to adopt a system of taxation which shall provide addi
tional revenue to the State. He apprehended this was the
arrangement referred to, and to ascertain if he was correct
was one object of his inquiry.
" There was a feature in the past financial history of the
State which Avas an inducement for him to act in the matter.
159

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
The State had always been dependent on the banks ; they had
been linked together in their policy. To break up this de
pendency was one of his primary objects. The banks had
always made their greatest profits out of the poverty of the
State. " The gentleman (Mr. Kelley) had alluded to the origin of
the indebtedness of the State. There was one fact which he
would like to mention in reply. He (Mr. Kelley) and others
had sold the stocks of the State at sacrifices amounting to
nearly $500,000.
" [Mr. Edgerton here proceeded to give certain statistics.]
" Those statistics clearly establish that, in 1841-2, and
Avhen Mr. Kelley Avas Canal Fund Commissioner, State stocks
were sold —
" The par value of which was . . $1,487,200 00
" The amount received was . . . 1,031,711 78
" The loss of the State was . . . $455,488 22
" He thought the ' simplest history of these transactions
were their best analogy [sic.].'
"It was stated, indeed, that these sacrifices were neces
sary; but, necessary or not, it could not be denied that the
State had lost heavy amounts of money by these transactions.
'That' continued Mr. Edgerton, ' can not be charged upon us
of the minority.'
"But who profited by the State loss? The bankers. It
was they Avho fattened and grew rich upon the losses of the
State. And against a system which permitted of this con
nection and these results he would wage an eternal warfare,
' cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of Avar.'
" He Avould again inquire, in conclusion, how the June
and July obligations of the State were to be met ? He could
conceive of no way, unless as he had already explained by an
understanding with the banks, based upon the contingency of
the passage of the proposed tax law. He hoped, by the pass
age of his resolution, to ascertain the facts in this matter —
whatever effect their development might have upon stocks or
credit." " Mr. Kelley said he did not propose to follow the gentle
man in a reply. He [Mr. Edgerton] had, as was quite com
mon with others of the same party, taken occasion to taunt
him [Mr. Kelley] with having sold the stocks of the State at
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
less than their face value. He admitted it, he had never
concealed it; and the circumstances attending that sale were
before the world, and he Avas willing to submit his conduct to
its judgment. When the credit of the State was tottering
almost to its overthrow, at a time of unexampled depression
in the financial world, when the stocks of the General Gov
ernment could find no sale iu the market, and when the bonds
of the great and rich State of New York would not bring sev
enty-five cents on the dollar in her own commercial metropolis,
and Avhen she was forced to permit her obligations to fall due'
from utter inability to meet them at that time, he had, in
conjunction with those Avho acted with him, resorted to the
only means which was left to save the honor of the State,
which means, he might add, they were authorized to resort
to, by a law of the State passed to meet that special emergency.
And at that time, and under these circumstances, he became
personally responsible in behalf of the State for more than
he was worth, in order that she might pass safely through her
severest trial. And he had done so, too, Avhen he Avas warned
by gentlemen of high standing among his political opponents,
to beware how he committed himself, because there were
those of his foes who would willingly have the credit of the
State prostrated, if thereby Alfred Kelley could be involved
in ruin. There were those who would have gloried in the lost
honor of the State, in her disgrace and misfortune, if he had
fallen Avith her.
" This was done at a time, also, when repudiation Avas
talked of in this capital, and Avhen a proposition was pending
to take away from the Auditor his power to levy these taxes
upon which the financial safety of the State depended. At a
time, too, Avhen a protege of a man high in public station, a
man who was called the Jupiter Tonans, the Thunderer of the
opposing party, Avrote to an editor in the City of New York,
stating that the doctrine of repudiation Avas gaining ground,
and had infected the Legislature, and contemplating a total
failure of the State to meet her obligations.
"He had no occasion to regret his conduct at that time
and under these circumstance. On the contrary he gloried in
what he bad done. He thought it neither just nor magnani
mous in opponents to taunt him as having acted a dishonor
able part. It came Avith an ill grace from them Avho had
never raised a finger in behalf of the State, to accuse him
of dereliction of duty, and of having trifled with the interests
11 161

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
of the commouwealth. It was true he had made sacrifices
to save the credit of the State, and none could regret the ne
cessity more than he did. They were made to avert great
and overwhelming calamities. The report of the commission
ers appointed to examine the transactions of the Fund Com
missioners would place his conduct iu its proper light, and ex
culpated him from all censure.
" Mr. Kelley recommended those who Avere so free in their
condemnation to look back and see by whose acts the sacri
fices, so often alluded to, were made necessary. They should
show that something better could have been done, before
passing their censure so freely.
" In respect to this resolution, he could only repeat that he
considered its adoption entirely unnecessary for any good pur
pose. The gentleman says he shall continue the agitation of
this matter day after day. What is his object, unless it be
the one he so boldly avowed a few days ago ? He then de
clared that if by any act of his he could reduce the value of
the stocks of the State he Avould do so. Was not this one of
the "acts?" Did the gentleman expect that his party would
be enabled to get into poAver by this course? Perhaps so.
But he could tell the gentlemen that power gained by such
means would be vain to those who gained it.
" They would reign over a prostrated, desolated State. If
the gentleman chose to bring this subject up daily as he
threatens to do, he [Mr. Kelley] could say that there was a
power here to put it down as otten."
After further discussion the preamble and resolution
were indefinitely postponed. 162

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.

CHAPTER XIV.
PASSAGE OF THE TAX LAW.
Mr. Kelley's speech. — Passage of the bill in the Senate. — Its
passage in the House. — Features of the law. — The succeeding
political controversy over it. — Its success and effect.

The reports and discussions on the general subject had
prepared, as far as such proceedings could do so, both
the public and the Legislature for the bill which Avas
introduced into the Senate on the 6th of January, 1846.
The hostility which had been previously manifested in
the Senate, and in some of the public prints, continued
with the same if not with increased intensity. That
hostility Avas political, and regardless of the public good.
It proceeded from the motives and desires of the partisan
and mere politician, and was not worthy of statesmen.
A persistent effort Avas made to render the passage of
the bill a party question. During its progress through
the Senate many amendments were offered with a view
solely to their political effect. And no opportunity was
neglected to ridicule it, or render it obnoxious to the
public. Many amendments in its details were proposed
and adopted, and on the thirteenth of February, when
it was ready for a final vote, a motion was made to post
pone its further consideration until the next December.
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Upon this motion Mr. Kelley made the following re
marks :
" We are now asked," said Mr. Kelley, " to postpone this
bill until the first Monday in December next; and are told as
a reason for adopting this course, ' that this is an important
measure, and should be well considered ; we are told that the
people should have a chance to examine and express their
opinions on it.'
" It is true, said Mr. Kelley, " this is an important measure.
It is true, too, that it is a necessary measure. But has it
not been long agitated and carefully considered ? Have not
our State Auditors, for the last five or six years in succession,
brought this subject before the Legislature and the people of
the State urging the adoption of an ad valorem system of
taxation, as the only system from Avhich an adequate revenue
can be raised, without injustice and oppression to a large por
tion of the tax-payers? All this has been repeatedly done
by the principal financial officer of the State, the Auditor ; a
gentleman of the same political party as the senator who has
made this motion to postpone. That gentleman [Mr. Brough],
with the assistance of others whom he thought competent to
advise on the subject, drew up a tax bill upon the same
principles as the one pending before the Senate. That bill
was presented by the committee of finance of the other House
at the session before the last, and after some consideration, it
was postponed to the first Monday of December then next.
At the last session the same bill was reported on leave in
the Senate; it was referred to the committee on finance, who
amended its details and made a report to the Senate urging
the propriety and necessity of its passage. That report had
been before the people for more than a year, and its argu
ments had remained uncontroverted. It had received at
least the tacit assent of the people. But the Senate, for
want of time maturely to consider it and perfect its details,
as was then said, had postponed it until the present session.
At an early day of the present session the subject was again
taken up, and the main principle contained in the bill now
before us was deliberately adopted by the Senate in the form
of a resolution ; which, in effect, instructed the committee to
introduce a bill to carry out that great principle, namely:
To tax property according to its true value.
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
"A bill was accordingly introduced ; it Avas carefully con
sidered in all its details; it was recommitted to reconcile
all conflicting opinions as to some of its details ; those con
flicting opinions had been reconciled ; the bill had been re
ported back, again carefully considered and amended by the
Senate ; and now, when it was about to pass, we are asked
to postpone it till the first Monday in December next.
" ' To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,' says Shakes
peare, ' creeps on its petty pace from day to day to the last
syllable of recorded time.' /The first Monday of December
uext,' and ' the first Monday of December next,' and ' the
first Monday of December next,' to the end of time, is, ac
cording to the senator's theory, the proper time for adopting
a great principle in adjusting the public burdens to the
shoulders of the people Avhich all admit to be right and
just. "I have been taught that it is never too early to do
right, never too soou to redress a wrong. That a large por
tion of the tax-payers of the State are wronged, grievously
wronged, by oppressive taxation, while others, much more
able to pay taxes, are either partly or wholly exempt, is a fact
no one Avho has any knowledge of the subject will have the
hardihood to deny.
"And these are not the only ones who are wronged — no,
Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding you have for years applied the
moneys arising from the sales of school lands to pay the in
terest on the public debt, while you are, every time that in
terest becomes due, compelled to borrow large sums to pay
that interest, and anticipate all your forthcoming revenues
arising from tolls and taxes, you can not pay the laborers
who keep your public works in repair. The State does not
keep its faith with those Avho labor for the public, who earn
their daily bread by the sweat of their brows. They come to
the State Treasury ; they knock at the door ; they are ad
mitted ; but the treasury is empty. They go away disappointed.
They come again, but still with the same result until 'hope
deferred maketh the heart sick.' Such things ought not
to be."
Mr. Kelley here read part of a letter Avhich he had
received in behalf of two honest, hard working men, who
had a claim of nine months' standing for Avork on the
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Ohio Canal on which they had received an order on the
State Treasury more than six months ago, for upward
of $4,000 ; and Avhose property, the writer said, must be
sacrificed unless they could get the money. This, said
Mr. Kelley, is only one of the numerous cases of a simi
lar character that had come to his knowledge.
" It is said we can get along and pay the interest on our
public debt even if we do not revise our revenue laws. True,
we may for a time longer go halting and limping along, as
we have been going for some six years past, falling behind
hand some two or three hundred thousand dollars annually,
and thus add this much yearly to our public debt. We may
still live ' at this poor dying rate ' a little longer, if times are
in other respects prosperous and the money market easy. Or
Ave may levy a greater per centum of tax on the taxable
property of the State as it now stands on the grand levy.
But, is it right, is it just, to do so ? Is it right to make one
man pay ten times as much tax on a piece of property as is
paid by his neighbor on another piece of equal value ? If
taxes were merely nominal, this inequality would be a matter
of comparatively small moment.
" But, taxed as we are, in many instances, to nearly the
entire income of the property taxed, it is of the last conse
quence that taxes should be made to bear as equally as possible
on all the taxable property of the State. It is Avrong, it is
unjust, it is oppressive, that one man should be borne down to
the earth, literally crushed with taxes while his neighbor
more wealthy and more able to pay than himself should enjoy
almost an immunity from taxation.
" Let it not be said that the people have not considered
this subject. They have considered it. It has been presented
to them for years. They have been informed of the de
ranged condition of our finances, of the necessity of increas
ing our revenue, of the unequal operation of our present sys
tem, and of the plan now under consideration. They are too
intelligent not to see the importance, the justice, the necessity,
of the proposed change. They are too patriotic, too honest,
not to be willing to bear each a fair proportion of the public
burdens. And they will not condemn their representatives
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
for promptly, honestly, and fearlessly doing their duty. I at
least, for one, am prepared to appeal to them for the rectitude
of my intentions, and the correctness of my actions in this
matter. " ' True it is,' said Mr. Kelley, ' some avIio now pay less
than their share, and whose tax will be increased by the oper
ations of this bill, may complain. But of what will they com
plain ? They will complain that they are now required to bear a
just share of the public burdens from which they have heretofore es
caped. Can any one, not lost to all sense of justice, not lost
to all shame, look an honest man in the face and utter this
complaint ?
" Will it be said that this system of taxation, if carried
into operation, Avill not immediately relieve the Treasury of
the State from its embarrassment? I do not expect this
remedy will work the instantaneous cure of a long standing
disease, but it will clear the way and lay the foundation of a
system that ¦will give adequate and permanent relief. It will,
when iu full operation, enable us to raise a revenue sufficient
to put a stop to further accumulation of debt, to pay interest,
and gradually to regain the ground we have lost, and that
too, Avith far less oppression to the great mass of tax-payers
than the present laws impose on them. It will form a sub
stantial basis on which we can safely predicate measures for
temporary relief.
"All agree that it is both unwise and unsafe to suffer the
large deficit, which has for some years existed, longer to con
tinue, that we should no longer add interest to principal, and
thus roll up the sum of the State debt, and all agree that
something must therefore be done. If to avoid the manifest
injustice of adding au additional per centum of tax on the
property of the State, as now listed and valued, Ave resort to
the expedient of bringing on to the grand list items of prop
erty hitherto exempt from taxation, as for example, sheep and
hogs, will not the owners of these articles have just cause of
complaint? May they not with reason ask, 'why is our
property singled out from the great mass that has heretofore
been exempt from taxation, and made to bear alone the addi
tional burden it has been found necessary to impose ? We
do not complain that we are taxed, for this we admit is neces
sary, but we complain that we are unequally taxed, for this is
not necessary.'
" But there is another objection to this course. The taxes
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
of the State have heretofore borne hardest on the great farm
ing interest of the State, for their lands, their houses', and
their cattle, could not be hid from the eye of the assessor, nor
could the value of these items be kept a secret in the bosom of
the owner, and, if we now add hogs and sheep to the present
list of taxable articles, we increase the burden on this very
class of our citizens. This would not be right. No, Mr.
Speaker, let all property be taxed according to its true value, and
none will have a right to complain.
" It has been apprehended by some that the present bill
will increase the proportion of the whole taxes of the State
paid by the farming interest. I have taken much pains to
ascertain the operations of the bill in this respect, and for this
purpose I have resorted to official documents to ascertain the
true value of the various classes of property in the State,
among which are the returns of the United States Marshal
who took the census in 1840. I am, myself, pretty extensively
acquainted with the value of lands and of real property in
tOAvns in the greater part of the State. And I have compared
my estimates with the valuation of property in other States
and tOAvns in the Union, and, though the table which I now
present to the Senate does not descend into fractions, and may
in regard to some items be somewhat erroneous, still I am
confident that it is a near approximation to the truth, and
that the result will prove that the farming interest will, as a
whole, bear a much smaller share of the public burdens than
it bears under the existing system of taxation.
"True, their lands Avill be valued higher, but the per
centum of tax levied on that valuation will probably be
less than one-third of the per centum levied on the present
valuation ; while their cattle and their horses will, on an aver
age, be valued at less per head, and on that valuation will pay
less than one-third of the tax Avhich they now pay."
Then follows a table of all the different kinds of prop
erty as specified in the bill, with their estimated quan
tities and values, the aggregate value being $255,000,000 ;
and also a separate estimate of the value of the farming
interest upon which taxes would be levied. Mr. Kelley
then continued : 168

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
" It Avill be observed that the estimate here made of the
gross value of taxable property in the State falls considerably
short of the estimate of its true value,, which I had the honor
of presenting to the Senate at an early period of the present
session. That was an estimate of Avhat I considered its true,
value. " This is an estimate of the valuation as I expect it is to be
taken by the assessors ; for, with whatever honesty and vigi
lance they may perform their duty, I expect a considerable
amount will escape. Besides, it will be borne in mind that
the exemptions made by the bill, as it now stands, are con
siderably greater than those made by the bill as at first
reported. "If it be true, as I have no doubt the event will prove,
that the farming interest av ill, under the operation of this bill,
pay a less proportion of the taxes of the State than hereto
fore, the inquiry naturally suggests' itself, ' In what manner
will this deficiency be made up ? If this class pays less, what
ones will pay more?'
"I answer, the merchant, the money lender (who, even
under the law of last session, in a vast number of instances,
partially, escaped, owing to the imperfections of the law and
want of "vigilance in carrying it out), the owner of valuable
furniture1,' the owner of watches and pianos, the commission
merchant, the great manufacturer, the machinist, the owner
of ships, vessels, and steamboats, the owners of lots and
houses in some of our largest cities, lease-holders of church
lands, and many others of lesser note, will pay this additional
tax and much more.
"But, Mr. Speaker, let me repeat, something must be done.
We must either patch up an old structure, resting upon a rot
ten, because unjust and unequal, foundation, or Ave must
adopt a new one, resting upon the eternal rock of justice.
We can not escape this responsibility, if we would. And this
one consideration is sufficient to determine my course, and
should, I think, be sufficient to determine the course of every
honest man. It is just; it is right.
" Let it not be said that Ave go counter to the vcishes of the
people in passing this bill. It is knoAvn throughout the State
that it has been under consideration nearly the Avhole session.
The principles upon which it is founded are also known ; and
yet we have not received a single remonstrance against its
passage, but many petitions in its favor. In this case it may
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Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
be truly said, ' silence gives consent.' A few individuals, who
fear that they shall be required to pay a little more tax than
they have heretofore paid — a few who fear, as there are always
some timid souls who do fear, that to do right may, with some
selfish people, be unpopular, have undoubtedly written to
their representatives to oppose the bill. But these letters
should not be taken as evidence of the wishes of the majority.
Those who are content with what is proposed to be done say
nothing; and this class forms au immense majority, Avhile the
feAV who, from timidity or from more selfish motives, are op
posed to the proposed measure, attempt to manufacture what
they are pleased to call public sentiment, and instruct their
representatives accordingly. I, for one, do not feel bound by
such instructions. I, for one, am prepared to go for a measure
founded upon the eternal principles of justice — a measure
which the exigencies of the treasury demand — and fearlessly
to appeal to an honest and intelligent constituency to sustain
me in my course.
The motion to postpone was lost, and the bill passed
by a vote of 17 to 16, being, with a very few exceptions,
a party division.
In the House the same expedients Avere adopted for
the purpose of defeating it as Avere resorted to in the
Senate ; and obnoxious and incongruous amendments
Avere offered to render it unpopular should it become a
law. In that body it was in charge of the Honorable
Benjamin S. CoAven, the representative of Belmont
County, who discussed and managed it with marked
ability. On the 24th of February it passed the House
Avith a number of amendments by a vote of 35 to 29,
also with a few exceptions a party division. The
amendments were adjusted between the Houses, and the
bill became a law on the 2d of March, 1846.
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
On that day, for the first time in Ohio, and perhaps in
any State, it was enacted,
"That all property, whether real or personal, within this
State, aud the moneys and credits of persons residing therein,
except such as is hereinafter expressly exempted, shall be
subject to taxation ; and such property, moneys, and credits,
or the value thereof, shall be entered on the lists of taxable
property, for that purpose, in the manner prescribed by this
act." The principal exemptions were public property, burial
places, property used for public worship, State stocks,
household and kitchen furniture to the amount of two
hundred dollars, wearing apparel excluding Avatches, food
provided for the family, and farming and mechanical im
plements and tools in actual use ; and each person Avas
also allowed to deduct his liabilities from his moneys
and certain specified credits. The details of the law
fully carried out and enforced the principle upon which
it was based, as declared in the first section.
The contest over this law did not end Avith its enact
ment. During its pendency it was associated with the
hanking law of the previous winter, and the same party
which opposed the one opposed the other also. The
revenue law was made the main issue in the campaign
of 1846 ; and it, with the banking law, was referred to
by the leading Democratic paper as " the two laws
against which the Democracy are waging a war of ex
termination." The same paper spoke of it also as the
" plunder law." The banks were called " Kelley's
swindling shops ; " and " the tax law a failure " was the
171

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
heading of more than one editorial article. During the
campaign a paper Avas printed and circulated, called the
Tax Killer. The canvass was unusually embittered by
the most unjustifiable attacks upon the laws, and apply
ing the most opprobrious epithets to their author. Not
withstanding the extraordinary efforts which were made
to defeat it, the law was sustained ; and in its practical
working all the results claimed by its advocates were .
fully realized.
The total value of taxable property in 1846
under the old law was $150,293,132
In 1847, under the new law, it was . $410,763,100
The personalty in 1846 was . . . $40,352,496
The personalty in 1847 was . . . $83,564,430.
The aggregate of State taxes levied on
$150,293,132, in 1846, was . . $1,214,897
The aggregate of State taxes levied on
$410,763,100, in 1847, was . .' . $1,331,398
The per cent on the value of taxable prop
erty for State purposes in 1846 was . 8 mills.
The per cent for the same purposes in 1847
was  2f mills.
The repeal of the law, or even a modification of its
principle, was never afterward proposed. That prin
ciple was embodied in the constitution of 1851, and
nearly all the important provisions of the laAV enacted
under that constitution are taken from the law of 1846,
and are still in force.
The benefit which Ohio has derived from this law is
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
like that which characterizes the results of every act of
Mr. Kelley's public life. The State has never been em
barrassed for the want of funds ; its credit has been
equal to that of any other State, and even to that of the
General Government; the debt has been reduced to less
than four millions after paying all the expenses incident
to the Rebellion. And, although the law has not al
ways been faithfully administered, and taxable property
has been kept off the duplicate by umvorthy devices and
illegal expedients, still there has been no serious indi
vidual oppression or public embarrassment. Above all,
every tax-payer has been conscious that the credit and
honor of the State has been above reproach, and also
that they are beyond the reach of demagogues and secret
or open enemies. It has outlived its opponents, and is
an enduring monument to the wisdom and sagacity of its
author. 173

Alfred Kelley; Ms Life and Work.

CHAPTER XV.
RAILROAD BUILDING.
The beginning of railroads. — The Columbus and Xenia Rail
road. — Selling bonds in New York. — The Cleveland, Columbus
and Cincinnati Railroad. — The Cleveland, Painesville, and Ash
tabula. — Difficulties about gauge — A new battle of Erie. — A
strategic movement. — Buying up a right of way. — Mob-law at
Erie. — Mr. Kcllev's " Five Mile Fanu."

Forty years ngo the transportation of produce, mer
chandise, and passengers in Ohio was almost exclusively
confined to canals, wagons, and stage-coaches. There
were but two railroads in the State ; and they were con
structed in the rudest form, having strap rails which
rendered them dangerous as Avell as rough and uncom
fortable for passengers. These roads Avere from Cincin
nati to Xenia and from Springfield to Sandusky. We
can hardly realize that our great system of railroads in
Ohio and in the West Avas commenced and built up
within forty years. In 1847 the only public mode of
traveling in every direction from our capital Avas by the
slow and unpleasant stage-coach and along the line of
the canal ; and a portion of the year the inhabitants re
mained at home, on account of the condition of the roads
and the swollen streams, unless compelled by necessity
to travel.
In 1845 a charter Avas obtained, and a company
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
orgTjaized, to construct a railway from Columbus to
Xenia. Some surveys Avere made and so far completed
as to be ready for contracts on a part of the line. The
company as organized Avas unable to proceed any fur
ther, and it was reorganized by changing a portion of
the Board of Directors and by the election of Mr. Kel
ley as its president. He accepted the office, and with
the aid of the engineer in a short time the route Avas
established and the road put under contract. Mr. Kel
ley took the bonds of the company to NeAv York, ne
gotiated their sale, and procured sufficient money, in ad
dition to the proceeds of the stock, to complete and
equip the road. These were among the first, if not the
first, western railroad bonds which were sold in New
York. He was well-known to the capitalists of that
city, who had unusual confidence in his judgment, and
felt assured that he would not undertake any enterprise
unless it was meritorious and was abundant security for
both the principal and interest of its liabilities. The
road was finished with the heavy T rail, and was the first
road upon which that rail was used in Ohio. The road
was completed and opened for traffic in February,
1850. A few years previous to 1847 a charter was obtained
and a company formed for the construction of a railway
from Cleveland to Columbus, under the name of " The
Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad Company."
The incorporators were all or nearly all citizens of Cleve
land. Books were opened for stock subscriptions, but a
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
sufficient amount could not be procured to justify the
commencement of the Avork. Efforts Avere made at dif
ferent times to procure subscriptions, with but little suc
cess. Those Avho had charge of it made a last and ener
getic effort in the summer of 1S47, but Avere as unsuc
cessful as they had been previously. It was then pro
posed, by some of the ardent friends of the project, that
Mr. Kelley should be procured to accept tho presidency
of the company. This Avas mentioned to those Avho had
subscribed stock and others, and resulted in additional
subscriptions to a considerable amount, on condition that
he should be such president ; some of them remarking
that if he took charge of it the road would be built, and
all feeling assured that he Avould not undertake it unless
he thought it Avould be pecuniarily successful.
About the first of August Mr. Richard Hilliard and
Judge Thomas M. Kelley, a brother of Alfred Kelley,
both of Cleveland, Avere requested by those interested to
go to Columbus and confer with the latter on the subject.
They Avent doAvn, and a long evening Avas devoted to a
full discussion of the project, the previous failures, the
effect of the road if built, and the difficulties Avhich
had been encountered, and which the committee thought
insurmountable except by Mr. Kelley. He declined to
accept the presidency offered to him, on account of his
long public service, his need of rest, his private affairs
which had been neglected, and above all his desire to
spend the remainder of his life with his family. Mrs.
Kelley made an urgent appeal in her behalf and that of
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
her children that he might be allowed to remain at home.
The interview was pleasant, though the committee was
much disappointed ; and, as they parted with Mr. Kelley
at the door, Mr. Hilliard, grasping his hand, said : " I
appreciate your reasons for declining our request, and I
admit we have no claims on you. This project, how
ever, is very important to Cleveland and the State, and
should it fail because you decline to take hold of it, will
it not be a source of regret the residue of your life ?"
To which Mr. Kelley replied : " I will see you again in
the morning." Mr. Hilliard knew that his last appeal
would have more influence with Mr. Kelley than all
other considerations combined.
In the morning they met, and Mr. Kelley remarked
that the subject of their conversation the evening before
had occasioned him much thought and anxiety during
the night, and he had made up his mind that it was his
duty to yield to their request.
The committee returned to Cleveland ; the president
then in office resigned ; and on the 13th of August Mr.
Kelley was made president and took charge of the road.
A meeting was soon held in Cleveland, at which he and
others presented the advantages of the road, and there
was a large increase of stock subscriptions, which, to
gether with subscriptions at Columbus and along the
line, and the bonds of the road, enabled him to proceed
with the work.
His familiarity with the topography of the State en
abled him and the engineers to examine and locate the
12 177

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
line in a comparatively short time. The entire road,
though one hundred and forty-five miles in length, Avas
all included in one contract, which was executed accord
ing to its terms, and the road was completed with heavy
T rails and opened for business on the 22d of February,
A. D. 1851. While the grading Avas in progress, Mr.
Kelley went to Wales and procured the iron.
The opening of this road was celebrated by the inhab
itants of Cleveland with unusual demonstrations. It
was the first leading to that city, and contributed much
to the growth and wealth Avhich have since made it
famous. The success of the road and its effect upon
Cleveland were particularly gratifying to Mr. Kelley, as
he never lost any of his attachment to his early home
and associates.
These two roads were feeders to each other, and from
the time they Avere completed yielded large profits to
the stockholders, profits which far exceeded their expec
tations, and also any estimates furnished to them by Mr.
Kelley. While these roads were in progress, a charter was ob
tained for the " Cleveland, Painesville, and Ashtabula
Railroad Company," authorizing the construction of a
road from Cleveland to the Ohio line. It was intended,
also, to extend the road to Erie in Pennsylvania. A
road from Toledo to Cleveland had also been commenced.
The road from Cleveland to Erie would complete a line
to New York City, as the New York roads were expected
to construct a road from Buffalo to Erie. That the road
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Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
from Cleveland to Erie, when completed, would be a
public benefit and profitable to the stockholders was
evident. A continuous line from Cincinnati to New
York City Avould thus be secured, and this last link in
the chain would receive all the passengers and freight
from the South and West. Some surveys had been
made and parts of the line marked for location. Mr.
Kelley had been a director from the time the company
was organized, and was appointed president on the 19th
of March, 1857.
Very soon after his appointment he passed over the
route Avith an engineer, and, after a thorough examina
tion, changed much of the line to lower ground and to
the present location. There was no serious difficulty to
encounter, and there was no incident of special interest
in the construction of the road to the Pennsylvania line.
Its construction from that line to and through the city of
Erie presented difficulties which, if they had been known,
feAv would have undertaken to overcome.
There were two roads through the State of NeAv York,
one of Avhich terminated at Buffalo and the other at
Dunkirk, both places being on Lake Erie. One of them,
the southern, had adopted the broad or six feet gauge,
and the other, the New York Central, a gauge of four
feet, eight and a half inches. Each of these roads de
sired to extend its line to Erie, in order to connect with
the western road. The city of Erie was quite Avilling
the roads should be constructed, but was determined that
neither should have the Ohio gauge of four feet, ten
179

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
inches. If, therefore, the road east of Erie adopted the
wide gauge, or one narrower than the Ohio road, all
passengers would necessarily change cars, and all freight
be trans-shipped at that place.
The controversy between the New York roads contin
ued a considerable time. After much negotiation, in
consideration of the fact that the railroads from Cleve
land and Toledo, then in progress, were of the four feet
and ten inch gauge, it was agreed that the New York
Central should be extended from Buffalo to Erie with the
same or the Ohio gauge, and should be so managed as
not to give to either of the great railroad interests any
advantage over the other. It was assumed that the rail
road company in the State of Pennsylvania, having a
charter to build a road from Erie to the New York line,
would adopt the same gauge. That road was unfortu
nately under the control of inhabitants of Erie, who not
only refused to do what was expected, but commenced to
lay down a six-foot track on their road of nineteen miles
in length. They proceeded still further, and procured a
law to be passed, called the " gauge law," requiring all
roads from Erie to the New York State line to adopt a
six feet or a four feet, eight and a half inch gauge, and
between Erie and the Ohio line a gauge of four feet and
ten inches. By this means they aimed to secure a per
petual change of passengers and freight at the city of
Erie. Mr. Kelley and the company he represented were op
posed to any change of the gauge west of Buffalo, and
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
therefore they incurred the displeasure and ill-will of
Erie and of the State of Pennsylvania to such an extent
as to prevent any favorable legislation or grant of au
thority to constr-uct a road to Erie.
Although it would seem to be essential, in order to
procure a change of passengers and a trans-shipment of
freight at the city of Erie, that a road should be con
structed from the Ohio line to Erie, authority for that
purpose could not be obtained, and the project would
have failed, for the time being at least, if it had not been
under the control of one possessed of an extraordinary
share of originating talent, as well as courage in the ac
complishment of what was right.
Mr. Kelley ascertained that the Franklin Canal Com
pany had a charter which was in full force, author
izing the construction of a canal along the line of the
proposed road. An amendment to the charter also au
thorized the construction of a railroad instead of a canal,
and the use of the towing path as the bed of the road.
By an arrangement with the stockholders, he procured a
majority of the shares and transferred them to the
Cleveland, Painesville, and Ashtabula Railroad Company.
He then commenced building the road from the Ohio
State line to Erie under this charter. The city of Erie
procured an injunction, and although, on the final hear
ing, the injunction was dissolved on technical grounds,
it was held by the court that the charter did not embrace
about five miles from the Ohio State line, east to what
the court claimed to be the nearest point of the canal as
181

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
described in its charter. There were thus five miles for
which there was no charter, and the city of Erie, sus
tained by the State of Pennsylvania, now opposed any
grant of authority unless the gauge was such as to re
quire a change of passengers and freight at that city.
In this dilemma Mr. Kelley proposed to the railroad
company that some of its younger members should buy
the land along the five miles, build the road, and contract
with the company for the use of it on fair terms. None
were willing to take the risk. He then made an arrange
ment with the company to borrow from it the money nec
essary for the purpose, and he undertook to complete
that part of the road on his own account. He was de
termined that neither Erie nor the State of Pennsylvania
should prevent the construction of this great thorough
fare between the East and the West.
It needs no explanation to satisfy any one of the great
risk involved in such an undertaking, even if the hostility
of Erie and the State were not considered. Mr. Kelley
knew very well that without this five miles the residue of
the road would be comparatively valueless, and therefore
undertook the work, notwithstanding the pecuniary hazard.
He went immediately upon the line, and very soon became
acquainted with Judge James Miles, the owner of a farm
of several thousand acres through which it passed, and
who appreciated the importance of the road and the
suicidal folly of the city of Erie. The Judge Avas widely
known, being connected with the agricultural interests of
the State and with its agricultural college, and being very
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Alfred. Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
influential in elevating and improving both the farming
and farmers of the State. He Avas familiar with the
value of lands, and acquainted with most of the owners
along the line of the road. His character for honor and
ingenuousness was such as to command the respect and
confidence of every one. The tAvo soon appreciated each
other and became Avarm friends.
With the aid of Judge Miles Mr. Kelley bought the
right of way, where it could be obtained, and where it
could not he bought the whole of the owner's land
through Avhich the road passed. When the purchases
were concluded, he was the proprietor of many farms.
By a law of the State certain county or township officers
were authorized to grant the right to cross the wagon
roads. This authority was obtained, and thus a connec
tion Avas made with the Franklin Canal Company, and
the road was completed to Erie in November, 1852.
Previous to this, the Eastern roads, with the Franklin
Canal Company, and including the Erie and New York
State Line road, had a meeting, and, after much consul
tation and many concessions, agreed upon a plan by
which the latter road should be completed with the west
ern gauge. Notwithstanding this agreement, the con
nection of the two was resisted in the city of Erie by
tearing up the tracks and other acts of violence. Mr.
Kelley was threatened with being mobbed if he should
presume to appear in Erie. He was informed of the
threat while he was at Judge Miles's house, near what is
now Miles Grove. He and the Judge immediately drove
183

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
to Erie, and walked through the streets without molesta
tion, except that, just as they were leaving, the Judge was
hit, but not injured, by a brick thrown by some person
who kept at a safe distance from the two. A few of the
citizens did not participate in the folly of the majority,
and the hostility between the two parties was such as to
disturb their social relations, the effects of which are said
to have continued to this day.
The proceedings of Erie and of the State involved
much litigation in the State courts, but the railroad was
used, notwithstanding delays and losses, and to some ex
tent was protected by an order of the United States,
made at the request of Mr. Kelley, declaring it a "post
road." This state of things continued until January,
1854, when the State of Pennsylvania repealed the char
ter of the Franklin Canal Company. This act presented
the question of authority on the part of the State to re
voke a charter after millions had been legitimately ex
pended in pursuance of its provisions. This question
was presented to the Circuit Court of the United States
by the attorneys of the company, Wm. Meredith and
E. M. Stanton, the latter of whom was aftenvard Secre
tary of War. Mr. Stanton exhibited in this and other
cases connected with the controversy the same prompt
ness, energy, and commanding talent which character
ized his official conduct during the rebellion. '
Before the case was presented to the court for final
adjudication, and in May, 1854, the State settled the
whole controversy by granting a charter for a road from
184

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
the Ohio State line to Erie, and to connect with the
eastern road at that place. It was grudgingly done, and
upon terms which an honorable individual would hardly
have exacted. One of the surviving directors who was
familiar with all the proceedings thus summarizes the
action of Mr. Ketley :
" Mr. Kelley purchaaed the right of way (and in many
cases entire farms) in his personal right, and built the road as
the sole proprietor, and thus incurred large risk and responsi
bilities, from which he was only relieved, when, after great
delays and vast expense, a charter was finally obtained, he
conveyed his five miles to the corporation upon terms which
were satisfactory to both parties."
He thus in 1854 closed his connection with railroads,
except as a director, in which capacity he was instru
mental in establishing rules and regulations beneficial
both to corporations and the public.
The presidency of other roads, coupled with large
salaries, was offered to him, but they were declined be
cause he considered them in advance of the business of
the country, and not therefore likely to be profitable to
the stockholders or a benefit to the State. In one or
two instances his opinions on this subject were severely
criticised at the time ; but subsequent events have veri
fied the correctness of his judgment. A gentleman to
whom one of the letters was addressed, said to the
writer of this after Mr. Kelley's death, " it reads like
prophecy."

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.

CHAPTER XVI.
CLOSING YEARS.
The fugitive slave law. — Re-election to the Senate. — Sessions
of 1855-6 and 1856-7.— The improper use of the public funds. —
Investigation of treasury; alarming disclosures. — Bills to secure
public funds. — Bill to authorize payment of taxes semi-annu
ally. — Suggestion to Mr. Yaple as to public schools. — Guarding
the treasury. — The new State House. — Mr. Kelley's address of
welcome. — Close of his legislative career. — The end.

When Mr. Kelley had completed the railroads which
connected the East with the West and South, and they
were in successful and profitable operation, he regarded
his work for the public as finished. The effects of age,
excessive labor, and canal malaria upon his originally
vigorous constitution, became more and more evident.
He therefore contemplated a period of rest during the
few remaining years of his life. In this he was disap
pointed. Both the State and Nation were then agitated by im
portant and exciting political questions. In the latter
the fugitive slave law and the Dred Scott decision Avere
producing a state of public feeling which was not allayed
until after slavery was abolished and the rebellion was
suppressed. In the former there were questions of State
policy growing out of an apprehension in the minds of
many that the funds of the State were not sufficiently
186

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
secured against their improper use or loss. Public at
tention was thus again directed to Mr. Kelley as a nec
essary public agent, and in the fall of 1855 he was again
elected to the Senate.
Although but little more than thirty years have elapsed,
it seems almost incredible that at that time a human be
ing could be seized in one State and carried off to an
other, as a slave, without even a trial or investigation as
to his actual condition ; and that a slave Avas mere prop
erty, and had no rights which a Avhite man was bound to
respect. It seemed to Mr. Kelley that a persom claimed
as a slave ought to have the right to an impartial trial
by jury before he should be carried by force into a slave
State ; and one of his first acts as a member of the
Senate of 1856 was the introduction of a resolution
directing the Judiciary Committee to inquire into and
report upon that subject. Upon examination it was
ascertained that the State was powerless, and could only
protest against such wrong and injustice, which the
Legislature did respectfully and decidedly.
At this session, as at many previous ones, Mr. Kel
ley Avas made chairman of the Finance Committee. It
had long been conceded that when there were difficulties
to surmount or new and important objects to be at
tained, no one was so likely to overcome the one, or de
vise a mode to accomplish the other, as Mr. Kelley. At
this session the Finance Committee had much to do.
His OAvn observation, and facts which came to his knowl
edge from other sources, satisfied him that the funds
187

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
belonging to the State Treasury had been improperly
used for a number of years ; and he was apprehensive
that the State had been, and was then, wronged by the
misconduct of its Treasurers. For the purpose of ascer
taining the truth in regard to the Public Treasury he,
as chairman, introduced a resolution that the Finance
Committee " be instructed to ascertain and report to
the Senate the amount, character, and condition of the
funds in the treasury, and that for this purpose they be
authorized to employ some competent accountant to as
sist them in making the necessary examinations ;" which
was immediately adopted.
The resolution was delivered to the Treasurer, who re
plied that a committee of one branch of the Legislature
had no authority to examine the treasury, and he would
not recognize an examining committee from the Senate
alone. He denied also the right of the committee to
employ an accountant to aid them in such examination.
This communication, on Mr. Kelley's motion, was re
ferred to the judiciary committee, who made a short and
decisive report, which opened the doors and vaults of the
treasury to a committee of the Senate.
Near the close of the session, and on the 7th of April,
the committee made a report, in which it was clearly
demonstrated that there were " checks, drafts, bills of
exchange and certificates of deposit, the gross sum being
$296,291.26, which had been held (with but few excep
tions, and for comparatively small sums), from fifteen
188

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
days to upwards of two months without having been pre
sented either for acceptance or payment." That the
committee had " reason to believe, viewing the con
dition of the funds in the treasury, and the large bal
ance due from the late Treasurer at the time of giving
up his office, the various times when parts of that
balance were paid to the present Treasurer, and the fact
that there still remains a large balance in his hands, that
most of the drafts, certificates of deposit, and accept
ances now in the treasury, were paid to the present by
the late Treasurer, and were obtained by him with the
understanding, on the part of the parties furnishing the
same, that they would not be presented for payment until
the demands of the treasury should make it necessary
to demand their payment."
The committee further reported that there was belong
ing to the treasury the sum of $147,048.49, consisting
of drafts, etc., of a bank and a firm which were consid
ered, as far as regarded these operations, " as substan
tially one concern ; " that " it also appears that both the
late and present Treasurers have been, if they are not
now, interested in the bank," and that proceedings were
then pending to test the question whether the charter of
the bank was forfeited.
They also found that the next preceding Treasurer
had given his predecessor a receipt in full for the balance
due by him without specifying the amount, when he still
had in his hands $302,115.86.
It was also discovered that when the present Treasurer
189

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work
took possession of the office, there was an unpaid bal
ance in his predecessor's hands of $212,432.57. A part
of this sum was due from a Cincinnati bank which had
failed, a part from a Toledo bank Avhich had also failed,
a part from an individual in Dayton who had executed a
deed of trust for the benefit of the State, and a part
from a firm in Cincinnati Avhich also had failed.
The committee then add :
"When to these circumstances we add the declaration on
oath of  , there seems to be little room to doubt that
the late Treasurer was interested in the bank (a bank iu Vir
ginia), and used the funds of the State to put it in operation,
or at least to sustain its credit.
" The committee can not forbear to express their decided
disapprobation of the practice of using the public money
either directly or indirectly, for the purposes of private emol
uments, or to build up or foster any private company or insti
tution, more especially one in which any officer or agent hav
ing the custody of such moneys may be interested.
" Stringent laAvs of a penal charactar, combined with fre
quent and searching examinations by the Legislature or its
committees into the management of the moneys and finances
of the State, seem to be absolutely necessary to prevent great
pecuniary losses to the State, and a still greater depreciation
of public morals.
" Since the examination of the Treasury Department by a
commission created for the purpose about nine years ago, no
careful examination of that department appears to have beeu
made. Years have gone by since there has been even a criti
cal comparisou of the books, accounts, and vouchers of the
Auditor and Treasurer of State. Thus the great object of
making the Auditor's office a complete check on that of the
Treasurer has for years been rendered entirely abortive.
"The impossibility of going into a critical examination of
all the transactions, book accounts, and vouchers of the
Treasury Department, extending through a period of nine
years, by a committee of the Senate during the session, will
190

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
at once be seen and acknowledged. Even if ordinary legis
lative duties did not occupy most of the time and attention of
the members of the committee, the entire period of the ses
sion would hardly suffice to make such an examination."
The committee reported a joint resolution for the ap
pointment of a joint committee to examine during the
recess of the General Assembly the books, accounts,
vouchers, records, and proceedings of the Auditor of
State, the Treasurer of State, the Commissioners of the
Canal Fund and the Sinking Fund. The Legislature, in
pursuance of the suggestion, provided for such commit
tee and other investigating committees, with full poAver
and authority, by a law enacted for that purpose.
The annual reports of the Treasurers represented the
funds of the State as safe and under their control.
Nothing was said explaining their real condition, or show
ing how large a portion of them were in the possession
of favorites or used for other purposes. The Legisla
tures had met, made appropriations, and adjourned, as
suming those reports to be accurate, and to represent the
true condition of the treasury. While the Legislature
and the public were acting upon the statements in those
reports as though they were true, one Treasurer Avent out
of office having his successor's receipt in full and retain
ing in his hands $302,115.86, and that successor went
out of office retaining in his hands $212,434.57. The
first sum was all paid some years afterward, and a por
tion of the last sum has been paid, but much of it was
lost. In a conversation between Mr. Kelley and Hon.
191

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
Alfred Yaple, who was a member of the House when
these proceedings were in progress, Mr. Kelley said, as
reported by Mr. Yaple, " that one Treasurer had been
the weak, accommodating tool of the designing plunder
ers who had obtained large amounts of the State's money
from him, and could not, or would not, pay them back ; "
and that his successor " had foolishly undertaken to con
ceal the fact for him in the vain hope, on the part of
both," that the money would be repaid by those who
held it. Mr. Kelley then added :
" I am going to prepare a bill which will enable the people
to keep their own money until it is actually needed, and stop
the dangers arising from public officers and their favorites
speculating on the half of it for six months eArery year, and
endangering its loss ; and I shall devise a plan by which the
actual condition of the treasury can be got at."
The investigation of the treasury disclosed the fact
that most of the money was needed in January and
July. The taxes for the whole year were then paid in
December. One-half of the amount was therefore idle
for six months.
In order to diminish the temptation to use the money
thus lying idle in the treasury, and also to give the tax
payers the use of it when it was not needed by the State,
Mr. Kelley prepared a bill authorizing the semi-annual
payment of all taxes. The bill passed the Senate, but
was defeated in the House, for some reason which is un
accountable, unless the following statement, copied from
the Columbus Sunday Capital, may be said to solve the
enigma : 192

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
" There Avere court-house rings in those days as well as
noAV. These, together with the bankers from all over the
State Avho were using the State and county money, fought the
measure, just aud reasonable as it was."
While examining the treasury, Mr. Kelley prepared
a bill which became a laAV in April, 1856, which provides
that all money paid into or out of the treasury shall
only be so paid on the order of the Auditor, and every
payment into the treasury shall be receipted for by the
Treasurer, and the person so paying shall deposit the re
ceipt with the Auditor, which receipt shall be the sole
evidence of such payment.
A corresponding provision is made with reference to
payments into the treasury made elsewhere " than at
the treasury office in Columbus."
The details are so drawn that no money can pass into
or out of the Treasury Avithout the action of the Auditor,
and the Auditor's books must always show the exact
condition of the funds of the State ; and they can not
be misapplied or improperly used without a fraudulent
agreement between the Auditor and' Treasurer, and the
person paying or receiving money. It provides that no
money shall be paid out unless the same has been ap
propriated by law to the purpose for which it is paid.
Examinations of drafts and warrants are required to be
made four times during the year ; and a general exam
ination is required by the Auditor and a person ap
pointed by the Governor once each year.
It also provided that no money belonging to the State
13 193

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
should be placed, deposited, or kept by the Treasurer or
by his direction elsewhere than in the treasury at Colum
bus, without taking, in every instance, a bond secured by
United States or Ohio stocks, or by individual residents
as collateral security to the Treasurer's bond, nor until
the terms of the deposit, the terms and conditions of
the bond, and the securities or names of the sureties,
should have been approved by the Auditor and Attorney-
General, depositing the same with the Auditor of State.
During the recess between the sessions of 1856-1857
the joint committee appointed to examine the treasury
made a thorough investigation and an elaborate report,
in which every statement made in that of Mr. Kelley was
confirmed by conclusive testimony, and showing that the
money of the State had been used, during several pre
ceding years, for illegitimate purposes, by which all the
funds of the State were endangered and a large amount
was lost.
Mr. Kelley then supplemented the laws of 1856 by pro
curing the enactment in 1857 of another which requires
the Treasurer to collect immediately all moneys belong
ing to the State in the hands of any other person, com
pany, or depositary, except such as are deposited in
strict conformity Avith the provisions of the act of 1856.
It makes it the duty of the Governor every three months
to appoint a suitable person, who, in conjunction with
the Auditor or some competent clerk in his office, shall
examine the books, accounts, and vouchers of the Treas
urer's and Auditor's office, and if the amount in posses-
194

Alfred Kelley ; his IAfe and Work.
sion of the Treasurer is less than the amount Avith which
he stands charged in the Auditor's office, he shall be as
sumed to be a defaulter, and prosecuted as such. The
main provisions of these statutes have been retained to
this time, and have been very instrumental in protecting
the public against the loss or improper use of its money.
The session of 1857 was the first held in the present
State House. In commemoration of the event there
Avas, on the 6th of January, a formal celebration of its
occupancy. The citizens of Columbus acted in the ca
pacity of host, and the Legislature, public officers, and
citizens of the State generally were invited as guests.
A very large number assembled and participated in the
proceedings. Mr. Kelley was selected to deliver the ad
dress of welcome, and at the appointed time in the
evening spoke as follows to as many as could get Avithin
the reach of his voice :
"Fellow citizens of Ohio: — I am commissioned by my neigh
bors of Franklin County and the city of Columbus to tender
you a hearty welcome to the capital city, and especially to the
building in which we are assembled. In this splendid build
ing they claim, on account of its location among them, no pe
culiar rights or privileges. It belongs to the citizens of Ohio
in common. It was created in accordance with their will,
with their money, and for their use.
" But AA'e of Columbus, because it is in our midst, because
we are at home, have assumed to do the honors of the day, to
invite you to come among us, to join us in dedicating the
people's house to the people's use ; and in rejoicing that it is so
far finished as to admit at least of its partial occupation for
195

Alfred Kelley; At's Life and Work.
the purposes intended. We trust that for thus assuming we
shall be forgiven.
"It is said of Athens, that glorious little republic of an
tiquity — little in extent of territory, small in population, but
teeming with men of genius scarcely short of inspiration,
whose thoughts, words, and Avorks, seldom equaled, never sur
passed, have made an impression never to be effaced, and ex
ercised a controlling influence over civilized man in all enlight
ened nations from their time to ours, aud will continue to do
'so to the end of time — that while her public buildings exhib
ited the perfection of grandeur and symmetrical beauty, her
citizens occupied dwellings of the most unpretending charac
ter. Now, though I am too much a lover of architectural
beauty to condemn it even in private residences, I can not but
admire that devotional feeling which impels men to dedicate
to God, and that patriotism which leads men to dedicate to
their country, the most costly and magnificent specimens of
architecture. "The building in which we are now assembled combines
that sublime massiveness, that dignity of form and feature,
that beautiful symmetry of proportions, which together con
stitute true architectural excellence in a high degree. True,
it may have its imperfections; Avhat Avork of man has not?
Still, it is Avorthy of the great and patriotic people by whom
and for whom it was erected.
"It is emblematic of the moral grandeur of the State
whose councils are here to be assembled, whose archives are
here to be kept, and I trust safely, so long as Ohio shall be a
State, or time itself endure. May those councils be so wise
that their beneficent influence will be as enduring as these
walls. " Citizens of Ohio, members of the General Assembly, we
congratulate you. Let us congratulate each other, that this
noble structure approaches completion.
"Again, on behalf of the citizens of this city, and of this
county, I bid you a cordial welcome." 196

' Alfred Kelley ; Ais Life and Work.
Governor Chase responded on behalf of the citizens,
and after examining the legislative halls and other de
partments of the building, and partaking of a bountiful
supper, they all retired at a late hour, much gratified
both with the building and the reception.
The sessions of 1856 and 1857 closed Mr. Kelley's
legislative labors and his public life. When he became a
member for the first time, in 1814, he Avas the youngest
man in either branch, and in 1857 he Avas the oldest.
During a portion of the last two sessions, he was con
fined to his house by acute disease, and much of his
legislative work Avas performed Avhen most men would
have yielded to their physical infirmities and remained
at home. As was his custom and nature, he did not
spare himself when discharging a public trust or duty.
What had been especially under his charge had been ac
complished, except the passage of the bill providing for
the semi-annual payment of taxes. This had passed the
Senate and was pending in the House. Its disposition
in that body, and Mr. Kelley's comments, are referred to
by Mr. Yaple as follows :
" It has already beeu stated that Kelley tried, in every way,
to get the Legislature to adopt his plan for the semi-annual
collection of taxes — finally tacking it on the general appropri
ation bill, but that he failed because the House voted it down.
When that vote was taken, the end of the session and the
time for adjournment was at hand. It was after midnight—
a night dark, blustering, and stormy ; snow and rain com
mingled and falling thick and fast. Kelley listened with
stern anxiety to the roll call and the responses of the members.
The "no," as uttered by many, Avas not only emphatic, but
197

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
delivered in a tone and manner as if intended for him to hear
and see that he was aimed at, and indicated intentional insult
to him. The result was announced, the measure declared
lost, and Kelley buttoned his coat up to his throat, drew
tightly around his neck his fur collar, adjusted his head
squarely and firmly upon his shoulders, and started for the
door. Feeling mortified at the disrespect shown him, I
sought his side and expressed my regret for what had tran
spired. 'Oh,' said he, 'I am used to it. It don't trouble
me. These are honest, well-meaning men enough ; but I do
wonder how many of them were able to find their Avay
from home to Columbus. I hope they will find their way
back in safety, and turn their attention to something they
know more about than legislation.' . . . And then with
a manner that spoke his assurance of the adoption of the law
for the semi-annual collection of taxes at no distant day, in
spite of the action of that Legislature, the old man disappeared
in the darkness of the street in that midnight storm, his liv
ing voice to be heard no more forever in the councils of the
State." That bill became a law on the 2d of April, 1859.
In the following letter Mr. Yaple gives a clear and
satisfactory statement of Mr. Kelley's position upon our
common school system. Although the letter was not
written for publication, its introduction here is au
thorized : Cincinnati, March 9, 1886.
Hon. Jas. L. Bates.
Dear Sir: — Yesterday I sent you a copy of my essay be
fore our Literary Club on Alfred Kelley, read in 1875.
Time did not admit of my saying any thing about Mr.
Kelley's position upon, and efforts in behalf of, our common
school system. In a biography this should be appropriately
treated. As late as 1856-7, when I was iu the Legislature, some
of the Avealthy counties, some of my constituents from Ross,
especially, wished to have the amount of the school taxes
198

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
raised in each county applied to the schools in such county. I
spoke with Mr. Kelley about the matter. He said, in sub
stance, that the Constitution of the State enjoined upon the
General Assembly the passage of suitable laws to encourage
schools and the means of iustruction ; that to do so properly
he had always maintained that every child iu the State had
an equal right to the benefit of this provision ; and its equal
share of the public money raised by the State for common
school educational purposes should be appropriated for it;
that the rich could educate their children, and only the
poor stood in need of State aid, and that by apportioning to
every child in the State its equal share of money, the poorer
class would receive a benefit of which, by any other method,
they would be deprived, and the system fail in accomplish
ing the end for which it Avas created. He said great diffi
culty was encountered in securing school moneys from the
localities (counties) where raised, and in applying them
equally, according to the number of school children, in every
school district in the State. Local interests Avere against it,
and the prejudice always existing against change. Change
did not always signify reform or improvement, but any great
beneficial change had ahvays met and always will meet de
termined oppposition, as it breaks up the settled habit, and
inspires fears of imagined calamities; the obviously necessary
and most beneficial changes always meeting with the strongest
resistance, while a mere " tinkering" measure of no real bene
fit gets through smoothly. My judgment according with his
views, I declined to introduce any bill, or advocate any meas
ure, looking to the expenditure within each county of school
moneys raised by it by taxation.
I hope a complete biography of Mr. Kelley will be pub
lished. Had he lived in, aud done for, any New England
State, what he did for Ohio, his published life would long ago
have been for sale in every book store, and on every book
stand in the Union and England.
Yours truly, Alfred Yaple.
199

Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
After these sessions Mr. Kelley had a short rest, but
neither health nor strength. The recent strain upon him
was more than he could bear. He had previously Avith-
draAvn from the responsible business relations which
had occupied a large portion of his time, and although
he Avas able to enjoy the society of his family and
friends, which was ahvays grateful to him, his constitu
tion ay as too much broken to admit of even a partial
restoration to health. SIoav paralysis soon commenced
its work, and Avas beyond the reach of medical skill. He
was aAvare of its commencement and progress, but his
cheerfulness did not forsake him, and patience, charity,
and good will characterized his feelings and intercourse
until his , death on the second day of December, A. D.
1859, at the age of seventy. 200

Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.

CHAPTER XVIII.
PERSONAL TRAITS.
Mr. Kelley's probity. — Originating talent. — Good judgment. —
Executive ability. — Generous instincts. — Literary tastes — Love
of poetry. — Scientific knowledge. — Familiarity with geography. —
Hospitality. — Mr. Yaple's reminiscences. — Business habits. — Do
mestic traits. — Recollections of Mathias Martin and Judge
Swan. — '"Alfred Kelley's place in history." — Henry Clay's esti
mate.- — The last visit of his life. — "Just Hke him."

The preceding narrative necessarily implies in its
subject an extraordinary degree of integrity, an unselfish
ness rarely equaled, a more scrupulous attention to pub
lic and private trusts than to personal interests, and an
entire subjection of all private gain to the public wel
fare. Mr. Kelley had the originating talent which is so rare
among men. His life exhibits a series of efforts to de
velop the State, to advance the education and morals of
its people, and to secure its property against loss by
public or private fraud or unfaithfulness. Coupled with
it, he also possessed good judgment, Avhich is exhibited
in the success of all his projects. To this was added
also executive and constructive talent. These four qual
ities are rarely combined, and the history of this country
furnishes very few instances of men Avho have possessed
them in an eminent degree. It is easy to find fault and
201

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
discuss subjects, but it requires a higher order of talent
to develop the resources of a State, or save it from the
ruin of bad management. It is not difficult to acquire a
fortune, if it is made the sole object of life, but it is
necessary to rise to a higher plane before much can be
accomplished for the good of others. As a consequence,
when any important object was to be accomplished for
the State, or any evil remedied or provided against, at
tention was immediately turned to Mr. Kelley as the
most eminently qualified to perform the service.
Though stern in the discharge of public duties and as
trustee for others, he was the reverse in the transaction
of his private business. In his private business he Avas
liberal and generous, almost to a fault. He had little
regard for property, and at no period in his life did he
strive, or make it a primary object, to accumulate it.
It was said of him by an intimate friend that "there
was not a particle of envy, avarice, or malignity in his
composition." This is not an exaggeration. He was
always open and frank in his business and intercourse.
He had no concealments and little curiosity.
Although so eminently qualified for, and so constantly
employed in, the discharge of public duties and trusts,
his literary and scientific attainments were above those
of the average of educated men. He was fond of poetry,
and was familiar with all the standard poetical works.
He read much, but less than many educated men. He
took little pleasure in works which did not furnish him
food for thought, and entertained the opinion that the
202

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
modern tendency is to read too much and think too
little. In the winter of 1847, he delivered some lectures
before the Columbus Mechanics' Institute on the subjects
of light and heat, in which, among other things, he
claimed and demonstrated that light, heat, electricity,
and magnetism are different exhibitions of the same
agent. His topographical knoAvledge was extraordinary. The
rivers and mountains, the water sheds, the plains and
deserts and atmospherical currents of the globe, were
familiar to him, and a gratifying source of study. Once,
when he was riding from London to Edinburgh in a stage
coach with a number of Englishmen, the latter were dis
cussing the name of a stream they had just crossed, and
were much surprised to be informed by an American of its
name, and also to what river it was a tributary. Many
years before a canal or a railway Avas projected between
St. Petersburgh and Moscow, he pointed out on a map,
to a member of his family, the route for either — Avhere
the summit of a canal would be and how it could be sup
plied with Avater. A railway has since been built sub
stantially on that line. He had also an unusual fondness
for nature ; always preferring the country, and the works
of God, to the works of man. His feelings were often
moved by the grand and beautiful in natural scenery.
His hospitality was such that he kept what is called
an " open house " from the time of his marriage to his
last sickness. Company at meals was a common, and at
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
some periods, a daily occurrence. At his table the con
versation was uniformly interesting and instructive.
Some of his peculiarties are well presented by Mr.
Yaple, in his " Reminiscences." Though a political op
ponent, he was partial to Mr. Kelley, and studied his
character. He says :
"But I feel that the limits of an essay will not admit of
doing any kind of justice to the public life and acts of Alfred
Kelley. When an extended history of Ohio shall be written,
he will fill many and its most important pages. I can do no
more than give a feAv examples from my own observation, il
lustrating the character of the man. In stature, Mr. Kelley
was between five feet ten and eleven inches ; he was com
pactly built, neither broad nor slender ; his head was set
firmly, his appearance being that of a man carved out of a
block of marble. He neither affected popular manners nor
sought popularity. He possessed, emphatically, the fortiter in
re, with but little or none of the suaviter in modo. His mind
worked with the accuracy of the geometric lathe, and his ac
tion and conduct adhered strictly to the line of his ideas.
This made him unpopular Avith all Avho sought, from personal
interest or supposed better information, to induce him to de
part from or vary plans or purposes he had formed. To such
he listened with impatience, and showed them but little re
spect, but adhered firmly to his purpose and moved straight
toward the object he had in view. This enabled him to con
struct the canals within the time and for the sums estimated.
He Avould not vary the proper line of the work to accommo
date any local interests, and this caused many people to feel
hardly toward him; but, feeling that he was right, he was
heedless of their clamor and opposition. One Avould hardly
expect to find a poetical nature in such a man ; yet I was as
tonished to find how intimate lie Avas with Shakespeare and
Milton. He seemed to me to have memorized the principal
parts of the works of both.
" Shortly after I entered the Legislature, and had become
acquainted with him, he gave me some directions as to the
proper course to pursue, which, I think, could be followed
with advantage to the country and themselves by congress
men and legislators. Said he :
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Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
" 1. If a matter be under consideration about Avhich you
are indifferent, say nothing, and, as a rule, vote ' No.' A
negative vote will always be less to your injury, and give you
less trouble than an affirmative one.
"2. If it be, in your judgment, wrong, always oppose it
squarely and determinedly.
" 3. If you favor the general object of the bill, but think
the provisions and details of it are inadequate, or not prac
tical, begin by presenting a better, or you will be regarded as
a mere captious objector, or, at best, a critic more or less
respectable, but will tacitly confess yourself incapable of
doing Avhat you admit ought to be done; and you will expose
yourself to the danger of being thought a secret enemy of
the measure but too cowardly and insincere to openly avow
your hostility.
" 4. Before preparing or introducing a bill, carefully ex
amine all the legislation affecting the subject in any manner,
and consider Avhat the common laAV would be in the absence
of all legislation. Should your bill pass, after you have
framed its provisions with such knoAvledge, it will have the
merit, at least, of not confusing the lav? and thus breeding
litigation. " He then said that he could not recall any instance in
which any statute framed by him had ever had a disputed
construction by any department of the government or in any
court. " Were these rules observed by those who introduce bills in
the Legislature, there would be far fewer of them ; they
would be less voluminous; and our laws Avould be much wiser
and freer from confusion and uncertainty.
"He despised cant and hypocrisy. ....
"His love of order Avas almost extreme. . . .
" His love of punctuality, iu keeping hours set for meetings
appointed for any purpose, Avas carried into social life. Where
parties were given upon the announcement that Mr. and Mrs.
So and So would be at home on a given night, at such an hour,
he disapproved decidedly of the invited not appearing before
¦10J, 11, 11J-, or 12 o'clock, regarding it as a mere sham-seem
ing by such persons that they were so independent in their
circumstances that time Avas of no consequence; that they
could afford to run all night and sleep all day. This want of
regard for hours designated for the assembling of parties had
become the fashion in Columbus. He gave a party, and an-
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Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
nounced, upon the cards of invitation, that Mr. and Mrs.
Kelley, on the evening designated, Avould be at home from 8
until 12 o'clock, letting the late party-goers know that their
usual hour for attending was the time fixed by him for their
leave-taking." Mr. Kelley's local and personal attachments Avere un
usually strong, and his affection for his family Avas in
tense. And, notAvithstanding all the unjustifiable and
unreasonable abuse Avhich was often heaped upon him,
he never harbored or permitted himself to cherish enmity
or ill-will. Some of those Avho published the most atro
cious attacks upon him lived to praise him for his serv
ices on behalf of the State. One of the leading iicavs-
paper Avriters and one of his bitter defamers, on more
than one occasion within the past year or t-Avo, said to
the Avriter that Mr. Kelley's biography should be Avrit
ten, as he had done more for the development and finan
cial and commercial prosperity of Ohio than any other
of its citizens.
In an article published more than twenty-five years
after Mr. Kelley's death, in the Columbus Sunday Cap
ital, a paper politically opposed to him, and much of
which article Avas dictated by a strong partisan and po
litical adversary, Mr. Mathias Martin, are the folloAving
statements, Avhich fairly illustrate Iioav his character and
services are now estimated :
"I remember Alfred Kelley very well," said Matt. Martin.
. . . " He was a man of force and intellect ; in person he
was dignified and commanding, sedate in his manners, and
gentlemanly. "Although I was Mr. Kelley's political antagonist, and
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Alfred Kelley ; his Life and Work.
fought him during every campaign, I always regarded him as
the soul of honor in every trust held by him, and no one
could charge that he appropriated a cent of public moneys to
his own uses.
"At the head of Sixth Street, on Broad, stands a roomy
and stately structure, the builder of which passed away over
a quarter of a century ago. The architecture is of a severe
Grecian type, aud reminds one of Monticello or Mt. Vernon.
Being in a large park, it is often mistaken for a Governor's man
sion, or one of the public institutions. The owner and builder
of this structure was Alfred Kelley, one of the marked men
of the State, and one wbo has left an indelible impress on our
finances, credit, the means of transportation, and the internal
improvements of the State.
"The American Encyclopedia contains some twenty or thirty
lines concerning the life and services of Mr. Kelley, which is
nearly all the printed information at hand concerning a citi
zen Avho, in his time, has had more influence on the financial
and business legislation of the State than any one in it, and
one to Avhose energy Columbus and the State OAves the con-
structiou and Avorking of its system of land and water trans
portation [sic].
" The Capital has collected from among the few early con
temporaries of Mr. Kelley who still remain on the field of
action, some pertinent facts Avhich in the light of events that
have transpired since his death, are doubly interesting, for they
prove his wise judgment and foresight. The facts gathered at
the outset impress one that a man's acts do not live but for
the moment, but the effects of them, Avhetherfor good or bad,
continue long years after the actors have passed aAvay and are
forgotten. "It was a comparatively small matter at the start, or
seemed to be, when Ohio abandoned imprisonment for debt,
or when the State credit was saved untarnished, or her system
of taxation and finance completely reformed, or her great
public Avorks honestly built, yet hoAV beneficial have these
measures been. How, like the free air and sunshine, do all
enjoy them, and it is the leader and prime mover in these
works — Mr. Kelley — Avhose career, or the salient points in it,
we propose to summarize. . . •
"At the outset of Mr. Kelley's career, Ohio was a rude,
frontier State with but few means of communication, little
wealth, and crude systems of laws ami taxation ; at his death
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Alfred Kelley ; Ms Life and Work.
it was firmly established as the third State in the Union,
prosperous and flourishing ; and in bringing about these
changes and paving the way for them, Mr. Kelley showed a
master mind.
" Mr. Kelley led in advocating the laws for building the
canals, and after they were passed Avas made the acting com
missioner. The people of the State told him in effect that as
he had claimed the canals could be constructed for so many
millions, that ' there was the money, go and build them.'
"He did build them for the amount claimed, and it was
only his unsAverving integrity that enabled him to do so, and
save the credit of the State.
The same article under the title of " reminiscences,"
repeats what had been said by Judge Joseph R. Swan a
few days before.
" I do not remember what Mr. Kelley paid for his East
Broad street place, said Judge Swan the other morning, but
suppose it was about $30 an acre. You can have some idea
of Avhat sort of a piece it was when I tell you that Broad, in
front of where the Cathedral now stands, was laid with cor
duroy. " For seA^eral years before Mr. Kelley built the residence
in which he died, I am convinced that his entire family ex
penses did not exceed $700 or $800 a year, all told. He
lived very economically. His wife, too, whom I well re
member as she appeared in those days, was a most noble
woman. Things Avere different in those homespun times, said
the judge, reflectively. I think that the key to Mr. Kelley's
great success was his integrity. You younger generation
have scarcely any idea of its importance and far reaching
effects in a man's character, and more especially if he is a
public man.
"He Avas rigid with the contractors on the canals and rail
ways, and you may be sure that there was no slip-shod work
or nonsense permitted. He had rooms, I remember, in the
old Goodale Hotel — in that part Avhere Eberly's store now
stands — from which he used to start out in a morning down
the line of the canal, armed with a long rod, to prod into
the canal banks for logs, which the contractors would try to
208

Alfred Kelley; his Life and Work.
run in as so much earth- work. He was a regular terror to
them." A few days after the preceding article was published,
the same paper contained the following :
" ALFRED KELLEY'S PLACE IN HISTORY.
' 'A recent issue of the Ross County Register has the following :
" The last Columbus Sunday Capital has a long article in re
gard to Hon. Alfred Kelley, an old-time citizen of that place,
showing that he was ' the father of our system of internal im
provements; the author of the law abolishing imprisonment
for debt in Ohio ; the originator of our system of taxation ; '
that he suspected and tried to get at the Breslin defalcation a
year or more before it became known to the public ; and,
finally, that the Ohio State Banking System, of which he was
the author, furnished the model for our present National
Banking System. The three last items in this catalogue of
facts were brought out iu an editorial published in the Register
something over a year since, previous to which time it seemed
to have escaped the observation of others that the Ohio State
Banking System, which Avas superseded by our present Na
tional Banking System, really furnished the model for the
latter system. .
"Under the Ohio svstem, State bonds deposited Avith the
Treasurer of State furnished security to the note-holders, as
National bonds deposited in the United States treasury now
furnish the security for the redemption of National bank-notes.
Previous to the adoption of the Kelley plan, the holder of a
bank-note had little, if any, security beyond the assets the
bank might happen to have on hand at the time of suspen-'
sion ; after its adoption, the note of a broken bankjbecame as
good as gold. Previous to the adoption of the Kelley plan
of taxation, a capitalist might reside in Ohio, and by loaning
his money to people residing outside of the State, entirely es
cape taxation. ...
"Both of these measures, so salutary in their effects, met
with the united opposition of the Democratic party, and Mr.
Kelley had not a little trouble with a good many of his party
associates in the Legislature, who chafed under his leadership,
to gain their support. But as a practical legislator he was
head and shoulders above every other man of his time residing
14 209

Alfred Kelley ; his IAfe and Work.
within the State, and it is doubtful whether he had his equal
in that way outside of it. . . .
" But with all his ability, Mr. Kelley was not popular with
his party ; and as to his political enemies, they hated him with
what King David calls ' a bitter hatred.' But the State owes
him a debt of gratitude for his great services in her behalf,
and would honor herself by erecting to his memory a statue
in the most eligible situation iu the State House grounds."
A remark made to one of Mr. Kelley's daughters by
his friend, Henry Clay, may with propriety be added :
" Mr. Kelley had too much cast-iron in his composition
to be popular."
Shortly after his death, the friend who received the
visit referred to wrote as follows :
" With a benevolence and sympathy only felt by the pure
in spirit, the last visit of his life was oue of condolence to a
friend in affliction, and with and for him he probably shed his
last tear. In this interview, he referred to a presentiment
that he should not live to witness the commencement of
another year, a prevision which vpas fatally verified."
Strange as it may seem, after such a life of activity,
of employment and antagonisms so varied, when his
work was done, his integrity, usefulness, and disinterest
edness were fully conceded by those who had traduced
him ; and at the close of his life no one commanded
more respect and admiration from all classes of his
fellow-citizens. A tall, well proportioned, and massive obelisk of
granite marks the spot where his body lies ; and a
laborer who knew him well, after examining it, said, " It
is just like him." 210

YALE UNIVERSITY

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